KINGSLEY — After more than 30 years behind the wheel, Kingsley bus driver Jim Ames is retiring at the end of the school year, marking the close of a career spent transporting generations of students to school, home and field trips.
Ames has driven bus 18A for more than three decades. His journey as a school bus driver began in 1995 after what he called his first retirement, when he decided to return to work.
Ames said his decision to retire now is tied to his wife’s retirement.
“She is now retiring,” Ames said. “If she wasn’t, I would keep working.”
Kingsley Area Public Schools Transportation Director Erik Nieman said that although this is his first year working with Ames, the two share the same focus.
They both care deeply about the safety of the children, Nieman said.
Looking back, Ames said his time as a bus driver is filled with memories, from transporting his own children and grandchildren to school to moments that required quick thinking.
While gesturing to a woman who wished to remain anonymous, Ames recalled one such incident.
“This lady right over here saved my bus,” Ames said. “I got out of it, and I didn’t set the brake. She jumped off and saved my bus.”
Ames’ retirement also highlights the ongoing challenge schools face in finding bus drivers. Nieman said the district will continue advertising for drivers and working with applicants to help them obtain their commercial driver’s licenses.
Despite stepping away from the driver’s seat, Ames said he is looking ahead to new adventures.
Now that his wife has retired, he said the couple plans to travel throughout Alaska and the United States in their motorhome.