Mud, Mud, Mud

This photograph of mud includes Arthur Sullivan and a horse-drawn school bus.


(Click on images to enlarge)
Images courtesy of Eldon Harms.

Arthur Sullivan, born circa 1904, was the son of Thomas and Augusta Sullivan, and the grandson of Patrick and Sarah. This photo has no date. It's difficult to judge Arthur's age here — I would guess about 20, give or take a few years. In my newspaper reading, I have not yet noticed him receiving pay from the township for driving a bus, although his father had in 1919 and 1921 (and likely other years that I can't lay my hands on at the moment). Ross Township may have had at least one motorized school bus by about 1920, but horse-drawn buses were still in use through the 1920s. Inside the bus (according to this photo's present owner, who rode a horse-drawn bus throughout his first year of school), there were two benches, one along each side wall, so the riders sat facing each other.

Notes on the back of the photo suggest that this bus carried Vincent school students.