After Nine Years!!!!!

Posted by Robert Chambers 
on May 09, 2011
 
 On May 7, 2011 a long held dream of the Rotary Club of Wahpeton, N.D. came true when the 2003-04 President of the club (the year the project started), Jeff Cristopherson  presented a symbolic key to the bus to Wahpeton Parks Board President Wayne Gripentrog.  Originally conceived as a two year/ $ 50 K to 100K project it ran far over budget for time and far under budget for money.  The latter was partially due to alot of in-kind donations and volunteer labor from Rotarians as well as many other companies and organizations in the communities.
 

ImageImage Originally built in England in the late forties, the bus served Londoners as the Jackson Line until the mid sixties.  It then made it's way to Wisconsin where on October 28, 1995 at the Kalamazoo Air Auction it came up for auction as item # 444.  The late Gerry Beck, Tri-State Aviation, Inc. bidder #6640, became irritated that no one was bidding so placed a "first bid" of $ 100.00.  To his surprise the auctioneer accepted the bid and for another $ 10.00 in taxes the bus, allegedly unable to run, was his.  In fact it did run but it cost him considerable more to transport the bus to Wahpeton where it remained at the airport as he pondered what to do with it.  He wanted to donate it to the city to use as a promotion device but it needed a lot of work and Tri-State did not have the time to do it.  A local organization made an initial attempt but then found it all too daunting.

After a few more years a few Rotarians went to look at it.  Concluding that it needed cleaning up "a bit" and a "coat of paint" the "refurbishing" project began.  The club soon realized that they had taken on more than they had planned, it was a rebuilding project, so contacted inventor, technologist, reconstructor par excellance Marlin Galde to head the project.  The Rotary project managers were Jeff Christopherson and Brian Quamme.  Jeff knew that it would be presented to the Park District during the year after his Presidency.  Eight subsequent Presidents all were sure the project would be completed during their year.  The years moved on.  The Park District wanted to rebuild the Community Center on the southside where the work was being done so Rotarian Suzanne Pehl and her husband Terry kindly consented to have the bus moved to their TLP Trucking garage where the scaffolding was again erected around the bus and it remained being worked on for more years.  The diesel junkies in the community became fascinated by the ancient five cylinder engine.  Many others pitched in, including the Breckenridge Rotary club who re-upholstered the seats.  Late in the 2010-11 fiscal year the end was in sight.  Finally complete it was put away for the winter for presentation to the Park District in the spring.