BENTON — As a healthcare executive, Ann Buckendahl sat in the driver’s seat for years, leading colleagues and programs. Now, she’s retired but still in the driver’s seat — driving a bus, literally.
Buckendahl, a native of Marion, Kan., spent five years working in marketing for Wesley Medical Center, 15 at Heartspring and another 20 at Ascension Via Christi. Buckendahl says she enjoyed her work, but when she got the opportunity to take early retirement, she felt the time had come. Her husband, Steve, was ready, too.
“My husband was retiring from the aviation field, and the opportunity to have the gift of time together was very appealing,” she said.
There was just one problem: Health insurance. At 62, Buckendahl is not eligible for Medicare, and private health insurance is, well, nearly cost prohibitive.
“That’s the big caveat” of leaving the workforce, said Buckendahl.
She started praying for opportunities for part-time work when she said it just popped in her head to check with her local school district, which is Circle USD 375. Buckendahl, who lives in rural Benton, learned there was an opening for a bus driver. By driving five hours a day five days a week, she is eligible for Circle’s full health insurance package.
Even though Buckendahl had never driven a bus, she decided to take the job. She had to earn her CDL (commercial driver’s license), which she says is not an easy process but worth it.
“The appeal of being a bus driver was the freedom of being my own boss,” Buckendahl said. “Because when you’re on the bus you’re in charge of these kids, their safety, getting them to their destination. And I really love these kids.”
Buckendahl remembers a stormy afternoon and having to decide if it was safe for some of her passengers to walk home down a muddy lane.
“It’s crazy how quickly you view these kids as your own. They are like my grandkids, and I have to decide what’s the right thing to do for my grandkids.”
Buckendahl’s route takes her to town and to the rural parts of Benton. About 25 kids ride her bus, ranging from preschool to high school. Her day starts at 4:45 a.m., and she picks up her first riders about two hours later. She parks the bus at her house and starts each day with an early-morning inspection.
“I didn’t used to get up this early, but now I like the structure of it,” she said. “It makes you get your butt out of bed so you don’t waste your day.”
Buckendahl finds the kids’ antics entertaining.
During the first week of school, a middle schooler boarded the bus and put his fist about six inches from Buckendahl’s face. “I said, ‘Well, hello,’ and he replied, ‘Don’t you need a fist bump?’ I laughed and told him I did indeed need a fist bump.” Now they exchange fist bumps every time he boards the bus.
At each stop as the kids climb in, she counts heads. One family of six children got on one morning, but when she stopped to let them off, only three got off. She quickly perused the bus and found three sound asleep in the back.
“They all got woken up, and off the bus they went,” Buckendahl said.
“This morning, we were going down the main street in Benton, and I had a railroad crossing. At a crossing, you stop and put your hazard lights on, and I asked the kids to be quiet so we could listen for a train,” Buckendahl said. “They started singing and making choo choo train noises. I called them my little railroad choir. It’s just dear.”
Buckendahl said she enjoys the rural part of her route the best because it reminds her of her childhood growing up in the country.
“When I was a kid, I rode the bus. I loved seeing the deer, wild turkeys, possums — all manners of Kansas wildlife, and the sunrise. It is really a lovely trip in the morning.”
Since retirement, Buckendahl enjoys more time to pursue other passions as well. She’s active in Regnum Christi, a Catholic group that meets weekly. She’s also a master quilter, gifting her creations to family, friends and nonprofits.
But it seems that driving a school bus currently provides her greatest entertainment.
Matt Ray, director of transportation for Circle Public Schools, said Buckendahl has adapted quickly to the job.
“The biggest quality to be a bus driver is a lot of patience and understanding,” said Ray. “And you’ve got to like children.”
Buckendahl realized the feeling was mutual when she caught a cold and was out sick for three days.
“When I came back, the kids were like, ‘Oh we missed you, where were you for three weeks?’ It was just so funny. You don’t expect that in the corporate world, but with kids, they’re just so affectionate and sweet. It’s so nice, it doesn’t make it feel like work. These kids have been such a blessing.”
Sherry Howerton can be contacted at sgaylegraham@hotmail.com. If you are nterested in driving for USD 375, call Matt Ray at 316-807-6288.
