Hometown Hero: Jim Myrick

Franklin Bus Driver Reflects on 49 Years Behind the Wheel

Forty-nine years is a long time to drive a school bus. According to Franklin resident Jim Myrick, he has no plans to quit any time soon either.

Until two years ago, Myrick, along with his wife, Jacky, owned and operated Franklin’s Bud and Bloom Florist. They moved to Franklin in 1975 and started the store in Northwood Plaza, later relocating to a custom-built location on U.S. 31 and Banta Street. Retiring from the floral business did not mean total retirement for Myrick. He kept his part-time job.

Myrick grew up in the Mooresville area, where the floral business was a family trade. He started driving a school bus at age 21 for Mooresville Schools, working at his parents’ shop and driving the bus so he could have health insurance. For one year, in 1975, he stopped driving the bus as he and his wife opened the shop in Franklin.

Today, his routine includes a checklist before every trip to make sure the bus is in working order. Through the years, Myrick has driven many different routes, but he still enjoys his Needham Elementary School kids best. He picks up and takes home Needham students daily. In addition, he drives a morning route of high schoolers to Central Nine Career Center. He has been doing that route for 30 years now. For Myrick, the second job provided hours that easily adapted to his flower shop business schedule. He said that flexibility is why many drivers are retirees, farmers and police officers.

Myrick recalls that when he started driving a school bus in 1973, the requirements included a public passenger chauffeur’s license and a physical. He said he drove around the block on a bus with the assistant principal and was hired. Today the process is more involved. Drivers must participate in testing and driver training for several weeks. The State of Indiana now has more guidelines for drivers than when he began. Myrick said Franklin Community School Corporation holds an annual summer safety meeting, and he feels FCSC does an excellent job equipping its staff with the appropriate skills and tools to face any challenges that may arise.

Myrick says that as a driver, he recognizes he may be the first person a student interacts with before they arrive at school. His “good morning” or “have a good day” greeting is a vital connection for those children who may have gotten themselves up and ready that morning. His hope is that each child exits his bus in the morning excited and looking forward to learning as they enter the school building.

When asked if he feels he has made an impact on any student in a particular way, Myrick says, “In my 49 years of driving, I feel I have made an impact on many students, too many to tell. Quite often when Jacky and I are out to dinner in Franklin, someone will come up and remind me that I was once their driver or drove their children to school.”

Myrick says he has a great memory, so often they are surprised he remembers them as well.

When asked if he could recall a funny or memorable story from his years driving, Myrick told of a time when he was on a route of middle school students on the north side of Franklin, when a girl tried to set a boy’s hair on fire with a cigarette lighter. Luckily, a coat smothered out the flame. To this day, if he runs into that girl in public, she recalls the story. “Not a funny story, but definitely memorable,” Myrick says.

“Driving a school bus has without a doubt been a blessing for me in a great deal of ways,” Myrick says. “Over the 49 years of driving with FCSC, the various superintendents, transportation directors and support staff I have worked with have been a strong motivation to continue driving due to the numerous ways in which they seek to champion what is best for our children.”

He feels that being around the children has certainly been the greatest blessing. Seeing their smiling faces, hearing their wonderful stories and simply interacting with them has made his job something he looks forward to 180 days of the year.