Templeton High class of ’73 to ride classic school bus in homecoming parade
School bus was purchased new in 1933, used as a bus until 1949
– The Templeton Historical Museum has announced the entry of its 1934 Ford School Bus in the Templeton High School Homecoming Parade on Friday, Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m. in downtown Templeton. The bus will be carrying the Class of 1973, celebrating their 50th class reunion and celebrating 90 years of operation of the bus in Templeton.
The school bus was purchased new in 1933 by the Templeton School District and used as a bus until 1949. The bus body was removed and converted to a flatbed truck to haul irrigation pipe for the football field sometime later.
It was eventually returned to the school auto shop where Roy Radke, Curt Olson, Gary Knoeppel rejoined the body with the chassis. The bus was sold to a private party and was moved to a number of locations before finding a final home with the Templeton Historical Museum Society. Volunteers donated hundreds of hours of labor over five years to fully restore the bus. The completion of the bus is a benefit to the community and is just one of many vehicles owned by the museum. In the near future, the museum will be adding a new storage building for the vehicles with the kick-off being at the annual Founder’s Day celebration on Nov. 18.
