FRIENDSHIP: Today’s RTS begins the story, submitted to us from Dike Artley, BHS Class of 1957, of a strong influence in the way Artley’s life progressed.
Cleared for Takeoff — a story of Friendship
“This short narrative is being written by a fourth generation Bradfordian, whose great-grandfather, Jonas Artley, was the proprietor of the American Hotel. As one of the very first hotels in Bradford, circa 1878, it was located at the corner of East Main Street and South Kendall avenue. It was an era when boarders arrived on horses & in buggies and watering troughs were a common fixture next to the hitching posts.
Fast forward to the 1950s to my adolescent years of growing up in Bradford. It was a point in time when, to paraphrase a line from the 1830 nursery rhyme “Rub-a-dub-dub,” that we all knew the names of ‘the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker,’ along with the mailman, the milkman, and in my storyline — my school bus driver.
You see, the driver of my school bus was much more impressive to me than those listed in referenced nursery rhyme, for he had the easy, friendly charisma of game host Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune fame, the intelligence of Alex Trebek of Jeopardy! And the wisdom and kindness of Mr. Rogers. In the early 50s, I had the pleasure of listening to and talking with him as we made the 20-minute journey on his school bus to and from my home on Derrick Road.
Our friendship was special, in fact so special that one day he asked me if I wanted to go for an airplane ride, a fantasy that I had only dreamed of doing while building every wooden airplane kit known to mankind and hanging them from my bedroom ceiling. So, you can only imagine my joy and excitement as I got my parents’ permission and proceeded to rob my piggy bank of the $5 to help pay for the plane’s fuel.”
Read about Artley’s flight and the way it changed his life forever in tomorrow’s edition of ‘Round the Square.
