Blue Bird #1: Early School Bus

This past March, Albert L. “Buddy” Luce, Jr. announced the
acquisition of one of the first school busses in the country, Blue Bird No. 1.

Nice video of Blue Bird #1 from Bright Blue Sky Productions, LLC.

Luce gifted the bus to The Henry Ford in Dearborn Michigan where it will be prominently displayed within the Henry Ford Museum later this year.

Blue Bird No. 1 was designed and built on a Ford Model T chassis by Luce’s father in 1927. His design evolved into a multi-national school bus company.

The Luce family connection with The Ford Motor Company is longstanding.

Regarding the gift, Luce said, “Donating No. 1 to The Henry Ford at this time is meaningful to me for many reasons. Last year was the 80th anniversary of Blue Bird Body Company (Now Blue Bird Corporation), and I feel this is a great way to acknowledge that milestone.

In addition, 2008 is the centennial of the Model T Ford. The Henry Ford is planning many programs about the innovative and entrepreneurial qualities of Henry Ford’s universal car. Blue Bird No. 1 will be a valuable addition to their collection.

It gives me great comfort to know that No.1 will be housed at a facility where it will be preserved in the years ahead and be available for thousands of people to see for many generations to come. I have a real joy in knowing that Blue Bird No. 1 is at the right place.”

Photo courtesy of Erwin Harrison

Thanks Myra.

Massachusetts Acts to Save the Country’s First Public High School

The New York Times reports:

English High was founded in 1821 as the United States’ first public high school, and its graduates include J. P. Morgan and Maj. Gen. Matthew Ridgway from the Korean War. Today, its student body, dressed mostly in baggy jeans and do-rags, is one of the most diverse in the city, and one of its lowest-performing, too.

Most schools that scored as poorly on standardized tests as English High School would have been shut by now, Superintendent Michael Contompasis of Boston said.

“I would have closed English, if it wasn’t English,” Mr. Contompasis said.

Instead, the state has moved to salvage English. The school will be placed under state supervision next year, enrollment will be reduced to 800 students from about 1,200, and many union-negotiated work rules will be suspended to give more power to the headmaster and allow longer school days.

By contrast, Boston Latin, the oldest private high school in America, was founded in 1635, built its first schoolhouse around 1645, and thrives today.