The bus would pull up here at Sleepy Hollow somewhere around 7:30 a.m. Sheryl Richards in Bus 4. The other large bus that covered the roads of Lincolnville was driven by Sheryl’s mother-in-law, Janet Richards; that would be Bus 2. There was no Bus 1 or 3, for reasons lost to history, though there was the “minibus”, originally just a converted yellow van, upgraded during my time at LCS to a full sized bus, half the length.

“School Bus Yellow” is an official color. Did you know that? And the yellow school bus remains a largely American thing. It is an iconic part of Americana; the yellow school bus traversing winding rural roads on an autumn morning.

When I got to high school, I was driven by Swiss Hardy, who seems to have driven generations of Lincolnville students to the high school in Camden. Except on those days when I could catch a ride with my older brother, driving whatever old beater of a pickup we owned in those days, shifting the gears in between bites from the massive stack of buttered, toasted English muffins that were his daily breakfast in his final year at Camden Rockport High.

Between 1981 and 1993, I spent a lot of time on yellow school buses; to and from school, off to cross country running and ski meets, soccer games, and once all the way into downtown Boston.

But today, I want to write about one of my companions on many of those long ago bus rides, Ben Hazen.

Ben and I met in that first private kindergarten our moms help to found in the cafeteria of the new Lincolnville Central School addition in 1980. And now, as we face 50, Ben is the rookie bus driver for LCS. Ben has been at the job for just over a year, and drives Bus 3. Veteran drivers Trish Wiley and Jen Bailey cover Buses 1 and 2. At some point LCS started appropriately numbering their buses. 

Ben grew up in the hills of North Lincolnville, riding to LCS on the “minibus”. Graduating with me in 1993, Ben went off to the University in Orono, to study forestry. After a couple years, though, he got that urge to see more of the world, and like so many young Mainers before him, joined the Service. Ben spent three years in the US Army, with the 82nd Airborne, jumping out of airplanes and firing artillery pieces. 

Returning to Lincolnville, he joined his father at their microbrewery, Andrew’s Brewing, one of the pioneering micro brews in Maine. He also worked as a technician with Summit Geo Engineering.  On the side, he joined the National Guard, where he served 21 years, initially with the 152nd Field artillery unit, later joining the 286th CSSB when the 152nd was disbanded late in his career.

In 2004, the 152nd was called to active duty. Originally bound for Afghanistan, the plans changed, and the troops from Maine were sent to Iraq, to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. Read about their experiences there in Packed for the Wrong Trip, by W. Zach Griffith. It is a powerful read, and I highly recommend it.

After 14 months serving in this chaotic and violent place, Ben returned home, built a log cabin, and returned to work at the family brewery. 

Along the way he married, and became dad to a little girl.

In 2021, Ben and his father made the tough decision to close Andrew’s Brewing. After taking some time raise his daughter, and enjoy his retirement from the Guard, Ben recognized he needed something else to do. Already well trained in driving large vehicles, and with a suitable demeanor, he decided to pursue the role of school bus driver.

Working with NorthEast Charters, who has the contract for Lincolnville’s buses, Ben passed all his exams with flying colors, and in September 2023, he took over Bus 3.

He makes his way to the bus barn at the corner of Searsmont and Brodis Roads by 7 a.m. every school morning, to drink coffee, shoot the [stuff] with the guys, and do his bus inspection. By 7:25 he is on the road, arriving at the school around 8:18.

Ben describes the constant awareness necessary of a school bus driver, always looking out for kids and other cars and potential risky situations. From his vantage point quite a bit higher than most on the roads, he can see all those (too many) who text and drive. He educates the kids on his bus about safety, and to be vigilant, even if the bus has its lights on, when crossing the road.

Like many guys in our generation, Ben is a huge fan of actor Chris Farley’s portrayal of a school bus driver in the classic 1995 film Billy Madison. He also does a fantastic Farley impression, and you should ask him when you run into him. Thankfully, though, Ben’s bus driver model is the man who drove his bus during his later years at LCS, Moose Wooten. If you were lucky enough to have known Moose, you understand what an amazing role model he was.

Ben talks about how Moose would always talk to the kids riding his bus, and call them by name. Ben recognizes how this allowed Moose, and now Ben, to get to know the names and faces, and cement in his brain who lives where, who sometimes gets dropped off at their grandmother’s after school, and who sometimes runs a little late to getting to the bus.

In between morning and afternoon bus routes, Ben goes to work for Todd Young with Young’s Construction, further using his skills with large vehicles.

Every chance he can, Ben signs up for field trips and sporting events. It was while I was sitting with him in the bleachers watching the Middle School basketball championships last spring, that Ben hatched the plan to meet the champion boys and runner-up girls teams with a fire truck escort on their return to Lincolnville. Did I mention that Ben is the former chief and long time member of the Lincolnville Volunteer Fire Department? Just a dang fine representative of our town, and one of the people who keep our community a community.

So thanks to Ben, and to Trish and Jen, for getting our kids to and from school safely. Watch out for the flashing lights as you move through this little town of ours. Obey the speed limit and stay off your phones. And hail to the bus driver.

Lobster Rolls

I like lobster OK. As a native, it seems to me to be something we generally eat when there are out of town visitors. But all this week I have felt like I have not fully had my lobster fix for the year. This meant a Saturday trip a mile up the road to M & L Seafood, at 638 Beach Road. Here, Lynn Hutchings sold me a half dozen lively bugs that her husband Mike had caught off our coast.

I wanted lobster rolls, and I wanted stew. As Lynn promised, the lobsters, while still technically soft shells, were bordering into hard shell territory with the amount of meat I was able to pick from them.

My lobster stew recipe, no doubt inspired by many years working at McLaughlin’s lobster shack is simple and classic — butter, milk, cream, and lobster — with just a bit of tarragon and sherry for flavor. Oh, and I throw in the tomalley and a bit of the roe with the butter. The stew is sitting in the fridge, concentrating a bit to be served tonight with biscuits and a green salad. The remaining meat I reserved for Saturday night lobster rolls, while watching college football.

And here is the confession. There are two types of lobster rolls, Maine and Connecticut. Cold with mayo, or warm with butter, though both need to be served in a warm toasted hot dog roll, of course. I had never had a Connecticut warm roll growing up, because, well, Connecticut.

Here’s the thing. Fresh picked lobster meat, lightly warmed in melted butter… it is… superior. There, I said it. So enjoy your cold roll with light mayo, it is definitely the better one to pack into a cooler; but if you have never had Connecticut style roll, I challenge you to try it. I won’t tell anyone. And anyway, there are very few lobsters left in the waters off Connecticut, which makes even a Connecticut roll likely a Maine Lobster roll — Connecticut style.

I love the yellow light of an early autumn morning. I love the changing leaves, I love the kids being back in school. Smile as much as you can, slow down on your morning drive to work. Breathe deep, be nice, and reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com

CALENDAR

Monday, September 9

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Recreation Committee, 4 p.m., Town Office

Land Use Committee, 4 p.m. Town Office

Select Board, 6 p.m., Town Office

Tuesday, September 10

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

School Committee, 6 p.m. LCS

Wednesday, September 11

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Library open 2-5 p.m. 

Planning Board, 6 p.m., Town Office

Thursday, September 12

Heart and Soul Team, 4 p.m., Library

Conservation Commission, 4 p.m., Town Office

Friday, September 13

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Saturday, September 14

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Sunday, September 15

United Christian Church, 9:30 a.m. Worship, 18 Searsmont Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, 9:30 a.m. Sunday School, 11:00 worship, 2648 Atlantic Highway