MOUNT VERNON — Those of us who grew up in more recent decades are bound to have many memories of seeing (or being on!) football teams on school buses heading off to away games.
But, it stands to reason that it wasn’t always so. Early school buses were not the sturdy vehicles we see today. They were adequate for local transportation, but not traveling significant distances without mechanical mishap.
This wonderful picture was donated to the Knox Time collection on Facebook about ten years ago by Phil Samuell. It shows the Mount Vernon football team and its fans preparing to board a B&O Railroad train to travel to an away game all the way in Marietta, down by the Ohio River.
Say what you like in favor of buses, they don’t go that distance to games very often today.
The photo is dated Nov. 1, 1947. Though I was unable to find any further details about that evening’s game, the final score as reported in newspapers throughout the state the following day was a 14- 14 tie.
