Just before Christmas, Rowe Kenneson retired after a long career with Penn Manor School District's transportation department. Kenneson drove bus No. 223 for 32 years, and taking over her route is her daughter, Kimberly Swisher. On Feb. 17, students and school staff members from the district presented Kenneson with cards and gifts to show their appreciation for her years of service.

Kenneson first became a bus driver after she was laid off from her full-time job in manufacturing, where she had worked for over a decade. Kenneson's husband had been driving a bus since he was 20 years old and encouraged her to give it a try. "I didn't think I could do it at first," Kenneson said. "I started training and realized that I could manage it, and it worked out great."

Working as a bus driver, she was able to spend more time with two her kids over the summers when school was out. Early in Kenneson's career, her children were attending Central Manor Elementary School. While her first driving route was for LeTort Elementary School, she switched with another driver so that she could drive the route that her children took home from school.

"I always just tried to do my best. I would tell the parents the reason that I was a good bus driver was because I had good kids," Kenneson said. "If you want respect from kids, you have to respect them. That's why I think I did well."

Kenneson said she didn't take her job lightly. She realized that parents looked to her to make sure their kids got home safely every day and empathized with their concerns due to her own kids riding on her bus.

Last summer, when Kenneson decided to retire, Swisher decided to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a bus driver for the school district. Just like Kenneson when she first began her career, Swisher has two children at home and wanted to support her family with part-time work. Swisher took over Kenneson's route at the beginning of the semester. "It was a relief because I knew who was taking over and I don't have to worry about the kids," Kenneson said.

Swisher already had some knowledge of bus driving from riding on her mother's route as a child, but Kenneson has made sure that she is available to answer any questions her daughter might have while she learns the ropes. "What I wanted to impress on her is to treat all of the kids fairly. You like them all," Kenneson said. "Sometimes you don't like their behavior, but you like them all."