One of my special memories of growing up in Treasure Beach related to the use of the buses - those large 'country buses' with various exotic names, traveling to Savanna-La-Mar, Mandeville and Kingston, in particular.
You could hear them from miles away as they descended the hills making their way down to Treasure Beach. The drivers, it seemed, found great joy in creating various melodies with the patterns in which they blew their horns. You grew to identify each driver by his own horn pattern.
As for the gears - here again there was a pattern to how each 'geared down'. One particular driver stood out in my mind in this regard, but I will not be invdious and call any name at this time!
Then, there were the various characters that traveled on the buses all along the route - each district, it seemed, threw up its own unique person.
A day's journey on any of these buses was never dull. There was always something happening to divert your attention and capture the imagination.
I could go on and on, but ths is just a teaser to elicit special memories from others. So, over to you: Which was your special bus, or bus route? Who was your favourte bus driver, conductor, or passenger?
Share those special memories!

Abrahams Brothers from Sandy Bank. Hamilton Brothers from Frenchman, and Mass Pum-Pum milk truck. Your help is requsted in naming names. But they were reliable and hardworking. Great presence in the community. There was one driver who was not from the community who drank all the time. God knows how he drove the bus under the influence, especially when he drove down the hills coming from Alligator Pond. And yes, I remember the horns; and the old Leland Trucks, it was fun time.

Here's a little memory of the ride on the famous Ambassador bus owned and operated by Big Rob as the gentleman was affectionately called.

A man was riding the bus to Black River one morning. the bus was so jam packed that when he raised one of his leg to scratch it ,he could not find a spot to put it when he was done scratching. He ended up going the rest of the way with his leg held up.He said he was so cramped up at the end of the journey, he couldn't move when it was time to exit.

Then there was the time when my grandmother was going to see Dr. Francis.She was nicely dressed for her appointment and was lucky enough to find a seat on the bus.When they arrived at Brown Berry Lane and the bus took the turn to go to Mountain side, somebody's coffee bottle turned over from overhead, spillin the coffee all over her frock. She was so mad she blurted out," A whe the hell unno doan lock unnu coffee bottle tight an doan use ram goat milk fi mix it". Boy did the people in the bus crack up.

Pedro peeps that was a good one. I use to have to walk to school so i would just watch the bus pass me by, and by the time i was ready to go Blackriver it was long gone. Those days was the best.

Pedro Peeps, I laughed until I wet my pants. Your memories are soooooooooooo funny. Are you sure you are not a comedian?

Pedro Peeps you have inherited your grandmother's sense of humor. Is she still alive? What a great comedy team you both would make. Thanks for the memories.

Herbie Rose, a Jamaican artist living in Florida, painted a watercolor of a classic country Jamaican bus that so well known, it's almost iconic. See the link to his Web site via Villa Arcadia here, under Where to Stayt/first page,where he's stayed and painted and where some of his work is displayed.

Mass Cleave & Mass Cap-poo as conductors on Paapa bus, but who could forget Mr. Mook at the wheels gearing down and sounding the bus horn in a rhythmically tune (a pretty gal mi want, a pretty gal mi want)coming down station hill a evening time.
I remember once getting a ride from Mass Alvin (Pum-Pum) in his old jeep, him say “sit dum good son-son cause all de pot hole dem a mine” mi member mi rear-end sore fi days.

Can anybody remind us of some the names of the buses?

'Missa Mook' was definitely the best when it came to the 'riddim' of the horn!
On the other hand, his brother, Roswel, took the prize for the gearing down sequence. Sweeter than that you could not find, anywhere!

Pedro Peeps you are always cracking me up, currently i'm at work, 245am and you have me laughing like crazy. You have missed your calling. My memories are of Paa pa bus, the only bus I wanted to see on a Friday evening in Mandeville, heading home from school for the week-end, and even though it's a long ride home I got to know places and see all those real country scenes. The market people with their fish basket in Alligetor Pond was some time unbearable but on the other hand I did not care I just wanted to get home. So much thanks to Maas Alfred and Ms Dor, I know I was safe on their bus because they were my home people and they were looking out for me.( May Ms. Dor's soul rest in peace)

Earlier Buses name were Spotlight and i think (Starlight)not sure.

Do you all remember the Treasure girl buses that use to leave out of Treasure Beach at 1pm to go to Kingston to come back next day? I think Mook use to drive one of them.
I also remember I use to take Sav bus to go to Geneva Primary, the bus would be so pack with school kids it leaned to the side, that use to be so scary for me , to some it was fun.
How abou Maas Leslie mini bus to Kingston, and Maas Oren minibus to Mandeville?

(Remembering) Some of the Buses names were Treasure Girl and Treasure Queen , i am not sure if there were a Treasure Boy .

Does anyone have a picture of Mook they can post, he was such a person, such a tragic passing. May his soul rest in peace. So many good people have died in Treasure Beach, all the good die young.

Treasure Girl, Treasure Queen, Linsay Bus, Tiger.

The above names are the ones I remember.

Royal Rose was the bus I was most familiar with. I am not sure if the route was from Manchester to Sav. Masah Jesas!!! The driver surely had a good heart to drive such a jammed packed bus with regular passengers and all the Newell students from Beacon , Pedro, Flagaman and Southfield. His favourite song to play was "Sharon a pregnant yuh pregnant?'.He would turn it up when he picked up the Newell School pickiny dem in the evenings and Boy, did he rev her up going through Short Hill with everybody packed like sardines.So the bus lean to the corner , so the pickiny them rack-an-come-in to the music.A not lying to yuh, I use to be terrified.


Sorry TB2, Granny passed off about 8 years ago but a lot of her has surely rubbed off on me.

Mass Oren buses was: Honeyn Dew and I.A.T,
Mass Alfred & Ms Dor was: Doir's Transport.
Just a few names I remembered.
Missingthebus: you are right; Roswel took the prize for the gearing down sequence.

I remember the Treasure Girl bus that used to transport people back and forth from Kingston to TB. Color of bus was red, yellow and acqua (looked more like the bus in the movie, "The Harder They Come"). We used to board the bus at 9:00am at Parade, and it was an adventure. Best stop was at May Pen where we purchased homemade ice cream, suck-suck (sky juice), peanuts and patties. From there the next major stop was Alligator Pond and from there we did not get home until late evening. But it was a fun trip for those of us who went to School in Kingston. I will not mention names, but those of us who rode the bus during our school days remain friends over the years and often reminisce about good old Treasure Girl bus. The conductors played a few practical jokes with some of the passengers while Vinnie James from time to time, stoped the bus for random ticket check but he never intimidated us. I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF THE TREASURE GIRL ADVENTURE.

What about Royal Rose. I remember taking it from newell school and we would get dropped off in front of the police station. Then we (students) would have to stride down station hill to Sandy Bank and neighboring districts. We were so lucky when the local van drivers would give us a ride. The bus was so packed with all the market people coming in from blackriver but if we did'nt get on it would be a long while for another bus. Some of us loved the way the bus went around the corner and to the side for some of us it was lawd just get me to my destination. Does anyone know where this bus originates from and who were some of the drivers?

Pedro Peeps so sorry to hear of your g-mother's passing. Yuh full a lingo and humor. Not many of us are fortunate to have loving memories of our dearly departed. Good to know that you are keeping the old lady's legacy alive.

Love yuh all memories. But did anyone ever ride a donkey or a horse? Did anyone ketch a stray donkey and went for a ride?

I know that one of the joys of riding any bus driven by 'Missa Mook' was listening to his jokes!
Those who got a seat close to him were in for a good time from start to finish!
Sometimes he did not even intend to be funny, but he couldn't help it; he just had a special way of saying what he had to say, leaving everyone within earshot with tears of amusement rolling down their cheeks!
'Missa Mook' will always be missed by those who knew him, wherever you met up with him, but especially on the bus.

i too have to agree mr mook was the king of all king when it comes to that bus horn and gears and second it was his brother roswell it was fun for me to drive with those guys they are very good drivers we dont have those kind of drivers any more.NUFF BIG UP TO YOU GUYS.

BEANS

i think mook took first place,as i can remember when lannick [stervel]came out by sandy bank lane and ask him if he had sugar in his foot,thats for drawing down,and yet again with the horn i can remember when mass fred used to be coming home in the evenings sounding his horn,etna etna hot up di dinner hot up di dinner fred a cum fred a cum, those was my good old days.and i havent seen any one mention mass lesley with his bus little city driven by rufie from lacovia

Hey "man fram a far i see thee" you are right, that's what my Dad use to say with his truck horn, and of course that was Mommy's que to go warm his dinner up. (smile) As a little girl then that was the sweetest sound to our ears because Daddy was coming home!!!Wonderful memories.

The bus drivers:

Alfred (Paapa) James, Conley James, Eddison (Mook) James, Roswell, Lannick (Stervel) James, Vinnie James, John 'Ethlebert' Moxam (?), Roy Ebanks, Leslie Elliot, Orin Honeyghan, Ruswell Campbell...

Later, there were others like the two brothers from Mountainside who drove the STETHS children to school, Hamlin Buchanan who transported the Newell Secondary students...

Help me with some others!

Mr. Dunbar who use to drive Spotlight and Lindsay bus. After high school,college and adult life, I met Mr Dunbar in St Thomas (old) driving taxi. He recognise me from my primary school days. Mr D died and I am still in contact with his son.

Edson Rowe's 2 sons, Milton and Edgar from Ridgepen also drove STETS bus.

yes i remember the maas alvin milk truck the treasure queen. treasure girl the ambassador,from munroe to black river.ialso remember papa, roswell, radkie, mook, conley, they were good drivers. bravo to you all t.b people your memories are good.i would like to know from miss jo jo on crime in jamaica, where she quote a bible verse i would like to know what part of the bible says that.i raise my hat to you all.

Edson Rowe's 2 sons, Milton and Edgar from Ridgepen also drove STETS bus.

Wonder if any of the relatives have any photos of the drivers or the buses, which they could contribute to this post?

tony honeygon bus driver and his father oren

I see no mention of the baby boomer Butty Ball he must fall some where come on now he is still at it and well known and has certainly contributed his fair share.

Boy oh boy Tony could a drive fast!!!!!!

To Uncle Mook may your soul RIP.

The country bus was one of the most important agents of social interraction among the people of Treasure Beach and between them and residents of other communities in and outside of the parish of St. Elizabeth.
Great friendships were formed (and a few might have been broken, too!) on those buses and along those long winding routes.
Times have changed as more of us acquire our own means of transportation. That is good in one sense, but it also means that there are fewer social contacts. That's a great pity.
What will not change, however, is the fact that we have these great memories. Let us therefore treasure them!

Not to be prejudiced here, but in those good old days my father Alfred James, set the standard for the other guys when it come to #1 driver in T/
beach. ( don't forget he taught most of the brothers to drive) Hail up to POPS.... with much love.... and of course who could forget Uncle Mook with the syncronizing sounding of the horn "yes, him wanted pretty gal" I guess he and my mom now driving and conducting in heaven. What a glorious team. May their soul rest in peace while they sleep on.

Did Uncle/Mr. Mook had another name. Sounds like a great man. The memories are fulfilling.

Yes, His real name was Edison.

yes his real name was edison james.

mook,conly,haddon,razwell,carmen, ellen, as i remember were miss evvie's children,may ellen miss evvie and mook rest in peace waiting for the resurection day. the good old growing up together are fund memories.

Thanks for the info. Thought I knew him.

Thank Sonia for the info I had a Uncle never knew his real name.Uncle Mook RIP.

Hi two cent just to help you bring back your memory Miss Evvie's children,are Haddon, Mook, Roswell,Leva, Raliegh,Conly,Ellen, Alfred, Granny Evvie,Aunty Ellen, Uncle Mook ,RIP.

tb girl you forget miss carmen too.

Oh yeah Pedro Peeps the bus route for Royal rose was from May Pen to Black River via Alligator Pond through Junction etc , there is the piece to the puzzle that you needed , you are quite the comedian though ,you keep us laughing keep it going!!!

It has been so much fun reading these wonderful stories about the rides on the buses back then and the names as well. I am one of the younger generation so some of stories i have heard as a child growing up. I do however remember travelling on Royal Rose man that bus was always packed with people, also Tony with hs crazy but fun driving {lol} , i used to take those buses to school in BlackRiver, also i remember Maas Conly , Mook and Butty as well, the bumpy roads with those huge potholes that was quite interesting to say the least..But my favorite was Paapa bus as a child that was like music to my ears, when the bus went past the house and of course the horn was very unique in the way it sounded, it was such an excitement. Those were the good old times that will never be forgotten.

Does anyone know who owned the first bus in Treasure Beach?
Was it Maas Leslie Eliott, or Ralph James, or did sometime else start a bus service even earlier than those two gentlemen did?
I know there was a time when the milk truck owned by 'Old James' might have been the only means of transport out of the community.

Who was your favourite driver?

RUSWELL CAMPBELL BUS NAME HERO FROM TB TO MO BAY

It's about one year on from One Love's post above, but those still wanting a glimpse of an old bus......

I have a pic of an orange and blue 'Dors Transport'. I'll try to HTML or whatever it in..




jam

RIP Mass Mook,cant figure out the others. Where was this bus parked?

1981 is quite some time back for me to recall exact parking place but i remember the only contry bus journeys i took were to black river and maybe mandeville too. Cheers 'fun bus' . Maybe someone else will know. When i stayed again in sandy bank in 1983, there was a skeleton of an orange n blue dors transport bus near the village tailor's house who i remember well, but not his name. Apologies.
Jam

Oh the one in red t shirt and hat in the picture is me. It was around august, 1981.
J A M

JAM, how can someone recognize you in that photo.......your need to put a more recognizable one....just an observation.

haha yeah native, you are right. I'll try better.. below , if it works there will be 6 photos from 1981 with me in it, closer up

cheers T/B native













jam

The guy with the long hair? is it Allan from Bluntas?

hi Frenchman

no, it's me 'jam'. I live in England. I visited and stayed in sandy bank in 1981 and 1983. The above 6 photos are from 1981. I was 23 then. Am now 53 years of age.

J A M

Very neat looking at your pictures. Thanks for sharing with us.
Your long hair in these pictures is BEAUTIFUL!

Hi Jam, do you a new pic of you today would love to see you now .

well thank you jeannie, that's very kind of you... it was all that..thanks for the compliment..which is why I guess the sandy bank kids used to that below to my hair, in the first pic below.....but now 30 years on, I still have hair but it's all grey boo hooooooo.



"sandy bank"... that you ... ? If so Peckol says you're in Ipswich, England! That right? Must, must meet up.

OK hairwise and today-wise here's a couple plus one haha, be prepared to see the grey.....







best wishes (and "sandy bank", click the blue J A M above to email me if you want)

best wishes jeannie, "sandy bank"...

jam

Thank you for the up to date pic Jam,I too have gray's but choose to color them looking good.

Sandy Bank, (yeah my brother jamil does that I think, dye his greys. I have too many to bother with : ). do email me by clicking my blue J A M name so we can share some old memories as I still need to place your sandy bank name to someone I knew in 1981 , 1983 in treasure beach...

thks

jam

hi jam it verol moxam, i wood like to hear from you. my#772-324-1069.e-mail is niki2nn@yohoo.com

hey verol, good to hear from you as your name 'Verol' sounds very familiar, from 30 years ago! I've been in touch with several of your family this past 2 weeks.....Wayne, Garry, KenDawg, Kaysho... Could you send me an attachment by email of a photo of you when young in the 80s (or point out if you were in photos I took then in 1981 - I'll send you a photo link via email...), if possible, and one more recent if you can....That would be so good.

It's really nice to be in touch again V. Best wishes.

Jam

Aah ok VEROL, a mutual sandy banker has kindly reminded me. You are the boat driver wearing the cap in the photo or two above.



Excellent. Good to be in touch again and thanks again for the wonderful boat ride in Pedro (?) Bay just off Calabash Bay fishermens cooperative. It was yet another excellent day in Treasure Beach, with a difference. Will be keeping in touch through email.

Thanks Verol, hoping you and family are well.

jam