Nationwide — Henry Mercer, an African American school bus driver from DeKalb County, Georgia, has spent 46 years helping students get to school safely. What started as a job he took for the benefits has grown into a career spanning generations of students, some of whom still remember him decades later.
He marked his 46th year with DeKalb County Schools on November 1. He said he never expected to stay behind the wheel for so long when he first started. “Well, I started just for the benefits, but then it seemed to grow on me,” he told WLBT. Over the years, driving a school bus became part of his daily routine. He now knows what to look for when checking his vehicle, inspecting it window by window and row by row to make sure everything is working properly.
His work also plays a role in a much larger transportation system. DeKalb County transports more than 45,000 students every day, making school bus drivers an important part of getting children to and from school. Raymond Stanley, the county’s executive director of transportation and fleet, said their work helps provide students with reliable transportation, particularly those who need additional assistance.
“If it’s not for bus drivers, a lot of our kids would not have a consistent way to get to school,” Stanley said. He also pointed to the importance of drivers and monitors who assist students with disabilities, including children who use wheelchairs. “It’s very, very important, especially when we talk about students with special needs, wheelchair-bound children, very important for drivers and monitors to support that,” he added.
Despite spending decades on the job, Mercer said he sometimes wonders whether his work has made a difference in the lives of the students he has transported. A recent encounter gave him an answer. About two months ago, he and his wife visited Emory for an appointment. Afterward, they asked two nurses for directions, but one of them recognized him from her childhood. “One of the nurses say, ‘Hey, I know you. I know you.’ I said, ‘Pardon me?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘You were my bus driver.’ I think about it in ’85, ’86, and she still remembers,” Mercer recalled.
The nurse had not forgotten him nearly 40 years after he drove her to school. The encounter reminded Mercer that his work had reached students in ways he might not have realized at the time. After 46 years, he continues to serve DeKalb County families, helping children get to school while building connections that can last long after they leave his bus. “I hope I’ve made a positive impact on the number of students,” Mercer said.