DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / March 19, 2000

Much of who Gloria Gaudet is stems from her memories of riding the bus with her father, Lloyd LeBlanc Sr. Before she was old enough to go to school herfather would let her ride along.

“I always wanted to sit on his lap and drive the bus,” said Gloria. Now at 60,Gloria does what her father and two of his brothers did, drives the school bus.

Later on it was her brother, St. Parish School Board member Lloyd LeBlancJr.’s turn. He rode along and his father told him to be an attorney, and that’swhat he did, said Gloria.

“I felt if Lloyd could do what daddy wanted him to do, then I could do what daddy did,” she added.

Gloria’s parents died when she was young and her siblings were still children.

She and her husband took care of the family, providing a roof over their heads and putting food on the table, said Gloria. Finances were tight, butmost of the kids had been working some since they were 12. They all lived inthe family home, which was bought by the parish and is being preserved by the St. James Historical Society at its museum in Gramercy.After her divorce Gloria worked as a cashier at local grocery stores for a while before the opportunity to drive a school bus for the parish presented itself. She got a call from a friend telling her the St. James School Systemwas hiring summer school bus drivers. Dan Jackson led her around the blockthree times and said she was ready to go.

Gloria drove all summer and loved it. Substitute driving for the next fiveyears, she didn’t get her own bus until Feb. 19, 1983,Gloria rememberedexactly. She drove a new special education bus, and “I really liked it,” saidGloria. After another driver retired she got her chance to drive a full-sizedbus and was told she would only need to drive it for a while. But she enjoyedit so much she’s been driving one ever since.

Nowadays Gloria is out and driving by 5:30 every morning. She picks upcollege students headed for Nicholls State University and takes them to Vacherie, where a St. James Parish bus completes the drive.Her regular 20-mile route takes her around the east bank picking up students for Lutcher Elementary and Paulina Elementary. All the childrenseem to like Ms. G, Miss Gloria or Ma Gus, as her kids affectionately call her.She’s also known as the “singin’ driver.””I do a lot of singing, and a lot of the kids know the words now by heart so they sing on along with me,” said Gloria.

She holds the respect of virtually all the children she drives, and they follow her instructions to a T.

“They know if I tell them they’re on thin ice what the next step will be,” said Gloria. The next step is a dreaded write-up, bringing them to the attention oftheir school’s principal.

Her kids love to help her out on the bus. Some put up windows when theyarrive at school; others sweep up and keep the bus clean.

The teachers even respect her enough to call her at home. Thus, she drivesfor a lot of field trips and special outings.

“I’m a dedicated school bus driver. I’ve got along with all the principals,teachers and superintendents I’ve known,” said Gloria modestly. The parishseems to agree, having honored her in 1990 with the Nonprofessional St.

James Parish School System Worker award.

After 25 years of driving Gloria found herself ready to retire.

“I went so far as to tell all the kids and everybody that I was done,” she said.

However she couldn’t pull herself away.

“I love to drive the bus and I love children, that’s why I’ve kept doing this,” she added.

So in August she’s going to keep driving, planning to take it day by day.

“If the good Lord lets me I’ll keep going until I’m 62,” she said.

She credits this drive to many things in her life: the good Lord, her family, the teachers, principals and superintendents who have helped her out and her friends, “because they’ve sure been good,” Gloria said with a smile.

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