THUNDER BAY – There’s good news for school-bus drivers whose vehicles break down this winter – help is just a phone call away at Lakehead University.
On Wednesday groups of students took part in the Engineering Society’s 37th annual bus pull, the top team hauling the Iron Range bus 100 metres in just 33 seconds.
Leandra Howald, a fourth-year English student at the Thunder Bay school, said she took part because it seemed like a pretty cool thing to do between classes.
“We get to go home tonight and say, “I pulled a bus. I did that. We did that. And it’s just amazing,” she said.
Joining her on the pull was James Peake, a social work student at Lakehead, who said it was a lot easier than it first looked.
“It went surprisingly fast,” he said. “The very first spot it was like, this thing is not going anywhere. But we got some momentum and it was just running with a rope in my hand and the rest of us from an oncoming bus.”
Participants were asked to donate what they could afford to join the fun, with the Engineering Society also chipping in an amount. The proceeds were turned over to the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Thunder Bay, a subsidiary of Our Kids Count.
Julie Hauth, president of the Engineering Students Society, a third-year mechanical engineering student at Lakehead, said it’s all about giving back a bit to the community.
“We ask students to basically give change, but anything more is appreciated,” Hauth said.
Hauth added, after three years, she’s perfected a technique to best pull the bus.
“I can say the over-the-shoulder to start and the turn-around and pull from behind kind of walk is definitely the best,” she said.
The goal was to top last year’s donation of $800.
