ABOUT us
 

Augusta (Gus) Whitcraft began transporting children to school in 1932. His first bus had a wooden body, with benches that ran parallel with the body. Augusta would start his day early on the farm, and transition into the driver's seat. His bus serviced Hereford Junior Senior High School, and the newly opened Seventh District Elementary. The population of the area, that would later be known as the "Hereford Zone", was small. Everyone knew one another, and so students didn't want Gus stopping by the family farm to discuss their behavior at the end of the day. 
 
Gus's son Carl Whitcraft joined his father in the school bus business as the need for "contracted bus routes" grew in the county. In the early 40's, Carl purchased the land where Whitcraft Services Inc. is located today. Our country had just entered World War Two and Carl worked as a machinist seven days a week, twelve hour shifts, at the Glenn L. Martin Company in Middle River. Much of his efforts were components of the B26 Martin Marauder, which helped to liberate Europe from the Germans during the invasion of Normandy.  During time off he tended to the maintenance of the buses, started a family with his wife Ruth, and built a home on the future bus lot. Supplies were in short supply during the war, and much of the exterior sheathing of the home were engine crates from Martin's, which Carl would dismantle. 
 
In 1950 as Whitcraft Bus grew, Carl wanted to build a garage to park and maintain buses. When he was told by county officials that he couldn't build a garage, Carl changed his request and was granted permission to build a barn, a bus barn. With a proper facility, Carl was able to expand his business providing buses not only  for county schools, but private schools, churches, and even the local cannery. Most of his drivers were local farmers, moms, and even clergymen. 
Every school day Carl, and usually Ruth would drive a bus. Most days they would make phone calls to find help to fill all of the seats, and men and women would put down their pots and plows to make sure the students arrived home safely. 
 
Carl and Ruth raised three children. Their children were no strangers to hard work, spending most of their free time tending to different aspects of family business. In the summers a bus was converted to a lunch wagon, providing refreshments to bean pickers at a local cannery. At an age too early to disclose, John Whitcraft would drive the lunch wagon to the fields wearing sunglasses to look older. Everyone contributed to the success of the family. 

 

 John Whitcraft graduated from Hereford High School in 1964. He attended the University of Baltimore, and received his degree in 1968. Subsequently he served four years in the United States Navy. Initially he returned to the family business on a temporary basis, at the request of his father, "just to help get caught up". John took the family business to a new level by incorporating in 1972, as Whitcraft Services Inc. He was responsible for further expansion of the bus business through the years. Furthermore he was a leader in the community, as well as in student transportation in the state of Maryland. 

Carl was always looking for help, and in 1980 called the neighbor across the street to see if it "suited" the youngest to work for the day. Ron Prettyman would walk across the street, and would spend the rest of the day pulling weeds and trimming grass with sheep shears. One Saturday led to another, and jobs varied from scraping bubble gum from bus floors, to cleaning the family boat. By the time Ron was sixteen, John and Carl would leave for family vacation entrusting him to rebuild a bus engine, while making sure Ruth's flowers, more importantly, were watered. 

Ron graduated from Hereford High School in 1985, but at the age of eighteen you couldn't drive a school bus, so John painted a school bus blue making it a charter bus.  Ron worked his way through college driving that bus, a 1973 International, on athletic and school trips in Baltimore and Harford counties.

 

Carl and John continued to mentor Ron through the years and in 2012 Ron purchased the business. Til this day Whitcraft Services Inc. continues to be operated by Ron and his experienced team.