It's a long way to Cassville

The Nevada R-5 School District is rejoining a part of our former Big 10 conference, beginning in the 2018-2019 school year. Within our division of the conference, there is one school that will require the longest trek, for both our students and fans. Oh, how I remember those Cassville trips of old!

My decision to write about this topic came to me exactly a week before this story goes to print. It is early morning, Friday, Jan. 13, as I gaze out my office window, awaiting the impending ice storm.

During my lifetime, I have witnessed many different types of dangerous southwest Missouri weather. We are noted foremost for our obvious location within "Tornado Alley!" Severe spring thunderstorms are an annual part of our regional weather.

Winter in our area, is far from predictable. Some winters we receive significant snowstorms. Other winters pass with relative warm unseasonable temperatures that even allow my golf group to play throughout the season. Then there are those years, when we are forced to endure these terrible ice storm events.

As I sit here at my computer, I am hoping and praying, that we will be spared the worst of this storm, because it can do so much damage for so many. Power outages are a huge issue following one of these storms.

This weather and our new conference, made me think back 52 years ago, when I experienced a trip to Cassville that left me with few fond memories.

I was a sophomore at NHS in January 1965. Several of my closest friends, were members of the NHS Boys Basketball Team. I rode along to all the games on the team bus, as I kept the team scorebook for each game.

In 1965, the roads to Cassville were much different than what one finds today. Highway 71 was an old narrow 2-lane roadway, and to make matters worse, it passed though every town. The entire trip by school bus, took close to three hours, even if traffic was not heavy.

Keeping the scorebook for a basketball game, gives you a unique insight to each game. It is easy to see which players are the best, simply by the scores that are marked for each player. Even at that age, I could generally tell when we were the better team. I could also see when we were outclassed by our opponent.

Perhaps it was the long drive to Cassville. Maybe it was the quality of the officiating, as many of our fans thought. Regardless of the cause, we lost both the JV and varsity games that night. I can attest, that we were the better team, and that was easily verified a couple of weeks later, when Cassville came to Nevada for the rematch.

We lost a very close contest that included several of our players lost to foul trouble. The loss was made even more difficult to endure, knowing we faced that long and exhausting trip back to Nevada. Luckily there was no precipitation that night, but the outside temperature was close to single digits, as we loaded onto our bus.

The bus had heaters and defrosters, but it was just too cold for them to be effective. The bus driver's front windshield was the only clear glass that I was able to discern, during that long trip home. All of our windows along each side of the bus were totally covered with a layer of thick frost, which blocked our view completely. It was as if we were in a bus with no widows.

The heaters tried in vain to keep the bus warm, but they failed miserably. There is nothing in this world more uncomfortable, than trying to find a relaxing position on a school bus seat, in freezing temperatures.

Beside the obvious intense cold, there was the awful bumpy ride that creaky old school bus provided. The word "Jarring" comes immediately to mind, as I think back to that trip. Each bump in the road caused the bus to shudder. It just jolted your already cold body, as you tried in vain to lie back and perhaps sleep. If you tried to visit with some of your companions, the noise level made that virtually impossible.

If this trip sounds like a nightmare, you are not wrong. It was made even worse, because the game was played on a Tuesday night. I am quite certain it was midnight or after, when we finally arrived back at the high school. The next day was a regular school day, and in that era, both players and coaches, were expected to be in classes, the next morning.

Luckily, the trip to Cassville and neighboring Monett is far less difficult these days. The roads are vastly improved, but make no mistake, these trips are still lengthy.

These long bus rides are in our future, and there is no fault or blame for anyone concerned. Our location is the only issue that should be chastised. To find schools that are of equal size, and who also have the same school activity needs, we simply have to travel. We are at the far end of the scope of any conference we might join.

Weather and school buses followed me for a few more years. When I was teaching and coaching in El Dorado Springs many years ago, I coached my last game in February 1991. My ninth grade boy's basketball team played our last game in Warsaw on a Thursday night. When we left the gym, there was a mist that caused what was like "black ice." Our bus driver had to carefully drive no faster than 25 mph, all the way home.

I made a promise to myself that night. I would never ever ride a school bus again. I have kept that promise. I just hope our players, fans, and coaches, won't have to face a Cassville trip like that one back in 65!