After serving in the Army, Jack Shaw came home, worked in a foundry, then found himself at the unemployment office scanning the help wanted section on a microfiche machine. It was there that he saw an ad for what was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Commission. He applied and soon began working as a vault puller, the first of several jobs he’d hold during a 36-year career in bus and rail maintenance. Shaw retired in late 2021.

Shaw was an experienced Army mechanic who’d worked in garages during high school. The skills served him well in bus maintenance and he bid into a technician role as soon as he had enough seniority to do so. Later, he was part of the first group of technicians to transfer to light rail and spent months in classes at Dunwoody College preparing to work on the new fleet of light rail vehicles. “I’d gotten a little tired of doing the same thing on the buses,” Shaw remembered. “There were so few of us at rail that we were doing it all – changing tires on the trucks, electrical, hydraulics. The variety was really nice.”

After gaining experience, Shaw became a foreman and supervisor. As body shop supervisor, he said one of his proudest accomplishments was reducing the time it took to restore heavily rusted light rail vehicles from more than 2,000 hours down to about 800 hours. During his tenure, body shop technicians also installed plastic seats across the fleet and replaced dozens of broken windows. Shaw was quick to share credit for that and other work. “I told the team, ‘I’m a tool. What do you need me to do to get your job done?’” he said.

During his time at Metro Transit, Shaw was deployed several times as a member of the National Guard, including to Iraq after 9/11. In retirement, Shaw planned to buy a motorhome and travel, staying at military bases down south.

Before starting his career at Metro Transit, Paul Poppie had repaired tanks, trucks, and other equipment for the U.S. Army and earned a degree in diesel mechanics. So, when he landed his first job fueling buses at South Garage, he almost didn’t make it past the first year. “I had a new, fully stocked toolbox and was thinking, ‘I didn’t go to school for this,’” Poppie said. It didn’t take long to move up, though, and Poppie ended up with a 37-year career in transit. He retired in November 2021.

During his time in Bus Maintenance, Poppie worked at nearly every garage but spent most of his time at Nicollet, where he worked for more than 20 years. In addition to working at several locations, he also had a variety of different roles over the years, performing engine tune-ups, inspecting new buses and repairing wheelchair lifts, powertrains, injectors and transmissions.

Poppie found even more variety when he moved to Facilities Maintenance, where he spent the last five years of his career as a facilities technician. “We do everything in this job – fixing toilets or sinks, changing out glass, cutting grass to who knows what,” he said. “Every day is different….This has probably been my favorite job because you do so many things.”

In retirement, Poppie planned to sell his home in White Bear Lake and move with his wife to northern Minnesota, where he could spend more time hunting, fishing and boating.

After 7 years working in housing construction, James Leonard was laid off. In 1987, his brother-in-law suggested he apply to be a bus operator like him, and even drove him onsite to fill out an application.

"I was thinking of going back to finish college," Leonard said. "But after all the fun I had as a driver, I forgot all about it and have been here ever since."

Growing up in St. Paul, Leonard was no stranger to transit. He took routes 16 and 21 to and from the Mechanic Arts school, and to the roller rink with friends. He fondly remembers the operator who built a relationship with him and the vehicle he drove. They were the same models he'd drive, too.

"Those red buses, the Am Generals and Flexes… they had no power steering or air conditioning," he said. "You'd have to stand up to make corners."

Without air conditioning, he got creative on staying cool while operating some of his favorite routes, like Route 18 or the old 6 line. As the years progressed, he was glad to have power steering and AC on every bus, which helped not only operators, but also customers.

"I really enjoyed being onboard with customers and seeing a variety of different people," Leonard said. “And building relationships with those customers who rode with me five days a week.”

He's grateful for his time at transit, which he credits helping him raise a family and put his three kids through college. He’ll miss the cards and well wishes from customers, but after 34 years, he’s looking forward to retirement.

"I truly enjoyed my job, but now it's time for a new adventure," he said.

In retirement, he plans to leave winter behind, first by moving to Las Vegas and then eventually hopes to live abroad in southeast Asia.

The first of five daughters, Ann Marie Deneen grew up in St. Paul near the old Snelling Garage. Her father rode Twin City Lines and, living in a one-car household, she too would come to rely on the bus (Route 21) to get from her home in Desnoyer Park to school, downtown and the Midway. Often, she sat up front with her older neighbor and joined in on conversations with the driver. Those experiences would prove formative.

At 23, Ann Marie was working as a hairdresser but was frustrated and wondering, “Is this really happiness in life?” The question led her to pray for change (her father’s influence) and she was soon asked to join the Sherwin Williams Paint Co. as a pick-up and delivery driver, visiting auto body shops across the Twin Cities. After having some fun with that job, a friend suggested applying to become a bus driver.

If hairdressing wasn’t her calling, being an operator, she quickly learned, was. “I just knew right away this was it,” said Ann Marie, whose mother encouraged her. “I liked the driving, helping people and was pretty safe. It was a real match for me.” Ann Marie’s love for her work, customers and co-workers led to a 40-year career in transit and a nickname, Diva. The nickname, she said, was given for her command of the bus and the careful eye she kept on her customers.

At first, Ann Marie was tentative behind the wheel. The first time she drove a 60-foot articulated bus, she panicked and cried. But as she did throughout her career, Ann Marie faced her fears and persevered. She credits three amazing people at Snelling, where she started, for taking her under their wings and helping her through the job’s initial challenges. She was also motivated by brief interactions with Ruby Peterson, one of the longest-serving female operators, who broke into the male-dominated field when men were sent to serve in World War II. “Ruby had me in awe,” Ann Marie said. “We never said a lot to each other, but her presence was huge back then.”

Over time, Ann Marie became more and more confident behind the wheel and took on several busy routes where customers had to stand in the aisles, including routes 4, 16 and 21. (At this point, Ann Marie was happy more articulated buses were being added to the fleet.) Ann Marie was among the first operators to work out of the South Garage when it opened in 1980. She was initially unsure about driving in Minneapolis but received kind support from dispatchers and eventually became comfortable enough to become an extraboard operator. The Route 54, though, remained a favorite because it allowed her to drive up and down West Seventh Street, where her parents grew up, and past Ann Street, where she got her name from. Her proudest accomplishment, she said, was her 32 years of safe driving and earning a 25-year safe driving award and watch.

At South, Ann Marie was known for organizing festive retirement parties, with custom transit cards and balloons. The attention she gave to her co-workers was influenced in part by her mother’s sudden passing in 1996. Growing up, Ann Marie’s mother went out of her way to celebrate her five precious girls. On the bus, Ann Marie also became something of a motherly figure, keeping an eye out for people in need. Toward the end of her career, she put her trust in a regular passenger who was a joy to so many riders and helped him find stability.

While Ann Marie was always giving, she said the job also had its own rewards and provided stability during life’s difficult times. “This work kept me happy when it wasn’t so easy,” she said.

Ann Marie retired in January 2020, shortly after a lovely 40-year surprise party. In retirement, she and her sisters are caring for their father; Ann Marie is also enjoying time with her husband, beloved cat, family and friends. “I’ve been blessed,” she said.

Watch: Ann Marie was featured in a 2019 episode of "Hey! Where Does This Bus Go?"

In 1988, Sam Caron began his career at Metro Transit as a part-time police officer, splitting his time as a Sergeant with the Saint Paul Police Department. When he retired from the force, he was hired to work in the Transit Control Center (TCC). “They were looking for someone with both police dispatch and Metro Transit experience,” Caron said. “After getting that job, I discovered there were other places I could work here.” 

When he started in the TCC in 2000, it was located on the main floor of the Heywood Office and shared similar duties with Street Operations, which exposed him to working both jobs and how the system works. He eventually moved to Street Operations as a Street Supervisor. In 2009, he became an assistant transportation manager at Nicollet, then moved to East Metro, where he ends his career. Through large events like the Super Bowl and Final Four, and later the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as an acting garage manager. He also served as one of Metro Transit’s representatives on APTA’s Security and Emergency Management Standards Working Group.  

“I really enjoyed all my jobs. They were complex and always challenging, due to technology or simply what’s happening in the world,” he said. “But I especially enjoyed working with operators every day.” Caron always aimed to create a welcoming atmosphere in his office, starting with a simple candy dish. “There are times operators are required to meet with me, but I’d rather have more interactions outside of those times to help build relationships,” he said.  

In retirement, Caron plans to golf frequently and in warmer climates, work on some home remodeling projects, and spend quality time with his family and friends.

When the company Wm Henry was working for was bought out, he had to decide whether to move or find a new line of work. Encouraged by his wife, a faithful bus rider, he applied for a job as a bus operator at what was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Commission. He was hired in 1989, starting as a part-time operator at the Shingle Creek Garage, and retired nearly 32 years later with perfect attendance and safety records.

Growing up in Liberia, and later working for a mining company there, Henry had his sights set on a career in maintenance. He came to Minnesota in 1984 for school and started to pursue a similar path here, working as a mechanic at Sears and then at a production company maintaining lift equipment. Becoming a bus operator, he thought, would be a way into bus maintenance. “But when my fingernails finally got clean, I realized I could wear a necktie, and I saw that I could get out and get some fresh air I stopped pursuing that path,” Henry said.

After a few years as a part-time operator, Henry went full-time and moved to the Heywood Garage, where he spent the remainder of his career and largely worked the extraboard. Asked why he stayed, he said: “I got to know the people, and the people got to know me. There was a real camaraderie there.” He attributed his success as an operator to his faith and his wife, who supported him at every step along the way. “People always asked me why I was so happy and the answer was, ‘The Lord first, and my wife second,’” he said. One of Henry’s more memorable moments as an operator came in 2016, when he helped welcome then-Vice President Joe Biden onboard a bus during a stop at St. Paul’s Union Depot. 

Henry retired in March 2021 as an "Elite Superior Master Driver." In retirement, Henry planned to spend more time with his family, including four children, and to travel.