Wow.  It's hard to believe, but it was a little over seven years ago that GilligCoaches.NET hit the air.  When I launched the website, I never truly expoected it to get as big as it is now, and really never expected it to be what it is. 



To show a little perspective, I included in this entry the very first header I ever used for GilligCoaches.NET, back then known as the Gillig Transit Coach Archive.  It was simple, like the rest of the site! Times have changed however, and the simplicity of a website then known as the Gillig Transit Coach Archive has changed into a highly sophisticated online museum representing over 75 years of American transportation history.



It's no small statement when I can say I didn't expect this project (a personal one more or less) to get very big. In fact, I almost gave up on the website twice, and once in the seven years I actually took a hiatus. One that lasted three years, actually.  But, merely within minutes of going on the air over the World Wide Web back on March 9, 2001 (the switch was flipped at I figure around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, lol, but I don't really remember), I began getting photo submissions, as well as adding most of my own content. (I've also done my own graphics for the website since day one)



I can't thank those who've helped in this project enough. Some contributors have only sent in material once or twice, others are a near constant source of information that keeps this website alive.  Regardless of how many times a submission is made, I sincerely appreciate it. I also appreciate the people who make this site count most - you, the visitor.  Without an audience, it'd be a best bet to say that I'd have closed this website a long time ago.



I'm now looking forward to the next seven years. And beyond. The last seven years have seen a lot of changes. From its humble beginnings as the Gillig Transit Coach Webpage, to  a multi-page website titled the Gillig Transit Coach Archive (later the Gillig Transit Coach/Pacific School Coach Resource), one thing is certain: Gillig Transit Coach school buses (and Kenworth-Pacific School Coach school buses) will always be the #1 and only focus.



It's been an amazing ride, and we've only just begun!

Steven Rosenow



Webmaster

GilligCoaches.NET

It's not often I'll post something non-Gillig related in a blog post, but this is the first time I'm finding myself saying farewell to a familiar icon of one of my favorite TV programs. I've just read that the TitanTron on Monday Night RAW, which in its current (well, soon to be former) design has been around since 2002, is being retired. Having seen the RAW TitanTron in person,  it's an impressive piece of television set design.

WWE is going HD this week, and I've read that they're now using the same set for all three shows: RAW, ECW and Friday Night SmackDown! (kinda lame if you ask me. So, in light of this, I pay tribute to perhaps one of the greatest television set designs of all time.



TitanTron, you will be missed. (Photo taken by me  on May 29, 2006 at the Tacoma Dome, when Monday Night RAW was broadcast from there)

It's not often one gets proven wrong, but in this case, I must admit, I now think there may be more Kenworth-Pacific School Coach buses left after all.



I just recently discovered through a new contributor to GilligCoaches.NET that another 1955 Kenworth-Pacific School Coach exists in the small community of Kettle Falls, Washington. More information is being researched about this bus, which apparently is for sale! I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one!.

Well, it sure has been a rollercoaster of a ride. One year ago (last month, actually) I took a career change that I thought I would never have imagined: retail.



Working in the restaurant business for the last 10 years before that was a very invaluable experience, and I managed to meet and make many friends along the way. After leaving the restaurant business, I look back with fondness the positive memories, and also realize the harsh reality that the restaurant industry by and large is full of underpaid employees who deserve much more (well, that goes for every worker on the low-end of the totem pole, actually!).



Looking back on the last year I've spent in this new career path, it's been a positive experience, one in which has afforded me the chance to do a few things I have never been able to do. I managed to get back into a hobby I nearly abandoned, and it allowed me the opportunity to purchase and begin the restoration of one of America's finest examples of a school bus.



I can only wonder what the next year will bring...

Steven

Heh, so it is, yet again I'm here typing up another blog entry  (rather sporadic at these, arn't I?).



Well, restoration of the Kenworth-Pacific has taken an unintended hiatus - for now. I was forced into putting it into a storage lot last week after it sort-of wore out its welcome in my grandparents secondary driveway. I'm hoping for an alternative parking spot for it very soon, because I still have quite a few things I need to do to it before I start to make it "show ready" in time for its August debut @ the ATHS 12th annual antique truck show in Shelton.



Some major developments were made in terms of local research into the history of the Shelton School District fleet recently. At a recent car show, I decided to go into the local historical society's museum in downtown Shelton to look around. After stumbling onto a stack of old Shelton High School yearbooks (which were a great source of school bus background shots in the years I attended school), I decided to thumb through all of what I could during the short time I was dealt with.



Until then, I was led to believe that Shelton School District never operated any form of a Kenworth-Pacific School Coach. Boy, how I was wrong.  In the 1954 yearbook, covering a two-page spread, was a section on the Shelton School District transportation system. In the layout, which featured mainly conventional-style (long-nose) school buses, I discovered an inset photo which featured three KW-Pacific T-126 transit-style buses, as well as a number of Pacific School Coach conventionals.



And in a 1974 yearbook, I discovered a photograph of four Gilligs, two of which I rode in high school back in the mid '90s. (all were retired while I was a sophomore in high school).



There's going to be some changes to GilligCoaches.NET in the coming months. Most of the changes will occur behind the scenes, but for a rough idea of what the viewers of the website will see, I can assure you that the look of the website will remain largely unchanged (I think I actually stumbled upon a graphgics package that finally fits GC.NET fairly decently for a change).  Most of the changes will involve the Photo Gallery index page, and the photo gallery pages themselves.



I'm also still trying to find an ultimate package that will incorporate the forum, main page, and all of the content under one portal.