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Dad brings abandoned 74-year-old school bus found in the woods ‘back to life’ and collects his daughter in it

A dad-of-three has ‘brought back to life’ a decrepit 74-year-old school bus he found abandoned in woods and filled with rats – and now he can pick up his daughter from school in it, a quarter of a century since it was last used.

After a year of tinkering, maintenance worker Jason Kellogg, 47, surprised his eight-year-old daughter Skye when he arrived at her school gates in June driving the bright yellow bus he found in the forest behind their home in Fall Creek, Oregon, USA.

Working hard to get the wrecked bus he bought for $1,000 (£915) functioning again, Jason also embarked on a 400-mile round trip that month, to a church it served after its original school run days were over, for an emotional reunion with the congregation.

The bus had been abandoned in the woods for a quarter of a century (Collect/PA Real Life)
The bus had been abandoned in the woods for a quarter of a century (Collect/PA Real Life)

Now hoping to tune up the bus so it is ready to travel up to 2,500 miles on a road trip with his wife Peggy, 42, a carer, and children Paige, 16, Skye and River, one, Jason said: “When I saw the bus I knew it was special and I knew it needed to be saved.

“It had been abandoned in the forest for over 25 years and it was decrepit.

“It took me a whole year to get it cleaned out and work on the motor and get it in shape to be able to drive again. It’s amazing seeing it now – it felt like it was meant to be.”

Jason gets to work on the abandoned vehicle (Collect/PA Real Life)
Jason gets to work on the abandoned vehicle (Collect/PA Real Life)

Despite living in their two-bedroom home for a year, Jason and his family had no idea that the abandoned bus was just 10 minutes’ walk away.

He said: “My wife and I had always said we would love to find an old bus we could fix and drive around with the kids.

“Then in January 2020, somebody mentioned that they had seen a bus in the woods and we went for a look to find it.

“It was like the scene from a horror movie, this abandoned school bus completely covered in moss and trees with rats living inside of it.”

The bus was covered in moss and leaves and was home to rats (Collect/PA Real Life)
The bus was covered in moss and leaves and was home to rats (Collect/PA Real Life)

Undeterred by the creepy spectacle, Jason fell in love with the bus and began to make enquiries.

He discovered the bus – which was built in 1948 and is thought to have been used by both primary and secondary schools and a Baptist church in Oregon – belonged to a friend of the man who owns the woods.

“We managed to find his friend and bought the bus off him for $1,000, so it was officially mine to work on,” he said.

As a classic car fanatic, Jason has plenty of experience helping to ‘revive’ old cars.

Jason worked hard to get the bus into a driveable state (Collect/PA Real Life)
Jason worked hard to get the bus into a driveable state (Collect/PA Real Life)

He said: “I bought my first car, a 1970s Chevy Nova when I was 16, which I fixed up and drove around high school.

“Since then I have probably bought, fixed and sold around 20 cars.

“I love taking something that is probably considered no good and getting it back on the road.”

Deciding to document every step of the bus’s revival on YouTube, Jason first set about clearing out the rats, before trying to make the bus start again.

One of the first jobs was to clean out the interior (Collect/PA Real Life)
One of the first jobs was to clean out the interior (Collect/PA Real Life)

He said: “Once I had cleared all the rat poop, I brought a generator into the forest and for a month or two just worked to get it started.

“Eventually I managed to rotate the motor by hand and got it to start again.

“But it still wouldn’t move because the clutch was rusty and the brakes and wheels were too, so I managed to pry the clutch free, pull the wheels off and free the brakes until it was finally in a driveable condition.

“I felt ecstatic, I couldn’t believe it worked.”

The whole family helped to clean up the old school bus (Collect/PA Real Life)
The whole family helped to clean up the old school bus (Collect/PA Real Life)

Once the bus was moving, Jason focused on cleaning it. He said: “The whole family helped wash it.

“It was amazing – once the moss and ferns came off, there was still shiny paint underneath.”

In the following months Jason worked on making the car legal to drive again – rewiring it and changing the clutch and tyres – all with one goal in mind.

Jason and his daughter Skye were kept busy washing the bus (Collect/PA Real Life)
Jason and his daughter Skye were kept busy washing the bus (Collect/PA Real Life)

Jason said: “I knew about the church which the bus had driven for in the 1960s through to the 1980s – after it worked as a school bus through the 1950s – so I got in contact with them and told them I had recovered it.

“I thought, how great would it be to drive it all the way back?”

And Jason did just that, in June this year.

He said: “They decided to do a church reunion, based around the bus, which was so cool.”

The reunion at Stafford Baptist Church to welcome their old bus (Collect/PA Real Life)
The reunion at Stafford Baptist Church to welcome their old bus (Collect/PA Real Life)

He added: “It was the first time the bus had been on a road for so many years for a 400-mile round trip.

“They had a band and food and all the old members there, who had pictures taken in front of the bus – as well as one 87-year-old who used to use it as a child.”

Jason also won brownie points with his middle daughter, Skye, for arriving at her school with the bus.

“I picked Skye up on her last day of second grade,” he said.

Jason hits the road in his restored school bus (Collect/PA Real Life)
Jason hits the road in his restored school bus (Collect/PA Real Life)

“All the teachers came out and everybody took pictures and it was so fun.

“She loved it – a couple of her friends asked to get on the bus and have pictures too.

“Any opportunity I have to show the bus off, I will take.

“I would love to pick her up from school again this year with the bus.”

Jason, his wife Peggy and their son River are looking forward to travelling the country in their bus (Collect/PA Real Life)
Jason, his wife Peggy and their son River are looking forward to travelling the country in their bus (Collect/PA Real Life)

And now, Jason hopes to get the vehicle in good enough condition that the family can travel around the country in it.

“I would love to travel Route 66 in the bus or visit the Grand Canyon as a family and go camping in it.”

Follow Jason’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/CountryBoyGasGarage