Albert Laurence Luce (June 26, 1888 – October 16, 1962)
was an American
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
,
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
, bus designer, and business owner. He is best known for founding the Blue Bird Body Company, a bus and
recreational vehicle
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...
manufacturer now known as
Blue Bird Corporation
The Blue Bird Corporation (originally known as the Blue Bird Body Company) is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. Best known for its production of school buses, the company has also manufactured a wide variety o ...
.
Biography
Early life
Albert Laurence Luce was born on June 26, 1888, in
La Grange, Illinois
''(the barn)''
, nickname =
, motto = ''Tradition & Pride – Moving Forward''
, anthem = ''My La Grange'' by Jimmy Dunne
, image_map = File:Cook County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas La Grange Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 26 ...
, a village in
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
. His parents were George P. Luce and Jennie Squire Luce. His father managed a lumber yard in La Grange.
After completing high school in La Grange, Luce attended
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, studying science.
Luce moved to
El Centro, California
El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban ar ...
in 1913 to become a distributor for
Maxwell automobiles (a forerunner of
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
). Luce enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917. He fought in France in 1918, and was returned to the U.S. in 1919.
He purchased a
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
franchise in
Fort Valley, Georgia
Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780.
The city is in the Warner Robins metropolitan area and the Macon–Warner Robins combined statisti ...
;
which would become his home for the rest of his life. In 1920, he married Helen Mathews (April 10, 1890 – July 2, 1976), a daughter of a local minister.
1920s: First bus designs
As his business grew, Luce purchased a second Ford franchise in
Perry, Georgia
Perry is a city in Houston and Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,602 at the 2000 census. As of 2019 the estimated population was 17,894. I ...
, which he named ''Houston County Motor Company''. In 1925, the dealership received an order from a local cement company manufacturer for a
Model TT fitted with a bus body to transport company workers. The wooden bus body, supplied from a North Carolina millyard, seemed to Luce not sufficiently durable for the rough Georgia roads; he was concerned the bus would have to be replaced before the owner finished paying for it.
To develop a stronger body, he and a blacksmith in his Perry dealership fabricated a steel body.
[Steel sheet over a steel framework; wood and canvas components in the roof.]
1930s: Founding of Blue Bird
The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
nearly halted car sales at Luce's outlets. In 1930–1931, sales fell over 95%; while only 7 buses were sold, they constituted the majority of sales for his operations.
Luce closed the Fort Valley dealership in late 1931 and sold the Houston County Motor Company in 1932, then started a company specializing in school bus bodies. First using rented facilities, in 1935 he built a 27,000 ft² factory in Fort Valley.
1940s
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Blue Bird existed as a military supplier, building bus and ambulance bodies for the armed forces.
In 1945, a fire that burned down the Blue Bird factory in Fort Valley nearly killed Luce, as he had become trapped trying to fight the fire with a fire extinguisher, but was rescued by a factory worker shortly before the factory exploded.
By mid-1946, a new, larger factory was built in Fort Valley, however, Luce nearly died from a heart attack at the factory shortly after its opening.
Luce and his son George traveled to Europe in 1948. At the 1948 Paris Auto Salon they saw an all-new forward-control bus. Highly interested in its General Motors/Opel chassis, Luce unsuccessfully tried to secure a supply arrangement with GM. After buying the bus outright and importing it into the United States, the chassis was modified and developed for use with a school bus body, becoming the first
Blue Bird All American
The Blue Bird All American is a series of buses produced by American school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation (originally Blue Bird Body Company) since 1948. Originally developed as a yellow school bus (its most common configuration), versi ...
.
In production since 1949, the All American is the longest-produced model of school bus in North America.
Later life
Luce retired from Blue Bird in 1950. During a trip to California in October 1962, Luce had a second heart attack, and he died from pneumonia in San Francisco. He was buried in
Oaklawn Cemetery
Oaklawn Cemetery is the first public burial ground in Tampa, Florida, United States. The location was deeded in the mid-19th century and was described as the final resting place for "White and Slave, Rich and Poor." Oaklawn Cemetery is located a ...
,
Fort Valley, Georgia
Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780.
The city is in the Warner Robins metropolitan area and the Macon–Warner Robins combined statisti ...
.
Pioneers of the yellow school bus industry
Luce is among the early school bus industry pioneers including
Perley A. Thomas, who founded
Thomas Built Buses
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly known as Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages. Currently, its production is concentrated on sc ...
, D.H. "Dave" Ward, founder of
Ward Body Works
Ward Body Works (also known as Ward Industries and Ward School Bus Manufacturing, Inc.) was an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Conway, Arkansas, Ward specialized in yellow school buses, alongside buses for other uses. Founded in 193 ...
(now
IC Bus
IC Bus (originally IC Corporation) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, IC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International. Established in 2002 by Navistar through the reorganization of subsidiary manufact ...
), and the educator Dr.
Frank W. Cyr
Frank W. Cyr (July 7, 1900 – August 1, 1995) was an American educator and author known especially for his contribution to school busing.
As a specialist in rural education, he organized the United States' first national standards conference fo ...
, who, for his persistent work since 1939 to develop school bus safety standards across the country, is widely considered the father of the
yellow school bus.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Albert L.
School buses
People from Houston County, Georgia
People in bus transport
Blue Bird Corporation
1962 deaths
1888 births