Bill Whalen to continue with moving and storage business

By Colleen Gundlach

An agreement dated “this 14th day of August 1924 by and between J. A. Maloney…and the Town School Committee of said Town of Norfolk” inaugurated a partnership between a family and the town that has endured for more than 90 years. The partnership comes to an end this year, with the retirement of William (Bill) Whalen as Norfolk’s school-bus contractor.

The J. A. Maloney named in the 1924 agreement was great-uncle to Bill Whalen. Maloney and his wife, Elizabeth, were charged by the Town of Norfolk with providing “transport of said pupils to and from Center School by team” if automobiles could not be used for some reason. In addition, they were to employ a “sober and competent driver” and “during the cold weather, provide comfortable, suitable blankets to be used upon said routes for the children being transported.” The pay for their services was $21 per day.

The mode of transportation, services provided and payment received have changed over the years, but the family providing the services has not. Bill Whalen’s father, Malachi Whalen, Jr., took over the responsibility for transporting Norfolk’s children to school from Maloney in 1950. He renamed the bus company “Whalen Moving and Storage.” Both the transportation and the moving company are still in operation today.

As a young man, Bill Whalen made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps and began driving buses for the company in 1974. In 1981, he took over the business upon his father’s retirement.

Through the years, Whalen has transported generations of Norfolk children to Botelle, Regional 7 and Oliver Wolcott Tech. He originally had five bus routes but is down to four due to the declining student population. “We tried to decrease to three buses using the same routes,” he says, “but we couldn’t make it within the one-hour time limit.”

Safety has always been Whalen’s primary concern. All of the buses are cleaned and checked regularly to ensure that they are in prime condition. “I actually like it when the inspectors come,” he says. “Then I know that what I have done is above and beyond. It always helps to have a second pair of eyes check it out.”

Drivers are required to have clean state and federal background checks, and are fingerprinted by the local law enforcement. It generally takes 8 to 12 weeks to obtain a school bus driver’s license. Whalen is a certified instructor, and is recertified to train drivers yearly. He teaches safety classes and updates driver training four times a year.

Despite the rigorous requirements, turnover of drivers has never been a problem for Whalen Transportation. Drivers Moe Mills, Teresa Christensen, Whalen’s wife Leigh and his sister Kathy have been driving for many years. When Bill Whalen first took over the bus routes, there were long-term drivers in place, including such larger-than-life people as George Bottum and Barbara Mulville. “We have been very lucky to have such competent and reliable drivers over the years,” says Whalen.

When not driving, repairing and supervising the bus company, Whalen can be found at Whalen Moving and Storage, a company that needs no advertising. The reputation the company has built up over the years earns business that keeps Whalen quite busy. “Our business comes strictly by word of mouth,” he says.

Whalen grew into the moving business much as he did with the buses. He used to travel with his father on weekends to haul the furniture made by the Society of Brothers in Norfolk to their store in Rifton, New York. He recalls working with his father at the Whalen cold storage area on Shepard Road.

Whalen plans to continue to operate Whalen Moving and Storage. “We move people to new homes and businesses to new sites, in Connecticut and up and down the East Coast,” he says. When summer comes, business increases, so he will be busy even without the bus service.

Another Whalen business will be opening when the bus contract ends in June. He plans to operate a gunsmithing shop from his home. “ I have always enjoyed trap shooting and hunting,” Whalen says, “so I am working toward being a master gunsmith, and will be able to build and repair firearms.”

As for the end of Whalen Transportation, Whalen says, “The Board of Education members over the years have been really great. They have been very pleasant to work with.” Sally Carr, current chairman of the Norfolk Board of Education feels the same way. “Speaking personally and on behalf of the school board, I am so sorry to lose Billy Whalen. I can’t believe anyone else will be able to give the kind of service and dedication to the children of Norfolk that we have received from him.”

Whalen is thankful for the support he has had through the years. “I grew up in Norfolk, raised my kids here and now have five grandchildren,” he says. “Norfolk has always been my home, and I will continue my business here,” Whalen says. He lives with Leigh on Greenwoods Road East and has no plans to move. The Whalen legacy in Norfolk will continue, in the moving and storage business and in a fresh venture as well. A new era for Norfolk and the Whalens has begun.