Heres a picture of me next to an old KOMO News 4 car near Mount St. Helens in Washington State. This car was used by KOMO News photographer Dave Crockett as he tried to escape the blast on May 18, 1980, after getting an intense close-up video of the mountain blowing its top. He also taped six minutes of what would almost be his "last words," he made it alive off of the mountain.
Name: Steven A. Rosenow
Age: 23
Location: Shelton, Washington
Nickname earned in school: "Gillig" Why? Because I love Gillig school buses.
Favorite Hobbies: Working on plastic model kits, working on this page, cooking for family and friends, watching Gillig school buses, and restoring my Gillig.
Favorite music: I listen to mostly alternative and pop rock. I also listen to some game show themes. The opening theme of Jeopardy! from 1984 and The Price Is Right's Come on Down theme are my favorites.
Favorite TV Shows: Jeopardy!, The Price Is Right, anything on the Discovery Channel, Junkyard Wars on TLC, Boot Camp on FOX, Acme Hour and anything related to Warner Bros. on Cartoon Network, ABCNEWS 20/20 and KOMO News 4 in Seattle.
Favorite Playstation Game: Medal Of Honor
Favorite Car: The Ford Tempo. Favorite Year: 1989 and 1994. Favorite Color for the Tempo: Light Sandalwood Metallic, a kind of gold. I once owned one until it was totalled in an accident the day before Thanksgiving last year. Its color was light sandalwood metallic.
Favorite Gillig: There are so many. Mine is my most favorite, followed by Shelton School District's Bus 1-07.
Favorite Gillig Coach Configuration: I tend to like the center-engined tandem axles better then any other. I also like the late 70's Gilligs for the dashboard and the 1980 Gillig side window design. I do not like the Gillig Phantom school buses.
Favorite Engine in a Gillig: There are two. The Cummins NHH290/250 and the Caterpillar 3208 Diesel pusher
Favorite Transmission in a Gillig: The rear engine 5 speed for the weird gear configuration and the Fuller RT910 10 speed.
Favorite Gillig Emblems: the exterior ones from the late 70s and the interior ones from the 50s because of the red border.
I have built several model kits. One of them was a 1:350 scale model of the Titanic. My other model kits include a rare 1989 Ford Taurus SHO kit by AMT Ertl(I won that one on ebay)and a few different versions of the Edsel. I have also completely scratchbuilt a model of my Gillig using the chassis and parts from a model of a Kenworth semi-truck. I started by assembling the frame and assembling the chassis. I built it up using the trailer for the side body panels and stiff cardboard for the roof. For the window side dividers, I used floral picks and for the seats I used plastic cut to form. For the dashboard I used the dashboard of the truck. I cut and formed it to shape. I used clear acetate from a document protector for the windows and I hinged the doors using mailing tape and jewelry box hinges. Eventually, I plan to put a few pictures of it on my site.
I first got interested in school buses(mainly Gilligs) at the age of five. When I was in kindergarten, I was riding the bus home on a snow day when the bus fishtailed into a ditch. It emerged unhurt, as well as the other kids riding on it that day. The bus I was riding that day was a Gillig and to this day, that bus still serves the Kitsap School District. I got interested in Gilligs because of the accident.
In 1998, my obsession led me to purchase a Gillig. More information on it can be read in the "My Gillig" section of the site. |
