The State immediately responded with an order for 400 school buses, followed by another 900 units over the next two years. Around the same time, in 1939, the company’s fortunes were boosted by a national conference convened at Colombia University by a certain Frank W. Cyr, with the objective of laying down minimum standards for the safety of school bus transport. Ever since then, school buses in the U.S.A. have been clearly identifiable by their bright yellow color. This led to Cyr being seen as the “father of the yellow school bus,” so Thomas’s concern with safety came at just the right time.

This sales brochure of 1940 emphasizes the longevity of Thomas buses.

Now that he could be confident the company was back on the road to prosperity, Thomas, who was by now over 60, gradually started to hand the business over to his children, Willard, Norman, Melva, and later their sister Mary, who was much younger than her siblings. They shared the tasks between them: Willard Thomas was the general manager, and looked after customer relations. His younger brother Norman was in charge of production, development, and procurement, and Melva Thomas handled the business side of the operation. All important decisions were taken jointly. By the time the youngest child, Mary, joined the company in 1946, there were already several grandchildren of the founder on the staff.

Expansion to Canada and South America

Just as the company’s future seemed assured, it was again in jeopardy. When the USA entered the Second World War, there was no longer any demand for school buses. In this difficult situation, it was again the inventive mind of the company founder, Perley A. Thomas, that came to the rescue. Thomas submitted a proposal to the army that was favora­bly received: he offered to produce a truck body that could be used as a mobile repair workshop for light hand weapons. The plant turned out 15 units a day, and they all provided a valuable service at the front.

During World War II, the plant manufactured mobile workshop bodies for trucks.