“In a sea of steel I see a golden glow
Screaming the message anyone could know
Like a walking translation on a street of lies
Singing this scrapyard lullaby…”
–Chris Whitley
A quick junkyard dispatch…
We did not plan to visit the School Bus Graveyard in Alto, Georgia, on Sunday. We passed the huge wall of painted abandoned school buses off highway 365 and I knew we must turn around. The place is closed on Sunday. I climbed up the steep hill to shoot these photographs while Elizabeth Josephine waited in the car. This impressive line of buses serves as a fortress against thieves. We were not able to pay and walk around inside.
We drove around the outside gates. The vehicle collection epitomizes a geographical oddity in the best way. As far as I know, Walter Wade, son of the founder Alonzo Wade, runs the School Bus Graveyard. He also owns Alonzo’s Auto Parts & Wrecker Service. Over the last decade, Wade has allowed certain artists to paint the buses. These photographs indicate the fantastic art on these buses were mostly created this year. We’ll be back this way soon to visit on a Saturday when it’s open to the public. Art comes alive in the School Bus Graveyard…
More junkyard notes soon.
(All photographs by James Calemine)