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The bus station had been in the Sampson family long before a motorized bus even existed. His great grandfather bought the land back in the late 1800's and in conjunction with the local stage coach line, he opened a way station for passengers to get something to eat or drink and the stage coach to get a fresh string of horses.

When motorized buses became a thing, Drew's grandfather saw the future in them and bought one to compete with the stage coach line. He eventually owned a small fleet of buses and the way station became a bus terminal. Drew's father worked as a mechanic to keep the buses running smooth and reliable. Their service area slowly grew beyond just traveling between Breen and Hesperus, reaching out to Durango and further.

At the outbreak of World War II the Army built a training base between Hesperus and Durango. The Army coordinated with several of the major bus companies to start servicing the area in direct competition with the Sampson Station. Some political help from a US Senator who grew up with Drew's grandfather convinced the Army and the major bus lines to negotiate a long term lease with the Sampson family and make major improvements to the station. The family sold off their buses and Drew's father went to work as a driver for one of the companies. His mother ran the newsstand and his grandfather retired, sort of. Drew's grandmother passed and his grandfather moved into the small back room that had been their home in the early days before the family homestead was built next to the station.

When Drew's mother became pregnant his grandfather took over running the newsstand for a few years until his mother came back to work. Drew would be at the station all day while his grandfather watched over him. Drew's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when Drew was 11. It was a tough couple of years while she went through treatment but she was making a slow recovery. Drew's father was going to quit driving and stay home to care for his wife and help with the station. He was making one last run and headed back to the station on a late night trip. The driver of a tractor-trailer truck fell asleep and veered head on into the bus, killing Drew's father instantly.

Once again Drew was back to the station after school and on weekends running the newsstand. His mother was well enough to come in a couple of days and his grandfather worked a couple of days until his mother relapsed and stayed at home again. Drew started home schooling so he could put in more hours at the station. His grandfather passed peacefully in his sleep and left everything to his mother and him. By now he was thirteen and basically running the news stand on his own, studying his schoolwork between arrivals and departures.

This is where our story picks up . . .