Why, of all places, Hibbing, Minnesota? Why was Greyhound — the greatest, most celebrated, most lampooned, iconic and irreplaceable bus company in the world — started by a bunch of Swedes in a gritty little mining town? Why did a two-bit operation that delivered miners to the whorehouses and speakeasys encircling the Mesabi Iron Range stay the distance, and become a highly respected international passenger bus network serving virtually every major city in North America? Iron — iron ore — is partly to blame. Discovered in the mid-1800s, the Mesabi Range, an incredibly rich deposit of iron ores, was on the verge of becoming the largest open-pit mining operation in the world. Immigrants, many of them from Sweden and Italy, flocked to the region seeking employment. To accommodate the workers and their families, the mining companies built little villages convenient to the mines, known as “locations”. There were perhaps forty of these locations within the Nashwauk-KeewatinHibbing-Chisholm-Buhl area, and Hibbing was one of them – 70 miles from Duluth and the ore docks on the shores of Lake Superior. In the early 20th century, most employees walked to their workplaces. Personal automobile ownership was new and rare. Where available, rail was the preferred mode for passenger transportation, augmented in cities by fixed-line trolleys and streetcars. Bus service, as such, was essentially unknown. In fact, horsedrawn stagecoaches were still running in some areas of the United States. A.P. Silliman, a noted engineer and life member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, ran a successful diamond drilling operation on the Range. Among his employees was J. Fred Lindberg, head machinist. Lindberg had an ailing family member who was trying to cure a wretched case of tuberculosis in Arizona. Lindberg also had a nephew in Sweden, Carl Eric Wickman, born August 7, 18871 . Around 1905, Lindberg wrote to his nephew, sending him money and asking him to come to the United States and help his relative.2 Carl Wickman immigrated to the United States and proceeded to Arizona where he worked at a sawmill for a short time before accompanying the relative back to Hibbing, Minnesota. According to family legend, the two ran out of money in Colorado, and members of the Elks Lodge on the train passed the hat to get them home to Hibbing. Wickman began working for A.P. Silliman and became foreman of a drill camp four miles south of Nashwauk.

While it was Wickman’s drive that would be identifi ed with the future Greyhound system, the fi rst steps were instigated by Andrew Gustaf “Bus Andy” Anderson and Charles Wenberg.4 Andrew Anderson, another Swedish immigrant, was working as a machinist for the Carlson Exploration Company, also a drilling operation. Anderson had come to the Range in October 1902 and worked briefl y as a contractor in the Chisholm mine before he took employment with Carlson. Andrew Gustaf “Bus Andy” Anderson. Anderson and his friend Charles Wenberg, an up-and-coming salesman with the Aetna Powder Company, a dynamite manufacturer, had big plans to open up a Hupmobile car dealership in Hibbing and get rich off the commissions. Anderson had not had a raise from Carlson in seven years. In the spring of 1914, with the new car waiting on the dock of the DM&N freight house for pick-up, C.O.D., Anderson dramatically gave notice to his employer and set off to pick up the sevenpassenger vehicle. Sadly, the beautiful black car did not sell. Everyone wanted a test ride, but no one wanted to buy. The pair discussed the state of aff airs, afraid that the car was getting shopworn and losing its value. Charles’ father suggested they simply charge for the rides they had been giving away free. While there was one taxi car in town, his fees were high and there was clearly a gap in the market. So, on Thursday, May 9, 1914, Anderson placed a sign on the car that said ‘Hibbing to Alice, 15 cents.’5 The Hupmobile. Anderson “cleared $7.40 the fi rst day after the gas and oil were paid for.”7 The following Saturday they made $20 net and the business was up and running. However, Wenberg, who had kept his position of district sales agent and had a secure income of $150 a month, thought driving looked a little too much like hard work.8 Anderson found himself driving all day long between the two towns and was rapidly becoming exhausted. Hibbing Transportation Company Before World War I and the boom years, drilling was halted during the winter months, with labor devoted to removing the overburden covering the ore. Wickman, now working as a diamond drill operator for Silliman, had been