Unearthing TARTA's Past

As it celebrates an anniversary in 2026, TARTA is digging through 55 years of transit history, and a recent pre-spring cleaning of a Toledo man unearthed some interesting items.

TARTA is so thankful to Jim Sturtz. whose father, Glenn, was a long-time Operator for Community Traction Company, which preceded TARTA before the voters approved the creation of our agency in 1971. Glenn transitioned to working in dispatch before his retirement. One of his favorite pictures of his father shows him standing in front of a Community Traction bus, wearing a tie, a chauffeur’s hat and patent-leather shoes, all of which were a part of the normal uniform for an Operator at the time.

In addition to that photo and photos of his parents dressed up for community gatherings and Community Traction awards celebrations, Jim unearthed some items Glenn had held on to, including: 

• Tokens from the early years of TARTA
• A Community Traction Company maintenance uniform
• The shovel that was used to break ground on TARTA’s Central Avenue headquarters

TARTA staff is planning the best way to permanently display these items, and we thank Jim and others who have brought us their transit-related memories to help us celebrate 55 years of connecting people with the community.

Storytelling and birthdays go hand-in-hand, so feel free to contact Amaia Ham at aham@tarta.com to share your stories about TARTA. You may see them on a social media post as we continue to celebrate this milestone.