We are blackberry growers. Our broker requires us to cool the blackberries immediately after they are picked. With our hot summers, we needed a cooler in the field, and it was suggested that we use a retired school bus.

We took all the passenger seats, windows and insulation out of the bus, then cut the body off down to the chassis. With instructions from our refrigeration expert, we assembled to cooler on the bus. Our electrician installed a plug in the field so that we would have electricity in the field to run the cooler.

A friend took the windowless body of the bus for his chickens, and we installed the bus windows along a new wall of our shop. Some of the seats are in hunting stands across the state.