WARREN — John Sinclair started driving a tractor on his family’s Lordstown farm when he was just 10 years old.

So it seems only natural that he would become a tour-bus driver after spending 25 years in education as both a science teacher and assistant principal at various Trumbull County schools, most within the Liberty Local School District.

Sinclair grew up in Lordstown and graduated from Lordstown High School, but has lived in Howland for the past 55 years. He received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Kent State University.

Sinclair said his second career as a tour-bus driver began when O.D. Anderson drove a school bus for his sixth-grade students and found out he had experience driving large farm equipment. Anderson, owner of Anderson Tours and Travel, asked Sinclair if he would like to be a tour-bus driver.

Sinclair drove for Anderson from 1969 to 1986 and then opened his own business, Sinclair Tours Inc., which he said he had to close in 2013 for financial reasons. Sometime during his career — perhaps 20 years ago — he started arranging tours for seniors in Trumbull County through SCOPE Senior Services.

He is still on the Anderson Tours employee call list, but he limits his tours to short one- and two-day trips.

In his approximately 50 years as a tour-bus guide, Sinclair said he has logged more than 1.5 million miles and has been to all the states (except Hawaii) and all the Canadian provinces at least twice. In 2019, he was one of only six people to receive the most Outstanding Driver / Tour Operator Award from the Pennsylvania Bus Association.

“The Pacific Northwest is my favorite place to go. All the canyons there, plus the Grand Canyon. It’s just beautiful,” Sinclair said. “I like the mountains and snow regions on the tour and the wildlife you see, especially the moose.”

He also enjoys driving to Alaska, which is usually a 28-day tour round trip. He has driven there four times.

His least favorite place?

“Sitting in a parking lot waiting for my guests to come back from wherever they are visiting,” Sinclair said.

He said driving a tour bus involves a lot of driving, but also a lot of waiting and patience.

In addition to driving the bus, he arranges every aspect of the trips, including the itinerary, reservations and sightseeing venues, as well as all the other duties that make up the bus tour.

He is a member of Howland United Methodist Church, which has formed a partnership with SCOPE to fill the tour buses. If SCOPE doesn’t have enough riders, church members from Howland UMC, as well as 33 other churches on the mailing list, are able to fill the seats.

“I expect us to have a really good year this year after several down years because of COVID,” Sinclair said.

In addition to driving, he said he also enjoys playing bridge. He played basketball as a youth and was a referee for high school basketball games for about 10 years.

“That is a job for young people. Lots of running,” Sinclair said with a laugh.

He and his wife, Ann, have been married since 1966 and have one daughter, Kelly, who is a registered nurse. He also has four granddaughters, three of whom are in college.

Debora Garvin from SCOPE contributed to this story.