Humboldt County’s Bookmobile took its final breath on June 16. The bus has taken books to far-flung parts of the county for two decades, and was celebrated at a retirement party Friday.

“It is bittersweet,” said Katie Kenworth, the Bookmobile’s driver. “She has been such an incredible vehicle, and I have seen just how much joy that she has brought people.”

People gathered to say goodbye, telling stories of the rig with just over 215,000 miles logged on the odometer.

They said that the Bookmobile is so much more than just a bus.

The mobile library goes to Orleans, Honeydew, Bridgeville, along the Avenue of the Giants, Orick — communities many miles from the nearest library branch.

Kenworth said the program is instrumental in keeping the community connected, like a mini community center on wheels. Librarians host projects for kids, supplement the libraries of tiny schools and bring out new material for people to read.

People will often wait for the Bookmobile to arrive, and enthusiastically wave at her as she drives by. For people without internet access or transportation, Kenworth said it’s a lifeline.

“Even people who have challenges in their life seem to pull it together when they come to the Bookmobile. They leave everything off the vehicle, and they just come on and they just brighten,” she said.

People remembered decorating the bus for holidays, accidentally tipping all the books to the floor by a too-sharp turn, or being rescued by equipment specialists after a breakdown.

Adrianne Quiros, who drove this bus for 11 years, navigated switchbacks, bad weather, landslides and fallen trees.

“This thing goes places where most Humboldt County residents have never been,” she said.

No matter what, people would show up. She remembered seeing 100 trimmigrants waiting for her during the cannabis season. They couldn’t borrow a book, because they didn’t have library cards, but the Bookmobile was always stocked with free paperbacks to hand out.

“I loved it. It was a bus full of books and the open road,” she said, one of the best jobs she’s ever had.

The routes are long and hard on the bus, which sees similar wear and tear to a county dump truck. It’s heavy, filled with wooden shelving, and gets roughly four miles to the gallon.

This bus was manufactured in 2005, according to records that the county’s equipment specialist pulled.

“It’s been real durable,” said Gordon Sjoquist, who’s helped keep the bus running for decades. “It’s been a great bus.”

He remembered when it first arrived, white and without the colorful decals. He’d answer calls if there were any issues (it only needed a tow twice, he recalled).

“I was unsure who was going to retire first, me or the bus,” he joked.

He also remembers climbing onto the previous Bookmobile as a kid in Cutten, where he grew up, saving him a lengthy bike ride.

Children sang “The Wheels on the Bus” at the retirement party Friday, and were carried inside to look through its tan shelves.

Unfortunately, the engine is shot, and it wouldn’t be cost effective to replace the motor. It difficult to get parts for older vehicles. Sjoquist guesses a handy person could rebuild the engine.

The library will be using a Ford Transit van stocked with bins of books as a stop-gap measure before a new Bookmobile arrives in May 2027.

(There’s less storage space on the van, and no seating. Bookmobile patrons are encouraged to email BKMHUML@co.humboldt.ca.us or call 707-267-9933 to request books and materials in advance.)

The upcoming bus, with a price tag of roughly $250,000 bought with funding from the county and the Humboldt Library Foundation, will continue the Humboldt County tradition of bringing books to rural communities that’s gone on since 1955. The new Bookmobile will be smaller and lighter, and get better gas mileage.

As for what happens to the 2005 bus next, it will be auctioned off, like other retired government property.

“You might have a library that’s maybe 10 miles away,” said Jeff Scott, Humboldt County’s new director of Library Services.

“If you don’t have transportation, it might as well be on the moon,” he said.