Mass
Peter Pan Bus Lines
The year was 1933.
Jayne Mansfield was born. Calvin Coolidge died. Prohibition ended and Spam was invented.
And Peter Carmen Picknelly bought a limousine service called "Yellow Cab Air Line" for $4,500.
With two 1932 Buick seven-passenger limousines and routes from Northampton, Holyoke and Springfield, Mass. to Stafford Springs, Conn., Picknelly began to write his name in the history books.
Now, more than 65 years later, Peter Pan Bus Lines -- as Picknelly renamed the company -- is the largest privately owned bus company in the United States.
Still headquartered in Springfield, Peter Pan transports 3.5 million passengers every year and has annual gross sales of more than $60 million.
The company holds fast to the ideals upon which it was founded because a Picknelly still mans the helm.
Today, the company's day-to-day operations are controlled by the third generation of Picknelly family -- Peter A. Picknelly, president; Tom Picknelly, senior vice president-maintenance; and Melissa Picknelly, executive director of Peter Pan Tours.
