Elizabeth Stanton, 83, officially retired in August after 56 years of accompanying Norfolk youngsters to and from school. One of her positions was at the intersection of Hollister and Merrimac Avenues in Norfolk. Working closely with the school’s administration, Dr. Herman Clark, Stanton assisted children across the street on their approach to the former Bowling Park Elementary School.
She told 13 News Now while standing at the crossing, “I stayed on this corner until they closed the school down.”
“I had worked from Tidewater and Alsace all the way back to Charlotte Street and Tidewater Drive,” Staton said as she highlighted how she worked at over two dozen intersections across the city. “Chesapeake Boulevard, Norview… I worked Five Point[s].”
Staton stated that she now recalls more about people and less about posts. Stanton initially reported for duty in 1967, when her children were little and she desired a career with flexible hours. Even after her own children had grown up, she remained in her position to continue assisting children.
Stanton expressed, “I know what I want somebody to do for my kids. So, you know, I was out here for the kids.”
Her decision to retire didn’t come easily. “I still wanted to go back,” Staton said, “[But] I just said, well nah, it’s just time to let it go,” she confessed.
Looking back on her career, the octogenarian admitted she wouldn’t alter anything. Staton, Norfolk’s longest-serving school crossing guard, insisted that she has never taken a day off. She was working at her post in the rain, snow, hail, and even wind.
“You had more beautiful days than you had bad days,” she said.
“Encouraging the kids, you know, getting them across the street, looking forward to seeing them in the evening… that’s been my life,” Staton expressed.