Wakefield Crossing Guard Ellen Gaudette Handles Busy Corner, Rude Drivers

A mother of two, grandmother of three, it's near impossible not to like Ellen Gaudette for all she has done for children in her 28 years as Wakefield's longest-serving crossing guard. Unless of course you're late for work.

"I had a girl the other day, the car in front of her stopped for me, and she started tooting at her because she was waiting for me to get off the street and I looked at her and she was giving me the finger. The whole way thru the crossing with her finger," said Gaudette speaking at her post at the corner of Prospect and Chestnut. "Then an ambulance came and she had to stop. She still sat right there with her middle finger up. I just laugh. If she thinks she's upsetting me ... it was entertaining. I could tell you a million stories about people threatening me."

If drivers only knew.

Gaudette was born in Wakefield and attended the old Montrose School, then Wakefield Junior High School and Wakefield High, graduating in 1975. She became a crossing guard with a little help from her family.

"My brother-in-law worked for the police department and my sister-in-law had called and said they were looking for people and I said no. My kids were still young. But a year or two later I said I might as well sign up. This gets you out, gets you going in the morning. You see all the little kids growing up in front of you."

You also get to see grown-ups acting like children.

"I had a guy in a company truck, he rolled the window down and said, 'don't you ever stop me again, I'm going to run you over next time.' And the parents heard it and they called the school and somebody called the company and he got fired. They called me and said they fired him. But I said I don't want anyone fired because of me. I just don't want him to bother me, because he was this big huge guy. I said please don't fire him, just teach him some manners. That afternoon I'm sitting in my car, the sun was blocking me, and he was standing outside my car to thank me for not having him fired. The sad thing is, two years later he's driving a school bus."

Gaudette has acquired a range of skills during her time as a crossing guard. She can read children, parents, and even car engines.

"It is busy but you listen to the engines of the cars to see if they're slowing down or not. I've gotten used to that. If a car is really revving up they're not slowing to stop. Because this is a four-way stop, when I cross the children I stop all four ways and they go diagonal. They don't even go in the cross walk. So I'd rather have everybody stopped because you've have people going right on the corners. I had a parent question me about that and say 'I'm not happy with that.' I was like, I'm the crossing guard."

She started at the old Doyle School on Albion and Broadway and has been down the street from the Wilson School now for close to 12 years. It's not the easiest intersection, especially when drivers consider you the enemy.

"People go through it all the time. It's funny how they shoot right through it. It's more interesting watching everybody try to get through it in the morning. Everybody is tooting at each other. It's like who ever starts, then one goes this way, that way, then this one goes and then that one goes. I've only seen one accident in all the years. A lot of close calls but only one."

By law, at a four-way stop if two vehicles reach the intersection simultaneously, the vehicle on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right. But picture four cars reaching the intersection simultaneously, including three drivers who are barely awake, two who are late for work, and one who just spilled his/her coffee. Into the middle of this walk the children with Gaudette standing guard. And the mornings are far worse.

"Oh ya, definitely because everybody is going to work and if 128 is blocked they get off and cut around this way. It will be a lot busier. I'll have lines of cars all the way to the bottom of the hill. And you can't see them but they'll be waiting to come up."

But despite the chaos Gaudette, who also works as a waitress at the Border Café on Route 1, has developed relationships with many children, even though their paths cross for just a moment.

"Oh ya definitely, and the parents too. A lot of time you talk to them while they're waiting for the kids to come down. There's a lady down here that I crossed three of her children. Then you'll see them as they're older driving by. You're like, Oh my god I remember when they were little kids."

Gaudette gets to know a lot of people, from neighbors walking their dog, to drivers who feel like they know her even though they've never met.

"I had a man stop one day when I was at the other post with a coffee and a muffin. He said 'I have been riding by you and today is the last day I'm going to be here because I'm getting a new job and I wanted to give you this coffee and a muffin.' I had never even seen him before. He said 'I ride by you every single day.' I said 'Oh, I'll miss you.' But I'm like, who are you?"

Gaudette has no plans to retire but isn't sure how long she'll keep going.

"I don't know ... as long as I have my mind I guess."

So the next time you're late for work and traveling down Prospect don't get frustrated with the traffic. And whatever you do, keep your hands (and fingers) on the wheel.