Community Corner

Dedicated Crossing Guard Retires from West Roxbury Post After 42 Years

Betty McDougall rarely missed a day of work during her four decades of service.

West Roxbury crossing guard Betty McDougall is calling it a career after 42 rewarding years of safely assisting neighborhood children and elderly residents.

McDougall, now 80 years of age, made the decision to retire from her post near the Holy Name Roman Catholic Parish and its school in West Roxbury at the end of this past year, The Boston Globe reports.

As her son prepared to enter the first grade, McDougall took the job because the hours were ideal for a working mother. Each day she would report to her post at 7:30 a.m. and return back for the afternoon rush around 2 p.m. just before class got out for the day.

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She held the post while all three of her sons worked their way through school. Because she had fallen so in love with the position, McDougall decided to keep on working.

She proudly did so for 42 years, working through the 2014-2015 school year. McDougall always kept a sharp focus on the safety of those traveling across the street.

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“It’s very important to get kids across the street safely. The kids don’t always know. They see the light to go, but that doesn’t mean a car isn’t about to run through,” McDougall told The Globe.

The Globe caught up with McDougall at her home Wednesday as she sat surrounded by an endless amount of homemade cards, thank you notes, bouquets and other tokens of appreciation. “It’s overwhelming,” she said of the unexpected love and gratitude expressed by the many she had touched with her services over the years.

While McDougall did say it was certainly a challenge waking up early every morning, it was her dedication to serving the kids which pushed her each day. The satisfaction McDougall found in all of the smiling faces each morning is what motivated her through the 6 a.m. starts.

“I couldn’t desert the kids like that and leave them on their own,” she said.

McDougall plans to spend more days with her grandkids during her free time moving forward.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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