Page 21 - AAA Magazine – AAA Ohio Auto Club – January 2021

we received a certificate and a little ceremony to thank us. Interesting to say that my brother and nephew both became district AAA managers after college.
This experience was a confidence booster for a somewhat awkward young middle schooler.
MaryAnn Bruhn Dickman
When I was in the sixth grade in Denver, Colorado, my teacher chose me to be a Safety Patrol student.
It was an honor to be selected, but it was also a big responsibility to help the other children safely cross the street. At the end of the year, I received a certificate of appreciation for my role as a Safety Patrol student.
As an adult, I started working as a crossing guard at my children’s school in Dublin, Ohio. When my son was in fifth grade, he served as a School Safety Patroller, like I had so many years before.
My children are grown, but I’m still working as a crossing guard for the elementary school. Every morning, I greet the children as they cross the street and I tell them to “Have a nice day.” Their smiles bring joy to me each morning. It’s a great way to start the day.
Mara-Kaye Knapp Dublin, Ohio
I (Sue Ellen {Marimon} Speakman) was a School Safety Patroller in 1967-68 when I was in the sixth grade at Erieview Elementary School in Avon Lake, Ohio. I have included a copy of my membership card and a copy of the Award of Merit presented at the end of the school year. I especially remember getting to walk the Kinder- garten classes to the end of the school driveway with the flag to help them cross the street safely.
My husband, Joseph M. Speakman, was a Safety Patrol in Mansfield, Ohio, at the Stewart Road School in 1961-62. Included is his school picture wearing his badge and sash along with the membership card which included his photo. He also still has the badge and sash. He remembers the large yellow gloves that the patrol members got to wear. He had his mother draw a picture of an American eagle on one and a hammerhead shark on the other.
Sue and Joe Speakman Pickerington, Ohio
Upon reading the AAA Magazine May issue I knew
I had to tell my story as a School Safety Patroller in response to your invitation. Judging from this being a centennial celebration I must have been one of the first AAA School Patrollers dating back to 1951 at South
Ward Elementary in Urbana, Ohio. My most memorable experience was being called to the principal’s office. Hearing my name, Ron Kerlee, please report to the office immediately. I knew I was in trouble. Being a compliant child/student, going to the office was a rare experience. Once there the principal said, “Ralph got killed last night.” It was shocking news. What he was referencing was the nickname for our metal policeman. At that time the School Patrol carried a metal policeman, which we deposited
in the middle of the road to stop traffic. On the previous night, I forgot to return Ralph to the principal’s office. As
a consequence, Ralph was hit by a car. That was the end of Ralph at our school. My neglect that third-grade year was a lesson for later life as I worked as a manufacturing engineer. The lesson was: Always put your tools away.
Ron Kerlee Westerville, Ohio
Born in 1938, I served as a Patrol boy for Avalon Park Elementary School during the seventh and eighth grades. I was very proud of my white belt; my cousin who had served in World War II commented that it gave me a military look. My mother was less enthusiastic about
my assignment, the busy intersection of 83rd and Dorchester on the south side of Chicago. Each morning
I arrived early at my post and looked up at the window
of our apartment building three houses down from my assigned corner. There on the second floor my mother sat at the window watching intently that no harm befell me or my charges. She had wanted to stand on the corner with me, but my dad was able to convince her
that I could handle the responsibility myself. Back in the afternoon at my corner, I always surreptitiously checked that my mother had also returned to her observation point. It is hard to imagine a seventh grader being given that responsibility in 2020, but in the early 1950s, it was the norm. I do think that my present pedestrian habits stem from my experience as a crossing guard. I always cross at the corner or at a clearly marked crosswalk.
As a retired professor in a small college town, I find myself the one pedestrian waiting for the green light and reminding my wife that in my younger days I would have had my arms outstretched, preventing these students from crossing in traffic.
Robert C. Johnson Oxford, Ohio
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