'We're going to miss her': Retiring Acton crossing guard high fives her way into students' hearts

Charlotte Grove raises her hand for a high five and Barb Smith, as usual, is there to oblige.

Then it’s a high five with the left hand. Then both hands. Then Grove extends her foot and Smith high fives it too.

“The foot thing is new,” she says. “She just started doing that recently.”

Over the course of half an hour, Smith exchanges dozens of high fives and fist bumps with students, as she has for the past nine years as the crossing guard at the corner of Tanners Drive and Churchill Road North. 

Smith greets most of the students by name. She notices when a student is missing – “I get worried about them when they’re sick,” she says. She knows what students to expect at the end of her morning shift.

“The bell just rang, you can still make it, but you’ll have to hurry,” she tells one student running down the sidewalk.

She knows what’s going on at school – today is Harry Potter Day and she compliments the students on their costumes.

“Don’t be casting any spells today,” she tells them as they’re crossing the street. 

Smith has made quite an impression on both students and parents, many of which stop to chat with her after walking their kids to school. But it's a bittersweet day for Smith. 

On the fence post on the corner hang a few colourful bags - presents dropped off for her as she prepares for her final day on Friday.

“We’re going to miss her,” says Caidence Manes, who Smith has been helping cross the street since she started school. 

The feeling is mutual for Smith, who's moving to near Kincardine and hanging up her reflective vest and stop sign for the last time.

“I love kids and it was one of the main reasons I took the job,” she said.

Smith said if she can get a day started by putting a smile on a kid’s face, that’s almost as important as getting them across the street. 

Smith’s corner serves as a crossing point for both McKenzie-Smith Bennett and Acton District School, so she sees students of all ages. She greets them with the same friendly ‘hello,’ even if they weren’t always heard.

“When I started, some of the high school students would have earbuds in,” Smith said. “I would always say ‘hello.’ Some people told me, ‘They can’t hear you.’ But I just kept saying ‘hello.’ And eventually they started saying ‘hello’ to me before I had a chance to.”

Having been crossing kids for nine years, Smith has seen many changes.

“There are kids that I used to cross who are now driving past,” she says. “That’s one of the fun parts is seeing how they grow up and change.”

The only part of the job Smith doesn’t like is the rain. She’d rather stand in snow than have it rain. And thunderstorms are the worst. 

Even through rain and lightning, she maintains her post to make sure the kids get to school and home safely. And Smith has enjoyed every minute of it.

“I’m the one who is blessed for being here,” she says.