Oct. 1, 2007 — Marilyn Anthony, the senior school crossing guard on St. John, has been on the job since 1991 and outranks her three colleagues by many years.
"I love the job and I love the kids," she says, taking a break on her 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift.
The last week in September was School Crossing Guard Week, according to a proclamation by Gov. John deJongh Jr.
"School crossing guards are the guardians of these students as they travel to school and during their return to the safety of their parents care," said a Government House news release. "They perform a valuable community service every day of the school year in a safe, responsible and effective manner."
Anthony and her fellow school crossing guards are stationed in Cruz Bay to help Julius E. Sprauve School students get safely to and from school. The Guy Benjamin School in Coral Bay doesn't have a school crossing guard.
Anthony is a dedicated worker, says Roney George, the V.I. Police Department's St. Thomas-based supervisor of school crossing guards.
"She's my eyes and ears over there," George says.
Anthony says she doesn't find much in the way of discipline problems with the children she helps cross the street.
"I talk to them, tell them to behave and to listen to their teacher," she says.
She has seen many children grow up, but adds there are far less of them than when she first started out as a school crossing guard. The population at Sprauve School is down from around 300 when she started her job to about 100, Anthony says. Some have switched to Guy Benjamin School, while others go to the privately run Gifft Hill School.
While she enjoys the children, Anthony says she also likes meeting the parents who drop their kids off for school. The parents are always cooperative, she says.
The job does come with some challenges, including stopping traffic to get the kids across the street.
"You've got to be careful with those big Mack trucks," she says.
No one has ever tried to run her down, but when she sees motorists involved in moving violations she reports them to the police.
One of her colleagues, Cori Christian, says she has learned a lot from Anthony.
"I learned how to walk into the traffic," says Christian, who has been on the job one month.
The weather is a factor, Anthony says, and like postal carriers she's out there rain and shine.
"Sometimes it gets real humid, but when I took the job, I knew what it was all about," she says.
Anthony was born and grew up on St. John. She went to Sprauve School before attending Eudora Kean High School on St. Thomas.
She says she likes living on St. John because it's quiet, not overcrowded and not congested.
"It's quiet at night," she says.
Single with no children, she says she enjoys baking cakes.
"And going to the beach," she adds.
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