SEVILLE — It’s amazing how much information kids can spill in 30 seconds or less, and Seville resident Maxine Clevenger has heard it all.

“The kids tell you a lot of stuff going home,” the veteran school crossing guard said Thursday, her last day on the job. “Mommy got mad at Daddy, that kind of stuff.”

Crossing guard Maxine Clevenger, of Seville, stops traffic for one of her last groups of kids on Thursday. Clevenger has been the crossing guard at Center and Main streets in Seville for 30 years. With the closing of Cloverleaf’s three elementary schools this week, including Seville Intermediate, Thursday was her last day on the job. The new Cloverleaf Elementary School opens next week in Westfield Township. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY JENNIFER PIGNOLET)

Clevenger has worked at Center and Main streets since her husband was laid off from his job with Chevrolet in 1982.

With Cloverleaf’s three elementary schools — Lodi, Seville and Westfield — closing this week because of the opening of the new Cloverleaf Elementary School, the crossing-guard chapter of Clevenger’s life also is closing.

Clevenger called the ending “sad,” not just for her but for the students changing schools midyear and the neighborhood.

“They’re all nice kids,” she said. “They’re all special.”

In her 30 years on the job, Clevenger has helped children cross the street, including her own three kids and one granddaughter, an eighth-grader at Cloverleaf Middle School.

The kids she helped cross the street years ago have grown up and trust her with their own children on their way to and from school.

Standing on the same street corner every day, Clevenger said she has seen businesses in the area come and go and has watched traffic increase through the intersection.

“People don’t pay attention hardly because they’re on their cell phone or texting,” Clevenger said. “And you get these kids that want to run.”

She said she’s had a few close calls over the years, but fortunately none of the accidents she’s witnessed have involved children crossing the street.

For that, Police Chief Don Burson said he is grateful.

“She keeps order on that intersection during some very busy times,” Burson said.

Clevenger was employed through the Police Department not the school district.

Burson said several parents requested someone to be at that intersection because of the heavy traffic, although with the schools closing, her position is no longer needed.

“She has been such an asset because if she’s not there, one of the officers would have to go down and be at that intersection,” he said.

If any kids gave her a hard time, Burson said, she knew to come to police for help.

“You didn’t want to give Maxine a hard time,” he joked. “She had that sign in her hand. She’d come after you.”

Around the intersection, Clevenger has been known for her reliability and her interactions with the kids.

Seville Library clerk Debbie Honigman said Clevenger’s presence in the area will be missed. “It’s nice to see her with the kids,” Honigman said. “You knew our kids were safe with her out there.”

Clevenger said she does not know what is in store for her next, but she will miss seeing the kids, many of whom she knows by name and address.

Clevenger knows the bus routes by heart, and all the drivers, plus several parents, wave to her as they pass the intersection.

“You don’t get paid very much on this job, but I did it because I enjoyed it,” she said.

Contact Jennifer Pignolet at (330) 721-4063 or jpignolet@medina-gazette.com.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.