“Thanks to you Mr. Carroll, St. Thomas The Apostle Elementary School is a safer place,” said Sr. Adrian, our principal. “Your behavior as a safety patrol boy is a model for our younger students to follow.” Like Theodore Cleaver, I imagined donning the white belt and ultimately winning the praise of our principal and admiration of my fellow students.
The reality of being a patrol boy didn’t live up to my expectations. I earned the safety belt and had many conversations with Sister Adrian.
Unfortunately they sounded more like this.
“Mr. Carroll, once again you were not at your post. I shouldn’t have to remind you that your post faces the rectory and Monsignor O’Brien could walk through that unattended door at any moment.”
I guess you could say I was easily distracted. After a few months of standing guard in the side stairwell, I had not seen much action. I could boss around a few bus kids who exited my door but I was basically hidden from view each afternoon. School dismissed through the main doors and only the best (principal’s favorite) patrol boys / girls got that assignment.
Speaking of corners, the best assignments were a block or two away from the school at busy intersections. The older kids (girls) always lingered there and you were far enough away from the nuns. Those assignments would be labeled as patronage jobs in today’s vocabulary. The principal probably selected them based on grades, maturity and their knowledge of the Catechism.
The coolest part of the safety patrol gig was the belt and badge. When rolled up, it could be used for a game of catch. Once opened, it could be snapped like a wet towel except the metal clips left a more lasting impression.
The familiar white belt’s history goes back to a British army officer named Sam Browne. Browne was serving as an officer in India in the 19th century and had trouble holding his sword in place after he lost his arm in battle. He created a second belt that held the sword in place as well as his pistol and binoculars. The idea was carried forward by officers on both sides in World War I.
The safety “patrol boys” were created by the American Automobile Association in 1920 “to direct children, not traffic and model good safety practices.” They wore an AAA safety patrol badge with the white Sam Browne belt which was later replaced with orange safety vests.
Like most volunteer assignments, the safety patrol job lost its appeal as the year wore on. The weather turned warm and watching other kids walk home with the girls was probably the distraction Sr. Adrian referred to.
I posted a comment about the safety patrol on our grammar school’s Facebook page this past week. The best response out of many came from a former patrol boy.
“I can’t believe they trusted us,” he said. “I mean, give a 12 year-old a badge and it goes to his head!”
It’s hard to argue with that.
1 comment:
I'm so glad I found this site. I was trying to explain to my son's girlfriend the fact that when I was a kid, I was a safety boy, not only at a crossing, but on a huge school bus. I would literally have to stand in the middle of the street with arms extended, (we never had flags or caps) while those who were entrusted to me crossed over. Then I was the safety boy on bus route 2 o 2 routes...every day where our house was the last on the route by design. The driver, Mrs. O was morbidly obese and smelled. But my station was at the front of the bus on my feet and I was responsible for the door and the safety of every pupil. We lost power one day on a steep upgrade and rolled backward until a tree stopped us from crossing a busy intersection backwards. The bus was almost full and there were minor injuries, but it never made the news like it certainly would today. I was in 7th grade. Today crossing guards are adults. Safety boys are a piece of history. I always proudly washed my white belt once a week with bleach and blueing. it was blinding.
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