Walking alone to and from school can be daunting for a kid. Cars speed to get to their destinations on time, and kids race down the sidewalk on bicycles. But amid all of the chaos is a guiding light in a neon vest, holding up a stop sign.
Maureen Brdlik, known as “Mrs. B,” has been a crossing guard for over 32 years on the corner of Prairie Avenue and Oakwood Avenue. Along with stopping traffic to make sure pedestrians have a chance to cross the street, she tries to greet anyone who crosses her path with a “have a nice day” or a wave. Even in more extreme weather conditions, she still comes to the corner to say “hi” to people from inside her car.
“I’m pretty much there every day,” Brdlik said. “If I can make it, I want to be there.”
Brdlik began her job as a crossing guard in May 1993, after her kids moved out and her husband retired. However, her journey started long before that. She was part of a crossing guard program in grade school, and that experience propelled her to become a crossing guard after seeing an ad in the newspaper as an adult.
“It was always something I liked,” Brdlik said. “That’s where it started.”
Every school day, Brdlik gets to her corner at 7:45 a.m. and stays until 8:25 a.m., helping kids on their way to school. In the afternoon, she comes back at 2:45 p.m. and stays until 3:25 p.m. as students come home from school.
“I’m just doing the same thing every day that I love to do,” Brdlik said.
During her time being a crossing guard, Brdlik has formed many friendships with people throughout the community. Downers Grove resident Bryan Sutherland has known her for almost 10 years from walking with his daughter to school.
“Being a parent, you’re always concerned about how your child is going to grow up,” Sutherland said. “But then you have positive influences like Mrs. B who put a smile on their face before they even get to school.”
Before the Village of Downers Grove installed a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Prairie Avenue and Oakwood Avenue, Brdlik would walk into traffic with her stop sign so that kids could cross the street.
“One of the reasons I started waving at people and saying good morning is because it lets them know that I’m there,” Brdlik said.
To Brdlik, being a crossing guard is more than holding a stop sign. It’s a means to connect with her fellow members of the Downers Grove community. She becomes an important figure to the kids and families she sees every day through her kind greetings and gifts.
“The kids are the main reason why I’m there,” Brdlik said. “Even the ones coming in cars. I love to see that you’re in a car and you’ll still wave or say ‘good morning.’”
On certain days of the week, usually Tuesdays or Fridays, Brdlik gives out candy. During the holiday season, she gives out ornaments and pens, and at the beginning of the school year, she gives out pencils.
“We’ve been really, truly lucky to have someone like that take care of our kids in this part of the neighborhood,” Sutherland said. “Mrs. B is such a beautiful highlight of the community.”
Brdlik’s impact on the Downers Grove community reveals how small positive interactions such as being waved to or smiled at can make a big difference in a person’s daily life. Brdlik has become someone that people throughout the community look forward to seeing every morning or afternoon.
“You could wake up late for school and be in a rush, but then she says good morning or gives you a piece of candy and says ‘have a great day at school,’ and it’s such a great feeling,” Herrick eighth grader Anya Sutherland said. “You kind of forget about how you feel in the moment, and think all about how good things can happen.”
