Oak Forest's 'Favorite Crossing Guard' Loves Bringing Smiles To Others

OAK FOREST, IL — Bob Carpentier has always believed that a little kindness can go a long way in making someone’s day, which has become a golden rule that has served him well in his first post-retirement endeavor.

Carpentier, who returned to Oak Forest in 2014 after growing up there and then raising his kids in Orland Park, always knew that once he stepped away from his career of working as an operations manager for Sharp Electronics that he wanted to give back to the community in some meaningful way.

But never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that greeting young children on their way to and from school each morning could bring him so much happiness. For the past 15 months, the 64-year-old father of four and grandfather of five, has worked as a crossing guard at Fierke Education Center, where his daily presence has made him a community celebrity.

Rain or shine, frigid or humid, Carpentier mans his station at the intersection of Victoria and Ridgeland, where twice a day, he does whatever he can to bring some joy to Fierke students. No matter the weather, the daily interactions that Carpentier has with students and their parents has created a bit of a mutual admiration society.

“I have a great relationship with the kids — I just love them,” Carpentier told Patch on Friday. “They just make my day ... Once I leave in the morning, I’m all energized, and by the time I go back and see them at 3:30, I’m all jacked up again.”

“I love kids and they love me. It was a perfect fit.”

Carpentier is one of three crossing guards at Fierke that all receive minimal pay from the city of Oak Forest. After starting on the least trafficked corner at 157th and Ridgeland in the fall of 2021, Carpentier has since been promoted to the more popular location of Victoria and Ridgeland where he is able to see “his kids” come and go every day.

His “workday” will begin shortly after 8 a.m. when he reports to his corner for duty armed with the crossing guard’s vest and stop sign provided to him by the Oak Forest Police Department. He first interacts with teachers as they make their way to Fierke before the kids start passing through either on foot or passing by in vehicles with their parents.

Carpentier is always sure to make eye contact with each child, allowing them to know that in that second, he is thinking of them. Carpentier says that he was inspired to work with kids after seeing the impact that his daughter — he works as a speech pathologist at Kruse Education Center in Orland Park — has had on her own students. He heard the stories she would tell, which led him to the realization that when it came time to find a new way to build some structure into his day, the crossing guard assignment may just be what he had been looking for.

It's been all that and more, he says.

When a student waves at Carpentier at his station, Carpentier says he can tell it’s coming from the heart. In return, he makes sure to wave back with as much enthusiasm, making sure students know he is excited to see them. He wants each student that they matter and that his gestures just aren’t a flippant hello, but instead a genuine sign that he is excited to see them.

“I give it back 10-fold with these kids,” Carpentier said, adding, “I love all — I call them my kids and I love all the kids ­— the ones who don’t smile. If they’re grumpy in the morning, I just want to be there to help put a smile on their face to help start their day off the right way.”

In return, Carpentier says he feels the warmth of generosity of families, many whom often bring him coffee or hot chocolate and shower him with kindness on special occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Earlier this week, Carpentier received a collection of hand-made cards and crafts along with chocolates and other Valentine’s Day treats. The sweet gestures were unexpected, but serve as a reminder of the special connection with the school’s students.

He knows while others may not see a great value in what he does, he takes his responsibilities seriously. He looks at the role as someone who can be a presence who won’t allow anything to happen at his corner while he’s on the job.

“I like kids to have some peace of mind just knowing I’m there,” Carpentier said.

Fierke Principal Damien Aherne says he hasn’t gotten to know Carpentier all that well yet, but based on the reports he receives from students and parents alike, he knows the district has someone that is always looking out for the kids’ safety and best interests. The job requirements aren’t overly complicated, but do, Aherne says, require crossing guards to be friendly and happy and have an upbeat personality.

Carpentier certainly does all that and more evidenced by the fact that strangers who have no children even call Carpentier their “favorite crossing guard” just because of the friendliness he puts on display each day.

“He’s always polite, always willing to help,” Aherne said this week of Carpentier. “What I keep hearing from the parents is that he’s extremely friendly with the kids — they love to see him — he’s always waving at them and for a lot of these kids, it’s a highlighted moment of their day.”

They’re not alone in their feelings.

While the job doesn’t pay much, Carpentier says financial incentives are not why he’s there. He’s not in need of money thanks to the years with Sharp Electronics he put in before he retired four years ago. Instead, the job is about the joy it brings and comes through in the way he goes about his daily duties.

Word of his work at Fierke has gotten around and he says he has been approached by schools to work as a crossing guard elsewhere. But for now, Fierke is home for Carpentier, who says he only misses when he needs to take his wife to a doctor’s appointment. With the fact Fierke students only attend the school through the fifth grade, Carpentier says that he doesn’t look forward to kids graduating after spending more than the past year getting to know students and their families.

On occasion, he ventures inside the school, where he jokes he learns that many of the students he sees in their parents vehicles "actually have legs" rather than just the smiling faces he sees as the students pass. But as the students come and go — no matter how he sees them —Carpentier wishes them all a good day or a good evening, always looking forward to their next encounter.

“I hope I see them the next day,” Carpentier told Patch of the daily interactions. “God willing, I’ll be here the next day and they’ll look for me. The windows come down and (the kids) are ready to smile and they’re all excited and I just love it.”

“It puts a smile on my face every time I go there. … I feel the love from everybody.”