CASTLE SHANNON, Pa. — As she approaches her 90th birthday this year, Castle Shannon’s longest-serving crossing guard is weighing retirement.
“Well, I’m getting up there! But I’m not saying for sure,” said Audrey Turek, 89.
Turek has helped students safely cross from her post on Route 88 for nearly a half-century.
She started at the Grove Road intersection in 1976, and now reports for duty on Saxonwald Avenue. She spends two hours there each morning and each afternoon.
“I do love it,” she said. “I’m gonna miss the people. I love the people. I’ve made so many friends and acquaintances.”
For several years, Audrey used to walk quite a distance to her post.
“People would pick me up, give me rides, especially when I’m going through the snow and stuff!”
These days, family members drive Audrey to her beloved job. They contacted Channel 11, informing us of her service and her plans to likely retire at the end of the school year.
Castle Shannon’s Police Chief Ken Truver tells Channel 11 that she is the longest-serving crossing guard in the borough, and has barely ever taken time off.
Her stop is the busiest, he said, and he’s offered to relocate her to an intersection closer to her home.
“She has such love for the families at the intersection where she works, that she didn’t want to move,” he said. “She’s just a stalwart, and she’s been doing this for almost five decades.”
Audrey confirms she couldn’t ever leave her long-standing post: “I said no. I’ve been here, I know the people down here, I have some of the children of the children I had before!”
Audrey finds joy in getting families to smile. For years, she’d wear seasonal costumes at her stop.
“I used to dress as Santa, I used to dress like the Easter bunny,” she said. “When the Steelers went to the Superbowl, I had a cape I made! I was always doing something crazy!”
“She is very well thought of, a very sweet lady, and I’m sure the parents and children are all going to miss her when she finally retires,” Chief Truver said.
Castle Shannon is among the many municipalities that haven’t easily been able to hire crossing guards. Audrey hopes folks will consider the job.
For her, it’s been a gift.
“God has blessed me,” she told Channel 11. “I’m very excited about everything that I have had.”
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