The Cadets: Step 16

One of the things, which happen to children, as they get older is they start to take on ever increasing responsibilities. Some would contend we need to shelter children from any responsibility because somehow it diminishes childhood. At Grantosa Drive your final year you could become a “cadet” if your grades were good enough. My problems with grades didn’t come until I left Grantosa Drive and went to junior high. So, I was given the privilege, honor, and responsibility of being a cadet. Although I am foggy on the specific details of how we were trained I am certain Mr. Nelson provided us with some basic instructions and plans to follow. There were both indoor and outdoor cadets. Indoor cadets monitored doors and hallways. They made sure no one entered the building before the bell without a pass. At the end of the day they made sure everyone left the premises and all the doors were shut securely. Indoor cadets wore the prestigious metal armband. A black cross with a red outline on a white background with the words safety on top and cadet on the bottom adorned the metal plate. A leather strap with a buckle for tightening held the plate to the outside of the cadet’s arm. Outdoor cadets monitored street corners. That’s right, you read it correctly, kids made sure kids crossed the street safely. Not just crossing Grantosa, but 82^nd Street, and the busy arterial Hampton Avenue. We would turn our backs to students, face the street, put our arms out to both sides, and no one, not even an adult, would dare to pass. When the cadet saw it was safe to cross she would put her hands down and turn to let the crowd continue to the other side. Outdoor cadets not only wore the armband they put on the belt, a predecessor to the orange reflective vests of modern crossing guards. The belt was around three inches wide, made of canvas, and was strung across one shoulder and ran diagonally to the waist where it looped around your body. A metal fastener allowed the cadet to adjust the belt at both the shoulder and at the waist for proper fit. Every kid from kindergarten through fifth grade aspired to be a cadet. In spring and fall the routine was fairly consistent from day to day, but winter had its own set of challenges. Snow often piled up as high as many of the little kids coming to school. Then, you never knew when a snowplow might happen by and add to the drift at the corner where you were posted. Sub-zero days made the twenty minute stretch feel like an eternity despite wearing thermal underwear, wool socks, flannel shirt, flannel lined pants, fleece lined nylon jacket, scarf, ear muffs, and a stocking cap. Every semester the cadets elected their leaders. The captain and lieutenant patrolled the halls and the street corners making sure everyone was on time and doing their duty. In the winter, they made the hot chocolate on days when the temperature dipped below twenty. Besides the armband and belt, the lieutenant had a silver badge with black lettering and the captain had a larger silver badge with gold lettering. While Gordy wore the larger badge, one of my fondest memories is patrolling the halls of Grantosa with him and how proud I felt with my small silver badge pinned to my belt. Your comments and stories are greatly appreciated.