Clark Rumiser has crossed hundreds of folks over the years.
A fact that he’s quite proud of. And to hear those he’s crossed tell about it, they’re all the better and safer for it.
Incredibly Clark — as he prefers to be called— has been on the crossing guard job for 41 years and counting.
On Monday, Hudson students — past and present — helped mark his 83rd birthday in grand style. They had cupcakes, balloons, a giant card, birthday serenades, happy honks of car horns and smiles galore.
Hudson resident Sunny Roop — whose daughter was crossed by Clark and whose grandchildren still are — organized the festivities.
“He’s going through a tough time and we just wanted to show him how much he means to all of us,” Roop said referring to the Aug. 20 death of Opal, his wife of 58 years.
She used to wait in the truck for him as he crossed the children — some on foot and others on their bikes.
Now, a beautiful photo of her is affixed to his dashboard.
“When we learned he might not be returning to his post, there was almost an uprising by parents and students alike,” Roop declared.
The Korean Army veteran is so well liked by the students and their parents that several parents attended his wife’s funeral.
Clark, who wears a neon vest and comfortable shoes, stands guard at Hayden and Victoria parkways with a scanner on his belt and a stop sign in his hand. He crosses children from three elementary schools: Evamere, East Woods and McDowell.
One of the reasons for his likability is that he’s mastered the fine and important art of being able to call each child by name.
The secret, he shared, is putting their names on the back of the stop sign until he learns them.
This connection is much appreciated on their faces as he greets each of them by name.
“The best thing about my job are the children,” he insisted. “I learn something new each day. They keep me young.
“And their parents are the greatest too.”
He said parent Lisa Strawbridge took him to breakfast to celebrate his birthday. He crosses her 9-year-old son Peter and used to cross her 12-year-old daughter Bryn.
“The best thing about Clark,” Strawbridge said, “is that he smiles in the morning. ... We talk every day.”
Clark — who received from Roop a peach pie, cupcakes and a bag of candy — is known for passing out Clark bars on the first and last day of school and at Halloween.
Clark also received gift certificates to Subway and to Eat-n-Park, where undoubtedly this creature of habit will order his favorite: liver and onions.
When he’s not crossing the children, Clark busies himself mowing his three acres, painting, flying his model airplanes and just otherwise keeping busy with his family — son Clark “Chip” Rumiser Jr., daughter Wanda Hileman and two grandchildren.
Mary Abel — who was jogging by with her two dogs, Nieka, a German shepherd, and Jillimac, a Stafford terrier mix — stopped to greet Clark during his end-of-the-school-day stand.
Abel said she has come to know Clark through her three children: fourth-grader Emily, sixth-grader Kevin and seventh-grader Claire.
“He’s such a great person!” Abel said, teasing the honoree about his famous “cookie duster” mustache. “He’s a major fixture here in Hudson. ... Hudson did a coffee-table book a few years ago, and Clark is in it, walking the children.”
He even knows the page: “Seventy-five,”he announced as a smile took over his face.
“Even my Girl Scout troops knew who he was and loved seeing him,” Abel said.
The first part of Clark’s crossing guard career was spent at North Hayden and state Route 303. That totaled about 15 years.
Before that, the resident of Portage County’s Franklin Township was a custodian for Hudson City Schools. “I had worked at General Motors and Terex and I kept getting laid off. Then I went to Lordstown and kept getting laid off there too.” This led him to work for Hudson schools. “So, when the custodian’s job opened up, I said, ‘I’ll take it!’ ”
Clearly, it’s been a good fit for Clark and the community.
Plans for retirement, as long as his health holds, aren’t likely to be addressed any time soon, Clark said. “Maybe when I’m 90 I’ll think about it,” he laughed as he dashed across the street to escort yet another young charge to safety.
Here’s to you, Clark Rumiser, for the smiles you’ve given and the positive impact you have on the lives of children.
Long may you stand, dash and protect.
Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.