Day 4457: A Tribute & A Shoebox.

         

"Soldier": junk collage, digital drawing.

  

Want music?

    

Click: Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

  

 

 

2GN2S

Missouri elementary school renamed after beloved custodian

The Swedeborg District III Elementary School building has been renamed after its longtime custodian, Claudene Wilson, back row center, who retired in July

“I’m not here to say I’m a hero. I’m not. It’s an honor to work here. I just do it for the kids,” Wilson said. Wilson shies away from recognition, but teachers, students and community members want to acknowledge her for her work.

The school board, led by its president, Chuck Boren, voted unanimously this summer to rename the building after her. Boren was in the eighth grade when Wilson started at the school in 1992. Now, his 14-year-old son, Canaan, is a student there and gets the same lessons Wilson gave him decades ago. “It’s not just that the school was part of Claudene, but Claudene is part of the school,” Boren said. “They go hand in hand with the community, as close-knit as we are. I couldn’t think of a better tribute to her.”

Claudene Wilson driving the school bus.

A single county road runs through the entire unincorporated community of Swedeborg, which is over 100 miles away from Kansas City. The small community in northwestern Pulaski County is dotted with a few restaurants, a couple of churches and a single gas station.

And just like that one gas station, Wilson is a staple there. Mark Sasfy, the school’s assistant administrator, said everyone in town has their own fond memories of Wilson.

“If you go out in the community and say you’re from Swedeborg, if they know anything about Swedeborg, the first thing they’re going to say is, ‘Is Claudene still there?’” Sasfy said.

“It’s awesome that someone that’s been here, spent their whole life, for 30 years working at one place and having all those connections mean something,” Miller said. Even though she officially retired as the school’s custodian in July, Wilson wasn’t gone for long. When the school needed a bus driver, she stepped up.

Wilson is “the heart and soul of this community,” Parrish said, and will do anything to help someone in need. Wilson said she doesn’t want the kids to be like her, she wants them to be even better. “I don’t want them to be like me. I want them to be nice, kind, and think of others. Don’t argue, don’t fuss, don’t divide. Just (be) nice, humble, smile and move on,” she said.

A Shoe Box

 

  

 

A 5+ minute video, Overcomer, here

 

 

 

  

 

Just because ...

Sandhill Crane

  

 

Friday's Smiles ...