This article originally appeared in Good Day, Berks — Spotlight PA’s free daily newsletter for Berks County and your daily dose of Berks County essentials. Sign up here.
This week's Community Spotlight honoree is Janet Weaver, a 72-year-old community safety officer for the Borough of Kutztown.
Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Good Day, Berks: Where do you live?
Weaver: Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
Tell us about your family.
My son and his two beautiful children, Dante and Guiliana, live in Bucks County. Dante is still going to school and serves his community as a junior firefighter, and Guiliana recently graduated and is working full time. I am so proud of both of them! My three brothers, John, Frank, and Steve, are all also down in Bucks, and we all enjoy a phone call now and again.
My partner and I have been together for 33 years and are looking forward to many more to come. We absolutely loved our trip to Alaska a couple of years ago and look forward to visiting more beautiful places. Her grandsons, Trevor, Ty, and Blake, are like blood to me and have grown up into kind and generous young men.
My father taught me a lot about fixing things, being self-reliant, and enjoying the fruits of that labor. I have loved camping since I was a child and still do. Riding around camp in my golf cart on my way to a good shuffleboard game sounds like a great day to me. Mostly, though, my heart is full with my grandkids, and although they grow up too fast, I hope to share my passions with them.
Tell us about your job and what you like about it.
I am a community service officer for the Borough of Kutztown. My primary responsibility is to provide safe and efficient traffic control for everyone who is coming to and from the Kutztown area schools in town. From crossing all ages of students walking to school, parents with strollers of future students, all the buses, the multitude of tractor trailers going to East Penn Manufacturing (“Deka”), and even the occasional firetruck headed to a call, no shift is ever dull.
We also support many of the community events held throughout the year by the borough and various other organizations.
I love the challenge of being there on the corner, no matter the weather or conditions, to help people safely get along with their day. The school kids, both walkers and bus riders alike, bring me joy. I try to wave to all, make them feel acknowledged, and hopefully bring a small smile to their day.
Protecting the community is a great feeling of accomplishment, and to let the kids know they can count on me to help them means everything. I truly enjoy seeing them every day.
Tell us about a challenge you faced.
Every day is a challenge in everyone’s lives. A challenge of getting up, looking your best, being the best person you can be, even on those days that seem so gloomy. I challenge myself to do my best when I stand on my corner to help all my children cross safely.
Unfortunately, many drivers are now distracted by the technology of cars/phones, and many have become discourteous to anyone else they share the road with. Often, they disregard speed limits, stop signs, or the multitude of pedestrians in our school zones because they think that wherever they may be going is more important.
I want people to realize that it’s more important for the kids and buses to safely travel through the school zones so they can get to school and home to their families than for them to save a couple of minutes on their drive! I challenge myself to do better than the day before, and challenge others to do the same.
Favorite place to eat in Berks County, and why?
Leesport Diner. They have a great salad bar with shrimp, large portions, and the staff are always friendly and keep the place clean. The food is outstanding!
Where would you take a visitor in Berks and why?
Koziar’s Christmas Village here in Berks County. However, I love taking people to MusikFest in Bethlehem, which is the largest free festival in the world.
What book, poem, song, or artwork is meaningful to you?
Songs: “I Dreamed a Dream," by Susan Boyle, and “Over the Rainbow," by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.
Poem: Serenity Prayer.
Who in your life has had a great influence on you?
The people who have been my greatest influence throughout my life were my great aunt and uncle, Edith and Harry Mousley. They did so much for me while growing up. Edith graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, becoming an English teacher in Philadelphia. She always drilled me with my schoolwork, whether it be with math flash cards or spelling. Harry owned his own business, the Atlas Bronze Corporation, a foundry on Cedar Street in Philadelphia, which continues operations even today.
Although I had my parents, my great aunt and uncle mostly raised me. They saw to it that I went to Sunday school regularly for 14 years, not missing a Sunday. I gained my love for music by playing the organ — “The Lord’s Prayer,” my favorite song. They treated me as their daughter, teaching me to be a very positive person and instilling in me that I could do anything that I put my mind to at a young age.
They took me to Disneyland when I was nine, and later on, at 20, the three of us went to Europe. Touring the cities of Amsterdam, Athens, and enjoying the beautiful country of Austria together. They showed me what it was like to be loved, and these influences I have carried with me all my life. Their passion for education, true love, and caring for others is something I have strived to share with the children in my life as well. I want all my walkers to know there is someone who truly cares — to know Crossing Guard Jan does! —Lisa Scheid, managing editor of Spotlight PA's Berks County Bureau
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