Students leave crossing guard's corner with smiles on their faces

Jessica Johnson
The Post and Courier

W.H. 'Billy' Orvin Jr. mans a corner at Lazy Lane and Chuck Dawley Boulevard.

The traffic passing by Mount Pleasant's Lazy Lane is anything but lazy.

Vehicles roar past crossing guard W.H. "Billy" Orvin Jr. as he stands at the intersection with Chuck Dawley Boulevard.

At the start of the school year, Orvin, 79, a Charleston County crossing guard, moved to the corner, where he waves his hand more to passing drivers than he raises his stop sign for Whitesides Elementary School students.

"Rain or shine, I'm out here, waiting for kids," he said.

He stands at the corner for 90 minutes in the morning and 90 minutes in the afternoon in case of stragglers.

Children started out the year with long, droopy faces, but Orvin said by the fifth week, he has them smiling.

Orvin shouts to them, "Good morning!" and puts on a happy grin and waves.

"This should be a happy time for them," Orvin said.

Most don't know his name, but the ones who do call him Mr. Billy.

"I'm good blood in an old container," he said.

Once Orvin presses the signal button, the lights flash from green to red with almost no delay, and he has about 30 seconds to bring children safely across.

"The biggest problem is the language barrier," Orvin said.

Some of the students walking to Whitesides Elementary are Spanish-speaking, and the message to dismount bicycles can be hard to get across.

Orvin, a Mount Pleasant resident since 1950, retired from the insurance business 20 years ago and was looking for a way to give back to the community when he took the crossing guard job last spring.

"The biggest culprit is the cell phone," Orvin said.

He said he sees drivers talking and texting on their phones instead of watching the road.

Even dressed in a bright orange vest, Orvin said he's had to jump back out of the way as drivers zip around the corner.

Reach Jessica Johnson at 937-5921 or jjohnson@postand courier.com.