Safety is her style

Before enrolling her three daughters into the Newport-Mesa Unified School District several years ago, Kristi Frisby wanted to know more about the schools near her Costa Mesa home.

But the first thing she heard about from fellow parents was local crossing guard Celine Allen, who celebrated her 20th year serving Newport-Mesa students on Tuesday. Children, parents and teachers from Woodland Elementary School and Kaiser Elementary School showered her with flowers and treats on their way to and from school to mark the occasion.

Along with Lorie Bullard, Frisby woke up extra early Tuesday to decorate Allen’s post at the corner of Garden Lane and East 21st Street with banners, including one that read: “In Celine We Trust.” As mothers, they wanted to show their appreciation to Allen for keeping their children safe over the years.

“She is someone you can tell loves the children and wouldn’t let anything happen to them,” said Bullard, who has a son at Kaiser and two daughters at Woodland. “There’s no one else like her.”

Looking for a way to generate extra income for her family, Allen began her career as a crossing guard in 1987 after spending years as a “stay-at-home mom” to her children Brian and Denise, now in their 20s.

“I always loved children, and I wanted to be working outside,” said Allen, 57, who tried being a nun for about a month in 1974, but gave it up when she met her husband. “This seemed like the perfect part-time job.”

Beginning each morning with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast, Allen never shows up to work without her 18-inch stop sign, piercing orange whistle and a special wide-brimmed hat to protect her from the sun, following a battle with skin cancer.

Over the years, Allen’s only occupational challenge has been adverse weather conditions, and she copes by sporting a rainbow-colored umbrella hat and yellow, knee-high boots on rainy days.

Certainly, there is the occasional “bad driver,” but parents said the crossing guard has no problem letting drivers know if they have made a mistake.

“She can give them a good look, and she’ll hold her stop sign up extra high,” Costa Mesa resident Karel O’Shea said. “She has her own style.”

Part of Allen’s “style” is that she does not let anyone, child or adult, enter the crosswalk until she has already crossed halfway herself to ensure it is safe, reminding each of them to “please look both ways before crossing.”

When school let out Tuesday afternoon, the pockets of Allen’s neon yellow safety vest were filled with greeting cards and a cookie, gifts from the children she helped cross East 21st Street, and parents driving by halted to extend their congratulations.

“She’s always helping everybody that’s crossing the street,” said Madison Morris, 10, who brought Allen a flower before returning home. “She is so nice, and she tells everyone to have a great day.”

A second-grade teacher at Woodland, Carly Larson stopped by to thank Allen just before she packed up for the day.

“She’s the best and she makes people behave,” Larson said. “They can’t put a toe out in the street before Celine says so.”