BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The secret to a good day of school at Fruitvale Junior High isn’t what you wear or bring for lunch, it’s the words you get at the start of the day from crossing guard Melvin Wandick known to students as “Mr. Melvin.”
“Good morning. Happy Monday. Are we ready to do this?” Wandick says as he waves to cars passing by.
The 72-year-old retiree has been on the corner of Calloway Drive and Holland Street for three years and said it is his newfound love.
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“It’s bringing me joy, every morning I get up in the morning and thank the Lord for letting me get up out of the bed, and I come out here and I hope I can bring a smile to everybody’s face that comes past here,” said Wandick.
And he doesn’t let a tough crowd get him down.
“You don’t expect everyone to wave at you, but you don’t let that kill your joy either because everyone doesn’t wake up having a good morning. But after you’re here for so long they start waving at you,” he said.