Monday, Yvonne Mixon returned to familiar territory.

A school crossing guard, she arrived at her usual spot at the intersection of Rosa A. Temple Drive and Mission 66 at 7:50 a.m. and prepared to help students headed for Vicksburg and Warren Central Junior High schools cross the intersection and get to class safely. She will return just before 4 p.m. to make sure they get headed home safely.

Her position at the intersection is the second time she’s served as a crossing guard for the city.

“Crossing guard was the first job I ever had when I was young, and I left it when I went to college,” she said. “I always said, ‘When I get old and retire, this will be my supplemental income; I will go back to being a crossing guard.’”

The influence to take the job, she said, was her grandmother, who was the first black crossing guard hired by the city.

“She asked me one day if I would like to be a crossing guard and I said ‘yes.’ My first station was on Baldwin Ferry Road and Court Street at the bottom of the hill from the schools. I was under the direction of Jimmy Brooks.”

Mixon left her job for school and later lived in New Orleans for 10 years working as a secretary and receptionist before moving home.

“When I get older and retired, I just didn’t want to sit at home. I liked it (being a crossing guard),” she said.

She said it was her first experience as a crossing guard that influenced her to return to the job when she retired.

“At that time, there was a store that sat on the corner, and people used to just stand out there. Back then, they just hung out at the store. They were already there when I got there. I liked it. I enjoyed it. It’s a job that you have to want to do, because you have to be there, rain, sleet, snow, sun. You have to be there.”

And the people are still friendly.

“I like the people’s attitudes,” Mixon said. “I have some who blow their horn at me, some who give me thank you cards, some who give me flowers. I have some who give me envelopes, and every day, someone lets their window down and says, ‘great job.’ They make me feel like I’ve got to be doing something right.

“I have a relationship with my kids. The ones who cross the street. We speak to each other every morning. When the time comes around for their grades, I ask them about their grades; how they did. At the end of the school year, we all hug in the middle of the street, and I tell them to have a good summer. I believe I have two who won’t be coming back. They told me, ‘We won’t see you next year, Ms. Mixon.’ I have about seven to nine kids, and I know each year I’ll be gaining more.”

Mixon said her job involves three priorities, and she has developed a system to meet those priorities and keep traffic moving in her area at a steady pace.

“I’m dealing with 12 lanes (at the four-way intersection of Mission 66, Rosa A. Temple and Baldwin Ferry Road),” she said. “I’ve got the biggest post, which means I have to be alert at all times. People get in a hurry and you just have to wait your turn, but everybody comes together eventually.”

Her first priority, she said, is getting the children safely across the pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection.

“My second is my bus drivers; making sure they get out on their routes on time to get the kids to their destination. They (the children) are considered to me precious cargo. Third, are the drivers — keep the traffic at a constant flow, making sure they get to work on time, and I know that makes them happy.”

Doing that involves her system, which is aimed at keeping that constant flow of traffic from one direction.

“When my buses line up, I make sure at least 15 of them are behind each other,” she said. “When I let the buses out, I let all the buses out at one time. If I let the traffic flow from the south, I let all of it out to keep a constant flow; east, west, I do the same thing. I don’t let it back up.

“It helps them, so when they get to the next red light, they can all go on. I think I have a pretty good system.”

The first day of school is usually complicated, she said, because new children are going to the junior highs and their parents have to understand the flow of the traffic from intersection.

“Once they learn the system I have, everybody gets OK with it,” she said.

If she has a problem, it’s with people who are not paying attention when they pass through the school zones, “But once they get it under control, it gets better. You have some that are in a hurry, but we have to obey all rules. Once they get it all figured out, they’re okay.”

And while the change of seasons don’t affect her, Mixon said she has a problem when it rains.

“The only thing I worry about is the rain,” she said. “People hurrying about and not paying attention. For some reason, people like to drive faster in the rain.”

And her work isn’t always limited to school.

“Between school, we work parades, we work races, they keep us a little busy.”

During parades and races, Mixon said, the guards stand by barricades at intersections to prevent people from trying to drive around the barriers.

“You meet a lot of people downtown, which is fun. The people just walk up to you and start talking to you. That’s what we do, we just talk.

“I really need to compliment my boss, (Lt.) Leonce Young and Chief (Walter) Armstrong and (Deputy Chief Johnnie) Edwards,” she said. “I have to thank them.”

Mixon served as a crossing guard for three years at her first position and is in her second year this term. She’s now sure how long she will continue. “All I can say is ‘until,’” she said.