Colorado and 17th — where everybody knows his name
By BILL VOGRIN THE GAZETTE
Charlie “J.R.” Bogans uses his strong left hand to hoist a shiny red-and-white stop sign over his head as he walks into the middle of Colorado Avenue. When impatient drivers finally respond to his waving sign, Bogans summons a group of youngsters from Buena Vista Elementary School waiting on the corner at 17th Street to cross the busy intersection. “See ya in the morning,” he calls as they reach the curb on the south side of the street. “See you, J.R.,” responds a boy on a bicycle. Bogans, 55, drops his sign — it is slightly dented and worn, kind of like him, and its reflective red paint has worn away in one tell-tale spot from years of rubbing by his finger. Then he limps back to his corner to await the next group of school children. He greets each by name. It’s been Bogans’ routine, twice a day, for a dozen years. And it’s one he clearly enjoys. Just look at the big smile that crosses his face as children walk up to his corner.
“What’s up, J.R.?” a boy holding a football asks as he approaches. “How you doing, J.R.?” asks another boy. “I’m OK, fellas,” Bogans says with his ever-present smile. Passing motorists wave at Bogans, easy to spot in his bright orange safety vest with the swinging stop sign and his cane. Pedestrians holler out “Hello, J.R.” as they walk to nearby storefronts. “He’s a celebrity here,” says Brandon Day, 17, who is walking with a group of school children. “I had him from first grade to fifth. He’s the best crossing guard ever. He’s always here. He talks to you. Gets to know you. He’s really dedicated.” There was a time Bogans could never have imagined himself spending years walking children back and forth across the street. He couldn’t imagine walking at all. That was 1971. Bogans was 19 and a private in the Army. A draftee out of Houston, Bogans found himself as a crew chief on a Huey helicopter in Vietnam. Operating out of the Central Highlands area, Bogans was riding shotgun in a fiveton truck when the convoy came under attack. In the ambush, Bogans was shot in the neck. He was paralyzed on the right side and spent months in the hospital and many more in rehabilitation. “I was in a wheelchair for seven months,” Bogans said. “I remember the first time I tried to walk through the bars at the VA rehab center. My therapist had to kick my leg to move it.” Gradually, Bogans resumed walking, with the help of a brace, although still today his right leg swings stiffly, and his right hand hangs at his side with a slight twist. He eventually learned the air conditioning trade. In 1991, Bogans moved to Colorado Springs at the invitation of relatives because “I needed a change of scenery.” His life changed again dramatically when he became a born-again Christian and quit smoking and drinking. Then, in 1994, he met and married his wife, Kellie. That same year, he applied to become a crossing guard because he needed something to keep busy. “I’ve been on this corner ever since,” he said. You can see him there, standing in the wind, rain and snow, ushering a dozen or so children across Colorado Avenue for 90 minutes each morning and afternoon. But he is much more than an $8-an-hour guard. Bogans also is a lunchroom monitor at Buena Vista and a classroom volunteer. “He is even a better guy than what he seems,” said Alan Rasmussen, who worked with Bogans 10 years before he retired as principal at Buena Vista in 2005. “Everybody knows J.R., and everybody likes him. He’s a wonderful man who cares about the school, cares about the neighborhood and cares about the kids.” Bogans is so attached to Buena Vista that his own children, Faith, 8, and Matthew, 11, attend the school though the family lives outside the boundaries in the Hillside neighborhood. And don’t get the idea that Bogans dwells on his lingering war wounds or seeks sympathy. Rasmussen, for example, said Bogans never talked about his injuries or how they occurred. “I knew he was in the military, but I never knew how he got hurt,” Rasmussen said. “He could be a real angry person, but he has no resentment about his injuries. You have to be envious of that guy.” Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com
BRIENNE BOORTZ, THE GAZETTE - J.R. Bogans, 55, is a local celebrity. The crossing guard has been on the job for 12 years. “Everybody knows J.R., and everybody likes him,” said former Buena Vista principal Alan Rasmussen.
