Mr. Freddie Smith

Even as a kid, Mr. Freddie Smith had a knack for building and fixing things. His dad would throw away the instructions and build toys freehand. Now Mr. Smith is an outstanding maintenance worker at the Francis W. Parker School. From cleaning units on the roof to tidying up the field, Mr. Smith does it all for the Parker community and is loved by all.

Mr. Smith is a lifelong Chicagoan, and he attended Manley high school in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. He once wanted to be a Greyhound driver or a baseball player because of his will to travel and his desire to get out and experience the world. He was fond of travel as a kid, but was afraid of planes and wanted to travel on the ground. He told us that growing up, his parents were his role models; they raised him well and taught him how to do things right.

From a young age, Mr. Smith enjoyed building and tinkering with things. It is clear from talking to him that he has a great feel for it. When he was a kid, every time he received a buildable toy, his father would throw out the instructions and build it on his own. Mr. Smith used to make hot rods out of spare parts like shopping cart wheels and race them with friends. He also loves baseball, and says he could talk about it forever. Mr. Smith used to have an extensive baseball card collection he was very proud of, but sadly, it was lost in a fire.

Mr. Smith enjoys the beautiful atmosphere of Lincoln Park. He is very happy all the kids and families can go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and the conservatory. He thinks there are so many beautiful parks in the area. He likes the children and parents at Parker and loves interacting with all of the kids. Mr. Smith is a big reason Parker adds to that beautiful atmosphere: he is in charge of maintaining the grounds outside the school, and you will often see him on the field or in the courtyard cutting the grass, landscaping, leaf-blowing, up on a ladder maintaining the building's exterior, and generally making sure the outside space at Parker is beautiful and safe, no matter the weather or season. Safety is a big priority, he said, as is making sure that there's no debris or anything around to endanger the students. He also does a lot of routine maintenance checks on things like the boilers, heating and cooling, and other things to make sure everything is in proper working order.

It is very easy for Mr. Smith to work with the other faculty members. He likes the whole area and how sociable everyone is; everyone says, “hello" and "goodbye." He is close to Mr. Farmer, another maintenance mechanic--they work together, live close by, went to the same school, and brainstorm with each other to figure out how to solve problems. When pressed to suggest something students can do to make his job easier, Mr. Smith said they can be more mindful of picking up their trash from the field, though he answered very compassionately, saying he remembers what it's like to be a kid and he knows how kids are. It was clear from talking to Mr. Smith that he loves kids and is very kind and caring towards them. “Student safety is our number one priority," he said, "making sure the students and faculty have a safe place to be.”

A friend who suggested that Mr. Smith apply for a job at Parker in the '80s. Mr. Smith realized that there are two Parker schools, the south side Parker and the north side Parker. He did not know which Parker he should try to work at, so he took the chance of going to the Parker on the north side. On his first day of working at our school, in January of 1982, a high schooler sat down and talked with Mr. Smith. That is how Mr. Smith knew he had made the right decision to work here. His previous job was delivering nutritious food to elderly and homebound people. He started working in the kitchen at Parker, dispensing snacks for students, setting up the condiments, and so on, before transferring to the maintenance department. He has now been working at Parker for 35 years! The funniest story he has from working here is that once, he had to get a cat out of a tree. It was really hard to get to the cat, but once he finally did, the cat jumped onto Mr. Smith, dug its claws into him, and wouldn't let go! Mr. Smith had to climb down the tree with the cat basically stuck to him.

Even though Mr. Smith is an outstanding worker with bright, creative, and well thought out ideas on how he should do his job, he finds that daily cleaning and checking that everything is in working condition is something that is difficult to do on a daily basis. He also finds that making sure the boilers are working is quite a challenge considering the other things that are dependent on him.

Mr. Smith is a hard worker and smart person who has the intangibles that inspire kids to look up to him. When asked what would make his work easier, Mr. Smith said it would help if kids could clean up after themselves everywhere they go. Mr. Smith is a very nice man and showed lots of enthusiasm during the whole interview process.

Fun facts: Although he likes to be as productive as he can in his free time, he occasionally visits his mom in Mississippi. Mr. Smith really liked the old grass field at Parker. He loved the smell of the grass, but he understood why the school had to put in turf because of monetary considerations.