My family moved to Norwich when I was six years old, just in time for me to attend what is now the Marion Cross School — Marion Cross was my principal.

I left for college but returned often, and when my brothers and I bought the old Metcalf Farm on Dutton Hill Road, I took over the house and barns, valued in 1981 by Mary Ellen Kreider at approximately $60,000.

For a number of years, I was up from Boston to pick away at the place. Took the house down to the post-and-beam frame, rebuilt all the existing windows and saved the old glass, put the whole shebang back together so my mother could live in it for about a dozen years, and then I rented it during the school year, which was hard on my brothers next door. I spent as much of the summer in the house as I could, mostly repairing damage from the tenants.

Two years ago, I moved back with my family. In the back of my mind were words George Frazier spoke at the 2013 memorial service for Bill Osgood, a remarkable man who moved to Norwich from Boston with his equally (perhaps more) remarkable wife, Nancy Osgood. I had known Bill in Boston. George stood at the lectern of the Congregational Church and told of Bill finding him at Dan & Whit’s because he wanted talk about something. George didn’t know Bill at the time. Bill said to George, “I’m new to Norwich”, and then asked “How can I help?”

That was Bill all the way through, whether at work, on a board, or attending an event. He helped. George was a little nonplussed, but he told Bill he could join the Lions and the Congregational Church for a start, and then he added that it might be a good idea to check with the Town Clerk. Bill did all those things and is fondly remembered for his service.

“How Can I Help?”

Standing in the back of the church, those words resonated with me, and when I returned to Norwich I determined I’d set out on the same path. I went to Dan & Whit’s but George wasn’t there, so I chatted about wanting to find my place in Norwich with a nice Australian guy at the counter and he looked straight at me and said…”Crossing Guard!”

This was not what I was expecting, though I think Brendan took my measure well. I laughed, and then…became a crossing guard. It is one of the most joyous things I’ve ever done — standing in one place for 45 minutes and watching my town wake up, meeting the happiest people on earth (the children, though the parents are not far behind), and being a reliable presence for a daily ritual is wonderful. Remembering names is a work in progress.

One other thing I did was to run for a seat on the Selectboard. While not always as joyous, I wake up every day with Bill’s words in my head — “How can I help?” — and I try to let that drive my behavior as we work our way down each agenda. We are working on trust and communication while attending to the needs and desires of the Town, and I encourage anyone reading this to spend a few minutes thinking, “How can I help?” I think it makes for a better town.

~ Kimo Griggs, Selectboard Chair