For more than three decades, one of the first people to greet the new primary one intakes at Comrie was lollipop lady Moira Duguid.
She would turn up in her uniform, complete with lollipop to introduce herself and offer road safety advice.
In turn, the children would often draw pictures of Moira and sharee stories of their experiences of going to school for the first time.
Moira, has died aged 81, and scores of former pupils have paid tribute to the lollipop lady who was “loved” by generations of pupils.
Dedication
She carried out her duties for 35 years and rarely took time off during term times because she did not want the busy crossing left unattended.
Moira only retired five years ago, two years after a fall, which shattered her shoulder and meant she was unable to lift her pole.
Her crossing point, the main road through Comrie, is busy with cars, lorries and motorhomes, complicated by parked vehicles obscuring sight lines.
Her son, Ross, said: “She didn’t always have a clear view of the traffic coming into the village and as it was a straight road and drivers did not always take kindly to be stopped.”
Daughter, Lynne, added: “There was more than one occasion where she would be in the middle of the road with her back to approaching cars and would hear them revving their engines and she could literally sit on the bonnet they would come that close to her.”
Early years
Moira was born in Dundee in 1941 to James (Jim) Middleton, who worked in the Caledon shipyard and his wife Annie. She had two siblings, Stewart and Sheila.
She undertook her secondary education at Rockwell High School and when she left aged 16 she began training as a seamstress at the Draffens department store in the city.
Moira met her future husband, Grant, at the dancing in Dundee and as a young couple they enjoyed skating at the old ice rink off Kingsway.
After Moira and Grant married on September 18 1965 at St Mary’s Church, they went on to have two of a family, Ross and Lynne.
Grant was a service engineer with Philips Electron Microscopes and the family moved first to Kirriemuir and then Comrie while the children were still young.
It was then Moira began as a stand-in lollipop lady in the village before taking on the post permanently after a year.
Loss
Grant and Moira were inseparable, so his death in 2000 was a terrible blow but her work kept her engaged with the community.
Lynne said: “She did her job for 35 years and she must’ve seen at least two generations of children across the main road.
“The job meant the world to her, she adored it, loved seeing the kids grow through the school, telling them to get off their bikes before crossing but also looking after them at the corner, should their parents need to nip to get something from the shop or listening to their stories about their day.”
Ross said: “At Christmas and summer, she would often get lots of presents and handmade cards which brightened the house and made her feel very appreciated.”
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