HALLAM, Pa. — Over the faint trickle of water at Clayton Eli Emig Park in Hallam, York County is a new bridge many might see as just that, a bridge. Not Tina Sminkey.
Her mother, Linda Stillinger, helped kids get to Kreutz Creek Elementary for 26 years.
"She absolutely lived for the job," Sminkey said. "She lived for this community and lived for these kids and, and just wanted everybody to be safe and happy."
Linda was a crossing guard until being sidelined by an accident in 2020. It wasn't long after she called it a career, she crossed her own bridge.
"She finally handed in her resignation for the end of May," Sminkey said. "And then she had a stroke and passed away five days later on June 1."
Borough officials named the bridge "Linda's Crosswalk."
A half-mile walk across town, on the corner of Lee and Market streets, four crosswalks are where Linda left her lasting legacy.
"Anywhere you went practically anybody was 'Miss Linda, Miss Linda, Miss Linda," Sminkey recalled. "She was well known and well-loved not only by her children, but the parents and even people that weren't parents that traveled that route every day."
The bridge was funded by a grant. When Sminkey found out, she and her family pitched in for a bench just a stone's throw away.
"After we found that we were doing that my, dad and I purchased a memorial bench to also honor her."
On it, the few words familiar to so many.
"Miss Linda would always end a conversation with a stranger or friend by saying love you. God bless," Hallam Mayor Sue Horner said during the dedication. "Simple words but with meaning.”
Pictured on the bench are two of the kids Linda helped get to school. They're the son and granddaughter of Rhonda Smeltzer.
"They've been there with her all this time so I watched Linda for years," Smeltzer said. "I learned from the best."
Smeltzer has assumed the role of "The Crossing Guard of Hallam." She was Linda's substitute and took over following the accident.
"She was very special to these two, so it means a lot,' Smeltzer said. "It means a great deal."
Dozens packed the pavilion at Clayton Eli Emig Park in a testament to her impact in the community.
"This [bench] is her legacy living on longer than any of us," Sminkey said. "It's just an honor."