The outpouring of love for Lollipop Ann, who united a town with her smile
21.10.2023 - 06:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
She didn't regard it as a job. To her it was a labour of love which she did until the age of 83.
But when Ann Sharp had a fall and had to give up her high-vis jacket and pole, news spread quickly in her village. During 35 years of service she had helped up to three generations of families safely across the road.
The injury meant she did not have the chance to say goodbye. So her community sprung a surprise to give "Lollipop Ann" the thank you she deserved.
She thought she was having just coffee and cake with a friend at a restaurant at Unsworth Pole, Whitefield. But when she left, her tears came as she saw 150 locals lined up outside to give her a guard of honour.
They clapped her to the cenotaph where she sat on a bench dazed by the reception. She is loved not only by local school children, but their parents - and even their grandparents - who she once helped across the same busy junction.
The headmaster and head boy and head girl from Unsworth Academy paid tribute, as did friends and locals. The local pub, The Bay Horse, laid on refreshments.
The respect she had earned inspired community spirit at its best. A social media post by Ann's daughter, Sarah Williams, announcing her retirement, prompted hundreds of comments and more than a thousand likes.
Helen Coverdale, who has a bedding business at Unsworth Pole, said: "A friend at Bury council told me she had retired, but we were not letting Ann go without a bit of recognition, even though she doesn't like fuss."
Helen and others organised a proper send off - just 20 yards from where Ann stood in wind, rain, sleet, and sunshine, always with a smile.
Helen added: "I have known of Ann since I was a teenager, even though I didn’t go to the local school she crosses at.