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04/12/2017 08:30 AMWith a smile, a handshake or a fist-bump for everyone he meets, Rob Krebs is a “gem” of the North Branford Public Schools (NBPS) community, says Superintendent of Schools Scott Schoonmaker.
“Rob has the unique ability to find the good in everyone and make a connection with everyone that he meets. He is absolutely adored by our students, our staff, and our administration,” says Schoonmaker. “He greets everyone he meets with a handshake or a fist-bump and knows everyone and every student by name. He can’t go into the community without being recognized.”
Soon to enter his 15th year as a custodian with NBPS, the North Branford resident is still enjoying every minute of his role at North Branford High School (NBHS), where he primarily maintains the facility’s sports wing afternoons and into the night.
“I love my job, I really do,” says Rob, “The people I work with are great. I’m in the sports area of the building, so I know all the kids, and they know me. Whatever they need, or the coaches need to prepare for a game, I’m there and I’m happy to do it for them. Same for the kids on the other side of the building, in the academic wing. I know them, and they know me, too!”
Doing his work while also supporting the kids in the building, whether it’s opening the gym for a game of pickup basketball or helping retrieve items left behind, is a quality Rob remembers seeing in adults who helped him out as a youth. The Branford native (Branford High School Class of ’76) still recalls being supported by a couple of custodians who went above and beyond.
“When I was a kid in high school, we used to go to the Armory in Branford and the janitor would let us in to play basketball, and I never forgot that,” says Rob, who does the same for NBHS students sometimes. “I’d rather have them come here and play basketball rather than fooling around and getting in trouble.”
He also remembers enjoying being able to assist Frank Lepre, who was a BHS janitor when Rob was a BHS student.
“I used to help him lime the football field,” says Rob. “I worked at the old Collins and Freeman, the hardware store in the Branford center, and I would help load his truck with lime. And he’d say, ‘Hey, would you give me a hand tomorrow?’ Usually it was on a Friday, before a game—sometimes I’d skip class to help him out! And I got in trouble one time, too—the French teacher knew I was out there doing it. It didn’t go over too well!”
Rob worked at the Stony Creek Quarry when he got out of high school, followed by years as a longshoreman in New Haven. When that work began to slow down, Rob began covering shifts for NBPS. When the job offer came up to work for the district full time, Rob was delighted to take it.
One of the reasons Rob also loves his job is the commute. Rob and his wife, Debbie, live up the street from NBHS, in a house they bought 30 years ago.
Living in an agricultural community like North Branford, it may come as no surprise that, several years ago, Rob added beekeeping to his résumé after inheriting a hive. At one time he had up to five hives, generating some 40 pounds of honey per hive in a good year. In recent years, Rob’s hives have hit some bumps, including being attacked by a black bear that knocked over the hive, taking the honey. Last year, Rob lost a hive’s worth of bees—some 60,000 to 70,000—to mites. But he’s on the look-out for a new swarm so he can start over this year, he says. Most bees swarm beginning in May.
“They leave the hive with the old queen and half the hive,” says Rob. “You’ve probably seen them swarm—it’s like a football, hanging on a branch or anything suitable. Then they send out scouts to find a permanent home. So while they’re in that state, and I’ve done it many times, you snip the branch and have the swarm box right underneath, give it a good shake, and they all fall in. And if you’ve got the queen, they just can’t wait to get in there. It’s amazing. You give them a home, and give it a little bit of management, and they take it from there.”
Rob says another way to start a hive is to simply buy about three pounds of bees with a queen and install them in a hive, but finding a swarm is a bit more exciting. When he’s working with the bees, Rob suits up with a veil and other bee-keeping gear to stay safe.
“If you stand to the left or right of the hive, they won’t even notice you,” says Rob. “But if you stand in front of it, you’re in their way. I’ve been stung plenty of times!”
He’s also watched his bees “dance” to communicate pollen finds and take note of their take-off point so they can return easily. Because of his home’s proximity to Augur’s field (think sunflowers), Rob’s certain many of his bees have made a beeline for the site. In another side benefit to living nearby the farm, years ago, local farmer Larry Augur was kind enough to hire Rob’s son, as a 5th-grader, to help in the fields.
“My son’s 39 now and he works nights [elsewhere], but he still works days at the farm,” says Rob.
The Kreb’s son and daughter, both NBHS alumni, are now raising children of their own. Their daughter lives out of state, but their son and his wife still live in North Branford with a 4th grader and another child about to start kindergarten.
“I think I’ll stick around at least until my grandkids graduate. This is something I feel good about doing,” says Rob, who is grandpa to three, including his daughter’s child.
Another reason Rob loves his job is that it keeps him in shape. He figures he walks around the facility to the tune of about 10 miles a day to complete his work NBHS. Among the many tasks Rob and his fellow custodians undertake to keep NBHS in great shape is an insistence on gleaming hardwood and clean floors.
“When you walk into the high school, you should see shiny floors and the carpets are vacuumed—everything should look right. That’s a sign of good, clean building,” says Rob.
As for leaving his mark as a custodian who might be remembered by the students he supports, Rob says that’s a fringe benefit.
“It’s nice that people remember you. It’s good to see someone that graduated 10, 12, 13 years ago that remembers me,” says Rob. “I remember when I got along with those guys, and now I’m the guy!”