A sign of spring in the western suburbs and at a Geneva elementary school, duck season means something different.<\/p>\n
The school has a beloved tradition thanks to a custodian who makes it happen.<\/p>\n
At a Geneva elementary school, duck season means something different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Webbed feet fit right in at Western Avenue Elementary in Geneva.<\/p>\n
“Everywhere you go, you will see a duck. Either a rubber ducky, a picture of a duck,” said Principal Casey O’Connell.<\/p>\n
In the mood for a song about a duck? You’re in luck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The duck is overarching here in this building,” O’Connell said.<\/p>\n
He may be the boss around the school, but of all Western Avenue ducks, head custodian Martin Ochoa, known as “Papa Duck,” earns top billing.<\/p>\n
“The whole school I take care of, you know,” Ochoa said.<\/p>\n
For 29 years, he has kept the school squeaky clean, but every spring, he spends his days on duck duty.<\/p>\n
Any kindergartener there can tell you ducks have always nested in the elementary school courtyard, and every year, after chicks hatch, Ochoa gives them a hand, so they can start their journey to a new home.<\/p>\n
“As soon as we see they’re hatched, in two or three days, gotta go,” Ochoa said jokingly<\/p>\n
It’s usually an early morning before the bell rings. Ochao makes sure he has all his ducks in a row before leading the mallards through an open door to a mostly empty school\u2014a short waddle across a hallway and out the front door.<\/p>\n
Ducks don’t always follow directions, but Martin does his best to corral them safely across Western Avenue, where just beyond the trees is duck paradise.<\/p>\n
“We have a golf course and a pond, so they go there. We say, keep safe,” he said.<\/p>\n
Ducks have celebrity status at the school, but so does Ochoa.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think he knows the extent of it, but he is loved in this community,” O’Connell said.<\/p>\n
“I love it. It’s something I love,” Ochoa said.<\/p>\n
How many more years does he plan to do it?<\/p>\n
“My plan, I think, is one more year,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Who’s going to be here to take care of those ducks?” O’Connell said. “He’s going to retire soon, and I don’t know what that’s going to mean for Western Avenue, and I hope he still comes back because this is a part of who he is and who Western Avenue School is.”<\/p>\n
Ochoa may give up this job someday, but never his duty as Papa Duck.<\/p>\n
“I did my job where I feel good, you know. It’s what I think, you know. I feel good,” he said\/<\/p>\n