Rodney Esser, known as "Mr. Peanuts," greets students in the hallway at Park Elementary School in Cross Plains.
JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Mr. Peanuts, a beloved custodian for more than six decades, retired this month from Park Elementary School in Cross Plains.
Rodney Esser, better known as Mr. Peanuts from a nickname he earned as a small child, plans to return to the school as a volunteer in October.
Esser announced his retirement in January, and at the time Park Elementary Principal Brett Humphrey said, “Mr. Peanuts is the heart and soul of Park Elementary, and his retirement marks the end of an era that will leave a legacy of kindness, an infectious presence, and a level of consistency that made us all better as people and as a community. He truly is the best of us.”
Rodney "Peanuts" Esser created a program several decades ago for students who needed extra support. He hired them for the summer, teaching the students basic mechanic skills, and at the end of the summer he helped them set up a savings account.
JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Esser was known for caring for and encouraging generations of students. In 2023, he was runner-up in a national custodian contest. He was nominated by three generations of students that he had guided. In a surprise ceremony at Park Elementary to honor him, many young students ran up to hug him.
Rodney Esser, custodian at Park Elementary School in Cross Plains, is hugged by Vaughn Stopczynski in 2023 after Esser learned he was a runner-up in Cintas Corporation's 2023 Custodian of the Year contest.
STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES
“We hug a lot around here,” he told reporter Anna Hansen at the time. “They like to hug me and turn their ear up to my heart, and they say, ‘I can hear your heart beating,’ and I say, ‘It’s beating for you.
He started a program several decades ago to help kids he thought needed extra support. He would hire them for the summer to help around the school and teach them maintenance skills. At the end of the summer, he would pay them and take them to the bank to show them how to open a savings account.
Gov. Tony Evers asked him to speak at the annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at the State Capitol. And he has been featured on many news programs for his kindness and generosity.
Rodney "Peanuts" Esser created a program several decades ago for students who needed extra support. He hired them for the summer, teaching the students basic mechanic skills, and at the end of the summer he helped them set up a savings account.
Rodney Esser, custodian at Park Elementary School in Cross Plains, is hugged by Vaughn Stopczynski in 2023 after Esser learned he was a runner-up in Cintas Corporation's 2023 Custodian of the Year contest.
