Wendy Burton
Phoenix Staff Writer
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He smiles broadly, waves vigorously, holds open doors for customers with hands full of bags and picks trash up off the floor, whether it’s his or not.
His name is Verlin Crigger, and he is a familiar face around Muskogee for many.
“I don’t want to say you’re a social butterfly, but maybe a social bumblebee works for you Verlin — Mr. Popularity,” said Twyala Wilkey, one of Crigger’s job coaches at Golden Rule Industries.
Crigger, who communicates most comfortably using pantomime, raised his hands in the air, rolled his eyes at the ceiling and grinned.
“Yeah, yeah,” Crigger said, shrugging and smiling.
Crigger, 42, has lived in Muskogee all of his life.
He works at Dollar General and Golden Rule Industries, and loves walking the mall.
He rides his bicycle around town, always wearing a helmet for safety.
Crigger’s also been known to ask people for autographs.
At the mall, Crigger can be found strolling around, talking with store clerks and cashiers and asking them to sign his Styrofoam cup.
It’s his favorite hobby, he indicated by raising his arms in the air, smiling and saying, “yeah.”
He shows off his bowling scores and sometimes even phones the cookie place to “chat” with the employees.
“Verlin is such a sweetheart. Very few people in Muskogee wouldn’t know him,” said Ann Jones from the Great American Cookie Company. “He worked forever at Furrs and was sort of at a loss for a while after it closed.”
Crigger bowls with the Special Olympics and practices weekly.
He indicated his love for bowling by laughing, pantomiming throwing a ball down the lane, and clapping his hands together.
He gave two thumbs up when asked if bowling for the Special Olympics is especially important to him.
At Dollar General, Crigger sweeps and mops and cleans bathrooms.
He’s proud of his work, said another of his job coaches, Judy Mayo. She and Wilkey work with Crigger at Golden Rule Industries several days a week.
As he walks down the aisles, he always stops to say hi and wave at customers at both Dollar General and Golden Rule.
“He works very well. He is a hard worker,” Mayo said. “He is very proud of the work he does and Twyala and I are very proud of him.”
‘Sweetheart’ of the mall
Verlin Crigger loves going to the mall — and collecting sales clerks’ autographs.
Brittany Nguyen, 20, sales associate at The Buckle, has known him for about two years, she said.
“Verlin is a super-sweet guy. He always shows us his bowling scores. He’s pretty proud of that,” she said. “When he comes in, we know exactly what to do, sign his cup and check out little notes other people have written for him.”
Ann Jones at the Great American Cookie Company knows Crigger well.
“He calls us sometimes and says, “yeah” when we answer the phone. Then we know it’s Verlin,” Jones said. “He just calls to chit-chat with us sometimes.”
Whoever answers the phone, they always ask Crigger what he’s up to and talk a little, though he mostly responds with, “yeah” or “no,” she said.
“He may not say a whole lot, but he loves someone to talk to him,” Jones added.
Crigger indicated during his Okie interview by holding up his hands, high and wide, that his autographed cup collection is getting pretty big.
Nonetheless, though he chats with everyone at the mall, he’s still pretty shy, all who know him have said.
“If we tease him about the girls who sign his cups, he turns red and goes like this,” Jones said, covering her face. “He’s such a sweetheart.”
Check out my bowling scores
There’s no doubt Crigger loves bowling.
He demonstrated his passion for bowling by pretending to throw a bowling ball and cheering.
He’s been competing in Special Olympics with his Head Coach Derrick Reed for seven years.
“He just loves bowling; Are you a good bowler, Verlin?” Wilkey asked him.
He threw his hands up in the air, smiled and said, “yeah” — then clapped his hands together and nodded vigorously.
“He brings in his papers (to Golden Rule Industries) the next day after he bowls, and they are pretty high scores,” Wilkey said.
His coach, Reed, has known Verlin for at least 20 years. They went to school together, Reed said.
“Verlin likes to get out an old year book picture of me when I had a high top fade,” Reed said, chuckling. “I’m bald now, so he thinks its really funny to show everyone who knows me.”
Crigger averages about 125 a game, Reed said, and is looking forward to an area bowling meet Oct. 1.
“He’s very competitive, and he’s very good at it,” Reed said. “He’s been awarded many gold medals in his bowling.”
Customer service pro
Crigger recently won a 15-year award from Dollar General and has also worked for many years at Golden Rule Industries.
“We helped him pick out a telescope for his prize,” Mayo said. “Do you like it, Verlin?”
He grinned at his job coach, nodded and mimed holding up a telescope to his eye.
He is a valued employee at both businesses.
“Verlin was here seven years before I came, but I’ve known him for seven now,” said store manager Patsy Thornton. “He’s always so pleasant and friendly to people that come in the store.”
Crigger not only cleans at Dollar General, but assists customers who ask for help finding items as well.
“Sometimes they don’t realize he doesn’t talk, but he just takes them exactly where they need to go,” Thornton said.
If Crigger arrives early to work, he hangs out and visits with co-workers and customers, walking around and being polite and helpful, she added.
“He’s very proud of his work. He wants you to come make sure he’s done well when he finishes,” Thornton said.
At Golden Rule, Crigger cleans, hangs clothes, brings in donations, pretty much anything he’s needed for, Wilkey said.
“Verlin is a very caring person who loves to help others and treats them with great respect,” Wilkey said. “All of us love Verlin.”
Meet Verlin Crigger
AGE: 42
HOMETOWN: Muskogee
CAREER: Golden Rule, Dollar General.
EDUCATION: Muskogee High School.
CHURCH: Grandview Baptist.
HOBBIES: Chatting with people around town, bike riding, working out at the gym, collecting employee autographs at the mall.
