Students give goodbye hug to the plant manager. Alonzo LeFridge thanks Craig "Edward" Dykes for helping him stay on track since he was a 6-year-old. Alonzo now

plays for the San Pedro High School Pirates Football Team.

Students at Crestwood Street Elementary School Bid A Great Farewell to the Custodian Who Served the School for 28 years; Good Bye Mr. Dykes

Edward "Craig" Dykes did many things beyond the call-of-duty for students at Crestwood Street Elementary School in Rancho Palos Verdes. He cleaned up after them. He listened to their stories. And for some, he helped instill a good sense of values and taught them responsibility.

It was a bitter-sweet day for Craig, who served his last day at the school as the plant custodian, on Wednesday -- but not before the students were able to tell him the auditorium received a new name in honor of his efforts for nearly three decades.

The auditorium will now be called "The Edward "Craig" Dykes Auditorium" honoring him for not only his work to keep the school clean and safe, but due to the extras he did for so many of the students.

San Pedro High School football player, Alonzo Lefridge, 17, came to thank the custodian on Tuesday for the values he instilled in him when he started at Crestwood at the age of six.

"He always helped me," Alonzo explained, saying the custodian was the reason he raced to school every morning. "He always had a job for me. He taught me responsibility. I watered plants, helped him open doors and put up the flag. He taught me respect. He taught me morals. And he kept me on the right track."

Alonzo was able to thank him along with many other students when the school held a ceremony honoring the plant manager on Tuesday.

The custodian was known for not only putting the students to work, and teaching them -- but he gave them treats -- delicious glazed donuts.

Not only did the school rename the auditorium, but every student received a glazed donut -- a tradition that the custodian established to thank all the students who helped him.