DURHAM
Much of what Oscar Dantzler does at Duke Chapel falls well outside his job description.
Such as when an elderly worshipper becomes ill during a church service and he leaps into action, offering comfort while summoning help. Or when he charms visiting dignitaries such as author Toni Morrison or former President Carter. Or when he offers up his 2 cents worth to the many Duke University students who pass through the doors, young folks whom he calls "my babies."
The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Dantzler is a custodian at Duke Chapel. But more than that, he's the heart and soul of the place. Not only does he want the chapel clean when you visit, but he also wants you to leave with plenty of knowledge and a respect for its history.
"Anything we need to know, we go to Oscar," said Layne Baker, the chapel's specialist for visitors and university relations. "Not the historians -- Oscar."
So this will be a big week for Dantzler, 57. On Thursday, Duke Chapel was host to a celebration of the life of John Hope Franklin, the longtime Duke historian and civil-rights pioneer who died in March. Former President Clinton spoke to about 2,000 people who attended. It was a bigger to-do than the 1998 funeral for former North Carolina governor and Duke president Terry Sanford.
Beyond the Franklin ceremony, these are heady days for Dantzler. He is about to get his moment in the spotlight, thanks to the coming debut of a documentary film chronicling the lives and wisdom of eight university custodians across the country. Dantzler is one of those profiled; the 70-minute film, called The Philosopher Kings, debuts June 18 at a film festival in Silver Spring, Md.
Dantzler grew up in Florida, one of eight siblings raised largely by his mother, Pauline Washington, who watched over her brood while Dantzler's father, who worked for the railroad, was away for extended periods. He credits his mother's strength but acknowledges that a child needs a father, too.
A half-century later, Dantzler, now a divorced father of a grown daughter, is parenting the students who come through the broad chapel doors. Many of them need advice, he says. Some go a little wild when they get to college, and he figures that it's his job to put them in their place. Mostly, he wants them to prosper.
"After their parents drop them off," he says, "I'm their Duke parent."
That paternal instinct caught the eye of Patrick Shen, the director and producer of the documentary. Shen's co-producer came upon Dantzler during a screening for another film. When they started documenting his life, Shen realized that although the custodian was so charming that he almost seemed to speak in sound bites, his intentions were pure. And endearing.
"He kept referring to the students as his babies," Shen recalled. "It's so charming. He lives to care for the students on the campus."
Shen and his crew shadowed Dantzler for several days, chronicling his work and even following him to his favorite fishing hole, in Creedmoor. That could have gone better, Dantzler recalled.
"Normally, I fish for largemouth bass," he said. "That day, we stayed for three hours and I didn't get a bite. I think the fish were scared of the cameras."
Dantzler is quick with an anecdote drawn from a lifetime of varied pursuits. He served in the Air Force, worked in banking in New York and construction in Durham before coming to Duke 12 years ago because he liked the university's benefits package.
Dantzler is meticulous about his work, whether it's arranging the rows of wooden chairs just so or holding court about the chapel's stained glass or archways. He's a Duke Chapel history whiz, thanks to his many conversations over the years with William King, who as university archivist was a frequent chapel visitor until his retirement in 2002.
"He has two things that a historian likes: He likes the history, and he wants it to be accurate," King said recently. "I have complete confidence in anything he'd say."
Dantzler now swears by Duke Chapel and says that it's the only place where he would work, so he is grateful for the support that people there showed him during a horrific five-year stretch during which five siblings and his mother all died. The cards and phone calls from his co-workers got him through some dark periods.
"I call it the House of God," he said of the chapel. "My mother always said, ‘If you can't keep the house of God clean, you can't keep your own."‘
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