Zeb Ivan Smith got his start as a greeter six decades ago when he worked the graveyard shift as a railroad ticket agent in Muleshoe, Texas. "I’d greet anyone getting on or off – the few who would catch the train at that hour," said Smith, 83, chuckling.
Smith, known as "Z.I.," still greets. But these days, his station is First United Methodist Church of Bedford, Texas, where there are lots more folks to welcome.