Welcome to Wayne’s Corner, home of the Dieppe waving man

If you live or work near the intersection of Chartersville Road and Pascale Avenue in Dieppe, New Brunswick, chances are you’ve seen the waving man, but you might not know his name.

Wayne Bastarache has been coming to the corner for more than five years.

He doesn’t ask for money and he doesn’t bother anyone; he just wants to wave and say hello.

“It helps me with my shyness. I used to be a very shy and fearful person,” said Bastarache.

His neighbours love it.

“Wayne’s a real polite gentleman,” said Roger Guidry. “I go for walks regularly. We drive by to go to the grocery store, he’s often here waving at everybody and I think that’s just great.”

Frank Allain has lived in the neighbourhood for a year-and-a-half and sees Bastarache when he takes his dog for a walk.

“He seems very friendly, greets everybody, he’s waving. Today he’s got the Canadian flag. We enjoy his company actually. Whenever we pass by he says 'hi' to the dog and waves to me. He’s quite friendly, really,” said Allain.

Blue Orange Properties, a local apartment rental business, purchased advertising for a bench on the corner two weeks ago and dubbed the intersection "Wayne’s Corner."

Co-owner Eric LeClair thought it would be a great idea that everyone would like.

“We live in the neighbourhood, we see him every day. We’ve been waving at him for years. We know his name is Wayne, but maybe other people didn’t. So we thought, hey, maybe he’d get a kick out of it and so would the community,” said LeClair.

Bastarache has bad legs and suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but tries to make it out every day.

“I’ve driven by there sometimes at 6 a.m. and he’s there. Sometimes at 10 p.m. he’s there. I’m sure he takes breaks in between, but he seems to be there quite often. I’m pretty sure there’s never been a day he’s missed,” said LeClair.

The 50-year-old says he also used to be a bit of a troublemaker when he was younger, but has since found God and is staying on the straight and narrow.

“I love it,” said Bastarache. “I don’t want to be doing nothing. I want to be useful.”

Bastarache’s mother Pauline says Wayne is a good son.

“I know where he is,” said Pauline. “He minds his business. He’s not hurting anybody.”

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