Long-time Teachers
Do you remember your favorite teacher? How about that long-time school secretary who seemed capable of handling anything? Then there were the lunch ladies, recess teachers, bus drivers and janitors.
School grades K-12 is a major part of our lives and society. Some of our most formative years were spent in a classroom.
A local school district employees so many people it’s kind of staggering to consider the scope of education. I’m thinking about this because Mike Mort is working on an education movie. We thought it could be ready by November, but it will be coming out in the spring 2025.
The number of students, teachers and staff who have been an integral part of Sturgis schools is so huge we decided to take the time to more fully tell the story.
So I began gathering teachers’ names starting with the first Sturgis High School yearbook we have, 1916, which was well after Union School was built in 1862.
I found some pretty interesting longevity.
For instance, Mary Seitz started teaching math in 1921. I found that she graduated from SHS in 1904, her maiden name was Mary Henry. What she was doing for those 17 years between graduation and getting a job in 1921, I don’t know, but she was still in the yearbook through 1957. That’s 37 years at SHS as a math teacher.
Maybe you’ve heard the name Nora Hagen. First time I saw her was in a 1924 yearbook as an English teacher. I knew the name because she donated her family farm land to Glen Oaks Community College but she spent much of her career at Sturgis High School. The last time I found her was in 1949 but according to the Glen Oaks website she lived in her home until 1982 and died in 1991.
Helen Brokow showed up in the 1925-26 yearbook and I found her for the last time in 1955. According to Oak Lawn records she died in 1974. She gave at least 30 years teaching math to Sturgis students.
Wayne Carpenter apparently taught mechanical drawing starting in the 1927-28 and for the next 40 years.
Robert Snow, a legendary long-time Sturgis teacher was hired in the fall of 1939 and retired in 1969. Sort of. He was back substituting in the classroom until 1990. Ask a SHS graduate of that time period and they’ll tell you Mr. Snow stories.
I am still wading through the records of Sturgis teachers. So many were on the job long before yearbooks, that it’s quite a task. But I’ve been impressed with what I found then of course there is longevity of Sturgis superintendents. And the list goes on.
It’s easy to glorify the past and take the present for granted, but don’t do it. Thank the quality and long-time educators who are working with students today. There are some good ones.
