NHS CLASS of 1964

My educational experience was quite different from my parents.   They attended school only through seventh and eighth grade because they left school to help their families.   I on the other hand was able to graduate from high school and continue to college.   Because I did well in school and enjoyed it, my family assumed that I would continue my schooling.   However, I was given complete support to pursue any educational opportunity I chose.   While in high school, my mother worked to help finance my education.   Because my parents fully funded my undergraduate education at Penn State , I was able to concentrate on my studies.   Choosing a major for my life’s work was agonizingly difficult.   Since I enjoyed different subjects, I vacillated between nursing, medical technology, teaching, etc.   Even into my second year of college, I was undecided.   In the end, my inspiration went back to NHS.   I remembered the enthusiasm of Mr...

My story actually begins when I was a sixth grader in a one room school house.   Having six classes to manage and instruct, time allotted to each class was limited.   Therefore, our teacher, Mrs. Luella Smith, requested that I oversee the first graders in their seatwork assignments.   I enjoyed helping the first graders and determined to become a teacher.   After high school I lived in Germany for two years while my husband John served in the U.S. Army.   Then I spent three years in Lancaster while John completed his seminary schooling and became an ordained clergy.   Finally it was my turn.   I received my BS in Elementary Education from Bloomsburg College .   I went on to receive my Masters in Education with a Reading Specialist Certificate and my Doctorate in Reading from Lehigh University .   I taught in the Bethlehem Area School District for 33.5 years, starting as a kindergarten teacher and finishing as a reading speciali...

In high school I was influenced by Mr. Reichard in science department known as “Sparky” to some. He walked up to me one day in class looked me straight in the eye and said you don't belong here.   I was shocked.   That was in physical science class and it took a moment for me to realize that the man was sincere and there was no adverse connotation to what he was telling me.   He actually was responsible working with the guidance department in changing my curriculum, in high school, from the shop courses to the academic courses.   Of course, that meant algebra.   Algebra has always been a challenge for me.   I was also influenced by Mr. Harry Wall and while his expertise was in English he guided me in that direction.   Therefore, when I finally did get to college, I was an English major. I suppose Mr. Wall’s influence was the greatest in that I became an English major when the time came to choose a major.   I would also like to acknowledge th...

Where do I begin?   53 years is a long time since we walked on stage to receive our diplomas.   A lot of things have happened, some good, some bad.   I remember applying for three jobs and having to make a choice of which one to take.   They all wanted to hire me.   I chose the one closest to home which was Cross Country Clothes, with a starting salary of $1.00 per hour.   Four years later I married my first husband.   Seven years later we divorced. After thirteen years at Cross Country Clothes, I quit and went to work for Phoenix Clothes (The Grief Companies).   I stayed at that job until 1994 when the NAFTA trade deal put me out of work.   During my stint at Phoenix Clothes, I managed to take a few trips.   I got hooked on cruise ships.   I guess I had watched too many Love Boat shows!   I became addicted after the first one. I had a lot of fun and met many nice people.   A few months after I came back from m...

A few years after graduation, I found myself in school learning how to build and repair main frame computers.  I then earned a Quality Engineer certification.  My job took me from upstate NY to North Carolina, and then back to PA to marry my high school sweetheart, Janis Daumer (NHS, class of 1965).  My QA Engineer rating put me in several interesting fields.  When I retired three years ago, I worked on armament timing devices for our military.  I found that field testing was the best part of the job! I also wanted to follow my father in volunteering for the fire service.  After years of being a fire-fighter, I became the fire chief of our local department.  Together, Janis and I became certified Local Level Fire Instructors for the Commonwealth.  Ten years ago, we decided to let the young ones do the strenuous work, and retired from the department. We are the proud parents of two children.  After graduation from NCC , our son, David,...

Math and science had always been my favorite school subjects and I appreciate all of my teachers who helped me in my quest.   One teacher stands out in my mind and that was Mr. Doug Lindenmuth, my 11th grade Trigonometry and Analytical Geometry teacher.   Students either loved him or hated him!  I held him in very high esteem and decided to emulate him.   I wanted to go to Penn State because Mr. Lindenmuth went to Penn State.   I wanted to teach math in high school because ... you can guess the reason.   Well the former did not happen, but the latter did.  My undergraduate degree and my master's degree are in mathematics education.   I student taught at Parkland HS and hung out there for another 35 years.   But my biggest surprise was when I walked into Room 112 at the high school and there he stood - Mr Lindenmuth taught Calculus at PHS.  It took me 5 years to call him by his first name.   Here too, the students...

I went to a one-room school for the first six years of my education.   I was the only student in first and second grade, and one of only three students in fifth and sixth grades.   When we were in the upper grades, we helped the younger students with their lessons.   Playing at home with my sister and friends, I always wanted to play school, and, of course, be the teacher!     I didn’t really think much about my future.   No one in my family had ever gone to college.   After graduation, I expected to get a job, no particular field in mind.   But a few sentences from Mr. Hunsicker one day in 8th grade changed all that.   I went up to his desk to turn in a test, and he asked me what I was going to do after high school.   I said “get a job.”   He said, “Oh, I think you would make a good teacher.”   I did love school and loved to “play teacher!”   That seed that Mr. Hunsicker’s question planted in my brain, sta...

I will just start at the beginning.   Born Nov. 24, 1946, graduated Northampton 1964.   Joined the Navy at 17 years old.   I think the reason I joined the Navy was because of my dad.   He told me that you get three meals a day and a warm place to sleep.   Viet Nam was just starting and I wanted to serve my country.   I also knew that I would get the best training in the world. I grew up in the Navy.   Traveled half way around the world.   Spent most of my time at sea.   Saw many different countries.   Discharged 1967.   Hired at Mack Trucks, worked various jobs for almost 20 years.   Went to Roadway Express and drove truck for another 20 years.   Retired Nov. 2008. I was married 3 times.   My first wife gave me a wonderful daughter, who has since then given me 3 granddaughters.   She passed away in 2002.   I remarried later, but that did not work out.   I met the woman of my dreams and married h...

I was fortunate that my mother was the first in her family to go to college, thanks to an uncle who gave her a loan to be able to go. Going through high school I was enjoying the most from my music teacher Mrs. Santee and my art teacher Mr. Kleppinger.    My family encouraged my sister and I to continue to college.   I decided I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become a teacher.   I chose Kutztown University since it was my mother’s college.   Art Education was my major.   I found I had quite a struggle in the beginning since I had sooo much to learn about art.   I also experienced a roommate who stole an idea of mine and I received the F while she got the A (my class was after hers).   As you can see college taught me more than just about an art education.   After that roommate, I had another roommate who graduated from Central Bucks High School .   This proved advantageous since her high school art program was ...

The last 10 years of my life have been shaped by my Dad's WWII experiences in Newfoundland .  He was stationed at the USAAC base at Gander , NL for 3 years.  The base was at a remote, but strategic location on the North Atlantic and provided planes to fly to Europe for the war effort.  The weather conditions were dreadful but over 100 planes left Gander every day to supply the European front.  Dad's stories about Gander always centered on the spirit of the Newfoundlanders, who worked at the base.  They were generous, kind, and hardworking.  They had unique life stories and profound hardships.  I think Dad felt a closeness due to his own experiences growing up in a coal mining community.  I promised Dad that I would take him back to Newfoundland , but it wasn't to be...leaving the war behind and making a life 'back home' was the focus of Dad and most veterans.  In 2006, after my husband, Lee, and I retired, we were looking for a s...

My idea was always to be a nurse.  Two things made me change my mind---a 10th grade assembly about car accidents and "Uncle" Harry Wall, my 10th grade English teacher.  As many of you know, he was one special teacher.  I'll always remember his grammar notebook which we copied daily from the blackboard.  Little did I know that would become an important part of my teaching career.  In 12th grade, I was one of three girls chosen by Mr. Lisetski to work at Miller's Department Store during the Christmas holidays.  It became a five year job for me. Had that not happened, I would not have been able to attend college.  My dad worked at the Dragon Cement Company which meant that he was either working, was laid off, or was on strike.   I also had two much younger sisters.   It was not an easy life.  It was also at Miller's that I met my husband, Roger, who always reminds me that he was my first boss.   We will celebrate our 48th w...