I Was Thinking . . . The Board of Education
That is the nickname that was given to eight retired Byron teachers that meet once a week at Otto’s bakery in Byron. Since the last of the eight retired in 2009, they have gotten together for an hour to keep alive rather unlikely friendships.
The friendships are unlikely since none of the eight would probably have ever known each other except for the fact they all ended up working in the same building. The first teacher began teaching in Byron in 1965, while the last one didn’t arrive until 1974. But unlike many employees today that move from job to job, these eight men stayed.
They all worked in the Byron district for at least 30 years with the longest being 35. Together they totaled over 260 years of teaching in Byron High School. While their longevity may seem unique, it was more the rule than the exception at Byron during those years. Other teachers in both the high school and elementary buildings also had careers in Byron of 30 plus years. For many years there was a stable core of faculties in both schools. That says a lot about the school, the community, and the students they taught.
Except for the fact that they all ended up in education, they had little in common. Six of them grew up in Minnesota, one in Iowa and one in Wisconsin. Five of them had never even heard of Byron while three others were from Southeast Minnesota.
Bob “Doc” Schmalzbauer grew up in White Bear Lake while Mike Cabaya was from Northeast Minneapolis. Pete Elam lived in Mound before it was considered a suburb. Dwight Boyum was from the smallest town, Peterson. Dennis Jacobs was from Plainview and Al Woessner grew up in Austin. Dan Alsbury was the only one from Iowa, growing up in Mason City while Ron Albright represented Wisconsin, coming from Peshtigo.
Four were social studies teachers, one taught math, another industrial tech, one was a guidance counselor and the last one was the school librarian. Two of them also taught driver’s education. Throughout their careers, they all coached for periods of time. Some were head coaches, some sub-varsity, and some junior high coaches.
But as it is true in most small schools, they also contributed in other ways. They manned the scoring tables at basketball games or wrestling meets. They ran the concession stands or took tickets. They refereed or umpired and supervised events. A couple even acted in a school play.
The Tuesday morning gatherings at Otto’s usually include a critique of the performance of Minnesota sports. Opinions are expressed about the worth of players and coaches as well as complaints about how often Minnesota teams seldom get a break from the officials. The group shares their common disappointment at the results of recent games or seasons. Although there is an occasional mention of the success of one of the Wisconsin teams by a certain member.
Politics, current events, and the weather all get bandied about sometime during the hour. But as the group ages, who is suffering from what new ailment becomes a more frequent topic. But the gathering is usually limited to an hour because the room they occupy needs to be vacated so the next group can use it.
On occasion, another of Otto’s customers will pass by the door to the “teachers” room and stop and look in. They suddenly realize the room is filled with their “old” teachers. While they recognize most of us, we many times have a tough time identifying someone that may have graduated anywhere from 15 to 40 years ago. But it is usually rewarding to see successful adults that we often remember as former students. Occasionally one of these now adult former students offers a timid apology for behavior of bygone days.
It is fascinating to reflect on how life choices affect the relationships that develop. Despite coming from different places, different backgrounds, and teaching different subjects, this group of men have maintained a connection through years of teaching together that extended to long-lasting friendships.
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Photo: I was thinking Ron Albright