Final school bell rings for 8 SAD 70 employees

By Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer Times
    As the final bell rang on Thursday, several educators with more than 30 years of service, a secretary and one janitor left school in Hodgdon for a final time as full-time employees. Although many felt it was time to slow down, others felt the effects of Gov. LePage’s threat to the retirement fund and medical coverage forced them into possibly making an untimely decision.
    Those honored at the district’s banquet were, Joan Fournier, John Bates Karen Rochford, Barbara Mooers, Sue Bushey, Royce Quint, Bernadette Willette and Reggie Corey.
Contributed photo
SAD 70 RETIREES — Several educators and employees were honored at a retirement banquet held recently at Mill Pond Elementary School and catered by the Courtyard Café. Those honored were, from left, Royce Quint, Joan Fournier, Sue Bushey, Karen Rochford, Reggie Corey, Barbara Mooers, Bernadette Willette and John Bates. More than 150 guests attended and enjoyed a program highlighting the careers of those retiring.
    Everyone is wondering how the school office at Mill Pond School will function when Joan Fournier doesn’t show up next fall. She began as the secretary in 1980 for Principal Donald Ellis, then Joe Dahl followed by Ken Goodale and now Loreen Wiley. With a total of 31 years, she does know her job and will be hard to replace.
    Fournier graduated from Houlton High School in 1967 and after a short time in Connecticut she returned to Houlton to be a secretary for attorney John Rogers and later for the Department of Human Services. She was a stay-at-home mother for 10 years for son, Dick and daughter Aimee.
    She has loved every minute of her time in Hodgdon and even though she is retiring from the job, she said, “I am not retiring from ‘life’.”
    Since her husband, Bob is already retired they can both enjoy more time with their grandchildren, but probably won’t stray too far from home.
    John Bates, a longtime janitor, leaves the district with 35 years of service. He moved to Linneus with his parents, Russell and Jean Bates in 1973, just after graduating from high school in Connecticut. He spent time helping his family build a home and in ‘76 he and his dad formed the Bates Janitorial Service. Bates took over the business following his father’s retirement in ’88 and held a contract with SAD 70 until 2006. Then he handed the responsibility of ordering supplies and looking for workers over to the school district and became their employee.
    Bates’ cleaning schedule usually began at three in the afternoon and sometimes went late into the evening or early into the next morning depending on what activities were happening at either of the two schools. He remembers beginning his career when the elementary school had open classrooms, no walls and wall-to-wall carpeting. He said that having carpeted floors was somewhat easier, but that tile is more hygienic even though it is more work.
    When asked if he could recall any significant event during his cleaning experiences he shared a story that had been brought up at the banquet about retiring teacher, Karen Rochford.
    They were replacing the old carpet at the elementary school with new tile and one part of the process was letting the glue set up before installing the tile.
    Rochford was curious to see all the changes over the summer and had come to school after hours to take a peek. As she traveled through the library with limited lighting she stepped into a room connecting to the teacher’s room. Unfortunately, once she stepped in, it was difficult getting out, because that floor was covered with glue and now she was in it. Bates was still laughing as he told the story to this reporter a few days later.
    Bates had planned to work several more years, but due to a health issue he was forced to change his plans. He will miss everyone in the district, and he was very happy with his career choice. He has no regrets.
    Bates and his wife, Carole have three adult children.
    Special ed teacher, Barbara Mooers began her working days as a Tupperware consultant after leaving Houlton High School in 1970 and before trying her hand at being a clerk in a local store. Then in 1977 she took an ed tech position at Hodgdon, It was from that experience she decided to pursue her college degree.
    She juggled the job of being a full-time wife and mother for son, Chris and daughter, Heather with books and assignments. In 1983 she received her degree in English with a minor in social science and special education. She has been with the district 33 years.
    The highlight of Mooers’ career was being nominated for Teacher of the Year in 2000. She said that being recognized for her teaching was very special. It meant a lot.
    Mooers said that she was inspired by many excellent teachers who she assisted in the classroom. It was because of that experience that she knew she wanted to be a teacher. Those role models included Craig Child, Cindy Floyd, Barbara Tabor, Joann Inman, Carolee Brandt, Priscilla Farrar and Brenda Adams.
    She said, “I got to observe many teaching styles and that was the best education.”
    Mooers looks forward to life at camp, but as she speaks about her classes and the many programs that she has been involved in, there is a sparkle that seems to translate that it may be harder than she thinks to leave teaching behind.
    High school English teacher Sue Bushey looks forward to a quieter lifestyle after the rigors of 32 years in the classroom.
    Bushey grew up in Oxbow and attended the University of Maine at Fort Kent one year. She came to Houlton with her husband, John in 1973 when he took a teaching position at Lambert School. She finished her degree at UM Presque Isle in 1978 and taught adult education in Houlton for five years. In 1984 she accepted a position as a migratory teacher at Hodgdon, followed by an English position in the mid-‘80s.
    “Although I have enjoyed my years as a teacher, said Bushey, “it seems that there are more demands on the teachers every year; new requirements, new programs and procedures, always adding and never taking anything away.”
    As she looks to retirement, she will spend her time reading books and with grandchildren, instead of correcting papers. Bushey and her husband have one son, Ryan and two grandchildren.
    A native of Southwest Harbor, social studies teacher Karen Rochford met her future husband Jim at UM Machias. They were married in 1967 and she moved to Houlton where her husband had taken a teaching job the year before. Rochford finished her degree in ’72 at UMPI while being a full-time mother to sons, Jason and Jamie.
    She worked as a secretary at Ward Log Homes for a couple of years and then became a full-time substitute at Houlton High School at the request of the late Elwood Scott, principal. She later became a Chapter I tutor at both Lambert School and the high school. In 1985, she took a fifth-grade position in Hodgdon and since 2004 she has taught social studies at the middle school.
    As she recalled the changes in education, she remarked about the constant cycle in teaching. She witnessed the open classroom that has now become closed, learned a variety of techniques that were supposed to improve teaching and attended many meetings to learn about the “state standards.”  She laughed when she thought about her introduction to technology, that began with the interactive TV.
    “The new Smartboards are great as long as you know how to operate them,” she said. “The new teachers coming in have been schooled in them, but I am not sure what they might do if there is a glitch in their plan. The older teachers can regroup and teach the lesson from past experience.”
    As she leaves the classroom behind, she said, “I will miss the students and the many teachers I have worked with. I will miss entertaining them with my stories, some of which came back to haunt me at the retirement party.”
    Rochford looks forward to spending part of her winters in the South where one of her sons and her only grandson live, but will sign up to substitute when she is home.
    Royce Quint, high school industrial arts teacher is a native of Hodgdon. He attended the old Corner School for grades one through five, and graduated in 1968 from Hodgdon High School. Undecided as to his future, he enrolled at UMO for one year, then went to bible school in Canada. After his marriage to Linda London, they moved to Gray where he completed his degree at the Portland-Gorham campus of the University of Maine in 1974.
    Superintendent Lloyd Chase hired him as an industrial arts teacher at the elementary school and after Clint Cushman left the high school position, Quint replaced him. He has also been a bus driver for the district for several years, and even after retirement will retain that position.
    The father of three grown children, he has enjoyed his job and the students he has taught. His classes provide another way for students to learn and often students that may not be successful with a book and paper are talented with tools and materials. He noted that one of his former students, Kevin Carpenter is a cabinet maker with his own successful business now.
    Technology is also used in Quint’s classes. His students learn the importance of using computers and how just about every profession today relies on them in one form or another, even farmers.
    As Quint thought about his career, he had high regard for many of his former teachers who later became his bosses or his colleagues. They were Donald Oliver, Jim Vail and Virginia Sherman.
    He also recalled the promise that Lloyd Chase made when he called him for the job opening back in ’74.
    “If you come to work here, we’ll take care of you,” said Chase.
    As he looks to retirement, his plans include cutting some firewood, doing some four-wheeling and spending time with his grandchildren. And remember, he’ll be on the bus at the end of the summer to start another year, and who knows, maybe even back in the classroom.
     Bernadette Willette, guidance counselor at Hodgdon High School, graduated from Houlton High School in 1967 and UMO in 1971 with a degree in education. She worked as migratory tutor and a fifth-grade teacher in the Houlton district. As a mother of five daughters, she has held various positions including working for the local adult education program for 15 years, teaching teachers the ‘writing process’ for the University of Maine and being an adjunct faculty member for Northern Maine Community College, teaching English and speech. When she came to Hodgdon, she was a home-school coordinator, also teaching gifted and talented classes.
    After earning her master’s degree she moved into the guidance position and has remained there for the last 11 years. Willette is also a licensed clinical counselor.
    Although she is technically retiring under the state guidelines she has been invited to remain in her job indefinitely, of which she feels very honored.
    “We are anticipating the birth of our fifth grandchild in October, so the freedom of retirement would be nice, but it will be delayed for now,” said Willette.
     She said that her husband, Carroll who is the town manager of Linneus is still working, so staying in the district for now is a good option.
    “The retirement celebration held at Mill Pond Elementary School was great with more than 150 in attendance,” said Mooers.
    “It was so nice to see many former colleagues. Some people I hadn’t seen for years, but they took time to come back and celebrate with us and that made it even more special,” Mooers added.
    Editor’s note: An article on Reggie Corey will appear in a future edition of the Houlton Pioneer Times. Corey is retiring with 44 years in education.