Retiring Mat-Su teachers honored

PALMER -- Teachers, support and classified staff retiring from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District this year were recognized at Wednesday's school board meeting. Each of the 56 soon-to-be retirees received a crystal apple paperweight in appreciation for their unfaltering efforts to teach the Valley's children.

"In the end, retirement speeches will not do justice … for what you've done for our children," district public information specialist Kim Floyd told the 20 or so retirees who attended the party. Each retiree came forward to receive a token of appreciation, which sits on a holder with a plaque commemorating their years of service. Here are some of the retirement plans these former-employees of the district have:

Linda Hessmer, who taught third grade at Cottonwood Elementary School, is one of the people retiring this year. Hessmer, when asked what she would do with her free time, laughed and told a story surrounding what her students thought she would be doing.

"All the kids did a skit, and interviewed other kids on what they thought we (retiring staff) would do," said Hessmer. "They thought I would watch TV and sew. I don't plan on doing either."

Hessmer, who has taught in the district for 27 years, says she plans to remain active with the school system.

Phil Kelly, a tutor advisor at Houston, was also present to receive his award. But even though Kelly is retiring from the school district, he has no plans of the usual laid-back retirement life.

"[The district] asked me to do cross-cultural presentations for the new teachers as a consultant," said Kelly, who had already been doing these presentations as an employee of the district for the last couple of years. "I'm also working with Anchorage Media Association of Alaska on my movie."

Kelly is working on a 30-minute television piece describing Alaska life. If successful, Kelly hopes to produce a 13-part series, aimed at the third-grade level.

"There are still people out there that think we [Alaskans] still live in igloos," said Kelly. "We are trying to dispel that thinking."

Kelly will interview Native Alaskans while a man he called Sourdough Sam will interview longtime Alaskans who first traveled to Alaska during the first years of the state.

Barbara Nord retires with the most years at the district. She's been working in the Mat-Su since 1970, with a three year break in the mid '70s to have her children. Nord said some of her fondest memories are of making her students laugh. She showed up dressed a little bit different the last day she taught social studies at Palmer High School.

"I had my hairdresser do up my hair in little twists and then paint them different colors," said Nord. "We had so much fun doing it, and my students thought it was great."

Nord said she doesn't know exactly what she is going to do during her retirement, but said she has three goals: To lose weight, to remain mentally alert and to relax.

She said the thing she will miss most about teaching is the students themselves, because they give her energy.