Category Archives: Education

Jim Flynn of Maine: Business Ed teacher, veteran, and musician

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Jim Flynn of Lewistown, Maine, was a Business Education teacher, a veteran, and an award-winning country music songwriter. Photo credit: Creative Commons.

There are many examples of dedicated educators who have earned fame in arenas outside of the classroom. One of these was Jim Flynn, a business education teacher from Maine who was also well-known as a country music songwriter.

Jim was born on March 24, 1938, in Lewistown, Maine. He was raised is Monmouth, Maine. As a young man, he served his country in the US Army as a radio operator. He was deployed to Germany as part of the Cold War effort known as Operation Gyroscope. In 1957, he joined a musical group named the Tune Toppers which was featured in the 10th Infantry Division Band and Chorus that performed in Wurzburg.

After Jim earned his Honorable discharge in 1959, he enrolled in business courses at first the Auburn Maine School of Commerce and then the Husson College in Bangor, Maine. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Education in 1964. Ten years later he earned his Master’s degree in Secondary School Administration from the University of Southern Maine at Portland-Gorham.

Jim inaugurated his career as an educator in 1964. He taught Business Education and also coached sports. Once he retired from the classroom, he sold educational textbooks to public schools located in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

After he left the classroom, Jim became a local celebrity among country music aficionados in New England. The former educator earned several awards for the songs he wrote. In 2005, he garnered first place in the Best Folk Songwriter category for the song “The Ballad of L.L. Bean” at the Down East Country Music Awards (DECMA). That same year, he earned second and third place in the Traditional Country Songwriter category for his compositions entitled “As Calm as a Blue Lagoon” and “The Day they Paved the Road.” In addition, DECMA honored Jim with a Founders Award for his contributions to the Maine country music community.

Jim Flynn passed away on May 8, 2019, in his home town of Lewistown. He was 81 years old. To read more about this talented teacher, see his entry at Moviefit.

Alaska’s Lorene Harrison: Pioneer music teacher

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Lorene Harrison, pioneer teacher, ventured to Alaska while it was still a territory. She was the first music teacher in the Territory. Photo credit: Anchorage Legends and Legacies Project

I love to share stories of courageous teachers who have earned a name for themselves as intrepid pioneers. One such teacher is Lorene Cuthberton Harrison, a music educator and singer who ventured to Alaska while it was still a territory.

Lorene Cuthberton was born in March 7, 1905, in Sterling, Kansas. After her high school graduation in 1922, she enrolled in Sterling College in Kansas, where she majored in Home Economics. She earned her Bachelor’s degree and her teaching certificate in 1928. At the time, she was 23 years old.

The same year she graduated, this pioneering lady traveled to Alaska Territory, where she became the first music teacher in Anchorage schools. She also taught courses in home economics, general science, and geography. When she arrived, Anchorage had only 2,500 residents and the high school had only six teachers. Her salary was $180 a month, compared to the $60 per month that her friends were paid as teachers in Kansas.

Two years after her arrival, the pioneer educator married Jack Harrison, a local railroad engineer. The couple had two daughters. While raising her children, Lorene continued to teach music and theater. She also continued to sing for others, performing at private and public events such as weddings and funerals. When World War II erupted, Lorene worked for the United Service Organizations (USO).

After her husband passed away in 1968, Lorene opened her own boutique which she called Hat Box. The store sold clothing and hats that she personally designed. The former teacher ran her store for 30 years. She also launched herself into various cultural activities in Anchorage. She organized the United Choir of All Faiths, which was the forerunner of the Anchorage Community Chorus; she served as the first president of the Anchorage Concert Association; she was on the founding boards of the Anchorage Arts Council, the Anchorage Civic Opera, and the Anchorage Little Theatre, and she served as the director of the First Presbyterian Church Choir for 29 years.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away at the age of 100 in 2005 in Anchorage, Alaska. She was interred in the pioneer tract of the Anchorage Memorial Park. In 2009, Lorene Harrison was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame. You can read more about this intrepid lady at the link AlaskaHistory.org. You can also purchase Mostly Music: The Biography of Alaskan Cultural Pioneer Lorene Harrison, which can be found on amazon.com.

Remembering Chalkboard Hero Michael Landsberry

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Michael Landsberry

Junior high school mathematics teacher and veteran Michael Landsberry sacrificed his life to save as many as 30 students from a teen gunman. Photo credit: Public Domain

Sometimes it is sobering to remember what a heavy responsibility we teachers have when it comes to protecting our students from harm. And there are many examples of heroic educators who have paid the ultimate price to protect their kids. One such hero is Michael Landsberry, a junior high school math teacher from Reno, Nevada.

Following his graduation from high school in 1986, Michael served in the United States Marine Corps where he had risen to the rank of corporal. He served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and later became a member of the Nevada Air National Guard.

After his discharge, Michael attended college at Nevada State University, Reno, on the GI Bill. There he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 2001. Following his college graduation, Michael accepted a teaching position at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, a suburb of Reno, Nevada. In addition to being a math teacher, he also coached basketball, cross country, track, and volleyball, and he served as the girls soccer coach at Sparks High School. Michael quickly became a beloved teacher known for pushing his students, but doing it with love and compassion.

On October 22, 2013, Michael was getting ready for the morning bell, when a 12-year-old student suddenly opened fire on his classmates. After the first student was shot, the chalkboard champion’s military training in kicked in. He calmly walked toward the shooter, putting his hands up in a motion to try to talk the youngster into giving up his gun. The student shot him in the chest at point blank range. Michael later succumbed to his injuries, but his heroic actions gave the other students on the playground time to run to safety. He is credited with saving as many as 30 lives that day.

For his heroism, Michael’s name has been inscribed on the Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas.

Elem teacher Evelyn Kawamoto Konno was an Olympic athlete

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Elementary teacher Evelyn Kawamoto Konno was an exceptional swimmer who once competed in the 1952 Olympics. Photo credit: Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame

There are numerous outstanding classroom teachers who have also become accomplished athletes. One of these is Evelyn Kawamoto Konno, an exceptional swimmer who once competed in the Olympics.

Evelyn was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sept. 17, 1933. She was raised in poverty. Her mother, Sadako, was a single parent. To support the family, Sadako took in laundry and ironing.

As a teenager, Evelyn attended McKinley High School in Honolulu. In 1949, she helped lead the Hawaii Swim Club to the National Amateur Athletic Union Team championship in San Antonio, Texas. Although she was only 15 years old, she set American records in both the 300-meter individual medley and the 200-meter breaststroke in that competition.

In 1952, Evelyn represented the United States at the Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. She garnered bronze medals in the 400-meter individual freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay events. At the same event, she placed second in the 110-yard breaststroke and was on the winning 880-yard relay. In fact, she became the first Japanese American woman to win an Olympic medal. For these accomplishments, in 2000 she was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1956, Evelyn married her fellow Olympian from Hawaii, Ford Konno, who won four medals at the 1952 Games. Several months after their wedding, Ford won a silver medal in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay at the Melbourne Olympic Games. Two daughters were born to the couple.

When she was 30 years old, Evelyn enrolled in courses at the University of Hawaii. After earning her degree, she worked as an elementary school teacher in Kaneohe, a city in Honolulu County. Later she worked in Wailupe, until her retirement from the teaching profession.

Sadly, Evelyn passed away on Jan. 27, 2017 in her native state of Hawaii. She was 83 years old.

US Rep and Home Ec teacher Elizabeth Andrews

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Former high school Home Economics teacher Elizabeth Andrews was the first woman to represent Alabama in the US House of Representatives. Photo credit: Encyclopedia of Alabama

Many talented educators also distinguish themselves in the political arena. One such educator is Elizabeth Andrews, a high school Home Economics teacher who became the first woman to represent Alabama in the US House of Representatives.

Elizabeth was born on February 12, 1911, in Geneva, Alabama.  After she graduated from high school, she enrolled at Montevallo College, now known as the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Home Economics in 1932.

The neophyte educator inaugurated her career at a high school in Livingston, Alabama. During the Great Depression, she relocated to a teaching position in Union Springs to earn more money.

When Elizabeth’s husband, George William Andrews, ran for office in the 78th US Congress, she worked tirelessly for his campaign. He won the election, and was re-elected 13 times. When her husband passed away in 1971, Elizabeth ran on the Democratic ticket unopposed for his position representing the 3rd Congressional District. When she won the election, she became the first woman to represent her state in the US Congress until the next one was elected in 2010.

While in office, Elizabeth served on the Committee for Post Office and Civil Service. She introduced legislation to protect benefits for Social Security and health care. She also threw her energy into funding research centers working for cures for cancer and heart disease. She sponsored legislation to designate Tuskegee University a National Historic Site. In addition, she supported withdrawal from the VietNam conflict.

Elizabeth retired from politics in 1973. She moved to Union Springs, Alabama, and became engrossed in local community affairs.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on December 2, 2002, in Birmingham, Alabama. She was nearly 92 years old. She was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Union Springs.

To read more about Elizabeth Andrews, see this article about her in the Encyclopedia of Alabama.