California music educator Ben Bollinger also a successful entrepreneur

Posted on by

Music educator Ben Bollinger was also a successful entrepreneur who ran a successful dinner theater in Southern California for more than three decades. Photo credit: Legacy.com

Many classroom teachers also become successful entrepreneurs. One of these was Ben Bollinger, a beloved music educator who established a highly successful dinner theater in the Inland Empire of Southern California.

Ben was born on July 4, 1938, in Anaconda, Montana. As a teenager, Ben moved with his family to Southern California, where he attended Citrus Union High School. After his graduation in 1956, Ben attended first Citrus Community College and then the University of Southern California (USC). There he majored in Music Education, with minors in Voice and Opera. During his college years, Ben performed in several operas at USC’s Bovard Auditorium and the Shrine Auditorium, including classics such as The Ballad of Baby Doe, The Barber of Seville, Simon Boccanegra, Manon Lescaut, and Otello.

After he graduated from USC, Ben accepted a position as the Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Ramona High School in the Riverside Unified School District, where he taught music education from 1962 to 1968.

After his stint at Ramona High, Ben returned to his alma mater at Citrus Community College as a full-time instructor. Under his leadership, the college’s Music Department became one of the most successful programs in the country. The choral group travelled internationally, winning numerous music festivals around the globe, including being the only American choir to win all three categories of the International Choral Festival in Spittal, Austria, in 1979. Over the years, the Singers performed at many major events in the Los Angeles area, including Super Bowl VII at the LA Coliseum, the Rose Parade, Opening Day at Dodger Stadium, the Grand Opening of Ontario Motor Speedway in 1970, and Richard Nixon’s campaign stop at Ontario Airport in 1972. Ben was also earned credit on the 1978 solo album of Gene Simmons from the rock group Kiss, and a select group of the Citrus Singers provided backup vocals on the album. When Ben retired from Citrus College in 2005, he was honored as a Citrus College Faculty Emeritus.

For his work as a music educator, Ben earned many accolades, including being named a Citrus College Distinguished Alumni in 1979-1980 and Glendora’s Citizen of the Year in 1980. Ben was also a successful businessman, opening the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater in 1985. He sketched the idea on the back of a napkin and then made the dream a reality, choosing as the theater’s location the old Claremont gymnasium where he had played basketball during his high school years. The 299-seat dinner theater was a popular location for many years. In recent years, the enterprise was run by Ben’s family, but after a run of nearly four decades, the theater will close its doors next month.

Sadly, Ben Bollinger passed away on Oct. 17, 2018, in Pomona, California. He was 80 years old. To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, see his obituary at legacy.com.

NY Special Ed teacher Cindy Goldsmith-Agosta succumbs to Covid-19

Posted on by

Sadly, we report the passing of New York special education teacher Cindy Goldsmith-Agosta, who succumbed to Covid-19 on Jan. 15, 2022. She was 47 years old.  Photo credit: The Suffolk Times

We are sad to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Cindy Goldsmith-Agosta, a special education teacher from Greenport, New York, succumbed to the disease on Jan. 15, 2022. She was only 47 years old.

Cindy was born on May 15, 1974, and raised in the East Marion section of Long Island, New York. She graduated from Greenport High School in 1992. She then earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Human Services, cum laude, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1996. After earning her teaching credential and special education certification from Hoffstra University in Long Island, Cindy returned to her alma mater at Greenport High School to teach.

Cindy’s passing has hit the small community where the well-known educator lived and taught hard. “There are no words to describe the loss that we are experiencing with the news of losing Cindy,” remarked Greenport High School Principal Gary Kalish. “She was a beloved member of our faculty, a trusted and well-respected colleague who cherished our school and our children,” he continued. “She had a dynamic personality that we all loved. Her contribution to all of our lives will not be forgotten,” he concluded.

During her teaching career, Cindy served as President of the local teachers’ union. In fact, when the pressures of teaching would get to colleagues, Cindy would open up her home to them as a place to decompress. The fallen educator was also a member of the East End Health Plan Board of Trustees, and she served on the Greenport High School Scholarship Committee. She was also named to the coveted list of Who’s Who Among American Teachers.

To read more about Cindy Goldsmith-Agosta, see this story about her published by The Suffolk Times.

Teaching During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Posted on by

Note: I posted this photograph one day last week, but since then I have had the opportunity to compose some thoughts about it. Here are my reflections.

One of the most powerful images I have seen of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is this one of a teacher holding class in an underground bunker. The children, bundled up in cold-weather gear and clutching their stuffed animals, are lined up against a cement wall of peeling paint as the teacher sits cross-legged before them on the potholed concrete floor and reads aloud to them. Above their heads, a Ukrainian flag has been hung, just below the electrical wiring and exposed ductwork.

When a person is rushing around their home or workplace, hastily gathering necessities for fleeing the danger of an invading army, who thinks to grab a book to read to frightened, imperiled children? A teacher does.

I imagine the soothing cadence of this one’s voice as she travels over the printed words, the periodic pause to ask questions that check for understanding, to define an unfamiliar vocabulary word, to connect some aspect of the story to the story they read last week, or a field trip they went on last month, or perhaps to some personal experience they may have had.

I envision this one casting her eye about their unsightly, frigid hiding place, searching for additional ways to create an impromptu lesson that will absorb the attention of the little ones, and give them some respite from their fear, their vulnerability, their loss.

Here is a spider, she might say, discovering a cobweb in a corner. What do we know about spiders? How many legs does a spider have? What kind of home does a spider build for itself?

Pointing to the Ukrainian flag, I imagine her teaching the children the lyrics and melody of their national anthem, secretly acknowledging in the back of her mind that by the time they master the learning task, their country may no longer exist. But she wouldn’t want them to forget the glory of their homeland, no matter what comes next.

I’m sure this teacher knows that her improvised lessons will provide her little ones with something to think about besides their current crisis, but she understands that their emotional needs—their psychological well-being—takes a priority over the learning. Who needs a reassuring word? A comforting hug? A gentle reminder of how we must treat each other well, even in times like these?

This teacher isn’t the first in history who has led a class during a period of social upheaval, a natural disaster, or the cruel realities of war, but it’s very likely the first time this teacher has taught under these conditions. Her composure, her resilience, her ingenuity, her work towards transforming the most dire circumstances into something constructive—while literally under fire—is a marvel to behold.

What a miracle a teacher is!

Honoring Lucy Williams: First Black teacher in Omaha public schools

Posted on by

During Women’s History Month, we applaud Lucy Gamble Williams, who was the first African American teacher to be hired to work in public schools in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo credit: North Omaha History

Many talented women schoolteachers have been applauded during Women’s History Month for their historic firsts. One such teacher is Lucinda (Lucy) Gamble Williams, an elementary school teacher who was the first African American to be hired to work in Omaha public schools.

Lucy was born Lucinda Anneford Gamble on September 9, 1875, in Lincoln, Nebraska, the oldest of eight children of her parents, William and Evaline Gamble. The family moved to Omaha when she was five years old. As an elementary student, Lucy was first enrolled in the Old Dodge School, but later transferred to Pacific School. She graduated from Omaha Central High School in 1893.

Following her graduation from high school, Lucy enrolled in Omaha Normal School, a college which trained future teachers. She completed her two-year course of study there in 1895. “My teacher in the Normal school tried very hard to discourage me from going to the school as she said that I never would secure employment in the school system,” Lucy once recalled. But she must have been a very impressive candidate, because within three months of her graduation, Lucy was offered a position at her former elementary school, the Old Dodge School. With this appointment, Lucy became Omaha’s first African American school teacher. Later Lucy transferred to Cass School.

After six years of teaching, according to the custom of the day, Lucy resigned when she married the Reverend John Albert Williams, the son of a former slave who had escaped to Canada through the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War was won, John immigrated to the United States, landed in Nebraska, and became an activist for the African American community. The couple had one son they named Worthington, and two daughters, Catherine and Dorothy.

Even though she was no longer teaching, Lucy continued to serve her community. For ten years, she was the Chairperson of the the board of the Omaha’s Negro Old People’s Home, and she was a prominent member of the Omaha Colored Women’s Club. In addition, she also served on the board of the Omaha chapter of the NAACP.

Read a transcript of Lucy Gamble Williams’ personal history on file at the Library of Congress at this link: Lucy Gamble Williams.