Announer (00:01):
Highlighting the amazing stories from inside the North Clackamas School District. This is the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, hosted by longtime principal and current community relations director, Curtis Long.

Curtis Long (00:17):
The year is 1924 across America, and with television's, inventions still a few years away, national radio broadcasts are becoming more and more common, offering Americans more choices of entertainment and news. As President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first US president to broadcast speeches directly from the White House.

Calvin Coolidge (00:37):
Our country needs every ounce of its energy to restore itself.

Curtis Long (00:40):
Meanwhile, across the globe, France hosts the first ever winter and later summer Olympics welcoming more than 3000 athletes from 44 nations back in our nation. More than half of all cars sold in the United States are the Ford model T as more Americans than ever are able to travel freely across the land. And just in case journal writers are getting tired of all their pages blowing out the car window. A unique invention debuts in 1924. It's the spiral notebook. And speaking of precise paragraphs perfected with pointed pencils, what better place to use your pencil and paper than at the brand new school that opened in Milwaukee just in time for the 19 24 25 school year? That would be Arden Wald Elementary, which became a school nearly 50 years before North Clackamas even became a school district. Believe it or not, Arden Wald turns 100 years old this year. What color are you using?

Future Kindergartner (01:52):
And, um, blue, pink, um, peach, orange, green.

Curtis Long (01:59):
You use lots of different colors. Those are the sweet sounds of future kindergartner Francis, who will attend kindergarten this fall in the school. Beautifully rebuilt in 2009, but while these future families like Francises heard from current kindergarten teachers during their recent orientation.

Kindergarten Teacher (02:15):
And future kindergartners in the room, can you gimme like a thumbs up if you're kind of excited, maybe a little nervous. That's okay.

Curtis Long (02:22):
And Principal Rosina Hardy read her newest students a fun story.

Rosina Hardy (02:26):
Black Sheep. Black Sheep. What do you see? I see a goldfish. .

Curtis Long (02:34):
We let some current Ardenwald all stars take over hosting duties on this edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast.

Ardenwald Students (02:41):
Hi, my name is Lin and I'm in fifth grade. Hello, my name is Preston and I'm in fourth grade. My name is Esme and I'm in fourth grade. Hello, my name is Lena and I'm in fourth grade. Hi, my name is Serenity and I'm in fifth grade.

Curtis Long (02:51):
As they help celebrate their school centennial by interviewing Ardenwald alumni from the two thousands, the nineties, the eighties, and even further back than that

Alumni Guest (03:00):
Girls were not allowed to wear pants at all ever. Like these would be your play clothes that you'd change into when you got home from school,

Curtis Long (03:10):
Put on your play clothes as we let the present interview the past and celebrate 100 years of one of our school districts most beloved schools.

Ardenwald Students (03:19):
Happy Birthday Ardenwald!

Curtis Long (03:22):
Next...

Curtis Long (03:24):
And welcome into a very special edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. Extra special today because we're gonna try something a little bit different. We are at Ardenwald Elementary. Today it is after school at Ardenwald and Ardenwald is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, 100 years of Ardenwald Elementary School. We're gonna do things a little bit differently. I'm gonna turn over the podcast to some very eager Ardenwald students who are going to interview some alumni from Ardenwald Elementary School who went here 10 years ago, 20 years ago, maybe 30 years ago or more. We'll find out. Let's meet our interviewers right here. Let's go ahead and introduce yourselves.

Waylon (04:01):
Hi, my name is Waylon and I'm in fifth grade.

Curtis Long (04:04):
Waylon is in fifth grade.

Preston (04:05):
Hello, my name is Preston and I'm in fourth grade.

Curtis Long (04:07):
Preston, a fourth grader here at Ardenwald.

Esme (04:10):
My name is Esme and I'm in fourth grade

Curtis Long (04:12):
Esma, fourth grader.

Lena (04:14):
Hello, my name is Lena and I'm in fourth grade.

Curtis Long (04:16):
Okay, Lena in fourth grade.

Serenity (04:18):
Hi, my name is Serenity and I'm in fifth grade.

Curtis Long (04:20):
Alright, so you heard all your interviewers. We're gonna turn the podcast over to them and they're gonna interview some of these alumni who are all here ready to share their stories about growing up in the Arden ALD neighborhood and going to Ardenwald Elementary School that's coming up right now and leading things off on this super centennial celebration of Ardenwald Elementary fifth grader. Serenity proves herself to be quite the polished interviewer as she sits down with Milwaukee resident Rob Campbell, who attended Ardenwald in the late eighties, in early nineties. Find out why one of his goals was to become a Hardhead brother on the playground and did he actually get into trouble once for shouting out a familiar phrase from a popular eighties cartoon poster? Here's Serenity with ALD alum, Rob Campbell,

Serenity (05:03):
What's your name and when did you go to Ardenwald?

Rob Campbell (05:05):
I'm Rob Campbell. I went to Ardenwald from, uh, 1985 to 1992, I believe.

Serenity (05:12):
Ooh. What did your classroom look like when you went to Ardenwald ?

Rob Campbell (05:15):
You know, it's, it was an older building. It was a different building, but it is very hard to remember. And I'm sure if I went into them, you know, if the old building was still here and I went into them, I would not recognize them at all. Um, I barely remember, but I do remember, uh, I will tell you this, I remember the one time we decorated our kindergarten class. Um, we had a fake trip to Hawaii and I remember that we were very distinctly decorated with all kinds of Hawaiian stuff. We had like a fake plane flight with an inflight movie and all kinds of, uh, Hawaiian treats once we arrived. Uh, and I remember that room pretty distinctly, but it was, you know, pretty similar. Elementary schools don't change a whole lot over the years.

Serenity (05:53):
Almost all the teachers are doing like a spirit week kind of. And today's like, dress up like you're going to Hawaii. So that's

Rob Campbell (05:59):
Funny. Awesome. That's fun. That's really fun.

Serenity (06:01):
What subjects did you like the most or least?

Rob Campbell (06:04):
Um, that's a good question. I, I, uh, I was in a group, I don't know if they still have tag, talented and gifted. There was this group where you could go off during a school day. You'd have a little separate group. Uh, and we all, you know, we were the, we weren't the smart kids, we were the creative types. And so we got kind of selected to go do these projects separately. I remember make making some like, make a device outta Legos and we made like an automatic, uh, fly water. Interesting. It didn't work very good at killing flies. But yeah, that was a really fun class I remember. Um, really enjoying that.

Serenity (06:33):
It sounds really fun. Yeah. Did you have assemblies or school spirit days? What were they like?

Rob Campbell (06:40):
We did, we had assemblies. I remember, you know, I was big in singing. I remember when we had like performances. I remember those pretty well. And I would sometimes get, sometimes get a solo and, uh, yeah, my son, he was at ALD more recently and he did not inherit my desire to do solos. He does not like performing in front of people. So yeah, I remember those. And yeah, assemblies were always fun. There was one, and you might find this on YouTube, there was a traveling like educational show called Professor BodyWise that came to our school. It's like these weird puppets. It's like elaborate set, very like Sesame Street esque, like colorful of costumes. And there was like one lesson about not doing drugs and a lesson about not smoking cigarettes and one about brushing your teeth. There was like all these different characters that came out. If you ever just want something that's kind of weird and kind of cheesy. Yeah. Check up Professor BodyWise. Mm-hmm .

Serenity (07:28):
They kind of do like the puppets and the counselor's room now.

Rob Campbell (07:31):
Awesome. Yeah. That's really cool.

Serenity (07:34):
Did you ever bring a lunch from home and what was in it?

Rob Campbell (07:37):
Yeah. Um, my mom liked to make me lunches at home. We were pretty frugal. I think that was the cheaper way to go at the time. And I'm sure I had a, like a soft lunchbox. It wasn't like a cool hard sided lunchbox with like GI Joe or anything on it. I wasn't really into, uh, the good cartoons. I only had, again, we were a frugal family, so my mom would always get like these cheap padded. I think they were kind of probably kept the cool in, they were probably kind of cooler packs, but they didn't have anything. They weren't branded very specifically. What

Serenity (08:05):
Was your favorite thing to do on the playground?

Rob Campbell (08:07):
Uh, there was a lot of soccer at the time. Uh, the building was further further forward than it is now. So there was a bigger soccer field. And I remember my friends, if you did enough headbutts on the ball, you would become a head, a hard head brother. That was like the group you wanted to be in. So there's a lot of soccer. Four square we talked, uh, sometimes we did. Uh, yeah, Foursquare was actually pretty fun. Now I, I think Gaga ball has taken over as far as the popular rubber ball game. But, uh, we did a lot of that. And then I remember on rainy days there was a covered area that nobody really liked quite as much. Uh, and in there all I remember in there was these little climbing wall where you stick metal rods into a wall and use it to climb. That's all I really remember in there. Mm-hmm .

Serenity (08:42):
Were there any silly trends or fads when you were here? Like slap bracelets or pogs?

Rob Campbell (08:48):
Pogs were a little bit later. I think we had a morning group. Uh, the PE teacher, Mr. Zamudio, who we called Mr. Z had a, a club in the early, early morning before school for hacky sack. And it was the coolest thing. There was like different kinds. They're also called foot bags, like the technical terms of foot bags. You did all these different tricks you would learn like the flying clipper, it's like jump up and like you put your foot behind your other leg and you kick it. And, but then that club eventually just turned into, we would spend the first half hacky hacking and then we would start playing, uh, bump out basketball. Yeah. And then eventually everybody just wanted to do that the whole time. Mm-hmm . I think maybe that Mr. Z might've been making a little money on the side selling us hacky sacks. , I think. Which is fine. That's a good hustle. Yeah. Um, he was a great, a great PE teacher.

Serenity (09:27):
What's your favorite Ardenwald memory?

Rob Campbell (09:29):
You know, in that Hawaii trip was great. The, uh, Mr. Ho was my fourth grade and my sixth grade, no, he was fourth and fifth grade. And both years we went to a field trip to, uh, Eagle Creek and the Bonneville Dam and got to go. It was just, I remember that being really fun, being in the creek and finding some sort of critters, salamanders or crawdads or something. Yeah. Uh, so those were, were really great. Mr. Ho was awesome and all my teachers were really great here actually. Yeah.

Serenity (09:54):
Yeah. What was style or fashion like when you were a student?

Rob Campbell (09:59):
I feel like it was still graphic tees. I wasn't the most fashionable student. We were pretty, I, I had pro wing Velcro shoes 'cause I was a little late and learning how to tie my shoes. Yeah. Uh, I figured it out. Now. It's uh, it's, it's under control, but me personally, yeah. I didn't have the most fashion sense everybody wanted. Just like, now everybody wants like the, whatever the popular brand is, usually it's overpriced just for that brand name. And I've always been a little bit, uh, wary of that. So, but that was still going on. I mean, that's always been going on like that and a lot of those fashions are still coming back now. Yeah. Like my kid wants jko jeans, which are, those were big in the nineties. That's when I was in, you know, middle school, junior and, and uh, in high school. So mm-hmm . It all comes back around.

Serenity (10:38):
How has the school changed since you were here?

Rob Campbell (10:40):
Well, that building is pretty state of the art, which is nice. But you know what, I think a lot of things don't change. I think the teachers that I've met still are very passionate and, uh, I think they're really great. Mostly it's just the physical location. I think the vibes are pretty similar. Whenever I come back here to do, like, I'll come to do, um, I'm a screen printer, I make t-shirts and sometimes around Halloween season or the Harvest Festival they have, I'll be here printing on tote bags and like the, it's really a, a similar feel to when we had different afterschool activities back in the day. So it's really great.

Serenity (11:10):
Yeah. What's one thing you learned at Ardenwald that you still use today?

Rob Campbell (11:13):
Um, you know, the, I'm more likely to use the simple math that I learned at ALD than I am to use the calculus I learned later. So that's good. Mm-hmm . Um, I do still need, you know, simple fractions pretty regularly. Yeah. So that's nice. But really like a lot of school is just about learning to be social and learning to deal with people and learning to have a structured schedule and like to like, just kind of deal with something that being in one place for, for multiple hours. It's, you know, a big part of life is just being able to sit in one place and not be, you know, now with my phone, I'm, I'm now addicted to my phone, just like everybody. And I, I can't do any, I'm oh five mo five seconds of silence. I better start scrolling. But yeah. So, uh, I, I wanna go back to those easier days when it was just to be out about coming to school and, and being with friends and, you know, playing some soccer. Mm-hmm .

Serenity (12:00):
What was the coolest movie song or game?

Rob Campbell (12:04):
I remember one time I got in trouble 'cause there was a cartoon called Thundercats and uh, my friends or everybody would run into the bathroom to wash their hands and jump up in the air and shout, you know, thunder, thunder, Thundercats . And I never did that. I was a good kid so I wouldn't do that of course. But I remember getting in trouble for all that noise they were making. And uh, we had, I don't know if you have still have the book, you get your name in the book, which was a dreaded book that really wasn't really on your permanent record. But we all were afraid of being in the book. And I think I might've gotten in the book for this and I was, was quite an injustice. I was pretty, pretty upset about it.

Serenity (12:32):
Well thank you for coming. It was good to see you.

Rob Campbell (12:34):
Thanks. Hey, do you mind if I ask you a question? Sure. Hey, do you want to podcast more in the future? Is this something that you enjoy doing?

Serenity (12:39):
I do want to podcast more in the future 'cause this is a Yeah. Really fun.

Rob Campbell (12:43):
Yeah, it's really fun. You can start a podcast on anything. Mm-hmm . But I have a podcast. It's specifically about Star Trek, the Next Generation. And I wondered if there's a topic that you know a lot about that you would focus your podcast on.

Serenity (12:53):
Beyonce.

Rob Campbell (12:53):
Uhhuh. ? Yeah. Mm-hmm . And you would go over like through her albums album by album you think? Yeah, probably. And then like review her some of her live shows and stuff. Yeah. Nice.

Serenity (13:01):
Or like I'd review like how her children or like how her and her husband like first met or something.

Rob Campbell (13:06):
Nice. The whole episode just on those specific things. That's great. Podcasts are great. 'cause you can get really dive into one specific thing or just say like, oh it's about fast food. Yeah. Or whatever. You can just be like, it's about anything. Yeah. Yeah. Well awesome. Well I hope you stick with it. Good to meet you. Good to meet you too.

Curtis Long (13:19):
Campbell turned the tables on Serenity there at the end. Nice job by her becoming the sudden interviewee up next. Before we take a quick break, Waylon and Preston sit down with Courtney White, who spent a majority of the nineties as an Ardenwald All Star. Get ready for some heartfelt discussions about her favorite teacher, favorite holiday memories and was there really an Ardenwald secret sauce for the chicken nuggets?

Courtney White (13:40):
My name is Courtney and I was in kindergarten here for 1990, I believe. And I went K through six, I believe.

Waylon (13:49):
What was your favorite food at Ardenwald?

Courtney White (13:52):
Well, I really liked their chicken nuggets and there was like the special sauce. I don't know if they have it anymore, but, um, it was like a mixture of like a sweet and sour barbecue. And then, gosh, the Turkey gravy with the mashed potatoes in a roll was always good. What

Preston (14:07):
Was your favorite subject?

Courtney White (14:08):
Reading! I think a lot of the teachers put a lot of emphasis on reading. I was in Ms. Schneider's class and the reading nook was always my favorite place to, to be.

Waylon (14:20):
What was your favorite teacher?

Courtney White (14:21):
Her name was Mrs. Cherrier. She was my kindergarten teacher. She just had a vibrant light about her and was really sweet and I enjoyed the holiday ba bizarres. We always had a winter wonderland here where the choir would sing. I remember actually having, um, there was deer here and cake walks and a lot of fun stuff.

Preston (14:42):
Which grade did you most enjoy?

Courtney White (14:44):
I would say my kindergarten year. I just, it's that teacher just, I really liked her and that's when it was all fun and games before the hard work starts in first grade.

Curtis Long (14:53):
And the hard work is just beginning on this special centennial celebration of the proud to be NCSD podcast. Oh, but who am I kidding? This isn't hard work for me at all because it's ar dewald students taking over interviewing duties as they catch up with special alumni guests. So far we've heard from two former students who attended Ardenwald in the eighties and nineties, but our alumni also stretched back further to an era before video games and even before kindergarten

Bill Haugen (15:20):
And listening to some of the other people, we didn't have kindergartens. I kind of feel cheated. I didn't learn to finger paint I guess.

Curtis Long (15:25):
But up next an interesting visit with a special guest who never went to Ardenwald but his dad sure did.

Tim Oberg (15:31):
So I have a little bit of a unique experience having had my dad be the principal here and I got to follow in his footsteps.

Curtis Long (15:38):
Among other special guests. Meet a former Ardenwald principal's son and what he remembers most about visiting dad at work at this special school.

Tim Oberg (15:46):
And I remember loving going in their classroom when I got to come over with my dad and wish that my classroom in my elementary school would've had that reading loft. They made it really comfortable with lots of pillows and it was really kind of a fun place to get work done,

Curtis Long (16:00):
Grab a pillow and make yourself comfortable as we continue to travel back in time and celebrate AL'S 100th birthday right after this.

Commercial Announcer (16:09):
Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? The North Clackamas school district is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire before and after school caretakers, custodians, and bus drivers in North Clackamas. We promise it won't take you long to learn why our employees say they're proud to be an NCSD. Apply today on the North Clackamas School District website or call 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000. That's 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000.

Curtis Long (17:04):
And welcome back into this centennial celebration of Ardenwald Elementary School. And as we mentioned before the break, not all of our current students today are interviewing former students. Tim Oberg was never officially enrolled at Ardenwald, but he spent plenty of time around the building after school when his dad was the principal in the 1970s as fourth graders, Esme and Lena found out Mr. Oberg Junior might have been having more fun than Mr. Oberg Senior.

Tim Oberg (17:28):
My name is Tim Oberg and I actually didn't go to Ardenwald, but my dad was the principal here at Ardenwald beginning when I was in fourth grade. And so that was 1972. His name was Jan Oberg and I think he was principal here for about seven or eight years. So I gotta spend a lot of time in the old Ardenwald building in the gym, in the classrooms. And I knew all of the teachers and a lot of the students that were here too. So I have a little bit of a unique experience having had my dad be the principal here and I got to follow in his footsteps. And I was a principal for about 20 years and now I've come around full circle and I'm filling in here for the end of the school year and teaching here. And so it's really a, a unique experience for me to get to teach again in the same building where my dad was principal, well not the exact same building, but Ardenwald Elementary School.

Esme (18:23):
When you were a kid, what did some of the classrooms look like that you went to?

Tim Oberg (18:27):
The classrooms here were really interesting because it was an another building and it kind of looks like this building, but it was one level and but the structure of our current building is kind of reminds me of it. When you walk in the front door instead of looking at the courtyard, that's where the gymnasium was straight in from the front door and off to the side of the school side. Over here were some classrooms that were built afterwards, uh, that were no longer there. So there was different kinds of classrooms here. There were really some old fashioned classrooms, um, with high ceilings and then kind of some separate rooms off to the side that you had to go outside to get to that were a little bit more modern. But the current building was built to look a lot like the old building, which is really neat.

Lena (19:10):
When you visited classrooms, did you learn anything?

Tim Oberg (19:15):
Well, since I didn't go here, um, as a student, I, I would say no, but, but I'll say yes also. Um, there was some really special teachers that worked here and there was two teachers that worked together, Mr. Green and Ms. Polschneider. And I think they taught fourth and fifth grade, but they team taught and they taught together and they had, uh, they had built a reading loft in their classroom and I remember loving going in their classroom when I got to come over with my dad and kind of wish that my classroom, uh, in my elementary school would've had that reading loft. They made it really comfortable with lots of pillows and it was really kind of a fun place to get work done. So I really liked that about their reading.

Esme (19:56):
What was the style and fashion like when he went to Ardenwald?

Tim Oberg (19:59):
Oh boy. It wasn't good

Tim Oberg (20:02):
At all. . It was, no, it was, um, probably not that different from right now. I kids wear jeans and sweatshirts and um, I still have an Ardenwald Elementary t-shirt. It doesn't fit me anymore, but I still have it. And it was the, it was the All Stars at that time. So, um, yeah, no fashion was, um, pretty, pretty casual back then with, with jeans and sweatshirts and t-shirts.

Lena (20:27):
What subjects did you like the most or least?

Tim Oberg (20:30):
Well, personally, I, uh, as an elementary student, I loved math a lot and I also liked reading, and I'm gonna say that what I remember about Ardenwald, even though, again, I didn't go here but knew the teachers that they were really big on reading. And again, Mr. Green and Ms. Polschneider's classroom with the reading loft and there was a teacher named Ms. Erickson who was a primary teacher and she was all about reading. So that was a really huge emphasis. And I remember being interested in reading. 'cause a lot of the things I saw here at the school where my dad was principal.

Esme (21:02):
When you went to the school, did you visit recess or make any good friends?

Tim Oberg (21:06):
You know, it's interesting. I don't remember any recess because I would've been at my own school going to elementary school. But I did have a lot of friends that went to Ardenwald Elementary School and even though they went to Milwaukie High School and I ended up going to Rex Putnam High School, I played sports with them in the community. We bowled at Milwaukie Bowling Alley, just down the street together and I played sports against them. And so I can say to this day that I have a number of good friends still that went to Ardenwald, like Jim and Doug Hoppel, like Lee Comb, like Scott, sell over some names that if anyone hears this, they'll know who those people are. Like Nick Lane, all Ardenwald students that I got to meet because my dad was principal here and I'm friends with them a lot of years later.

Lena (21:59):
So did you have a favorite teacher and what made them special?

Tim Oberg (22:02):
Well, you know, since I didn't go over here and I didn't have a teacher, but I loved a lot of the teachers and I've mentioned a few of them already. I'm gonna say Ms. Erickson was my favorite because later in life my dad and Ms. Erickson got married. So, um, she became my stepmom. And so, um, even though my dad is gone now, miss uh, her name is Judy Erickson or Judy Oberg now. Um, she's still around and I love her. So she, I I'm gonna say she was my, my favorite teacher. So

Lena (22:31):
Thanks Mr. Oberg for joining our podcast.

Tim Oberg (22:35):
Oh I appreciate it. It was my pleasure. And I just really thrilled to be able to, at this end of my career, to be able to come back and, and teach in this building. And it's especially special because it's very personal to me. So thank you very much. You did a wonderful job.

Students (22:51):
You're welcome.

Curtis Long (22:51):
Esme and Lena did a wonderful job, didn't they? Up next, our two interviewers stay on the mic and turn to Debbie Lyttle, who roamed Ardenwald hallways in the sixties and really loved the musical twist her elementary years took. Take a listen.

Esme (23:04):
What's your name and when did you go to Ardenwald?

Debby Lyttle (23:06):
My name is Debby and I was a student here from first grade to sixth grade. From 1962 to 1969 I think.

Lena (23:18):
What did some of the classrooms you were in look like?

Debby Lyttle (23:22):
Well, the one I really remember was the fourth grade room 'cause it was kind of, it was the old library and it was kind of shaped funny, had little corners that you could go sit in.

Esme (23:33):
Did you have a favorite teacher and what made them special?

Debby Lyttle (23:36):
Hmm. I think my second grade teacher was Mrs. Johnson and I liked her. Um, I remember learning cursive with her, although I could never do cursive handwriting very well and I loved my music classes.

Lena (23:49):
Did you have any class pets?

Debby Lyttle (23:51):
Any class pets? I don't think so.

Esme (23:54):
Do you have a really good, funny memory you could share with us?

Debby Lyttle (23:58):
Uh, one of the things that we did every year was a potlatch. I don't know if you guys do that now or we did that I think it was fourth grade. And we'd study, um, the local native, uh, Indian and then we would have a potlatch and everybody would bring something. We had to make gifts to give to everybody. Um, and that was a big deal and we did it in the, in in the outside gym. .

Lena (24:21):
What style and fashion was it like in Ardenwald?

Debby Lyttle (24:25):
Well, girls were not allowed to wear pants at all. Ever, ever. And boys were, we didn't, boys didn't wear jeans or it was much more formal. It is now like, like these would be your play clothes that you'd change into when you got home from school. You dressed up a little more.

Esme (24:45):
What's a thing you learned at Ardenwald that you still use today?

Debby Lyttle (24:48):
Oh, I learned how to play the violin. I learned to sing. IL music was my big thing. Um, in the first through fourth grade, music classes

Debby Lyttle (24:58):
Were just, we'd go all first graders into one room that had a piano. We'd all take our little chairs in there and we'd sit and sing for, I dunno, 20 minutes or so. That was our music classes, like from there until fourth grade and the room was crammed with kids, you get that many kids singing together is pretty fun. And then in fourth grade we had the opportunity to learn to play the violin. So yes, I'm gonna do that 'cause it's gonna get me outta of my other classes. . So I played violin, um, through seventh grade and uh, I became a music teacher.

Esme (25:31):
Thank you for coming.

Curtis Long (25:32):
And while Debby went on to become a music teacher, our next guest couldn't believe one of his former adenal teachers from the sixties even recognized him. 40 years later, Waylon and Preston visit with a very engaging Bill Haugen. And while we apologize for the occasional croaks in the audio, you'll love the story about how Bill once brought a frog into the school and what happened next.

Waylon (25:55):
Hi, what is your name and what year did you go to ald?

Bill Haugen (25:58):
My name's Bill Haugen. Um, in those days I was actually, Billy and I went here from I think 1964 to maybe 70 and listening to some of the other people, we didn't have kindergarten, so I kind of feel cheated. I didn't learn to finger paint, I guess.

Preston (26:14):
What was your favorite teacher?

Bill Haugen (26:17):
Ooh, I had two favorite teachers actually. Um, Mrs. Howe, Debbie Howe, super nice and caring and understanding and all that. And funny story, I've been teaching at Milwaukie High School for a long time and I dunno, maybe 15 years ago we started inviting the elementary teachers to our graduation and in my robe and helping seniors get lined up. She comes up and she goes, Billy Haugen is like, who are you? It was Mrs. Howe she recognized me after 40 years or something. And my other favorite teacher was Mr. Matzioka. And that was really cool because in those days there were not, not a lot of male elementary teachers and so that was kind of a cool role model to have. He was my sixth grade teacher. Funny guy too.

Preston (27:10):
What was the best memory of Ardenwald?

Bill Haugen (27:13):
Ooh. Well, what I really liked, I think the first day of school every year it was, it was fun to see, see everybody because a lot of times we wouldn't see people over the summers. And then I really enjoyed the last day of school too. We would take a field trip to the beach, a one day trip. And then my sixth grade year we had sixth grade here, um, was outdoor school and that was so much fun. There would be high school counselors and stuff and it was really cool experience.

Waylon (27:45):
What was your favorite food here that you had at Ardenwald?

Speaker 16 (27:48):
ooh, my favorite food at lunch was wiener wraps and I don't know how they did it. I still try to make wiener wraps and they never turn out as good.

Preston (27:59):
Have you ever had a class pet?

Bill Haugen (28:01):
You know, I remember bringing in a frog one time and we put it in a big box, poke holes in the plastic wrap, and somehow it got out and it went underneath the radiator, I guess for warm. And uh, that was it.

Bill Haugen (28:18):
I liked first grade a lot, I think because the whole school experience was new and every grade kind of, it had its finer points. I think sixth grade was probably my favorite 'cause of outdoor school. Um, and plus your sort of like the big kid on campus and he had more privileges. I got to be on Safety Patrol.

Waylon (28:39):
Thank you for joining us.

Curtis Long (28:41):
So much for the frog becoming Ardenwald's new mascot. But it is time to jump ahead to our final interview on this centennial celebration of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. Serenity is back to close things out with Justin Mayhew, who attended Ardenwald in the early nineties. And we saved this one for last because as Justin says, what's better about elementary school than spending time with your most memorable friends and your most memorable teacher.

Serenity (29:04):
What's your name and when did you go to Ardenwald?

Justin Mayhew (29:06):
My name is Justin and I went to Ardenwald from 1991 until 1994.

Serenity (29:14):
What was your favorite school lunch?

Justin Mayhew (29:16):
My favorite school lunch has to be the Turkey with the mashed potatoes and put it into a roll. So good. Still crave it to this day.

Serenity (29:24):
Did you ever bring a lunch from home?

Justin Mayhew (29:26):
Uh, yeah. Yep. A lot of times I did.

Serenity (29:29):
Were there any treats or snacks?

Justin Mayhew (29:32):
Sometimes if it was close to Halloween, yeah, there was always a, a little, a little treat that I earned somehow, some way.

Serenity (29:39):
What was your favorite thing to do on the playground?

Justin Mayhew (29:42):
Soccer. That was a lot of us, a lot of us boys would run around and get completely muddy and filthy.

Serenity (29:48):
What do you miss most?

Justin Mayhew (29:51):
Every day was coming to school, playing with your friends... That, that's kind of how I looked at it. I loved, I loved coming to school, being with my friends. It didn't matter what what we were doing, whether it was math, reading, writing. It was always fun to be with your friends.

Serenity (30:04):
What's your favorite memory?

Justin Mayhew (30:06):
Favorite memory? I've got a lot of 'em. I mean, it, it all kind of goes back to, to the being with my friends playing. So I went to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade here and I had the same teacher all three years. She was probably the best teacher I've ever had to this day. She, the, the impact that she had on me and, and how to approach school, she really helped that. And so that, that's probably my biggest memory.

Serenity (30:27):
Well, thank you for coming.

Justin Mayhew (30:29):
Yeah, thank you.

Curtis Long (30:30):
And a special thank you to all our guests today, helping us celebrate Ardenwald Elementary's 100th birthday. Rob Campbell, Courtney White, Tim Oberg, Debbie Lyttle, Bill Haugen and Justin Mayhew, and especially our student interviewers, Esme, Lena, Waylon Preston, and Serenity, just like their mascot, they are all truly Ardenwald all stars. We hope you enjoy today's special version of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. And here's toe Ardenwald Elementary, and to another 100 years of love, laughter, and lifelong learning. Thanks for listening to the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. In North Clackamas, we know that education is a community effort and we're so thankful that you and your family are a part of our community. Until next time, remember, there are always great things to see wherever you go in NCSD.