Opinion : Saying goodbye to a giant of a man

I suppose there is in the memory of every former child a teacher that will stand out to you as you think back on your childhood. My kids don't have much variety in that department. One of my sons filled out the Facebook "fill in the blank" form that was going around about your teacher in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade....for every grade he filled in the same thing, "Mrs. Close" and then shared it. It made my day.

The kids all joke with each other about being homeschooled, but for as much moving as we did, I'm glad we did, well and honestly, I loved being with them as well. But I digress.

There are a few teachers that I remember for different reasons. Mrs. Hodgesnon I loved because when I was in 5th grade, she was pregnant and she looked so cute! Mrs, Kettler, well, hey, I loved art, what's NOT to like about a teacher that teaches art! Mr. Farmer, he was the only class I liked in 7th grade, it was FUN! Who knew that talking about current events would be fun, oh wait...hmmm...that shoulda been a clue where I'd end up!

However, there was one teacher that I was always fascinated by.

Mr. Huelman. Now I had Mr. Huelman as a P.E. teacher during those elementary years. Those years where you are the closest to the ground, and things might appear larger than they really are. But in this case, I'm sure it was true.

I remember watching Mr. Huelman as we entered the room.

Now, my dad was tall, but I think Mr. Huelman was at least 3 foot taller, a least he HAD to be when I was in elementary school.

I don't remember Mr. Huelman ever raising his voice, I don't think he had to.

I remember looking up at him and down at his feet and back to his head and thinking, "Nope, not gonna cross this guy..."

I really don't remember anything he said or anything he did. I remember a half smile on his face but overall a somewhat quiet man, or from what I recall.

P.E. was a fun class, except when it came time to climb that stinking rope, yeah, that never happened for me. I don't remember ever hating going to P.E. when I was in 5th grade. Now, when I got to Tilford in the 7th grade, yeah, I wasn't a fan.

There was something about Mr. Huelman, beside his height that commanded respect for him. He was always level in his emotion, at least from what I can remember, I don't remember him raising his voice in anger. Being firm, yes, but never angry with us.

I gave my daughter a grin when she had him for drivers ed. She was complaining to Mr. Huleman in Drivers Ed. that we had given her a Mercury Grand Marquis to drive, I think it was about a 1983 model, read a" boat sized car."

He said, "That's good, it will protect you in case you get in an accident!" It was okay that HE had told her that, even though we had said the same thing 100 times. I think she was a bit disappointed that he agreed. I knew she was in good hands when he taught her to drive.

I'm sure others have fond memories of him as well, and mine are so far in the past and I only had him in 5th grade.

He was one of those guys that you never forget. Sure, probably because he was the tallest guy that I had ever met, up until that time. But he was always nice and all I remember is that we had fun in the Lincoln gym when he was in charge.

Thanks for being you, for making this girl comfortable in your class, and for making it fun. That says a lot when a "kid" can remember that 45 years later!