Yesterday was our annual HNWWG party. It’s always so much fun being with other retired teachers saying “Hell No We Won’t Go” on the first day of school.
But I actually knew one person who wished she could go back-to-school EVERY year. Evie Hall-Case loved being our high school secretary for 35 years. Not only was she the eyes and ears of USHS, but also the heart and soul.
She knew everyone (and everything about them.) Ha! I really miss her.
Evie was a miracle worker.
I remember the first year I met her. I traveled between the high school and junior high, and I had promised to deliver a bus request for a Vo Ag field trip. But when I opened my lesson plan book on Monday morning, I realized I had forgotten to turn it in. I didn’t know what to do so I ran down to see Evie. It was amazing what she could do with a phone. Twenty minutes later she had a school bus and driver waiting out front for the kids.
And then there was the time some goofy kid called the school trying to make a bomb threat, but Evie recognized his voice. She told him to quit being ridiculous and get back to school. And he did.
Once when Evie was the cheerleading advisor, she rescued one of the girls who had forgotten to put her uniform in the dryer. Evie assured the girl it would be alright as she drove the cheerleaders to the game -- with the wet cheerleading uniform flapping outside her car window to dry.
Every spring Evie would ask me for the list of students who had bought tickets for the prom. She’d then become an unbelievable matchmaker for those who weren’t signed up. With only a couple days’ notice, she’d arrange dresses, tuxedos, flowers and dinner reservations -- at her own expense -- for those on “her list.”
And I discovered Evie had cedar-lined closets in her basement where she kept clothes of all sizes for students who may need something during the school year.
Evie selling tickets for the melodrama “Adrift in New York” I directed
If we needed someone to sell tickets, we all knew to ask Evie. First, she spent hours calling people to purchase tickets, and then she made sure Aunt Henrietta didn’t sit by estranged Cousin Opal and Wayward Husband Hector’s wife didn’t sit by his girlfriend Elvira.
I’ll never forget the time I thought she had invited me to dinner as a thank you gesture, but I found out we were actually there on a spying mission. OMG she heard music teacher Robin (Richardson) Spoors had gotten engaged , and she wanted to check out her new fiancé.
Few people ever earn one-name status in this world, but everyone in Upper Sandusky knew “Evie.” She was one-of-a-kind. I’ll never forget her…
Nov. 30, 1930 - Aug. 23, 2020
It’ll Be OK.
~~~
“ Retirement is wonderful. It’s doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it.” ~ Gene Perret
COMMENT: DID YOU HAVE AN “EVIE” IN YOUR LIFE?
What a tribute to a great lady . Most schools could not function with out an Evie. They are the unsung heroes . My daughter is in education. She loves her job She loves her kids. She says her support staff is something you don't do without . Thank you for remembering these forgotten heroes.
My daughter and a friend worked in the office with Evie one school year, she even gave them a graduation gift when they were off to college. A very generous person.