06/13/2014
Welcome to your home of BAA news and memories! As your host, I'll get things rolling by giving you an update on myself. I'm Bob Dunkin, Music Director and Alumni Director at Brighton Adventist Academy. I attended BAA from September 1964 to May 1972. My first homeroom teacher for 2nd and 3rd grade was Elsie Oster, a sweet grandmotherly type who read lots of stories, told lots of corny jokes, and led song services on the piano once a week. In 4th grade, I had Mrs. Bartholemew, a stern, old-fashioned disciplinarian who graded more harshly than any teacher I've ever known. She was feared more than loved.
For 5th and 6th grade I had Mrs. Karen Schrenk, a young woman who had a warm and winning way with her students. She had a baby daughter named Tammy who sometimes visited during school hours, and was a hit with all the kids. Her husband was serving in Vietnam and was killed in action. I'll never forget the day she received the news at school, delivered by two US Army officers in their dress uniforms. Mrs. Beltz, a parent who often did substitute teaching, took over our classroom for the rest of the day. A full assembly was called shortly after the soldiers arrived. The principal told us what happened. A few gasps of unbelief, then stunned silence, then weeping and wailing. We all felt deeply the pain and sorrow of our beloved teacher.
The following year, which was 6th grade for me, Mrs. Schrenk became Mrs. Brooks, and we were all invited to her wedding.
My 7th and 8th grade years were under the capable guidance of Mr. Joe Stock, a man in his mid twenties with a keen sense of humor, who knew how to talk to middle schoolers without being lame or condescending. He expected our best work and our best behavior, and he maintained a warm, spiritual atmosphere. He understood the social pressures of adolescence, and we respected and loved him for it. One day, some of the girls talked him into letting them fill the bulletin boards and walls of our classroom with pop culture personalities like the Osmond Brothers (especially Donny), the Partridge Family (especially David Cassidy), and other early seventies icons. The new decor lasted only a few days, then quietly disappeared.
Mr. Delmer Wiggins was my 9th grade teacher. (The school did not offer 10th grade at that time.) Our homeroom consisted of 3 students: Larry Carroll Jr., Sue Ann Perkins, and myself. My most vivid memory of that year was a biology field trip we took to New Mexico and west Texas. We stayed with a friend of Mr. Wiggins in El Paso, and toured some natural wonders in the area for observation of indigenous plant and animal life. While there, we all wanted to cross the Rio Grande into Ciudad de Juarez. I had never been to Mexico before, and the startling contrast between prosperity and poverty caught me completely unprepared. The scenes we observed in that short visit made a deep impression on me, and made me grateful for the blessings in my life.
Now it's your turn! Please share your memories of BAA and invite your classmates to climb aboard!
