Brian S. Craft, Class of 1980

My favorite teachers were:

Jack Grisham -- history --I wasn't really interested in history until taking his class. Looking back, he was passionate about teaching and his "real life" stories were always interesting.

Gary Risenhoover --Math--Actually, I don't recall if I ever had Mr. Risenhoover as a teacher. However, I do recall speaking with him daily outside of his classroom about anything and everything.

I can't leave off: Tom Waller, Gary Emmenderfer and Terry Kitchen -- can't say enough about these three coaches. After 30 some-odd years later, I still recall many life lessons they coached!

Ellen Gunter McDowell, Class of 1969

All in all, I was very blessed with wonderful teachers throughout my public school education in Cape Girardeau. Here are some of my favorites:

Alma Schrader, lst grade -- Mrs. Clayton -- She epitomized the image of a warm, caring teacher whose goal was the success of each and every student in her class. She was firm, skillful and had a loving personality.

Alma Schrader, 5th grade -- Miss Harris -- She was smart and used her wit to keep us in line while preparing us with knowledge we would need in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and beyond. She challenged us to grow and to ask why. I remember Miss Harris was a pillar of strength as she counseled us the day JFK was killed.

Franklin, 6th grade -- Miss Schlosser -- She helped to ease my anxiety of being among some students who transferred to Franklin our 6th grade due to a lack of space at Alma Schrader. She had a fun-loving spirit and even made map skills and geography interesting. One of my favorite memories of Miss Schlosser is when she would read books to us each day, giving dramatic impact to each character.

Junior High -- Mr. Ralph Ford--He made math interesting. I loved math and he challenged us to stretch our skills. He had a way of identifying the help each student needed in understanding math problems. What a fun surprise for me when I learned much later in my life that my husband, daughter, and I had moved across the street from Mr. Ford and his family.

High School --Mr. Johnson--Mr. Johnson had a sense of humor and used it frequently during our chemistry class Elements Chart drills. I remember that he was intent that each person understand chemistry and tried to find ways of making it appealing to those who were struggling. I thoroughly enjoyed his classes and I didn't realize how they were preparing me so for my future career.

Dr. Audrey Reynolds, Class of 1961

The most important person in my life in Cape Public Schools was Paul Jenkins, who was the guidance counselor at CHS. When I went to see him, at the end of my freshman year, to discuss my program for my sophomore year, he said, "Well, of course, you want the College Prep curriculum." Until that moment, I had never considered going to college. Neither of my parents had finished high school, so as far as I was concerned, finishing high school would have been a big deal. So, in a brief few minutes, he changed my life.

Up until then, no one in the school system had told me that there was the slightest possibility I might be even a wee bit intelligent. When I was older, I learned that some of the teachers at May Greene had said that those folk who thought that nothing good could come out of May Greene were going to find out otherwise, but I was never given a clue.

The second person I remember fondly is Ruby Davis who taught Speech and started the debate program at CHS. She realized that while I wrote "Standard English", I didn't speak it and she very sensitively and privately made me aware that I needed to change my speech patterns, before I went off to college, which I subsequently did.

The third person would be my first-grade teacher, Clara Mae Dickey, at May Greene. I loved her so much that I was horrified to have to leave her classroom.

Thomas Cushman, Class of 1952

I had to go back to the yearbook to even recall most of the names but these were my favorites:

Tony Carosello, the band instructor: only teacher I had at any level who played basketball and corkball with us.

Alene Sadler - English. Must have had a positive effect on my use of the language...I've been in the writing business for 50-plus years.

Tillie Dale Williams, Spanish. Great patience with students, many of whom were hearing a language for the first time.

Jerry Ford, Class of 1960

I had three outstanding teachers at Central---

Tony Carosello --great trumpet player and mentor;

Bill Ewing -- great jazz woodwind player -- we performed together for many years;

and Jack "Pug" Russell -- he was a great coach, a great person and a wannabe piano player!

Elizabeth Shelton, Class of 1980

I would expect there is a recurring theme in that some of our most memorable teachers were some of our most demanding. Judy Williams was no exception. I expect that she made an impact on Sara Stacy Dyer as well. Like all of us, Judy had her quirks. But she consistently turned out extraordinary, award-winning choral groups. Her reputation was legendary. So many of her students to this day (myself included) still participate in church and community groups and frequently are disappointed that they are not of the caliber of our high school choir. She not only taught us musicality and showmanship, but like a good coach, she demanded the best from each of us and simply would not accept anything else. I hope she realizes just what an impact she had on so many students.

I also value the attention to detail I learned from Liz Lockhart when she was the publications editor. Working on the yearbook was such a positive experience. Today I earn my living writing in a variety of formats. I owe much to the encouragement and attention to detail she provided that went well beyond grammar and punctuation. She helped me to understand the things that distinguish great writing from average writing--creating the "feel" for a piece, setting the mood, using the right voice, spending thirty minutes thumbing through the thesaurus to find just the right word--not to mention the importance of meeting deadlines.

I was surprised as well as a bit saddened when she left teaching to become a realtor, thinking of the many students who would not benefit from her guidance. But I am not at all surprised that she has done very well at it. She is one of those quiet go-getters who methodically does what needs to be done behind the scenes with little concern for public recognition. I am glad she is being recognized for her current efforts, because I am not sure she, like so many teachers, did not receive the recognition she deserved from her students and faculty peers.

Marie Francis Kluesner, Class of 1988

I graduated from Central in 1988 (only attending there two years after University School had closed). My favorite and most memorable teacher at Central was Mrs. Lou Ann Zoffuto. She taught World History and made it very interesting and was a likable person. World History could be very boring to high school students but she made us want to learn about it. In addition, Mrs. Zoffuto was a very nice person. Central was very blessed to have her.

While I see her from time to time, I don't think I have ever told her that she was my favorite/my memorable teacher at Central!