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REMEMBER YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? In her car she also had little feet painted on the ceiling from the
rear view mirror back to the back window. It was always a temptation to follow the foot prints. If you weren't sitting down you would have fallen over. She was great. She was so gracious and the boys really seemed
to relate to her. Not many teachers had that kind of relationship with the students. The grade-lowering black marks were awarded for a wide range of offenses, belching, farting, over-long eye contact
with a friend, on-music-appreciation-type smurks etc. The rumor was that she had failed boys in an earlier class for misbehaving and they'd had to take music over in order to graduate. We all held a secret terror that
the same fate awaited us, and so, somehow, a small degree of order was maintined. Ron Jacobson I remember her English class when we had to memorize Shakespeare sonnets. I was timid and could not stand up
in front of the class and she let me come in after school to recite them. Little did I know that in later years, I would be addressing groups of 800 people. Thanks Ms. Van B. Beth Garbutt: Mary Alice Wright: English--Rose Norberg, a blonde lady.
Betty McFall--another good athlete, and neat person: Girls' PE . Ruth Guyer Jones: History. Broke tradition by retiring, then getting
married at 65. I saw her about 5 years ago, and she looked not a day older than in class in the 50s... Margery Helvey Owens--Latin. She seemed the epitome of sophistication. All those taffeta dresses, blouses with
flowing sleeves. High heels and backless satin shoes. Had lived in New York. We thought her as exotic as a movie star. Marie Young Avery--Art. Had several years of her classes, which were always fun partly because we got to talk, quietly, while we worked and drew. Oneof the murals of the Tetons a bunch of
us worked on is still up somewhere. She sent a bunch of us outside to draw fall trees; we ran around, ate candy, and threw leaves at each other. Came in with blank sketch pads. She just looked at us and said, "That
poet was right. Only God can make a tree." Clara Blakeman Lehman: Betty Thomas P.E. My all-time favorite teacher. She was a new bride Barbara Barnes-Music. We also did HMS Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance under her tutelage. She got exasperated a few times, but generally showed extreme
patience under the pressure of trying to get us to shape up those big musicals! Bing Brouilette:My all time favorite teacher, Pat WallaceHamilton, died from cancer a few years ago.
Ed Hartman: Jo Ann Boyd Scott: My parents also had Miss Van for a teacher in 1932 and 1933. I was warned to be "quiet" in her
class and work hard or she would yell at me. She was definitely from the"old" school that rules were rules and there were no exceptions. My parents learned a lot from her and seemed to enjoy her. I
really enjoyed Miss Van, I wrote stories about G.A.A. and girls sports and she seemed pleased with them. I always shook in my "boots"when I had to turn something in and she was sitting there frowning and
frowning as she read it, then finally would say " that is very good." Ginny Booth Core, 1955, Pass it on to Jane and others that our
biology teacher (1952-55) was Bill (I think) Tait/Tate and he was the most outstanding science teacher I have ever seen work.Ê We only had him a few years but he was great. For example we dissected a
bobcat..smelled up the whole school and finally they made us throw it out. Whew!! it was bad. Jo Ann Boyd Scott: Bill Tait was THE reason I majored in Biology
and the Earth Sciences in college and taught it for many years. I "thought" I would hate science, ended up taking it my Senior year.(no guidance counselors then). He was the best teacher I believe I ever
had. He said at the beginning of the year, God is a myth and only Darwin has the true answers, blah, blah, he got me so incensed I hit the library and read everything I could on Darwin. I spent a lot of time in
class arguing with him. I finally understood from his comments that he used it as a ploy to get us going. What a teaching technique! Now I chuckle to myself about how long I would beemployed now in a school
using that technique. He had labs every day, such fun things. I just fell in love with the subject. Ann Rhein Alsup and I even put a chicken skeleton back
together. What a mess that was. What I remember about him the most was that he was SO DIFFERENT. He held my attention all the time, I never got bored. I learned so much from him that my freshman college
Biology class was a snap. I never appreciated him until I saw how hard my college classmates were struggling and I didn't even have to study. It was the same content as high school. I think I always tried to emulate
his style of teaching.
Betty Snodgrass May,1952:Wasn't Pat Wallace Hamilton the one that drove the little Crosley (not sure of the spelling) or some little car and the boys
would put it on blocks or carry it to the third floor of the high school? She was such a good sport about it that they would carry it back down or lift it off the blocks. One time they set the car with the wheels
on either side of the parking curb and with the signs at each end she could not drive off Needless to say the boys once again came to her rescue.
By the time we had Miss Swindler, her nerves were fairly well
shattered. She would mince across the room in those old lady lace up shoes, carefully lower the arm of on the record player, all the time anxiously scanning the room for disruption, then settle herself at the desk, one
hand inside her gradebook to the page with the current class roster. She spent the whole class, watching us listen to the music. (she always wrote the name of the piece we were listening to in large sweeping letters low
on the blackboard since she couldn't reach very high.) when anyone misbehaved, she'd open the gradebook, her eyes still on us, run her finger down the page where the offender should alphabetically appear, then
quickly--and only momentarily-- lower her eyes long enough to make a mark by the offender's name.
I remember debate sessions in Miss Van's classes. Somehow,I always got assigned an unpopular premise to defend (Alaska and Hawaii should
not be admitted as states; George Washington was a better president than Abraham Lincoln; and socialized medicine is a great idea!)
Clara Blakeman Lehman:
I imagine everyone remembers Fannie
(Frances) Van Boskirk - SHS teacher of English, Debate,and Journalism.I had a class from her every year, and I think the highlight of her year was Halloween when she read
Little Orphan Annie to every class. I can still picture her jumping up and down and sideways across the front of the room when she read "and the goblins'll get ya, if you don't watch out!"
Ethel A. Sheets:
My Dad also had her as his English teacher and I remember him telling me that one fall, he had to get special permission from her to go deerhunting . She wouldn't give it to him. He
told her it was a matter of eating through the winter-which was true as there were six kids . All the rest of his teachers had given him the time off. She said if he didn't show up in class she would flunk him. He
didn't , and she did, so Dad never got his high school diploma.
I went to visit her(Fannie Van) when she lived in California with her sister. Fanny wanted to come to Sheridan for a class reunion but didn't think she could change planes. So Ann Garbutt Ryan said she would meet
her in Denver and help her get to her plane. Fanny needed a wheel chair (so she told Ann) but when Ann met her, she was so excited that she ran all the way to the plane without a wheel chair etc. She had a wonderful
time - she loved Sheridan and all the students and had great memories. She was a character .
Became Betty Thomas, with her marriage to Bernard Thomas, the
artist.
Barbara Barnes--Music. Did so much to energize the music program. Later the school
gave "South Pacific" "New Moon," some really good shows. Several starred my friend Carolee Ramsey (class of '54) a really talented actress and singer. "Brigadoon" was another show. I did
some scenery for one of them.
Jane Gordon -Shorthand. A fine teacher who did a good job of
teaching me a usable skill and practical applications of her class.
when we started high school. She spent so much time and energy on girl's
intramurals and G.A.A. She also taught some Algebra classes
Ralph Cloyd passed away a few years back in Rapid City, S.Dakota. He was our Algebra teacher, but also, our Battery Commander in the Wyo. National Guard, 300th AFA Bn. A number of guys
from the class of 1948, 49, & 50 got to go to Korea with him.
MRS.BETTY THOMAS 
My favorite teacher was Betty Thomas. I admired her so much, she always seemed so kind and fair to everyone. She taught Physical Education and provided so many activities in G.A.A. where we could earn
points leading to a letter sweater. She taught us how to officiate and was our sharpest critic when we "goofed". She was the kind of teacher I have tried to be the last 38 years. She lives in S.Fl. as you know
her husband, artist Bernard Thomas passed away two years ago.