Mr. Legan

BoMarGirl sent me Mr. Legan's email address, and I contacted him.
I got a wonderful reply, then sent Mr. Legan my phone number.
This weekend he called, and we spent almost an hour on the phone, sharing memories and catching up on almost 50 years of life.

I don't remember how many individual classes the class of '65 was broken into for Sixth Grade....was it four?
Did all of us occupy the old "Spitting radiators, Middle Building" that year?

Whatever......
a chunk of us were Mr. Legan's first Co-Ed class at CG.
There's an explanation for that:
The year before us, the only space available for Mr. Legan's class was in the old tunnel near the Boys Locker Room, in the new Gymnasium area.
The powers that be were worried about the proximity to that Locker Room, and decided an all male class would avoid a bunch of complications.

Here's a thumbnail of his history:
He taught at CG for 7 years, then went to Franklin, where he taught Algebra and Math for 16 years, until 1980.
From 1980 until 1995 he taught various levels of Math and Social Studies at a school in West Virgina, where he had inherited a farm. During this time, he also raised cattle on a small scale!

He met his first sweetheart while attending Franklin College, and later married her. They were married 43 years. Her death left him wondering whether life was worth living for quite a period of time.

He finally met and fell in love with another Hoosier Girl, (0ddly, both his wives were from New Albany). They were married in 2006.
She is a Nurse. She plans on retiring at the end of the year, then together they plan on doin' a bunch of travelling.

Mr. Legan has 3 sons and a daughter, ranging in age from 38 to 46.
His daughter, (a teacher!), lives less than an hour from me, and I've challenged him to call me when he comes to visit so Sara Jean and I can drive there and take him to dinner.

When I reflect on my favorite teachers, Mr. Legan stands out.
He was fair. He had a positive attitude. He actually taught!
Our phone conversation was a delight........he related how many other professions get a chance to see their finished product: the worker on an assembly line gets to see the car he helped build being driven by it's purchaser on the street. In talking with BMG and myself, Mr. Legan has gotten a glimpse at his "finished product".

Obviously, I hope he is pleased.