Marcia Trimble

By LORI POTTER
Hub Staff Writer

KEARNEY - Greetings came from almost every classroom Monday afternoon as Marcia Trimble walked the halls at Kearney's Emerson Elementary School.

The acknowledgements were from teachers and administrators who had shared the hallways with her for some of the 22 years she taught third, fourth and fifth grades at Emerson. She previously taught five years at Park Elementary School.

Those 27 years, multiplied by an average of 25 children per class, equals at least 675 Kearney kids who called her "teacher."

"One of my boys came up to me at Wal-Mart the other day and put his arm around me," Trimble said, estimating that all "her girls and boys" have finished high school since she retired in 1993. "They recognize me more than I recognize them."

When she left the classroom, she didn't leave behind her love for children.

Today, she asks to lead children's programs when she volunteers as a docent at the Museum of Nebraska Art. As president of the Golden K Kiwanis Club, she promoted a program that treats children with iodine deficiencies and supported "Operation Smile," which sends doctors to other countries to do surgeries on children with harelips and cleft palates.

"So I feel like I've touched children around the world," Trimble said.

For her dedication to teaching and to children, Trimble has been named the 2004 Hub Freedom Award recipient in the Education Category.

In his nomination letter, Ward Schrack of Kearney wrote: "She distinguishes herself by her dedicated teaching, but also gave of herself by assuming many leadership roles in education and other related organizations and service groups."

Schrack said that during Trimble's Golden K presidency in 2001-02, she was recognized as the president of the highest ranking Kiwanis Club in the Nebraska/Iowa District.

Emerson Principal Dave Townsend said Trimble had a reputation as a Nebraska history expert when she taught the subject to fourth-graders.

"I really liked fourth grade because I liked to teach Nebraska history," Trimble said. "I just loved it."

She often wrapped the education around special festivals and field trips to Pioneer Village in Minden.

She also was known for her people skills. "She's very genuine, honest and loyal," Townsend said. "... A love of kids. She has that."

Education wasn't her first career interest.

"I wanted to be an interior decorator and then changed my mind," Trimble said. "I knew I'd have to go to New York for my education and I knew I'd never go to New York."

She went to Kearney State College instead and sought do something to help children and to explore subjects she enjoyed, including art, science, social studies and world events.

When teaching, she'd update herself on the latest news before going to school and then lead current events discussions in class. In 1967, while at Park Elementary School, she started elementary science fairs.

Trimble is one link in a family chain of teachers.

Her mother taught in southeast Nebraska. Now, her daughter and granddaughter are high school and junior high teachers, respectively, in Humboldt, Iowa.

Although art was Trimble's first love and her KSC major, she focused on elementary education because there were more job opportunities.

Townsend said one of the intangibles Trimble brought to her classroom was organizational skills. "I always made sure they (students) checked their work everyday ... I had checkout sheets," Trimble recalled.

She also initiated a dispute resolution system after noticing that students often brought recess conflicts back to the classroom. After school, they'd have to go to a corner and work out their differences.

"They'd do their own mediation," Trimble said, and she'd step in only if needed. "Some days, all four corners were filled with kids."

She still believes some students may have exaggerated their conflicts because they liked the after-school conversations.

Reading was the most difficult subject to teach. Third-graders had reading twice a day, while her fourth- and fifth-graders had reading once a day.

Trimble said the difference was "learning to read versus reading to learn."

She also didn't like making out report cards or disciplining children. "I think those are the two things most people are down on," she said. "But there's no way to get out of it. That's why I developed the mediation."

Discipline issues changed considerably from the start of her career in the 1960s to her retirement in the 1990s, mostly because more children came to school with family and social issues, Trimble said.

In retirement, she has focused on activities she didn't have time for while teaching.

Even during cancer treatment the past year, she has kept up with her Kiwanis and church activities. "She has hardly missed a beat," Schrack wrote.

"I like to work with people," Trimble said. "I like to work with children. This has been a very fulfilling retirement for me."

e-mail to:
lori.potter@kearneyhub.com