Thanks Marianne! I am Michael Robinson, Longview class of 1963. When we attended Longview the old WPA built classrooms were located where the playground is now, and vice versa. By 1960 the, what is now, Wells Auditorium was built. Mr. Wells was the new music teacher at that time. Nice guy. Dont know if the auditorium still stands or not. Life was very good at Longview! You got a great hot meal at the cafeteria for $1.25 a week ($0.25) a day. Afterward at recess, you could buy a Dream-cycle for five cents at the concession at the back of the cafeteria. Mr. Harry Matz, veteran navigator U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II, was our eighth grade teacher. He was a true renaissance man. He took us on field trips to different places of worship, to introduce us to religions with which we were not familiar. He set up an student exchange program. I exchanged with students at the old Indian School and spent a day as a student there. He took us to a restaurant and taught us to act decent in a social situation --we went to the Red Devil Restaurant. Most of us had never been to an Italian restaurant before. He took us to the Phoenix Little Theater to see the Little Foxes. Most of us had never been to a live play before. He took us on a hay ride one Saturday evening, and allowed us to invite special friends. He just taught us to learn about our world and be comfortable in a lot of different social situations. I dont know that teachers could do these things today. I appreciate Mr. Matz more and more as the years go by. I still love to go to the theater, hayrides, and restaurants! But, the love of learning he instilled in us has been a most valuable gift. I was well prepared for high school. Went on to obtain bachelor and master degrees at some great colleges and universities. Passed some pretty tough training courses at the Arizona Military Academy, U.S. Army Engineer School, U.S. Army Chemical School, Defense Systems Management College, and the Command and General Staff College, as well. Thanks Mr. Matz!! I am retired from the U.S. Army, after a fairly successful career, and work for the Army as a civilian as an Environmental Protection Officer. I write National Environmental Policy Act documents. Mr. Matz gave us some great creative writing assignments, too. I still remember his encouraging notes on one of the big assignments. That was the beginning of my love for writing and propelled me to become a successful technical writer. I live in Utah now, where I ride my horses and grow fruit trees. I will never forget Longview and my hero, Mr. Harry Matz.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 21:50:21 +0000