Winter '83-'84

The winter of 1983-84 was a particularly hard one. I wrote in my journal in December that we had gone several days with the temperature never getting above minus 7 or 8 below zero. During the nights it was 20-30 below zero. We thought it was never going to warm up. I remember deer hunting in that weather. We must have been crazy to be out in that!

It was so cold that Christmas that our family had a hard time getting together for the holidays. Loretta’s family traveled all the way from Kansas later that week. We met with my sisters and their families at my parent’s house. We did make it to Columbus Junction to gather with Becky’s side of the family on Christmas day. I wrote about the huge drifts along the side of the road.

The Area Education Agency was starting an annual young writers’ conference and asked me to help develop it. It was to be patterned after the model of the one in AEA #10. I had presented at it a few times so I guess they thought I would know something about it. Kids from all over the area got to come to the conference for a half-day, share their writing, go to a couple sessions led by presenters. Becky designed the cover for the first conference booklet and button and they were used for several years after that.

That January I started taking a course at Iowa called Consultation, Theory and Practice. Stu Ehly, Dick Duston, and XXX taught the course. It was a fascinating demonstration of team teaching. I didn’t really belong in the class but needed something to continue work towards administrative certification. The students in the class were psychology graduate students, pre-med students or law students. I definitely felt out of place. The course met on Tuesday nights in Iowa City and two full Saturdays. I wasn’t too excited about giving up so much of a couple weekends for it.

I must have had the “deer in the headlights” look because another person in the class kind of took me under her wing until I settled in. The instructors were friendly and supportive and that made the class doable for me.

I was also teaching an adult night writing class that semester. I had taught it a few times before. It was offered through the community college and held at Mt. Pleasant High School. They needed a dozen people in the class the class to offer it. The focus was on journaling and writing stories and poetry. I enjoyed the classes but had to spend a lot of time responding to the student writing. The class ended up being canceled because only two people showed up. I was disappointed because we needed the money, but I was already very busy so I was a little relieved to not have to worry about it.

That Valentines Day I sent Becky a singing valentine. I think she was working at the college at the time. She later scolded me for doing it but I thought it was a romantic thing to do. I think she was embarrassed.