LOOK: Old Farmers Road School Celebrates 50 Years

The best part of the job, they said, was being around the kids.

What else would you expect from retired school faculty members who chose to educate children as their careers?

Such was the case for more than two dozen retired faculty members who spent part, or all, of their careers at Old Farmers Road School, which is celebrating its 50th year in 2015-16.

The school administration pulled out all the stops for the honorees, who in some way shaped the school in to what it is today, for a morning celebration on Friday, Sept. 18.

Students in grades kindergarten through five sang songs for the honorees, and the blacktop was filled with classic cars from the 1950s and 1960s. Plenty of students and teachers got in on the action, dressing up in styles not seen since the middle of the 20th century.

Honorees included Robert Brennan, who joined Old Farmers as an Assistant Principal and later Principal. He was at the elementary school for decades after spending the first 17 years of his career at Long Valley Middle School.

The affable Brennan took a quick swipe at Old Farmers Road School principal Joe Ciulla to kick off his speech, telling the students in attendance he would have arranged for chairs on the blacktop for kids, and that Ciulla “is still learning,” which was returned by big laughs from the crowd.

The retired administrator recalled his favorite events, from the school plays to concerts and holiday events, and the ever-present Bowser, a dog who belonged to the neighbor that seemed to always find his way into the school.

Brennan also spoke to the evolution of the building as his tenure continued, watching as computers went from novelty to necessity in the building, and how he’d spring into bus-driving duties for the district when needed during storms, since he already had his commercial driver’s license.

“There wasn’t a day I didn’t want to go to work,” Brennan told the crowd of students, faculty, and parents.

Brennan was followed by Nancy Evans, who moved to the area two years before the school opened, and told tales of how different life was back then.

For starters, she said, property taxes for her home in 1965 were just $500 annually.

Evans recalled some scheduling difficulties during that first school year, since Old Farmers was delayed until November, while Flocktown was able to open its school on time in September. Students were bussed up the mountain to Flocktown for half a day of school until Old Farmers was ready to go, Evans said.

Since the original school building was just 10 classrooms and nothing else, Evans said lunch came from the Long Valley Middle School by way of bus and was dropped off each day to the students at Old Farmers, which was located on a dirt road.

The school expanded greatly over the years, accommodating more than 500 students at its peak, and added fifth grade when the district added the Cucinella School nearly a decade ago.

“They say the school building is made of brick and mortar,” Brennan said. “What happens inside the building is what gives it life, and that’s exactly what makes up Old Farmers Road School.”

The honorees in attendance and their Old Farmers tenure included:

• Caryl Eissing (1992 – 2008)
• Denise Scairpon (1987 – 2006)
• Jim Cline (1989 – 2014)
• Diana Thompson (1986 – 2006)
• Linda Cline (1988 – 2011)
• Evie Bond
• Sandy Rosenfeld (1969 – 1979)
• Jane Maxwell
• Rosemarie Hoover (1971 – 1983)
• Mary Lynn Leidl
• Myra Wolgamuth
• Betty-Jo Wydner (1972 – 2008)
• Marcy Busam (1981 – 1996)
• Diane McGuire (25 years)
• Linda Gerleit (1989 – 2004)
• Janice Carruth
• Betty Stepniak (1982 – 2007)
• Betty Murnane (30 years)
• Robert Brennan (1983 – 2003)
• Sue Havens (1981 – 1989, 1996 – 2015)
• Marge Scudese (1979 – 2001)
• Judy Bridgman (27 years)
• Gina Notte (1984 – 2010)
• Nancy Evans (1966 – 1979)
• Bonnie VanStone (1979 – 2001)
• Carole Robinson (1976 – 1981)