Too Long in the Wind

February 2012

Athletes with names

February 3]   Some of you will remember Dawn Clark, now Dawn Perry, RN. She wrote yesterday to identify a couple of girls in a photo of a junior high track team. (Click on the photo to see a larger copy of "Girls junior high track team" on a Gallery page.

"On the girls track picture," she wrote, "the girl in the front beside Susan and Teresa is Kim but I can't think of her last name. The girl in the back (between Rayetta and Konnie) is Cindy Mason. She lived in Dundee."

Dawn added: "I haven't been back to Pawnee Rock in at least 20 years but think of it often!!!"

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Lessons learned with SSS

[February 3]   From Glenn Mull:

Was I the only one who had to write "I will not talk in music class" 100 times? By putting a rubber band around four pencils I thought it would reduce the task greatly. This creativity did not impress SSS.

I will lift my glass to her for not allowing anyone to take the easy way out!! She was special.

Glenn Mull

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Ron Darcey: A eulogy for Mrs. Schmidt

[February 1]   Shiela Sutton Schmidt's burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Pawnee Rock Cemetery. Her full obituary appears in the Great Bend Tribune, but the few words in the Tribune will not be enough to describe the fullness of what she meant to us. (Obituary)

The following thoughts arrived from Ron Darcey, Pawnee Rock Class of 1968:

Once again a teacher passes on to their Heavenly reward that had such a great influence on me during my adolescent years and well beyond. I really don't even know where to begin. First I would have to remember the Schmidt family as friends of my folks, Jim and Marguerite Darcey. I remember sharing many back and forth visits for suppers at our home and theirs. Their stone home northeast of Pawnee Rock was so quaint and prairie-esque. It was definitely not a home of luxury, but it was a home filled with love and hospitality. It was Harold and Shiela personified to say the least. I remember getting my first taste of goat's milk and cheese; as Harold always raised a few goats on his farm. I remember a great friendship between their daughter Kathy and I. One that yielded years of great fun in school, 4-H, and other community events. But then that is really what being raised in Pawnee Rock was: One big neighborhood chock full of great remembrances.

Shiela Sutton Schmidt was one of the first women whom I remember using her maiden name as an identity. Although hyphenated last names are the norm this day and age, back then it was almost non-existent. Perhaps that is what set her apart from her peers. She was her own self. She was Shiela Sutton Schmidt.

Shiela was many things to many people. First and foremost she was an outstanding citizen of the community. Her love for the town showed in everything she did. Her influence on the young and old alike has been spread across the surrounding counties, the great state of Kansas, and the nation as we have dispersed hither and yon in search of our own lives and interests. Yes, I'll say it now because I know a lot of readers remember her as a person that you "loved to hate." Well not necessarily hate: that is a little harsh. She was teased, snickered at, and whispered about behind her back and probably in her presence at times because she came across as somewhat eccentric and "old fashioned" in her ways. Her dress was anything but modern and her spectacles were rimless and so not "hip" for the times. But really as I think back on my years when she was an influence on my life she was pretty "hip" in spite of herself. She enjoyed and inspired life and loved to laugh; even at herself.

Shiela loved the arts (especially music), history, and foremost she loved kids. Now we may not have "loved" her quite the same way because she was a disciplinarian. She taught with just enough leeway to allow you to actually understand and enjoy the classics. She offered a plethora of music curriculum to bring the least musically interested students into her fold to tweak their interest in this fine art. She didn't care whether one could carry a tune in a bucket and butchered Home on the Range or the Star Bangled Banner, to the likes of current performers, we all learned and performed solo all the verses of our state song and national anthem. She was a true patriot. To this day I can still belt out verses one and four of our national anthem, but verses two and three were not song worthy in my opinion. (As an aside we should all take verse four to memory and to heart. It by far should be the verse of choice for events in this country.)

As a music teacher, Shiela loved giving school programs. The time and work she devoted to producing, directing, set designing, and costuming each and every program is to be admired. With the recent passing of Kansas' sesquicentennial, the program I remember most is her Kansas centennial program that was presented in Spring 1961. A historical presentation of Kansas and Pawnee Rock history, I remember it well as I was most fortunate to portray Kit Carson and re-enact the "historical" event of the shooting of his mule at Pawnee Rock. As much as I would like to say that I was the standout in that scene, I would be remiss to not give the just reward to the mule. It was by far the most overacted death scene presented on the Pawnee Rock stage. Oh to have had video back then; to record this production and her production of HMS Pinafore and the many Christmas and spring programs she produced and directed year after year.

As a community leader, Shiela was active in her church music program and the 4-H Club. She volunteered many hours as a leader for my Pawnee County River Ramblers 4-H Club. Those who were members will no doubt remember the time and effort she gave to teach the folk dancing, music and singing, skits, and artistic programs that made up a vital part of being a 4-H member back then. The River Ramblers brought home many a blue, pink and purple ribbon because of her efforts to put the final polish on the likes of a Maypole Dance, the Virginia Reel, a Home on The Range chalk drawing presentation, or learning and performing the very difficult four-part Carol of The Bells required for a blue ribbon performance.

Shiela lent her talents to many town events. Her involvement is a testament unto itself. Each community has those who make a name for themselves by giving their all. Pawnee Rock was very fortunate to have one: Shiela Sutton Schmidt. She touched many lives during her years as a teacher, leader, and mentor. May God rest her soul. May she sing with the angels for eternity.

Ron Darcey
Class of 1968

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