The Teacher on Trail program is 20 Years old!

The program was created by “Finney” in 1998.  She was the first Teacher on the Trail.   Members of the Teacher on the Trail Alumni are sharing out some messages to Finney…  List to the messages and get to know the alumni.

Herb Brambley, 2010 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ – Pennsylvania

Herb, along with his wife Jamie, who is a librarian, live in a log home they built and now share with 19 huskies, 2 cats, and a mule.

Herb is a K-6 environmental education and 4^th grade teacher at Southern Fulton Elementary School in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania.  Herb says he has the best teaching job anywhere and also the biggest classroom, since his classroom is the 140 acre school property of woods and fields, which also includes a pond, wetlands, and several streams.

Before becoming a teacher, Herb had a variety of occupations.  He was a farmer, blacksmith, farrier, sawyer, machinist and tool and die maker.  Having these experiences has enriched Herb’s classroom by giving him the necessary background from which to draw upon in order to make real life situations a part of the curriculum in his classroom.  What better way is there to give meaning to learning other than to use the lessons to solve problems students may face once they are in the real world?  Herb was also a Youth Conservation Corp Crew Leader for the United States Forest Service at the Teton Basin Ranger District in Driggs, Idaho.  That was one of the most rewarding and fun jobs he says he ever had.  Imagine getting paid to experience the Tetons and all the adventures they provide and, at the same time, teach students how to care for a fantastic resource so that it is there for future generations.  Speaking of future generations, Herb now has 4 grandchildren Zeke 9, Aliza 6, Ike 7, and Ella 8.

Herb also volunteers his time to several community organizations.   He was treasurer for the local soccer club for 20 years, and because of his extensive experience playing and coaching soccer, he was also a clinician at soccer clinics for coaches.  After receiving the necessary training, Herb became a Trail Stewardship Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Equine Council.    His skill and experience in building and maintaining trail has also led to a volunteer position with the Mid State Trail Association as a trail maintainer.

Herb has retired from coaching soccer and is now coaching dogs instead. With 19 huskies, he has another full-time position other than teaching. He is now open for business at Wilderness Adventures Kennel where he gives kennel tours, (which include a glimpse of his underground dog houses); PowerPoint presentation on sled dogs, the Iditarod and the history of dogsledding; and dog sled or cart rides depending on the weather. Herb, along with the dogs of course, have competed in several sled dog races. We have raced in the Jim Lobdell Memorial Sled Dog Race in Pennsylvania, The Race to the Sky in Montana, The Seney in Michigan (which was completed as an Iditarod Qualifier), The Tahquamenon in Michigan, and Sandwich Notch in New Hampshire. This year we plan on competing in the Canyon Sled Dog Challenge and The Tahquamenon.   

Herb is looking forward to retiring from teaching in a year or two and spending more time with family, which of course includes the sled dogs. He hopes to spend more time at his cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan running dogs and competing in more sled dog races across the country.

Cathy Watlters, 2009 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

Cathy Walters was the 2009 Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.  A graduate of West Virginia University with a Masters in Education, Cathy has taught a variety of curricula for nearly 40 years; she is now in her 23^rd year of teaching at Carolina Day School in Asheville, North Carolina.  She has been married for 42 years to the love of her life, Bob, and together they raised three boys, who are now grown and married.  Best of all, their sons have blessed the grandparents with six beautiful grandchildren, all of whom live right here in Asheville.

Each Teacher on the Trail’s experience is unique, and Cathy’s was no exception.  In September of the year she served as Teacher on the Trail™, she was diagnosed with cancer.  She was ready to give up her position, but the wonderful Diane Johnson, along with her husband and her principal, Claudia Sherry, encouraged her not to give up. Diane was firm in insisting that the position was hers.  This carrot of hope—of making this amazing trip to Alaska—helped Cathy, her family, and her team of doctors make this miracle happen.  Surgery was in late October; she had chemotherapy and radiation in January and February, the last one just one week before her flight to Alaska.  With only days to go before departure, Cathy’s white blood count was finally high enough to safely make the trip.  She calls it indeed the trip of a lifetime; moreover, she has happily been cancer free for nine years.

For the past 10 years Bob and Cathy have also been camp leaders for Carolina Day.  Every summer they take children, ages 5 to 11, into the beautiful mountains surrounding Asheville hiking and playing in nature, always with a place to splash in the water.

Their most recent adventure has been to open an Airbnb in their home.  If you are ever in Asheville, please look them up at The Little Red Porch!

Cathy Walters shares a video message with Finney.  View the video by clicking here.

Kim Harrick, 2002 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™  Missouri

Tribute to Finney a PowerPoint Presentation from Kim Harrick, 2002 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail

Lynne Gordon, 2005 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ – MA

Video Clip # 1 from Lynne

Video Clip #2 from Lynne

Video Clip #3 from Lynne

I loved wandering among the ruined buildings in Iditarod, gazing  at the Yukon River, finding an occasional shower. I ate a little food, some of it strange, but peanut butter and green tea really sustained me.  I saw the Northern Lights once, learned to use a satellite phone (which was such NEW technology, then…), met Susan Butcher, also at Iditarod. I went up to her with my hand out, saying, “Hi, I am…..” when she interrupted with “I know who YOU are, we are BOTH from Massachusetts!”

I met so many mushers, volunteers, community members, vets.  I scrambled around to always be the first one up and out, no matter how long I stayed up the night before getting my journals done, because “my” pilot Danny Davidson always said just be ready. One morning it wasn’t even really light and I heard a plane coming and somehow I got out there to get picked up.

It was at Kaltag that I first saw a pile of Alaska Book Project books on a teacher’s desk. I still often imagine students in Alaska reading these non fiction books about Massachusetts that were so generously donated by many individuals and organizations here at home to send to schools along the Trail. These same students may be dreaming, just as I did at their age (but about Alaska), that they will one day visit those places. I did, and I hope one day they will, too.

The Teacher on the Trail program gave me a chance, not to just step, but to LEAP outside of my comfort zone and really take a risk. It was so much work, and so much fun, to perform all the steps along the way and to get the chance to come up to another winter Conference, 14 years ago.  The oral tradition of many Native groups gave me the idea to use storytelling as a part of my presentation. I am still storytelling today in my classes, and this story, called “My Month on the Trail” has been a really long running one.

It all began with you, Finney, who had the foresight to understand that students and teachers everywhere would jump on the sled and use the Iditarod as one of the greatest teaching tools ever. Despite some bad publicity (lucky for you Teacher on the Trail alumni out there who didn’t experience that!) this has been among the longest running themes in my teaching, fitting right in with Character Values,  Life Long Learning and Be the Change You Want to see in the World.

I hope one day to meet you in person, but your spirit is all over the Teacher on the Trail program, and it would not have happened without you. So despite never having met face to face, I feel I know you.

Enjoy the conference, and check out the photos of the world’s most adorable grandchildren!

All my thanks and best to you,

Lynne

Kim Harrick, 2002 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™  Missouri

Tribute to Finney a PowerPoint Presentation from Kim Harrick, 2002 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail