It's only fitting that the eulogy for one of my favorite teachers[Howard Ledke] was delivered by my other favorite teacher,Dr. Fred Anderson.
What can you say about Howie that already hasn't been said? He had the ability to captivate his entire class on just about any subject-a rare gift for any teacher. Cynicism,hype,or playing devil's advocate were just some of the tactics Mr. Ledke utilized to get his classes involved.One particular subject that comes to mind was General Custer-a subject that we had numerous heated debates about.
Mr. Ledke caught me trying to "escape" out a north side window during a National Assembly.Instead of a forced march to the VP's office,I was escorted to the assembly by Howard,but not before he "fined" me one jelly doughnut per day.He insisted on paying,but the delivery charge was free!
Howard Ledke-father,husband,teacher,ice cream man,"professional wrestler extraordinare",avid gun enthusiast and a lot more,all good.Gone but not forgotten.
Fred Anderson was my teacher when I enrolled in MCC's vo-tech auto mechanics class.It didn't take me long to realize that I could really learn a lot from this man and learn I did.After a year of college,I worked for Fred in a little auto repair shop in Miles City on Bridge Street called S&A Enterprises.At that time,Fred was successfully campaigning a AA/Altered dragster at various National Hot Rod Association[NHRA]events.The sport was contagious and soon I had my own race car,a 1968 Chevelle SS.I remain an avid NHRA fan to this day.About the time I left Miles City for employment in the Wyoming oilfields,Fred also temporarily left Miles City after being selected for an honor scholorship to pursue his Doctor's degree.Doctor Fred returned to Miles City and accepted the job of principal of CCDHS.He eventually moved to Great Falls,where he still is the principal of Great Falls High.
Some of Dr. Fred's awards:
* The Sams G.V. Erikson Award -given to a member of the School Administrators of Montana who has made the greatest contribution to the betterment of education in Montana.
* The 2000 Montana Administrator of the Year
* The 2006 Journalism Education Association Administrator of the Year
[ http://www.jea.org/awards/andersonf06.html ]
These two completely different men shared an extraordinary gift-you wanted to learn.