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What's Cookin'?"
a11LY'S calling is in the classroom
.......... "I'M GRATEFUL for the sup- know about the environment, such
Putting on a mock "fighting"
Sally Carpenter explains
of the reasons why she's glad to
teaching fourth grade: "I'm still
than they are. I can still take
Her average height isn't what
many of her incoming
Students. though. It's her reputa-
for being strict about turning
Ill completed homework on time.
In fact, this very requirement
on her classroom wall at
County Christian School.
above a threatening picture
alligator with its mouth open
supposedly representing the per-
she becomes when homework is
or incomplete.
But her students often learn
she's "not as mean" as they
heard. In fact, some have re-
marked to her that as long as they
did what they were supposed to,
everything was fine in her class.
Later on, when Sally's former stu-
dents return to visit her, she gives
them each a piece of candy if they
can still remember the state birds,
the being and helping verbs, or if
they can name five states with their
respective capitals.
THE OPEN interest and curios-
ity fourth-grade students still have
in learning makes teaching them
especially fun for Sally. "You can
kindle the flame in almost anything
at this age," she explains. "You can
get them interested. If you're inter-
ested in it, they will be. And that's
Sot going to be the case in a few
Years."
Becoming acquainted with each
student's individual personal-
ity and quirks is also part of what
akes her job so enjoyable. While
with children can be scary,
says, acknowledging her stu-
as people in their own right
changes the perspective and helps
her appreciate them for who they
are.
"They're good folks," she consid-
ers.
"It takes about half a year to re-
t come to love them and then it's
Do hard to give them up," she adds.
the end of the year, she's seen
transformation take place in her
"I TURN MY nice little fourth-
who I've finally whipped
shape, over to Mr. E and they
big, hurking old fifth-grad-
describes Sally. Mr. E is teach-
Endicott.
This metamorphosis continues
as she observes her former students
Continue growing as they advance
lip to higher grades in classrooms
down the hall. They begin to de-
Velop and mature into adolescence
and she hears the boys' voices start
to deepen.
Ironically, as much as she loves
teaching these days, it wasn't the
Career she had in mind when she
Vas in school. Sally wanted to be-
Come a missionary in South Amer-
ica. Teaching was the profession
her father wanted her to pursue.
tie encouraged her to study a pro-
fession to fall back on in case her
taissionary plans didn't work out as
expected.
She followed her father's advice
and graduated from Biola College
ith a degree in education since
this seemed like a versatile field
nd Sally had always achieved
high academic scores as a student.
8he taught for several years to pay
off her college loans, married and
Started a family. At the same time
Zhe still envisioned herself even-
ally heading to the mission field
d so did her husband, Bruce.
HE WAS A PILOT working
0 earning his mechanic's license
WITH ITS MOUTH GAPING open behind her, an alliga-
tor illustrates the tough reputation Sally Carpenter has
earned from the high standards she expects of her fourth-
grade students.
in the hope of flying airplanes for
missionary ventures. However, he
suffered a fatal bout of cancer that
prevented them from embarking on
this dream together. By then, they
had four children: Janice, Philip,
Chris and Victor.
Before her husband's death, they
discussed future p]ans fbr their
family and he recommended mov-
ing back to Shelton with her par-
ents, Victor and Thelma Adams.
They had been living in Portland,
Oregon, at the time and gang vio-
lence was on the rise, making them
concerned about their children
growing up in the area. "I thought,
'Where would I want my kids to
grow up?'" she recalls.
Her husband pointed out that
her parents could help support the
young family at that time and she,
in turn, could help take care of her
parents when they became elderly.
That's just what's happened. "It's
kind of funny. The more things
change, the closer they come back
to where they started," Sally re-
flects.
These days she's living in her
parents' house and sleeping in the
very same bedroom she had as a
little girl. Only now, she's caring
for her aging mother, who is also
now a widow. Sally's mother, who
grew up in a log cabin, loves hear-
ing Sally read her stories from the
Little House on the Prairie series.
BEFORE SALLY'S father died
of cancer, her children were very
supportive by stepping up to take
shifts to care for him around the
clock. Her son Victor is his name-
sake. For Sally, being able to give
back to her parents is rewarding.
"Not everybody has godly parents
who just, you know, gave us every-
thing," she says appreciatively.
Sally spent her first year back in
her hometown working as a substi-
tute teacher in local public schools.
She had been hoping to land a regu-
lar teaching position in the public
school system but things didn't turn
out quite the way she'd planned.
The path to her current situation
started when she encountered Jay-
has arrived at
Bulb 00'¢zrm
www.satsopbulbfarm.com
iilOii!!i|
..... s00zs ...... ......
Daffodils ...... 'l ,=o.
.... Tulips,
s6 9
or S
re Daffodils ...... ,. ..........
::: Daffodil Mailer Boxes
iltO'' a with greens and $41 . ':
boxed ready for you to mail Iii . I
%/e can mail it for you for only $ I 0.50 more) i" "]" i
Best days to mail are Monday through Wednesday ' t i:='
Hours; 9 to 6 seven days a week. " k" [J I ":':' '':+
,(,€ 5566 00iii iiii!
ni Kamin through their sons' soccer
team. When Jayni found out Sally
was a teacher living in Shelton, she
immediately - and very persistent-
ly - recruited her to fill a position
at Mason County Christian School.
When she decided to accept a job
there, Sally told herself she would
only stay for a year. Then she would
move on to something bigger.
"I THOUGHT 'OH, a little one-
horse Christian school out at the
airport? Oh no!' But you know, I got
hooked," she remembers. Now, 18
years later, she's still employed at
the private Christian school. "The
Lord hasn't told me to leave yet and
here I am," Sally adds, gesturing
around her classroom. Enrollment
is now up to 160 students in the
school, which teaches up through
eighth grade.
Employment criteria required
Sally to enroll her children in the
school and as soon as they started
attending the school, she knew she
wouldn't want them anywhere else.
"It's been wonderful!" she says,
adding how her children are still
friends with students they met at
the Christian school. "It's just such
a blessing."
Having smaller class sizes and
"wonderful" parental support in
a Christian environment are two
things she appreciates about her
job.
"We have great parents. You
know, they're sacrificing so their
children can be here. It's really im-
portant to them, so they support
us," she says, mentioning how they
offer to drive for field trips and or-
ganize an annual benefit auction.
port both from the administration
and the parents," she says.
At the same time she really enjoys
the company of her colleagues at the
school. This year that includes Ter-
tie Manning, a physical education
teacher, who is giving the other fac-
ulty a break to dedicate more time
to preparing for their lessons. "It's
a great group of people and there's
a lot of real fellowship and fun,"
Sally says. "The great thing is that
we get to talk about God and how
he's at the center of everything: If a
thing is true, it's because that's the
way God made it."
Sally has come to realize teach-
ing elementary students is the mis-
sion field she was called to serve in
all along. "I'm just sure of it. This is
where God has put me," she says,
nodding her head. "Every day I go
home knowing that my guys learned
something they didn't know before.
They get to do something they
couldn't do before, because I got to
teach them something that day."
Two of her children are carrying
on her legacy in education-related
careers: Janice is qualified as a spe-
cial-education teacher and Sally's
son Chris works in the Technology
Department of the Shelton School
District. Her daughter and son-in-
law, Charlie Grimm, are currently
expecting their first child in June.
This will be Sally's first grand-
child.
HAVING GROWN up in Shel-
• ton, graduating from Irene S. Reed
High School in 1965, Sally has wit-
nessed significant changes in the
community over the years. For in-
stance, aside from the expansion
in size and population, she also no-
tices more variety in employers and
ethnic diversity.
Children in this generation
are not the same, either. She's
amazed to learn how little they
as the difference between decidu-
ous and conifer trees. "So many
kids don't know one tree from an-
other. When we were growing up,
everybody knew a fir tree from a
maple from an alder f¥om a spruce,
but there's so much less aware-
ness of the outdoors and what's
native around here," she notes.
"Kids just don't know. They don't
know where food comes from. The
realities somehow don't seem to
register. Everything's artificial
now. It all comes in plastic wrap,"
she continues. "And that's not ev-
erybody, but it's just overwhelming
to me sometimes."
Many people from her generation
are beginning to come full circle by
choosing to retire in Mason County,
after spending the last few decades
away.
SALLY BELONGS to the First
Baptist Church of Shelton, though
the constraints of being the wid-
owed mother of four and caring
for her parents have kept her from
(Please turn to page 16.)
being able to participate too ac-
Hop right in for
some great Easter
gift ideas!
TbuRs.-Fm.-SaT. l I a.m.-÷ p.w.
462-GIFT. 324 W. Cedan STneeT
10-Yard Truck
most sizes
CRUSHED
ROCK --
delivered into Shelton
s165 o+
for and pricing to
just other areas.
Plus tax. Price effective 9/1/05. Prices subject to change without noti¢x •
I
CONS00.UC+ION G.,D00
3" Minus
F.O.B.
Located on Highway 101
between Shelton and Olympia
Year-round delivery
li ii
Creek
Quarry
Call for details!
o+000 426-4743
I IIIII
LOOSE
DENTURES?
Can't eat?
We have the
MODERN
SOLUTION!
• Fast • Affordable • Easy
"These are not your
grandma and grandpa's
For a complimentary
consult, call ...
(3.) 426-9711
dentures ..." William J. Busacca, DDS, PS
DOCS 1525 Olympic Hwy. North, Shelton,WA 98584
American Dental Association
Academy of General Dentistry
American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry T h e S m i I e E x p r e s s
Thursday, March 29, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 15
What's Cookin'?"
a11LY'S calling is in the classroom
.......... "I'M GRATEFUL for the sup- know about the environment, such
Putting on a mock "fighting"
Sally Carpenter explains
of the reasons why she's glad to
teaching fourth grade: "I'm still
than they are. I can still take
Her average height isn't what
many of her incoming
Students. though. It's her reputa-
for being strict about turning
Ill completed homework on time.
In fact, this very requirement
on her classroom wall at
County Christian School.
above a threatening picture
alligator with its mouth open
supposedly representing the per-
she becomes when homework is
or incomplete.
But her students often learn
she's "not as mean" as they
heard. In fact, some have re-
marked to her that as long as they
did what they were supposed to,
everything was fine in her class.
Later on, when Sally's former stu-
dents return to visit her, she gives
them each a piece of candy if they
can still remember the state birds,
the being and helping verbs, or if
they can name five states with their
respective capitals.
THE OPEN interest and curios-
ity fourth-grade students still have
in learning makes teaching them
especially fun for Sally. "You can
kindle the flame in almost anything
at this age," she explains. "You can
get them interested. If you're inter-
ested in it, they will be. And that's
Sot going to be the case in a few
Years."
Becoming acquainted with each
student's individual personal-
ity and quirks is also part of what
akes her job so enjoyable. While
with children can be scary,
says, acknowledging her stu-
as people in their own right
changes the perspective and helps
her appreciate them for who they
are.
"They're good folks," she consid-
ers.
"It takes about half a year to re-
t come to love them and then it's
Do hard to give them up," she adds.
the end of the year, she's seen
transformation take place in her
"I TURN MY nice little fourth-
who I've finally whipped
shape, over to Mr. E and they
big, hurking old fifth-grad-
describes Sally. Mr. E is teach-
Endicott.
This metamorphosis continues
as she observes her former students
Continue growing as they advance
lip to higher grades in classrooms
down the hall. They begin to de-
Velop and mature into adolescence
and she hears the boys' voices start
to deepen.
Ironically, as much as she loves
teaching these days, it wasn't the
Career she had in mind when she
Vas in school. Sally wanted to be-
Come a missionary in South Amer-
ica. Teaching was the profession
her father wanted her to pursue.
tie encouraged her to study a pro-
fession to fall back on in case her
taissionary plans didn't work out as
expected.
She followed her father's advice
and graduated from Biola College
ith a degree in education since
this seemed like a versatile field
nd Sally had always achieved
high academic scores as a student.
8he taught for several years to pay
off her college loans, married and
Started a family. At the same time
Zhe still envisioned herself even-
ally heading to the mission field
d so did her husband, Bruce.
HE WAS A PILOT working
0 earning his mechanic's license
WITH ITS MOUTH GAPING open behind her, an alliga-
tor illustrates the tough reputation Sally Carpenter has
earned from the high standards she expects of her fourth-
grade students.
in the hope of flying airplanes for
missionary ventures. However, he
suffered a fatal bout of cancer that
prevented them from embarking on
this dream together. By then, they
had four children: Janice, Philip,
Chris and Victor.
Before her husband's death, they
discussed future p]ans fbr their
family and he recommended mov-
ing back to Shelton with her par-
ents, Victor and Thelma Adams.
They had been living in Portland,
Oregon, at the time and gang vio-
lence was on the rise, making them
concerned about their children
growing up in the area. "I thought,
'Where would I want my kids to
grow up?'" she recalls.
Her husband pointed out that
her parents could help support the
young family at that time and she,
in turn, could help take care of her
parents when they became elderly.
That's just what's happened. "It's
kind of funny. The more things
change, the closer they come back
to where they started," Sally re-
flects.
These days she's living in her
parents' house and sleeping in the
very same bedroom she had as a
little girl. Only now, she's caring
for her aging mother, who is also
now a widow. Sally's mother, who
grew up in a log cabin, loves hear-
ing Sally read her stories from the
Little House on the Prairie series.
BEFORE SALLY'S father died
of cancer, her children were very
supportive by stepping up to take
shifts to care for him around the
clock. Her son Victor is his name-
sake. For Sally, being able to give
back to her parents is rewarding.
"Not everybody has godly parents
who just, you know, gave us every-
thing," she says appreciatively.
Sally spent her first year back in
her hometown working as a substi-
tute teacher in local public schools.
She had been hoping to land a regu-
lar teaching position in the public
school system but things didn't turn
out quite the way she'd planned.
The path to her current situation
started when she encountered Jay-
has arrived at
Bulb 00'¢zrm
www.satsopbulbfarm.com
iilOii!!i|
..... s00zs ...... ......
Daffodils ...... 'l ,=o.
.... Tulips,
s6 9
or S
re Daffodils ...... ,. ..........
::: Daffodil Mailer Boxes
iltO'' a with greens and $41 . ':
boxed ready for you to mail Iii . I
%/e can mail it for you for only $ I 0.50 more) i" "]" i
Best days to mail are Monday through Wednesday ' t i:='
Hours; 9 to 6 seven days a week. " k" [J I ":':' '':+
,(,€ 5566 00iii iiii!
ni Kamin through their sons' soccer
team. When Jayni found out Sally
was a teacher living in Shelton, she
immediately - and very persistent-
ly - recruited her to fill a position
at Mason County Christian School.
When she decided to accept a job
there, Sally told herself she would
only stay for a year. Then she would
move on to something bigger.
"I THOUGHT 'OH, a little one-
horse Christian school out at the
airport? Oh no!' But you know, I got
hooked," she remembers. Now, 18
years later, she's still employed at
the private Christian school. "The
Lord hasn't told me to leave yet and
here I am," Sally adds, gesturing
around her classroom. Enrollment
is now up to 160 students in the
school, which teaches up through
eighth grade.
Employment criteria required
Sally to enroll her children in the
school and as soon as they started
attending the school, she knew she
wouldn't want them anywhere else.
"It's been wonderful!" she says,
adding how her children are still
friends with students they met at
the Christian school. "It's just such
a blessing."
Having smaller class sizes and
"wonderful" parental support in
a Christian environment are two
things she appreciates about her
job.
"We have great parents. You
know, they're sacrificing so their
children can be here. It's really im-
portant to them, so they support
us," she says, mentioning how they
offer to drive for field trips and or-
ganize an annual benefit auction.
port both from the administration
and the parents," she says.
At the same time she really enjoys
the company of her colleagues at the
school. This year that includes Ter-
tie Manning, a physical education
teacher, who is giving the other fac-
ulty a break to dedicate more time
to preparing for their lessons. "It's
a great group of people and there's
a lot of real fellowship and fun,"
Sally says. "The great thing is that
we get to talk about God and how
he's at the center of everything: If a
thing is true, it's because that's the
way God made it."
Sally has come to realize teach-
ing elementary students is the mis-
sion field she was called to serve in
all along. "I'm just sure of it. This is
where God has put me," she says,
nodding her head. "Every day I go
home knowing that my guys learned
something they didn't know before.
They get to do something they
couldn't do before, because I got to
teach them something that day."
Two of her children are carrying
on her legacy in education-related
careers: Janice is qualified as a spe-
cial-education teacher and Sally's
son Chris works in the Technology
Department of the Shelton School
District. Her daughter and son-in-
law, Charlie Grimm, are currently
expecting their first child in June.
This will be Sally's first grand-
child.
HAVING GROWN up in Shel-
• ton, graduating from Irene S. Reed
High School in 1965, Sally has wit-
nessed significant changes in the
community over the years. For in-
stance, aside from the expansion
in size and population, she also no-
tices more variety in employers and
ethnic diversity.
Children in this generation
are not the same, either. She's
amazed to learn how little they
as the difference between decidu-
ous and conifer trees. "So many
kids don't know one tree from an-
other. When we were growing up,
everybody knew a fir tree from a
maple from an alder f¥om a spruce,
but there's so much less aware-
ness of the outdoors and what's
native around here," she notes.
"Kids just don't know. They don't
know where food comes from. The
realities somehow don't seem to
register. Everything's artificial
now. It all comes in plastic wrap,"
she continues. "And that's not ev-
erybody, but it's just overwhelming
to me sometimes."
Many people from her generation
are beginning to come full circle by
choosing to retire in Mason County,
after spending the last few decades
away.
SALLY BELONGS to the First
Baptist Church of Shelton, though
the constraints of being the wid-
owed mother of four and caring
for her parents have kept her from
(Please turn to page 16.)
being able to participate too ac-
Hop right in for
some great Easter
gift ideas!
TbuRs.-Fm.-SaT. l I a.m.-÷ p.w.
462-GIFT. 324 W. Cedan STneeT
10-Yard Truck
most sizes
CRUSHED
ROCK --
delivered into Shelton
s165 o+
for and pricing to
just other areas.
Plus tax. Price effective 9/1/05. Prices subject to change without noti¢x •
I
CONS00.UC+ION G.,D00
3" Minus
F.O.B.
Located on Highway 101
between Shelton and Olympia
Year-round delivery
li ii
Creek
Quarry
Call for details!
o+000 426-4743
I IIIII
LOOSE
DENTURES?
Can't eat?
We have the
MODERN
SOLUTION!
• Fast • Affordable • Easy
"These are not your
grandma and grandpa's
For a complimentary
consult, call ...
(3.) 426-9711
dentures ..." William J. Busacca, DDS, PS
DOCS 1525 Olympic Hwy. North, Shelton,WA 98584
American Dental Association
Academy of General Dentistry
American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry T h e S m i I e E x p r e s s
Thursday, March 29, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 15