By Teresa Herriman, The Courier-Herald
Last spring, Dieringer School District Superintendent Judy Neumeier-Martinson planned to gather the many photos and memorabilia from the schools in the 112-year-old district and create a memory book. She also knew just the man for the job.
In April, Neumeier-Martinson approached Quentin Clark, longtime substitute teacher for the district and avid history buff. "She said they had all this stuff around the district and asked if I would be interested in a scrapbook history," Clark said. He also said, "yes."
Clark and his wife Molly, a retired teacher for the district, have begun sifting through the photos and documents, categorizing them by themes such as transportation and school buildings.
"It's going to be organized in units," Quentin Clark said. "When we get into the more modern times, we have annuals," he said. "At this stage we're more pre-annual."
He pulls out a contract from a folder labeled "Transportation." Dated September 1908, the handwritten contract states that School District 68 agrees to pay E.D. Radd of Sumner $40 a month to drive children to the school house in Sumner and home again in a "spring wagon, enclosed with cushioned seats."
Another folder holds school board minutes that date back to 1880.
Not only are the Clarks interested in the history of Dieringer School District, they are part of it. The Clarks both taught at the "old" Dieringer middle school, then moved with the rest of the faculty. The school was sold to a construction firm, Peterson Brothers, when the new middle school was built. The school grounds originally included a house where the superintendent lived. It was also served as a community center. The stage in the gym became a movie house for the community on the weekend and the all of the local children took free swimming lessons at the school's pool. "Every child learned how to swim," Molly said. The close proximity to nearby lakes made it a priority.
When Lake Tapps Middle School opened, everything moved from the old school except the school's mascot. "The kids hated being the Shamrocks," Molly Clark laughed. "They didn't think the Shamrocks sounded very tough." The middle school is now known as the Bulldogs.
Growing up in Spokane, the Clarks very nearly led a parallel life. They each came from families populated with teachers and each chose to purse a teaching degree at Eastern Washington University in nearby Cheney. They met their freshman year. "We started going together when we were 18 years old," Molly said.
After graduation, Quentin taught second and third grade in Bellevue. "The toughest job I ever had," he said. "He came home exhausted!" Molly laughed. "Those were precious days," Quentin added with a smile.
He eventually became principal there. Later, he joined Science Research Associates and later, became the director of special services for East Pierce County. Eventually, the two decided to return to teaching. Molly, who was working in Orting at the time, learned of an art and English opening at the Dieringer middle school. They moved to Sumner in 1975, where they finished raising four daughters and still reside.
The pair retired in 1988, but continued substitute teaching. Molly has since quite, but Quentin still substitutes at the middle and elementary schools. "This is my 16th year!" he said proudly.
"The kids love him," Molly said proudly.
As Molly gazes on the mounds of photos and papers spread out on the table she panics. "When Quentin starts talking, I get cold chills," she said. "It's going to be a huge job." Quentin insists that by breaking the job into smaller pieces and working on one unit at a time is the secret. He is also involving the school - from teachers to the students - in the project. "I want them to have a real connection with the history of the community," he said. Some of the students are already involved creating illustrations for the book. One art student, for example, has drawn a picture of a "spring wagon, enclosed with cushioned seats."
Molly eyes parents as potential assistants. "I'd like to find some young mothers who could take on a unit," she said.
"We're really the coordinators of the thing," Quentin said. "This is really a community affair." The Clarks hope the finished product will be a pictorial history with comments from both past and present that future students and residents will be able to enjoy.
Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@courierherald.com
