Thank you for joining us for what I think is a very special podcast. You know, I go back to the uniqueness of what is Jefferson R7 and the podcast we shot earlier with the original principal, mr Rueark, and Mrs Richardson, the first counselor, and just kind of the perspective of the adults. And today I'm joined by two adults now but at the time we're part of the first graduating class here and that's Brendan Hall Welcome, brendan, thanks for having me and Hailey Null, and I can tell you what I'm excited about these two is that I can remember speaking with them back when they were in high school and they're both very well thought out individuals to Hailey's graduation speech that caught the moment so well, and then Brendan's just, you know energy and the conversations we would have around the building. It's a pretty special day for me.
Speaker 1:I wanted to start off with a question, kind of as you get to the end of the moment. You had the graduation week. We actually had this first graduation on a Saturday night to kind of clear the deck, so to speak, make sure the building was clear, and there was a lot of work that went into that. The governor was there, but I have to imagine that you know, I know what it's like as an adult trying to get ready for it and make sure everything's right for the kids. But what were your experiences, even that week and for that day?
Speaker 2:After you. Hailey, as always, you know, I like to talk. No, I think it was kind of weird in the sense of like we had never really done that before. I think a lot of people in our situation as seniors have gone through two or three graduations where they're graduating their friends who are upperclassmen, and have seen the sadness and the happiness and gone through the whole, you know, five stages of grief and all of that. And we did not have that. We were blissfully unaware of what that was going to look like. So I think we were just kind of there for a good time and I mean I was a little nervous because you know that was a big crowd, but you know we were really close class and we did our whole little senior camp out, you know, in that week, and so I think we were just we were enjoying the good time.
Speaker 3:That was funny. Was that your idea? I've been trying to figure out who came up with that. I don't know it feels, like it.
Speaker 1:People know what was going on is that we had the graduation on Saturday and I know as a staff member driving in Monday morning, they're still sitting outside the building waving at us in chairs and tents and I'm like what are we doing here? Is that right? We're going to be the Sunday night into Monday morning, Correct?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I believe our entire goal was to make sure that we were there when the underclassmen showed up. You know we were. Our presence was still known. It sounds like something I would do, the most innocent act of rebellion to exist.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it was a Sunday. I got a group text hey, bring a tent. We're camping out at the high school. We just left, we're going back, but yeah, I mean that kind of speaks to how special this place is. You know, we graduated, yeah who?
Speaker 2:wants to come back that early.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but like you know, it's almost like we didn't want to go our separate ways because we just grew up together, so small, and it's just a special thing.
Speaker 1:So let me ask that question while we're talking about that. The first day of school and you did a great job last year at the PTO of speaking to that group about walking into a building there's only one class in there. There's hardly any staff in there. There's four classrooms. I think you guys are still walking to the middle school for PE. What was it like? I mean, what was that experience like for you?
Speaker 3:Unique. I think that's the best word you can describe it. It's unique. You know, we trying to think of the best way to say this.
Speaker 1:You're taking like four core classes, I believe. And then you had art. Was it art?
Speaker 2:And I know, yeah, like you said Jim, and then I know, at one point we were driving buses back and forth for band and so yeah, because we had to do shop over here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, so we'd start the day out over here, and then we'd go back over there, for you know the little bit that we had over there. It's just so crazy to think about now. You know there's what 300, 400 kids there now. That whole building was just home to 70 of us, I mean it's kind of crazy, it's insane, you know.
Speaker 2:We had that conversation before that I I mean the building was ready enough to allow people in the building, but other than that I think the standards were pretty low. So I know there was like no security system and people's parents were just kind of showing up and hanging outside the doors like making sure everything went off without a hitch. And you know, meanwhile, again, we never knew what to expect. So I guess you couldn't disappoint us, because it was a brand new building.
Speaker 3:It was very, very thunder-dome back in those days, I mean for lack of better words, you know. I mean, I remember the first day, mark. You know, mr Rueark, we didn't even have bells. He would just stand in the floor and blow a whistle as loud as he could. I guess he used to be a coach back in the days. We was good at it.
Speaker 3:And he would just stand there and blow a whistle every four minutes, and that's how we knew we had to be where we had to be. You know, couldn't really get lost because there was only about four or five rooms we went to, did you guys?
Speaker 1:eat lunch over there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we did.
Speaker 1:It's just the one in class coming in. That's got to be unique, that's something you know I wasn't there for that.
Speaker 2:I believe we only had, did we have one lunch?
Speaker 3:It was just one back then. Yeah, because there was only I feel like it was 73. It couldn't have been more than 75 people that first year.
Speaker 2:And three-fourths of the building was like off limits, you know, like very hot or like the restricted areas. The gym wasn't even done yet.
Speaker 1:Did you guys have lockers at that point? We did. Okay, was that kind of a late addition to get the building up and running?
Speaker 2:You know, I don't remember. I know that one corner that we've talked about had that little set of lockers on that bottom floor and. I believe that's what we used.
Speaker 1:Maybe that's what it was. They may have had to add more, as the year went on and getting more students in. So I want to back up. What were your impressions of that initial graduation week? Yes, you guys had to camp out. Were you just done with it, were you? Well, it's funny.
Speaker 3:I was flipping through a senior year book right before our reunion a couple weeks ago and I saw in our who's who or whatever, I actually won worst case of senioritis. So I was done, I was ready to go, but you got to remember my situation was very unique. You know, I was enlisted already in the army, went to basic training. Yes, right, yeah, I went through basic training for Jackson's after a line in June of 2012. So I spent my whole summer after my junior year, basic training, throwing grenades, shooting guns, learning how to fight for this country, to get thrown back into high school yeah, high school, I don't want to say a child's environment, because you know, you know I come back here two weeks before I'm throwing grenades. I'm getting screamed at by drill sergeants swearing every other word.
Speaker 3:You know, as you do in the military. Come back here and I have teachers yelling at me about homework and Haley playing in prom or homecoming things throw me under the bus, I'm just.
Speaker 1:You're the person I think.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I'm looking at the homecoming stuff and I can't help.
Speaker 2:I'm ashamed. And you didn't care about the prom colors. Is that what you're telling me?
Speaker 3:No, I didn't. But you know, shame on me. You know, 10 years later looking at it, but I'd look at those things and be like who cares, I'm just ready to go. You know, I was ready to grow up more or less.
Speaker 1:I will say this and this is from an outsider in at that time that you are right. There was always like every other district I've been a part of, there's just sort of this kind of way Everybody did things and you guys were the first. I do think there was so much attention paid to that that I think there was a little bit of I don't want to say friction, but I think everybody was a little bit tired of getting to that moment because there was nobody.
Speaker 1:You guys were doted on the whole time if that's the right word, oh yeah, absolutely and there's nothing wrong with that, because you had no, it was the first time we had done anything. Um, I think you're, I think your class was really exceptional, though, at Setting the tone for things the graduation ceremony, first and foremost, but also like homecoming and different events that we do. There's still things that go on to this day that I still think of this Jefferson as a new high school. It's not, but I still take a lot of pride or, especially around homecoming week and graduation week, of those that got everything up and running. I still think about that quite a bit, so Um, let's talk about your class.
Speaker 1:Uh, one of the items maybe, brandon, you brought up was uh kind of the class of misfits.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it was, I'd heard when I got here. They said this is kind of an interesting group to have as your first graduating class.
Speaker 3:So that's putting it politely Thank you for such the kind words.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, we were so, we were so small. I'll preface it by saying I'm a transplant or so. I didn't get here till sixth grade, did you were?
Speaker 2:you're a lifer, aren't you? First grade, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:That's basically.
Speaker 2:I was the only kindergarten class that we care Investors, and then they got rid of kindergarten. I don't know if it was me or the other students, but I think they were one and done so but uh, yeah, I mean my mother.
Speaker 3:She's a speech pathologist for fox school district, so for kindergarten in first grade I went with her Uh, second, third and fourth and went to the catholic school here and fester, second heart, which is closed now. And in fifth grade I went back to fox and Sixth grade I ended up here finally. So I had to go through that process which you know Troubling on a young boy, girl, whatever you want to call it, you know having to make friends over and over and over. So when I finally got here and you know, fox, our classes are five, six hundred kids, whatever it is when I got here and saw how small it was, I'm like this is Weird.
Speaker 2:I mean, it was weird.
Speaker 3:But uh, you know, within a couple months I knew everybody. You know it's it's hard not to being so tiny. You run into everybody, see everybody, and uh, um, yeah, it's just, everybody knew everybody. I felt like I could rely on anybody. You know, from that age up till we graduated me and hailey, for example, you know you all you have your friend groups.
Speaker 3:You know the people you relate to the most and the most. Interaction we usually had most of the time was saying happy birthday to each other, because we were born on the same day.
Speaker 2:Birthday, but we are birthday buddies.
Speaker 3:Um.
Speaker 2:Yeah but.
Speaker 3:But I knew from 12 Probably even you know to now, but whenever she was living at her home, if I needed something my car was broke down. Here I could walk and walk over to her house, knock on the door, be like hey, drew, need some help, give me a hand. Who are you? Hailey knows me, oh cool, and he'd come up and help me. And that's just one of the things that makes this area, the school, so unique. It's probably still like that to this day, I have to imagine. I mean, it's been 10 years. This place is growing beyond, beyond anything.
Speaker 2:I would have ever imagined probably anything you ever imagined.
Speaker 3:I imagine it's still close and tighten it like that I'm still new it up.
Speaker 1:It was new enough time I didn't know what to expect. What about your take kind of on the dynamics in your class? You guys are good in a lot of different areas.
Speaker 2:And you and I have had this conversation many times, just even planning the reunion and things like that, trying to find the groove of things that we thought this class would be interested in.
Speaker 2:And and I feel like it was always a little bit different than what you would imagine, because I think it was the perfect class to just kind of go with the flow and nobody really had any expectations Going into those four years as to what you know was going to happen, what wasn't going to happen.
Speaker 2:And you know these friendships were created and I think it was just the perfect amount of, you know, rebellious but young kids and you know everybody was just kind of enjoyed things as they came and Stuck together when things got rough. And I think you know that made for a perfect class to kind of go through that trial period together, because I think we kind of acted in ways as mentors for those couple classes underneath us and it was always our goal, like just the perfect amount of you know we want to give them a typical high school experience. We're going to try to be upperclassmen, but we don't know what that means because we've never had any. So I think you know we tried our best and I mean we're still standing, you know, a little while later.
Speaker 1:So something went right along the way. Well, and you do like you learn things a little differently. Um, which has that? Has that experience itself helped? Or how has that helped you in your careers or decision making? Because you kind of had to take more ownership and sometimes you might Hear, maybe, what other people have done in their high school career, like we didn't do that or we did it this way. Did that help shape you at all Kind of the uniqueness of that experience?
Speaker 3:I'd say that it definitely helps you with the figured out mentality. You know, I'm uh, I'm a blue collar man, I'm in the trades transportation. I've done both Railroad work and now truck driving work. A lot of things don't go out of plan and a lot of times you don't have a plan, you just got to figure it out. So there have been times, you know, when, um, something I plan out there and my work Does not materialize.
Speaker 3:I think back to, uh, well, you guys, you know, as the staff having absolutely you mean, you do, you really don't have a history to look back on. So you had to look at us and be like, okay, we know what we need to do, we know what these kids need. How do we do it? Yeah, and I can't imagine. I can't imagine the amount of work and the amount of stress that you guys are under to do that. I mean, I can only look at you now, you know, as the superintendent of this place and you have a roadmap to follow. I can't imagine just walking in here. You got here when we were what? Juniors? It was your old junior year, so I can't. You know, there still really wasn't an in game, nobody graduated yet, so you guys had to figure all that out. I can't. There were some things for the loose ends of tie up. I can't imagine having to figure that out with nothing. But but yeah, it's shaped me looking back, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I mean I, you know I left here and went to Mizzou and that went from big fish in a small pond to small fish in a big pond and people fully did not understand. Trying to explain the dynamics of a graduating class of 76. And then also, by the way, there was nobody above us. We just, you know, decided to start a high school one day and you know, I think people had trouble grasping that.
Speaker 2:But I definitely think there's a fear going into that of, okay, am I going to get there and is this just going to be totally overwhelming? And you know how am I going to respond to a whole different atmosphere. But I think the one thing that I never counted on that ended up being such a blessing in disguise was staffing and students like you don't really have a choice but to ask for help when you need it, because there is no established protocol, there is no established practice for those four years, and so we just kind of either made our own rules or asked for help, and so, you know, you get to a big place like Mizzou and you know I went to nursing school and graduated from there and I was never afraid to find a resource where I needed it, and I give a lot of credit to my high school experience for that, because there was never a fear to ask for help or to ask questions or to reach out, because everybody was just so willing to, you know, be on that ship together.
Speaker 1:So it's interesting to hear your both points of view on this and a guy I want to give a lot of credit to, because I think, if you go back to kind of that earlier podcast, there was a lot behind the scenes of trying to get it right, but Mr Ruark Really just did a great job of, I mean, every meeting that we had with him that you guys weren't a part of and actual planning really stemmed from. You know, this is about the kids. Make it about the kids. We talked about the graduation make it about the kids. And I think the uniqueness of the situation, what I noticed coming in, is that I always took a lot of personal great pride in relationships you have with students, very positive professional relationships, but you could really sense it.
Speaker 1:And I think that has continued and that's something we really preach, and I know people that transfer in either, coming as a new employer, the kids they'll say your teachers really care about us and that's important. But I really think it started with you all, mr Ruark's leadership. I think that has continued forward. So, that being said, one of the questions we talked about what are some staff members that made that experience unique?
Speaker 1:Because, it was a little different for me to see really how close the staff and the kids were and it was almost like there's a lot of guidance on okay, this is how we do a pep rally, this is how we do different things. So kind of some staff memories and the uniqueness of that situation.
Speaker 3:Well, the first one I think of you just said it Mark Ruark. In some ways he was a principal to a student, but to me he was almost just kind of like a friend, and I'm still in contact with him to this day, blessed to know. He was particularly helpful to me when I came back from the.
Speaker 3:Army and I had to go back into school. I spent a lot more time in his office and then I probably should have my senior year for just being you know, acting like I guess the best way to say it a band stuck in a boys world. You know, in the Army my drill sergeant said it best we teach you how to say the F word 15 times in a five word sentence. And it's true and I'm sorry, but so I let some words slip. So I was in his office a lot for that, but you know he never beat me up for it and years later, actually at the reunion, he said or it wasn't at the reunion, but he said this to me at some point he's like you know, going back to the not having groundwork delay on. He kind of said it. We really didn't know how to handle you Like what do you mean?
Speaker 2:you didn't know how to handle me.
Speaker 3:It's like, brendan you were an enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces as a student Well.
Speaker 1:I'll say this, I think you probably were the first one as an athletic director at the time that never dawned on me. None of your days, because you came back a little bit late for football, I believe, and you couldn't count any of the here you got. Here you're in boot camp and you can't any of those days towards a practice which I'm like you've got to be kidding me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got back. I graduated Fort Jackson August 9th and I think we started school August 12th or something.
Speaker 1:It was early that year.
Speaker 3:yeah, I only had a couple days of summer, but he was. He was real gracious to me and I always, to this day.
Speaker 2:I still appreciate that.
Speaker 3:Just a couple more I could think of off the top of my head Mike Herman, our shop teacher, he going into the trades. He was always very supportive of those of us that didn't want to go to the college route. You know, at that age I thought I was going to be, I wanted to work on the railroad, since I was a little boy and I thought that's what I'd always do. But he always had a lot of good advice for us. Those of us that didn't want to go the college route wanted to work with our hands. He was always very, very helpful.
Speaker 3:And finally and this is going to come as a shock to maybe her and some other people, but Kristen Wilkie, she, she's kind of that teacher that I look back at. She like the one that never gave up on me and I caused her so many migraines. I know I did my senior year. I had her for four hours of seven Because when I came back all the classes were full so I just kind of got worst case of senioritis again. I didn't care, you know it's like whatever, just put me wherever you need. So I was with her four hours a day. By seventh hour I had a job afterwards. I was usually napping in her class the whole time. She was up there talking I'm just sleeping. I just I felt so bad the reunion. The first person I found was her. I said I am so sorry, thank God for 10 years of maturity and wisdom. But you know, she never. She's the one I can think of. I mean, nobody gave up on me. You know what I'm trying to say. She, certain things stick out to you yeah.
Speaker 3:And she was hard on me because she could see my potential, that I was just sleep in the room, but she, she stuck with me the whole time.
Speaker 1:So Miss Wilkie did a great job and I think it still continues with student council. It's the most vibrant student council I've ever seen. You know, everybody can be a part of it as long as you meet. It was a. It's a neat process. Who are some staff members for you?
Speaker 2:You know I'm hard pressed to think of a staff member in that initial crew that didn't, you know, contribute to all of our success like tremendously. And you know, first and foremost Mr Rark and Mrs Richardson. I mean, just the guidance that they provided in a time where we had no idea what was going on was just, you know, so pivotal in the way we were. Wherever we went, whether it be college, whether it be, you know, out into the workforce I myself with aspiration so go to a bigger college and there were so many opportunities that I didn't even know existed and I would have never known existed that they found for me. You know, I got to attend Missouri Scholars Academy in between my sophomore and junior year and this is something I would have never heard of. But they brought all those opportunities to us because we didn't know any better. And you know, looking back at my resume, that allowed me to get into extracurriculars at Mizzou and really pad that resume and and even contribute to jobs later on in life all started because they provided that framework. So, you know, I think they both were just huge assets, but really I mean every teacher and staff member that I came across in those first few years.
Speaker 2:I think the key thing that made it stand out versus another experience is that they taught life lessons just as much as they taught school lessons.
Speaker 2:And I think in a regular, established high school, teachers are just, you know not to say by any means they're not doing their job, but I think it's more focused on academics and let's get you through high school. And I think our teachers even though at the time we didn't realize they were 22, 23, 24 years old, they were just babies themselves and they were, you know, giving us these big life lessons and teaching these immature little kids who didn't have role models, how to go out in the world and be successful. And you know my coaches coach Nagel, coach Dreyer, coach Wilkie you know it's like it didn't matter if it was a sport, if it was a class. They were throwing in some little life lessons in there too, and I think you know we all owe them a lot for the success that we were able to get out of here with yeah, and I mean I only pointed out a you know a few that just stick out in my mind.
Speaker 3:But, building on what you said, everybody you came in contact with that you spent a lot of time with really seemed to care about you, about what they're telling you, about what you're getting out of this, and I think that goes back to the uniqueness of how small we are here, because they see it all the time. So naturally, you know, you see the last people on the daily basis. You get closer, you know. So, yeah, they all, every I mean they all did, they all contributed to me in one way or the other.
Speaker 1:I hope they did a great job too, because coming into that team when they were, you know Mrs Richardson and Mr Rock were two years together, me coming in year three. You know we could have those discussions behind closed doors about kind of our experiences in other districts and maybe how things should be. And Ms Richardson was just amazing at looking at all the protocols and stuff, the real boring technical stuff of getting a high school up and running. Mr Rearock had such a grand vision for things but that it didn't come back and say we're doing this because this school does it. It was taking the bits and pieces of our experience and being one to look out. And again, I think that goes back to trying to make sure it was your experience with kind of that guidance. I can tell you as high school principal in the following years I did not, it didn't go away, but it wasn't quite as that was a very unique experience because you guys were with that staff for four years and there was just you guys knew each other backwards and forwards and really about a time the you know what you would say your sophomores and freshmen coming through. There was just a little bit different feel of the building because we had four years of it. It was just a little different, but I know they did an amazing job of setting the table for a lot of great things to come.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to back up just a little bit. I could not imagine what it's like to have been fifth, sixth grader and then get the news that, my goodness, we're going to build a new high school in this district that you know we had had kids served so well in so many other districts. You know. Primarily it centered around Crystal City. Festus and Herculaneum did a great job with our kids for a long time, and then there was this new high school that was starting. So what was that like for you all? I'm like start with you. I think you told me it was seventh grade. You were 13 years old.
Speaker 2:I, yeah, I believe it was somewhere right around maybe midway through seventh grade into eighth grade. You know that was kind of an ongoing situation and I mean that was definitely an intense time for, you know, a very young adult, early teenager, and knowing that it was just the established tradition that you might spend eight years getting to know all these people in this school district. They become your best friends and then your it's day one on your freshman year. If you guys split up into different schools and that's kind of what I was being faced with. I knew that. You know my group of friends that had become my very best friends.
Speaker 2:We were all going in different directions and I knew, with the wild success that Jefferson R7 had had K through 8. You just knew that there was going to come a time. It was inevitable that the school was going to expand and so in my mind I'm thinking, why not us? And I I totally understood where the opposition came from, in the sense that it's scary to take that leap and just hope that your child, you know, isn't a guinea pig in a failed experiment. So I understood that absolutely. But I just knew that it was going to happen. So why not happen now and I just hoped and hoped that it would be us, because I said I'll take any high school experience you'll give me if it means I don't have to leave all my friends and leave the place I've called home and I never really thought about that from the sense of you have these friends and all of a sudden, just by nature of the school ending you're.
Speaker 2:I mean, I guess it's sort of like you're leaving high school now.
Speaker 1:You split up and go to colleges, but you know there were enough percentages breaking off that I could I could see where you're coming from on that very interesting. What about?
Speaker 3:yourself kind of hard to top what she said. She said it perfectly. I was just more thrilled. I was thrilled when they, when they announced the high school because I didn't want to move again. You know, like I said, I moved schools three times before I came here. So I finally felt settled in. I had buddies you know closest friends I ever had up to that point in my life and you know we all sat around having a conversation seventh grade to show you where?
Speaker 2:you're going to go.
Speaker 3:I think the choices were Vestas, crystal, herkey. I feel like St Jen might have been sprinkled in there at one point. Most of mine were going to Crystal. I was probably going to go to Vestas just because I felt like they had more, more things to offer and then, Crystal City did, and seventh grade. I feel like it was seventh grade because I think, if I recall right, it went to vote for the high school twice, once in April and once in August.
Speaker 2:I think that sounds right, yeah it's.
Speaker 3:it's hard to, it's hard to remember those details, but the first time it failed, because it needed like 57, 58%, it failed by four votes.
Speaker 1:It failed by like four votes. It wasn't like 50%, it was 57%. Yeah, I mean it was.
Speaker 3:I remember being really bummed out about that. So I looked at my dad. You know everybody had signs in their yard and all that. This community really wanted it. But there's some people you know liked the tradition of having that choice and I respect that. But I think, the vast majority of us in that class, when it failed the first time, were really disappointed Because, like she said, I don't think many of us wanted to go our separate ways.
Speaker 3:We wanted to stay together because we got, we were so close, because we were so small. So then that August rolls around and I remember the newspaper article it passed by 11. 11 votes out of however many. And then you look at that and you're like, wow, this is gonna happen, this is great, and I'm just overjoyed, like I said, I don't have to move again. I'd gotten good at it and I didn't wanna be good at it, so it was a tough time for the whole entire community, Absolutely.
Speaker 2:This community may or may not ever see division like that again, and I think it. At the time, you know, my dad was on the school board, so I saw a very specific side of things and at that age, you know, you really are kind of a reflection of your parents in a lot of ways, but some of my very best friends you know were spearheading kind of the opposite side of things and it trickled into the school and then all of a sudden you have 13 year olds arguing in the hallways about this kind of thing.
Speaker 2:And it definitely was very inflammatory and it was an odd time and, like I said, I totally, looking back now, could see both sides of it why parents of kids in that situation would not be comfortable with their kids being the first ones, but then also why parents would love for a school district as successful as R7 to have the opportunity to teach their kids for four more years. So it was very trying time here in the community. I don't know who called me.
Speaker 1:I may have been Mr Ruerark, but I was. This is when you guys were freshmen and I was down the district activities director at North County in Bonterre.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I got a call about the school Jefferson and I didn't even know about an R7. I'm like, what are you wanting to get into a girls basketball tournament? I think you guys were sophomores and I know we got the softball team in, got some of the track stuff going and I had after that phone call I'd take like 15 minutes. I'm like, where is it? What's a Jefferson R7? Like I had to look it all up. So that's kind of the other angle coming into it. It's just you know a whole new deal. But so what are some of your fondest memories you guys were? Were you in band?
Speaker 3:at that time I was not a band kid.
Speaker 2:I was a V-ingy, but you were the MMEA.
Speaker 1:Yes yeah, I think you know you look at, early on, student council and the music program were like rocket ships just going forward and then it took a little while for the other activities to kind of catch up. So what was it like to go to a competition or go to a MMEA as Jefferson R7 kind of this new group? Was there a different?
Speaker 2:did you feel anything different or as far as the MMEA goes, we were pretty on top of the world. You know, we felt we felt pretty good at that time. That was, I remember, being like well, really, the band is the most successful part of this high school so far. Nobody cares about that, but here we are. But it's funny that you brought up basketball too, because we owe a lot of that to Mr Rourke as well, because we traveled hours south to find games to play at the beginning.
Speaker 2:And when you think about it, that makes sense, because everyone's like what is this school and why would we put them on our schedule? And Mr Rourke had to beg, I think, a lot of personal contacts. And you know, we, that team, we had played together for a very long time since we were, you know, probably seven or eight years old, and so we wanted some varsity play. We wanted, you know, to play the big teams. Well, that ended up being a lot of Southern teams and I don't know if that was a blessing or a curse, because it was a little rocky there for a couple years.
Speaker 1:I do remember the first time I actually met you and your dad. We were you were at the North Canary Term.
Speaker 2:You were gonna bring up my concussion. I am because you smacked your head in the floor of like oh my goodness and you were out of it for a little bit.
Speaker 1:But that's the first time I was like, and you guys were just sophomores. I'm like, is this the right thing to do here? But it all worked out and been a rocket ship ever since. So what about you memories? You played football, I did. Did you play baseball?
Speaker 3:No, I was a football, football and track Track okay. I did track my freshman sophomore year.
Speaker 2:Not cause I loved running, but I knew I was going into the military even back then.
Speaker 3:So I'm like well, let's get some one miles and two miles out of the way. There you go, let's just get ready. Football is what I fell in love with, took up a lot of my time, spent a lot of time in the weight rooms and everything.
Speaker 1:And where was the first weight room? Tell everybody where it was. Do you remember?
Speaker 2:That was in the choir room.
Speaker 1:The first weight room was in the choir room in the high school.
Speaker 3:That whole area where it said I think it existed, but there was a plywood wall or a dry wall.
Speaker 1:Well, I was there the day they took a sled chamber to go through there and look, yeah, it was fun, didn't they go scope out some old weight equipment from some other school?
Speaker 2:Central Methodist University that's what all of our weights were.
Speaker 3:It was beat up rusty but it worked. It don't need to look pretty, but yeah, so that's how that started out. I think on our first team there was maybe maybe 15, 15 of us which and you guys didn't have lights.
Speaker 1:No, and the other thing I remember is is that of course I was here. You had five varsity games your junior year. We played like three Illinois schools and two Missouri schools yeah, or maybe it was four Illinois and one Missouri.
Speaker 3:It was four. I think it was four Illinois, one Missouri, because I remember the one, missouri, being scary.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm talking about. I do yeah.
Speaker 3:It's a neighborhood I never want to see again. Yeah, our first varsity, first varsity play for football was rough.
Speaker 1:But your JV games. Even to that point we're still almost like Friday night football games on a Monday night with. We had no lights on the field yeah, we had no lights.
Speaker 3:We didn't get lights, so we were seniors. I don't think.
Speaker 1:No, yeah, you had them for your senior year.
Speaker 3:Yeah, our senior year, we had lights, had our field or sophomore year.
Speaker 1:But and a little bitty bleachers that came down from the press box, you know.
Speaker 3:But let me tell you, though, the support that this community gave for a JV team that was not going to go to state, obviously, because you can't that first game. I think they said there was like 1200 people out here on a Saturday to watch us play St Pius and that first year we went undefeated JV, so that was pretty cool. But yeah, this community came out and droves for that. It's like they were starving for some local football to watch.
Speaker 2:And then the visitors show up and they're like why is it like a Friday night lights episode here for these 15 year olds? It's Saturday, go do something.
Speaker 3:But no, we were all ecstatic about it. It was awesome. You know, as a player, you kind of dare I say it you felt kind of like a star, you know, playing in front of all those people.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 3:So it was really that was really special.
Speaker 1:No, I think you had a great following for such like. There was so much interest and so much enthusiasm. You know your band concerts were in the gym, the choir concerts were in the cafeteria. I do distinctly remember those and I remember sitting in the back of watching a choir concert and the milk machine was kicking on and I'm like I don't know if this is the best place, but we made it work.
Speaker 1:You know, back in those days there were no batting cages out front, half the parking lot in the front, the other parking lots where the PAC was just a different world. It was really.
Speaker 2:I remember them installing those sound panels in the band room and I was like we are cool we are ahead of the times. This is awesome, futuristic.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I remember wondering what those pointy looking tiles were in the weight room. I remember one of us.
Speaker 2:Those are for when you sing while you're lifting weights.
Speaker 1:Well, the thing is, there's no clinking in the weight room, it's just all absorbed.
Speaker 3:I'll never forget. I remember one of us had was lifting 400 pounds, deadlifting or something. We dropped the weight and one of those tiles fell out and leaned it on the ground. We all thought we were gonna get kicked out of school for that. We're like well, we you guys are lifting heavy weight in a choir room. Things are bound to happen, but it was just so. It's funny looking back at it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was no tile on that floor, it was all concrete.
Speaker 3:It was all concrete. It looked like a weight room, it was like a half finished room.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the top part looked like a choir room. It was just kind of an odd deal, yeah. Okay, let me jump back here. Impressions or memories 10 years out Like, I think, anytime any adult that goes through the high school experience, you go through college, or you go into the trades, you go into the military 10 years out you kind of look back and what does it like for you?
Speaker 1:all to look back and know that you were the first one, maybe even kind of what you're seeing now, like how different it is, or I think again, we just always come back to how it was.
Speaker 2:A different experience. By no means Will anyone ever experience that again in this district. But my biggest takeaway was everything that everyone was worried about. Would there be deficits as a result of this situation? Would we be at a disadvantage? Would this affect our ability to go out in the real world and be functional adults?
Speaker 2:When we were just kind of stuck as kids for four years here and I think, coming back to that 10 year reunion and talking to all these people I haven't talked to in 10 years and then some people that I keep regular communications with, it's like every single one of us went out into the world and did something different.
Speaker 2:And now we're coming back 10 years later and there's every career you could ever imagine, people are doting on their kids and it's like 10 years later we all came back and we're all as normal as one can expect. And so I think, despite this odd experience where we were all just kind of winging it together, we all went out in the world and did what we were supposed to do and had great experiences. And, as Brenda and I have talked about in the past, we took different paths and just as anyone might when they're leaving high school, and I loved my experience at Mizzou and I felt almost better prepared for it as a result of coming from this school. So you know, I was actually just very thankful to have the experience I did and it made a good talking point.
Speaker 1:You know there's a lot of data points you can put out there about schools. One thing I always kind of look for is, when your kids leave, when your students leave, are they washing out and coming back home or are they able to? And I think from day one and you guys, a lot of testament to you all. When you left, you went and did it and it was kind of neat to see everybody come back for that gathering.
Speaker 1:we had the 10-year reunion back in October and you know you two, both as individually speaking to you all, and know how close you are to your own kids. This is first district I've been in as long as I've been in and I haven't experienced that, so that's been awesome. You guys are so passionate about your own kids. I think that's what R7 is all about. At the end of the day, you can talk about a lot of things, but I think the strength of this place is just the commitment to the kids. It's as strong as any place.
Speaker 1:I've ever been and I'm not saying it's not strong at other places, but it is uniquely strong here I think there is a sense of there's no government. This is it, this is what we do out in R7. And kind of your thoughts, kind of that 10-year out You've been great talking about your different experiences, but you know, for you personally this is the reflection Special.
Speaker 3:That's the best word I can think of to describe this whole. You know, being here from 12 to 18 and starting the high school from scratch and just as close as we were, special A privilege. I didn't appreciate it back then. I don't think anybody does. You know, when you're a kid, I don't think you appreciate just how special of a time it is. Worst case of senior. I just 2013 here will tell you I did not appreciate it.
Speaker 2:If I had a regret.
Speaker 3:10 years looking, looking back. 10 years later, I wish I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to grow up and I'm sure if a student listens to this, I'm going to tell you personally enjoy this time, Because 10 years from now, you're going to look back at all the good times you had, whether it was just sitting around, laughing, joking, talking, you know, pulling pranks, whatever it is. Yeah, we did. I pranked you.
Speaker 2:I don't know what you're talking about, Brenda, oh oh yeah, disclaimer, we never did that.
Speaker 3:2013 class was the best class in R7 history. But what I'd say is enjoy these times. And you said something a few minutes ago that really really just got me thinking. You know how we, how we love to doad over our kids. She said it at the reunion. Who would have thought Brendan Hall would be the proud, proud, doting father of a little girl? And I am. She's the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. But I, you know, and I think it's cliche and I'm sure all parents do that, but having the kids be the focus of this community, like you said, not having a government or a mayor or anything like that Everybody that lives out here is so passionate about Jefferson R7, where it's going, where it's been. I think that really has shaped us, whether we know it or not, into how we handle our you know how we care about our kids how we care about what they're going to do, where they're going to go, things like that.
Speaker 3:And might I just say, while I'm thinking about it, on behalf of the rest of the class 2013,. Good job to the two of you putting that reunion together. What a lovely, lovely evening. My wife thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Speaker 1:I give a lot of credit to her because we sat down the first time just like this podcast. Really, we wanted to get some different perspective. Sure, and she came in. And you know, I think Hailey hasn't changed much in the sense of just how she approaches things since I met her in high school, and that is getting something done so others can enjoy it. But also taken particularly with the reunion, to say I want to make sure this isn't about Hailey, this is about the class of 2013.
Speaker 2:So we were actually very.
Speaker 1:That was some of the first meetings we had when we sat down to do this, because I think that reunion is probably very much. I don't know if you guys have ever shared this with you all or if I shared it that night, but I remember Mr Rueark and I standing on the stage after the graduation. He said there will probably be better graduations but there will never be. This is the first and I think there's a lot to that that. You know you guys were the first varsity sports. Had that crew come through with leaders ahead of them, would their results have been different? It's very possible, because you're trying to figure things out for the first time but on the flip side you need the first group to do it and kind of set that standard and I really felt like it was a high standard. I know academically there was about six or seven of you. That and really that's kind of the percentage I think is in a small class you know classes of 70 that were really, really strong I mean we had.
Speaker 1:Was it five of you all in the first that got 30s on the ACT? I think there's five of you in that first class and we've had no fewer than three every year. It's really been an impressive. You know, that was one of the things that we talked about with the Blue Jay Foundation is to put that 30 ACT wall up. So academically, you know, athletically, that's hard Starting something new. And I'll say this and I'll be quiet because this is your show but one of the things.
Speaker 1:you never know what you do in life. But like you kind of ask yourself, am I doing this now for this, or is this teaching me to do something later? You know, my first job I was at St Dominic and I was a head football coach in a brand new program and I learned I failed at some things there and learned when I got here.
Speaker 1:I had that whole different lens of there's. You've got to take care of certain things when you're putting something new in and so that and the struggles that kind of I mean that went so much better for me here. It's kind of neat to hear your struggles maybe in the high school experience of health to your own life.
Speaker 3:And that's.
Speaker 1:I think we forget that sometimes. Okay to fail, it's okay for things not be perfect and turn out okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely, let me ask you this.
Speaker 1:I'm sitting here as superintendent. I love Jefferson, I love it through and through Grip in Southeast Missouri. I know it's a special place and special. It really is special because we look at kids. Do you have any advice for me from your experience there, or looking forward myself or others, to kind of preserve, because there's a chance this place will? You know? You mentioned how it's changed and we haven't had that population growth yet, but it will come. What do we need to do to make sure we preserve what the R7 experience is about?
Speaker 3:Try and I don't know if this is possible or if it's just something has to happen naturally Try to keep that, even if we grow to you know 600 kids in high school one day Try to keep that small town. I don't want to say to love, but that small town relationship, that small town kind of feel. You know, like I said, I feel like growing up I could go to Haley ask for help.
Speaker 3:She'd help you know things like that and I don't even, like I said, I don't know if it's possible because I've never, I've never been in a big school, but that small atmosphere that you know, caring, loving your neighbor, caring for your neighbor, kind of atmosphere, I think that's important to maintain that, or grow that as much as you can, because that's, you know, like I probably touched on it earlier, that's by far my most special and cherished memory of my time being here and the friendships that came out of that.
Speaker 2:I think for me the thing looking back, it's like fear of failure is built into me as a person. But going to this school made it feel safe to fail and safe to experiment and safe to kind of spread your wings and you knew that you were supported no matter where you went. And I think that kind of encouraged me to take the leap and get involved in so many extracurriculars and clubs and sports. And you know, as you touched on earlier, I spent those four years worrying about how can I make this experience good for us. But then it became, you know, moved to Columbia and love it there to this day.
Speaker 2:But the goal was always to make it back here when I had children, to give them the experience that I had, because I felt like it was such an integral part of my success later on in life and you know the things that I did and enjoyed after I left school I felt like our seven laid such a solid foundation to not be afraid to try new things and not be afraid to fail, because the staff here was just so supportive and so you know there wasn't anything you could ever want for that they wouldn't try their absolute hardest to make sure you were set up for success with, and so you know, I wanted my daughter to be able to come back to this school and feel like she could be whoever she wanted to be, because the staff just truly cared about people just as much as they cared about students, and so that's something I valued so much when I left and I said, you know, if I can do anything I can to make it back here in time to give her that same experience here.
Speaker 2:So I would say you know it's always been that way here since I can remember, but not losing that intimate feel of a small school with staff that really just cares about the students.
Speaker 3:And I'm trying to do that same thing that you said. I told you I brought my wife to our reunion. I told her for the five years we've been together so far, you know. She asked the St Louis question where to get a high school. I told her and she gave the standard what? Where you know we're so used to that.
Speaker 2:Just south of St Louis. That's what you go with Anytime you're out of St Louis. I love south of.
Speaker 3:St Louis. I mean, she's from Columbia, illinois. She never came this way too much. She's like I don't even know where Festus is. But you know, I told her about how special it was, how you know, everybody knows everybody, and I told her. I said we're going to get to this reunion. It's probably going to feel like we never even left, and that's exactly what it was. But she didn't really understand it, you know her class was 100, 120, something like that, but she comes out here and gets to know everybody and hears the stories and all that.
Speaker 2:We're driving home in a car and she said I get it now.
Speaker 3:I said, you get what she's like.
Speaker 2:I get why you love it out there so much.
Speaker 3:What a great place for a kid to turn into a young adult. So hopefully, I mean my little girl just turned one. So we live in the Festus school district currently. But if all goes to plan, I'll be living out here again one day. Not just because I think it'd be cool for her to go to the same school I went to. She touched on it all perfectly. It's for our kids to have that same experience of not the same obviously, as we were the first but to have that same feel that same kind of care that.
Speaker 3:R7 gives you. I think that would just be a great thing to have.
Speaker 2:And I'd say, 10 years later. If you've got people flocking back in the district to get their kids enrolled in kindergarten, you're doing something right. You are absolutely right.
Speaker 1:This is about the community. I can tell you that you know, being an administrator, your world can be a little bit chaotic sometimes about. You know, should you be in a certain district, are you welcome there? Have you worn your welcome out?
Speaker 1:And I know, in the process of becoming the principal here, my wife just said I just want to make sure we move to a district that you know if something happens to you in your position, my kids are still, I said, and after a year or two here, before we actually moved down, I took the job.
Speaker 2:I said Jefferson's it.
Speaker 1:I said, if I'm not, the fit there long term or whatever it is. You know, life is what it is. I always believe there's a spot for people that are working hard and doing the right thing. But I said, if I'm there or not, our kids will be fine there, and that has not wavered and it's been a great place for us too.
Speaker 1:But my goodness, it's not only great to see, it's seemed like I've seen you a lot this year, which? Has been awesome. I see your sister. You almost kind of crazy. We still have yet to hire a JHS graduate as a teacher. Six through 12.
Speaker 2:Are they all in the little buildings?
Speaker 1:We have elementary. But you know, you kind of talk about different dynamics and stuff and I brought that up to some superintendency the other day. I said they all kind of like wow, you know, our staffs are loaded with people in the winter. I said, yeah, we're still looking for that first one, and there haven't been too many that have gotten into education or even really applied. I don't remember one graduate applying for a teaching job seven through 12. I could be wrong on that.
Speaker 3:It's coming, it's coming, it's absolutely coming, it's coming. It's going to be a neat deal.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me. This is the preservation you know next year will be the 75th year of the consolidation of the school district, so this is all going to time out well, and thank you, gosh, for being here and everything you did, not only today but in getting this place up and running, because the students had a huge role in that as well. Thank you.