OUR WHY

There are some people that will change our life forever, although sometimes we don't know it at the time. We don't always realize the impact people have on our lives until much later down the line, and unfortunately they are not always there for us to show them our gratitude. 

Before I really met the man himself I had heard rumors. He was larger then life. It seemed like everyone not only knew, but loved him. I had seen him in the halls, dressed more like a professor than an elementary school teacher. Come to find out he stashed forks in those blazer pockets to always be ready for a snack. Some things you don't learn in books.

He was the pickle man. Everyone knew that when you got to the fifth grade you would be awarded with pickles. Not just any pickle, a Waldeier pickle, cucumbers grown from his own garden, fresh dill and garlic cloves aged in a cloudy salty mysterious vinegar brine, slightly spicy...always special. You could get these pickles for answering the tough questions, coming through on history facts, or math equations. Sometimes you'd get it wrong and get a piece of garlic just for trying.

He was a man that I never really got to fully know,  but in my youth I had the privilege to spend one of his last full years teaching in his classroom. He brought genuine creativity to learning,  as he himself was a true student of life. He loved muscle cars, he took us mining, hiking, dove into classic fantasy, bringing words to life through voice acting the entire Hobbit novel.  

I think part of what made Tony such a powerful teacher is that he was real with us, even at that tender young age. I remember him telling us about his fight with cancer. He missed a few weeks because he was sick, when he returned to the classroom he told us what was happening to him, and I can still remember the sound of grit in his determination to live. 

There was a soul in that man so many of us could see and connect to behind those thick glasses. An intelligence that comes from years of experience, that at the time as a small kid in Waterford I couldn't fully understand, but knew like so many others that it was there.

Now in my middle age I can only speculate on the atrocities that he had witnessed as a door gunner in Vietnam, the types of experiences that change a man. Maybe seeing the total destruction of life, then learning to heal from it led to a sort of enlightenment  and he was able to convey all that wisdom to youngsters that had little to no experience in the greater world.

Mr. Tony Waldeier lost the battle to the beast. When he passed it was standing room only in the gymnasium. One thing said that day stood out to me for my entire life. Someone said something like, "Tony was my best friend, then I found out he was his best friend, and her best friend, and his too, and what it really was, was that he was engaged and connected to you when he talked. He was fully present, he listened, contemplated and thought in real time, giving everyone that interacted with his full undivided attention." I knew when I heard that statement, that was a quality that I wanted to have too.

All these years later on a trip back to Maine from California where I resided I found myself sitting on a small piece of granite on Keoka lake that is dedicated to Tony Waldeier. I didn't know it at the time, I chose the spot for myself to have a smoke and enjoy the quiet lake, when I looked at the stone and saw his name etched in it, I contemplated many of the things that I mentioned above, and really realized the great impact  that someone I barely knew had on my life.

I wished he had been able to say "what's up", and shoot the shit for a while, have a beer and talk about... well everything, but life doesn't work that way.

Life is a precious thing, and Tony's life and tenure at the Waterford school was one of those extraordinary raindrops that fell to the sea far too fast, with only some of us lucky ones to experience it.

Through this scholarship his story, life,  passion, and love for learning can continue to help local children grow.  Every dollar counts these days. There is no better person to commemorate in spirit to that monetary cause. In this way we preserve his legacy for generations that will not get to know the man himself.

The Tony Waldier Scholarship Fund is an amazing scholarship. I wasn’t necessarily one of the best and brightest students in the OHCHS Class of 2011, but because I was born and raised in Waterford, I knew there was at least one scholarship I was guaranteed to receive.

While I, unfortunately, was never able to have a class with Mr. Waldeier, my father had him as a third-grade teacher in 1976. One of the coolest things he experienced was planting the spruce trees in front of the school. They are still there, and it is something he still talks about today. My father, like myself, didn’t usually excel in school, but he did in Mr. Waldeier’s class. I’m not sure I could name another teacher my father had in school, but he always speaks highly of Mr. Waldeier.

From what I understand, Tony was always going above and beyond to give kids real-world experiences. He even took my father bass fishing for the first time. For a student like my dad, hands-on learning, fishing, and a couple of homemade maple candies made him actually enjoy going to school that year.

While students no longer roam the halls of Waterford Elementary School, Tony Waldeier’s legacy lives on. When I received the scholarship, walking up to the podium on class night was special because all of the kids I had gone to school with since day one were standing next to me, receiving the same award. When you realize how much effort went into putting this scholarship together—the hours it takes to fundraise and put on the Fall Foliage 5K—it was a reminder that no matter where I went, I had my hometown of Waterford behind me. I didn’t want to waste their effort by not putting all my effort into college.

I attended Central Maine Community College mostly for two reasons: it was close to home, and with the scholarship money I received, tuition was extremely affordable. I graduated with an associate degree in business management and supervision and use that degree every day working as the general manager of Rolfe Corporation in Bridgton.

One of my favorite classes in college ended up being public speaking. When I was in elementary school, I hated public speaking. Even just raising my hand in class would make me nervous enough that I developed a stutter. Through that class, I became comfortable speaking in front of people, and now as a side gig, I work for our local radio station, 92.7 WOXO speaking to thousands of listeners. It is crazy how one class, one teacher or one opportunity can change so much.

It’s especially cool to think that the same man who planted a tree with my father 50 years ago is still playing a role in growing the minds of the next generation of Waterford residents.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been both a student of Tony Waldeier and a recipient of the scholarship created in his memory.

Mr. Waldeier was unlike any other teacher I ever had. Even as fifth graders, he taught us lessons that went far beyond the classroom. He taught me patience, curiosity, and a genuine appreciation for nature and all living things. I especially remember the respect he had for insects and spiders. Rather than teaching us to be afraid of them, he taught us about the important role they play in nature and why they deserved our respect. All these years later, I still think of him when I see a spider and remember the lessons he taught us.

He also had such a unique way of motivating his students. I will never forget his homemade pickles! Receiving a jar as a reward was something we genuinely wanted to earn, and somehow he made you want to work harder, behave better, and make him proud. Those little things may have seemed simple at the time, but they are the memories that stay with you.

What I find most incredible is the impact he was able to make on me as a fifth grader that I can still feel so clearly decades later. He wasn’t simply a teacher. He was a mentor, a friend, and someone who showed his students a different way of looking at the world.

After his passing, I was incredibly honored to become a recipient of the scholarships established in his memory. Those funds helped me make the move to New York and pursue my college degree. At such an important transitional time in my life, that support meant more than I could have understood then. In a way, Mr. Waldeier was still encouraging me to keep going, learn, grow, and build a future for myself—just as he had when I was sitting in his fifth-grade classroom.

There are very few teachers whose lessons remain so vivid after so many years. Mr. Waldeier was one of those rare people. His influence reached far beyond the years he spent with his students, and I am living proof of that.

I hope this scholarship continues for many years to come so that his legacy can continue to encourage and support young people. I will always feel grateful that I had the opportunity to know him and to carry a small piece of what he taught me through life.

Though I never had the privilege of being taught by Mr. Waldeier, his spirit and legacy lives on and certainly ripples through the Waterford community even to this day. As a kid, I remember hearing stories of this larger than life personality, the incredible way he connected with his students and his unique teaching style. It was such a privilege to receive the Waldeier scholarship as I took my next step in higher education at the University of New Hampshire - which propelled me to New York City and then to Boston where I have spent the last 11 years. The Waldeier run is a celebration of the wonderful community that raised me and my siblings and I can say without a doubt, there is no better place to call home. I hope that the Waldeier scholarship and Fall Foliage race live on to help future generations of Waterford kids just as it helped me!