Just an educated guess, but this is tough

If you check out today's adjacent editorial, you'll get a glimpse of how much impact the retiring teachers and administrators leaving the Putnam County education system this year have had on generations of our children.

Ten teachers and/or administrators. Overall 370 years in education. Collectively 319 in Putnam County.

But those are just the numbers in black and white, devoid of emotion and humanity.

Behind those numbers, however, are real heroes fostering some amazing relationships and doing incredible work.

Take, for example, the combined 77 years at North Putnam that the husband-and-wife team of Bill and Jana Brothers has given that community.

Both Bill and Jana have essentially spent their adult lives at North Putnam.

After all, the first graduating class after the consolidation of Bainbridge, Roachdale and Russellville came in 1970. So Jana, Class of 1972, and Bil, Class of 1973, were students in the new school when it opened.

And it seems like they've been there ever since with him putting in 37 years in social studies and sports -- including at least two stints as varsity boys' basketball coach -- and her with 40 years mostly teaching language classes in the junior high/middle school.

Despite pending retirement, Jana Brothers obviously hasn't lost her spunk.

"It's been fun playing school the past 40 years," she quipped this week.

The Brothers couple are joined by Joanie Knapp with 34 years behind her in saying goodbye to North Putnam.

Coincidentally, Knapp, Bill Brothers and Roachdale Principal Scott Spencer are the only three social studies teachers North Putnam Middle Schools students have known since the middle school opened in 1994.

But such classroom dedication hasn't been confined to North Putnam.

At Cloverdale, Bill Cole is writing a coda to his career after 34 years in music education, including the last 20 at Cloverdale.

With Cole simultaneously holding down the middle school and high school band director positions, who took on even more responsibility when the choir director left for a new job?

Bill Cole, of course. The man basically has been the music department at Cloverdale in recent years.

Some of the other dedicated folks who are retiring from our schools have already been highlighted recently. Like Greencastle School Superintendent Dawn Puckett and Fillmore Principal Brad Hayes.

Personally I have known both Puckett and Hayes since they taught at Greencastle Middle School.

Puckett was a fine but demanding English teacher, who despite not always giving my oldest daughter the best grades, earned her respect as her favorite teacher at the time.

"Dad, she's tough," I'll always remember her telling me.

Hayes, meanwhile, made a splash in my world, motivating my girls in the water when he coached swimming at GMS.

And not to open any old wounds, but I've also felt like Hayes shouldn't have been left treading water when the GMS principal job opened up. After his two years as assistant there, he should have gotten an opportunity for the lead role. Instead, a new principal was brought in from the outside and Hayes accepted the job at Fillmore School soon thereafter.

Greencastle's loss was definitely Fillmore's gain.

And then there's Glenn Hile. What a resume he compiled over his 37 years at GHS.

I know I wasn't alone this spring hoping he'd get his first Academic Super Bowl title when his Social Studies team made the state finals for the fourth time in seven years. Unfortunately, it didn't happen and the GHS Social Studies team captured third place in a frustratingly close contest.

Social Studies Department head for 22 years, Hile also has been the longtime senior class sponsor who organized many a Washington, D.C., trip. He also served as Student Council and National Honor Society adviser in addition to wearing many hats in the GHS athletic department.

Hile coached girls' varsity basketball for 13 years, compiling a 150-117 record and winning eight Putnam County championships, three sectionals and two West Central Conference titles.

He also served nine years as Tiger Cub varsity baseball coach and three years as girls' and boys' track coach, in addition to being a varsity football assistant.

But I'll always remember him for being one of two teachers who received an invitation and came to my oldest daughter's graduation party (the other being drama teacher Vickie Parker).

He didn't have to do that. And that's been a hallmark of the retiring educators we've mentioned.

The common denominator has been their willingness to go above and beyond, and our children -- yours and mine -- have benefited from that dedication.

When the recessional plays at graduation, be it tonight or tomorrow, some big losses will begin adding up.

No, it's not just about those extraordinary numbers ...

It's about the people who most likely never even realized they had produced them.