{ title: 'The Altamont enterprise. (Altamont, N.Y.) 1983-2006, April 11, 1996, Page 13, Image 13', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn86011850/1996-04-11/ed-1/seq-13/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn86011850/1996-04-11/ed-1/seq-13.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn86011850/1996-04-11/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn86011850/1996-04-11/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Guilderland Public Library
'''^i^^kiMtM^msMiiiii^^^^^^MM fffiPFaBngfal^^ „_^v^-£r i.A'irtr-w:*\^ - i '. t sy'J.'\'** zs**- _. » i -.-, i if « tJ 3 fe « reding ^i chiildren,\. &aid , Finn; .\If .yojii Jttke : those two ij^ings^ yow caji? have; a; circus here, you can have a ball.\ Adaiftg ?aid that Finn's in- fluence has reached beyond the school. *I£ he walks into the bowling alley* he's attacked — the base- ball |ieldy the grocery store, it doesn't matter where he goes in Guilderland, the kids will go running away from their own parents to hug him and say hi.\ Adams describes those at the Lynnwood school as \one big, happy family.\ \It's home,\ she says simply. It wa&ia difficult adjustment, Adams said, when some of the staff left for the new Pine Bush Elementary School. Finn fol- lowed the teachers and children he knew to help them at Pine Bush, too. He volunteered one day a week at Pine Bush, and two at Lynnwood. \He'd work from 8 to 2, with- out even a lunch break,\ said Adams. First-grade teacher Mary Stumpf said the school could use more volunteers — if they were \clones\ of Finn. \He adheres to confidential- ity,\ says Stumpf. \We know that trust is there.\ Her colleague, Sandra Lundstedt, agrees. \When he has concerns,\ she says of Finn, \he always asks, not to be nosey, but how to help the child.\ \God forbid, they show a little disinterest,\ says Finn of the students. \That's a challenge to me.\ He goes on, \We all respect each other's territory...When you're around kids long enough, you can read them. You can tell when they're troubled.\ The admiration runs both ways. Finn says - of the Lyn- nwood and Pine Bush teachers, \I've; never seen so many ani- mated teachers...Everybody I meet is interested in children and their welfare.\ Stumpf concludes, \We could use more volunteers. But it takes training, respect and trust.,.He's a natural,\ she says of Finn. \Kids don t know © © In the classroom, Finn mixes sobriety with humor. On the serious side, he ex- plains how he instructed each class to say the pledge to the flag. Finn served in the Army during World War II, when he was stationed in the Philip- pines. He said of the Lynnwood stu- dents, \When they stood for the pledge of allegiance, some of % EVERY 24 TUESDAY $ 5.00 Miff. 500'copy max 8.5 xii.B&WSelf Serve Only p|fc, ,.:'^4 •••<-. . y # 1971 Western Mtim A ' B * J 3,_\* -*- * mm* ^ B___f_p_p tf%m WBjje r -playing { wi$i tfeair ear, or picking their jiose, or slouching around, or they had their arms folded. So,, I'd say, •Now everybody, stop. Grandpa wants to explain something dear to his heart~. r The flag is a symbol of all the men who gave their lives and spilled their blood for our country.... 'If I was the Principal I would give G ramp a Jack a reward for kindness.' \'This is how we had to do it in the service. You stand at at- tention. Have your heels to- gether with your toes spread at a 45-degree angle...You put your left hand at your side. And, with your right hand, you salute if you're a soldier, and you cover your heart if you're a civilian. You stand extremely still and you think about the words.'\ Reflecting on Jared Falvo's essay, and his memory of being told how to stand during the pledge, Finn said, \You do things and let them drop; you don't try to make an issue out of it — and you- see some of them were listening, maybe more than you think.\ On the light side, Finn demonstrates how he teaches the kids to play music through their noses — a skill he learned from his wife. With a mischievous look, he hums a\ nasal \Yankee Doodle,\ and taps out the tune by pressing, with his index finger, first one nostril then the other. He also demonstrates his \signature poem,\ bursting into a rousing rendition of a famil- iar song with a surprise end- ing: \Row row, row your boat, gently down the stream, till you reach the water fall, then you start to scream.\ \The kids love that,\ he says. Finn says there's a serious side to his humor, too. He's try- ing to engage children who, he feels, are all too often plugged into a television and are not in- teracting with others. Two first- grade teachers nod in agree- ment as he speaks. \I find in life nowadays,\ says Finn, \kids don't know how to laugh....I watch my grandchildren....They sit in front of the t.y., and there's no expression....even with the funniest cartoons.\ Kelley returns from overseas deployment with U§S Monterey SCHOHARIE— Navy Petty 0Mcer First Class Michael C. Kellfey, son of Clarence J\. Kelley of Schoharie, has returned to Mayport, Fla.^ after completing a six-month overseas deployment to the Adriatic Sea near Bosnia aboard the guided missile Cruiser USS Mdnterey. The 1980, gTiCdttate of Rich- mondville Central* High School joined th>e-Navy in February 1985. i! »•?\ j DEPBIDABLE QUALITY RURAL HOME CARE SI Apt „_• ^iglS^Bi£8& \Kidis are apologizing fojr their parents\ \The kids clamor to read with him, because of bis warmth and personality,\ says Lundstedt. \He inspires the kids,\ agrees Stumpf. \He gets them involved in stories; he hams it up-..* He has books for each grade level, or we recommend them...First-graders are learning the connection be- tween printed wordings and meaning. He brings in poems and lets, them see the joy of reading.... \He knows the ones that need a little extra....I think of him as my grandpa,\ Stumpf re- veals. \The kids can talk to them about their grandparents. They keep asking for him.\ She said that, while Finn was in the hospital, her students sent him cards. \We said he was in the hospital, and he was getting better — even though we had to bend it a little bit.\ Finn feels he fills a need in the lives of many of today's stu- dents. He says, \The problem these days is so many people are too busy to make time for kids...When I ask some stu- dents if they can get help at home with reading, they apolo- gize. They'll say, 'Grandpa, when my parents pick me up at the baby-sitter's — lots of kids don't go home after school; they go to a baby-sitter's — they have to get ready for work the next day, so they just don't have the time.' \Holy Mother of God, the kids are apologizing for the parents' not helping,\ says Finn, spreading his hands in a ges- ture of helpless exasperation. \It's getting worse and worse,\ says Stumpf, as Lund- . stedt nods ascent. Finn sees a dearth of inter- action with children every- where — from lack of time spent with parents and grand- parents to hired-out birthday parties. \It used to be kids and parents would get together for a child's birthday,\ he says. \Now the parents take 10 kids to the Stompin' Ground or the pool hall...and they go off and that's the kid's birthday party....I fear for the next generation.\ Finn goes on about changing social patterns, \A lot of kids today don't even have grand- parents around. After World War II, a lot of men went to college and moved out of state...All of a sudden: no grandparents.\ \Grandparents are very mo- bile, too,\ said Lundstedt. \Many of them are on the road, heading south or travelling across the country. We can't do much to change that...but the kids really appreciate knowing an older person at school.\ \Especially a man,\ says Stumpf, noting that elementary teachers are still predomi- nantly women. She says of Finn, \Kids know they can trust him and share with him.\ \He listens and gives them his time,\ says Lundstedt. \Time is so cheap,\ concludes Stumpf, \but it's so valuable.\ Helen Cath- nationally recognized pet photograher will be here on May 4th to photograph your beloved pet. Guilderland s Leaders Diane Biernacki February Volume & Transaction Leader March Transaction Leader Pam Linnan March Sales Volume Leader Call Diane or Pam at 456-4411 GrtuiK 21 Roberts Real Estate Need a little help around the house? Watch \Hie Carol Duvall Show on HGTV. Every weekday, craft expert Carol Duvall covers the world j of crafts with demonstrations and special guests. HGW. 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