Stuart to lead 100th Labor day parade

ESSEX — When the 100th annual Labor Day Parade rolls down the streets of Essex, Allen Stuart will be the 2010 Grand Marshall seated in one of the leading cars. The parade’s theme, A Century of Celebration, will take place on Monday, near the end of a weekend of community celebrations.
Stuart has been a part of the Essex Community Schools for 30 years, 23 of them as a classroom teacher, six and a half of them as the principal, and all of them as a coach.
The Girls Varsity Basketball and Varsity Track were his responsibilities, and he spent a number of years coaching the junior high volleyball team.
“When you start coaching them in junior high, and then they come to high school and you have them in your classes and on your sports’ teams, you become pretty close to those kids,” Stuart said.
He taught were in math and science classes before assuming the principal position in January of 2004. He said there were positives in both positions, but he thought the classroom position had more positives, and admittedly, when students came to the principal’s office, it wasn’t always because of something positive.
He is moving into retirement with good memories, but it would be difficult to single out a few as the highlight, at least not quite yet. “When you’re talking about sports, there are lots of time kids are successful and those kind of stick out in your mind. And there are those kids who really work and you get closer to them, and remember those times,” he said.
Stuart did not feel qualified to offer a set of universal tips for educators because he believes no two teachers, classrooms, or situations are the same. However, he is fairly certain he knows at least one way to measure success, whether in the classroom or in sports.
“There are no quite fixes. It takes a long time to create a change,” he said, speaking of most of life’s situations. He talked about finding the fine line between expecting a lot from others and expecting too much, between challenging and pushing too much. He knew he wanted to keep raising the bar, but not raising it beyond what a student could accomplish, either in the classroom or on the field. He wanted to challenge them, but not push them in ways that would show as a teacher or a coach that he was expecting too much.
“You know you are a success when you see the kids challenge themselves to accomplish more.”
Stuart has been too busy to plan how he and his wife will spend his retirement. His nearest relative, a brother, lives in St. Cloud, Minn. However, as he begins to adjust to life without the responsibilities he has had for the last 30 years, opportunities will start coming his way and he will see which ones to grasp. First, though, he has the honor of being the Grand Marshall for Essex’s Labor Day Parade and festivities.
Essex begins offering contests and games Friday, Sept.4, and from the looks of their calendar, a large variety of food for any almost any meal will be available in the weekend chocked full of entertainment.
A few events include a carnival, the Miss Essex baby contest, softball tournaments, ice cream socials, bathtub races, Gospel concert, an all-church worship service, tractor pulls, car shows, and displays of antiques and a flea market. A pancake feed and an opportunity to eat some homemade ice or watch a water fight, the youth dance or play bingo are all possible, plus more.
Entries are welcome in the parade. “Essex currency” will be awarded based on how well those reflect the parade’s theme, A Century of Celebrations. For more information, call the Wenstrands at 586-4541 or 370-5146, or go online at essexiowa.com/labor.html.