Margaret "Peg" Miller and her husband sought adventure by joining the Peace Corps. They ended up in a Peruvian village high in the mountains, at an elevation of 14,500 feet
A lifetime in the classroom
By Brenda Blevins McCorkle
Mar 16, 2004 - 07:10:32 am PST
When Margaret "Peg" Miller chose to retire from teaching, the abyss of retirement stretched out before her.
She's filled the hole where work once sat with activities and education, including building a house in Wahkiakum County and teaching a "Write Your Life Story" class at the Kelso Senior Center.
She is one of many retired school employees across Washington state who are being honored this week during "School Retirees Appreciation Week."
The Philadelphia native graduated in 1958 from Pennsylvania's Millersville Teachers College. Her husband, Fred, was a seaman, and their separate careers took a toll.
"It was a terrible tug," Miller said. "I wondered if I should just finish the schooling or bag it and just get on with life with Fred. I hated for him to be out to sea all the time."
She quit school once and worked in a temporary office job through Kelly Girls.
"It was one of the best things I ever did. ..." she said. "It was so horrible. ... It persuaded me that I wanted to go back to school, and the school took me back."
After six months as a second-grade teacher in Pennsylvania, Margaret Miller and her husband moved to San Diego. He worked as a carpenter, and she taught second grade.
During a building recession, Fred Miller lost his job. The couple moved to Castle Rock, where Margaret Miller taught for three years.
The Millers sought adventure by joining the Peace Corps. They ended up in a Peruvian village high in the mountains, at an elevation of 14,500 feet. Margaret Miller taught sixth-grade English at the girls' school and gave workshops on hygiene to older women in the village.
After 14 months, the couple came back to the states, and Margaret earned her master's degree in elementary education from Columbia University's teachers' college. She and Fred moved back to Castle Rock, and she taught fourth grade at Northlake Elementary.
"That was one of the highlights of my teaching career, that first class (with Longview) in 1965," she said. "I'm personal friends today with some of those kids and some of those parents."
Later, she moved to Robert Gray Elementary, where she realized her interest in library science.
"I was in the library teaching, because we had no librarian," she said. "I was reading a 'Jack Tale' by Richard Chase to the kids, and I said to myself, 'This is what I want to do next. I want to be a librarian and be with books.' "
Miller earned a master's in library science at the University of Washington. She went back to Robert Gray and served as librarian for a few years before taking a position at St. Helens Elementary.
"That was my favorite school in Longview. The kids didn't have too much, and they appreciated the school and so did the parents ..." she said. "They appreciated everything I did, every story and every chance to participate."
During a budget crunch, the library staff was cut, and Miller found herself commuting between St. Helens and Columbia Heights elementary schools.
"I loved every facet of the school library job, but the whole thing was just too much," she said.
Miller decided to go back to UW, where she earned her Ph.D. She then went back to the library, this time at Northlake.
"And then, almost as if I knew Fred was going to die, I decided to retire," she said. One year later, the Millers found out Fred had cancer.
"I decided I needed to go back to work," she said, adding that her husband died in 1991.
In 1985, she went to Kelso and took a job in the gifted education program. Twelve years later, the district changed the program and moved it from Beacon Hill Elementary to Butler Acres Elementary. Miller decided to retire, this time for good.
"I thought, now is the time. Nevertheless, it was very hard to make that decision," she said.
She soon found ways to keep busy, including serving as president of the Friends of Galileo astronomy club and keeping active in the local canoe club. She also earned an associate's degree at Lower Columbia College in 1999 and dances with the Harlequin Dance Club.
She scoffs at the worries she had about retirement.
"I had been going at such a high level for so many years, it was just unnatural not to work," she said. "I fixed that in a hurry. Now I have too much to do."
