Mr. Harjar was my 6th grade teacher at Crestwood Elementary. I often tell people of the wonderful impact he had on me. As someone else has already said, he was larger than life. How tall was he anyway??? He seemed like a giant. I remember how loud his sneezes were, and how his laughter boomed with joy. And yet, he would fold his large body into his rocking chair and read to us as he rocked. Banner in the Sky. Snow Treasure. I read those same books to my own children because I remembered. We watched the movie Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH in his class, and I was so enamored with it that I went to our school library and asked for the book. It became a favorite, and I read that to my kids as well. He also had a personal library in his room that he allowed us to borrow from. Coming from a single mother home, I lacked a strong male authority figure, and sometimes acted like it. Mr. Harjar had us answer him, “Yes, Sir,” and “No, Sir.” He provided structure that I did not have. He demanded our respect and gave us no reason not to respect him. He spent his summers folding and gluing those magnificent paper models that were displayed in his classroom: The Empire State Building, London Bridge, The Taj Majal. He took us on nature walks and taught us how to identify Ohio wildflowers. I vividly recall seeing a Jack-in-the-Pulpit while hiking with my kids decades later, and knowing SOMEHOW what it was all those years later. Because of Mr. Harjar. My kids were also taught to identify plants on our hikes. And there was the Camp Out. Singing the Johnny Appleseed song before meals, and the Doxology after. This was all new to me… and I still sing those songs in my 50’s. So many beautiful memories. I am happy to say that I found Mr.Harjar after he had retired, and sent him a letter telling him how he had influenced my life. He wrote back! Of course he would. I am so thankful for that opportunity, and that I was blessed to have him as my teacher.
