April 12, 2004
About
Town


Dave Uphoff

  Past Editorials
  Click here
  Links

 Home
 About Minonk
 Alumni
 Businesses
 Births
 Cemetery
 Chatter box
 City Hall
 Community Ctr
 Classified Ads
 Editorial
 Email
 Events
 Genealogy
 History
 Homepages
 Issues
 Library
 Lost & Found
 Map
 News
 Obituaries
 Photos
 Recipes
 Reference
 Satire
 Schools
 Search
 Sports
 Stories
 Trees
 Where are they?
 
History Links

 Home
 Buildings
 Businesses
 Coal mine
 Early Settlers
 Ethnic Groups
 Origins
 People
 Old Photos
 Sports
 Tragedies
 

The legacy of James Wise

Many of you may have noticed the obituary for James Wise in the papers yesterday. Mr. Wise was a teacher at Minonk High School and MDR for many years. He died Friday at the age of 89 in a nursing home in Lincoln, IL.

Mr. Wise taught me mechanical drawing in 1955-56. He was a no-nonsense teacher who you grew to respect. He knew his subject and taught it well and he did not put up with any horseplay. Like many of the teachers who returned to civilian life after World World II, his military service lent maturity and wisdom to his vocation. Mr. Wise was an excellent teacher and would sprinkle his teaching with tidbits about his army days during World War II in England. He also liked to talk about guns as I remember him being a collector of guns.

Perhaps the most important part of Mr. Wise's legacy was his building trades classes that built over 20 homes in Minonk with student labor. To be able to coordinate and motivate a group of teenagers to build a house required considerable patience and discipline. You had to be more of a drill sergeant than a guidance counselor if you wanted to get the house built. Along the way you had to be able to teach the necessary skills to the students.

Judging by the number of carpenters in the Minonk area, I would say that Mr. Wise's legacy lives on. Many of Minonk's carpenters got their start under the tutelage of Mr. Wise. Minonk has always had an ample supply of good carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and construction workers. I feel this largely due to the school's building trades program.

It is not just carpenters that Mr. Wise trained. Many farmers also acquired skills from his building trades or woodshop classes. I can't remember how many times I've heard someone say that they learned how to do a certain thing from Mr. Wise.

It is unfortunate that our schools today can no longer afford a building trades program. Knowing the basics in carpentry, plumbing and electrical work is invaluable. Not only can having this skill allow one to do their own repair work or remodeling to save money, it also is a skill that gives one an extreme sense of satisfaction.

While I did not take building trades in school, I did learn carpentry skills while working for Henry Harms back in the late 1950's and early 60's. In those days, we were still building wooden barns and corn cribs which is a lost art today. I learned enough to be bold enough to build my own house years ago. Since then I have dabbled in carpentry. I feel that being a carpenter is a noble profession. It requires not only physical skill but mental proficiency as well to figure out how to build something.

For those high school students who dislike office work and do not have any particular direction or goal in mind, I would recommend learning a trade skill like carpentry, electrical work, or plumbing. These skills will always be in demand and these kinds of jobs cannot be exported overseas.

Mr. Wise trained a generation of construction workers and carpenters that is just as important to our society as the rocket scientists. His teachings enriched the lives of many and imparted skills that remained valuable throughout their lives. I wish I had written this editorial while he was still alive so he would know how we feel about him.


To reply to this editorial please send your comments to Your letter will be published in the email section. Viewers are welcome to submit a guest editorial.