Luise A Thoms Heisler

HEISLER SACHAU THOMS

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/21/2010 at 22:26:28

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Luise A Thoms Heisler
By Luise Heisler

I am the eldest daughter of E H and Anna (Sachau) Thoms. I was graduated from the Climbing Hill High School in 1932. Immediately following graduation I attended a twelve-week normal training session at the Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) at Cedar Falls and started teaching at the West Fork District # 1 School. I taught several other rural schools in Woodbury County until I went to Rodney, Iowa, to teach 4th, 5th, and 6th graders for two years. The next six years were spent teaching the Grant Township District # 9 School.

The twelve years I spent teaching rural schools were exciting and rewarding! The teacher of the rural school wore many hats – that of principal, custodian, school nurse, special education teacher, cook, program director, coach and mother – as well as teaching the school. These were fires to build to warm the room before the children arrived. Sometimes snow had to be shoveled to both boys’ and girls’ outbuildings. There were no dull moments. I knew the entire family of each child, as well as those not having youngsters not attending the school. News of happy events along with worried and sad happenings all came to school to be shared.

The cooperative spirit of the youngsters and their parents made each one-room rural school function as a family group striving for the general good of all.

I taught rural schools in West Fork, Moville and Grant Townships for twelve years before going to Sergeant Bluff to teach social studies in the high school there. Next I taught home economics for the next four years at Anthon, Iowa.

Evans Heisler of Castana, Iowa and I were married while I was teaching at Anthon. In 1952 we became the proud parents of twins, a boy, Mark Evans, and a girl, Susan Luise. This event marked retirement from teaching for me.

In 1963, the year our twins were ready to start their sixth grade in school, I returned to teaching. This time, I taught at Hawthorne Elementary School in Sioux City. I continued teaching fifth grade there until 1976 when I retired again. While teaching during the years between 1932 and 1947 I kept plugging at college work, receiving my B.S. degree in 1947.

Since retirement I have enjoyed oil painting, needlepoint, crocheting and various other crafts. I have done quite a bit of traveling Alaska and Hawaii. Have toured Switzerland, British Isles, Germany and Canada also.

My husband and I are enjoying our six grandchildren.

As to our children, the twins, our son, Mark Evans Heisler, is married to Pammella Wood. They live in Sioux City with their three children: Aaron Mark, Anam Joshua and Andrew Evans Heisler. Our daughter, Susan Luise Heisler is married to Charles I Dorr. Their children are Zachary Aaron, Alicia Susan and Michael Charles Dorr.

I keep busy with the grandchildren, Golden Age Alumni at Morningside College, American Association of University Women, Church, Retired Teachers and the Home Economics committee of Woodbury County Extension Council.

I’ll have to live to a ripe old age to finish all the things I’ve started or still plan to do!