100 Years Ago: 1924

A recent millinery exhibition in Cincinnati had a radio receiving set fastened to a hat. Next they will be equipping them with transmitters and talking through them.

50 Years Ago: 1974

The United Methodist Youth Choir of Auburn is now in rehearsal for “It’s Cool in the Furnace,” a light musical comedy based on the story of King Nebuechuidinezzar of ancient Babylon. The choir will present the benefit performance at 8 pm Friday, March 8 and Saturday March 9 at the church and proceeds will be used for the memorial chimes.

Linda Boothby is the choir director and stage scenery is being created by the Junior Methodist Youth Fellowship under the direction of Mrs. Barbara Page. Serving as ticket chairman is Mrs. Vernon Page.

The only adult to appear in the production will be Ronald Logan, cast in the role of the king. Playing opposite him as Daniel will be Leslie Shields, choir member. Other members of the choir are Donna Bennett, Nancy Brann, Lori Foster, Patricia Ford, Lorenda Gilbert, Marshall Larrabee, Karen Luttrell, Kim Marsh, Paula Marsh, Kristy Murray, Patty Nichols, Dana Shields, Deron Smith, Nellane Ray, and Sharon Wills. Mrs. Norma Rice is the pianist.

25 Years Ago: 1999

When Jenny Sellinger walks through the hallways of Edward Little High School she doesn’t have to think back long to when she was a student here.

Now she knows the other side of the classroom as a life science teacher, one of a handful of former students who have made the transition at their alma mater. It’s not one she anticipated back in her student years.

“Absolutely not,” Sellinger answers with a laugh when asked if she had considered teaching as a career. “Mark Gousse, who was one of my teachers then–now he’s the vice principal stopped me in the hallway on my first day as a teacher and remarked on just that.”

Sellinger considers it a ” real cycle of events” that the people who taught her high school classes are now helping her become a better teacher, including Cynthia Peters, Peter Roberts and Pat McClosky.

“It has been helpful to be here because I’m so familiar with the people,” she said. “I feel I get so much support because most of the staff knew me as a student and I can turn to them for advice.”

She attended Merrimac College for two years, then switched to the University of Vermont at Burlington as a zoology major. She first considered teaching as a career while working as a substitute during college breaks and chose science “because I didn’t think there were enough female role models in the science field.”

Sellinger, 25, is in her second year at ELHS after teaching eighth-grade science for two years at Saco Middle School.

“I was living in Auburn and commuting every day to Saco, so I really didn’t feel like I was part of the community there. When this job opening came up. I felt it was best to come here to work.” she said.

Returning to her home turf has had some awkward moments, such as having babysat one of her biology students when she was in high school or having the younger siblings of old friends in her classes.

“It really hit me one day when I was in a Science Department meeting with Dennis Sweetser, the department chair, I looked around and realized that I had sat down in the same spot where I used to sit in his classes. That was kind of weird,” Sellinger said.

Her students are mostly sophomores to seniors, with a few advanced freshmen mixed in, so they are only a few years younger than she is. There are some advantages, she believes.

“Students know there is a boundary between us, but we can still have a rapport,” she said. “It’s sometimes helpful because I know a lot about what they like, so I can use that in a lesson to pique their interest level and get information across to them.”

“It also helps me to relate to them if they want to talk about personal issues, that’s what I love about teaching, that it’s not education but some counseling as well. It helps me to get to know them as people, not just as students and teacher,” she said.

If asked about career advice, Sellenger said she would tell students to look first at things they are good at. “No one starts out on top and you don’t achieve everything you want overnight.”

There have been a number of jobs along the way. Sellinger worked as a painter, a waitress, and as a librarian at her college. Her most memorable high school job was as a clown at Cote’s Ice Cream, working kid’s birthday parties she recalled with a smile.

The material used in Looking Back is produced exactly as it originally appeared although misspellings and errors may be corrected.

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