By Liesha Wessinger-Huffstetler
We all have teachers who have touched our lives, and a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of talking with my former fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Judy Bedenbaugh.
Mrs. Judy was an only child and a “lint head” because she grew up in a mill village. Her dad worked in the Columbia Duck Mill, which is now the SC State Museum. When she began her studies at USC in 1960, she began her lifelong profession in education. Mrs. Judy and knew from first grade that that being a teacher was God’s calling on her life. Her career began at a school, where there was no air conditioning.
I bet those classrooms were hot! The Bedenbaugh family moved to the Chapin area, and she started substituting at the Chapin Elementary School, serving K-7th grade, in the old brick school on Columbia Avenue. In 1977, Principal John Anderson asked her to teach at the “new” grammar school. This new “Taj Mahal” school had carpet, bathrooms in every room, and all new furniture. This is much different from the old school, which I remember well.
Lunch was organized by the head cook, Gertie Rister. She praised the school secretaries, Catheryn Summer and Gail Bundrick. Back then, everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning and prayed in the classroom before we went to the cafeteria, asking the Lord to bless our lunch. I wish these things were back in our schools today and were the norm at Chapin during the 1980s.
She organized book parades where students dressed up as their favorite book character. One year, she dressed up as a mouse and rode her motorcycle in the parade! She read books out loud to us, “As the Red Fern Grows” and “A Long Way Home,” and we loved it! Every February, she organized a 5th-grade patriotic program to celebrate our nation. Mrs. Judy won the Teacher of the Year in 1982. She left Chapin and went to Birchwood High School in the Department of Juvenile Justice.
When the Gulf War started, her husband, Jeff, was called to serve in the National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan. With her husband out of the country, Mrs. Judy went to teach at a slower pace classroom in Saluda and then finally retired . A couple of years ago, I was thrilled to see Mrs. Judy when she was volunteering at Lexington Medical Center. She remembers Chapin being a real small rural town. She mentioned Jim Mills, who could take 5th graders who couldn’t play one note, and by Christmas, put on the best Christmas concert. She now loves retirement and deserves to relax on the porch. I thank Mrs. Judy for her incredible impact on all the students she touched in her teaching years.
