Mr. Ostlund aka "Lundy" passed away a few years ago. He was the Commercial Art teacher and was loved and cherished by so many of his students. He had a biting wit and a deadpan sense of humor that defined him. He was only in his young seventies when he passed.

Mel held court in the famed teachers’ lounge- known by several principals as a seminary of sedition! There were some great people who sat around that table- old sages and young fools! No one escaped his barbs, his wit, his wisdom, or his kindness. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for you. I’m so thankful that I got to spend my first ten years in this profession listening to stories and debates in that dingy, smoke-filled room…or sitting around a bonfire in Barney Andrew’s back yard with teachers and principals alike…

It was Mel’s stories that I remember the most- everyone had a favorite- it usually involved Mel telling on himself, like the time he chopped down a tree…landing squarely on the hood of the family car. Nancy, of course, watched the whole episode, responding, “Nice going, Mel.” I think it took him longer to tell the story than to cut the damn tree down!

~ Jim McGinnis