Richard Jenkinson

I never made it to New Trier. After attending Highcrest and Locust Jr. High, my family moved to northern Appalachia (Lewistown, PA), which was quite a culture shock. After two years we moved again to York, PA, where I finished high school. Then on to Ohio State for four years. While there I remember running into Gibby, Corey Stolberg, Holly Sider and Dave Kaplan. From there I went to Indiana in Bloomington for grad school in English.

In 1980 I made the big move and left for the West. I taught high school English for 14 years on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Arizona. It's on the southern edge of Monument Valley, where many of the John Wayne-John Ford movies were filmed. It is about as different from the North Shore as you can get in North America, but I loved it there. Most of my students spoke the Navajo language at home, so I was teaching English as a second language. Among other things, I taught Navajo mythology for 14 years. Along the way I married into three step-kids and helped raise them. They are grown up now.

In 1994 we moved to Moab, Utah. I've been here for 16 years, which makes 30 years of teaching English. Four more to go! Along the way I have coached basketball, track and soccer at various times. Moab is a little resort town with Arches National Park on the north edge of town and Canyonlands National Park to the west. It's a beautiful place. Most of my summers here I have worked as a tour guide driving four-wheel drive trips into the parks.

I'm divorced now. I've got a son who will be in 9th grade next year. I just finished coaching his 8th grade basketball team (24-4!). I would love to come to the reunion to see people I haven't seen for 44 years, but I have been caretaker for my 88 year old father for the past few years, and there is no way that I will be able to get away for that long. I would love to hear from anyone I knew back in the old days. I'm very curious to find out how everyone's lives have turned out.

Locust

Lewistown-Granville H.S., York Suburban H.S. in PA

Ohio State--1970-1974
B.A. in English

Indiana--1974-1976
M.A. in English