Dale Shafer:
CLASS OF 1971
North Salem High SchoolClass of 1971
Salem, OR
Oregon College of EducationClass of 1976
Monmouth, OR
Parrish Junior High SchoolClass of 1968
Salem, OR
Englewood Elementary SchoolClass of 1961
Salem, OR
Hoover Elementary SchoolClass of 1961
Salem, OR
Dale's Story
Dale is from Salem, Oregon and his .schools include Hoover Elementary, Englewood Elementary, Parrish Junior High School, and North Salem High School.
His college years were spent at Oregon College if Education, majoring in Elementary Education.
During my years in school I knew I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I can't put my finger on what exactly triggered me to be a teacher, especially at such a young age. It was confirmed for me when I attended an event for prospective students at Oregon College of Education during my junior or senior year in high school that this was indeed the profession I wanted to be a part of.
Upon graduation from North Salem High in 1971, I entered the Elementary Education program at Oregon College of Education (OCE, now known as WOU, Western Oregon University).
I was very pleased when I read about the name change. Upon graduation from OCE in 1975, I began my teaching career, teaching in the Salem Public Schools. I find it interesting that I did not have a male teacher until the 5th grade! Mr. Paul Bowman was my teacher and whom I looked up to, eventually following in his footsteps. Gosh, I would love to tell him the impact he made on my life back then.
It was several years after I had graduated in 1975 with my B.S, degree in Elementary Education that I entered the Master's program, this degree program was in Educational Media (the new name for "Librarian", we were called the Media Specialist, in Salem Public Schools. I so enjoyed the degree program, as it brought two areas I was excited about, That of an 1) Elementary Teacher, my first love; and the fascinating Library=Media program. I was in teaching heaven!
I remained in the education field for a number of years, when I took a giant leap into a new world of working. I went to work for JAFCO Catalog Showroom, selling beautiful jewelry. It was with JAFCO that I was offered a management position at the Eugene store as the Fine Jewelry Department Manager. .You must know that I had absolutely no retail experience!
This was my first experience in retail. I made it work despite the hours a manager would put in weekly. In the early 1980's, I moved back to Salem and took a position with Zale;s Jewelers,, located in Lancaster Mall, I worked as a sales associate and promoted to Store Manager, I enjoyed the experience working in the Mall. I remember a sale I had wh...Expand for more
ile working at Zales. I had sold a 2 carat diamond solitaire ring to a gentleman, only to have him return it a few weeks later. That was one large diamond and so very beautiful.
I was beginning to feel the burnout from retail, the very long hours managers were required to work, and missing many opportunities to be involved in church and other ares.
I made the decision to step down from my role as store manager, and entered the world of an 8=5 State Employee. This would give me back the evenings I so missed. I worked for the Oregon Health Division Licensing Program, and Oregon Department of Transportation, where I worked until I retired in 2018. T
Continued!!! Read on for more information and what Dale has been involved with.
I worked for the State of Oregon for approximately 20 years, retiring in 2018. There were very mixed emotions about retiring
I was faced with. a major event in my life. I had a stroke in 2014 that eventually turned into Parkinson's. My life took a major turn that I did not like. I was not able to many of the things I once did, and I struggled with the many effects of Parkinson's. That has been the most difficult and challenging thing I have been faced with. I will tell you folks, "it aint no fun".
The one thing that I am and was so grateful for was my faith in God. I knew He had a reason why I would be "put through hell called Parkinson's". My church, Salem Alliance Church has been a cornerstone in faith, believing, and having such a great support group that helps me get through the tough times.
I am looking forward to the 50th class reunion next year. It will be so much fun connecting with each other, especially those who have retired! I still think of retiring is something the "older people do". Well, I hate to tell me but I am now one of those Old Persons. The reunion will be good for me to see classmates from North Salem. Back during my tenure as a classmate at North Salem High, I recall we had very large class, my graduating class had over 600 students! You need to remember that back then, the Salem Public School District had only three, yes three high schools, North Salem High, South Salem High, and McNary High. Sprague was in the final stages and would open in a few more years.
Today, Salem-Keizier School District has nine (9) high schools. Several are specialty schools focusing on career technical programs.
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