Mary (LaBreche) Hicks
My first teaching position was in a small town in the process of being absorbed into
Greater Los Angeles. When I arrived in 1966, I found in Cypress, California a
a checkerboard of dairy farms along dirt roads and new residential subdivisions with paved
accesses. My school was still under construction, so I worked as a contract substitute
teacher for the first two months, seldom knowing from day to day which school and
which elementary grade I would be assigned to teach. Within a fortnight I knew where
every school was located, and the time it would take me to reach it by bicycle – one to six
miles from my apartment in Buena Park.
I was an excited and enthusiastic Marquette girl, newly graduated from NMU and
suddenly transplanted into sunny Southern California. I recall vividly even today those
fresh, early morning rides on quiet dusty roads, past fields of fruit trees and vegetables
that I'd neither heard of nor tasted, and across dew-drenched pastures scattered with
incurious cows. These were valuable hours when in the morning I mentally refreshed my
plans for the day, and in the afternoon reminisced about that day. I learned quickly that it
was always best to have a day of classes planned just in case the teacher's lesson plans
were not available.
That was in 1966. Forty-five years later, I retired as the home-school administrator for
the Kenai Peninsula School District in Seward Alaska. My love for teaching remained
every bit as resolute in the 45th year as it was in the first year. During the intervening years, I lived in Palo Alto, California, and taught in East San Jose, while my husband, Bob Hicks, attended Stanford. In 1968 we moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where I taught at Harvard Elementary School for 3 years while Bob attended the Harvard Law School.
In the next adventure, we brought our beautiful newborn (10 weeks) daughter Amy to
Juneau Alaska, where Bob served as a law clerk to the Alaska Supreme Court. I was
fortunate to be able to stay at home with her and again later with our son, Nathan, until
they began their school years. I taught in the Anchorage School District until I took over
the bookkeeping position in my husband's law firm, where I enjoyed flex hours allowing
me to be at home when my children were not in school.
In 1972 we returned briefly "Outside" (as Alaskans refer to “the Lower 48”). We rode
the Canadian National passenger train across Canada and then crossed the Windsor
Bridge to East Lansing – already planning our return to Alaska. Bob went back to work
for Ralph Nader, this time organizing the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan
(“PIRGIM”).
Ten months later, we arrived back in Anchorage. We have always loved the majestic and
panoramic scenery, the warm and friendly Alaska people, the openness of careers and
wealth of opportunities, and the variety of arts and manners from six different Native
cultures as well as Asian influences along “the Pacific Rim.” (Tokyo was 7.5 hours from Anchorage. New York was 13 hours away!) Our 46 years in Alaska were some of the best years of our lives.
And my education continues during our adult lives. While we lived in California, I was
able to take graduate classes at Long Beach State University, Sacramento State
University, and Stanford University. I also took many geology courses at the University
of Alaska. Each fall since retiring, I continue to take classes here at Northern, ever
grateful for the free tuition provided by the NMU Senior Scholarship program.
My husband and I have two of the most wonderful children anyone could ask for and of
course their spouses and our two granddaughters bring us endless happiness. We've had
the opportunity to travel throughout the world and have had many exciting adventures
including a trek in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas in Nepal – a dream come true
for me.
Throughout my life, I have always been grateful for my parents who were always there
for my siblings and me. They were a hard-working well-respected, much-loved couple
and their focus in life was to raise us with love and respect and to instill in us the same
values of responsibility, honesty, compassion, integrity, and self-discipline that they lived
by. Thanks to them, and the career preparations provided by NMU, my life has been
productive, fulfilling, and very well-lived.
Mary pictured second from the right.