​For her outstanding contributions as an eighth grade teacher, Ruth is recognized on the Donors’ Wall of Fame by her daughters–Mary Louise Meder of Emporia, Kansas and Sylvia Meder St. Jean of Reston, Virginia.
Ruth Dunham Meder is special to us because she is our mother, a woman who taught us as little children and laid the foundation for our subsequent education.  Her first experiences as a teacher came in country schools in Bantam and Newtown, Connecticut.  Later she became a critic teacher for Danbury Normal School.  AFter a twelve year hiatus, during which she married and raised children, Ruth became a principal and eighth grade teacher at Brookfield, Connecticut Consolidated School.  For ten years she successfully developed in her students a love of learning, a sense of responsibility, and intellectual curiosity, a desire to excel, and a firm foundation for subject matter.
In 1948, she became an Elementary Supervisor/ Educational Consultant for the State of Connecticut.  Although this position was a professional advancement, Ruth always missed the interaction with students that classroom teaching provided.
Ruth began her teaching career in a one room schoolhouse and dedicated thirty-four years to the education profession.

​For her outstanding contributions as a librarian, Rita is recognized on the Donors’ Wall of Fame by Village School Staff of Emporia, Kansas.
Rita Wurtz served as a school librarian in the Emporia School District from 1982 through 2005. She worked as a total of thirty-three years as an educator. Rita began her career as a 5th grade teacher in Shawnee, Kansas and had forty-nine students in her class. Luckily she was handsomely rewarded with a bonus of $3,300.
Rita’s knowledge of children’s literature and uncanny ability to remember just what type of book individual students liked was incredible. She was always patient and positive with her students and possessed the ability to motivate all types of students to read. She never let a child’s lack of reading ability stop them from finding some sort of literature they could enjoy and be successful with.
One of the biggest changes Rita saw during her career was the change to computerized card catalogs and circulation.

or his outstanding contributions as a teacher, Mr. Gilson is recognized on the Donors’ Wall of Fame by Dr. G. Brooker, NTHF Class of 1998, of Bethel, Connecticut.
Mr. Gilson taught high school English at Rice High School in New York City, New York, in 1953.
He fired my imagination to see the world!