Betty Studley was born and bred in Waldoboro. And all through school, from Miller to high school, Betty played every sport they offered, which was basketball and softball. When she went to Boston University to study physical therapy, she added tennis. Halfway through she switched majors. She graduated with a degree in education. It was a decision she’s never regretted. With a science and sports background, she ended up teaching health & physical education. She landed in Fitchburg, MA, a mill town north of Worcester, and was there for 42 years. Those were years of change. When the state mandated that schools teach sex education, it fell to Betty with her background in science and biology. That upset a few parents so much that they insisted on attending their children’s classes. And Betty embraced it because she saw how being pregnant in high school could risk a student’s educational opportunities. But not all the parents agreed. A few even insisted on attending their children’s classes. And Betty went with it. Being a teacher, she had summers off, and she spent them in Waldoboro, then at its end, returning to Fitchburg. Her love affair with teaching lasted and lasted, year after year; and then she retired. In 2000, she returned to Waldoboro for good. Since, she’s put her heart into the Women’s Club.
You want to know what really bugs me? (And I’m always saying to myself, “Betty, keep your mouth shut.”) It’s the way people talk about the teenagers of today. You’ll hear people saying, “Oh, these kids today.” It’s all “They this…” and “They that…” That’s a real pet peeve of mine.
I joined the Women’s Club because of the kids, and I’ll tell you – it’s not the kind of club where we wear hats and gloves. It used to be. I had a photo of my old neighbor Sybil Winchenbach wearing the little hat and the white gloves at a meeting. But that was back in the 1950s.
It’s not that way now and it wasn’t when I joined. We don’t sit around and have coffee and crumpets. We do a lot of work. People just don’t realize it! That’s another pet peeve of mine.
Every year we give away nine scholarships. And we give them to both graduating seniors and those continuing their education. We hold a yearly fundraiser for this. I go to over eighty vendors asking for donations for our silent auction.
But we’re able to do as much as we do because of Mildred Walters. She was a lovely lady. I knew her from before I joined the Women’s Club. I thought she was wonderful.
(A 2008 Bangor Daily News obituary describes Mildred Merrifield Walter as growing up in Washington and Union, teaching school for two years on a state permit after high school graduation, then earning her degree in teaching at Orono. She went on to teach at Union High and Presque Isle. Twenty years later, she married E. Ashley Walter, Jr., and they settled in Waldoboro. She worked part-time in his office. She also substituted in the Waldoboro schools for fifteen more years. Last, but not least, she served on the School Board and was a member of numerous academic and civic associations. One of those was the Waldoboro Women’s Club.)
Anyway, after she died, we learned that she gave the Women’s Club something like $140,000 in her will. She’s the reason we can give so many scholarships.
And by the way, we are always looking for somebody else’s pockets to pick, do you know anyone? Or anyone’s ear you can whisper in? But seriously, it would be wonderful to have another gift like hers to support these kids. I should know, because, among other things, I head up the scholarship committee.
And some of the things you read in the applications! These kids’ stories make you realize that, for a lot of them, coming to school is probably the only place they have a few normal hours. One application started with, “My mother has been in prison my whole high school life.” Imagine.
We gave that girl a scholarship. And she is the greatest kid going! She delayed her first year to work in a bank, to make money, and now she is now a full-time student.
So, you can see why I don’t like it one bit when people say, “Oh, those kids,” after they’ve read about one incident in the paper.
The Women’s Club also used to host a senior tea. It was always at the High School. I even remember going to it back when I was a senior. I especially enjoy it as a member. The Club would invite all the senior girls, and the all the kids would get dressed up, and they got recognized, as a group. And in the year or two before COVID, it also included boys. That tea was a way to talk with the kids, hear about their plans and dreams, and learn about what they were struggling with.
And when you learn what they’re going through, you’ve got to give them credit for getting up in the morning and coming to school. I think we all don’t get enough chances to meet and talk with kids these days. I’ve asked about bringing it back, but I think that thing might be a thing of the past, unfortunately.
My students sometimes asked me if I had children. I always told them, “Yes. I have all of you.” That’s how much I cared for those children and believed in them.
They’re the reason I miss teaching. But when I say that, people turn around and say, “Really?? These kids today? You really miss that???”
I just think people don’t know enough about what kids are going through. They don’t have enough interactions with them. I don’t have enough. And we need that.
I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anybody: I went to an awards show at the High School; I wanted to see what it was all about. And I cried when I saw all those seniors lined up. I miss the kids! I miss getting to know them! I miss knowing the youth of America!
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