MARILYN MARINELLI. Born 1951. TRANSCRIPT of OH 1834 This Interview Was Recorded on February 25, 2013, for the Maria Rogers Oral
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MARILYN MARINELLI. Born 1951. TRANSCRIPT of OH 1834 This interview was recorded on February 25, 2013, for the Maria Rogers Oral History Program. The interviewer is Luke Lorenz. The interview was transcribed by Carol Jordan. ABSTRACT: Marilyn Marinelli has lived in Boulder since early childhood. She describes her experiences of being educated in Boulder schools, some of which she later returned to as a teacher, principal, and/or central administrator for the Boulder Valley School District. Topics in this interview range from descriptions of Boulder High School initiation rituals during her teenage years, to the culture of Boulder during the tumultuous years of the 1960s and 1970s, to the many schools and school policies on which she left her mark during the course of her career in education, which included ground-breaking work in special education and curriculum development. NOTE: The interviewer’s questions and comments appear in parentheses. Added material appears in brackets. [A]. 00:00 (The date is Monday, February 25, 2013. I’m Luke Lorenz, and I’m interviewing Marilyn Marinelli who worked for the Boulder Valley School District for many years, and we’re interviewing in the Lafayette Public Library. Marilyn, thank you first of all for taking the time to do this, and would you mind starting out by telling what date you were born, if you don’t mind, and where you were born, and a little bit about your early life growing up where you were from.) Sure, I was born December 11, 1951 in Madison, Wisconsin. My mother’s parents were dairy farmers there and a lot of my family who still lives there, and are farmers in the area. My dad’s family is from Madison. My family used to come out to Boulder camping when we were very young. At that time I had three brothers and myself, and we were under five, and my parents thought it would be a good idea to come out camping, with four of us under the age of five. They fell in love with Boulder, and my dad decided to transfer his job from Dow Chemical in Wisconsin to Dow Chemical in Colorado which has become or did become Rocky Flats. So that’s how my family moved to Colorado when I was three years old. From that time, I grew up in Boulder. I attended the Boulder Valley schools. I started at Foothill Elementary, and I then went to Washington and Casey, and graduated from Boulder High. (Can you describe a little bit what Boulder was like. You were young at the time, but how did you feel about it and how did you feel about the move from Wisconsin?) OH 1834V, interview with Marilyn Marinelli, page 1 Well, I was very young, so I don’t recall a lot about the move from Wisconsin. I recall missing my relatives, but we got very quickly integrated into Boulder. It was a beautiful community, as it still is. I remember the Flatirons. Population was probably about 20,000 people then. It was a very— I believe, very innocent place to grow up. My friends who still live in the area, when we get together and talk about that, we talk about how we would leave our doors open and leave our bicycles out on the front, play ball in the parks. It was just a very wonderful place to grow up. (So what was it like at Foothill, as far as your recollection of elementary school?) Foothill. I was at Foothill for kindergarten and first grade. It was of course much smaller. I don’t remember a lot about it. I do know the class sizes were quite small. I go back to my photographs, and I count 20 students, maybe 22 in the class. We had—I know we had PE and Music. Of course PE was with our own teacher, our classroom teacher, and the girls were usually separated from the boys for PE at that time. (What part of Boulder did you live in?) Lived in north Boulder at 9th and Dellwood, on the corner of North Boulder Park. Walked back and forth to school. In second grade, my family moved to the other side of the park, 6th and Alpine, so at that time we went to Washington—Washington Elementary School, which is now being turned into condominiums. [chuckles] (How do feel about that? Changing an iconic place like that, that’s there for many years, and now—) Well, I’m happy that they are going to, I think, maintain the building in some way. But I think it’s okay to have the development. The condominiums—some of us who went— who attended that school, look at our sixth grade classroom, and looks like it’s going to be about a half million dollar condo, so we think that’s a little funny. [chuckles] (It is.) 04:39 (Now where did you shop and go at that time in Boulder? Where were the places that you went to purchase things or socialize?) Well, let’s see. I remember Starr’s Clothing down on the mall. There was not 29th Street Mall. It used to be Crossroads. That wasn’t there. Trying to think where—Joslin’s was downtown Boulder. I think it’s still called the Joslin’s Building, but that used to be a department store. And there was a Penney’s. (In downtown?) OH 1834V, interview with Marilyn Marinelli, page 2 I believe it was in downtown. I can’t remember where that was, but I do know there was a Penney’s. But there were very few places to shop—North Boulder Market was there across from Community Hospital. (So then you went on to Casey?) Then I went on to Casey. (Now there’s another place that they’re destroying your heritage there, aren’t they?) They are. (The buildings—) They are, but they have remodeled Casey, and it is an absolutely beautiful building. So that has been actually exciting to see. (Was it an old building when you went to school there? My recollection of Casey was always so—it was old looking.) I think it was one of the older schools in the district, but I don’t really remember thinking that this is an old building I’m attending. It was grade seven through nine of course, so I think in ninth grade we did have students from Sacred Heart take classes at Casey with us. (Can you remember who your principal was at Casey?) I know that assistant principal was Vince Callahan, and I can’t remember who the principal was. But I do remember who the assistant principal was. He was very visible with the students, and out and about a lot, I know. (Right. So what were some of the activities you were involved in as you went to Junior High?) Well, I know I was on Student Council. And I primarily remember that. And I was involved in the Drama Club. (Any teachers that you remember the names of, that you had in class?) Well, let’s see, I remember Tom Kepler I had for Science, and I had Fred Wostenberg for Shop. Let’s see, English was a Mr. Lundquist. He was a fabulous teacher. I can probably go through and really remember all of them if I went through subject by subject. (Sure, that’s fine. At this point in your life, how do you feel your education was? How well-prepared were you for continuing on with what you wanted to do in life?) OH 1834V, interview with Marilyn Marinelli, page 3 Well, I knew from very early on I wanted to be a teacher. That’s what I wanted to do since I was about five. And I had some wonderful teachers along the way who really encouraged me. Starting really in second grade I had a teacher who just would give me the right kind of work. Would give me additional work. I also remember in fifth grade, it was pretty much the same subject for every level of student, but I remember my teacher giving me an extra workbook. You know, a lot of the teachers along the way would do things to really encourage, I think, a lot of the students. So I feel I had a very good education in Boulder. (Do you remember any of those teachers’ names? Your second grade teacher?) Mrs. Peese was her name, and I had Mrs. Jammer for fifth grade, and Mrs. Little for sixth grade. (And they influenced you and encouraged you—) They really did. My teachers did. (As far as gender roles at that time—of course, you being encouraged to be a teacher, that would fit in very much with the social norms of that time. Were you ever interested in anything else where you were discouraged, or—) I really wasn’t discouraged, but I don’t remember being exposed to a lot of different things, and it seemed like to me it was either you were a nurse or a teacher pretty much, so I don’t really remember thinking about anything else. (That was your role.) It was my role. (One of those two.) 09:34 (How about Boulder High School? Do you remember any significant teachers there that you worked with?) Let’s see, at Boulder High, I had—I think it was Mrs. Monet for Home Ec and she was fabulous, because she made me her office assistant and that really helped. I needed responsibility and she gave that to me I thought at that time, and—I’m trying to think— Boulder High—other teachers, I had—well, that was back in Casey, I had Wayne Daniels, and he was just a kind and gentle soul and a wonderful teacher.