Special Tribute
Gene McClure
We were so fortunate to have our beloved teacher, Gene McClure, join us at the '67 class reunion. It's easy to write an article about Gene - just string together all the wonderful quotes about him written by others:
When the 1975 Erwin Hillcrest was dedicated to Gene:
When the 1986 Hillcrest was dedicated to him:
At Erwin's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, Gene was honored along with seven outstanding Erwin athletes:
Now, in 2017, Gene continues as the official statistician for the Erwin basketball team.
By fifth grade, Gene knew he wanted to be a teacher. He grew up in the Addie community of Jackson County where the elementary school only had three teachers -- so they must have been good ones. After taking two degrees from Western Carolina, teaching a while in Andrews, and serving two years in the army, he started teaching math and business at Erwin in 1958. Gene spent the 1959-1960 school year working on the National Science Foundation Fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill. He returned to Erwin where he continued teaching until his retirement in 1987. During his tenure at Erwin, he was school treasurer for 17 years.
Gene is a member of First Baptist church where he is a dedicated volunteer, counting the Sunday contributions since the early '90's, and doing mailings and material organizing for classes on a weekly basis. Gene's interests also include travel, sports (in addition to Erwin sports) and genealogical research. He is a charter member of the Jackson County Genealogical Society. He has written most of the many pages about the McClure family, now accessible in the heavy NC reference book, Jackson County Heritage.
Following are quotes from '67 Erwin High graduates Linda Maney Thorpe, Dick Franklin, and Loyd King about Gene McClure' s influence:
"Mr. McClure was, hands down, my best mathematics teacher, which includes professors at N. C. State. I had the pleasure of having Mr. McClure teach me Trigonometry and Advanced Math at Erwin. The material was not the most important thing I learned from Mr. McClure but how to think and problem-solve which has lasted me a lifetime. At State, all first-year engineering students had a Calculus exam on Saturday (the good old days). Because of Mr. McClure's thoroughness, the first four weeks were just review for me which got me off to a fast start. His teachings created a foundation that allowed me to compete both in college and in the business world. I will be eternally grateful to Mr. McClure for all he gave me. "
Dick Franklin
August 22, 2017
Cumming, GA
_______________________
"One of my best memories of Mr. McClure is hiding out in his office that was located between the teacher’s lounge and the Principal’s office. We had many conversations on a variety of subjects and what was going on in my world. He gave me insight on how to look at things from different perspectives without telling me what to think or feel. The time shared in his office has been very special to me, then and now."
Loyd King
August 29, 2017
Asheville, NC
We were so fortunate to have our beloved teacher, Gene McClure, join us at the '67 class reunion. It's easy to write an article about Gene - just string together all the wonderful quotes about him written by others:
When the 1975 Erwin Hillcrest was dedicated to Gene:
"We dedicate Hillcrest '75 to the man who always took time to care: Gene McClure."
When the 1986 Hillcrest was dedicated to him:
"If someone had to give a definition of an ideal teacher, Gene McClure would be all they would have to say. . . He cares about life and about people, and he shows his love of life in the classroom. . . People respect Mr. McClure from the minute they meet him, and he, in turn, respects them."
At Erwin's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, Gene was honored along with seven outstanding Erwin athletes:
"With such outstanding honorees, it might surprise you that some of the night's loudest cheers came for a man who never bounced a ball, never scored a touchdown or hit a grounder up the middle. Instead, he spent 42 years chronicling the accomplishments of others. Gene McClure spent game after game in crowded gyms and press boxes all over WNC. He also had the time to teach hundreds of us math in a way that made college math easy by comparison. On a night of stars, none shown brighter.
"Mr. McClure is being inducted in the Hall of Fame for his work as the official statistician for both boy's and girl's basketball. He also has performed the same duties for football for 38 years, baseball for 23 years, baseball for 23 years and softball for 5 years.
"Mr. McClure won the Erwin Booster Club Award for Service in 1979, and in 1994 he won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 'Unsung Hero' Award."
"Mr. McClure is being inducted in the Hall of Fame for his work as the official statistician for both boy's and girl's basketball. He also has performed the same duties for football for 38 years, baseball for 23 years, baseball for 23 years and softball for 5 years.
"Mr. McClure won the Erwin Booster Club Award for Service in 1979, and in 1994 he won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 'Unsung Hero' Award."
Now, in 2017, Gene continues as the official statistician for the Erwin basketball team.
By fifth grade, Gene knew he wanted to be a teacher. He grew up in the Addie community of Jackson County where the elementary school only had three teachers -- so they must have been good ones. After taking two degrees from Western Carolina, teaching a while in Andrews, and serving two years in the army, he started teaching math and business at Erwin in 1958. Gene spent the 1959-1960 school year working on the National Science Foundation Fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill. He returned to Erwin where he continued teaching until his retirement in 1987. During his tenure at Erwin, he was school treasurer for 17 years.
Gene is a member of First Baptist church where he is a dedicated volunteer, counting the Sunday contributions since the early '90's, and doing mailings and material organizing for classes on a weekly basis. Gene's interests also include travel, sports (in addition to Erwin sports) and genealogical research. He is a charter member of the Jackson County Genealogical Society. He has written most of the many pages about the McClure family, now accessible in the heavy NC reference book, Jackson County Heritage.
Following are quotes from '67 Erwin High graduates Linda Maney Thorpe, Dick Franklin, and Loyd King about Gene McClure' s influence:
"The absolute best mathematics teacher I ever had was Mr. McClure. I do not remember a single boring or slow day in his classes. Mr. McClure didn't need to teach me to like math. It was my favorite subject and, besides that, I liked school. Nevertheless, he made me feel like my success mattered to him.
"I once expressed concern that I would be going into college without knowing any calculus. He followed up by loaning me his textbooks over the summer. That was a risky move on his part; well, maybe not if he didn't know I had a two-year-old baby brother at home who was just learning to like crayons and textbooks. Fortunately, we made it through the summer without destroying the books. I'm not sure I was able to express to Mr. McClure at the time how much I appreciated his generosity.
"Mr. McClure?s class was a comfortable place to be because we never had to worry about whether he was angry, in a bad mood, or too happy. He was consistent. And he was always patient with us. Sometimes there was the creep of a little smile across his lips because of something a student said. You could see that he enjoyed interacting with the class and teenagers were ok in his book.
"I once expressed concern that I would be going into college without knowing any calculus. He followed up by loaning me his textbooks over the summer. That was a risky move on his part; well, maybe not if he didn't know I had a two-year-old baby brother at home who was just learning to like crayons and textbooks. Fortunately, we made it through the summer without destroying the books. I'm not sure I was able to express to Mr. McClure at the time how much I appreciated his generosity.
"Mr. McClure?s class was a comfortable place to be because we never had to worry about whether he was angry, in a bad mood, or too happy. He was consistent. And he was always patient with us. Sometimes there was the creep of a little smile across his lips because of something a student said. You could see that he enjoyed interacting with the class and teenagers were ok in his book.
"Mr. McClure knew a lot but he never told us so. I took for granted that he had the answers to all the math questions I'd ever come up with. He did. But he was humble and seemed to appreciate questions.
"Most of all, McClure was soft-spoken. I appreciated that because so was my father (who was only 5 years older). He showed his kindness and respect by his quiet approach. There was much I had to learn about this approach in the years to come.
"I have mainly focused on McClure's personality and demeanor. Now for the subject matter and how that foundation made a difference in my life.
"It turns out that I majored in mathematics at UNC-CH. When it was time for graduate school, the math training and interest continued, largely due to the good foundation laid in high school by Mr. McClure. In MBA school, I chose quantitative methods as a concentration and took all the statistics courses I could. As computers became the tool for applied math, a natural path was created to my future career.
"Most of all, McClure was soft-spoken. I appreciated that because so was my father (who was only 5 years older). He showed his kindness and respect by his quiet approach. There was much I had to learn about this approach in the years to come.
"I have mainly focused on McClure's personality and demeanor. Now for the subject matter and how that foundation made a difference in my life.
"It turns out that I majored in mathematics at UNC-CH. When it was time for graduate school, the math training and interest continued, largely due to the good foundation laid in high school by Mr. McClure. In MBA school, I chose quantitative methods as a concentration and took all the statistics courses I could. As computers became the tool for applied math, a natural path was created to my future career.
"I am not a math whiz nor a brilliant student. I was neither in high school. But Mr. McClure taught me that studying and working diligently paid off. It still is true. I owe a debt to him for demonstrating excellence in teaching, nurturing my interest in math and helping create the foundation for my career. Thank you, Mr. McClure."
Linda Maney Thorpe
August 21, 2017
Orlando, Florida
______________________
August 21, 2017
Orlando, Florida
"Mr. McClure was, hands down, my best mathematics teacher, which includes professors at N. C. State. I had the pleasure of having Mr. McClure teach me Trigonometry and Advanced Math at Erwin. The material was not the most important thing I learned from Mr. McClure but how to think and problem-solve which has lasted me a lifetime. At State, all first-year engineering students had a Calculus exam on Saturday (the good old days). Because of Mr. McClure's thoroughness, the first four weeks were just review for me which got me off to a fast start. His teachings created a foundation that allowed me to compete both in college and in the business world. I will be eternally grateful to Mr. McClure for all he gave me. "
Dick Franklin
August 22, 2017
Cumming, GA
_______________________
"One of my best memories of Mr. McClure is hiding out in his office that was located between the teacher’s lounge and the Principal’s office. We had many conversations on a variety of subjects and what was going on in my world. He gave me insight on how to look at things from different perspectives without telling me what to think or feel. The time shared in his office has been very special to me, then and now."
Loyd King
August 29, 2017
Asheville, NC
Article written by: Teresa Black