When asked about how he came to take the path of teaching, Reggie Corey said that he owed his college education to the late David Hunter Cotton, former principal of Ricker Classical Institute.
Corey, whose parents were Rena and Hazen Corey of Littleton, was the youngest of four children. He lost his dad less than a month after he was born and times for him and his family were humble. No one in his family had attended college, so when it came time for his high school graduation, Corey was called into Cotton’s office. When asked by the head of the school what his plans were beyond high school Corey replied that he wouldn’t be going to college.
“Why not,” asked Cotton, “when the college is right here?”
Cotton, knowing that this student had potential, didn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer and told him to talk with his mother.
Corey did what he was told and came back to Cotton with her reply, “There was no way she could afford to send him to college.”
Cotton was determined to find a way for him to go and sought financial aid. Even then Mrs. Corey was very reluctant to accept a so-called “handout.” That wasn’t something she was comfortable doing. However, the paperwork was completed and Corey was enrolled and through financial aid and scholarships he obtained his degree in 1967 and was certified in both mathematics and science.
Corey said that if it hadn’t been for Mr. Cotton, his career choice may have been very different.
He lived at home, traveling 10 miles to the Ricker campus for classes.
“I had lived quite a sheltered life,” said Corey, “so meeting classmates from other parts of the United States and foreign countries was quite an eye-opener. I enjoyed not only the college life, but learning from the people I met.”
Growing up without a father at home, Corey gives a lot of credit to his brother Wendell, who was 23 years his senior.
Wendell, who was married with a family always included his younger brother in family events such as, fishing and camping; trying to fill in for the Dad who was missing.
Unknown to Corey at the time, his brother also made it a point to check in with his younger brother’s advisors frequently, to see how he was doing. Prior to college he had faithfully monitored his progress every week in high school.
As his college days came to an end, Corey sent out dozens of resumes from Presque Isle to Danforth, but it was Oakfield’s Superintendent John Ruth who offered him his first contract teaching math at Oakfield High School for $5,000.
“I thought I had died and gone to heaven,” said Corey. “That was a lot of money back then.”
He spent six years in Oakfield, before going to the SAD 70 district with Terry Comeau as superintendent and Donald Ellis, principal.
Corey taught for 33 years as a math and science teacher at Mill Pond Elementary School before moving to the high school to teach Algebra I and II.
He hopes in his 44 years of teaching that he has influenced his students as much as many of his mentors influenced him. He recalled a lady by the name of Ruby Haskell who taught with him in Oakfield. She also was a sheriff for the community and her advice was to maintain discipline. Let the students know what is expected and you won’t have any problems.
He has always remembered that advice.
Others that Corey noted were former Principal Ellis, Craig Child, Mark Scott and colleague, Rod Swallow, not only his peer, but a former student in Oakfield.
One of Corey’s goals in becoming a teacher was to teach students for understanding. He had learned from his own educational experience what it took to be a successful teacher and that was, one who could find a way to teach mathematics and have all students understand the process.
“One way does not fit all in teaching,” said Corey. “Students learn in different ways and my goal was to reach each individual.”
His greatest reward has been the students returning in later years to tell him how appreciative they were to have been in his classes. One such student, who took a job with a surveying company told him that he used the skills from his math class every day, while also admitting that he had often questioned why he was learning a particular skill at the time.
When Corey made the decision to retire, he said that he was beginning to have the third generation of families and decided maybe he had been there long enough.
During those 44 years of teaching, Corey was also busy after hours and during school vacations. The father of two daughters, Rochelle and Melinda, Corey worked in the potato harvest, sold computers, painted signs and lettered trucks. He also sold vegetables in his road-side stand and for the last nine and one-half years was the interim pastor in Amity.
Corey was brought up in a very religious family and was not only drawn to teaching in the public school system, but also within the church organization. He and his wife Diane have been active in the Littleton Baptist Church for many years, leading youth groups and teaching Sunday School. He has preached in churches from Mars Hill to Amity and down to Island Falls. In his retirement he will fill in as needed in local churches and has added his name to the substitute list for school.
We salute you, Reggie Corey, for nearly half a century of public service and for recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of students, while striving to meet their needs for successful learning.
