In Memory

Elmer R. Green



 
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03/10/14 12:24 PM #1    

Robyn Flint (Buckley) (1965)

Mr. Green

he was a great individual, a lot of good memories about him. 

Bob Buckley


03/10/14 10:44 PM #2    

Susan Blake (Carter) (1963)

I remember taking Driver's Ed from Mr. Green.  I was so excited to be able to drive.  We would just drive around and it seemed like such a fun experience.  Later in my life I became a drivers' ed teacher and I realized what a huge responsibility it was.  I learned that I had to be alert all the time. I tried to give the students a wide variety of experiences and planned each drive so the student would learn something new.  It was during this time that I grew to have a great deal of respect for Mr. Green.  He must have had nerves of steel!  But he had a good sense of humor and I passed the driving test without a problem.  Who knew I would someday follow in his footsteps...so to speak. 


03/11/14 07:15 PM #3    

Jeff Watkins (1963)

Elmer was a great person. He had a gentle nature that made learning easier and more fun. Impressive guy.

Jeff Watkins


03/11/14 07:20 PM #4    

Wayne Christensen (1963)

Mr Green was great. He taught me to drive, and I agree that he had a great sense of humor and nerves of steel. I taught young Marines to drive 5 ton trucks for a few years. Nerves of steel are a must for teaching people to Drive. I am alittle surprised about Suusan, I guess she was tougher than I thought.

 


06/18/14 03:35 AM #5    

Larry Holmes (1967)

quiet>Mr. Green was most notable for his gentle nature and easy-going personality.  I took Driver's Ed from him when I was at cleave, seems like centuries ago now!  Although I feel as good about him as the others who posted comments here, I have one memory which I cherish and would like to share.

 

One sunny day, I and a couple other students went with Mr. Green for a drive, just driving around, which was typical for driver's ed "those days".  He had his secondary steering wheel, brakes, and so forth, which he could use to take over driving if a student panicked or had some other problem which needed Mr. Green to take over.  I had a lot of practice outside of Driver's Ed, so I was pretty comfortable driving around. At one point, Mr. Green told me to get on a road (I don't recall whether it was freeway, or some other road that was commonly used to go North from Clearfield).  He then said "just drive until I tell you to stop", or something similar.  So I did.

I drove, and drove, and drove on.  I believe the other students were two girls who, after a while, began to wonder what time it was, where we were going, etc.  You see, Mr. Green had fallen asleep! Perhaps he had a hard night or didn't feel well; we tried to gently wake him up, but he was sound asleep.  I kept driving north as he had told me, and driving north, and driving north....... when we passed Brigham City, I realized how far we had travelled, and asked the girls to wake him up more entusiastically, which they did, with some help from me as far as I could help without violating the rules of safe driving! 8^)

When they finally were able to wake him, he just sat up and rubbed his face, stretched a bit, and began looking around, trying to figure out where we were.  I've always been lousy at determining distances and directions when driving; I think my mind wanders off to work on some math or engineering problem; my attention is still on the road, but not on anything else!  The combination of my driving quirks, the shyness of the two girls who were so reluctant to wake Mr. Green at first, and Mr. Green's need for sleep, combined to take us well beyond Brigham City and on the way to Logan.  A bit too far for less than 60 minutes class time.  When Mr. Green realized where we were, he sat straight up and sort of bawled me out, but not with anger I don't think.  I think he was just worried about the time it would take to return to CHS, which was appropriate and was a worry for all four of us.  At any rate, as he scolded me, he waved his hands in the air and moved around a bit on his seat.  The whole scene was rather humorous, as I didn't really know how innocent I was, or if perhaps I was playing a practical joke on Mr. Green.  I was so well behaved back then, I may have needed an outlet for the mischief bottled up in me over four years of high school (or would it be three years?  I think driver's ed was for juniors, right?)

My memory tends to save images and pictures of events, rather than dates or times or people's names, but what it does remember is often very clear and vivid.  I can still remember Mr. Green jumping around in the car, slamming on his brake and starting to turn his master steering wheel, before he realized how dangerous that would be, as we had cars in front and behind, who probably were not expecting a crazed driver's ed teacher to pull a "crazy Ivan" in the middle of the road! 

I have told this story to a number of people over the years, mostly CHS alumni, of course, but also my five children, my wife, my cousins and aunts and uncles and anyone who wanted to hear about it, or was trapped and couldn't get away.  I hope I have gotten the details right.  Perhaps one of the girls who were with us in the driver's ed car will remember this and fill in some empty spots where I don't have much memory.  No matter how the story is told, though, I think it is hilarious to put good old Mr. Green into that car in my mind, drive along for most of an hour, then watch him boil over when he realizes what has happened.  I think he also may have been concerned about the consequences of what happened, because I think I remember that the report he made to explain the two hours spent in a one hour class was perhaps a bit generous in its reflection of his part in the experience and his explanation of what happened.  I am not sure, but I think he told me not to say anything about it, which I didn't for several years until I couldn't keep quiet any longer.

I promise you, this is a true story, and I've written it here to the best of my memory and ability.  Although I guess some may be critical of Mr. Green for allowing this to happen, I am not.  I think it shows his personality shining through and shows how calm and tolerant he was, by the way he reacted to me and to others on the faculty at CHS.  He never made up anything or denied anything, he just laughed along with those who he was talking to and promised to get more sleep at home in a humorous sort of way.  My experiences with some teachers at CHS was not so mellow,  so I am very glad to have this memory of Mr. Green.  Given his personality and his happy demeanor, it is only appropriate that a humorous memory of him  should be put here, to remind us of what a valued instructor he was at CHS.  He wasn't a high powered professor type who towered over his students; he was just a calm, good-humored man ideally suited for the driver's ed job, with all of the crazy things his students (especially me!) did to enliven his days.

I am quite certain Mr. Green walked through the pearly gates with a smile and a request to be given a job like he had on earth, so he could work with the younger people there and build their self-confidence with the calm assurance he so often displayed while at CHS, teaching hundreds of crazy kids how to control a ton and more of steel, glass and rubber, flying down the road at speeds not always appropriate for the area they were in, and then deciding whether to let the kid keep on or take over with his wheel and pedals  for the safety of all aboard.  I will probably be there with him in not too terribly long a time; I will be looking for him to thank him for what he did for me, something which my immature teenaged mind didn't bother with at the time.

Most of all, I want to shake his hand again, just to feel the warmth and love I know he will be sharing.


10/21/14 03:26 PM #6    

Jeanne Alger (Jensen) (1965)

My husband says Mr. Green did not do a good job of teaching me to drive.  I do think I scared him several times when he had to use his brake.


02/16/16 06:53 AM #7    

Theron Jensen (Jensen) (1964)

I too took drivers ed from Mr Green, and I can vouch that he did fall asleep while his students were driving.

My other notable memory is his infamous #13 club. If one misbehaved in class they were at risk of joining the #13 club. His shoe size was 13.


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