MONTEREY — Each time Veronica Thistle hears the voice of her former teacher Louise Olivero Nelson on the phone, it takes her back to when she was in the first grade — 50 years ago.
She can remember the classroom, sitting next to her best friend Roxann Higgins, learning how to read and write, and do math from Nelson, who was their first grade teacher at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School in San Jose.
Nelson left an imprint on Thistle and Higgins. She often remained a conversation piece when the pair got together for vacations over the years.
Yet, the two best friends hadn’t seen or heard from Nelson in nearly five decades. And after two years of trying to have a reunion, a meeting of the minds is set for mid-May in Monterey.
“Oh my goodness, I’m like a kid on Christmas morning,” said Thistle, who now lives in Nevada.
Nelson, who moved to Monterey 12 years ago after teaching a number of years at West Point, taught at various levels for 40 years, and still tutors her granddaughter.
Hearing from two of her former students immediately brought back memories of when all three were in the East San Jose area.
“You don’t forget faces,” Nelson said. “Even though they are adults and grandparents, I will look at them and see the little girl in the adult in them.”
After years of talking and reminiscing about their time in the first grade with Nelson, Thistle decided to see if she could locate their teacher through social media.
Contact was made in 2019 when Thistle’s research found a name with a background that resembled their first grade teacher.
“Roxann and I always talked about how she was our favorite teacher,” Thistle said. “I wondered where she was. So I decided to seek her out. I asked, ‘Is this the same teacher that taught first grade in San Jose?’ ”
The response was immediate. Before Thistle could tell Higgins she had made contact, Nelson sent her photos of the two when they were in the first grade.
“I recognized their names immediately,” Nelson said. “My first thought was this is so special that two of my students found me. There are so many rewards being a teacher. It made my day, my year.”
Of course, reuniting was delayed a year when COVID-19 struck. Yet, at the same time, it’s made the wait worthwhile as this will be a half-century since Nelson taught her former pupils.
“What a great 75th birthday gift,” Nelson said. “Here I am 75 instead of 25 and I’m picturing them in the first grade. I am thrilled that this is happening. It’s one of those rewarding things in being a teacher.”
It’s invigorated Nelson, who has considered returning to the classroom to substitute teach in the fall when schools are likely to resume with students on campus full time.
“I remember that she was young, tall and wore very stylist clothing,” Higgins said. “All of us little girls were enthralled with that. The boys were as well, if I recall. She was very engaging with all of us.”
Nelson, who has taught thousands of students ranging from first grade to the U.S. Military Academy, did not need to look into a yearbook to remember their faces.
“Of course I remember them from 50 years ago,” Nelson insisted. “When they started telling me they have grandkids, I am thinking where did time go? I can’t wait to show them around the Monterey Peninsula.”
With the photos that Nelson sent the pair, Thistle had T-shirts made to commemorate the meeting. The last known conversation between the trio came when Higgins and Thistle were in the third grade.
“We don’t know anything about her other than she taught us how to read and write,” Thistle said. “We used to stop by her classroom when we were in the third grade. Then we lost contact.”
Higgins, who now lives in Red Bluff, never forgot during a math session when a frustrated Nelson chose not to teach the kids what was regarded as new math in 1971.
“She was looking at it and said, ‘We’re not going to do this,’ and tore it up,” Higgins said. “I didn’t realize that grownups didn’t always have to do what they were told. First graders can only learn math one way.”
Higgins and Thistle became friends in kindergarten. But it’s the connection with Nelson in the first grade where the memories were life-changing.
“I’m curious about her life, where she’s lived as a teacher,” Higgins said. “I know her mother just turned 100. It sounds like she’s had a good life. I’m really looking forward to seeing her again.”
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Friends set to reunite with teacher 50 years later in Monterey - Monterey Herald
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