WSMC Storytime submitted by Suni Robin
Long ago, right here at "Mountain Meadow Waldorf School”, now known as WSMC, a kindergartener said to his teacher, Miss Mary (Bowen): "Where are all the toys with WHEELS???". She might have said, "They are all at the repair shop", or, "Let's imagine this chair is a truck! What are you delivering to your friends over there?" We'll never know, but the complaint came home, "Mom, there are no wheels in Kindergarten". Fast forward to the same child you see riding his two-wheeler everywhere possible, roller skating at the local skating rink (gone, alas), skateboarding, rollerblading, dirt bike riding, motorcycle racing, and endless variations of "Life is better on wheels."
Next complaint, "I don't like school, I just want to grow up and have a real job!” After household chores came the paper route, work at powder coating, deck staining, oil changing local jobs, then the big leap into journeyman carpenter apprentice, which means: tote that beam, slog around in concrete, and so forth. Finally, the new phase of the childhood passion for Tonka Toys and the D9 dozer at Fetzer's: "Mom, can you help me buy a "bobcat" (a machine) so I can start my own business?" "OK," says mom, (Suni Robin) "Good luck."
Fast forward to see that this former Waldorf Student (who did NOT like to read, and graduated from "South Valley")… has gotten his building contractor's license, and is building elegant houses in Redwood Valley after the fires. Now he has his own business and employees. Fast forward to 2024 when Madrone Maltas, a local contractor wins GOLD (as did WSMC) for his company Maltas Construction, in the 2024 Best of Lake and Mendocino awards, for both building contractors and deck builders. And, he has built his own small house also in Redwood Valley, ready to move on June 1, while doing other local contractor jobs.
FUN fact: many of Madrone's main lesson books have the usual excellent illustrations and writing thanks to his Main Lesson teacher Monica Marshall. AND the pages not used for the Main Lesson work have his own elaborately detailed colored drawings of earthmovers, tractors, and bulldozers at work. Another fun fact, sometime in the early 1990's, Eliza Frey and Madrone Maltas fell off their chairs in the back row of a 20+ student class. Final fun fact: Ms. Robin had Eliza and Madrone's first and second grade for rest/story and creative play about 35 years ago...
You just never know! Life is a mystery!