“Fantastic. You look very dapper in your safety belt!!”

When Mrs. Krehbiel retired, I had to wrap my mind around the possibility that Burton Elementary School had ever existed without her. She became principal before my kids were born and taught there going back to the ‘90s. Most people in Huntington Woods couldn’t tell you the first thing about Marion LeRoy Burton — former University of Michigan president nicknamed “Burton the Builder” for expanding the Ann Arbor campus, also invited Robert Frost to be the Michigan’s first Poet-in-Residence — but for years, they knew Burton Elementary was in caring, confident hands with Beth Krehbiel.

As for me looking “very dapper!!” — those were her words (no argument here) at the end of our adventure in very local politics. Once Phoebe started kindergarten, our mornings got simpler, but commuting on foot became tricky. Even though we lived right behind the school, getting to the entrance required taking the long way around and encountering plenty of traffic. Think Homer’s roundabout commute to the nuclear power plant.

Then we discovered a gate on the street backing up to Burton Park — playground during school hours, city park otherwise — that neighbors said had been locked for as long as they could remember. I approached Mrs. Krehbiel and the Huntington Woods City Manager about unlocking it as a way to improve pedestrian access to the school.

Opening the gate drew the opposition of exactly one person, a resident who was certain that parents were conspiring to have their kids cut across his property to trample his lawn on the way to school. He showed up at the office repeatedly and made enough of a fuss to get the gate locked back up. 

Lots of back and forth followed, including a scenario involving a combination lock for access by "accountable adults." Mrs. Krehbiel agreed that gate access aligned with Berkley Schools as a Walking District (no buses) — and she was willing to deal with the guy's Homer-like temper — but she wanted to make sure it would be safe for everyone.

I said that I would join the school safety patrol if that would seal the deal. The next day, she sent a sash home with Judah, who found the whole thing plenty entertaining. A month later, I got in trouble for sending him to school with enough fidget spinners to cause chaos in the cafeteria.

In spite of the many ways I got to participate at Burton — field trips, fun run, book fair, pandemic shenanigans; all with minimal discipline — it wasn’t the same as being a bona fide Burton Blue Jay. So I asked my cousin Carly what she remembered about her time there:

I was fortunate enough to have her as my teacher for both second and fifth grade at Burton. Mrs. Krehbiel was a passionate, energetic kind, engaging and empathetic educator. She had a special warmth about her.

What began with her teaching me grew into something more meaningful. She also taught my brother Jake, and over the years, she became a cherished family friend.  I feel fortunate that I was able to stay connected with her through the years. My three daughters even had the privilege of sharing dinner with their mom's second-grade teacher. How cool is that?

It's clear from her message to Judah's class, safely social distanced in spring 2020, that she saw Burton as a community that you remained part of after you graduated. Judah is in 11th grade and back there three days a week working at latchkey, presumably telling tall tales of Burton with wooden playground equipment, no gate access — and puddles as far as the eye could see! — back in the time before Peak Fidget Spinner.

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We miss you, Mrs. Krehbiel. May your memory be for a blessing.