UPDATES

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president. The St. Louis Cardinals
football team played their first season here after moving from Chicago. The
Surgeon General was four years away from first reporting on the dangers of
smoking. And Ralph Hebblethwaite started teaching at St. Louis Christian
Academy.

Fifty years later, Hebblethwaite — or Brother Ralph as he has been known by
generations of students — said there is still nothing he'd rather do than teach.

"People keep asking me why I'm here, and I always say, 'They'll still have
me,'" he said. "I just love to teach."

Hebblethwaite, 71, has taught at the school for so long that eight of his
former students are now fellow teachers at the school, including his daughter
and the son of the principal of the school.

Few students have graduated from the 170-student school in the past five
decades without taking a class from Hebblethwaite. He has taught at the school,
which is affiliated with the Church of St. Louis, nearly from its inception.
And in this season when teachers with 25, 30 or 40 years under their belts
celebrate their retirement, Hebblethwaite keeps on teaching.

On a recent afternoon, he worked with seniors in biology class, dissecting rats
and explaining the anatomy of the spinal cord.

"If that spinal cord is compromised in any way anything below that will be
compromised," he said, pointing to a section of vertebrae on a skeleton.
Holding the skeleton's skull in his hands, Hebblethwaite demonstrated how
football injuries occur. He gestured to the top of the spinal cord and showed
how a big hit could be debilitating to an athlete.

After class, the students cleaned up their tables and filed out of the
classroom. One boy held up part of his rat and exclaimed, "Brother Ralph, I got
his brain out!"

"Did you?" Hebblethwaite said. "You got both halves. Good job."

Hebblethwaite has not missed a year of teaching since 1960, but also he has
been a paramedic, an emergency technician and a real-estate agent and holds
several honorary degrees. He sings Italian opera, plays the guitar and can bowl
a 173.

But he has always come back to teaching. He said he loves the moment when his
students "get it."

"I've loved every minute," he says. "I love coming to work."

Hebblethwaite has been part of the Church of St. Louis since he was 11. He was
mentored by the founders of St. Louis Christian Academy, the Rev. Joseph
Autenrieth and his wife Maxine, who encouraged him to get into education.

After graduating from Greenville (Ill.) College with a bachelor's in
philosophy, religion and science, he came to St. Louis Christian Academy.
Hebblethwaite has served as elementary principal and is now director of
development and pastor of the Church of St. Louis.

Current school principal Aaron Autenrieth said he can't imagine the school
without Hebblethwaite's spirit of generosity.

"He is a man with a servant's heart," Autenrieth said. "I am 52 years old,
I've known him all of my life, and I have yet to hear him tell anyone no when
they ask for help."

Hebblethwaite said developing the body, mind and spirit of students was his
goal as a teacher.

"There are three questions philosophers ask: from where did I come, why am I
here, and where am I going," he said. "If young people can answer those
questions honestly, they'll be successful."

Hebblethwaite said he still gets so excited for every new school year and still
gets emotional at every graduation. He said he hasn't begun to think about
retirement, even on an anniversary like this one.

He said he sees the passing of 50 years as just another step on his journey.

"Every mile marker is the end of a mile," he said, "but it's the beginning of
the next mile."

The article below was published by Suburban Journals.

Last modified: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 11:41 AM CDT

Chalking up 50 years: Teacher at Christian school in south St. Louis celebrates half century in classroom

By Jim Merkel

After more than a half of a century, Ralph Hebblethwaite is still reaping the fruits of his labor.

Hebblethwaite recently finished 50 years of teaching at St. Louis Christian Academy and has no plans to retire.

"Many students have passed through my door," Hebblethwaite, 71, said. "I've always wanted to know in some way I've touched their lives."

Hebblethwaite teaches chemistry, physics, biology and an advanced biology class for college credit in a third-floor classroom in the school at 3154 Lafayette Ave.

"I enjoy every minute that I have in the classroom," he said.

One recent day in his advanced biology class, students were dissecting rats. In a gray suit, Hebblethwaite talked rapidly about what they were seeing as they cut the animals open.

It's a teaching style that students said they loved.

"He really cares about the students here," said Earl Catching, a senior in Hebblethwaite's advanced biology class. "He really cares about the school. He loves his job. He really loves to teach."

Ironically, Hebblethwaite was involved with the school even before it opened its doors in 1952. As a member of the Church of St. Louis, which sponsors the school, he and other church members grew strawberry plants and sold them as a way of raising money to purchase a building on Blaine Avenue for its first school. In 1965, it moved to the Lafayette Avenue location.

Today, about 170 students attend the school. The church, of which Hebblethwaite is now pastor, has about 125 members.

Hebblethwaite's daughter, Kelly Hebblethwaite-Cornman, is very familiar with St. Louis Christian Academy and her father's teaching style.

She was told that when she was an infant her father kept her in a bassinet in his classroom while he taught. When she got older, she was one of his students. And today, she herself teaches pre-kindergarten at the school.

"This institution as a whole is his life," Hebblethwaite-Cornman said. "He enjoyed teaching, so we enjoyed learning."

Looking back, Hebblethwaite has no regrets about his career.

"I feel like this was what the Lord wanted me to do," he said.

On some of our pages you are able to click onto photos that lead to a site called shutterfly

This is a great service which supplies us with a great slideshow of many photos taken during the school activities, and provides a convenient way for you to order any of the photos in any size you wish. There is no need to sign up. Just click onto the view photos and that's it. Just follow the prompts to order any photos. The service is very fast, and in just days your photos will be sent to you in the mail. NEW... You can now order your Shutterfly photos from Target Stores. Put your order in on Shutterfly and pick the photos up at your favorite Target in about an hour. Check it out.