Esther Bareham, pictured in the 1967 Marion High School yearbook. Courtesy photo.
By Christine Blackledge
I started substitute teaching in January. I couldn’t travel overseas for USAID projects, so I decided I needed to find a worthwhile project helping people here. My intention was to teach high school students, since I had been doing college lectures. But the best-laid plans sometimes go awry.
I find myself teaching preschoolers with learning disabilities. This was not something I had even considered, but these kids are fantastic and have taught me so much! They have sight and hearing impairments, learning disabilities, such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, autism spectrum disorders, and others. Communication is a challenge, and we use lots of sign language and holding. When you see one of these children light up with excitement and understanding, it is like seeing a human rainbow emerge!
I started thinking of the impact teachers have on us and the long-lasting effects that follow us through life. Ester Bareham came into the life of a confused freshman girl that had moved north into a close-knit rural school and felt no connections. Mrs. Bareham was the new English teacher at Marion High School and had started a debate and forensic team. She and her husband Virgil owned a cherry farm in Suttons Bay and brought their family of six children to the small town of Marion to teach and coach.
I was only a freshman, and she asked me to be part of the team. With my debate partner, Frank Ettawageshik, I spent hours creating index cards of quotes for both the “Affirmation” and “Negative” side of the debate topic set by the Michigan Interscholastic Forensics Association. (I remember the topic had to do with foreign aid and the Vietnam War.) We worked for hours, poring over magazine stories with different perspectives. No internet back then. A couple of men’s magazines had great editorials and insightful articles. Of course, they weren’t published for readers under 18 years. We asked Mrs. Bareham if we could use them. She said it was up to us, but, if asked for references, we would have to divulge them. Oh, the hoped-for challenges of a teenager.
I don’t remember the title of my forensics speech, but I do remember this small portion: “…tramp, tramp, tramp, the feet of the thousands of soldiers that had passed through the Arc de Triomphe.” During the debate, as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t remember the piece verbatim. But, in her usual supportive way, Mrs. Bareham said I had the meaning and passion down, so just do my best. I was surprised by how far I got through the tournament, and when I finally stood by the Arc de Triomphe in later life, those old feelings came surging back.
We traveled to invitationals across Michigan to debate with other high school teams and made it to the state tournament. I learned things aren’t always black and white. There are different reasonings, meanings, and understandings on all topics, depending on who you are. You can find just as many pros and cons for the same subject. Affirmative and negative sides were just a different set of index cards the team worked with. We needed factual accuracy, logical consistency and some emotional appeal to an audience to be convincing, no matter which box of cards were being used.
The last visit I had from Mrs. Bareham, known to me in adulthood as Ester, was when she came to see my Traverse City house. She was still that fun, warm, engaging person I knew in high school, and we had a great chat. At first, she needed to call Virgil; her car needed gas. I offered to help, but she explained to me that they had an understanding since they were first married. She took care of the kitchen; Virgil took care of the vehicles. He drove into town from the farm and did what was needed. Another lesson on a working team, boundaries and commitments!
I recently researched the Interscholastic Forensics Debate topic for the year I was a freshman. “Resolved: That the foreign aid program of the United States should be limited to non-military assistance.” The affirmative stance advocated the adoption of the resolution, and obviously it shaped my life views. I owe to Ester my love of research and finding new information, looking at both sides of issues ⸺ no matter how uncomfortable ⸺ and enjoying a good debate.
Christine Blackledge was a northern Michigan dairy farmer. She obtained master’s degrees in International Business Administration, Public Health and Food Safety, along with certificates in Hazard Analysis, Critical Control Points (HACCP) and International Food Laws and Regulations. For 10 years she has worked with USAID projects helping small farmers and processors to produce safe food for consumption and export.
