Bob Hallett

Be nice to your parents and teachers. They both love you a lot. Tell your parents you love them. Tell them you think they are really nice. Your teachers really care about you. Work hard at school. Play hard and laugh and smile. And you’ll do just fine.

Bob Hallett

My name is Bob Hallett. I was born 1937 in a little farming/railroad town called Glenwood, Minnesota. In the fall a lot of the farm kids were busy picking corn and in the spring planting seeds. Many of them only came to school half of the time because they needed to stay on the farm and work.

I was an only child. My dad worked on the railroad. He worked six days a week. He would always say the railroad runs 24 hours a day.

My mom was a piano teacher. She gave piano lessons to town and farm kids. Many farm families could not pay her in cash so they paid her in chickens and eggs. My dad took me fishing and hunting. My mother taught me to play the piano. My mom was fine arts and my dad was outdoors. I had both.

We all had many jobs to make extra money. I set pins in a bowling alley, delivered the Star Tribune newspaper, and detassled corn in the summer. When I was older I caddied at a golf course and worked in a drug store as a soda jerk.

When I graduated I joined the Navy. I was stationed aboard a big aircraft carrier. I visited Hawaii, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines. When I got out of the Navy, I went to St. Cloud State College to become a teacher. While I was in college I married my wife Jan. She was already a teacher.

In 1963, I started teaching in Eden Prairie. There were only 35 students in the graduating class at Eden Prairie. In fact, there were more horses in Eden Prairie than people. I taught fifth grade and then went to school to become a principal. I was the principal at Prairie View, Forest Hills, and Eden Lake.

If parents have confidence in the principal they have confidence in the school. If parents trust the principal, they feel comfortable with the teacher.

I was very busy during those years volunteering in the Lions Club, the Jaycees, the Hockey Association, our church and the city planning commission. I think leaders should live in the town where they work.

When we first moved to Eden Prairie we thought we would just stay two years and then move to a small town. Thirty-five years later we are still here. We have three sons: Craig, Scott, and Todd. They are all married and have children. Soon our sixth grandchild will be born. I love spending time with my wife and three boys. We’ve done a lot of fun things together over the years.