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 By JENNIFER TANGEMAN
Staff Writer
Few people exhibit an enthusiasm about historical artifacts as Jim Bowsher does.
When crews working for G.A. Wintzer and Son Co. started working to build new office space on West Auglaize Street, they came across some interesting finds where a rental home had previously sat.
Jim Kent and others of Kent Surveying began finding pieces of artifacts. They called in local history buff, Bowsher, to try to figure out what the bits and pieces meant.
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School subjects, sports inspire student to teach |
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Monday, 26 October 2009 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
For one eighth-grade student at Wapakoneta High School, she would like to meld teaching youngsters in the classroom with instructing young girls on the playing field.
Alexandria Bryars, known to family and friends as “Alex,” plans to pursue a teaching career when she graduates from high school and college.
“I want to be a teacher so I can coach softball,” Alex said. “There is just something about softball — I love it, it’s my passion really.”
The 14-year-old has played summer softball for the past four years and intends to try out for the eighth-grade softball team in the spring. She played on the seventh-grade team last season.
Alex typically can be found behind the plate, on the mound or at first base although she is athletic enough to play anywhere in the field.
She also plays basketball, having played last season for the seventh-grade team. The eighth-grade team tryouts are scheduled to start Tuesday and she intends to be on the court.
When she in the classroom, Alex said her favorite subjects and teachers are social studies with Jeremy Dickey and mathematics with Mark Short.
“I like social studies because Mr. Dickey and I have conversations during class and mathematics because Mr. Short is just really funny,” said Alex, who typically gets all A’s and B’s.
The 5-foot, 10-inch tall youth shared one of her fondest memories, which took place last year.
“My fondest memory of school was in the seventh grade when Mrs. (Phyllis) Lisi chased Taylor Gonzales around the classroom because he took her paper,” Alex said. “It was just really funny.”
The eighth-grader, who is in her third year of band, plays the clarinet and marched onto Harmon Field on Friday. She started playing when she started the fifth grade at Wapakoneta Middle School.
“I like band because I like how the music is really fun and keeps me going through the rest of day,” Alex said.
She also likes attending school and participating in a variety of social events because of her friends, including Jennifer Spraglin, Jade Leffler, McKenna Gerstner, Taylor Gonzales and Wyatt Harrison.
The daughter of Jennifer Bryars and Kevin Bryars started attending Wapakoneta City Schools in the second grade when she moved from Florida to Wapakoneta. Her maternal grandparents, Joy and Ken Mason, live in Wapakoneta.
Alex, who has two sisters, Haylee, 12, and Megan, 10, quickly pointed out the person she admires most is her mother.
“She has been with me through everything and she is pretty much my role model,” Alex said. “Even though she has to discipline me and ground me at times, I still look up to her.
“Through my mom, I have learned to be a friend to everyone,” she said. “My mom is more quiet than I am. I got my personality from my dad so I am pretty talkative and outgoing.”
Like most sisters, they have fun together but they also fight at times.
“With Haylee, we get along pretty well, but we normally stay far apart,” Alex said. “We are not the closest because we have different personalities — we just don’t see eye-to-eye.
“With Megan, there is a problem there because we are exactly the same so we argue a lot,” she said, “but they are my sisters and I love them.”
In her spare time, she collects horses — Breyers horses.
“I like to collect horses,” Alex said. “They are Breyers horses.
“When I was little my dad would take me and my family to Alabama and ride the horses there,” she said, “and I guess since I started riding horses there I fell in love with them.”
Today, the two-sport athlete can add teaching, basketball and softball to her loves in life.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 October 2009 )
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