District News

Harper’s Unsung Heroes

November 2024

Written by Gale Fischer

The Military Life

“Being a military spouse teaches us so many life lessons and stretches us to lengths we would have never learned in any other lifestyle. And that’s something to celebrate.”

—-Jessica, a navy wife

Members and alumni of our military are recognized annually on Veterans Day and throughout the year in other events and ceremonies. This recognition is a much deserved tribute but these individuals certainly don’t always get the amount of support and respect that they deserve. Their commitment helps to protect us and ensure our freedoms. Many pay the price with life changing injuries, emotional trauma, and loss of life. Although military spouses are not on the frontline, they too make huge sacrifices. This month’s Harper Unsung Hero, Janet Hartel has spent a huge chunk of her life as a military wife and mom. With her husband Jon away from home for months at a time while on deployment Janet spent her time raising their daughter, Vanessa. Her investment in Vanessa is what ultimately led her to being a Harper Creek employee.

Janet describes some of the details of her early years. “I was born at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1965. I am an only child. My birth father was in the military. My mom divorced when I was three years old and when I was five and a half she married the man I call my dad who was in the Navy.” Before Janet became school age her father retired from the military and she and her mom and dad moved to Houston. “When I was five years old my father retired from the military and got a job in Houston, Texas. He grew up there and had family there. We lived in Houston for seven years and then moved to Waller, Texas. At the time my mom was working for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an air traffic controller in College Station, Texas. This was a long commute for my mom so Dad found a job as a lumber yard manager in Waller. Living in Waller cut Mom’s commute to and from work considerably.”

Janet may have missed out on the experiences created with siblings as an only child but this did not hinder her from making fond memories in her youth. She reminisces on some of these. “I can always remember having a love for reading. It was a good escape for me. Both Mom and Dad worked full time. My home life was very peaceful. Being a child in the eighties was very fun. It was a great time to grow up. Waller was a small town and we all looked out for each other .” Like many of us growing up Janet enjoyed her childhood but may not have realized how fortunate she was at the time.  “Looking back I realize that I had a pretty good life as a kid. I was a very good student and hung with the nerd kids. I felt more comfortable with this group. Not being born Waller I was considered an outsider and felt like I fit in with the geeks.” 

Moving from the big city of Houston to a small town was an adjustment for Janet. She reflects on this transition. “I went from a huge school district in Houston to a small town school with one-hundred forty kids in my senior class. At the time I didn’t appreciate the move but in time I grew to love going to school in Waller. I was in the college track group. I participated in a drama club. I was on the yearbook staff for two years and was the yearbook editor for my senior year.” The importance of school for Janet was in her DNA but the influence of her mom and dad helped to foster this attitude as well. “I spent a lot of time studying. I was always a good student. I attribute my work ethic in school to my upbringing. My parents were kind of strict. I had a routine given to me for after school including chores, homework and then free time. My parents were always reading so this helped to foster my love for school.”  

Extended family was an important component to Janet’s childhood, even those relatives who lived miles away. Janet talks about this part of her life growing up. “During the summers I would go to Pennsylvania and spend time with my mom’s family and also spend some time in Virginia with my birth father’s parents. My birth father gave up parental rights when he and mom divorced so I never knew him but Mom kept in contact with his family.” 

Janet graduated from high school in 1983 and then went to Blinn Junior College. Blinn Junior College was near her home so Janet was able to stay at home. Blinn offered busing so Janet rode a bus to and from classes. She also worked part-time while attending Blinn. After finishing at Blinn, Janet was interested in continuing her education. She gives details about this next chapter in her life. “I wanted to be a teacher from early on. I was enamored with grading papers, playing games, and making bulletin boards. After finishing at Blinn Junior College I enrolled at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas enrolling in the teaching program.”  Janet wanted to change her major to photojournalism, but her dad insisted that she finish her teaching degree. “ I graduated from Sam Houston in May of 1987 with a major in elementary education and a minor in life-earth sciences. When I did my student teaching I had a bad experience. What I was seeing in the classrooms was not what I was being taught in my college classes. I was turned off from teaching. I knew I wanted to work with kids but didn’t want to teach. After graduating I filled in as a substitute teacher in some of the local school districts for a few years.” 

At one time a teaching career was something that Janet saw in her future but by the time she graduated from college the passion to be a teacher just wasn’t there. Janet talks about how her focus in pursuing a career as a teacher would turn to being a wife and mom. “In 1989 I met Jon at a medieval reenactment. I immediately fell for him and he finally went on a date with me a few weeks later. Three months later we were engaged. We were married on October 4, 1989. We were blessed with our only child, Vanessa in May of 1990.” Janet immediately turned her focus into being the best mom that she could be. “I stayed at home with Vanessa until she went to Kindergarten. I loved being at home with Vanessa. Jon was gone for large amounts of time with his career in the military so Vanessa and I did a lot together. We made cookies and birthday bags for the single soldiers in Jon’s platoon.”

Being a military family, Jon and Janet would move around a lot early on in their marriage. For the first few years, the new assignments would all be located in Texas. Janet talks about what she did to keep busy once Vanessa started school. “I started volunteering at Vanessa’s school when she was in Kindergarten. This eventually led to me getting a job at her school. I was a fourth-grade math para. The next year I was a preschool para.” For a while, it looked as if Janet might actually enjoy a career in teaching. In 1997 when Vanessa entered second grade Janet was hired as a first grade teacher in Vanessa’s school. “Jon was reassigned to Fort Custer in Augusta in the middle of the school year for a special duty assignment. Vanessa and I were going to stay in Texas through the school year but after a few weeks I decided we couldn’t wait to move to be with Jon.”

Janet may have had a long teaching career in Texas but it was cut short before she was able to complete her first year. She had become familiar with not being able to establish roots in one place but just because she was able to adjust it doesn’t mean it was always comfortable.  It’s not that Janet would have wished for a different career for Jon, but being a military spouse came with its share of challenges. Janet reflects on this. “Being a military wife was hard. Jon would be away for six months or more at a time. There were no phone calls or texts at that time. I had very little contact with Jon when he was away.”

Janet loved being in Texas and to move halfway across the country was not something she would have chosen on her own but she made the most of the move. One positive thing about moving to Battle Creek is that it finally gave them the opportunity to set down roots and establish a home in one community. Janet gives details about the move to Michigan. “When Vanessa and I joined Jon in Battle Creek we moved to the Harper Creek area and enrolled Vanessa in school at Wattles Park, where she finished her second-grade year. Coming to Michigan presented us with a learning curve. This was our first experience with cold weather. It took a few years to adjust to Michigan winters.”

It didn’t take long for Janet to start becoming involved in helping out at school after moving to Battle Creek. She began helping volunteering for Mrs. McCann, helping out in Vanessa’s second-grade classroom. Janet was hired the next year as a lunch recess aide for Wattles Park. She loved being at Wattles Park and appreciated the impact of Vanessa’s experience there. Janet reflects on this. “Vanessa’s teachers were as follows. She had Katie McCann in second grade, Becky Armock in third grade, Jan Harris in fourth grade, Spencer Kahly, Jim Eckert and Kathy Bonnell in fifth grade, and Nancy Eckert, Dave Kennisten, and Dick Wagner in sixth grade. Every teacher she had at Wattles Park helped to form the person she is today. Every one of them had something special about them that she has taken with her in life.” 

Through the years Janet has worked in a variety of roles as an employee of Harper Creek. She spent seven years as a lunch recess aide at Wattles Park and then moved to the transportation department working as a special needs bus aide through Ready Start Preschool and for students attending the Doris Klausen Center. She eventually started teaching preschool at Take a Break Child Care Center while still working the morning and afternoon bus routes. Janet gives details about her different job responsibilities in the last few years. “After COVID I started spending the middle of my day as a lunch supervisor for lunches in each classroom. I also started helping the kids from the Early Learning room with science in Mr. Eckert’s class. In 2022 I started as a full-time program aide for Wattles Park and quit the bus routes.” Janet spent eighteen years total working as a special needs bus aide. Recently she has moved out of her job as a special needs aide to fill in for one of the Wattles Park interventionists while she is on maternity leave. “Working as an interventionist has energized me. I have gone through training for this position and learned so much.”

Janet has spent more than twenty-five years as a Harper Creek employee. She reflects on what the experience has meant to her. “Like anything else in life there have been ups and downs. Overall I have learned and I have grown. I now have students whose parents are former students that I have worked with. This is a special feeling. I love the rapport with co-workers and also these former students who are now parents of current students. It's cool to see how education brings people together. Here at Wattles Park I have always felt safe, wanted and appreciated.”

Like her mom, Vanessa has grown from her years at Harper Creek. Janet goes into detail about how her daughter has benefited from her years as a Harper Creek student. “Vanessa graduated from Harper Creek in 2008. She was class valedictorian. She was an academic nerd. She participated in quiz bowl, national honor society, and theater. Band was one of her favorite activities. Jon and I were involved with the band boosters during Vanessa’s high School years.” Vanessa went on to college after high school, earning a degree in religious studies and history from Albion College in 2012. She enjoyed her time at Harper Creek but always missed Texas. “Vanessa enjoyed her time at Harper Creek but she always wanted to go back to Texas. She got a job in San Angelo, Texas in the library.” Vanessa still lives in Texas with her husband Casey.

Jon retired from the military in 2004 and started working for Duncan Aviation. He passed away without warning on December 31, 2021 from a massive heart attack. At this time Janet found herself all alone. She had always wanted to return to Texas and now seemed like a good time with all of her family living there and now Jon no longer being with her. She talks about this difficult time of her life. “This was the first time I had ever been alone. I had always wanted to go back to Texas so I was in a dilemma whether to stay here or move to Texas. I decided to stay. I needed to prove to myself that I could be a grown-up and be on my own. I’m glad I stayed. I miss my family and may move back to Texas someday but right now I’m satisfied and content with where I am.” 

Janet has had some experiences in her life, many positive but some not so positive. She talks about what she has learned from her life. “LIfe is what you make of it. Each of my experiences as a military wife, as a mom and as a para have made me what I am today. If I can use this to give back to the kids that I work with then I have led a good life.” 

Although not a member of the military herself, Janet grew up immersed in the life of a military family and continued that way of life as a mom and the wife of a veteran. It shaped her life in the way that she was raised and the uncertainty of moving from one zip code to another and being away from her husband for long periods of time due to his military assignments. It influenced how she parented, as she and her daughter Vanessa spent a great amount of time together, just the two of them. Her commitment to her daughter is ultimately what led her to working as an educator.