The staff at Park Elementary will hold a come-and-go retirement party for long-time Park music teacher Myrna Holthaus from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, in the Park Elementary library.
Holthaus was born and raised in Great Bend. She attended both Roosevelt and Harrison junior high schools. She then graduated from Great Bend High School. She received her degree from Kansas State University.
Myrna started her teaching career in Topeka. She and her husband moved back to Great Bend to farm with her father on the family farm and to start their family. She took time away from teaching to be with her three children Erich, Gregory and Katrina.
She went back to teaching because there was a need for music substitutes. She taught the last 15 weeks of the school year for the music teacher at Roosevelt. Her first eight years at Unified School Distsrict 428 were split between Lincoln and Riley elementary schools. The next eight years were full time at Riley. Then she moved to Park and has been there for 17 years.