Dalke finds work at HHS rewarding
Staff writer
Born and raised in rural Hillsboro, Donna Dalke knows the students at Hillsboro High School and most of their parents.
She is a graduate of Hillsboro High and attended Tabor College.
In June 1967, she married Dan Dalke. The couple moved to a farm in rural Hillsboro.
"I started working at the superintendent's office and got married all in the same year," Dalke said.
"The central office was located on Grand Avenue at that time, and H.B. Kliewer was the superintendent then. He was my first boss."
Dalke was a typist. Most of her duties included doing anything that needed to be typed. The checks back then were all typed manually.
In 1969, their first son, Darrell, was born. Dalke then became a stay-at-home mom for a couple of years.
"Back then you quit working and stayed home when you had a baby," Dalke said.
In 1971, the family purchased a nearby farm, which is their present home.
She worked on a part-time basis at different places. She worked as the high school secretary for two years. She also did extra typing jobs for the school when they needed help.
In 1973, their second child Dale was born, and Dalke again stayed home for awhile.
"I worked part-time at the central office in 1976 while I was pregnant," Dalke said.
In l976, she had their daughter Dana and in April 1978, their third son Dustin was born.
"That's when I went back to staying at home," she said. "But I kept my foot in the door at the school by doing extra jobs and filling in when needed."
Between 1980 to 1985, Dalke was the full-time custodian at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church, where she has been a member for more than 30 years.
She and her husband Dan became custodians again in the early '90s until their daughter Dana and her husband Jonathan Maxfield took over.
In 1984, Dalke went back to work full-time as the middle school secretary.
"That's when we were in the old building, and Marilyn Jost was the principal," she said.
In the fall of 1989, Dalke applied for the vacant secretarial position left by Eunice Matz who retired.
"Since I was familiar with the high school, I felt I could do it," Dalke said.
"I really love working with the kids and hope that I have made a positive influence on them."
Dalke said that the secretarial duties have changed since she first started. The typewriter is almost obsolete, and the way the staff duplicates documents is also different. A lot of the things are now done on the computer.
Also, with the addition of another secretarial staff member, Dalke said her duties are not as numerous as they were a couple of years ago. She still answers the phone, and she does the bookkeeping for the activity money that is collected in the office from student fees, fund-raiser money, and gate money from the games.
She continues to make the bank deposits, sort the mail, read the daily announcements on the intercom system, and connect with students and staff with various kinds of messages.
"I've enjoyed my time at the high school," Dalke said. "I've worked with some great principals, teachers, and support staff throughout the years."
One of the things Dalke said she feels strongly about is the fact that usually she and the other office personnel are the first people the public comes in contact with on the phone or in person.
"It is important that we greet them in a positive and friendly manner and accommodate them with a smile," she said. "We want their experience at the high school to be a positive one. First impressions are so important."
Through the years, Dalke has been very active in her church. She has been on the church council for 10 years, sings in the church choir, has been a youth sponsor and Sunday school teacher to preschoolers, and has served on the executive committee of the Women's Ministries.
Her hobbies include reading Christian fiction books, sewing simple things, baking, going to garage sales, and going on family vacations.
Dalke said she and her family have been to most of the states west of Kansas and have traveled to Alaska, Niagara Falls, and Georgia.
"We've always taken a yearly family vacation," she said. "The kids always enjoyed that."
All four of the Dalkes' children are married now. Darrell and his wife, Joy, and their children, Alex and Faith live in Hillsboro; Dale and his wife Jana, live in Wichita; Dana and her husband Jonathan, and their daughter Allison live in Hillsboro; and Dustin and his wife Emily, who will be graduating in May 2002 from Fort Hays State University, live in Hays.
