Helen Estabrook: Tree dedicated to former Webb teacher

Helen Estabrook is a much honored and well known member of the Old Forge community. She is a retired teacher from the Town of Webb School and was a dedicated member of the school’s Board of Education for 13 years.

In front of the school is a new sign, and to its left is a newly planted small tree which honors Mrs. Estabrook for all her years of service to our school.

Most of you familiar with Mrs. Estabrook, know her for the wonderful teacher she was.

But outside of her career at school she has led a very interesting life in our community.

Mrs. Estabrook enjoys spending a lot of her time hiking, walking and canoeing in the Adirondacks.

She’s also traveled to Africa and Costa Rica with her three eldest granddaughters.

When she returned from Costa Rica she told her students about camping in the rainforests of the Monteverdi Cloud Forest Reserve.

“Talk about sleeping in the treetops! Sometimes I think I learned along with my students,” she said.

Her response to the Costa Rica trip definitely showed that she cared about the way her students were taught, and the way she taught herself.

“Learning from a book, television, etc. is great, but there is no learning which surpasses being in a location,” she said.

Throughout her teaching career, Mrs. Estabrook taught Special Education at both the primary and intermediate level, second grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and High School ‘C’ track science (ninth graders).

That’s an awful lot of teaching for one person. But she says she loved every moment of it.

“Teaching was a wonderful lifelong challenge,” she said.

Her teaching experiences made her that much better as a Board of Education member.

For 13 long years she brought her knowledge and teaching to the table.

And then when her time was up, she felt it was time to give parents of students, or other members of the community, the opportunity to get involved.

People around the school respect her very much.

Mrs. Borwick, the longtime kindergarten teacher said she had the opportunity to work with Mrs. Estabrook when she was teaching second grade.

“She really was a great lady to work with,” Mrs. Borwick said.

Did Mrs. Estabrook ever think that her teaching career would be memorialized with the planting of a tree?

“I sure didn’t. What an honor!” she said.

Mrs. Estabrook’s tree is located next to the front doors by the bus circle.

She joked that she might go over and decorate it for Christmas so it will stand out.

Next time you see Mrs. Estabrook, make sure to congratulate her, not only for her long time participation in the Town of Webb School, but for all of the wonderful ways she’s been enjoying her life since retirement.