“Make Wise Choices” - Jerry Downs

By Jason Oyen

Each day, every hour, beginning and end, the wisest of men greets students with a firm handshake, a big smile, and encouraging words to start their day at Potosi School District. Those few things often act as a kickstart to most students days, especially when they’re not themselves. The well-known staff member has made an unforgettable impact on numerous alums and current students who’ve become very successful and is a vast reason to why they are who they are today.

Mr. Jerry Downs, the history teacher at Potosi Schools, and the son of Ray and Margaret (Wilke) Downs, was born on April 27th, 1951 in Lancaster, Wisconsin. Downs grew up in Tennyson, Wisconsin, specifically on Bunker Hill Street. He remembers being able to go as far as The Spot, which is the top of Bunker Hill, and his aunt Hazel and uncle Francis’ Fechts house which is near the top of Tennyson Street. Until he graduated, his life was mainly centered in a block's radius. St. Andrews Grade School, the school he attended, was right down the street not too far from where he used to reside. Downs recalls playing baseball with his siblings, cousins, and friends up at the ball diamond quite often, from when he was a kid all the way through high school.

One of his favorite memories as a child was when he and his brother were playing baseball in the yard when they weren’t supposed to. After a little while, he hit the ball and it hit broke one of the porch windows. As soon as it broke, his brother Tom went and told their mom. Margaret must’ve been a little frustrated that day so she said, “I don’t care if you break every single window in the house!” Tom came running out of the house and told Jerry, “Guess what mom said, she said we could break every single window in the house!” The two then went on to break just about every single window on their porch.

Another great memory of his was when he and his siblings weren’t invited to their cousin’s birthday party. Of course, being the children they were, they all decided to ‘crash’ the party by showing up naked. Back then, everybody watched you, and if you were misbehaving, without hesitation, they’d chew you out right away, unlike today where everyone minds their own business. Lolo Fine, the neighborhood lady who lived right across the street from Downs, called Margaret as soon as she saw Downs and his brothers walking down the street naked. She was definitely shocked once she heard what was going on.

During the winter, he and the neighborhood kids always looked for some fun as most children do, so when they went to the school, they turned the faucet on for a while, let the water run down the street, and let it freeze. The next day, the water would be ice and they would be sledding down the hill on pieces of cardboard.

Downs graduated from Potosi High School in 1969 and worked as a manager at K-Mart for about three years. After a while, he knew he didn’t want to do that anymore because of the excessive amount of nights and weekends he had to work. In 1975, Downs knew that he wanted to be a teacher so he went back to school to get all of his teaching classes done. He student taught and went on to get his first job at SS Andrew-Thomas School as an eighth grade teacher. After three years of working there, he found a bigger, better job right up the street and has stayed there ever since.

If there was anyone Jerry looked up to, it was his father. Ray worked so hard and had so many health issues, lived in pain most of his life, but still worked every day of his life to make his family happy. No matter how tired he was, how much pain he was in, he still had time for his kids, took them swimming, did all sorts of fun activities with them. He may have dropped out of high school, but that didn’t change the way the Downs kids looked at him. Of Ray and Margaret's children, five of the nine became teachers.

Throughout the thirty-nine years Jerry has taught, he will always remember three certain classes for specific and outstanding reasons. The class of 1993 gave Downs the privilege of speaking at their graduation, and before he could start talking, John Dennison, one of the graduates stopped him and gifted him something that was very unlike him. They gave him a Harley Davidson shirt, a shirt nobody could ever see him wearing. The next class was the class of 2013. “They gave me a baseball for my 60th birthday which was very special. Once they heard I was having open-heart surgery, they gave me a book of stories which reminded them of the stories I told them. Lastly, the class of 2019 has been very special to him. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching them, telling stories about life to them. I remember thinking back when they were sophomores, I think they might be a good class to go out with. They’re a well-rounded class, they have good athletes, good band and choir people, good forensics people. They’re overall one of the best well-rounded classes I’ve ever taught.” said Downs.

“The interactions I get to have with students every day, the smiles, the handshakes, the smiles, to be able to teach them life lessons, how to handle adversity, how to live life well is my favorite thing about teaching.” Downs plans to retire at the end of this year. “About three years ago when I retired from coaching baseball, it’d been thirty-nine years since I started coaching and I thought wow, it’ll be nice if I taught thirty-nine years and ended it there. That and I like odd numbers.” He is enjoying his last year of teaching, trying to suck the joy out of every day because there isn’t any pressure on him to do things other than teaching. He’s still trying to do a good job and wants to finish strong. “All I have to do is interact with the kids and make sure that I enjoy every last season of everything such as football, basketball, the musical and play,” said Downs.

Once he retires he plans on starting a bible study for men who work third shift mainly because they are usually held at night and they aren’t able to attend. “I do plan on subbing and teaching the character and leadership class. Other than that I’m just going to let it play out.” Downs wants to be remembered as someone who loved his students more than the subject he taught. “I want to be remembered as a person who taught kids, not history. I hope that kids knew that I cared about them”

Jaydon Pfab, a senior at Potosi High, transferred from SS Andrew-Thomas School in the 2015-16 school year, his freshman year. “I’ll always remember his emphasis on leadership and how cheerful he is. I consider him a role model because if everyone was Mr. Downs, life would be easier, man. He’s made me want to be more of a down to earth person and has taught me how to become more of a thankful person.” In the leadership class that Downs currently teaches, he prompts the students to take their phones out and jot down five things they’re thankful for. Each day it’d get more difficult, leading you to think of things you never knew you were thankful for. “Mr. Downs has formed me into a better person because I don’t feel like I take as many things for granted than I used to.”

“I think it’ll be nearly impossible to forget Mr. Downs with his stories, the handshakes, the life lessons, and much more,” said Steven Kliebenstein, a Junior at Potosi High. Downs has been one of his biggest role models. “His lessons about character and service to others will stick with me for as far as I can see into the future. I’d like to think that having a little Mr. Downs in your life would make anyone a better person.”

Martia Abing, a sophomore at Potosi High will always remember how he’d greet each and every student entering his room with a handshake and smile. “He always has this charisma to him that makes everyone he talks to want to become a better person. I consider him a role model because he is such an inspiration to not only me, but to many other students as well. He’s always smiling and it’s hard to not be a happy person when you’re around him. He brings so much energy and positivity to the students and staff at Potosi.” Downs has made quite the impact on Abing. He not only changed the way she views things in her life, he taught her to focus on things that she can control, rather than worry about the things she doesn’t have control over. “He always reminds his students that everyone goes through hard times in their lives, it’s all about how you handle those hard times which really shows your character. Everyday he inspires students to become more than just good students, but more importantly good people.” Downs always encourages his students to go out of their way to make someone else’s day. “Mr. Downs has not only taught me history, but also taught me how to become a better person.”

“Make wise choices and have a GREAT day!”