Bob Norwood: A teacher to remember

By Max Millard
Special to The Windham Eagle

In September 2025, I attended a lakeside reunion for the Windham High School Class of 1967. I brought a copy of the 1962 yearbook for Field-Allen Junior High and placed it on a picnic table, where it was instantly commandeered by a cluster of women from the class. They turned to the pages of head shots, touched them lovingly and emitted a chorus of "gone ... gone ... gone" for about one-quarter of our classmates.

Science teacher Bob Norwood, left, is shown in the 1962
Field-Allen Junior High School yearbook. At right, Bob and
Carol Norwood enjoy a meal in Florida in 2024. Bob passed
away at his home in Wells at the age of 89 earlier this year.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS 

The page depicting the 14 teachers and administrators drew little attention because, of course, they had all passed on. Except they hadn't. There was one survivor: Robert E. Norwood, who taught science at the school from 1960 to 1965.

I remembered Mr. Norwood as an energetic, engaging, fireball of a teacher who loved to tell jokes in class, but could be strict and serious when necessary. He loved teaching, and in 7th grade he directed a one-act play for the annual drama competition. I was among the players, along with Jean Bromley, Patty Hodgdon, Steve Turkington and Gail Sylvester.

Our play was voted the best of the evening. As a reward, Mr. Norwood drove the whole cast to Boston to see "How the West Was Won" at the Cinerama Theater, which had an ultra-wide, curved screen and three projectors to produce an immersive experience.

After the 1960s I lost touch with Mr. Norwood, but last year I learned that he was still alive and living in Wells. I contacted him and paid him a visit, along with my old Windham neighbor Jim Hawkes.

We were ushered into a room at the back of the house, with a big picture window facing the pristine backyard. Bob – as he preferred to be called – sat in a wheelchair with an oxygen tube under his nose, looking very fragile. He had been asleep when we arrived, but he immediately perked up, and along with his wife Carol, the four of us had a long, lively conversation.

Bob said that he left Field-Allen to teach in Portland because the pay was better. But he much preferred his old job. He explained: "In Windham, if a boy behaved badly and I called the parents, they would say, `He won't do that again.' In Portland the parents would say: `Oh, my son wouldn't do that!'"

In frustration, he quit Portland after five years, and met with William Foss, the Windham superintendent of schools, to request a new assignment. He was offered the post of transportation director, in charge of all of Windham's bus drivers, and with the authority to close the schools on snow days. He readily accepted and embraced the job for the next seven years.

Meanwhile, he was enjoying a side career as a businessman. His most successful venture was Arctic Penguin Ice in North Windham, which delivered ice to stores, summer camps and campgrounds. At its peak, the company had many employees and nine trucks.

Bob and Carol – a lifelong elementary school teacher – purchased a house on Pettingill Pond in Windham for $9,000. Bob built a second floor to accommodate their four children, and the family lived there for over 30 years. In 1991, Bob sold both the house and the ice business, and the couple moved to Polk City, Florida, where they spent the next 32 years. Recently the same house changed hands for $1 million.

In Florida, Bob renovated an old Greyhound bus to live in, and took a job as a tour bus operator, reinventing himself once again and getting to know every corner of the state.

Bob grew up in Biddeford, and he began teaching right out of college. I didn't realize at the time how young he was, because all the teachers then seemed to be adults of an indefinite age.

He laughed while recalling how teaching had changed since the old days – for example, the time he walked into the office of Field-Allen Principal Ronald Jacques and saw him with a boy over his knee, getting a vigorous spanking. He related that my classmate John Bridges once asked him, "Mr. Norwood, is it true that hot air rises?" Bob had said yes, at which John quipped, "Then why don't you go floating in the air?"

As much as Bob loved teaching, he valued his independence more and always managed to find jobs that suited his temperament. In his bedroom in Wells, his mind remained sharp, but it was apparent that his body was failing.

After an hour and a half, Jim Hawkes and I sensed that it was time to go. We said our goodbyes, and I pledged to visit Bob again in 2026. He asked me to tell him the next time the Class of 1967 had a get-together because he would like to attend, "if I'm still alive."

On May 5, 2026, Bob passed away at his home in Wells at the age of 89, leaving behind his wife of 66 years, three daughters, six grandchildren. and several great-grandchildren. His obituary in the Portland Press Herald gave the bare bones of his biography but failed to capture the essence of this remarkable teacher, entrepreneur, and bon vivant who lived his life to the fullest.

Max Millard is a retired journalist and teacher in San Francisco, California. Email him at: [email protected] <