Photo by Holly Allen – Rod Bunde will retire from teaching in his top-floor VFHS science classroom at the end of the school year after serving his entire 35-year teaching career within the Valley Falls School District.
by Holly Allen
A retirement celebration will be held Friday, May 17, in honor of retiring Valley Falls High School teachers Deb Spade and Rod Bunde, who has been with the district for 35 years.
Bunde, whose current course load includes anatomy, biology, conditioning, and environmental science, has also served as football coach and athletic director for the district over his tenure.
He was born in Watertown, South Dakota, where his father tested livestock for disorders and diseases and his mother worked in retail. His father eventually took a government job as a compliance officer for plant and animal welfare, which moved the family from South Dakota to Utah, eventually settling in Kansas by the time Bunde was in junior high. He attended French Middle School and Topeka West High School, playing football and wrestling.
He met his future wife, Ruby, when she was in 8th grade and he was a freshman. He says he’s “had an eye for her” ever since.
Bunde attended The University of Kansas, playing football for three years before breaking his back for the second time in his young life. He and Ruby were wed between his third and fourth years of college, at the ages of 20 and 21.
During his time at KU, Bunde had taken exploratory classes in an attempt to find his passion. He found himself drawn to science courses such as geology, environmental science, and range science. The couple soon moved to South Dakota, returning to Bunde’s roots, where he attended South Dakota State University with the intention of studying Range Science and Management. This lasted one year before they returned to Kansas, where Bunde continued his education while laying brick alongside Ruby’s father to put himself through school.
As someone who always enjoyed sports and weight lifting, Bunde was aiming for a physical education degree, but as he was nearly finished with school, he became nervous about finding employment in his chosen field. He was close with an uncle, a biology teacher and football coach, who had served as a positive influence on him. Consulting an advisor, he was told he was just 12 credit hours away from another major — education — and determined to become a teacher and coach like his uncle.
Following graduation, Bunde’s first teaching position in 1989, 35 years ago, brought him to Valley Falls, where he has taught ever since.
He names the rapidly changing technology as his biggest teaching challenge over the years, recalling how he bought a typewriter his first year of teaching to be able to provide his students type-written tests. While working to keep up with the continual learning curve of new teaching technology, he took comfort in the words of a fellow teacher, James Clulo, who told him if he taught long enough, all of the same teaching strategies would come back around.
In most ways, he learned to adapt, in others, he dug in his heels. Evidence of that can be seen at the front of his classroom today, where the lone chalkboard left in the district is still affixed to the wall. All of the others were replaced with dry erase boards years ago. Bunde refused, citing the amount of dry erase markers which get used up and go into landfills, harming the environment, always preferring the chalk which gets used up to nothing.
He says maintenance director Tom Brown has already been by to measure the chalkboard space for replacement with a whiteboard following his retirement. A note has been written in chalk across his beloved board — “Save the chalkboard petition! 200 signatures needed.”
Among his favorite memories over the years are the times spent with his classes at the marshlands around Valley Falls. When asked, he quickly recalls several specific anecdotes featuring notable student experiences while wading through the marsh, building and repairing goose tubs, marten houses, bluebird, bat, and wood duck boxes.
“I always enjoyed those trips to the marshes and the memories we made there,” he said. “I took pride in getting the kids to realize how lucky we are to have so much public land accessible to us in Valley Falls.”
For 27 of his years at USD 338, he also served as football coach in some capacity or another, whether head or assistant, for high school or middle school.
He names a handful of standout players over the years — Barrow, Gentry, Rider, Schoonover — but says there were standout athletes on each team he has coached.
“Regardless of where we started or where we ended up, my goal for them was always to just get better, to become better athletes, and to support them so they would want to play hard for me and for themselves,” Bunde said.
In retirement, he plans to catch up on all those home and land projects which stack up over a lifetime. He loves to build things, to work with his hands, and doesn’t see himself slowing down anytime soon, though it will be an adjustment to not climb the steps to the top floor of the high school as he has done each school day these past 35 years.
He and Ruby have four grown children — Ridge and his wife, Brandy, and their three children, Topeka; Rebekah and her husband, Seth, and their three children, Salina; Riley, and his wife , Ashlyn, and their three children, Valley Falls; and Reid, Kansas City. They also have 40 acres and a farm full of goats, chickens, and a donkey, lovingly referred to as “Donk.” Between them all, Bunde believes he will be able to keep busy and active while adjusting to life in retirement.
“I feel like I still really enjoy teaching, but it’s exhausting and I think I’m just ready to do some other things,” Bunde said. “I have loved my time here and am so grateful for all of the people — students, teachers, staff — that I have gotten to know over the years. It’s been a real adventure.”
The retirement celebration for Bunde and Spade, who has served 21 years with the district, will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, May 17, in the school cafeteria. The reception is open to the public and refreshments will be served. Cards of congratulations for the teachers can be sent or dropped off to 700 Oak Street, Valley Falls, KS 66088.