Virginia Hahn Obituary

As a freshman in the fall of 1977, I walked each morning into Ms. Hahn's very crowded windowless room for the required World History class. She towered above us seated newbies and directed class with strength and conviction. With Ms Hahn I always knew what was expected of me and when, which was very comforting to me as I tried to navigate this huge high school seemingly on my own. Early on, she pulled me aside before class and asked, "How's Jesse?" referring to my father who had been on the GBN faculty in the early 60's. I was surprised that she connected me with him after all those years. I felt recognized, and happy that she had reached out and chatted with me. After that, I knew she was kind.

One morning in October, just as class was beginning, two boys I had pegged as "toughs" to stay away from, charged at each other and began a violent fight with punches to the face. Kids backed away, and Ms. Hahn shouted at the fighters, "Get out of my class NOW!" They kept at it and she sent a student to go get the department chair. They were removed and I wasn't the only one feeling shaken up. "They're gone and won't be back. Don't worry," she said. I felt relieved and she began class.

Ms. Hahn had a quirky sense of well-rehearsed humor that I appreciated and imitated at home for my little brother. For example, when passing back a graded test, she would remark, "now keep these tests in a safe place so you can review them to study for the final exam. Do not use them to line the bottom of your bird cage!" Each word was enunciated with exaggerated clarity and emphasis.

In hindsight, Ms. Hahn had the unenviable task each year of teaching multiple "regular-track" sections of freshman world history to anyone and everyone. There were no "honors-track" sections, no "basic-track" sections. She got everyone in one pile, and the textbook was a dry, overwritten brick with small print titled, "The Ecumene: Story of Humanity." Published in 1973, 814 pages. The academic diversity of her students and the college level of the textbook were NOT in sync, and Ms. Hahn knew it (likely, painfully well.) She helped us with reading "important" parts of the text in class, supplemented with her own presentations, and best of all, frequently showed National Geographic films (16 mm, spinning and clicking away in the back of the class). These brought topics in The Ecumene to life and made class really exciting for me. I still remember the one about Dr. Louis and Mary Leakey's excavations at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where our oldest human ancestor's remains--to that date--were unearthed.

After completing Western Civilization and my freshman year at GBN, Ms. Hahn continued in following years to greet me in passing and sometimes ask, "How's Jesse?" She was a special teacher --and person, and made me feel that way, too.
Hugh Garrott

I was a student of Ms. Hahn's at GBN, and she impressed me with her love of History. Like most people, I wish I had listened more, studied more, and appreciated more. She had a lot to teach!