Before retiring from a distinguished teaching career that began in 1973, Joanne Emerick taught history at Hoxie High School in Hoxie, where she brought history to life in the classroom through such innovative activities as having students play the roles of Congressional representatives and Supreme Court justices. "I am a firm believer that history isn't just facts and figures, but the story of real people -- each with an important story to tell," she said. For 18 years, Emerick's students were award winners in the National History Day program and three times represented Kansas in the national We The People American Government competition, both held in Washington, D.C. Emerick's students produced the award-winning program, "There Were No More Tears Left to Cry," which traced the 100-year history of enmity and reconciliation between a Cheyenne Indian and a European immigrant family. In 2000, Emerick and her students at Hoxie High School hosted Operation Recognition, the state's first formal high school graduation ceremony for World War II veterans who served their country before they could graduate from high school. Recently, Emerick was engaged by her father's World War II bomb squadron to write its history and that history was published in May, 2010. Entitled COURAGE BEFORE EVERY DANGER, HONOR BEFORE ALL MEN, the book has found immediate success! View excerpts at: couragebeforeeverydanger.com
Friends: please view my new website: couragebeforeeverydanger.com It previews my new book on the history of my late father's World War II bomb squadron. --Joanne Emerick
1973 Fort Hays State University, B.A.
