Hagen retires after 34 years at Havre Middle School

After 34 years teaching industrial arts at Havre Middle School, Tim Hagen is retiring.

"It's a little bit scary because this is kind of all I've known," he said.

Hagen said that he has been an educator at Havre Middle School for the past 34 years, starting shortly after he graduated from Northern Montana College - now Montana State University-Northern - with an endorsement in industrial arts. He added that he has done some odd jobs during the summertime, although teaching at the middle school was his first and last job.

"It will be a change for sure," he said.

It is going to be a strange feeling next year, he said, now that he doesn't have to be back in school in August. But he is excited about retirement, he added. He plans to spend his time with his family.

"This is the first job I had and I've stayed here for my entire 34 years," Hagen said. "Every day I still love coming to school, that's going to be the weird part, getting up in the morning and going, 'I don't have any place to be.'"

While he was teaching, he and his wife of 38 years in June, Bev, would go to visit their three grandchildren, but they would only be able to spend a few days with them. Now that he is retired, they will be able to visit their grandchildren more regularly and spend more time with them. He added that he and his wife also plan to spend time with his brother- and sister-in-law. Hagen said that his brother-in-law has Alzheimer's and his sister-in-law has been his sole caregiver. It will be nice to be able to with them longer and help them out.

He said he also has hobbies that will keep him busy and a shop at home he will use. Throughout the years, he has dabbled in a little bit of everything and became a bit of a handyman. After some time enjoying retirement, he said he might take on a part-time job if it fits in his schedule. In his shop, he also makes items, such as hunting knives. He said he doesn't make any money off them but mostly gives them away or donates them. Hagen added that he will be getting some new tools for his shop so he can continue to make more knives more effectively.

"I told my wife, I think for at least for the first six months to a year we're just going to go where we want to go and do what we want to do," he said.

Hagen said that he got into teaching industrial arts because he enjoys working with his hands and showing people how to do things. He added that he also enjoyed working with students of all ages and helping people understand new things.

When he first attended college at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, he got a two-year degree in forestry, then he attended the University of Montana in Missoula where he received a bachelor's degree in science. After graduating from UM, he set his sights on Northern Montana College, and after graduating from there he took the position of the industrial arts teacher at Havre Middle School. Through the years he has also taught health and physical education, keyboarding and has coached at the middle school.

"I don't profess to be the master of anything, but I can figure out how to get things done," he said.

In his 34 years of teaching, he said, a variety of things have changed, such as the students, how he performs his job and the technology involved in industrial arts. When he first started teaching drafting, he and his students were still using drafting tables and he remembers it being a big deal when the school got an Apple IIe. Now, peoples' cellular phones have 100 times the computing power of the old Apple computer.

The greatest benefit to students about industrial arts is it teaches them to use their hands and gives them an appreciation for how things get made, he said. He added that his students may not go on to remodel their own homes or become contractors, but they will understand the difficulty of the profession and appreciate the quality of the work. But, he said, he hopes some of his students will also consider after attending his class a career in industrial arts.

"My hope is we turn out more students that go out into the trades because they enjoy doing this kind of stuff," he said."I believe that our country and our society is going to be in a world of hurt if we don't get some people on board with trade schools and stuff. I mean, I'm all for going to college, too, but we need the people in the trenches because things won't work without those people."

He said that throughout his years as a teacher he has built a good relationship with Northern, even taking his students last quarter to campus so they could experience the welding, plumbing and machining programs. Hagen said that the students really enjoyed their time on campus. He also wanted to take his students again at the end of the year, but due to college graduation and scheduling issues was unable to set up the trip.

It was a good trip for the students, he said, and the goal was to get students interested in trade schools locally. Students can do anything, he said, as long as they put their mind to it.

"They can do it, fill in the blank what 'it' is," Hagen said.

But part of learning, too, is failing, he said.

"My dad always told me the difference between a good woodworker and a bad woodworker is a good woodworker can hide his or her mistakes," he said.

He added that he tries to teach his students while in class, even if they make a mistake they can always fix it and still make it look good. Hagen said that he also emphasizes to his students to "work smarter, not harder."

Even if they do fail in a project, they should never give up, he said.

"I've failed on lots of different things and had to start over, but you can figure things out and move forward," he said, adding that this not only applies to industrial arts but is universal.

He said that during his time as an educator, he has started seeing the third generation of students and every year he watches as students get excited about his class. Hagen said that his favorite part about his job was seeing his students' faces light up with excitement when their projects were completed and it looked like what they wanted. They all are very proud and excited to take it home and show their parents.

"Havre gave me a shot 34 years ago, I've loved every minute of it," he said.