Myrtle Zink dies at 105
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| Myrtle “Pete” P. Zink was photographed by Bill Lamb on the day before her retirement on June 1, 1972. Zink died Sunday at the age of 105. (Photo contributed) |
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PRINCETON — She laid down her chalk. She threw her last eraser. She turned off the Cubs’ game, pulled the horse into the stable and quietly said good-bye. Myrtle P. Zink died Sunday at the age of 105.
For years, Zink was well known around the Princeton Elementary School system. A teacher and principal, she was known for expecting the best out of her students as well as the teachers who worked with her. Sharp yet silently soft-hearted, she taught many a student, mentored many a teacher, and created a legacy of memories for those who knew her.
“Well, she was one of the toughest teachers I ever worked with,” said Rex Hunter of Princeton. Hunter taught art at what used to be Washington Grade School (now combined with Logan Junior High), where Zink was his principal.
“I’ve seen her scold a child and then throw an eraser to get their attention, but she was a sweetheart. She knew what she was doing. You had to behave under her. Even me (as a teacher), I had to behave under her too ... She was one of a kind,” Hunter said.
Henrietta Nickelsen of Princeton was the secretary to the superintendent at the school where Zink worked. Not only was Nickelsen a colleague of Zink, she was also a friend.
“I was up to see her a week ago yesterday. As always, she was still the lady I remembered from school. She had the Cubs’ game on. We visited back and forth. As always, she was interested in children, in the church, in the community ... We even talked about the county fair,” Nickelsen said.
“She was an educator all of her life,” Nickelsen continued. “People who knew her always learned something. She ran a tight ship. She demanded respect, and she was respected in the classroom, on the playground, in the church, every place she went ... She touched many lives.”
Princeton resident Carl Ellberg remembered Zink with a few stories, as well. He said Zink didn’t let too much get past her, and he recalled a particular day when a buddy of his was teasing some girls on the playground and how Zink “took care” of the situation.
“She was a tough teacher,” Ellberg said. “But she was a good person.”
After graduating from Princeton High School in 1923, Zink began her lengthy teaching career in DePue where she taught for three years. From there, she taught and eventually became a principal in the Princeton system, where she worked for 43 years, retiring in 1972. After that, she was “Mrs. Lovejoy,” a tour guide at the Lovejoy Homestead for 17 years.
Not only did Zink remain an educator throughout her entire life, she also had a few other passions she didn’t mind sharing with those who knew her.
Zink had a passion for the Chicago Cubs. On a Cubs’ game day, she could be seen donning a Cubs’ shirt and was quick to put a crying towel on her door when “her Cubbies” lost a game.
Zink also loved horses.
“I used to go to the harness races with her a lot at the county fairs,” said Donna Chelin, who was a church friend of Zink’s for many years. “She absolutely adored horses. All of her greeting cards always had horses on them.”
Chelin also spoke of Zink’s stylish dress and other fun memories.
“She was such a natty dresser,” Chelin said. “Her shoes and purses always matched ... She was so funny ... When she’d bring a covered dish to church, she always told us she never used her oven; she just dusted it.”
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