Teacher leaves lasting influence
By ROSS JACOBSON - rjacobson@nwherald.com
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| Bill Pictor, 91, has been living in McHenry since 1951. Pictor walks about 2 miles a day in the neighborhood around his home. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com) |
McHENRY – Bill Pictor remembers a different McHenry, one that had dairy farms scattered everywhere, and one that became “noticeably quieter” when summer tourists would leave after Labor Day.
It was a classic small town. And it’s where Pictor and his wife, Eileen, settled and raised their three sons, David, Bradley and Paul.
It’s where Pictor, a World War II veteran, taught agriculture to hundreds of youths starting in 1951 at McHenry High School.
And it’s where his teaching style developed such devoted students that several have made a point to gather with the now 91-year-old a couple of times a year.
Pictor still lives in the same modest Crestwood Street home as he did in 1956.
The changes in McHenry are remarkable, he said, but one thing that remains unchanged is his devotion to it.
“The growth of the town is amazing,” Pictor said. “I think McHenry is a great place, and it’s getting better all the time.”
Born in 1918 in Ste. Marie, Pictor grew up on a small farm. He attended the University of Illinois but couldn’t afford tuition after two years.
He joined the Air Corps in 1940 and flew 193 combat missions in World War II.
After Pictor was released from active duty in 1945, he went back to U of I and graduated two years later.
While teaching in southern Illinois, Pictor applied for a position at McHenry High School and landed the job.
“You visited [students’] homes, met their parents, and really got to know them quite well,” Pictor said of teaching back then. “There were some times when I thought I spent more time with my students than I did with my own kids.”
Pictor often took his classes on field trips to farm expositions and factories. Some of his former students referred to him as “down to earth” and “easy to relate to.”
“You could joke with him, and we pulled a lot of pranks on him, but he never got upset,” said Ray Martin, who graduated from McHenry High in 1958. “That’s why we got along with him so great.”
More than anything, Pictor, who wore a sports coat and tie to school every day, was a teacher whom students respected, and he left a lasting impression.
“He wasn’t a really big man, but he commanded respect in the classroom,” said Charles Sowers, who also graduated from McHenry High in 1958. “It’s still ‘Mr. Pictor’ to me. It’s hard to call him ‘Bill.’ ”
Last fall, the McHenry High class of ’58 had its 50th reunion, which Pictor attended. In May, some former students invited him out to lunch and presented him with a plaque, paying tribute to the ways his teaching had positively influenced their lives.
“I often wondered how the students that you taught felt because teachers don’t know if they’re really doing a good job or not,” Pictor said. “I’m very proud of this. It makes me feel like I did something worthwhile.”
Pictor left McHenry High after seven years to work as a salesman. He later returned to teach agriculture for another 15 years at Woodstock High School.
After retiring at age 60, he kept busy with various odd jobs and activities around McHenry. He took up public speaking with the McHenry Toastmasters Club and joined the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Even with all of his activities, Pictor made time to travel. He said he and his wife, Eileen, to whom he’s been married for 66 years, had been to every state in the union, even if it was just a quick drive through.
“I loved Alaska,” Pictor said. “You just thought this was the way the country was supposed to be: wide open spaces, not too many people and just beautiful scenery.”
But Pictor, who has four grandchildren, has no intention of leaving McHenry and is perfectly content at this point to just spend time with his family.
“After you’ve been around as many years as we have, you see a lot of spots that bring back memories,” he said. “Overall, when I look back, I’m pretty darn happy.”
