My Favorite Recipes: Meet Mary Chastain

As the school year draws to a close, Mary Chastain will wrap up 31 years of teaching. Out of those years, 27 of them have been well-spent teaching in LaCrosse. Mary is grateful to have been able to teach so many children over the years and to work with such a fantastic group of faculty and staff as well. She said she has heard many people in LaCrosse refer to the school as, “the best public-private school out there.”

Each student has their own Chromebook, teachers get along, the classes are small enough to give each student individual attention and they don’t get lost in the system. The size of the school may be small, but the heart is big and Mary will be leaving a small piece of her heart there as she enters retirement.

Mary studied at California State University at Sacramento where she received a BA in vocal music. She married Jerry Chastain between her junior and senior years of college. They began their family, moved to Utah briefly, then moved to Endicott and later to LaCrosse. Mary and Jerry have five children; Jared, Katie, Becky, Rachel and Josh. They are also the proud grandparents to 13 grandchildren.

After the Chastains arrived in the Palouse region, Mary enrolled at WSU and drove back and forth between Endicott and Pullman. In 1986, she graduated with a BA in elementary education at Washington State University. She laughed as she recounted the surprise she felt when her degree finally arrived and it stated that she was certified to teach music for K-8. Mary had always planned on being a classroom teacher and was looking forward to getting her teaching degree, but didn’t realize that her degree was for teaching music until it arrived in the mail. She later continued her education once more and received a master's degree in early childhood education at Eastern Washington University.

Mary has spent the last 27 years in the LaCrosse School District where she has taught music, Spanish and art. Mary said that when she arrived at LaCrosse, the school was using a satellite system and offered Spanish through a satellite class. She didn’t feel like it was best serving the students and went to the administration and asked if she could teach the class. Mary said that her only experience with Spanish up to that point was the two years of classes she took while she was in high school. Now, after teaching Spanish for the last 27 years, Mary hopes to be able to travel and have the opportunity to use the Spanish that she has been helping others learn.

Over the years, Mary cherished teaching all of her students and especially loved the year that she was able to teach a guitar class with 10 students in it. Another favorite memory was when Garfield loaned LaCrosse their xylophone for three years. It was such a wonderful addition to their music program and Mary enjoyed playing right along with her students.

Mary also savored the opportunity she had to join Cary Cammack and the Colfax Choir when they traveled to Disneyland and performed. Mary said she has had so many wonderful memories over the years and that it was the perfect ending to hear her own granddaughter, Zoe Bailey, sing at the graduation ceremony of the class of 2018. It was the perfect end to her career with the LaCrosse School District.

Family and friends will be celebrating her retirement, along with Cammack's retirement, June 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Courtyard in Colfax. All are invited.

Recipes

Jerry’s Yummy Macaroni Casserole

16 oz. large shell maca roni

1 can white boneless canned chicken breast, drained

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 cube real butter

1 cup medium cheddar cheese, shredded

12 oz. Velveeta cheese

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup powered non-dairy creamer

1 Tbsp. chicken bouil lion

Cook macaroni. Mix all other ingredients in saucepan until the cheese is melted. Combine melted cheese sauce with macaroni and enjoy!

Titus’ Favorite Casserole

1 box Stove Top dress ing

1 10 oz. can white, boneless chicken breast, drained

Save the liquid from the chicken!

1 pkg. (12-16 oz.) frozen, mixed vegetables

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. milk

1 tsp. chicken bullion

Add enough chicken broth and water to make amount of liquid called for in the Stove Top dressing recipe. Prepare stuffing with liquid and set aside in bowl. Mix all ingredients and put in a casserole dish. Add stuffing on the top and bake at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes.