A teacher’s influence can never be erased
By James Van Bever
When Rita E. Miller retired from the Westford school system in 1983, a banner was hung outside the Frost School by students and staff that read in “big, tall words on a gigantic sign,” “Thanks for the Memories”. The sign summed up the forty plus years of service that Rita Miller gave to the school children of Westford.
Rita Hosmer Edwards was born in the Nabnasset section of Westford on July 12, 1918 to Flora M. Wright and Charles S. Edwards. Her parents both came from two storied Westford families who both helped in the establishment of the town. Rita and her family originally resided on Brookside Road where her father was a schoolteacher at the one room schoolhouse in Nabnasset. The school would later become a private residence.
The Edwards side of the family were builders who helped build the J.V. Fletcher Library and the Roudenbush Community Center. Her family roots in American history ran deep as one of her ancestors Abner Hosmer of Acton was killed at Concord during the Revolutionary War.
In 1923, Rita started first grade at the Frost School in Westford Center. Rita and her mother had moved to Main Street in Westford following the death of her father that same year. It was at the Frost School that the young Miss Edwards would begin her long association with the Westford school system. It was also where she first met classmate and future husband Everett (Chub) Miller.
During her first few years at Frost, Rita recalled that there were several grades in one room and “If you and your teacher didn’t get along too well, you just had to swallow and hope that next year would go better.” She would attend the Frost School until graduating from the eighth grade.
Following Rita’s graduation from elementary school, she did not have to go too far when she started classes at Westford Academy. The Academy was then housed at what is now known as the Roudenbush Community Center. While a student at W.A., Edwards played basketball, softball, and field hockey. Her principal was William C. Roudenbush.
After graduating from Westford Academy in 1935, Rita began college at the State Teachers College in Lowell. Miss Edwards would major in Elementary Education. She would return to Frost School as a student teacher. In the State College yearbook “The Knoll,” Rita was known for her red curls. Rita Edwards would graduate from State Teachers College in 1939. She would later receive a master’s degree from Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Upon completing her degree at Lowell, Rita became a full time teacher at the Frost School. During her career at Frost, Miss Edwards taught all grades for at least one year. She was known as “a strict teacher, but a warm person.” Known as Miss Edwards by her students, her classrooms often won the highest attendance awards. Her philosophy for educating children was “to take each child where you find them and develop them to their fullest potential.” She really believed that elementary school set the stage for the rest of one’s education.
In August 1952, Rita Miller was elected the Frost School principal by the Westford School Board. In addition to her duties as principal, Rita would also teach grades 6 and 8. Marilyn Frank, who taught at the Frost School while Rita was principal recalled that it was amazing how the school succeeded without today’s modern amenities. Marilyn went on to say that “we did not have a cafeteria, we brown bagged it. We didn’t have a gym. It was a small nurturing environment. What mattered was the relationship between teacher and children, staff, and parents.”
Aside from educating the children of Westford, the Frost School was also used to assist the citizens in the community. On one occasion in 1958, a fire ravaged the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Wallace of Main Street. The Wallace’s had a large family and were forced to leave their home. The couple was taken to the Frost School where under the direction of Mrs. Miller they were “dried and warmed and given tea until they were able to collect their family and go to a new destination until their house was made habitable.”
Rita’s favorite hobby was collecting miniatures. She began collecting when she was 12 or 13 when May Day the Westford librarian went to India and brought her back five ivory elephants. She also enjoyed singing, planting, reading, and researching family and Westford history with her husband Chub.
In 1979, Mrs. Miller’s duties were expanded when she became principal of the Frost, Cameron, and Sargent schools. She considered the three schools as one student body. Miller would continue in this role until 1981 when Sargent School was closed. However, Rita would remain principal of Frost and Cameron until her retirement in 1983.
Mrs. Miller was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Retired Teachers Association, Westford Teachers Association, Parent Teachers Association, and Retired Teachers Association of Massachusetts. Rita was also involved in the “grandparents” visits to the Westford schools.
The Town of Westford opened a new elementary school in December 2002. It was appropriately named the Rita E. Miller School. When the town decided to name the school after Rita, she insisted that the E for Edwards be included in the name. A few months before the school opened, family friend and former president of the Westford Historical Society Ken Tebbetts took Rita for a visit at the site of the new school.
Mrs. Miller told Ken that “there were times in her life that she wondered why certain things had to be. But the town’s recognition of her family’s contribution seemed to help provide her with an answer.” She then told Ken, “Now I see that it was all connected. It was all supposed to be.”
Rita died on March 29, 2003, a few months prior to the dedication of the Rita E. Miller School. Thanks for the memories.
Sources:
“Elect New School Principal in Westford,” Lowell Sun, May 13, 1952, p.1.
Ibid. “Westford,” p. 10.
Ibid. “Home Gutted in Westford Center,” April 29, 1958, p. 21.
Ibid. “Community was Westford principal’s greatest lessons,” by Rebecca Lipchitz, April 3, 2003.
“The end of an era for generations in Westford Schools, Westford Eagle, by Violet Dagdigian, April 13, 1982.
Ibid. “Cameron-Frost students discover history through the eyes of others,” by Violet Dagdigian, February 16, 1984.
Ibid. “Cameron-Frost students discover history through the eyes of others, by Violet Dagdigian, April 16, 1984.
Ibid. “Introduction to Westford’s School Principals, May 20, 1982.
Ibid. “Rita E. Miller, beloved educator died,” by Sonia Sharigan, April 3, 2003, p. 3-4.