Schmidtchen Called ‘Father’ Of LCMR

ERMA — During the 1960s, baby boomers began to fill the country’s high schools. Across the nation, once adequate small town schools be-gan bursting at the seams. It was a logical time for regionalization or consolidation. But, just as in current times, small kingdoms die hard.
Successful regionalization must be brought about by a true leader, one with vision, energy and determination. For the four southernmost Cape May County municipalities, the leader brought in to forge a regional school district was New York born Paul W. Schmitdtchen.
It was a great day for the people of the entire Lower Cape May Region when Schmidtchen agreed to be the superintendent of schools for the City of Cape May in 1958. That decision lead to the eventual opening of Lower Cape May Regional High School in 1961. Schmidtchen had the requisite love for people, project management skills, spirit of compromise and the military discipline to put together what others could not.
The first order of business was approval of a $1.4-million bond ordinance to build a junior-senior high school on land adjacent to Route 9. Working with Board of Education President Richard Teitelman, Schmidtchen brought the need for a regional facility to the public and the bond issue was approved in December 1958. Groundbreaking took place in November and the staff was hired by April 1960. Moving day from the old Cape May High School was Dec. 22, 1960.
When the graduating Class of 2011 is presented this month at Lower Cape May Regional, it will mark a Golden Anniversary milestone which would never have taken place without Schmidtchen, one of Cape May County’s finest educators.
In the words of his colleague and longtime North Wildwood Superintendent Joe Chester, “Schmidtchen was a good school man.” To 1974 graduate and former West Cape May Mayor Bob Jackson, “Mr. S. was always approachable, encouraging, friendly and reasonable.”
If locals refer to Schmidtchen as “the Father of Lower Cape May Regional,” the Webster’s definition that is most applicable is: “a title of re-spect paid to one of seniority or rank.” Of the eight definitions that I’ve found, the one I like is: “one who is the most notable influence in another’s spiritual, intellectual or artistic development.” That describes Schmidtchen’s relationship with many of his employees and students.
When he retired in 1972, he had the satisfaction of having completed a job well done. He was recognized by the Board of Education which dedicated the school auditorium in his honor. To this day, the name remains on the school’s performing arts center.
Of all of the fine men and women I worked with in my 34 years of public life, Schmidtchen was among the finest. In my early days as a mu-nicipal administrator, he was always a phone call away and was always ready and willing to offer his time and advice. He proofread many of my grant applications and graduate school papers.
He loaned me valuable books of English Literature from his personal collection, sent occasional notes of encouragement and added some stamps and coins to the collections of my young sons. Most importantly, he welcomed me to his home on Kearney Street, where we could discuss our mutual interests which included poetry. I treasure my inscribed copy of his 1961 book, Martial Heirs, his poems about war.
Although my first encounter with Schmidtchen was in the early 60’s when I was part of a student group from North Wildwood touring the new and impressive Lower Cape School, my first one on one meeting took place in the Spring of 1970 when I nervously entered his office to apply for available teaching or coaching positions. I had not yet graduated from college. Offers from schools in Pennsylvania, where I had done practice teaching in the Hershey area, were in the $5000 range. Schmidtchen made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, $7,200. Wow! Doesn’t sound like much now does it?
He called my college and I was teaching before I was done student teaching. He knew how to cut a deal. He had coached football at Metuchen High School in his younger days and he knew of my enthusiasm for track and field.
He put me in touch with the contacts which would lead to my eventual service as head track coach at LCMR where we were blessed with a strong men’s program and where we started the women’s program. Schmidtchen treated his employees fairly and if you gave your best, you got his best. He was the first to encourage you to stretch yourself and be all that you could.
If I may be so bold as to paraphrase my favorite Schmidtchen quote: “We can measure what schools cost. We can measure the academic ac-complishment of students. What we cannot measure is the most important part of what takes place in a school, the development of favorable habits, attitudes and outlooks on life. We cannot measure the lifelong influence of a child’s determination to live a life worthwhile because of something he learned through contact with his studies, or with contact with a noble and conscientious teacher.”
On this occasion of the 50th anniversary of LCMR’s first graduating class, I feel duty-bound to extol the manly qualities of my first boss, the noble and conscientious teacher that always had time for me as long as he lived and who never asked, “What’s in it for me?”
Very few of his employees had his academic prowess. He was erudite, learned, and well-versed in more than one language. Often, my fellow teachers and I were forced to visit the library to consult foreign language dictionaries just so we could decipher a memorandum from Mr. S. He liked to challenge us.
Those who never knew Schmidtchen, should take a look at an old John Barrymore movie. Note the heroic military man with erect bearing, clear gaze and perfect mastery of the language. Recently, I thought of Mr. S. when one of my grandsons and I watched Sean Connery play the Quatermain role in “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.” The man had class and ability.
Another Schmidtchen admonition I recall is, “Secure to the left flank, secure to the right flank, vision straight ahead.” I understood this to mean that on the left flank, we all have our basic desires for food, shelter, financial security and education.
I understood the right flank to be emotional stability, sound relationships, good family values and attention to lessons taught by one that Schmidtchen referred to as “the Master Teacher who set the pattern for our western civilization.” Only when secure on both flanks, can the good soldier see straight ahead and thereby set worth goals. Mr. S., a World War II veteran, spent four years as an officer with the Infantry and Counterintelligence Corps. This went a long way in lending credence to his advice.
After World War II, Schmidtchen returned to his pre-war base, Metuchen High School, as its principal. He concurrently taught night classes at Rutgers. Cape May gave him his first opportunity to become a Superintendent and the rest is history.
Even after his retirement in 1972, many of us who had worked for him continued to seek advice and counsel from this man of good will. He respected the dignity of all of his employees and students. Even though we no longer had to obey him, we continued to respect him. He, in turn, handled the transition from power to retirement like a gentleman.
When I learned of his passing in November of 1990, I was serving as the Stone Harbor Borough Administrator. He was 76. His professional legacy was secured by the success of the school district he founded, and his family legacy, shared with his beloved wife, Dorothy, was insured by his children and grandchildren.
For retired administrators, life is pleasant in what I call “low profile land.” I’ve been happily retired for seven years. It has proved a pleasant task to recall the encouraging personality of my first boss, mentor and friend, Paul Schmidtchen. In the days when educators made only modest salaries, he remained the noble and conscientious teacher set upon a life of service and selfless dedication. May he be remembered as “the Father of Lower Cape May Regional.”
(ED. NOTE: Flud is a lifetime resident of North Wildwood where he served as a grantsman and municipal administrator from 1977 to 1987 when he became the Stone Harbor borough administrator. He subsequently served the City of Wildwood in various capacities including direc-tor of Public Safety, business administrator and superintendent of Public Works. He and his wife, Sandra, a surgical nurse, maintain homes in North Wildwood and Middle Township. In the past 12 months, they have traveled to London, Dublin, Charleston and Savannah. Retired since 2004, Tom was given the Freeling Hewitt Award by the Friends of the Hereford Lighthouse in April 2008 in recognition of his role in acquir-ing and restoring the lighthouse.)