submitted by Jean Barber
The Berlin July 4th Parade Committee has named life-long resident and retired teacher, Pam Gerstel, as 2016 Grand Marshal of the Berlin July 4th Parade to be held on Monday, July 4 at 11 am.[private]
Born in Troy, NY on September 3, 1945, the youngest of three children of Loyal and Dorothy Strait Cure, she lived on Railroad Avenue and later Main St. with her parents and her two sisters, Lois Anne (Hanks) and Maureen (Slattery). She is a 1963 graduate of Berlin Central School and holds an A.A. in Liberal Arts from Hudson Valley Community College (1965) and a B.S. in Physical Education from Salem College, Salem, West Virginia (1968).
In her youth, Pam recalls babysitting for “half the kids in town” from the time she was eleven. During the summers, she attended swimming lessons and enjoyed working with the Berlin Youth Commission Program. Norma Shaw, well-known swim instructor, certified her to teach swimming lessons at 14-years-old, which she would continue until her first child was born in 1972. She was also active in Camp Fire Girls in the community. In high school, she was a cheerleader and often looked forward to staying after school to play sports. The summer after college, Pam directed the Youth Commission Program. She recalls there were approximately 75 children in the program that summer. She coached Youth Commission Softball a few years later.
Pam’s teaching career began in September 1968 as high school girls’ physical education teacher and cheerleading advisor with her alma mater, Berlin Central School. It was to be a time of change for school sports programs. While schools offered a variety of intermural sports for boys, federal law prohibited the same for girls. The girls would play intramural sports after school, but longed for the competitive opportunity that the boys enjoyed. The early 70’s brought federal law changes and Pam was instrumental in developing a high school girls’ league for soccer, basketball, volleyball and softball. It was an uphill battle, but one she would do all she could to achieve for the girls. Even though girls’ sports were now permissible, conditions were much to be desired. Pam would meet at Chatham School with other neighboring coaches to set up game schedules and, even though some funding now existed, it proved difficult to get bus drivers for away games. So, Pam became licensed to drive a school bus in order to drive the girls to and from games. There were times when she personally purchased game t-shirts for the girls to wear.
Following a short leave of absence, Pam returned to teaching at BCS in 1975, but this time as elementary P.E. teacher. She traveled to each of four elementary schools which then existed in the district and continued there until her retirement in 2003.
It was in the 1980s, when coaching her niece’s Berlin junior high soccer team, that Pam quickly realized that players on some of the other teams in the league were obviously more experienced. She soon learned that many of their players had been participating in a soccer club as part of the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL). Gathering the information, and with help from the New Lebanon coach, she organized the start-up of a local club. Hence, the beginning of Taconic Valley Soccer Club (TVSC). In the first year, 1986, they registered approximately 150 kids. They have had up to 299 registered at one time. The club has branched out over the years and is also now part of the John Werner Youth Soccer League of which Pam served seven years as president. She has served as president of TVSC for 29 years and remains in that capacity. “With all the frustrations, my biggest reward has been having the kids that played when they were in Kindergarten come back to coach,” she said.
Pam has served as a member of Berlin’s Planning Board since 1990 and as chairperson for approximately eight years. “I love my position on the Planning Board,” she explained. “I’m always learning something new. Most importantly, I enjoy helping people and do my best to turn what can be an unpleasant experience into a pleasant one.”
Over the years, Pam has taught Sunday school, Vacation Bible School and Pioneer Kids in Berlin and Petersburgh. She was also involved with boy scouts and girl scouts when her children participated.
Since retirement, Pam substitutes as both a classroom and P.E. teacher in the Berlin and New Lebanon Schools. “Sometimes I voluntarily go in for a special class,” she explained. “I still love to teach square dancing. I had first graders doing the Virginia Reel and they loved it!” Folk art painting has been one of her favorite pastimes since before she retired. She enjoys sharing her passion and skill by teaching local classes. She has had 25 to 30 students over the years. “Some paint better than I do,” she shared, “and still enjoy coming to classes just because it’s fun to get together and paint with others.”
Pam married her husband, Gary, who grew up in Stephentown, on June 28, 1969. They have three children. Their daughter, Hope (Dupree), is currently an organizer and is a past school principal. She resides in Warwick, NY with her husband and their son, Hunter Loyal. Their son, Chad, is owner of CWG, an excavation business. He lives in Berlin and has a son, Cole William. Their youngest son, Jon, is a plumbing and heating journeyman and resides in Berlin with his wife and their two children, Caleb Walker and Abigail.
Although she’s busy, Pam makes sure there’s time to spend with her husband, children and grandchildren, for traveling with Gary to Florida and Myrtle Beach for a few months out of the winter and for summer trips to Maine.
The following was taken from a beautifully written tribute to Pam upon her retirement from teaching, and tells us just a little more about her. In the words of Jane Halleck, Kindergarten Teacher, Berlin Elementary School: “She spent many unpaid hours volunteering her time for the Clothe-a-child program to make sure that needy children in our community had winter clothing. She has taken kids to the dentist when their parents couldn’t afford it, she has taught other people’s kids to drive when their own parents were too frazzled to do it, and she has helped many a neighbor or elderly friend when they were in need.”
Please join us in congratulating Pam as we honor her dedication and tireless and devoted service to her students and to the community.[/private]