Principal Jim Lahti retires

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

June 3 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

IN the past 35 years, the Bemidji School District has seen many changes -- seven superintendents and thousands of students have come and gone and nine new schools have been added. But during that time there has always remained one constant -- Principal Jim Lahti.

The Lahti era will come to a close in two weeks, however, as he retires having served as principal of Northern Elementary School for 14 years and principal of Central Elementary for 20.

On Friday, the last day of school, the 443 children of Northern Elementary held a goodbye celebration for him, brining Lahti to the brink of tears several times.

Grade by grade, the students stood in front of the congregation and read well-wishing poems, letters and cards made for his retirement. One grade led a cheer in which they assigned an adjective to each of the letters in his last name. "'L' is for leadership; 'A' is for achievement; 'H' is for hard worker; 'T' is for teacher' and 'I' is for intelligence."

Prior to the 70-minute celebration Lahti had said, "Maybe I should put on my sunglasses so they can't see my tears."

Lahti's first job as an educator was in the Hibbing School District, where he taught sixth grade for five years, and prior to that he went to school at Virginia Community College and the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He also served a two-year stint in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s.

He was hired in Bemidji as a principal at Central School in 1963 -- a time when Lincoln, J.W. Smith and Central were the only elementary schools in town. And now, Lahti will officially end his employment with the district June 20 at a retirement celebration at the Northern Inn.

One year shy of 40 years in education, he had said he just knew it was "time to move on," in an interview in May.

Lahti, who has been described as loyal to the district and a team player, said he has been through the good and the bad times with the district, and yet he still believes the kids who attend Bemidji receive a good education.

"The Bemidji School District has been exciting over the years. It's had its ups and downs, but the (district employees) certainly have the best interests of the kids in mind," he said, sitting behind his desk covered with trinkets from the last 34 years. "My own two kids have went through this school district, and they've just blossomed in the world because of the education they got."

Always having the desire to stay in northern Minnesota, he said Bemidji was a logical choice to call home for him. In fact, most of his life outside of his career revolves around the outdoors, including hunting and fishing.

"I'm a little bit of a jack pine savage, you know," he said, with his Finnish accent sneaking through. "It would have taken an awful lot to get me to leave."

Coming from a family of teachers -- his sister and mother -- Lahti said he always knew he would be in education, especially elementary education, which he compares to roots of a tree. "No matter how big and complicated the top of the tree gets, it needs a good, firm set of roots to support it," he said.

As the day draws near that he walks out of Northern School never to return again as the boss, he said he knows he'll miss it, but he is happy to note he will not be completely out of touch with education. He plans to work part-time with Bemidji State University's education department, supervising student teachers.

Then in a couple of years when his wife retires as the station manager of KAWE-TV, they plan to be snowbirds.

"I've had degree of success, I guess. I'm still here. ... I must be doing something right," he said.