Meet Your Neighbor Byron Helt of Ft. Madison, Iowa.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Susan Galbraith Quill Reporter
Meet Your Neighbor Byron Helt of Ft. Madison, Iowa.
Byron is a new staff member at West Central Junior High in Stronghurst. He is the 8th grade life sciences and social studies teacher.
He was born and raised in Ft. Madison, Iowa.
In 2002 he graduated from Ft. Madison High School and went on to Southeastern Community College, West Burlington, Iowa, to receive his associate of arts degree. In the fall of 2008 he graduated from Western Illinois University, in Macomb, with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education with endorsements in science, social studies, and language arts.
His parents are Gary and Carol Glasgow and Chuck Helt. Gary and Carol live in West Point, Iowa. Gary is employed at Climax-Molybdenum in Ft. Madison, Iowa, and his mom, Carol, is retired. His dad, Chuck, lives in Burlington, Iowa.
A sister, Brandy, is a substitute teacher in the Ames, Iowa, school district and a brother, Bronson, is a sophomore at Iowa State in Ames.
Byron enjoys playing softball, fishing, watching football, baseball and spending time with family and friends.
Cooking is one of his favorite things to do. He said, "I love cooking pasta and Italian dishes and also enjoy grilling."
A special memory he has was when his mom and step-dad lived in England for two years while Gary was employed there.
Byron, his brother and sister traveled to England 5 times and toured England, Spain, Holland, Italy and Ireland.
While in Ireland his family rented a van and traveled around the Ring of Kerry located on the southwest coast.They stopped at 5 different small towns as Byron said, "To soak up the culture."
When he was in Rome he saw the Trevi Fountain which is one of the most elegant and artistic huge fountains in the world. The word "Trevi' is a corruption of two Italian words tre vie, three streets, referring to the streets that converge at the fountain. The story is that everyone who comes to Rome wants to ensure a return visit. Therefore, everyone participates in a tradition: to throw a coin into Fontana di Trevi. There is a method to the coin toss: stand with your back to the fountain, with the coin in your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder. Not only will you return to the Eternal City but you will be doing good works as well; the coins are periodically collected and donated to the Italian Red Cross. The coin toss has its roots in the early days of Christianity; pilgrims, leaving Rome, would place a coin on St. Peter's Tomb.
When asked what he liked about being at West Central he remarked, "The staff is fabulous and kind to work with and the kids are great!