Volunteering a tradition: Beth Davisson, Silverton First Citizen

By Brenna M. Wiegand

Beth Davisson enjoys pulling a student’s leg by saying Silverton High School named its baseball field after her.  Davisson Field was named in honor of Beth’s husband Bill, who was the varsity baseball coach and a teacher at SHS for 30 years before retiring.

Several Silverton Chamber of Commerce members got one over on the Robert Frost Elementary School principal when they invaded her office with balloons, crowning her 2011 First Citizen of Silverton.

The group of Silverton Rotary Club members who nominated her praised Beth’s “lengthy history of volunteer service across many areas,” including her leadership in Rotary, where she established the club’s annual Christmas caroling visit to a local nursing home.

The kind of leader it’s a pleasure to follow, Beth has served on the boards of Silver Falls YMCA, Silverton Area Community Aid and is a member of Silverton Hospital’s Governing Board.

“We all feel the same – Beth is one of the best people we know and very deserving of this recognition,” said Rotarian Kyle Palmer. “…and she has done so without seeking – or wanting – any recognition for herself.”

The magnificent influence of her parents in setting the tenor of Beth’s life is undeniable: family, fun, education, music, community service. Amy and Larry Castle were educators – her dad a music teacher.

As for volunteerism, Amy Castle founded Silverton Senior Olympics in 1985, roping in the entire family for the next 20 years, from Beth in the announcer’s booth down to the little ones stretching the finish line tape.

“It was a big deal,” Beth said. “People came from different states including lots of master runners.”

“My dad directed the choir at church until the week he passed away at age 89,” she said. “Mom raised five kids and was a teacher her whole life. She started running at age 60 after having breast cancer and she just took off from there. She wanted something healthy that older people could do.”

Beth developed a lovely singing voice and majored in elementary education with a minor in music. She was a teacher for 17 of 32 years in education – all but two in the Silver Falls School District – prior to her first administrative post. She retires in June.

A first grade teacher for 10 years, Beth said it was intimidating to be the one who taught students to read, but she soon became fascinated at the process.

“It’s a miracle,” she said. “I just loved it when that little light bulb would go on.”

“Our school district is full of wonderful teachers working so hard and I’m very proud of our school and have such a nice staff,” she said, eyeing a bouquet of fresh tulips that had materialized on her desk. “I love to give tours of our school and I’m also able to tell them that we’ve raised four kids here, three who are college graduates.”

Bill and Beth’s “kids” live near and far: Amy is a Christian missionary in Thailand; Rachel a doctor spending her residency in Iowa; and Brett, like his dad, teaches history and psychology at SHS. Their youngest, Sarah, is a nursing student at Western Oregon University.

Last fall they received the blow that Beth had cancer. “I had to have surgery and then follow it with chemotherapy,” she said. “I made it through that experience as well as I did because of my faith in God and all the prayers and support of my family and friends.”

She recently received an “all clear” report from a CT scan; very encouraging, she said.

Principal Davisson – “Queen Beth” as she’s known by her staff and many others – was dismayed at the prospect of “abandoning” her school during treatment. However, she said, they could not have come up with a better – or more unique – solution.

Brett Davisson has his administrative license, and Silver Falls School District Superintendent Andy Bellando chose him to fill in for his mom.

“It was a great idea – we could communicate all the time,” she said. “Mark Hannan (SHS principal) was so kind about releasing him so he could do it.

“He came in here and did a great job, but I made him leave all the queen stuff up in my office because I am the queen of my school. The staff calls me Queen Beth, though I don’t know why …I do make them call me that…”

“I called her quite a bit,” Brett said, “not only to ask her questions – I had a lot of them – but also to just let her know what was going on each day. …In a way, I think me being there helped her be there.”  The ease of relaying messages helped her staff deal with her absence as Brett saw in action the things he had always heard about.

“It’s not every day that a child can fill in for their parents and find out exactly what they do and how good they are at their job,” he said. “I just tried to emulate her in how she treats people and serves her staff in helping them do a great job – which they do.”

“Beth has a welcoming and comfortable approach in working with others,” said Bellando. “She demonstrated this in every teaching and administrative position and has been instrumental in the lives of countless students and staff members. Her collaborative presence and service style of leadership will be missed at Robert Frost School (after retirement).”

For Beth Davisson, life is a song – really.

She sang with her first graders every day and has played the piano at Labish Center Community Church going on 40 years. Though she calls her guitar playing “passable,” it comes in handy when delivering one of her custom-written ballads – her trademark.

“Most of our community members have been fortunate enough to hear one of Beth’s famous serenades of her coworkers and friends,” her supporters wrote. “When longtime Silver Falls School District Superintendent Craig Roessler was awarded Silverton’s Distinguished Service Award, Beth and Linda Myers stole the evening with their entertaining ‘Ode’ to his retirement.”

“A lot of times people will just ask me to do it,” Beth said. “So I’m thinking that in my retirement I might have a singing telegram business.”

Myers,  principal at Victor Point Elementary School, said the main thing about Beth is her positive attitude and sense of humor, no matter how hard things get in education.

“She’s ridden the waves; every pendulum swing back and forth and back and forth. We all know about her crazy personality and her funny songs, but that is what is so hard to place – that eternal optimism that is Beth’s,” Myers said.

Beth plans to finish the school year strong.

…And then (besides the singing telegrams), Beth has no specific plans.

“I’ve always wanted to go on a medical mission,” she said. “And I’ll be able to play more golf with Bill.

“My husband Bill and I will be married 40 years this summer,” she said. “He has completely supported me in anything I wanted to do.”

Her friends put it well: “Beth is well known for her voice, but it’s really her lyrics that reveal the depth of respect and understanding she has for those around her and for Silverton as a whole.”

As for what she may do at the First Citizen banquet, who knows what trick she has up her sleeve? After all, she is Queen Beth.