For thousands of children since 1973, there’s been no place like their first real home away from home: Eyestone Elementary School in Wellington (Colorado).

Eyestone has also been that to its many employees, eight of whom will join Paula Cardona in seeking what lies over the rainbow for them after the school year ends May 27.

To celebrate their nearly two centuries of service to Eyestone, the Wellington community is invited to a retirement reception in the flex space from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on May 13.

“Impressive,” was the word Eyestone Principal David Sobson used to reference the group. Individually, he admitted, it will be tough to see them all go.

Linda Morrow taught at Waverly School for 13 years before putting in another 18 years at Eyestone, split evenly between teaching third and fifth grades. Morrow said she always believed her decision to become a teacher was a discovery process, but her five younger siblings would say she was teacher to them long before she became certified.

Morrow was Sobson’s teammate when he was a fifth-grade teacher.

“Linda can work with anybody and is up for anything,” he said. “She’s always looking at details and is a great communicator.”

Morrow recalled many unforgettable moments, but holds especially dear those honoring students’ successes and the memories of students and staff who have passed on.

“I have been so blessed in my career,” she said.

Morrow plans to return to the classroom, but this time as a student of astronomy, archeology, geology and art. She is also into genealogy and quilting.

Bethany Martin has been teaching first grade at Eyestone for nine years. She spent the previous 23 years in classrooms for special education, kindergarten, Title I, second grade and Headstart. Martin always loved working with children and discovered teaching was a great outlet for her creativity and passion.

One of her passions is reading. Sobson called Martin “the Reading Queen.”

“Beth reads more than anybody,” he said. “She is a lifelong learner who leads by example.”

Martin said her relationships with her students and their families are her favorite memories.

“I am honored that they allowed me to share in their lives,” she said.

Through her students, Martin intends to keep on teaching “for a long time, all over the world.”

“I hope there are children who are willing to take risks in order to make this world a more peaceful place for all,” she said. “They can and expect to make a difference.”

Karen Harvey has been teaching music for 31 years, the last three of which have been at Eyestone. She came to Wellington via LaPorte, where she taught at Cache La Poudre.

Harvey decided to become a teacher because she wanted to share the love of music with children.

“All of our students have experience with instruments, reading music notation and playing rhythm,” Sobson said. “Karen has done a great job with presentations, and she is a great teacher, teammate and coordinator.”

Harvey hopes Eyestone students will continue their music with joy.

“I will never forget a third-grade class I had that had been singing rounds,” recalled Harvey. “One day, they sang perfectly in tune. The joy in their faces when they heard the harmonies coming from the simple round…we were all so happy!”

Harvey plans on teaching piano privately in her Fort Collins home, getting back in good physical shape and enjoying family.

Gloria Weiderspon has been a paraprofessional at Eyestone for the past 40 years.

“Mrs. Wei opened this school. She knew Bob Eyestone; all the principals,” Sobson noted. He said Weiderspon was his paraprofessional when he came to Eyestone in 1992.

“It was me measuring up to her standards,” he confessed.

Weiderspon said working with students of all ages and watching them grow academically makes her day “over and over again.”

“Working with children of my classmates when I attended Wellington, and later working with their children has been so rewarding,” said the fifth-generation, self-professed farm girl. “I loved the rural atmosphere and working with students who have their priorities in the right place.”

Hoping to leave behind a legacy of showing respect for teachers, parents and students, Weiderspon is not really leaving. She intends to continue at Eyestone as a volunteer in between driving the tractor and branding cattle, reading and fishing, and making trips to Montana, Nebraska and Minnesota.

Mahala McDaniel has been Eyestone’s kitchen manager for 30 years.

“Mahala knows the staff and the kids,” Sobson said. “She’s consistent and flexible. She’s always giving extra time to our reading nights and chili suppers, but not always knowing what to expect. The first writing night, we had no idea. Mahala filled the freezers with leftover (Subway) sandwiches stacked like cordwood.”

Over the years, “the warm feeling” that children are fed is what has fueled McDaniel. Her treasured memory is seeing the second generation coming through the lunch line. She believes part of her legacy includes barbecuing on Field Day and serving parents at Thanksgiving.

“I hope children will remember the good food they had in school,” she said.

After three decades in the kitchen, McDaniel has set her sights on traveling.

“I want to see more of Colorado, go to Yellowstone, and go back east to see family and visit Maine again,” she said.

Janice Glenn has been a fixture in the media center for 27 years. She started at Eyestone when her youngest child started kindergarten.

Sobson said one can’t be around Glenn and not be uplifted.

“She laughs at all my stupid jokes,” he said. “She is so upbeat, positive. Janice has a great manner with kids.”

Glenn hopes students learn to love reading and will keep on reading.

“Eyestone is such a great place to work. I love all the great things kids do and say,” she said. “Every day is different. You never know what they will come up with.”

Her retirement plans include a lot of rest, relaxation and family time. She will also be available to “sew, sew, sew” for others.

Cathy and Don Delehoy have been married for 23 years. Cathy has been a bus driver for the past decade, and Don a custodian at Eyestone and Rice for six years.

When asked to comment on the Delehoys, Sobson said, “These two are so great together, we shouldn’t separate them. They are great on their own, of course, but I think of them as a pair.”

Cathy agreed.

“We both lost our spouses years ago,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have found each other; to have love and happiness the second time around.”

Spending more time together and with family tops their to-do list, along with traveling, camping and fishing.

Sobson described Don as “personable, a great guy who is always attentive to what people need.” He called Cathy “a steady Eddie on the bus who runs a tight ship, with a great laugh and good energy.”

For Cathy, post-retirement will be flooded with memories of hugs, excitement and a little fear on little faces.

“(The best was) being able to put that fear aside and watching them light up and grow,” she said.

Don won’t soon forget the challenges of the setting up and taking down process for after-school activities.

“All staff has always been wonderful to work with,” he said.

That statement was echoed by every retiree, who reiterated they will miss Eyestone more than they will be missed.