Sparky the Giraffe. Reigns in Marjorie Van Cleve’s class. Image: John Casper
Mrs. Van Cleve ‘s classroom: Lessons everywhere
WINONA, Minn. – Ask anybody who was ever a kid in Mrs. Van Cleve’s first grade these past 35 years, you’ll learn everything you need to know – and perhaps more — about Sparky the Weather Giraffe. For 35 years Sparky has towered seven feet over Marjorie Van Cleve’s classroom at Washington-Kosciusko grade school. Themessage on his brilliant red bib: “Keep Calm. Read Books.” Two years before Van Cleve began teaching in Winona, she was at Two Rivers. There her predecessor’s husband had created Sparky. Van Cleve asked if she could have him. “Sure.” She also received JoJo the Elephant, but he hasn’t weathered the years as well as Sparky and needs some work before coming out of retirement.
Verbatim
Van Cleve on visiting Mrs. Bjorum in a nursing home for her 89th birthday and bringing up Sparky: “I told her that she had an old friend that wanted to be there for her birthday. She was delighted.”