Freda Flint – A legend

The Northeast Vernon County R-I community has lost a legend.

Freda Flint was the brain, heart and soul of the Schell City school and eventually the Northeast Vernon County school district for many years. She began her service in the early 1950’s and continued until 2012! Freda was well known and respected for her knowledge and professionalism during her tenure as the bookkeeper and as Secretary of the Board.

Entering the Schell City district for my first year as a teacher, Freda welcomed me and assured me that she would help with any payroll or benefit task for which I might need assistance. During our conversations I noticed that she had several large ledgers laying on her desk. I would eventually learn that Freda entered all of the financial information for the district into two separate ledgers. Why? After I persisted with nosy questions about the second set of books, she would eventually admit that the large satchel she packed home each night contained an exact duplicate of the vital information that the school would need to have in the event of an unseen tragedy, such as the building burning down, tornado damage, or other natural disaster. I had watched her lug this bag home night after night but never really understood the high level of loyalty and professionalism she was packing.

For many years, all documents that passed through the superintendent’s office were in paper form. Nearly all of them were either handwritten or typed by Freda. It took many years until the first computer appeared in the superintendent’s office. During one of my teaching years in the early 90’s, I had an extra period in the day with no students. I approached Freda and the superintendent, Nancy Henke, about helping Freda with some of the administrative tasks that she was performing. After both gave me a quick nod of approval, I set out to give Freda my full support, knowing that she had been doing the job longer than I had been alive! Early on, I noticed that Freda hand-typed each envelope that was used to mail the monthly bills, paycheck, etc. Cautiously, I suggested that we try using mailing labels in lieu of all the repetitive typing. Thank goodness, Freda ecstatically approved of my suggestion! Although it was short lived. We realized that the printed checks could be formatted in the financial software program to fit into a windowed envelope –totally eliminating the need for typing or labels. I was extremely impressed that Freda let me talk her into such a venture and also that she was so very skilled at learning and using the software. In her 50+ years of bookkeeping, she went from handwriting everything to using multiple computers, spreadsheets and computer programs. It was clear that had absolutely no fear of learning new things. The faculty and staff never knew how many times she came in early or stayed late to fix issues with the payroll in order to ensure that everyone received their timely check.

Even though I have noticed a sharp decline in my own ability to remember pertinent details about some things, Freda was constantly razor sharp on items such as lengthy account codes. As a quick example, while helping her process bills, I asked about how to code the water bill. Without looking up from her work, she simply replied, “00125406335000401.”  This was the code for the water bill at the elementary school. How many 17-digit codes do MOST people memorize?

Freda didn’t hide her enthusiasm for her love of the bible, her children and her guns! Much to my enjoyment, I was able to the watch the reaction of many people when Freda expressed her intense pleasure for shooting guns. When anyone asked about her “packing heat” to school her reply was consistently, “I’ll never tell…”  She would grin widely and I could tell the visitor never really knew whether she was joking or serious.

Freda was also quick to apply her vast biblical knowledge to everyday situations. While she sometimes couldn’t recall the exact book, she usually got pretty close after a couple of guesses. Since she and I shared several username/passwords for various computer programs, I always admired that many of her passwords were scripture reference. For example, one password was “Micah6:8.” (He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God). This particular scripture is so fitting since it pretty well paints a perfect picture of Freda Flint. When not talking about the Bible or guns, Freda’s other favorite topic was her children and grandchildren. It was fun to watch her face light up whenever she talked about any of them. She frequently displayed pictures of them and told many stories about their lives. It was extremely obvious that she deeply loved her family and valued them above everything else. She traced her own family tree back to the 1200’s and earlier.

Among her many talents, Freda also was an avid reader and seamstress. It is impossible to list all of the incredible contributions that she made to our school and community in general. We spent many work days talking about her travels to the United Kingdom and other lands far from Vernon County. We frequently played music from Ireland, Scotland and from individuals that we both appreciated. This seemed to help us both maintain lower blood pressure whenever work stress crept into our office.

Freda was very much a “keeper of the peace” and did not appreciate or condone those who spoke ill of others or “stirred the pot.” The theme of acting just, loving and walking humble flowed through every one of Freda’s actions.

On occasion, Freda would come into my office with coins in her hand so that I could witness her “buying a stamp” from the school stamp jar for her personal mail. She left no door open for someone to accuse her of skimming money – even one stamp at a time! I told Freda that if I couldn’t trust her, then the whole district was in trouble.

Her office was primarily adorned with patriotic symbols. There was no doubt that Freda was way more American than Chevrolet or apple pie could even dream about! One of her very favorite memories was when her granddaughter asserted “I am an American!” at an early age.

We will all dearly miss Freda Flint. If you visit our central office at the Walker campus, be sure to stop and take note of the sign near the entrance which bears “Flint Administrative Offices.”  Freda Flint truly was a legend.

Charles Naas

NEVC Supt.