Middletown (Monmouth County, NJ) - It's been more than a quarter of a century since Jim Davidheiser was administrator for the Middletown School District and more than a half century since he's been a teacher in a classroom.

But sit and have a chat with him today, and you'll be treated to a lesson in history, with an impetus on local history.

Now 101 years old, Mr. Davidheiser is a resident at Care One Care Center on Route 36 in Middletown where he and his wife, Alyce shared a room until last month when Alyce passed away.

"It's difficult after being married for 74 years," the charming, vibrant centenarian explains, sadly, "we didn't talk much, but you know, you could always feel each other's presence."

The former administrator, verbose, animated, and with a memory for facts, figures, and people, can spin tales about everything from his years growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania, when he had to curry horses every morning before school, and "get my rump home for night chores" in the afternoon, to episodes on the golf course, a sport he took up only after he retired in 1975. In-between, there are stories of his early teaching days, of he and Alyce keeping their marriage a secret because she, too, was a teacher, and "in those days," they weren't permitted to be married. There are stories about his stint in the Army when he enlisted just before the Battle of the Bulge, and how the Middletown school district grew from the 1500 high school students when the school was built on Tindall Road, in 1961 to the more than 14,000 students in the district when he retired in 1975.

He's a charming conversationalist and every bit the teacher he was in earlier decades.

Born in Pottstown, Pa, about 35 miles north of Philadelphia, Mr. Davidheiser's dad was a dairy farmer, and supplemented the income from the farm doing heavy hauling for a Pennsylvania stone quarry. David was one of seven offspring, and all were expected to share the workload at home. His jobs included everything from gathering eggs from the hens to milking the cows twice a day, then lowering the milk cans into the well after the nighttime milking to keep it cool for delivery in the morning. He attended the same one room schoolhouse for his first six years of education, then another one for the 7th and 8th grades, and another for his first two years of high school. It wasn't until his junior year that the avid learner changed classes for different subjects.

With no thoughts of going to college but with an affinity for figures and accounting, David planned on working at his brother-in-law's Chevrolet dealership after high school graduation. He always admired his relative's intelligence and when he got the opportunity to go to Temple University, he eagerly took it. "And they took me without any language skills," he chuckles. There are a lot of amusing and entertaining stories about his job at the Spruce Hotel where he was a room clerk, making $5 a week and a room, while working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He then went back to college to earn teaching credits, did his practice teaching during the summer, and by fall, was able to get a job teaching. "I taught all subjects, eight classes in seven periods a day. I taught everything from shorthand to history," he laughs. "It was 1933, and I also coached the senior play and that was really good. That's where I met Alyce," he says tenderly. Alyce taught English in the higher grades, a romance followed and the couple married in 1935.

Every story connected to Alyce and their married life brings a smile to the raconteur's face and also prompts still another story. There are stories about the home they owned in Philadelphia, which included two other apartments they rented out after he built a wall to separate the staircase. "They used to have to go through one living room to get to the other apartment," he laughed. There's the story about how the couple came to Middletown after Mr. Davidheiser landed a job at Leonardo High School, now Bayshore Middle School. There are stories over the next years when he taught shorthand and typing at the school and the couple, which now had one daughter, purchased a home on Highland Avenue in Leonardo for $3500.  He was 35 years old when he enlisted during the Second World War, and though considerably older than the average draftee, "I was in the infantry, and I could do it!"

Mr. Davidheiser was secretary and business manager for the school district when the high school was built on Tindall Road in 1961, so there are heartwarming and humorous stories about the people involved so actively in the township at the time, Crof Compton, Howard Roberts, Larry Scott, Larry Carton, Bill Johnson; he ticks off names as if he's reading a Who's Who of the men and women that helped Middletown grow.

Today, he talks about the changes, not only in education, but also in how children are raised and what teachers expect. He talks about a decrease in the discipline he thinks is so necessary for education. And he talks about the memorable trips he and Alyce took during his earlier retirement year's; trips to Israel, to Greece and Turkey; always learning, always teaching others.

It was after he had a mild heart attack in the early 1970s and the doctor told him to exercise more that Mr. Davidheiser took up golf. "I never took time from work to golf," he muses, "but I sure liked it after I retired."

Today, the father, grandfather of three and great granddad of a dozen more, looks back on a happy life, a happy marriage, a happy family. He's content in his room at Care One, enjoys walking around and chatting with others, and keeps up a lively conversation in the dining room.

Looking back, does he have any regrets?

"Oh, that's a tough one," he ponders, as he rubs his chin. Then his eyes brighten, a grin sweeps across his face, and a giggle starts deep in his throat. "Well, I should have taken time off to play golf!"