Keith Stockmar: The Heart of Cony
by Ashley Preshong 10/23/2023
Forty years is a long time to do anything, especially if that is forty years at the same job. Nevertheless, Keith Stockmar has done exactly that, and he does it with a smile on his face. Keith began working for the Augusta school system in 1983. Since then he has not only worked hard, he has also worked his way into the hearts of many staff and students. As Mr. Scoville, a teacher who has worked with Keith since 2014, puts it, “There's some people [sic] that are kind of replaceable. So you switch one person out with somebody else and things don't change very much. Keith has made his job so that that is not the case.”
You may ask yourself what Keith does that is so special. First of all head custodian Keith has many responsibilities vital to the school’s everyday functions. “I supervise but, I also help maintain the building. I do maintenance, I clean, I schedule events, I make sure that the school bands are taken care of and make sure in the wintertime all the walkways and driveways are plowed and safe, and whatever else needs to be done,” Keith explained when asked about his job details. However, that alone is not why he is held so dearly in the hearts of many. A repeated theme in interviews is that Keith takes great pride in the school community “kids that may be prone to getting in trouble and giving, working with them on the side and having them help him around the school” stated Mrs. Dale, another long term colleague of Keith (since the 80’s). Mrs. Dale went on to say, “he doesn't have to do those things but he just cares about kids. So he does that kind of stuff.”
Even into adulthood, Keith cares about and remembers the students that he has met over the years. A prime example of this would be Mr. Clifford, a teacher at Cony who was a Cony student from 2002 to 2006. “He still remembers what I looked like as a high school student. I had much longer hair back then. He brings it up every once in a while,” remarks Mr. Clifford. This interaction may seem small, but when you consider that Mr. Clifford graduated in 2006 and didn’t return to work at Cony until 2019, it puts into perspective how much Keith cares for and remembers each student. Even if you are not a former student of Cony, Keith’s good nature still shines through. When asked about his first impression of Keith, Mr. Davis, an English teacher at Cony, stated, “It was like my first day here and he basically said anything you need, just let me know. He was one of the first people that I actually got to know here.”
Keith is famous for one other thing besides his hard work and addictive personality, his singing. Specifically Keith enjoys singing remixes of well known songs. Whether it be a variant of “All My Exes Live In Texas”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, or something by Jimmy Buffet, Keith sings them all proudly. An excellent example of how Keith changes the lyrics of songs is Jimmy Buffet's hit song “Great Heart”. The chorus changes from "searching for the spirit of the great heart” to “searching for the long lost pile of dirt”. However, not all songs Keith sings are great hits, as some show his great pride for the school he has worked for so long. When Keith’s wife, Mrs. Stockmar, was asked what her favorite song Keith sings was, she responded that it was Ramtastic Day, a song titled after Mrs. Liscomb's (Cony’s principal) well known catch phrase meant to inspire school spirit.
After all this time it would only be appropriate for there to be some recognition of Keith and all the work that he has done for this fine establishment and all the people in it. One recognition ceremony occurred in 2023, when Mrs. Couture (a former teacher of Cony) organized a 40 year celebration party. It was during the school day, and she had gathered other staff members in a classroom upstairs with a cake and card prepared for his arrival. “They tricked me and told me that there was a blood spill in her room and I went up there to clean that up and then everyone yelled “surprise” and it was really nice,” Keith remarked with a smile.
Everyone has a point when it is time to kick up your feet and finally rest after a long life of working. Someone would be hard pressed to find a person more deserving of a happy and fulfilling retirement than Keith Stockmar. When Keith was asked if he had an idea how much longer he planned to work in the Augusta school system, Keith responded, “I want to do at least two more years.” When Keith is finally ready to get some well deserved rest, we can all agree with Mr. DeJongh (a science teacher at Cony) who put it best, “Retire, go retire. Enjoy yourself.”