High school dining room dedicated to Herb Custer

By Janet Hefler - June 15, 2006

With two granddaughters at his side and surrounded by family, friends, and education colleagues, Herb Custer received recognition as the first vocational director at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) in a ceremony on Tuesday. A plaque dedicating the culinary arts dining room in his name now hangs at its entrance in tribute to his work in creating, starting up, and running the high school's vocational program from 1972 to 1991.

Remarking on Mr. Custer's accomplishments, Principal Margaret (Peg) Regan told him, "It is the pride and joy of our high school to have the vocational arts program."

MVRHS administrative assistant Margaret Serpa, who was hired by Mr. Custer in 1972, recalled her work with him when he was the vocational director. "He got the program off to its start, and it became what it is because of what he gave it," she said.

"I must confess I'm very uncomfortable in accepting this honor," Mr. Custer said, with what his friends and family describe as characteristic modesty. He took a few moments to pay tribute to several former colleagues, including Pierre Hebert, the culinary arts program's chef instructor for over 10 years. "He was the heart, soul, conscience, and spirit of vocational education," Mr. Custer said of his friend, who died in 1995.

On a lighter note, Mr. Custer told everyone that he checked his pulse when he heard about the dedication ceremony, because he thought it was school policy that someone had to die before they were honored. Actually, the MVRHS committee changed the dedication policy just a few months ago at the suggestion of member Robert Tankard. "Why wait until someone dies before we honor them? We want to celebrate with them while they're alive," Mr. Tankard said at the meeting.

Reflecting on his career in a phone interview last week, Mr. Custer said, "There was never a day I didn't want to go to work." His road to becoming the vocational director began in 1969, when he started teaching math and science at the high school.

At that time, with the high school's curriculum geared towards college prep, Mr. Custer realized that many students in his classroom were unmotivated by the academic program and not interested in going to college.

After brainstorming with then Superintendent Charlie Downs and MVRHS Principal Charlie Davis, Mr. Custer helped create and start up a program called Cooperative Occupation Related Education (CORE), recruiting Island tradesmen and businessmen to employ students. The students alternated a week of school with a week of work. However, the state department of education said the program did not meet the required number of classroom hours.

Mr. Custer then took a leave of absence from the high school to complete a doctoral program at UMass. While there, he made some good contacts in the department of education and with Congressman Silvio Conti. After returning to MVRHS, Mr. Custer wrote grant applications to fund the vocational program's start-up. As he describes it, "We got some money, and away we went!"

The program started with three courses of study - culinary arts, childcare aide/nurse's aide, and horticulture.

The culinary arts program was held in the Sandpiper Restaurant in Vineyard Haven for about five years until a kitchen was built at the high school. Owner Thomas Rabbitt closed the restaurant on Labor Day, and the students began their classes there the next day, staying until the close of school, when the restaurant opened again. The nurse's aide students ran a childcare program there, as well.

Mr. Custer and the vocational program teachers built the greenhouse for the horticulture program. He spent Thanksgiving morning grouting in the window sills.

Later, building trades and then auto and marine mechanics were added to the vocational roster. "All of these programs were designed to address the Island economy," Mr. Custer said.

Some of the vocational program's projects completed under his tenure can be enjoyed today, such as the beautiful trees planted by horticulture students along Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

"We tried to work in the community to pay back the towns for their support," Mr. Custer said. He also took care to make sure the students' work did not compete with Island businesses, whose owners served on the vocational program's advisory committees.

Mr. Custer said he owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the tradesmen and businessmen who served as advisors, who not only made sure the curriculum was relevant but also donated money and materials to the program.

Retired since 1995, Mr. Custer said he sees some of his students every now and "that feels good." In looking at the Island's job options, he said, "There are only so many doctors and lawyers and teachers on the Island. There are not a lot of opportunities for people with college degrees, since it is mostly a service economy. This way, there is meaningful work and meaningful training."

When he recently built a new guesthouse, Mr. Custer said it was like a school reunion as he worked with a plumber, electrician, excavator and landscaper who were all former students.

His son John, a social studies teacher at Tisbury School, said he has met several former vocational students who told him they would have dropped out of school if not for his father. He and his wife Amy attended the ceremony with their children Maggie and Isabelle, ages 2 and 5. Mr. Custer's daughter, Jennifer McCabe, her husband Luke, and their children, Noah, Will, Amelia, and Abby, ages 10 months, 2, 5 and 7, traveled to the event from their home in Raynham.

Many educators, including several from Tisbury School, as well as James Weiss, superintendent of Martha's Vineyard Public Schools, and Marjorie Harris, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, offered their congratulations. MVRHS committee chairman Susan Parker and members Bob Tankard, Roxanne Ackerman, and Judi O'Donoghue also attended.