Courtesy Photo Richard Matteson, currently a member of the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District Board of Education, is seen having a cup of coffee in a restaurant. He turned 90 on May 9.

ALPENA — Both an educator and active community member, Richard Matteson turned 90 on May 9, but is still working in the education field after all these years.

Matteson was a faculty instructor at Alpena Community College for 29 years, and continued to serve as a board member for Alpena Public Schools for six years. He is currently on the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District Board of Education.

His historical and civic knowledge gained through college and his years of teaching experience allows him to stay current with U.S. and world affairs, in which he is quick to share his knowledge with those around him.

“Richard has had a positive impact on many lives, both in the classroom and as a longtime member in our community,” said his wife, Barbara Matteson, who also works in the educational field at APS. “His notion of always being able to educate someone or people around him has kind of been a benefit throughout his life, and he still does it.”

When he got out of the U.S. Air Force, Richard Matteson came home and attended classes at ACC and was part of the college’s second graduating class in 1956. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Michigan State University.

“Once I got started in education in the 50s, I never got away from it,” he said. “I love it, and the amazing thing is I have seen so much change. I can remember spending hours in the library on my graduate degree just looking for the little information I’d need that you can find now in less than five minutes.”

Richard Matteson taught in Rochester, New York for a few years before moving home again for the job at ACC.

An Alpena High School graduate himself, Richard Matteson was quite the joker.

He said his dad would drop him off at the front door of the school and he would go in and walk out the back door. Sometimes, he’d end up going downtown to get some ice cream, or hitchhike to as far away as Detroit to watch a hockey game.

He said he remembers his principal telling him that no student could get away with anything in the classroom, as he had already done it.

Over the decades, Richard Matteson has had to learn to adapt to the changing times, something he describes as another learning experience in his life.

He said that, besides continuing as an AMA-ESD board member and being a lifelong learner, he is considering learning Spanish.

“You have to work at things and keep your mind active,” he said. “I think you just have to roll with the times, because it’s going to change.”

Meakalia Previch-Liu can be reached at 989-358-5680 or mprevich-liu@thealpenanews.com.