By Krista Tincher

Of the Tobacco Valley News

 

For the past 30 years, sweating rows of students have stared at Dave Loy’s neat columns of mathematical equations. Some with furrowed brows of perplexity, some gazing sleepily out the window in defeat — some with a dawning light of understanding in their eyes as the sequences of letters and numbers suddenly made sense.

All the while, Loy patiently repeats the rules and patterns to them, looking up from his examples with raised eyebrow and quirking half-smile to check their faces for understanding.

This is one of Loy’s languages of choice — the language that never lies — mathematics. “You can depend on it; it’s precise,” said Loy. “It (math) is not a matter of opinion.”

Loy has found great reward in teaching students at Lincoln County High School. “There are some students that absolutely enjoy learning, and to me — I really enjoy teaching them,” Loy emphasized. “When they finally really understand something, it’s like — wow!”

This was Loy’s final week as a full-time teacher: he has accepted a partial retirement. He plans to keep teaching a couple of classes next year — calculus and pre-calculus.

 

Loy spent his childhood in Columbia Falls, where he remembers summer days waterskiing on Lake Blaine with his father, weekends in Glacier Park, and baseball games. He recalls long, hot afternoons cutting weeds among the piles at the local mill to reduce fire hazards. This was his first job, at the age of 13. This job eventually led to Loy’s years as a machinist. Loy’s father and grandfather also worked at the mill, as a saw filer and a machinist, respectively.

One day while cutting weeds among the piles, clouds rolled in, and rain began to pour. Loy’s father called Loy into the dry comfort of the shop, where Loy spent the remainder of the afternoon helping his father with machinery work. Loy had taken a few shop classes, and took easily to the work. Loy said that his grandfather and father “were very good, so I learned a lot from them.” Loy gradually improved his skills to become a summertime machinist at the mill throughout high school and college.

Loy was a math major at Montana State University in Bozeman, originally intending to apply his mathematical knowledge to something research-oriented. He had always liked math from high school on. “I found out it was something I was good at,” he said. The puzzles of math are simply fun for him. “It’s an accomplishment, like sports — you beat a really good player, and you feel good,” Loy explained.

Money was tight, and Loy quit college after a couple of years. He began working at the mill in Columbia Falls year-round. During these years, he coached baseball, softball, and girl’s basketball in the Flathead area. “It got me thinking that maybe I should go back and finish my degree,” he explained. The coaching experience sparked a realization in Loy — he liked working with children. He could teach. “I enjoyed being a machinist, but I had quite a few credits in math. I thought I might as well use them.”

Loy graduated with his teaching degree in June of 1976, and immediately went to work that fall teaching junior high math, science, and physical education in Box Elder. “It was one of the toughest years I’ve been through,” Loy admitted. Loy was a minority in the reservation town, and encountered a lot of hatred. Of the 22 teachers that taught at Box Elder that year, 12 left at the end of the year. Loy was one of them. He began teaching high school math in Eureka that fall, 1977.  

Loy’s second passion is sports — in many shapes and forms. In college, he played golf and tennis. He has coached softball, baseball, basketball, football, and tennis at a variety of levels. This season he was co-coach of the girls tennis with Larry Cheek at LCHS.

“I don’t know if there’s another person who knows more about the Xs and Os of basketball than Dave does,” declared John Hammond, longtime friend and fellow coach.

Rhonda Hammond, John’s wife and fellow coach, agreed. “He could break things down. He pays attention to every little detail,” she said. “He has a brilliant mind. We’ve been very fortunate to have him at this school. He’s so dedicated to teaching and coaching.”

“He expects the most out of his students,” added John. “He’s a thinker, and he expects people around him, people in his classes to do the same.”