Alumni Hall of Fame
Service to St. Marys City Schools (2025)

Allen A. Meinerding was born in 1947 to Wes and Rita Meinerding, the eldest of six children. His parents were both from large farm families from Maria Stein, but they moved to St. Marys in 1940. His dad found work at Goodyear where the pay was 25 cents an hour or $2 a day, more than he could make on the farm. Al had five siblings and they lived on South Ash Street. Al grew up as a proud “East Ender” where kids played at Armstrong Park and held sporting contests. He said he probably received more education at Armstrong Park than he did at school! He also learned the value of putting in a hard day’s work, and learned early on that if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. Al delivered The Lima News – and had bragging rights to the biggest paper route in St. Marys that the newspaper had to offer. He also worked at Kroger while attending high school and spent summers at the paper mill during college.

Al graduated from St. Marys Memorial High School in 1965. He attended Bowling Green State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1969. In his sophomore year of high school, he was inspired to become a teacher by Emil Steva, who taught Latin. Mr. Steva was the best teacher Al ever had, and he knew at that moment that he wanted to teach as well. He learned more about English grammar in Latin class than in English class and was fascinated at learning that 60% of English words have Latin roots. He loved trying to figure out the meaning of words using his Latin knowledge.

Al was hired by the St. Marys City Schools to teach seventh grade Social Studies at McBroom Junior High School in 1969 while also pursuing his Master of Science degree in Education from Saint Francis College. He earned his Master degree in 1973. Al had a simple approach to teaching based on the “three F’s:” 1. Be firm, 2. Be fair, and 3. Be friendly. He liked to make his students think by asking questions and listening to them. He didn’t like to lecture, he sought opinions and tried to make the classroom a safe place for them to discuss ideas. He would not allow students to put other students down or make fun of them. It was very important to Al that he give each kid a chance to do as well as they can do. 

Dozens of Mr. Meinerding’s former students including his son, John, wrote in support of his nomination for the Hall of Fame. Damon Goodwin (Class of 1982) wrote that Mr. Meinerding “was one of the most interesting and effective teachers I had at any educational level. From arranging the desks in a circle in his classroom where he would engage every student, to teaching the meaning of every word of the national anthem, to having students learn the skill of reading while also listening, he was always passionate about teaching young people history but also life skills. He was fair and thoughtful but also demanding that his students exceed their own expectations. Al Meinerding was a special teacher.” 

Many former students described Al as one of the best but toughest teachers they ever had, and that they were glad for it! He was an excellent communicator, a master of classroom management who demanded the best from every student, a teacher who taught not just History but about life, and a teacher who listened and treated every student fairly. His former students wrote that he made studying more exciting by adding humor to the classroom, he encouraged and enabled them to maximize their potential and develop a strong work ethic, and he led by example, showing them that honesty and integrity were values you lived. 

Former students also describe Mr. Meinerding as someone whose impact on their life extended long after they graduated. One former student wrote that Mr. Meinerding was dedicated to “excellence, encouraging & enabling students to maximize their potential,” and that he had a “strong work ethic, mastery of the subject matter which is being taught, [and taught] students how to think for themselves, and the ability to inspire.”(Brian Brown, MHS Class of 1995) Another former student wrote that Mr. Meinerding “taught you that honesty and integrity aren’t just words in the dictionary, but are something to strive to be.” (Everage Cassidy, Class of 1989) He also said that “Mr. Meinerding was the dad we all wished we had. He was so cool with his bigger than life personality.” Ann Martin (Class of 1989) wrote that Mr. Meinerding “was tough, but fair, never played favorites with his students, everyone was treated equally in his class, and every pupil was expected to actually learn in his class.”

Al’s son, John, was also a student in Mr. Meinerding’s seventh grade class. John wrote, “These thousands of lucky students not only learned the states and capitals, the presidents of the United States, but they learned about learning. They were taught to the highest standard …. For 34 years Al got up and came to McBroom with the goal to educate the uneducated.” Al inspired his students to become educators themselves and to serve St. Marys as well, including those who are now teachers like Chad Doll, Chris Kuenning, and his son, John, as well as the current St. Marys School Superintendent, Bill Ruane.

Al’s dedication extended well beyond the classroom. In the early 1990s, McBroom Principal, New Triplett, named Al Meinerding and several other teachers such as Buz Howard and Sharon Lhamon as Jennings Scholars at Bowling Green State University. On Saturdays, they would travel to Bowling Green to listen to speakers. It was something he thoroughly enjoyed. Al also helped start and chaperone the annual eighth grade trip to Washington D.C., a popular program that is still in place today. The idea wasn’t met with enthusiasm from the school administration at first, but a new Superintendent backed the idea, and they took their first trip to Washington D.C. in 1991.

Al and other Social Studies teachers also held mock presidential elections where students were divided into separate states where they learned how the popular and electoral votes worked. He also taught students about the importance of reading the newspaper and being informed about current events. He was nominated for the St. Marys Jaycee Outstanding Young Educator award in 1974.

 Al served as a Driver’s Education instructor at Memorial High School and headed up the “Get Hooked on Fishing not Drugs” program at McBroom. There he took staff and students to the lake to teach kids how to cast and get their lines untangled. He served as the head of the Junior High Scholastic Bowl Team where he and his team brought home many awards for the school. He also sold football and basketball game tickets at events for many years and served as a General Educational Development (GED) examiner for eight years.

In his “spare” time, Al also worked as a Realtor for Wm. Klosterman Real Estate and did odd jobs painting. To this day, Al likes to stay active working by painting condominiums. Al retired in 2004 after teaching thousands of students over 34 years. He taught one year of seventh grade Social Studies, eighth grade Math, and seventh/eighth grade Physical Education at Holy Rosary Catholic School before he was rehired at McBroom Junior High School. Al married Janet Carmean in 1970, and they are the parents of six children.

For 34 years of dedicated service to St. Marys City Schools as a Social Studies teacher, mentor, advisor, and role model, for inspiring generations of St. Marys students with a strong work ethic and love for learning and history, Allen A. Meinerding is inducted into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation’s Hall of Fame for Service to St. Marys City Schools.