I am trespassing on a2n's geocache hiding territory but it will give fellow geocachers the opportunity to hunt some of her well hid caches which are some of the most interesting and fun to find. One of my favorites is right down the path from this one so if you haven't experienced that one or any of her other clever hides that would be a good place to start. To solve this cache you will need to read a short biography of a2n's teaching career and then answer some questions to get the numbers to be used on a combination lock.
After having graduated from Algona High School in 1970 where Ann's mother was a art teacher, she enrolled in UNI to pursue a teaching degree in Art which she accomplished in the Spring of 1974. She and her mother then both traveled to Europe to research their heritage before Ann returned to Waterloo to follow in her mother's footsteps as a art instructor in 1975. Since she enjoyed the community and school district here she remained here and continued teaching in the area. She taught students (some of which I'm certain have her to thank for their interest in the field of art) at Central High School, Black Hawk, Elk Run, Edison, Roosevelt, and finally West High School. This year after some changes being proposed in the education field here she decided to accept the offer for early retirement. May 31, 2013 was a sad day for her as it signified the end of a 38 year teaching career but I'm sure there are many happy memories she has of her hard work and dedication to her students. Now she has more time to devote to her own talents as an artist and other hobbies of which geocaching is one along with biking, kayaking, camping, traveling, and gardening. And for those times when she can't be outdoors she can pursue her love of reading and learning.
Congratulations Ann on a life well dedicated to teaching others.
Now to get the combination (abcd) you will need to answer the following questions.
a. Number of schools a2n taught in during her career.
b. First number in number of years a2n spent in a classroom.
c. Recursive crossfoot of a2n's retirement date. (Sum of all digits until down to one number).
d. Middle number in zipcode of school district a2n taught in.
This cache may be being watched so don't make any sudden moves to grab it and you will be OK. There is a unpublished geocoin for the first one brave enough to take it. Please replace as found. You must sign the log book to get the smiley or risk deletion of log.