If you were playing a word association game, and someone said the word ‘school’, what would be the first four words to come to your mind? Many might say teacher, student, classroom or desk. Others might give answers like chalkboard, notebook, pencil or computer. While all of these answers are correct, there are still many more words that could be associated with the idea of school. A less obvious answer might be custodian or maintenance.

One of Newton’s dedicated staff members is Norm Short, who has worked in Jasper County schools for over 30 years. One of nine individuals working in the custodial and maintenance areas, Short said, “I start over [at the elementary school] in the morning, but then I usually end up at the high school the rest of the day doing maintenance work.” He began his career as a custodian at the elementary school working the night shift, which he said was helpful because that allowed him the earlier part of his day to complete other tasks. “I used to farm a little bit. […] I didn’t mind the evening shift. You’d have a lot of time at home to do stuff before you [went] to work,” Short said. “A lot of days, when we were farming, I had about a day and a half before I showed up to work,” he added with a chuckle. Some 20 years later, Short made the move to a day shift position working mainly at the high school and, more recently, maintenance has been his primary focus.

Short said that he’s often asked what he does all summer, during the time that school is not in session. “The three months during the summer, that’s when the work begins for us. There’s stuff to do during the year, but then, really, the summer really picks up projects and stuff to get done,” he explained. Each building gets a deep cleaning and any painting or other maintenance projects that may need done will be worked on over the summer break. “Usually, you never get done, you just quit, and then school starts,” he said with a laugh.

A life-long Jasper County resident, Short grew up northeast of Newton, and then raised his family in Jasper County as well. “My daughter, she’s got two kids and they’re in the sixth grade at the grade school,” Short said. “Twins,” he added, beaming with a proud smile. In addition to his children and grandchildren, Short has, through his work, watched the children of his community grow as well. “I like to see them. A lot of them, they go through the grade school and then they change so much I hardly recognize them. […] I don’t change much, but they really change. Especially when they get into high school,” he said. Recently, Short ran into a substitute teacher at the school and was a little shocked to find out who the teacher is. “I knew him his whole life, and […] he was in substitute teaching today, and he just graduated three years ago,” he said with amusement.

There’s a special sense of community in Newton and across Jasper County, and Short attributes that to how close-knit the members of the community are with one another. “A lot of people are, you know, born and raised here. Even the teachers are not from too far away,” he said. He speaks fondly of the community’s willingness to band together when someone needs help. “You see different things, you know. Somebody needs help and they have a benefit. And there’s all kinds of people who show up, and a lot of money raised. [...] Another custodian, he had cancer. They had a benefit for him and there were a lot of people there, from the Unit and just from the community itself,” Short recalled.

Newton is more than a small town in Southern Illinois, it’s a family. Members of this community come together in times of need and celebrate their neighbor’s successes with as much enthusiasm as they would their own. And that, among other things, is what makes this place so special.