Meet your neighbor, Mel Roth, who is the Ag teacher at La Harpe High School this school year.
Mel was born and raised in Stronghurst, where he graduated in 1985. After graduating he attended Western Illinois University majoring in Ag Education. During college he worked at the Monsanto Research Farm.
Mel has had many jobs throughout his life. He has worked at CIBA-Gregy doing farm chemical research and at Henderson County Soil and Water Conservation District. Mel started teaching in 1994 at Brimfield High School where he taught for 5 years. He has also taught at Galesburg and now La Harpe.
In 1989 Mel married LaRae Roth who teaches English at La Harpe. They have 4 children, Mason 11, Grant 8, Emma 6, and Maryn 1. They also have a foster son Chris 25, who just got back from Iraq.
He and his family also attend Stronghurst Christian Church. In his spare time Mel enjoys hunting, fishing, and trapping. In fact he loves the outdoors so much for Mother's Day he took his wife to a place where they tried out kayaks on a lake. He says that she enjoyed it very much.