Miss Hanson was recognized at a banquet at the Wade school cafeteria. The Rev. Carmine Centineo gave the prayer and Rotarian Malcolm R. Holts was master of ceremonies.
Miss Hanson has been noted for her outstanding loyalty to her profession and to her many students. As her students graduated, married or went into business, Miss Hanson extended her interest and recognized individual talents. She was a friend to both the young and the old.
Rotarian Sheldon Richardson, a former teacher and now town manager of Washburn presented Miss Hanson with a plaque as "Outstanding: Citizen of 1973", on behalf of the Rotary Club. She was chosen to receive this award because of her accomplishments in the field of Education. She is the first local woman to receive this honor. Fellow teachers Mrs. Helen Haines, Mrs. Vesta Stairs and Mrs. Eva Taylor told of their work with Miss Hanson. Mrs. Taylor read a poem she wrote especially for Miss Hanson and Mrs. Haines presented her with a bouquet of roses from her daughter Mrs. Pamela Haines Hatch and family, who now reside in Germany.
Remarks were made by Marvin Tarbox, vice chairman of the School Administrative District Board, William C. Foster, former superintendent, and Wayne Harper, elementary school principal. A letter was read from school Superintendent Carleton Barnes, who was unable to attend.
Jim Clark, Rotary Club president told of his year as a student in Miss Hanson's class. Her teaching chair, which followed her from building to building and room to room, was presented to her.
Musical selections, "I Believe" and "May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You 'Till We Meet Again" were sung by Waldron Babbidge accompanied by Mrs. Susan Sands. A piano selection, "Moonlight Sonata," was played by Miss Lori Duncan.
Approximately one hundred Rotarians and townspeople attended.
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR - Miss Edna Mae Hanson sits in the chair she used for 26 years of teaching in Washburn. The chair was bought from the school department by the Washburn Rotary Club, and was presented to Miss Hanson Wednesday when she was named the town's outstanding citizen of 1973. The Rotary Club also presented her with a corsage and a plaque commemorating her 39 years of teaching: In the background are a dozen roses, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Hatch and family of Augsburg, Germany.