My High School History Teacher David Dziuk

Photo by Dave Dziuk

By Stan Rolfsrud
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He was just about as controversial as you could get in a small town. What he was trying to do was to make you think for yourself, but not everybody understood that, so you'd hear some things around town about that "communist" Dave Dziuk with unnatural views that definitely needed to be examined. He was also a known Democrat, which gave rise to even more suspicion in our household.
That would have delighted him.

Click to enlarge and read this.
Thanks to Tom Obert for making the
pictures from the Memorial materials.

He once stood before his history class and proposed that women must be inferior to men, because you can't name a single famous female composer or painter, "can you, . . . and Grandma Moses doesn't count." This statement visibly angered many of his students, but he just wanted them to think and understand about how important expectation and opportunity are to achievement. (He was an honorary member of the Alexandria League of Women Voters.)
Everyone should be able to use the expensive new gymnasium whenever they want, he proclaimed, because everybody has to pay for it through taxes. "It's not exclusively for just 10 athletes in shorts to run around. You can just go play there any time you wish, after all, it's public property, right?"
These statements were doubtless retold that evening by students at the family dinner table, lending ever more support to the Dziuk mythology.
He was my Sunday School teacher too, in about tenth grade. We sat in the basement of First Lutheran and studied a lot more than the 23rd Psalm. He was more interested in the meaning of life and what other people thought about it. My favorite moment, of course, came after I had made some comment and he responded boldly, "You know, Rolfsrud, that was pretty good. You're not as dumb as you look."

He died at 90, a member of the greatest generation. I had no idea that he had served early on in the Pacific when the going was very rough. He emerged as a staff sergeant, a true freedom fighter, protecting the right to free thought and assembly the hard way for himself and for the rest of us.
He taught thousands of Alexandria children over the years, until his multiple sclerosis stopped him in 1974. But he continued to inspire his students, many would come by his rest home for a chat and a challenge. He loved to talk politics and he wanted to know yours.
He wasn't going to let MS beat him, I remember waiting at the end of the hall at the Bethany Home a few years back as he huffed and struggled through a difficult exercise regimen up and down the hall, twice.
A memorial service was held for Mr. Dziuk in Alexandria this week. Here are some comments from students:

Paul Donley writes:
I attended the Dave Dziuk funeral at First Lutheran today. It was a beautiful service and a nice tribute to Dave. His oldest son gave a lengthy but very interesting eulogy. Dave was from a family of 14 children. They were a very poor farm family living near Foley. Six of the children became teachers, two became pharmacists, one a writer for the Mpls Tribune. I'd call that a pretty high achieving family. Dave's son told many stories about the family and their parents. The luncheon after the service was catered by Rudy's Red Eye Grill and featured some of Dave's favorite foods. I would guess there were maybe 75 to 80 people attending. I'm glad I had the opportunity to go as Mr. Dziuk is one of my all time favorite teachers…

Sara Stone Johnson writes:
Thanks, Paul for your tribute to Dave and the description of his service. Dave was the only teacher in my career who gave me a C. I asked him about it at our 40th (?) high school reunion, and he said, "did you deserve it?". I said, "yes, I guess so". I did better the next semester. Guess he knew I could do better. My dad really enjoyed visiting with Dave. They both loved history!
Very interesting to hear of his early years. You never wonder about things like that when you're in school with them.
Thanks everyone for sharing. A great man has left us with only our memories.

Kathy Aga Lee writes:
I, too, want to thank everyone for commenting on Mr Dziuk and his service. When a man like Dave Dziuk dies it's like a library burning to the group. Also want to add that Sara Stone getting a "C" makes me feel better about myself.

Barbara Kloehn Pyle writes:
Sad to hear of “Mr. Dziuk’s” passing, but I celebrate the gifts of knowledge and wisdom which he shared with so many of us. Don’t laugh, but – after all the Dynasty history - I actually remember his lectures on the Kuomintang (or Nat’l People’s Party – in China) . . . and with the modern rise of Chinese power today, I often wondered what Mr. Dziuk’s ‘take’ on that was. I considered him to be a virtual Chinese expert . . I also thought that he honored his high school classes by using a college-seminar-style of teaching.