Rex Bickers (FCHS ‘70),  Guest Contributor

Ann Riddle Riedling (FCHS ’70)

Ann was my classmate. Does that give me the chance to tell you the “inside story”? There’s no dirt to dish. She was a top student and a Football Homecoming Queen. She seemed somehow more mature than other seniors. She had a number of friends already in college. So, it came as no surprise when she earned her undergraduate degree (IU Bloomington) in just three years, followed by her MLS (University of Georgia) in 1975.

Long before most of us knew what it meant, Ann specialized in online and distance learning. She began teaching in library/information sciences departments, promoting access to resources at schools – – both in well-known programs and at schools with more limited means. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville and more doors opened, especially with the Fulbright Senior Specialists program of the US Department of State. She has been awarded four separate Fulbright scholarships for setting up online and distance learning opportunities in the Middle East and Asia.

As if that were not enough, her commitment to lifelong learning didn’t dwindle with her 60th birthday. She earned a Doctorate in Theology and Christian Education from Grace Bible College in 2012 and has spent some of her time after that in hospital chaplaincy service.

Ann has one adult daughter, and she lives with her husband, Russ, in Louisville.

I asked Ann what she recalls about her years at Floyd Central.

She replied: “They were some of the happiest days of my life. I felt cared for, valued, and challenged; prepared for life by teachers who set high goals and promoted lifelong learning. High school gave me the building blocks to use in all my future endeavors. Floyd Central taught me to be confident, patient, compassionate, positive, and respectful. I will forever be grateful to our alma mater.”

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Ted Baldwin (NAHS ’94)

Ted Baldwin is currently the Director of the Science and Engineering Libraries at the University of Cincinnati. His upbringing and his high school days were only partly predictive of his eventual career path. He was equally divided between his love of science and his involvement in music. He still thinks of NAHS as a haven for students interested in the performing arts. In a curious twist, he recalls that he was rarely in the library as a high school student. “I spent so much time on the other end of the building involved in all of the performing arts,” he told me. Besides, his was a long-time reference librarian at the (recently renamed) Floyd County Library, so that was a second home for him.

After high school, he earned his undergraduate degree (double major, chemistry and music) at DePauw, followed by his MLS at IU Bloomington with a Specialization in Chemical Information designation.

At UC, he has taken on many “outside the box” responsibilities, including liaison to the Oesper Museum and Collections in the History of Chemistry. He has also led digital projects, including the UC commemorative website/digital archive for Neil Armstrong (aerospace professor from 1971-1979).

Ted continues to enjoy music as a vocation, as evidenced by numerous stints playing for regional and community musical theatre and cabaret productions in the Cincinnati area. He and his husband, Dale Sexton, have lived in Cincinnati since 2000.

I told Ted that I have always been intrigued by the overlap some people have in their fondness for music in addition to math and science. I asked him for his thoughts on that. He replied: “From early on, I was compelled to pursue a number of interests and pursue both a creative side and a more logical, structured side. I was lucky to have inspiring teachers in high school who encouraged and inspired explorations in both areas. I find a lot of similarities in how I find meaning and make sense of the world through music, the sciences and in library and information work. There’s never a dull day.”

Read the entire April 2022 Legacy Ledger (Issue 20).

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