Coming out of room G-1 at Rancho San Justo Middle School is a
familiar sound. The swirling horns and banging drums seep from the
building. Standing in front of the almost 50 students with brass
horns and white drums is Joe Ostenson, or
”
Mr. O
”
as he is affectionately called. He has been there for nearly 45
years, influencing many students’ lives, but at the end of this
school year Mr. O is saying goodbye.
Coming out of room G-1 at Rancho San Justo Middle School is a familiar sound. The swirling horns and banging drums seep from the building.
Standing in front of the almost 50 students with brass horns and white drums is Joe Ostenson, or “Mr. O” as he is affectionately called. He has been there for nearly 45 years, influencing many students’ lives, but at the end of this school year Mr. O is saying goodbye.
The towering man with broad shoulders, big glasses, gray hair and a pencil-thin mustache seethes with musical passion but he realizes after 45 years of teaching, it is enough.
“It’s time,” Ostenson said. “The eyes don’t work quite as well. The back doesn’t work as well. It’s time to get out so I can still do some things.”
Ostenson, 68, has been through many changes, including the Cold War, the rapid growth of Hollister and now the recent budget cuts, but he always has stuck with it because it perpetually has been about the kids and the family, he said.
Over his 45 years, Ostenson has taught entire families, from parents to their kids. Ostenson has left a musical mark on many, including Hollister native Laura Cavanaugh. Ostenson taught her two kids from 1996 to 2003, Cavanaugh said.
“Our relationship began with a mutual love of music that has evolved from teacher to mentor to friend, and finally, into something more like a family,” Cavanaugh said in an e-mail. “The best part is that our story is only one of hundreds that are just the same.”
Eighth-grade student Breanna Alosi knows first hand what kind of effect Ostenson can have on a family. Years ago, both of Alosi’s parents were students under Ostenson. Now, Alosi has learned from him for the past three years.
“He is like my music grandfather, my mentor and my teacher,” Alosi said. “It’s going to be really sad – band won’t be the same without him.”
He takes pride in those families who have kept coming back through the years.
“It’s got to be the greatest compliment a teacher could ever have,” Ostenson said. “to have their kids come back because of the positive things that they had when they were going to school.”
Ostenson has nurtured the musical ambitions of thousands of kids, turning the San Justo-Maze band into a Hollister tradition that has won hundreds of awards, whose trophies line the walls of room G-1.
For the full story, see the Pinnacle on Friday.
