2015 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine Lincoln Daily News.com March 26, 2015 43
By now it’s evident how Allen has impacted the lives
of so many farm families in the farming community
that is central Illinois. There is yet another family that
really has a connection with Allen. That family is the
Maske family.
Allen was familiar with the Maske name because of
the wrestling rivalry between the two families back
in the day. Allen also gives credit to Bob Maske for
guiding him to Mount Pulaski, following that phone
call he made twenty-four years ago. “We knew that
family for a long time and we hated them on the
wrestling mats,” Maske laughed. On the mats, Allen’s
brothers Guy and Earl wrestled Mike and Bill Maske,
but in the classroom, Allen has had their kids: Katie,
Sally, Thomas, Austin and Audrey.
Thomas Maske, a 2004 graduate of MPHS, is now
a veterinarian in South Bend, Indiana. Wrestling
history aside, this generation of the Maske family calls
Allen “a great guy.” “Mr. Allen, aside from being a
wonderful person, was and is a phenomenal teacher.
He has the great ability to relate to students, identify
and build upon their strengths, and push them to
achieve their goals. I have benefitted immeasurably
from his teaching and guidance and can attribute
so much of what I am today from those skills
and qualities that were instilled in me at such an
impressionable period of my life,” says the younger
Maske.
Finally, Allen has been able to make an impression
on his own children, as he has had each of his three
daughters in class. His oldest daughter, Hannah, is a
senior at the U of I majoring in Biology and minoring
in Secondary Education. Middle daughter, Rachel,
is a sophomore at the U of I majoring in Speech and
Hearing Science.
Meanwhile, the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, is a
senior at MPHS and she is undecided between the U
of I and Purdue for her choice of studies. However,
she has decided there are a lot of benefits to having
Dad as a teacher. “One of the reasons I am so
involved and successful in FFA is because of him. He
got me started on the science fair project, record book
projects and the various contests. It’s nice to have
him at home as well for whenever I have a question
or need help with my projects. He has also really
encouraged me to start my future career in agriculture.
There are so many jobs and opportunities in that field
that I would have never known about without the
opportunities he has given and shown, not just me, but
every student he teaches,” offered Elizabeth.
Maybe someday Ralph will have one more Allen
child to teach agriculture to at MPHS. Son Walker is
in fourth grade at Carroll Catholic in Lincoln, where
mom, Lori, is a Math and Science teacher to fifth
through eighth grade students.
It is worth mentioning that for a brief period of time
in his teaching career, Allen had left Mount Pulaski to
teach at Lincoln Land Community College and then
Williamsville before finding his way back to Mount
Pulaski. According to his wife, Lori, “He left Lincoln
Land Community College because he missed the daily
interaction with the high school students.” She went
on to say, “Returning to Mount Pulaski was partly
due to being able to have his children in class, but
also because we love the communities of the Mount
Pulaski School District.”
Mr. Allen built the strong ag program the school
needed and students love today to a full-time position.
Today, Mr. Allen is sure to go down in school history
as one of the best teachers ever. It’s evident the love,
respect and admiration for Mr. Allen and his family is
mutual.
Story by Teena Lowery
