Mr.Roth taught at Mastbaum AVT High School from 1968 - 1990. He also attended Evening School here in 1947 as a cabinet maker apprentice. He died in 2003.
Mr. Roth was my shop teacher for my Junior and Senior years at Mastbaum. He was my favorite teacher. I always looked forward to his class. Going to his class never felt like work. We did several projects around the school some in the class curriculum and some outside of the class curriculum. The senior year project was building a house on the roof of Mastbaum. The foundation was there from previous classes. This still stands out in my memories of Mastbaum. Twenty “hot to trot” 17 year old boys lugging 100 2x4’s up seven flights of stairs to the roof. Two boys at each floor passing the boards up the stairs in September, than taking them down seven flights of stairs in May. I used this for the basis of every project I work on at my house. Plan, draw a blue print of the job, analyze what needs to be done, order the materials and tools, execute the plan. Once the project is completed analyze what can be done better for the next project. I always felt Mr. Roth was Superman being able to tackle any project big or small. I think his main goal in teaching was to have every student of his graduate, be able to get a good paying job and work safely until we retire. I admired Mr. Roth on a personal level also. He must have been able to do 100 pushups at a time. He often wore short sleeve shirts, when he lectured he would flex his muscles. I don’t know if he wanted to show the muscles he had, but it was always a goal on mine to have my veins bulge out of my forearms like his. This reminded me more of the Incredible Hulk than Superman. After graduating from Mastbaum, Mr. Roth tutored me and a friend of mine Kerry Bluestein, to sit for the Carpenters Union exam. We both passed the first time taking the test. Two years later Mr. Roth wrote a very nice college recommendation letter for me when I was accepted to Penn State. Now, being a parent, my daughters were in the high school drama club and I helped build sets with the stage crew. This gave me a real appreciation for Mr. Roth. Thirty hot to trot teenagers all scrambling around room with their own vision of what they need to do. It was hard for me to coach the students and not do the work. At the end of the day, I sat in my car thinking “how did Mr. Roth ever handle that stress?” After that experience, I wanted to personally thank Mr. Roth. I never had that opportunity. I think I can say for every student he taught our lives are better because of him. Rest in peace my friend, Rest in peace.
Kathleen Gerold (Lawrence) (1972)
Mr.Roth taught at Mastbaum AVT High School from 1968 - 1990. He also attended Evening School here in 1947 as a cabinet maker apprentice. He died in 2003.
Barbara Walker (La Rue) (1959)
Mr. Roth was my shop teacher for my Junior and Senior years at Mastbaum. He was my favorite teacher. I always looked forward to his class. Going to his class never felt like work. We did several projects around the school some in the class curriculum and some outside of the class curriculum. The senior year project was building a house on the roof of Mastbaum. The foundation was there from previous classes. This still stands out in my memories of Mastbaum. Twenty “hot to trot” 17 year old boys lugging 100 2x4’s up seven flights of stairs to the roof. Two boys at each floor passing the boards up the stairs in September, than taking them down seven flights of stairs in May. I used this for the basis of every project I work on at my house. Plan, draw a blue print of the job, analyze what needs to be done, order the materials and tools, execute the plan. Once the project is completed analyze what can be done better for the next project. I always felt Mr. Roth was Superman being able to tackle any project big or small. I think his main goal in teaching was to have every student of his graduate, be able to get a good paying job and work safely until we retire. I admired Mr. Roth on a personal level also. He must have been able to do 100 pushups at a time. He often wore short sleeve shirts, when he lectured he would flex his muscles. I don’t know if he wanted to show the muscles he had, but it was always a goal on mine to have my veins bulge out of my forearms like his. This reminded me more of the Incredible Hulk than Superman. After graduating from Mastbaum, Mr. Roth tutored me and a friend of mine Kerry Bluestein, to sit for the Carpenters Union exam. We both passed the first time taking the test. Two years later Mr. Roth wrote a very nice college recommendation letter for me when I was accepted to Penn State. Now, being a parent, my daughters were in the high school drama club and I helped build sets with the stage crew. This gave me a real appreciation for Mr. Roth. Thirty hot to trot teenagers all scrambling around room with their own vision of what they need to do. It was hard for me to coach the students and not do the work. At the end of the day, I sat in my car thinking “how did Mr. Roth ever handle that stress?” After that experience, I wanted to personally thank Mr. Roth. I never had that opportunity. I think I can say for every student he taught our lives are better because of him. Rest in peace my friend, Rest in peace.
David Vandenburg Class of 1977