Hail to the Chief
(Leon Seneker)

Mr. Leon Seneker. 

  
Photo taken from the CHS 1960 yearbook.  

Written by 
LeRoy Walls
Cabool Class of 1962 
 

It was the last Friday of the month and my drafting class had quit early so we could cook hot dogs. Our drafting instructor, Mr. Leon Seneker (we called him “Chief”), not only allowed the hot dog day but even encouraged it. It was our reward for finishing our work on time. Besides mixing in some fun with his teaching, we were indirectly learning how the use of simple electrical concepts could turn an Industrial Arts shop project into an effective hot dog cooker.

This memory brings to my mind an image of “Chief”. He has his sleeves rolled up and is wearing his usual tan slacks. With his semi-unruly hair and looking like he is about to break into a smile, or laugh right out loud, his image and this person I knew as “Chief” are ones I will never forget.

At Cabool High School Mr. Leon Seneker was my teacher for two years of Woodworking and one year of Drafting. The skills learned have been helpful to me in my work at Woodpro Cabinetry. Besides this I also learned about life from Chief Seneker. I’ve never forgotten what he told us one day when he said, “At least once in your life you should be in business for yourself.” Chief Seneker had owned a pool hall for a while. He felt the lessons experienced by ownership responsibility could never be fully learned from a book or in a classroom.

Despite Chief’s usual jovial nature, he could stop you in your tracks with his piercing words. You squirmed when he got serious, explicitly stated your actions and told you how these should be beneath someone like yourself. (Of course, this is just second hand information and I never got the opportunity to personally experience being on Chief’s hot seat! Right!)

The jury is still out on whether Chief Seneker actually planned the big skip day in May of 1961. It is a fact that perhaps the largest number of kids in Cabool’s history skipped school that day and went to Noblett Lake. It is also true that the biggest number of parents in Cabool’s history visited the High School the next day to ask that their normally reasonable child be admitted back into High School. (That day represents the only time that my father went to the Principal’s office.) Whatever the facts and speculations are of Mr. Seneker’s involvement, I suspect that under oath Chief Seneker might recall making an “innocent” statement like, “I wonder what would happen if everyone went to Noblett Lake one day instead of going to school?” But no one I know would ever say that Chief’s statement was “premeditated”.

To the students of Cabool, and later of Salem, Mr. Leon Seneker taught his subjects well. He was a favorite teacher at both schools. He challenged us and gave us a fine example of how one can have a good time while having a productive journey through life.

Chief, I have carried through my life many of the things you taught me. I continue to value your friendship. Please know how important you are to me. 

7/1/2007