If you ever hear a person talking about goats, Caprisun, white Monsters, or the New York Rangers, chances are it is Mr. Plummer, the assistant band director here at MHS. Plummer started teaching at MHS in 2016 after a couple of short stints at other schools, he found a home at Muscatine High School.
“When Mr. Heid (head band director) kind of texted me out of the blue that I should apply for the job (at MHS), I applied and then got it,” Plummer explained.
Plummer and his wife moved to her family’s farm in Dubuque, Iowa a few years back. Leaving Plummer with nearly a two-hour drive each morning. Although rough, Plummer truly enjoyed teaching in Muscatine and was willing to make that sacrifice. But in April, a job opened up in Dubuque for a head band director job, after interviewing, Plummer did get the job.
“I am gonna miss the kids the most and being around everyone, and all of the cool stuff we have because we have a lot of it, like all of the samba stuff,” Plummer said.
After marching band season is over, Plummer has another activity to direct, jazz ensemble. It is an audition group that will compete at different competitions in Iowa. Looking back on his time at MHS, he says that some of his greatest memories came from teaching jazz ensemble.
“The coolest moment was when we made Iowa Jazz Championships two times and both of those were very cool because it is very hard in our part of Iowa to make it,” Plummer said.
Being in Mr Plummer’s band was always a blast. While we did play music, Plummer also liked to teach the band some life lessons. Like to always get the snow out of your tire well before you start driving. He loved to talk about his goats, especially Lil Butters.
“I’ve spent a lot of time here. I started as a relatively new teacher and not knowing a ton but now I’m a lot more confident teaching,” Plummer said.
My favorite thing about having him as a teacher was always having someone to talk about hockey with. You don’t always find a lot of hockey fans in eastern Iowa, but Plummer made his love for hockey known. As a band program, we are very excited for Mr. Plummer and we will miss him immensely, and can’t wait to see him at some marching band competitions.
