AMESBURY — Friday marked the last time that Peter Hoyt would walk through the Cashman Elementary School doors as principal, and he walked out with two trash bags full of potato chips.
"It's no secret that I love potato chips," Hoyt said. "In the bottom right-hand drawer of my desk, I always have chips. Some people say 'An apple a day ... ', well, a potato chip, or more, a day, really worked for me."
And though the stereotype is that students dread going to the principal's office, on the day of his retirement party, each student came by Hoyt's office with a bag of Lay's Potato Chips as a tribute to a man many refer to as an "Amesbury icon."
"Peter is certainly a legend in our community — he's Mr. Amesbury," Superintendent Charles Chaurette said.
As he packed up his belongings, Hoyt took a trip down memory lane, remembering stories just as unique and poignant from his 30 years in education.
"I've collected lots of mementos during each period of my educational life," Hoyt said. "With every piece of paper, every photograph, there's a story."
Hoyt first started teaching in Exeter, N.H. He came to Amesbury as a fourth-grade teacher at Amesbury Elementary, before moving on to the Cashman School as a third- and fourth-grade teacher. In 1985, Hoyt won the Amesbury Rotary Club Educator of the Year award.
His first administrative role was as administrative supervisor to David Shaw at AES. For four years, he split his day teaching and working as the language arts coordinator for the district, which is when he caught "the bug" for administration. Hoyt was selected by AMS Principal Raymond Tiezzi to be his assistant, which he did for three years. He served as principal at Proctor School in Topsfield for two years, before then-Superintendent Stephen Gerber invited him back to Amesbury Public Schools, where he has served as principal of CES for the last 13 years.
"I have wonderful memories of Cashman," Hoyt said. "Working with the children, parents, staff and administration — the support I've enjoyed from each of those groups has been so greatly appreciated and made this such a wonderful ride."
During his time at CES, Hoyt left quite the legacy, including the 2000-2001 renovation of the school, which came in on schedule and under budget. He started the infamous Chat and Snack and Woodsom Walkers programs, and starred on a show for public access televison.
"I always found working with children to be so fulfilling," Hoyt said. "That's why I'm in education."
Hoyt's numerous contributions to the school were lauded in celebrations leading to his retirement, including the CES retirement party, where teachers Marjorie Taft, who served in the Amesbury school system for 20 years, and Janet Claffey, who served 34 years, were also honored.
"I'll never be able to sufficiently thank my colleagues and the Amesbury Public School system, specifically my Cashman family," Hoyt said. "This has been the ride of a lifetime, and I'm incredibly humbled by the expressions of thanks and support that have been shown to me."
Parents and students honored him with dedications including a square on the second-grade's Amesbury A-Z poster, a bird gazebo and footstone for the outdoor habitat, a John Greenleaf Whittier framed picture with poetry, and three Adirondack chairs for the school.
Hoyt said that the frosting on the cake was a special Woodsom Walkers surprise. He was unable to do last week's program, in which he takes eight to 12 students on a half-hour walk to Woodsom Farm, due to rainy weather, so he squeezed it in Thursday morning.
"I left the building and I heard this voice. As I was rounding the building, Robin Ward was standing there with a bullhorn, informing me that the whole school was coming!" Hoyt said. "As a school community, we circled the pond at Woodsom, holding hands, and had a moment of silence there at the pond. You could see the reflection of each student in the water — it was really beautiful."
During his last week, Hoyt did a lot of reflection, but he is looking forward to a new chapter of his life. He said retirement will give him an opportunity to spend more time with his family, including his wife, Patty, his son who lives in Los Angeles, his daughter and son-in-law, as well as his three grandchildren.
Hoyt was elected to be on the Amesbury Educational Foundation, Inc. board, and will begin serving on the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center Board of Directors in September, where Patty served as president for two terms. He also is looking forward to sleeping past 5:30 a.m. and making time for his hobbies, which include music and singing, walking, reading and traveling.
"Oftentimes when one retires, things have a way of finding us," Hoyt said. "A lot of people have been asking what I plan to do in retirement, and I'll answer, 'not much, quite frankly.'"
And while Hoyt winds down from his career, Mary Louise "Lou" Charette is gearing up to take over as CES principal in the fall.
"I hope I'll be able to live up to the very high standards that Peter Hoyt has set," Charette said.
And as he walked out of Cashman Elementary School, with his two garbage bags full of potato chips, Hoyt left as big an impact on Amesbury as the students did on him.
"I can walk out with my head held high, knowing that I left things in as good a shape as I can. If I could re-live my entire professional career, I wouldn't change a thing," Hoyt said. "I'm probably the luckiest man alive."
