Ingeborg Hallden
Born in New Haven, the oldest of six children of Swedish immigrant parents Ingeborg (Lind) Hallden remembers that she could not speak English when she began school at the age of five but came home from school and began teaching her parents English. After attending Hillhouse High School for three years, Inge'1s family moved to Branford when she was sixteen, and in 199 she graduated from Branford High School, then on Laurel Street, with the graduation ceremony itself held in the new high school, presently John B. Sliney School.
In 1931, the last ear of the two-year diploma pro gram, Inge graduated from New Haven Normal School and immediately began her teaching career in Branford with a fifth and sixth grade class at Harbor Street School. There she taught for two years until her marriage to Arthur Hallden. While their three daughters, Joan, Judy, and Janet, were small, Inge often had the opportunity to substitute.
With a scarcity of teachers in 1944, Superintendent Pinkham prevailed upon her to return to the classroom. The offer of a combined first-second grade at the Old Short Beach School was a temptation that was only heighten by Pinkham' s observation that her refusal would mean that her daughter would not have a teacher.
After three years in Short Beach, Inge was named Teaching Principal of the Old Indian Neck School, which contained mainly combined-grade classes and which she recalls as "a treasure parents, teachers, and children were like one big family." In 1944, with the support of her husband and daughters, Inge registered in a degree program at New Haven State Teachers College and, after seven years of part-time classes, received her bachelor's degree in 1951. That same year Inge was named principal of the New Indian Neck School, then the largest elementary school in Branford, and was thrilled to be reunited with many of the students she had in the old school for sixth grade.
Again at the superintendent’s urging, Inge, together with Mary Petela, enrolled in a master's program. When they had received their degrees in 1953, Pinkham appointed them the first Elementary Supervisors in Branford, with Inge responsible for Grades K-3 and Mary, Grades 4-6. The position, which she held until her retirement in 1972, also included distribution of all elementary classes, as well as arranging for substitutes, doing evaluations, and handling any other business that came along. Ever since her children were small, Inge taught Swedish folk dancing for the Vasa Order of America, an organization that promotes understanding of Scandinavian cultures and has passed the dances on to her grandchildren. In 1965 she accompanied fifty children on a six week trip to Sweden where they danced for the king, with expenses paid by the Vasa Order.
Inge's accordion has always been an important part of her life in the schools. Even now she teaches songs and plays for the children in the Early Intervention Program at Indian Neck School, and a 1996 issue of the Branford Review featured her holiday program at Mary T. Murphy School.
Among many other honors, Inge was given the first PTA Life Membership in 1960 and has served as president of many education and civic groups. Reflecting on her life in education, Inge writes, "Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Teaching has been the joy of my life, and I have truly enjoyed my career! It has been great!" To that we say, "Amen."
In 1931, the last ear of the two-year diploma pro gram, Inge graduated from New Haven Normal School and immediately began her teaching career in Branford with a fifth and sixth grade class at Harbor Street School. There she taught for two years until her marriage to Arthur Hallden. While their three daughters, Joan, Judy, and Janet, were small, Inge often had the opportunity to substitute.
With a scarcity of teachers in 1944, Superintendent Pinkham prevailed upon her to return to the classroom. The offer of a combined first-second grade at the Old Short Beach School was a temptation that was only heighten by Pinkham' s observation that her refusal would mean that her daughter would not have a teacher.
After three years in Short Beach, Inge was named Teaching Principal of the Old Indian Neck School, which contained mainly combined-grade classes and which she recalls as "a treasure parents, teachers, and children were like one big family." In 1944, with the support of her husband and daughters, Inge registered in a degree program at New Haven State Teachers College and, after seven years of part-time classes, received her bachelor's degree in 1951. That same year Inge was named principal of the New Indian Neck School, then the largest elementary school in Branford, and was thrilled to be reunited with many of the students she had in the old school for sixth grade.
Again at the superintendent’s urging, Inge, together with Mary Petela, enrolled in a master's program. When they had received their degrees in 1953, Pinkham appointed them the first Elementary Supervisors in Branford, with Inge responsible for Grades K-3 and Mary, Grades 4-6. The position, which she held until her retirement in 1972, also included distribution of all elementary classes, as well as arranging for substitutes, doing evaluations, and handling any other business that came along. Ever since her children were small, Inge taught Swedish folk dancing for the Vasa Order of America, an organization that promotes understanding of Scandinavian cultures and has passed the dances on to her grandchildren. In 1965 she accompanied fifty children on a six week trip to Sweden where they danced for the king, with expenses paid by the Vasa Order.
Inge's accordion has always been an important part of her life in the schools. Even now she teaches songs and plays for the children in the Early Intervention Program at Indian Neck School, and a 1996 issue of the Branford Review featured her holiday program at Mary T. Murphy School.
Among many other honors, Inge was given the first PTA Life Membership in 1960 and has served as president of many education and civic groups. Reflecting on her life in education, Inge writes, "Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Teaching has been the joy of my life, and I have truly enjoyed my career! It has been great!" To that we say, "Amen."