After 40 years of service, Florence Neubauer and Gloria Stargel will retire from the Campbell-Tintah School District. A public open house will be held at the school May 27 from 1:30-4 p.m. in Campbell, Minn.

Stargel was hired as a Head Start aid for a few years at Tintah School until it consolidated with Campbell School in 1972, when she filled a secretarial position. Ten years later, a tornado hit the small town and damaged the Tintah school building, which eventually lead Stargel to take over as the all-school secretary three years later.

She has always interacted with children at school, whether as a secretary or a piano accompanist. If she didn't have time to practice with students at school, they would sometimes stop over at her home. Stargel said she will miss the kids the most."It'll be tough in the fall," she said. "But it was time, I think, to move on."

Neubauer echoed the sentiment. Initially starting out at Campbell as an aid and later secretary for the principal, Neubauer went into bookkeeping full time in 1972.

"It's just like one big family," she said. "Everybody kind of depends on each other, and everybody's willing to help. This is the only job for a lot of the staff, and so we've just grown together."

The biggest challenges both women faced involved the transition to technology. As neither had experience with a computer before, it was definitely a new experience.

"I'm very comfortable with it now, but at the time..." Neubauer said, laughing.

The future for both holds extended time with family and catching up on loose ends. Stargel said she's going to do more photography, crocheting and "hardanger," or Norwegian embroidery. She and her husband, Jim, have a series of people they would like to visit, which includes great-grandchildren and extends to Texas.

Scrapbook and photo album work lay ahead for Neubauer, who also has two grown daughters and grandchildren. But she won't have to travel too far if she wants to keep in touch with everyone at the school.

"I live right across the street," she said with a laugh.