The Old Bentley School House

Andrea Hogan had always wanted to be a teacher, but life had taken her down a less exciting career as a civil servant. The one good thing about a life time at civil service, is that if you combine your age and your years of service...you can retire when the number reaches 88. So, at the ripe old age of 58, Andrea returns to the University of Northern Iowa to put in the two years that it will take for her to be credentialed as a High School English teacher. Her original plan had been to substitute teach in her home town of Des Moines, Iowa; but when a new friend from UNI suggests that Andrea apply at the Bentley/Griswold/Marshtown (BGM for short)High School where she had recently been hired, Andrea jumps at the chance.

Her new home will be in the same restored school house as her friend Trish wilkins and the football coach, Scott Samuels who restored the school into apartments. They will be joined by a lively elderly couple, Oscar and Verna Lee Swenson who quickly turn the empty gymnasium into a Community Center, and the new head of the BGM English department, Richard Knight. Richard also happens to be the man she lived with during her senior year of college.

A year in the life of these good people brings surprises, shared experiences, and of course a little sadness as well.