Kindergarten teacher retires after 40 years

After four decades of teaching kindergarten in Encampment, Linda Kraft has reached her point of retirement this year.

Kraft, a Laramie native, said she began teaching kindergarten with Encampment School in the fall of 1972, after previously teaching fourth grade at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, S.D. While in Encampment, where her husband Jerry grew up, she taught either half-time or full-time kindergarten during different periods of her career.

Kraft said she viewed her profession as an enjoyable time to spend with children, rather than a “job” in the general sense.

“It ha...