44 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead on a balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. 44 years ago, Elvis Presley recorded his ’68 Comeback Special. 44 years ago, Joe Porrell started teaching at Wayland High School.

Porrell originally went to Wayland High School as a student when the school was located in Wayland’s Town Building.

“It was pretty crowded,” said Porrell. “There was one school for all the people. It was grades six-twelve, so you can imagine how intimidating it was to be a sixth grader.”

Porrell was part of the first class to go into the old Wayland High School.

“Everybody from around the country came to look at our school,” Porrell said, “It was a beautiful flying saucer for a Field House. Nobody else had that.”

As a student, Porrell played baseball and basketball.

“I was the smallest kid ever to play in Boston Garden,” Porrell said.

During Porrell’s senior year, his basketball team made the state semi-finals.

“The whole school closed down at 10 and put all the kids on buses and brought them down to the Boston Garden,” Porrell said. “It was a lot of fun.”

After attending Springfield College, where Porrell was an All-American wrestler, he came back to Wayland to coach sports and teach physical education.

Porrell coached the varsity baseball team, bringing them to the state tournament, and then decided to coach varsity basketball. Porrell’s teams were so good that legendary coaches such as Bobby Knight, Rick Pitino and Jim Boeheim all came to Wayland to watch his team play.

Porrell was emotional after leaving the old school behind this past December.

“Its sort of sad, I had a lot of feelings for it,” said Porrell. “I have a lot of great memories in that school. I have been very fortunate to come through this school system here in Wayland.”

As for his future as a teacher at Wayland, Porrell knows his time is almost up.

“Its been a great 44 years. My life has been a great journey. Its been a lot of fun and the kids are great, but I feel like it is getting near the end,” Porrell said.

Porrell knows that next year will definitely be his last at Wayland High School.

“The technology makes things hard,” Porrell said. “I will miss all the kids. I just enjoy having fun and working hard. I come in every day and enjoy every day. I keep myself motivated by trying to inspire kids. I hope I have done a good job.”