The year Arden Tewksbury joined the Elk Lake School Board, John F. Kennedy was in his first year as president. A Soviet cosmonaut completed the first orbit of earth by a human. The East German government began building the Berlin Wall.
With cups of whole milk, district leaders on Thursday night toasted the dairy advocate who has served on the board for 64 years — longer than anyone else on an unpaid school board in the United States.
“It was truly a lifelong dedication to our students and guidance in this district. We appreciate his wisdom,” said board President Anne Teel, before raising her milk. “Arden, thank you for everything, your lifelong dedication. Cheers.”
The whole milk — perfect to wash down the green and white frosted cupcakes distributed to the board and guests — would have made Tewksbury proud.
The Meshoppen resident turns 93 on Sunday. His health prevented him from attending Thursday’s board meeting.
From establishing the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center, to seeing the district purchase its first computers, Tewksbury served as the district evolved. He stayed on the board long enough to hand diplomas to both his children and grandchildren on graduation day.
“He'd be bawling like a baby up here,” his son, Tim Tewksbury, said at the meeting. “He's very proud of all of you here … For a little school in the middle of nowhere, I think we've done all right.”
Farmer and a school director
Arden Tewksbury grew up on a dairy farm and played basketball and baseball for Meshoppen High School. He planned to become a teacher, but after one year of college, returned to the farm to help his family. He bought his own dairy farm in 1955, and continued to milk cows until about 15 years ago.
Brad Tewksbury, one of seven siblings, was in first grade when his dad joined the board in 1961. They usually began milking the cows at 5 p.m., but on the days the board met, they’d sometimes start milking earlier so his dad could make it to the 7 p.m. meeting.
When Arden Tewksbury began his tenure, he was one of 35 board members. Each of the seven regions within the district had five members, and he represented Meshoppen. Pennsylvania school boards now have nine directors. There was no superintendent, only supervising principals.
Having 35 board members caused longer meetings and more animosity, with it being harder to get everyone to agree, he said in a 2022 profile published by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
He identified the three most important traits for school directors: Dedication, sincerity and honesty. He said in the profile that the most important job of a school director is looking out for students, while also being mindful of taxpayers.
The statewide organization also asked him to provide advice to other school directors: “Don’t get on the school board thinking that you might have an axe to grind … a school director has got to be a person who has an open mind and doesn’t try to dictate things to people.”
Arden Tewksbury, who also served as a PIAA basketball referee, would sometimes open his own home to those with concerns.
“I saw parents very upset in the kitchen, crying … and I learned from my dad to listen,” Tim Tewksbury said. “People just sometimes want to be heard.”
He’d often end those conversations with the same sentiment: “Well, we'll see what we can do.”
Advocating for dairy farmers
While advocating for students, he also advocated for agriculture. He served as president of the Eastern Milk Producers Dairy Cooperative and helped found the Progressive Agriculture Organization. He lobbied to improve the dairy pricing formula, spending time in both Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., meeting with lawmakers. He wrote columns and letters to the editor that appeared in publications nationwide.
More recently, he also pushed for the inclusion of whole milk in school lunches. Current USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat.
The Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit, where Tewksbury served as Elk Lake’s board representative, toasted him with milk in June. On Thursday, Superintendent Bob Galella set a gallon of whole milk at his seat, pouring cups for the toast.
Longest serving school director
Tewksbury decided earlier this year that he would not seek another four-year term. His 64 years makes him the longest currently serving board member in the country, and also the director to serve the longest without pay. A school director in California who served for 65 years served on a paid board, according to PSBA.
Representatives from the schools boards association attended the meeting, including Shane Pagnotti, senior director of services, who had also honored Tewksbury during his 56th and 60th years of service.
Tewksbury’s sons accepted a proclamation from Gov. Josh Shapiro, a citation from state legislators and a framed copy of the PSBA profile from 2022.
“He has walked the walk when it comes to supporting the students in Pennsylvania,” said Holly Arnold, the 2026 president-elect for PSBA and the Tunkhannock Area School Board president.
After the cupcakes and milk, the school board continued with its monthly meeting. Tewksbury’s spot at the table remained vacant, and a new school director will take the seat in December.
“Whatever we can say about him here tonight will never match what he's done for our school district, and he was always a true, true warrior,” Teel said. “He was truly relentless, and we truly appreciate that.”
