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by Tom Coombe
Only three months have passed since the grand celebration that marked the 100-year history of Ely Memorial High School.
The nine-day All-Class Reunion this summer marked a historic milestone, rekindled memories and reunited old friends.
The reunion included a day at school, where hundreds visited the school grounds and looked at the hallowed and historic school buildings as well as the new addition that was built between them only three years ago.
Among those greeting reunion-goers that day was Ray Marsnik, an Ely alum who was once a student in those hallways and was then serving his 23rd and final year on the school board including the last 17 as chair.
While Ray, who passed away this week at age 83, was all smiles and greeted alumni and former teachers during the reunion’s “Day at School,” it would have been appropriate for participants to extend their thanks to him as well.
The reality was had it not been for Ray there may not have been a 100th birthday for Memorial High School to celebrate.
The political realities for Ray’s first few years as board chair were daunting if not overwhelming.
Enrollment in Ely’s school had tumbled by 35 percent in just over a decade when Marsnik took the gavel, and the school district faced numerous financial threats - from the possibility of statutory operating debt to a crippling obligation for retiree health insurance.
A revolving door of administrators wasn’t able to stem the tide, and there were suggestions - some public and many behind the- scenes - that Ely was destined for consolidation with neighboring St. Louis County School District 2142.
But like some steadfast and stubborn board members who preceded him, Ray refused to believe that Ely High School would go the route of so many schools before and helped make sure that the Ely Timberwolves remained when fabled names such as the Tower-Soudan Golden Eagles, Cook Little Gophers, Eveleth Golden Bears, Babbitt Knights and even the Virginia Blue Devils are no more.
The Ely district had no fiercer advocate and had it not been for Ray, this year’s class reunion might have been simply to remember the past while area children instead were part of the Wolf Country Wolverine or Vermilion Range Viking culture - or whatever name the “leaders” would have come up with.
No quotation marks were needed around the word leadership when it came to Ray, a retired teacher who did his homework about all things related to the operation of the Ely School District.
He was a firm believer, almost old school to a fault, when it came to the benefits of public education and its impact on youth.
Ray went to bat for the Ely district and got involved beyond the school walls, whether it was lobbying state legislators about funding or serving as an overall advocate for Ely, economic and community development, and projects that would benefit the Ely district.
These were lessons learned first-hand, from covering school board meetings during Ray’s entire tenure on the board to joining him afterward at Zaverl’s Bar for countless “off-the-record” sessions. Quite often, former board members such as the late Rudy Semeja and Scott Kellerman, and later on Bill Erzar once Semeja left the board, would be in tow. The nights were long, the laughter plentiful and the memories were priceless.
Ray had a health scare along the way and he took on that fight in stride, telling me as he healed that he couldn’t wait to sit down and have an “MGD” after a board meeting and catch up.
Covering local politics often comes with conflicts that are avoided at much larger media outlets - and Ely is no exception.
For at least 50 of my 54 years I’ve known Ray, talking high school sports, fantasy football and his beloved Gophers.
His ties with family run deep, and his wife Pat was truly a gem. They attended both of my weddings, a distinction that can only be shared by one other local politico - current State Rep. Roger Skraba.
It was Ray who supported and urged me to take on my duties as high school athletic director, and often invited me to coffee to gather my input, taking notes as the roles were reversed and HE asked ME questions. And it was Ray who recruited Hollee four years ago to run for school board.
Yet conflict couldn’t entirely be avoided and there were more than a few times over the last two decades when Ray was upset about the Echo’s coverage of school issues - or an editorial that hit too close to home.
On those occasions, a familiar pattern would occur. Ray would stew a bit and be short and curt when it came time to talk, and sometimes he would call to voice his displeasure. The interactions were civil but at times pointed as a couple of stubborn Slovenians stood their ground.
And then, usually after a couple of weeks or sometimes a couple of months, Ray would be Ray again and we’d be talking about the Gophers or the news of the day.
Then in 2021, Ray backed school administrators in supporting a controversial mask mandate at the school, and editorially the Echo took an opposing view and published a story where a prominent opponent, an Ely doctor no less, took a shot or two at a still stinging school board.
This time, Ray called, emotions were high and he again shared his opinion that the newspaper was in the wrong. There was stubbornness, bull-headedness and I wondered if this time Ray’s relationship with us had fragmented forever.
Then three months later this happened: Ray and Pat, celebrating their wedding anniversary with a late-December trip to Fortune Bay, were involved in a terrible accident on Highway 169, one that took Pat’s life and left Ray severely injured.
Ray ended up in a Duluth hospital for many weeks and when it was time that he was able to take calls, one was placed to his cell phone.
I passed on my condolences and wished Ray well, and we talked as if our political disagreements had never occurred. His voice was weak but his determination was evident even then. It wouldn’t be long, Ray told me, and he’d be back at board meetings and back around town.
Indeed he was right, and it was an honor to be in the board room that night he returned.
He was a bit hobbled by injury, yet Ray went right back to work for Ely’s students and the community, just as he did prior to the accident.
For the last two years, he carried on, still taking notes, still doing his homework, still making calls to check up on the goings on at school. A month ago, after observing only two candidates had filed for three seats in this year’s school board election, Ray even joked that he was regretting a decision not to enter the race and seek another term. At 83, he was still itching to serve his hometown and its youth.
But the disease that set him back years earlier came back and this time wasn’t going away.
Other than a couple of absences from school board meetings, one wouldn’t have known anything was wrong until the word came abruptly last Saturday night. This time, Ray wouldn’t win his fight and there would be no more calls, no more meetings, no more postgame conversations.
Instead, Ray has been reunited with Pat and other loved ones while we remember a life devoted of service to his community - and to the Ely schools.
There’s a Homecoming Game Friday night in Ely and his Gophers are back on the field Saturday. I’m hoping Ray takes them both in with an MGD and a smile.
