“I’ve never been on the receiving end of a roast, but I’ve been on the giving end of one,” he said during an interview Tuesday afternoon. “I hope my brain is quick enough to give some zingers. It’s easier to be the roaster than the roastee.”
Conlon, who is retiring from Warsaw Schools after 35 years, said the roast is scheduled for May 11 at 5 p.m. at Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse.
“I’m hoping to get a good turnout of former students and stuff like that,” he said.
His son is expected to come back from Orlando, Fla., for it, as are his brothers and sisters, he acknowledged.
Conlon was born in Muncie, and grew up in Indianapolis. After graduating high school in the Circle City, he went to college at Indiana University, Bloomington.
When he graduated I.U., it was toward the tail end of the Vietnam War. Conlon was in the first draft of the lottery.
“I thought I was going to get drafted so I enlisted in the Marine Corps because I wanted to be a pilot instead of a grunt,” Conlon said.
He got out in 1975, at the end of the war. Lots of other pilots were being released, and he was out three weeks after the school year started, so it was the wrong time to get a job.
He decided to get his master’s degree from I.U. The university had a recruiting fair, where Conlon met then-Assistant Superintendent Dr. Darryl Boling from Warsaw Schools. Boling recruited Conlon, who joined the school district in 1977.
“I started at the old freshman high school. I was there the first 15 to 20 years of my career,” Conlon said.
One of the biggest highlights of his career was in 1996. Conlon was a state finalist for Indiana’s teacher of the year.
But most people who know Conlon know about his interest in William Shakespeare.
“I’m kind of the resident expert on Shakespeare,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in Shakespeare since the ninth grade when we were studying ‘Romeo & Juliet.’ I had a really great English teacher.”
Conlon’s interest in “Romeo & Juliet” was spurred on when he found out the story was about people like him and his friends, who were teenagers. Plus, he loved the language.
“When I found out there were naughty parts in it, I was determined to find out where they were,” he said.
Then he got to see a performance of the Shakespeare classic with Christopher Walken in it. He still has the tickets and program bill from the performance.
“I’ve been collecting Shakespeare stuff ever since,” Conlon said. “A lot of kids think I’m obsessed with Shakespeare. I’m not obsessed, it’s just a hobby. Over 50 years, it just accumulates.”
Knowing Shakespeare so well is just one of the things that has helped Conlon teach over the years.
“One of the things I think is important for any teacher is that they like kids and like what you’re doing, and I’m very good at expressing that,” Conlon said.
He said he loves learning, keeps learning and never stops.
“I genuinely like kids,” he said. “That’s the bad thing about retiring. I’m seriously going to miss the kids. They’re why I come to work every day.”
And the students generally like Conlon, too.
“He’s the best teacher,” said junior Vicente Castillo. “He can teach sophomores pretty good. You really have to have patience with me, and he has.”
“He makes the assignments fun,” said Christo Juarez, sophomore. “He gives a lot of examples. He stays cool, calm and collected when the class is being rowdy.”
Sophomore Daniel Chalmers said, “He’s a very passionate teacher. Just the way he teaches us, gives us examples and puts his own pride on the line.”
“I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself,” Conlon added.
“He’s a Shakespeare fanatic,” Castillo said. “Mr. Conlon never has a bad day.”
“He’s got a heart of gold,” said sophomore Kara Harris. “I think he has taught us stuff that can’t be found in any book. He’s taught us a lot of life lessons. He shares a lot of stories with us.”
Over his 35 years of teaching, Conlon said he’s taught three generations of kids.
“I touched the lives of 5,000 students approximately and I have thoroughly enjoyed my career at WCHS. I have thoroughly enjoyed it,” Conlon said.
He’s taught English, Shakespeare, speech, theater, driver’s education, novels, creative writing and has a counselor’s license as well as licenses to teach science and psychology.
When asked why he’s retiring, he said, “Mainly, they offered me a buyout and it became possible to pay for health coverage for me and my wife. I will earn more in retirement than I will working. It got to a point where it doesn’t make much sense to be working for less money.”
During retirement, he will work at his downtown business, Celebrations. He’ll probably spend time trying to sell the books and projects he’s worked on.
“I’m really looking forward to visiting with my grandkids who live in New York City,” he said.
Joe and his wife, Joyce, have two children and two grandchildren. He turns 65 in October, which he still finds hard to believe.
“I’m younger in my head than my body,” he said. “I will miss, during retirement, being around teens every day. They have kept my outlook young. Lots of times I still try to do things I did in my 20s and my body lets me know that I can’t.”
