“He Loves School”
Words and music by Leslie Speirs
with Mr. Bokker’s 5th Grade Class
©2024 Leslie Speirs
Born a Harding County ranch kid.
Lived 30 miles from town.
Mom & Dad taught him to work hard,
Do it right the first time around.
And in country school,
He would wait for the Book Mobile!
Earning prizes was a pretty big deal.
Then the year he was in 6th grade,
Running water— man, it was great!
Saved his brother from drowning
In the stock damn where they played.
And on Saturday nights,
He would go to the country store.
Saw the BEATLES on TV
Chorus
Try to do it right the first time
And finish what you start.
Respectfulness and hard work
Will get you pretty far.
He loves people!
And he loves being a dad.
(3rd time on chorus, sing “grandad”)
Helping neighbors
And doing the good he can, WHOO!
He loves school, yeah, yeah, yeah
He loves school, yeah, yeah, yeah
He loves school, yeah, yeah, yeah
Went to North Dakota high school.
Played sports and played them well.
Worked the ranch then went to college,
When at Spearfish, in love he fell!
Him and Carol have lived here since that time.
Raising three great kids, it’s been a real good life.
Then a “forever” job came calling…
Custodian of Spearfish High.
Forty years until retirement,
He still misses it, he can’t deny.
He loved the students;
He loved the staff and the athletes too.
A scholarship in his honor, proves it’s true! (to chorus)
Bridge:
Mister Kaitfors gave some good advice…
Connect with people and do your best.
Look on the bright side, let the bad stuff go,
And give your phone a rest!
But most of all don’t forget this simple rule:
You’ll make great friends if you just get involved in school!!!
Chorus
(sing the “Yeah, Yeah” part twice to end the song.)
Jeff was born in 1954 in Harding County to Raymond and June Kaitfors along with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. They lived 30 miles from town. His mom and dad taught him how to work hard. He was always a good kid in school, but occasionally he loved to pull pranks. Little Jeff loved to toilet paper his neighbors’ trees around Halloween. He loved to read and enjoyed checking books out from the book mobile. Up until his 6th grade year they had to haul water in order to take baths and clean. Getting running water was a pretty big deal. He and his brothers like to swim in the stock dam. One time Jeff had to save his brother’s life when he almost drowned. Living in such a small town, it was common to be in the same class with several relatives. One time in 8th grade he was related to the entire class. He loved to go to the country store with his parents and even got to see the Beatles debut on television.
He went to high school in Scranton, North Dakota. Jeff was a natural at sports. He participated in football, basketball, and track where he excelled in javelin (he held the state record for 26 years). He graduated from high school in 1972
After high school he worked on the ranch for a while, then decided to go to college at BHSU. Jeff continued his track career in college winning the SDIC championship in 1973. While at Black Hills State he met the love of his life, Carol. As they were whitewashing the H on Lookout Mountain, their paths crossed and they have not been apart since. They have three amazing kids Stephanie, Eric, and Kevin. Jeff enjoys being a dad and bringing his kids up the right way. All three graduated with honors. Now Jeff enjoys being a grandfather.
Jeff has been in Spearfish for 52 years. In that time, he touched a lot of peoples’ lives while he worked in the Spearfish School system as the Head Custodian and Maintenance man, coached numerous sports teams, and even started his own softball team. His team, The Good Times, won the state championship in 1991. He was voted employee of the year 5 times in Spearfish and had a scholarship named in his honor after retirement. Jeff bleeds maroon and white and still misses his job today.
His advice for the youth is get involved, go out and meet people, and make friends. Let the bad stuff go and don’t always be on your phone. He enjoys looking out over the open landscape on the ranch in Harding County, watching his Minnesota Viking and Twins whenever he can, being a husband, father, grandfather, and a legend here at Spearfish.