Mary Katherine Koehler Retires By Director of Stewardship Anne Ragland Finney P'97 Need your weekly allowance? Want to know how much is in your debit account? Want to suggest something to you'd like to see in Herky's School Store? The go-to gal is student favorite Mary Katherine "MK" Koehler.
details" that are necessary for a smooth functioning office. This role is performed in the background—"We're the guts of the operation"—and is essential to the efficient running of Oldfields' financial processes.
Since the early 90s, when the Business Office took over responsibility for Herky's and MK was put in charge, generations of Oldfields students have turned to MK for their spending money, their snacks, and a smiling face and friendly ear. The most popular phrase she hears is "Miss MK, can I have my allowance, please?" It hasn't changed over the years.
Thirty-five years is a long time to stay in one place. MK "found Oldfields a really nice place to work. Everyone worked well together, and everybody would just have fun." And, of course, her relationships with the students; "Oldfields just does a wonderful job with our students," MK says. "We are truly invested in them, which is why we are all here."
MK has been at Oldfields since 1986—that's 35 years! She shares the reason, "I enjoyed getting to know the students. They'd come into Herky's and chat with me. It was like a safe haven for them there."
K's role at Oldfields will be a hard act M to follow, but the time is right for her to move on to the next chapter in her life. "I am looking forward to not having my alarm go off at 5:30 every morning, to no external responsibilities. I like to putter with a wide variety of projects, and I am going to spend time in my craft room, baking, and at our beach house."
Libby Pace P'99, Tiffany Harison, MK Koehler, and Caroline Blaum
Although the School Store was closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, she still runs the student bank, and her "real" job is in the Business Office in Old House. As the Business Office Administrator, she plays a major role in the functions of the Business Office from the beginning of the year to the end. MK does all the bookkeeping, pays the bills, administers all financial transactions including tuition, debit account management, and "all the
It's the end of an era, but MK will long be remembered by all the students and colleagues whose lives she touched, who could always rely on her, and whose friendship they valued. Thank you, MK, for all you have done for all of us at Oldfields for so very long!
Alicia Bowers P'17 and MK Koehler, dressed as the Chesapeake Bay on Global Awareness Day 2018
MK in Herky's in the 1990s 30
OLDFIELDS MAGAZINE
