Man of many faces, great friendships dies
While it's sadly true that a spark of creativity has been extinguished, the impression that spark left behind on his friends and community will burn on.
Donald Orwald, who died March 16 in Texas, spent three decades teaching English at Knoch High School, where he served as adviser for the Knight Times student newspaper, directed school plays and musicals and produced the school's Madrigal Dinner each holiday season.
He inspired countless students to pursue careers in the arts and media, and remained close to many students long after his retirement, according to his obituary.
Verifying those claims are Linda (Harvey) Burkley and Brian Cashmere, both of whom met Orwald when they were students at Knoch.
“I met him in ninth grade in mass media class,” said Burkley, a 1983 Knoch graduate. “He was that teacher who was too cool for school.”
She recalled his cowboy boots, bell bottom slacks, dark glasses, beard and roaring convertible.
“He really made learning fun,” Burkley said. “Everyone wanted to take his classes. He was just one of those teachers.”
She recalled Orwald directing the junior and senior class plays that were performed at the time.
“Musicals were where he really shined with students,” Burkley said, “getting students to come out of their shell whether they were acting or singing.”Later in life, Burkley reconnected with Orwald when she was a member of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, at a BAMA Auction the chamber once produced on cable TV each year.When the chamber in 1998 began planning Butler's bicentennial celebration, members wondered who they could get to portray Gen. Richard Butler.“I said, 'Ya know, I've got a guy,'” she recalled.Knowing Orwald portrayed Mark Twain in many and varied venues, she was surprised when he hesitated to agree to the Gen. Butler gig.“I said 'It's like Mark Twain, only a little different,'” Burkley said. “He knocked it out of the park.”The two friends wrote the play “The Man in the Window” about John Roebling, the founder of Saxonburg and inventor of wire rope. The play was staged at the Saxonburg Arts Festival as well as in New York City in an off-Broadway production.“He appreciated creativity in any form where he could find it,” Burkley said.Although they were friends, Burkley will always think of Orwald as her favorite teacher.
“He was one of those teachers that if you had him in class, he would remember you forever,” she said. “He followed the careers of many of his students.”Cashmere had known Orwald for 40 years, beginning when Cashmere was in seventh or eighth grade at Knoch.“He would do anything he could for you,” Cashmere said. “I was definitely fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know him and to get close to him.”The year Cashmere got his driver's license, Orwald, who loved convertibles, loaned his student a 1972 Chevrolet Impala convertible to drive for the summer while he was in Texas.“That's how much trust he had in me,” Cashmere said. “I fell in love with convertibles because of that.”Cashmere said he was proud to serve as Orwald's producer when a play he had written was performed.The duo most recently produced a play regarding the Bantam Jeep, which was invented and originally manufactured in Butler. The play was performed last summer at the annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival at Cooper's Lake in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County.“He was all about historical accuracy with anything he did,” Cashmere said.After Orwald moved to Texas to be with his sister full time, he always called Cashmere for a get-together when he visited Butler County.“One of the big things I got from him was reaching out and doing whatever you can to help others,” Cashmere said.He summed up the thoughts of all Orwald's friends, family and former students.“He was an incredible man,” Cashmere said.
