MOVILLE, Iowa | Angie Putze isn't positive when she started taking pictures on the first day of school. She senses it had to be when her oldest daughter, Emily, 22, headed to kindergarten in Sioux City in the fall of 2000.
That was 16 years and eight children ago!
Angie and Matthew Putze, parents of nine children, send them all off to school this fall. For Emily, it's likely her final year of school, as she's a senior agronomy major at Iowa State University.
There are two other Iowa State students in the family, as well. Mark is a junior in the mechanical engineering program, while Michelle, the reigning Woodbury County Fair Queen, starts her freshman year at Iowa State as an education major. She'd like to teach history and coach cross country and track, eventually.
Michelle, according to her mother, probably enjoyed the first day of school tradition photo most. "She's a little more sentimental," Angie said. "I think the girls all kind of like it. The boys? Maybe not as much."
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There are lots of parents around Siouxland who snap photos as their children head off to school, starting a new year. When the family has nine children, well, the standard horizontal photo won't quite do. You maybe need a panoramic camera.
"We just have the kids gather on the front steps before the bus arrives," Angie says. "We don't line them up in order. I figure they'll feel more natural if they can stand where they like. They stand in a different order every time."
The photo follows a big breakfast, one befitting the first day of school. Angie rises early to fix egg sandwiches. There have been years, she estimates, when 15 eggs were consumed during this meal. The number has dwindled a bit as Putze children leave "the nest," so to speak.
"The first day of school is important at our house," says Angie, who, like Matthew, is a native of West Bend, Iowa. "Everyone is so excited and you want them to get off to a good start. They go to bed early the night before and have a good breakfast to start the day. It's fun when they come home to hear how that first day went."
The family also enjoys dinner together, one big nightly get-together. This year, they'll hear summaries from Suzanne, a junior; Ryan, a freshman; eighth-grade twins Mary and Sarah; third-grader Rachel; and Seth, a preschooler. All the Putzes attend Woodbury Central in Moville, Iowa. That is, except for the trio of Iowa Staters.
Those first day of school photos feature children with new shoes and shirts, wide smiles (mostly) and looks of anticipation for what the next 180 days might hold. Some of the children dig in to those photos later on. Michelle tapped the first day of school reservoir for a portion of the photos she displayed at her graduation reception in May.
Like many parents, Angie almost always carries a camera. She'll snap photos during music concerts, athletic events, the Woodbury County Fair and more.
"The kids always say, 'Mom, don't embarrass me with the camera,'" Angie says. "So, I stand back and take a few pictures and then save them to our computer. While some of the kids don't like having their picture taken, all of them like to go back and look at pictures.
"I think it's a lot of fun for them to go back and see how they looked," Angie concludes.
It's fun for Mom and Dad, too!
