One of these days, I’m going to figure out the story behind my maiden name: Vayo.

Stepping back three generations on Dad‘s side, one family spelled their surname in three ways: Veilleux, Vayo, and Veayo.

Just now, I double-checked all of great-grandpa George Vayo‘s siblings and parents and there is, frankly, no rhyme or reason that I can find. Several family members – including his parents – changed their surnames from Veilleux to Vayo, while a few of George’s siblings apparently started with Veayo and then changed to Vayo.

As a side note, a few census records played further with the spelling. Vague, Vigue, and Vogue show up in the hand-written records.

However: one of George’s brothers – Galen Irving Veayo – started out as a Veayo and kept that spelling for the rest of his life.

That said, check out the “File As” notation at the top of Galen’s birth record:

The more I nosed around with family records, the more intrigued I became with Galen. He was a musician, teacher, a principal, school superintendent, father, and husband. He was incredibly civic-minded.

Here is the story I’ve pieced together (fingers crossed that I’ll hear from his descendants to add their knowledge and memories):

Galen Irving Veayo was born in Bangor, Maine, on March 21, 1904, the second son of Joseph and Margaret Veayo.

From the very start, young Galen was a musician. Newspaper reports about music recitals list him performing in public from the age of eight.

He even performed on the radio as a senior in high school in 1922:

Galen was chosen to lead the band his high school R.O.T.C. put together.

An article about the orchestra’s performance the next spring mentioned: This fact is worthy of mention, besides being talented musicians neither of these young men (whose ages range from 15 to 18) use tobacco in any form.

Following graduation, he took a summer course at the Institute of Music Pedagogy in Northampton, Massachusetts.

And then Galen Veayo hung out his shingle and took out an ad in the Bangor Commercial newspaper:

Galen directed the local grammar school and high school junior orchestras in the spring of 1925, and returned to the Institute of Music Pedagogy that summer and the next.

Then it was time to head to the University of Maine, where he majored in Education.

He kept incredibly busy as he built his impressive resume.

This article from the Bangor Daily News announced Galen’s first post-graduation position, as principal of Houlton Junior High School in Maine:

In 1932, Galen married Mary Brock on June 27. They had the first of their three children (Galen Jr.) 18 months later. Joseph would follow in 1940 and Margaret in 1945.

It was in 1934 that Galen’s impressive work ethic and dedication to the children in his school took off like a rocket. He was named principal of Walton Junior High School in Auburn, Maine.

It was the middle of the Great Depression, and Galen wanted to be sure his students had the opportunity to receive a hot midday meal.

This article is in celebration of the program’s success:

Galen assumed leadership roles with the local Boy Scouts, Rotary Club, and charity fundraisers such as the Association for the Blind, the Anti-Tuberculosis Association, and the British War Relief Society.

The school added a grand piano in 1937 (again – this was during the Depression!), holding fundraisers and concerts to pay for the unbudgeted instrument. Then it was time to start a school band, a library, and a school newspaper printed on their own press.

Galen also dealt with leaky ceilings and budget tightening during a shoemakers’ strike.

When the discussion turned to homework for the students, grades 5 through 9, Galen stated school is school and home is home. The Lewiston Sun-Journal was complimentary in its report:

In 1942, Galen finished his Masters of Arts in Education degree from the University of Maine. The next spring, the school board named him principal of Edward Little High School (Grandma Vayo graduated from ELHS two decades earlier).

Side note: Newspapers used to print teachers’ and administrators’ salaries, individual’s taxes, and even their home addresses back then. There was a blurb one day when Galen was home ill.

Feeling nosy? Here’s a snip of the 1943 salaries:

He was named Superintendent of Schools in 1946.

This opinion piece was full of praise;

Life as school superintendent came with its own challenges. The first was overcrowding. This was not just due to the growth of the town, but also the return of GIs from World War II. It took the better part of two years to wrangle the purchase of an empty house to use for overflow classrooms. Growing pains continued into the 1950s.

After 19 years in Auburn, Galen accepted the position of school superintendent for Madawaska in northern Maine. After the three-year contract expired, he moved on to a teaching and public relations position at St. Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine. It was 1959 and Galen was 55 years old.

In 1962, Galen returned to Androscoggin County to teach at Jordan School.

It was just more than three years later that this energetic educator suddenly took ill and, sadly, passed away on February 2, 1966. He was 61 years old.

Although I didn’t find any mention of this in the (literally) thousands of newsclips I looked through the past several months, I sincerely hope Galen Veayo was honored in the communities where he gave so much of himself. Although I never met my grandfather’s cousin, I’m proud to be related to such a fine educator.

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