Friday July 14, 2023
If you were to name the person most visible in education and athletics in St. Charles in recent decades, that would be Hall of Fame member Jon Arnold.
Arnold and wife Teresa moved to St. Charles in 1969 when Jon began a career teaching math at St. Charles High School. That career kept Jon as an educator here for 34 years. He also has an amazing record as a coach: 18 years as a wrestling coach, 35 years as a track coach and 51 years for cross country.
“ I grew up in a family of teachers including my mother, her 2 sisters and an uncle… it was a natural thing to do when I headed off to college. I enjoyed it immediately and rarely thought about changing my career,” stated Arnold.
The Arnold’s have been married for 54 years, and have four children: Brett, Kristi, Matthew, Mark and 8 grandchildren. Jon and Teri (who was also a math teacher) thought they might find another place to live, but found St. Charles and Winona County to be a friendly place and decided to raise their children here.
The couple are members at St. Charles United Methodist Church where Jon has been a lay leader and trustee. He has gone beyond St. Charles to do mission trips in places like Mississippi and Alabama and also Costa Rico and Guatemala. He and Teri have also helped out at the Winona County Fair as exhibit superintendents.
While Jon no longer coaches or runs a marathon, he continues to be involved in sports like volleyball, pickleball and golf whenever he can.
“Sports in general have played an important part in my life through the competition and the friendships built with athletes and coaches,” concludes Arnold.