Insight: Harry McManus

By Michelle St. Onge, Photo by Jessica McCafferty

Hometown: Rouses Point (by way of Niskayuna, NY)

Family: Wife Melissa, four grown children, two grandchildren

Education: B.S. in Education and M.S.T. in Secondary Education/History from SUNY Plattsburgh

Occupation: Retired teacher and politician

Harry McManus got his first taste of life in the North Country as a 17-year-old freshman at SUNY Plattsburgh, admittedly more eager to leave his hometown than certain about what came next.

He had no clear plan to become a teacher when he started college. Instead he found himself drawn to playing tennis, a relatively new sport on the college athletics scene during the 1960’s.  He excelled as a player and eventually earned a place in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. That early leap of independence set in motion a 38-year teaching career at Northeastern Clinton Central School (NCCS), where he found his calling teaching history, government and sociology. In addition to mentoring countless students, McManus was a driving force behind the launch of the first local Model United Nations program — North Country Model U.N. — that continues to engage hundreds of local high school students each year.

Following his retirement from teaching, McManus added a second act to his career as a public servant. He served 12 years on the Clinton County Legislature, the last four as its chair. Prior elected offices he held include Mayor of Rouses Point, and a member of the Town Board.

Today, McManus is officially retired from both elected office and the classroom, but still coaches tennis at NCCS and travels widely with his wife and, most recently with his children Devin and Meara. This past summer he celebrated his 80th birthday surrounded by his four grown children and two grandchildren and he remains as competitive as ever — whether he’s on a pickleball court, exploring European history sites or tracking down family roots through genealogy.

As McManus reflected on his life journey during a recent conversation with Strictly Business, it is clear that the lessons he’s learned along the way continue to guide him.

SB: What important lessons did you learn early in your career?

HM: I learned to put the people around me ahead of myself when I was working with the first principal who hired me. His name was Francis “Bud” Moore and he instilled in me the ideals of professionalism. He taught me to put the kids first, the faculty second and myself third. That was a very important thing for me to realize — take yourself out of the equation and put the people around you first.

SB: Who was your most influential mentor?

HM: In addition to Bud Moore, one of my influential professors was named Gene Link. He had taught overseas before we met, and working with him opened a broader view of people all around the world for me. I came out of college in 1968 when the world was experiencing quite a bit of chaos. As a history teacher, I needed someone to help me see the bigger picture and he did that for me.

SB: How have you inspired or mentored others?

HM: I am fortunate and so humbled to see this in action when former students come up to me to offer their thanks and appreciation. Students have told me that I changed their lives, and that I made them interested in the world around them. It doesn’t get any better than that.

SB: What are you most proud of?

HM: I started the first Model United Nations program in this area in 1972. We took a group of six kids to Harvard, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We brought the program back home with us, and that’s how the North Country Model U.N. program was born. Today, the program is still going. Each year, between 400-500 local kids participate in debating international issues. This helps them realize that there’s a whole world out there, with problems that we must solve. We also created the North Country Model U.N. for other local schools. 

SB: What was the best piece of advice you ever received?

HM: Simply put, it’s ‘turn the page.’ This is advice that I use all the time, especially when I am coaching.  If you miss a shot, you will never get it back. The best thing you can do after that is to move on to the next one. You will make mistakes, and you will move on. What you do after the mistake is the most important part of making one. 

SB: What local personality or businessperson do you admire and why? 

HM: I marvel at Mike Zurlo’s ability to diffuse conflicts and bring people together. As the County Administrator, he was involved in so many different things. Mike knew everybody so he could get the right people in the room to solve problems. He was a former student of mine and a Model U.N. participant. I take great pride in seeing his success and his ability to juggle many things at once.

SB: What is your favorite quote and how does it speak to you in your life?

HM: Winston Churchill famously spoke about the ability to “Tell people to go to hell and make them look forward to the trip.” I just love that idea, and I try to apply it when someone tells me “No.” The quote inspires me to study an issue and try to present it in a creative way to make it more palatable to others.

SB: What inspires you?

HM: Helping students learn. When I am standing up there teaching and watching students learn, I can see the lights go on. History can be a dry subject, but if you set up things in a classroom in a way that inspires verbal conflict, that’s where the learning comes in.

SB: If you could have dinner and spend an evening with any well-known person, living or dead, who would you choose and why?

HM: Thomas Jefferson. I would like to have conversations with him about what’s going on in society right now in terms of the power of the federal government. Jefferson is also known for saying he’d choose a free press over a democracy if he had to choose one, so I’d be very interested in talking to him about the role of the press in today’s world. I had the opportunity to visit his library in Monticello, and it was inspirational. I could feel his ideas in the room. I think we still have a lot to learn from him and the people who wrote the Declaration of Independence.

SB: Do you have advice for young people starting out today, particularly aspiring teachers?

HM: First, it goes without saying that you have to love children. In addition to teaching them, it’s important to listen to them and to get to know them through extracurricular activities like club advising or coaching. You also need genuine passion and intellectual curiosity. It’s important to weave in humor when you are teaching in order to keep students engaged, and you really can’t do that when you are only a few days ahead of the class in the textbook.

SB: What do you do for fun?

HM: Right now, it’s Pickleball. It’s a logical extension from tennis. I try hard to stay in shape so that I can continue to enjoy life in my 80’s. The most fun I have now is travel. We’ve been to Europe twice, and are planning our third trip. We have a lot of fun planning a trip, which we find is almost as much fun as going. My sister has also gotten me into genealogy.

SB: What does success look like to you?

HM: Success is knowing you’ve used your life’s work to make other people’s lives better. I recently had this humbling experience at a family reunion celebrating my 80th birthday. Each of my four kids spoke about how much I influenced them, helped them to become better people, and someone they try and emulate. That’s a great definition of success.