Ann Hardy

Perhaps best known as ”Mrs. Hardy” to generations of local residents who passed through the door of her kindergarten class at Grant Bowler Elementary School, Ann Hardy moved into Logandale in 1972 with her husband, Mike.

Originally from Salt Lake City, Ann had spent more than six years teaching kindergarten in Utah before deciding to take some time off to focus on raising her own children. It wasn’t until her youngest child, David, was scheduled to start third grade in the Fall of 1986, and after many requests from the principal, that she finally decided to return to the classroom. After that, she never looked back.

Regardless of whether it was sharing daily themes of colors, shapes, the alphabet, or numbers with her students, writing and putting on the Thanksgiving and Christmas programs, or leading the school Halloween costume parade as the ugly, scary, and beloved witch, ”Witchypoo,” Ann found the work exhilarating.

“Kindergarten is like having a party every day,” she says. ”It’s just fun, fun, fun!”

When Ann finally retired in 2010, she’d spent 24 years teaching kindergarten in Logandale. By that time, she’d written the words to the school song for Grant Bowler Elementary School, served under seven different principals, and taught more than 1,150 children—including 10 of her own grandkids.

For Ann, these connections endure—as each of the children she taught graduates from high school, Ann sends them a hand-written graduation card that includes a copy of their kindergarten picture and their high school picture inside.

“I love that Logandale is such a small town and that so many people stay here,” she says. ”The kids I taught in kindergarten—I’ve watched them play sports in high school, I get invited to their weddings, and I get to see them grow up. It’s truly a wonderful community.”

Update from 2023:

Ann remains active in Moapa Valley Community Theatre, including their recent production of the musical Kiss Me, Kate. She loves our valley, where she is surrounded by family. Four of Ann’s six children live in Moapa Valley—all of whom are involved in education—and she is proud to have many grandchildren nearby. She recently went to Salt Lake City for a reunion with her 2016 Nauvoo Illinois Mission companions. Ann is happy to call Moapa Valley home, noting particularly the blue skies and sunny weather we enjoy and benefit from here in the valley.