Carl Molter

Carl Molter served various roles in the School District of Belleville for 42 years (from 1958 to 1999), including as the high school’s primary Science teacher and as the Letter Club adviser.

Carl also served as the athletic director for 28 years. In this role, he “had a pulse of the crowd.” The hours he put in to help all student athletes are too numerous to estimate. As athletic director during the implementation of Title IX, Mr. Molter negotiated all of the complexities of establishing female sports at the high school for the first time. Under his leadership, Belleville became a powerhouse in girls’ sports in the State Line League.

Hailing from Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, Carl Molter spent 60 years of his life in Belleville. He wholeheartedly embraced the community. He built his home and raised his two sons, Jeff and Mike, here with his wife, Helen. He was an active member of the Community Club, assisting with the Community Picnic’s lunch stand and turtle races. He also helped high school students fill the old library planters with flowers on an annual basis.

Students remember Mr. Molter as a very good teacher. BHS alumnus Gary Ziegler notes that “I didn’t need to use my Chemistry textbook in college until halfway through first semester” because of what he had learned from Mr. Molter in high school.

Carl was always willing to take on a new challenge. Mr. Molter’s love of photography drove him to create a Photo Club in which students learned the science behind photography. Their photographs were used in the high school annual and in the local newspaper. He opened the school on weekends to the Photo Club and allowed members to utilize the photo lab.

Carl loved the outdoors. Mike and Jeff fondly remember getting up early and helping their dad to check his trapline at 5am. He also loved gardening and used his half-acre plot to supply local restaurants and grocery stores with vegetables. He was still growing peppers into his 80’s.

John Remy stated it best when he expressed, “Mr. Molter set the bar high for all those in Belleville education who followed.”