Before 40 years at the Academy as a teacher, coach, house master, and assistant principal, Brian Horigan earned his work ethic the old-fashioned way. At 10, he was a paperboy. Later, he packed cans for Castrol Motor Oil. By his late teens, he took a leap — boarding a three-day train across Canada to work the oil rigs.

From a sperm whale oil spill, to getting hit by a car, to a barn-beam jump gone wrong, he collected his stories the hard way — stories that captivated generations of students like me far more than any syllabus ever could.

His career stretched across eras: when he began, many colleagues traced back to WWII; when he retired, many teachers were his former students.

In episode 39, the iconic mustache reflects on the close calls, life lessons, and moments that far outlived the classroom.

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