Harold Hekkinan
| Harold Hekkinan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | M |
| Spouse | Martha Hekkinan |
Harold Hekkinan is seen frequently in the Spearfish Lake universe. He was raised in Spearfish Lake and was a member of the football team with Bud Ellsberg, Frank Matson and Harry Masterfield that lost only one game in three years (1956–1958). After graduating, he went to Vietnam as a lieutenant in the First Cavalry Division, but returned wounded. He still draws 20% disability.
Harold's wife is named Martha. She was a known member of the Spearfish Lake Women's Club. The couple had an unknown number of daughters that went to college and got married. By 1989 Harold and Martha had three grandchildren with another on the way.AF33
Harold taught Political Science and coached football at the Spearfish Lake High School for twenty years before being promoted. According to Bob Hvalchek, Harold "gave up coaching when he became principal" and ever since the football team "haven’t been able to hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle"BITH18 As Principal of the High School in 1997, he initially mishandled the fight that got Jason Bailey expelled, until Brenda Hodunk did her investigation for the newspaper.AC6 To make up for it he privately tutors Jason so that he won't fall behind.
Harold returned to Vietnam in 1990 with the Toivo Expedition in the book Absent Friend.AF24 He caught a bit of the archaeology bug when Rod Matson was teaching the expedition what to look for, so spent a number of summers working for Rod as a digger.
When in the fall of 2000, Harold needed a new basketball coach, one that wasn't tainted by the prior Title IX lawsuit, as well as a math and science teacher, he neatly solves a problem with Brandy Wine having too much free time.
In December 2007, Harold was still Principal when Cody Archer shot Bobby Lufkin and his father. Harold provided support despite the fallout from the shooting.SK20 Speakfish Lake Police chief Charlie Wexler thought Harold "had worked pretty well with the police in Spearfish Lake when trouble arose. Even in things that were mostly school-discipline related, Hekkinan had been perfectly willing to bring the police chief in to give a kid a pretty good dose of religion if it was needed."BITH26 Harold Hekkinan retired before school restarted in the fall of 2008 and his replacement, Bryson Payne, did things very differently.
In the book Bird on the Field Harold returns to the school system as Superintendent, with Brandy Wine as High School Principal and Athletic Director.
