It’s a strange NASH sight.  Take a look around your classrooms and, more likely than not, you’ll spy a can of Green Giant canned peas — especially if your teacher has been at NASH for longer than ten years.

Perhaps they’re a norm in every household pantry, but one hardly expects to to see cans of peas in a school.  And it doesn’t take long for an inquisitive student to recognize the oddity and demand an explanation.

The Uproar did a little digging and learned that the answer is, quite simply, “Dr. B.”

The story of the cans of peas dates back to a former NASH principal, Dr. Lawrence Butterini, widely known as Dr. B, who led the building from 1992 to 2010.

And according to teachers’ reports, he was quite a colorful character.

“Dr. B always brought out the best in you,” social studies teacher Mr. Lyons said. “He empowered you. He rejected negative thinking.”

So how does all of this explain the cans of peas that still sit on many teachers’ shelves?  Well, Butterini had a policy of meeting with the student body early each school year.  Gym classes during the opening weeks would meet with the principal to hear an impassioned speech about positive thinking.  To make the speech memorable for his audience, Butterini created an acronym, P.E.A., which stood for “positive, enthusiastic, attitude.”

And then Butterini had the idea to approach art teacher Mr. Clemmer.

“He asked me to create labels for canned peas so that it spelled out P.E.A for positive, enthusiastic, attitude,” Clemmer said.

Before long, Butterini began to throw cans of peas into the student audience during those speeches.

In time, the makers of Green Giant learned of Butterini’s speech and gifted the NASH Main Office a pallet of peas as a thank you for using their brand.

Thus, while the teachers who continue to display the cans of peas in their classrooms are paying homage to a bygone time, the message that the cans represent is timeless.

Dr. B was always looking on the positive side,” Lyons added. “He would see that there weren’t obstacles in front of you but challenges to be overcome. That is something that I’ll always remember about him.”