Last week's History Mystery has been solved. Tom Tesler said he was surprised when his sister-in-law called to say an old photo of him was featured in the Oakley Press. The picture was taken during Tesler's first year of teaching in 1972, when he taught third grade at Gehringer Elementary School.

Tesler said when he taught there, students would rotate to different teachers to seek assistance with math and reading based on their skills level. Since students moved around, they had plastic briefcases called "tote trays" to carry all of their materials with them from teacher to teacher. In the picture, Tesler is helping a young girl with an assignment in a workbook, which is on top of her tote tray that doubled as a desk.

Tesler, who retired this year after 34 years in education, spent five years in the Oakley School District and then taught in Antioch for the remainder of his career. He served as principal at Fremont Elementary and finished his career in education as the Supervisor of Categorical Programs and Special Projects for the Antioch School District.