UNION COUNTY, Tenn. — For families at Maynardville Elementary School, it's a tradition to have Ms. Murr as a teacher. 

"She's taught three of my four children, and she has taught four of my grandchildren. Now, I work with Ms. Murr," said the school's librarian, Ruth Cook, who also had Ms. Murr as a teacher in 1969 when she was in third grade. 

"She was our P.E. teacher. Ms. Murr was always an inspiration for me wanting to be a teacher," Maynardville Elementary teacher Becky Henry said. 

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When Ms. Murr first arrived as a P.E. teacher in 1969, it was the same year astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped on the moon. 

"I tell the students about seeing them walk on the moon and things," Murr said.

Carolyn Murr
Carolyn Murr teaches a science lesson at Maynardville Elementary School.

A half-century later, Murr still brings that experience into the classroom, where she currently teaches science and social studies. 

You don't work at a place 50 years without gaining a reputation. Ms. Murr might be considered 'the strict teacher,' but it's her big heart that people know her by. 

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"She has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know," Cook said. 

"She cares about her students. She cares about the community. We're just very fortunate to have had her," Principal Lisa Carter said. "Parents walk in and they've had Ms. Murr. They know their kids are going to have Ms. Murr, and they're excited because they know they're going to get a quality education." 

When you ask Murr why she loves coming to work every single day, she says it's never boring, and she learns something new every day. That says a lot after 50 years.