When Michael Durbahn walks through the aisles of a Menards or a local hardware store, he rarely makes it through a single row without hearing a familiar shout: “Mr. D!”
It is the hallmark of a 36-year teaching career that spanned the transition from manual drafting boards to computer-assisted design (CAD), and from the “blacksmith era” of general shop to high-tech engineering programs. On May 13, that legacy will be officially cemented as Durbahn is inducted into the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) Hall of Fame as a 2026 Educator Inductee.
Born in 1950 in the Iron Range town of Buhl, Minnesota, Durbahn was practically born with a wrench in one hand and a chisel in the other. His grandfather was an Industrial Arts teacher, and his father was a mechanic in the mines. “We always had to fix and build things ourselves,” Durbahn recalled. “We worked on buildings, fixed cars, and even built a couple of boats—a hydroplane and a sailboat.”
Following in his family’s footsteps, Durbahn earned his degrees from Mesabi State and St. Cloud State before arriving at Waldorf-Pemberton in 1973. He would spend the next 22 years in the district, becoming a fixture of the community’s educational landscape. His tenure was defined by a refusal to let the curriculum grow stagnant. While some industrial arts programs across the country eventually shuttered due to a lack of modernization, Durbahn became a perpetual student. He consistently returned to school to learn CNC programming, electronics, and coding.
“I’ve seen too many programs that refused to change with the times and eventually disappeared,” Durbahn said. “It’s important to be able to teach the kids what is most currently available to them.” This philosophy led to some of the school’s most memorable—and sometimes controversial—projects. Alongside a Waldorf math teacher, Durbahn once led students in building a geodesic greenhouse. “Shop was often assumed to be a leisurely class instead of a fabrication class,” he noted. “But I felt it was more appropriate for students who wanted to work with their hands to actually build things that required real engineering.”
The pinnacle of his time at Waldorf-Pemberton came in 1992, when the middle school program received the International Technology Education Association’s Program of Excellence Award. Durbahn’s district was the only middle school to meet the rigorous standards that year and was by far the smallest school in the running. It was an astounding achievement, although Durbahn is quick to share the credit. “It wasn’t just our program. It was the school board, the staff, and the families who backed us by providing the curriculum and equipment we needed. It was a collective effort.”
In 1995, seeking to further his own growth in new technologies, Durbahn began teaching at various Mankato public schools, most notably Mankato West High School. There, he helped pioneer “Project Lead the Way,” introducing architecture and engineering classes that partnered with local industry leaders like Bolton & Menk and Schwickerts.
Since retiring in 2009, Durbahn has returned to his “first love” of woodworking, though calling it a hobby feels like an understatement. His home features a two-story addition he designed and built himself—a “50-year project,” he joked. His shop is currently a gallery of marquetry—a complex art form involving jigsaw-style wood inlays. He still uses his grandfather’s 60-year-old scroll saw to create intricate rose patterns for furniture and cabinets.
When he is officially honored on May 13 at the Fine Arts Banquet, Durbahn plans to reflect on a career that was less about teaching in the traditional sense and more about showing. “I’ve been told ‘you don’t even teach,’ and I somewhat agree,” Durbahn said with a smile. “I have just shown students how to create things with their hands and their mind. This award has brought back many good memories—it’s an honor to be remembered in JWP history.”
