Every day, teachers, administrators, and peers get a chance to share their stories, and there’s a good chance that the people who pass each other in the halls each day know something about one another. But what about the stories of the people on campus that don’t get told?

In early October, daytime custodian Matthew Hayes revealed to the counseling office that his father, Wallace Hayes, was a bit-part actor before he settled down and became a family man.

Wallace Hayes’s career in the industry began in California, where he attended the University of Los Angeles and changed his name to Hayes to better fit in with the culture. After school, he began taking small jobs in the music and acting spheres in Sacramento.

After spending some time working in Sacramento, Wallace Hayes became a stage manager for the Broadway Sacramento Music Circus. He primarily worked alongside the stars as a lighting technician.

Although Wallace Haye’s role might have seemed small, being a pivotal role in many performances meant he was able to make connections with plenty of big faces along the way, such as his ex-wife and television personality Georgia Frontiere, singer Nat King Cole, and lyricist duo Rodgers and Hammerstein.

In 1944, after finding himself on the set of a movie, Hayes ended up playing the role of a young soldier boy in the movie Mr. Winkle Goes to War.

Although some vague photographic evidence remains of the 16 other films Wallace Haye’s was in, it was a common practice in the 1940s that only feature roles were credited, so little is known about his other roles.

In the later days of his career in the industry, Wallace Hayes found himself drawn to the idea of becoming a family man, so he and his wife set off to Florida in the hopes of settling down and chasing that dream.

In Florida, he and his wife amicably divorced after her infidelity, but new doors opened for him when he was introduced to Mary, a talented girl from Miami. She and Wallace married and lived in Morningside

Park, Miami, until 1970, when they realized that the environment wasn’t fit to raise a family.

“He was [living] in Miami, and the crime rate was so bad, he was getting robbed about every day,” Matthew said.

They uprooted their family of five to a cabin on a 400-acre plot of land in Boone, North Carolina. There, the winters were harsh and paved roads were sparse, so Wallace stepped out of the spotlight and turned his sights towards Bristol.

“[Bristol] was a secure area,” Matthew said. “It was too dangerous to go from Boone to Bristol all the time.”

Wallace got a second house in Bristol, where Matthew and his siblings could live during the hustle and bustle of the school year, and made their return to the cabin in Boone to enjoy quiet, family-filled summers.

Wallace Hayes had officially exited the stage and entered into the role of being a family man.

Although his career in the industry was over, Wallace’s passions still found their way into his family life.

“He sang a lot to us when we were kids,” Matthew said.

Matthew’s love for music continued as one of the most important parts of his life with a band that he loved, Quarterflash.

“When I was a kid, I wrote them all the time, and they said I was their number one fan; they gave me an autographed picture,” Matthew said. “Most groups charge you money for an autograph, but they [gave] it to me for free.”

Matthew’s love for Quarterflash didn’t go unnoticed, and his sister Delia “Dede” Hayes got the pleasure of being with him when they went to a concert together in Virginia and he got recognized for his passion and love for the band.

“[They said] ‘We think that one of our fans, Matthew Hayes, is here’ and he waved,” Dede said. “It was a shock to both of us; I was never expecting them to stop the concert.”

As a young adult, Matthew’s love of music gave him the opportunity to work at the Port O’ Call, a music store housed in the basement of the Bristol Mall in the 1980s.

Over the years, Matthew worked other jobs, primarily at local grocery stores Kroger and Food City, but his overall favorite has been working at Tennessee High for the past eight years. This job has been his favorite because he loves cleaning.

Matthew shows his love for his job by showing up and working hard every day, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by the school staff, including Josh Shuler, Kim Kirk, and Paul Pendleton.

“He goes above and beyond every day because that job is a tough job; he makes sure the cafeteria is clean every day,” Schuler said. “I see him talking to the students, and he’s always, always got a smile on his face.”

Matthew goes above and beyond every day, not just by keeping the school clean, but also by making sure kindness is spread along the way.

“He’s very friendly,” Pendleton said. “He’s always wanting to talk to you, say hello, and see how your day’s going.”

Outside of his job, Matthew loves to share his interest in life and also get the interest of his fellow staff members.

“He talks to me a lot about sports,” Shuler said. “We have some good conversations…about college football and the NFL.”.

Matthew inspires those around him, and although he doesn’t play bit-part roles like his father, he plays an important role in his community.

“He’s a magical person and he’s a remarkable human being,” Dede said. “I don’t know anyone as good a person as my little brother.”