The late Leonard J. Waxdeck was not the best teacher I had at Piedmont High School. (When my friend Earl and I pointed out to him that equations we had learned in Algebra class would solve the problems in genetic trait distribution he had given us in his Life Sciences class, he refused to open his mind to something new.)

But he has become the most famous teacher in the history of the Bay Area school, because of his bird calling contest.

The Leonard J. Waxdeck Bird Calling Contest started in 1963, and by the time I graduated in 1966 it was already an institution. Last Friday marked the 42nd contest, now after the founder’s death called the Piedmont Bird Calling Contest. According to media reports, while in my day the contest was a school assembly and participants wore suits or nice dresses, today they dress up in weird costumes, and the school sells tickets to the public.

As has become the tradition in recent years, winners appear on the David Letterman Show.

Reporting on this year’s contest, the “Oakland Tribune” writes:

A 6-foot-4-inch flamingo in tights and a pink G-string is a thing to behold.

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Big bird Aaron Macholl-Stanley and his buddies Shaheen Axtle and Derek DeRoche were part of the flock of bird callers willing to make feathered fools of themselves at Piedmont High’s 42nd annual bird-calling contest.

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The threesome took second place in the competition, which may win them a spot on “Late Night With David Letterman,” a dandy perk for a bunch of high school students.

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The man himself, Letterman, will review the videotape of Friday’s contest and choose three or four callers to appear on his show later this month, according to the contest’s producer, Amy Booker.