01 DFJ 10-24-06 cover - The Daily Freeman Journal

Transcription

Page 2B, The Daily Freeman-Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006
‘In Good Company’
Stratford business owner marks
15 years of tasty meals and fine decor
BY LORI BERGLUND
Daily Freeman-Journal Editor
STRATFORD — In 15 years this little shop on Shakespeare
Avenue in Stratford has built a reputation as being one of the
finest tearooms in central Iowa.
The only problem is that owner Janet Sonksen doesn’t really
see her business — In Good Company — as a tearoom.
The portions are heartier and the menu choices are diverse
enough to please the palette of even hungry farmers, but the
decor of this little shop is definitely a girly girl’s dream.
And while the average man may not notice the mantel full of
angels as he devours a plate full of Swedish meatballs delicious
enough to have been made by his grandmother, the average
woman won’t miss the counter full of popcorn shirts and, before
she’s done, she may even want to make an offer on the oak table
and chairs she’s seated at on a lazy fall afternoon.
It’s not that Sonksen really minds when customers refer to In
Good Company as a tearoom, but she makes certain that her
menu and storegoods are really more suited to a luncheon and
gift shop.
In other words, the welcome mat is out for women, men,
young, old, for those who just want to eat, those who just want to
shop, and those who want to do a little of both.
Sonksen had little training in the business world when she and
a friend opened In Good Company 15 years ago this month. And,
as with any new business, the chances of making it this long are
difficult, to say the least.
“I opened this up not thinking I’d have to make a livelihood
out of it. It was just going to be a fun part-time job, but it ended
up being a full-time job,” she said.
Sonksen said she had been looking for something different to
try after her children were out of school, and a luncheon and gift
shop, she decided, were right up her alley.
The building she purchased had been a paint store in more recent history, but started out as a Jack Sprat Grocery Store from
the 1920s through 1950s. Shelves that once were full with heavy
cans of paint still line the south wall, are now filled with an array
of gift and home decor merchandise.
“The shelves are built really strong, I stand on them,” Sonksen
said.
The fact that she’s not scared of heights helps when she stands
on those shelves to stock them, as well as when she painted the
original tin ceiling from a scaffold as her business partner pushed
the scaffolding around the store.
Yes, it may be a dainty shop, but Sonksen isn’t afraid of a little
hard work. The shop is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Sonksen’s
day is usually much longer.
“Don’t count on an 8 to 5 job, because it’s a lot more than
that,” is her advice to would-be business owners.
She comes in sometimes by 6 a.m., and always by 7 or 8 a.m.
She may stay a little after closing, to pick up things and put out
additional merchandise. And, later in the evening, she will often
come back to bake some homemade desserts for the next day’s
menu.
Lori Berglund/Freeman-Journal
In Good Company owner Janet Sonksen, above, offers customers a cozy place for lunch and an environment suited for
browsing at her ornately decorated business in Stratford.
In Good Company offers a different special every day, a couple
different sandwiches, a couple different salads, desserts, and, depending on the season, one or two different soups. The foods are
always homemade and often reminiscent of foods many people
loved as children at their grandmother’s table.
“I want men to be able to come in here and eat — and I want
to give nice portions,” she noted.
For shoppers, Sonksen goes to markets around the Midwest six
to eight times a year. Selecting merchandise can be a risk, but
Sonksen tends to know what will appeal to her customers.
“You just go to market and just try things and think they might
go,” she said. “Somethings you don’t guess right on, somethings
you do. It’s a gamble.”
As is any business venture itself. For Sonksen, the gamble she
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THANK YOU TO THE
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took 15 years ago has paid off. Although her partner eventually
decided she wanted more time back home, and Sonksen bought
her out. Today she operates the business with the help of two
part-time cooks and a few more part-time waitresses and clerk.
Over the years, she also expanded into an adjacent building and
knocked out a wall to create more floor space.
Good food and some fun shopping, that’s been Sonksen’s
recipe for success. And, as far the rewards go for this time-consuming operation, she has no doubts.
“Basically, what this really is is people,” she said. “I meet wonderful, wonderful, wonderful people here and that’s what it’s really about.”
Time consuming, yes; worth it, definitely for Sonksen.
“I love it, you have to love it to do this.”
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MEAT• 832.1861
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WEBSTER CITY STORE
GROCERY• 832.5040
Not Pictured: Angel Bieker - 1 yr • Shannon Struchen - 1 yr • Kellie Pruismann - 1 yr • Liz Burnett - 3 yrs • Megan Dyer - 1 yr • Jessica Gerdes - 1 yr • Sarah Gumm - 3 yrs • Jordan Kane - 1 yr • Roni McTaggart - 2 yrs
The Daily Freeman-Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 Page 3B
KETTA CAN
It may not be
CSI, but this is
a woman who
loves searching
for answers
BY ANNE BLANKENSHIP
Daily Freeman-Journal Staff Writer
She’s the smiling face behind the reference desk. And she’s the
person helping a computer novice with an Internet question. Behind the scenes, Ketta Lubberstedt is one of the Kendall Young
Library’s cataloguers, logging and tracking the materials before
they hit the shelves of library.
Lubberstedt is a native of Wayne, Neb. and attended college at
Wayne State University, earning an undergraduate degree in
math. She attended Emporia State University at Emporia, Kan.,
where she earned her master’s degree in library science.
Lubberstedt said her career as a librarian just sort of happened.
“I worked at the high school library while I was in high
school. I knew a college librarian and I needed work experience,
so she chose me from a list of people wanting to work there. I
spent four years there and then the last few summers I was hired
on as part-time staff,” she said, adding, “Being a home town girl
helped, I think.”
After graduation, jobs were pretty sparse, especially those that
had the salary and benefits she wanted. She couldn’t find any
jobs near her family in Nebraska, so Lubberstedt expanded her
job search to include surrounding states.
That’s when the reference librarian position at Kendall Young
Library came open. She took the position in September 1998.
Lubberstedt thought Webster City was great from the start.
“This is a great community and a great location even though
it’s much smaller than what I was used to. Growing up in a college town, the population is changing all the time,” she commented.”
In her duties as reference librarian, Lubberstedt helps patrons
with general questions, with research on genealogy, and with
computer questions. The library is known for its genealogy and
reference section, and she frequently fields emails or phone requests from people trying to track down some bit of information
on an ancestor. The library has extensive files on many of the
community’s early and prominent citizens.
“I handle most of the genealogy questions,” Lubberstedt said.
“It’s probably easier that one or two people handle the requests,
because we get used to the materials and resources.”
She also gives students help with homework and tracks down
information for those unable to find an answer.
“Sometimes we get two or three questions a week. Sometimes
more, and sometimes less.” she said.
The library has a bank of computers for the public’s use. The
machines are busy most days with people checking e-mail, researching information and often just keeping up on the news.
Ketta Lubberstedt, reference librarian at Kendall Young Library, fields most of the genealogy questions the library receives.
‘...it’s more than just books. It’s
that search for information, the
quest for answers. It’s
challenging, but finding the right
answer can be exhilarating.’
Ketta Lubberstedt
Lubberstedt is the resource person for those Internet surfers
needing assistance. She shows people how to use the computers
and how to use email.
“I’ve helped people set up a lot of free e-mail accounts. We’ve
also held classes on computer topics, such as how to do eBay,
and others,” Lubberstedt said.
Lubberstedt went on to say that classes often evolve when
there is a question that is frequently asked. She’s also been
known to schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions when someone
needs a little extra help.
The most frustrating thing for Lubberstedt is not being able to
find an answer for a patron.
“Some of the questions can be really difficult and finding that
elusive answer is challenging. Of course, we also want to make
sure the information we do find is accurate.”
A new addition to her job in recent years has been cataloguing
duties. She said she spends about 20 hours a week cataloguing
the library’s materials. She is the primary cataloguer, but does
get some help from two other employees.
Kepler enjoys helping people at
Hamilton County Public Health
BY TRACY RUNNEBERG
The desire to help and care for others are two
necessary components in healthcare careers.
One Webster City woman fulfills both of these
aspects with her new position as the Nurse
Manager and Hospice Patient Care Coordinator
at Hamilton County Public Health.
Kathy Kepler recently took over her new duties, and is enjoying all of the different aspects.
A typical day begins with a staffing each morning that allows all the nurses to gather together
to discuss clientele needs and to be assigned
new clients. Kepler stated that she normally
completes her visits in the morning, and spends
time at the Stratford Nursing Home two days a
week as a Certified Wound Care Nurse, checking on patients. She also helps out with the daily case load if someone is sick, or has a large
load, because she feels it’s important to work
together as a team. Even as the manager, she
feels that she is still a part of that primary unit.
Kepler enjoys working with the Hospice program, especially since the work entails taking
care of the patient, making them comfortable,
and also includes all aspects of the family’s care
as well. She really enjoys helping families
through the process, and the love she feels for
her patients
shows.
“You get very
attached and
build a lot of
friendships
through the
Hospice program. Often
times you are
working with
the same family
for many
months. I feel
our nurses are
KATHY KEPLER
very professional and very good
at their jobs, and it shows when we receive positive surveys from those who have been through
the program.”
Kepler added that Public Health is breaking
new ground in technology with two new programs. They are currently in the process of
changing over to computer charting with laptops
that the nurses can take into the patient’s homes.
This will save a lot of paper work, time, and ensure better tracking of the patients, Kepler stated.
The patrons are what Lubberstedt enjoys the most about her
job.
“I like meeting the patrons, especially the kids. And it really
makes me feel good to know I’m helping people,” she said.
Lubberstedt said the library is trying to add more and varied
programming. She sits in on a Stitch N’Chat group that gathers
to do crafts once a month in the library’s meeting room.
“We have about six or seven people who gather to share ideas
while we work on our current projects. I bake for them so we
have some treats. Some weeks, it seems we talk more than we
work on projects,” she explained.
The library has been screening movies for almost a year. It
started out with just kid’s films, but then expanded to include
films for adult patrons. Lubberstedt said most of the films shown
are those that may not have been played in at the local theater.
“We started off with just a couple people attending, and now
we often have 15 to 20 who attend the showings.”
When she’s not working at the library, Lubberstedt heads to
Fuller Hall to work out. She also likes to go for long walks
around town. The librarian also treks home to Nebraska to see
family and friends as often as she can.
Exploring is another favorite pastime, she said. Lubberstedt
climbs into her car and takes off to explore someplace she’s never been before. She’s visited various points of interest around
the state. It seems that the reference librarian’s quest for information has spilled over into her private life, as well.
“One of my first library classes in college, the professor asked
us why we wanted to go into library science. And we couldn’t
say it was because we loved books or reading,” she explained.
“That’s important, but it’s more than just books. It’s that search
for information, the quest for answers. It’s challenging, but finding the right answer can be exhilarating.”
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It takes a woman to keep the
town of Kamrar on its toes
Isvik enjoys the flexibility that comes with serving as a small town city clerk
ity when it comes to the budget. Larger town can
easily generate more tax revenue in one city block
KAMRAR — Lori Isvik isn’t afraid to try new
that Kamrar does in its entire community. And, if
things. She’s married to her husband, Howard,
Webster City has sometimes worried about being
and not her job, and so she’s always enjoyed
too dependent on Electrolux, it should look at the
finding jobs that fit with her family life.
relationship between Kamrar and United Co-op.
Isvik spent 10 years working at the Boone
“We have a little over $2 million in valuation, a
County Hospital, five years working at Hamilton
third of that which is the United Co-op, so they pay
Hospital in Webster City, stayed home for five
about one-third of our taxes,” Isvik said. But then,
years after her daughter was born, and has spent
given the rich farmground that surrounds Kamrar,
the last five years serving the people of Kamrar
no one is worried about United Co-op moving anyas city clerk.
where, anytime, soon.
It’s a job that fits with the Isvik family’s
In all, Kamrar gets by on a shoestring budget
lifestyle. And it’s a job that gives Isvik plenty of
of just $36,000 in total annual tax revenues, plus
satisfaction. But don’t ask her to describe a “norsome Road Use Tax funds distributed by the state.
mal” day in this little town of 229 people in the
“They do a lot on a little budget,” Isvik said of
center of Hamilton County.
the Kamrar mayor and council. “They’re very fru“I’ve never had a normal day,” Isvik said.
gal.”
“I solve a lot of problems.” And, when that’s
And, as with any project in a small town, it renot possible, “I try to stop a lot of (little) probquires volunteers willing to pitch in. In the last few
lems from getting bigger. I hope that’s what I can
years, for example, there’s been an effort to improve
help people with. If I can’t fix it, I can find
the park in Kamrar. The entire park board, made up
someone who can.”
of just Isvik and Amy Pigsley, has overseen several
From questions about tax statements, potholes,
improvements, many of which were made possible
or-as may be the case in Kamrar-the lunch speby donations from the Kamrar Lions Club.
cial at Trader’s Inn, a small town clerk can ex“The Lions donate to that a lot. They’re real
pect to field any number of questions on any parbig supporters,” Isvik said. “We’ve replaced a big
ticular day.
chunk of fencing around the ball diamond. We put
Since most of those questions come from her
up a big slide, a tree swing, a climbing toy. We do
friends and neighbors, Isvik answers them all
half, and the city does half, we all work together.”
with a smile.
Another important area of volunteer participaThe job as Kamrar city clerk came
tion is the Kamrar Volunteer Fire and Rescue Dealong at an ideal time for Isvik. Her daughter,
partment. Thankfully, in this department, the volunAmy, had just started school, leaving mom with a
teers also receive some support from the surroundlittle more time on her hands. As a farm wife, the
ing rural townships.
job location was ideal — just two miles from the
While such volunteerism has long been a way
family’s home —and the hours are a bit flexible.
of life in small towns, there’s also a new addition to
“The city is a great place to work; they’re very
funding streams for Kamrar, Hamilton County, and
flexible,” she said.
all its communities this fall. It’s called LOST —
To get in her salaried 20 hours per week, she
Local Option Sales Tax — and its giving all those
usually works about three days each week and
government entities money they have never had bekeeps regular open office hours on Monday and
fore. The funds come from the 1 cent local option
Thursday mornings. And, during busy times she
tax voters approved to pay for the construction of
Lori Isvik, above, started out with a career in the medical sciences, but now the Hamilton County Jail. With the debt on the jail
simply works whatever hours it takes to get the job
enjoys the accounting that comes with serving as Kamrar City Clerk.
done.
paid off in less than half the 10-year approval of the
“The beginning of the month and the end of the
special tax, those funds are now being shared by the
month you work a little more,” she added. “Right
cities and county.
past summer want to hold some type of annual festival, perhaps
now, I’m working on a big end-of-the-year state report that takes including such things as a community church service, lunch, car
Kamrar received its first LOST check earlier this fall and
a lot of extra time, but in the summer when there’s something
quickly banked the $1,053 for future projects.
show, or whatever fits what’s happening each new year.
we want to do, or I want to go to the county fair, we go!”
“It’s really going to be a big boon. We’re going to use it for
“Maybe something a little different every year,” Isvik exAnd, Isvik also knows who to thank for that flexibility in balsome street projects,” Isvik said of the LOST funds. “We have
plained.
ancing her work hours with her work load.
But community festivals come along only once a year, and it’s one street left in town that’s seal coated, it’s not asphalted, and
“I have a great mayor and a great council,” she said.
that’s our goal — to have that asphalted. We have some other
the day-in, day-out work that concerns Isvik most. Serving as a
Like the mayor and council, she also wants the best for Kamcity clerk seems quite removed from her educational background, streets that need some repairs, and that’s what they’re planning
rar and its future.
on using them for.”
but she sees some similarities. Isvik earned a bachelor’s degree
“They want to be here (the council and mayor). They want
Isvik emphasized that it’s important to use these first LOST
in general science from the University of Northern Iowa and had
things to happen in the town. They want it to stay nice,” she said. worked full-time as a medical technician at hospitals in Boone
funds wisely, and in ways that the public can see and appreciate,
Of course, even in a small town it’s impossible to please every- and Webster City before taking that hiatus to stay home with her to make it more likely that voters will renew the special tax when
one.
it comes up to its deadline at the end of 10 years.
newborn daughter.
“You’re always going to have somebody who isn’t having a
“If (the voters) can actually be shown where the money went,
Now, as a city clerk, she doesn’t work with Bunsen burners or
happy day,” she said.
and how it saved them,” they will be more likely to be willing to
test tubes anymore, but finds the math involved in being a city
But, thankfully, there tend to be many more good folks who
continue to pay that extra 1 cent tax on local purchases, she notclerk reminiscent of her science training.
roll up their sleeves and help with every little project in a little
ed.
“I really enjoy the bookkeeping part of my job, the financial
town. Kamrar, this past summer, celebrated its 125th anniversary part of my job. But that also comes from science, I think, beTaking a more aggressive approach to street repair and mainteand Isvik was delighted with the way the people of the town
nance, for example, should save Kamrar taxpayers in the long
cause I like things kind of exact. I want everything to balance,”
made it all happen.
run.
she said.
“Everyone just kind of pitched in,” she said. “They had a great
“Once you let them go, it just costs more to fix them,” Isvik
Math, or accounting, like science, requires precision, and that
time, it was real nice.”
said.
fits Isvik just fine.
After not having had a community celebration for some time,
Helping Kamrar plan for its future, and remain a welcoming
“I’m one of those people who balance my checkbook,” she
the Kamrar festival in June sparked a desire to renew such a tra- said with a smile.
community for families to call home, is rewarding for Isvik.
dition. Now the volunteers who worked on the celebration this
In a small town such as Kamrar, there’s little room for flexibil- Originally from Baxter, Isvik is accustomed to small town life
and has enjoyed her many different jobs before settling into this
particular career as a city clerk.
Coupon
Working in hospital labs and with patients was rewarding, as
was the years she spent at home after her daughter’s birth.
“It was very nice. That was just my husband and I’s decision,”
she said of being a stay-at-home mom. “There’s things you give
up and things you gain — a lot of things you gain.”
Now she’s pleased that serving as Kamrar City Clerk still allows her time to spend with her family. A life-long quilter, Isvik
hasn’t had as much time for that hobby in recent years, but with
her daughter now old enough for 4-H, she looks forward to
brushing up on her own skills with a needle and thread.
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Owner
Cannot be combined with any other offer
of getting little more back to that,” she said.
Isvik also works with a Girl Scout Troop and volunteers for the
AWANA program at their church in Jewell.
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No, Isvik has never been afraid to try new things, but sometimes
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The Daily Freeman-Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Friday, Oct. 13, 2006, Page5B
Work is just a way of life
Bob Van Diest took a hunch on woman named Dalene, two decades later, it’s still working out
BY LORI BERGLUND
There isn't much that Dalene Schlitter hasn't tried.
She studied Shakespeare as well as adverbs and adjectives to
be an English teacher.
She's had a paper route.
She wrote a cookbook for microwave ovens, back when they
were the latest new-fangled gadget on the market.
She's taught cooking classes.
She's even been fired over the phone, but she just kindly called
up the owner of the company and he told her she didn't need to
listen to that kind of impolite talk from anyone.
And, by the way, she's still at the same company, with the
same owner, and in the same job she wasn't so sure she was qualified for more than two decades ago.
Dalene Schlitter is a woman who isn't afraid to try new things.
A 1959 graduate of Webster City High School, the former Dalene Hillyer soon ventured off out west, earning her bachelor's
degree from Colorado State University. She eventually made it
back to the Midwest, teaching English in Kansas City for about
five or six years.
She soon got to work having a family, raising three daughters
and moving again, this time getting closer to home as she moved
into the business world in Cedar Rapids.
"I went to work in the business world and I liked it better than
teaching," Schlitter said. "I'm not a very good disciplinarian."
The change to a career in business proved to be a good fit.
"I like accounting, and I like numbers, and I like making
things balance — but that really wasn't what my degree was in,"
she noted.
Almost 20 years after leaving Webster City behind following
graduation, Schlitter returned to her hometown with her three
girls and husband in tow, just in time for those three daughters,
like their mom, to, one by one, become WCHS grads. And that's
one move that seems to have suited the family well.
They took up residence in the same farm home Schlitter had
grown up in and started putting down some roots in a very familiar place.
Those farm roots proved handy when she set about to get a job
here in her home county.
"I know something about farm cycles. It's awfully difficult to
predict what the year's going to be; you don't know what God's
going to give you — whether he's going to give you rain or snow
or hail or drought," she explained.
That first job upon returning home was at Modern Farm Systems, where she stayed for about five years. When the company
moved west, to Grand Island, Neb., she was invited to move
along with them, but this time Schlitter was staying put. And so,
just on a hunch, she sent a letter to a long-time business, this one
also serving the agricultural industry and area farmers.
"I just sent a letter to Bob (Van Diest) and asked him if he had
any openings in the company. He called me and he did have an
opening in credit at that time," she said.
That was 22 years ago this month. Van Diest Supply Company
was much smaller at the time, with far fewer buildings on its
campus west of Webster City and only a fraction of the employees.
"I started in the credit department. I was just kind of a clerk,
assistant credit manager, and was there for a very short period of
time," she recalled.
But it was an interesting coincidence that, on the same day she
started, a new treasurer also began work for the company. The
new treasurer commuted for awhile but, after awhile, it became
apparent that he didn't plan to move his family here and moved
on again. But instead of looking outside for a replacement, Bob
Van Diest looked inside, to a fairly new hire.
"Bob came in and said, 'Dalene, do you think you could be
treasurer of this company?' I said, 'Oh no. No, Bob, I don't have
that good of background."
But Bob Van Diest must have had a hunch about this.
"'Oh, let's just try it,' he said. 'I think you could do it.' And I
said, well, we can try it, but I don't know.'"
So far, 20-some years later, it seems to be working out.
"The other guy by then had left and that's where I've been ever
since," she said.
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Dalene Schlitter, standing, said that, even after a lifetime in the business world and an earlier career in education, she still enjoys coming to work every day at Van Diest Supply Co. in Webster City.
But don't expect Schlitter to take much credit for her own success.
"I've been very blessed with a wonderful department," she
added quickly.
And, for a woman who loves a challenge, who doesn't like just
sitting around, it's been another good fit.
"In this company, everybody is expected to be, and wants to
be, hands on. You're never going to be able to sit at your desk
and just think tank," she said.
A willingness to keep on learning, throughout one's career, is
also an important part of that, according to Schlitter.
"Bob's philosophy is, 'If I can't do it, I shouldn't expect my employees to,' and I agree with that philosophy," she added.
However, when one's talking about a business that draws heavily upon the ag sciences there are some limitations. But, when
there's not ability to do another job, there is at least awareness of
that other job's responsibilities.
"I can't do computer programming, but I fully expect to understand what they're doing and to appreciate what they've done,"
she explained.
Schlitter has also enjoyed being with Van Diest at a time of
rapid growth for the ag chemical supplier.
"I've seen the company grow from probably 125 employees to
over 500 now," she said.
And yet, since it is privately owned, the company still enjoys
the independence that comes from having an owner who is hands
on, rather than far removed in a corporate office several states
away.
"You just walk down the hall and it's approved," she said of the
free-flowing and quick-moving management style.
Of course, that doesn't mean that people still don't have a bad
day every now and then. Schlitter recalled a time when a salesman was apparently having a bad day and, as folks experiencing
a bad day are prone to do, decided to pass it along.
"He was very disgusted about a decision I made on an account," Schlitter recalled.
So disgusted, in fact, that he up and fired her over the phone.
"He said, 'Dalene, I want you to know right now I'm firing
you. You don't need to come to work tomorrow,'" she recalled.
Surprisingly, Schlitter seemed to understand the salesman's
frustration and went in to talk to the man who had hired her.
"I knew that he (the salesman) was angry and upset. I went in
and told Bob (and) he said, 'Dalene, you don't have to listen to
that kind of talk.' He said, "You just tell the gentleman when he
gets to be like that, call back, we'll talk later about it.'"
A calm response to a not-so-calm moment, and the salesman's
bad day was spread no further.
Known for his love of photography, and photos he's taken of
far-away places, Van Diest is also an employer who reaches out
to employees with travel opportunities. Her work with the company has enabled Schlitter to visit Alaska, Brazil, Rome, Mexico
and the Caribbean, as well as Europe and other sites.
As much as she enjoyed those trips, Schlitter is also pleased
that she sees the same passion for travel in her children.
"It gave me the inspiration to promote that in my children," she
said. One of her daughters was an exchange student in Belgium
and another joined the Peace Corps, serving in Africa.
Her commitment to work has also been handed down to her
children.
"I really enjoy working. My family's grown up that way, and I
think it's rubbed off on them, too," she said.
Her eldest daughter, Kara, is an elementary school principal in
Omaha; daughter Gjoa is a teacher in Council Bluffs; and the
youngest, Heidi, is a registered nurse in Minneapolis.
But despite her commitment to her job, she tries to leave work
at work.
"When I leave work at night I try to just stop work. I don't try
to think about it again until I'm getting dressed in the morning,
and then I kind of plan my day," she said.
Now, with her children grown, Schlitter still has plenty of other activities to fill her non-work hours. She's active in her church,
is a Rotary member, volunteers at the new free clinic in Webster
City, and serves as president of the ACE (All Cultures Equal)
board. And, if she's got any time left over, she likes to quilt.
And, she's sure to mention, it helps to have a supportive husband.
"I have a very supportive family. I have a very good husband
who, if I don't cook supper tonight, that's fine, he'll cook his
own," she said.
Few people return to their hometown — especially small
hometowns in the heart of rural Iowa — after having lived in the
beauty of the Rocky Mountains or having experienced the entertainment and other options of larger metropolitan cities, but it's a
move that worked out pretty well for this farm girl from rural
Webster City.
But don't expect her to slow down anytime soon.
"I look forward to coming to work every single day," Schlitter
said with a smile."
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Page 6B, The Daily Freeman-Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Tuesday Oct. 24, 2006
A hometown
girl finds
her niche
Greenfield offers a
guiding hand at
Northeast Hamilton
BY ANNE BLANKENSHIP
BLAIRSBURG — Sally Greenfield thinks of Northeast Hamilton School as “her school” and the kids who attend NEH are “her
kids.”
There’s a good reason for that. Greenfield graduated from the
consolidated school that serves students from Williams, Blairsburg and Kamrar, and has spent the last 22 years as the school’s
guidance counselor.
Greenfield is originally from Williams. She graduated from
NEH and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Westmar College. She taught band for about 10 years and, during that time,
Greenfield completed her master’s degree in counseling at Morningside College. When the guidance position opened at NEH,
Greenfield was chosen to fill the vacancy.
Greenfield is also a mom and farm wife. She and husband
Randy have raised three sons and manage a family farming operation. Sons Dan, 25, and Ben, 20, are students at Iowa State University. David, 17, attends NEH. She admitted that it wasn’t always easy as she was getting her master’s degree. There were
some nights and weekends when her husband handled the children, and many nights that pizza was on the dinner table.
“It gets easier as the kids get older. My husband has always
been very supportive of my career and was great when I went
back to school to get my master’s degree,” Greenfield said. Her
boys have a greater sense of responsibility, she said, with two
working parents.
“It’s not easy working all day and then going home to work.
THANK YOU
Dede Eekhoff
& Jacqueline Banwell
Sally Greenfield, center, Northeast Hamilton’s guidance counselor, share a laugh with two of her students, Jennifer Willem and Sarah Elm.
But everybody adapts. I think it’s made my children better people
and much more self-sufficient,” she said.
She’s also learned to prioritize things in her life.
“Time is always a problem, not just for me but everyone, I
guess. I’ve learned to pick my battles. I have a housekeeper who
comes in and that has proven to be great help around our house,”
she said.
Greenfield serves as the guidance counselor for all of the students at Northeast Hamilton, kindergarten through 12th grade.
“I try to connect with every child in the building. That’s a lot
of different ages, a lot of different needs. But I think of them all
as ‘my kids.’ My job is to help them all get through school to be
successful adults,” she explained.
Greenfield credits parental and community support with helping raise successful students. Their efforts seem to be paying off
as Greenfield said 95 to 100 percent of Northeast Hamilton’s
graduates go on to some kind of post-secondary education.
“My goal is to see that everyone does something after high
school—whether its college, a trade school or the military. I think
last year, all but one student continued on with their education,”
Greenfield explained. She went on to say that some years, one or
two students choose other options, while many years, every student in the graduating class goes off to college, trade school or
the military.
“You simply have to have an education these days, whether it’s
a four-year degree or a trade school program. Sometimes it’s
those one or two-year programs that end up being the big money
makers for students. For a lot of kids, it’s a matter of finding out
what’s out there and what they’re interesting in doing,” she commented.
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There are never any boring days at NEH for Greenfield. Her
schedule includes collaborations with teachers, taking calls from
parents, working with students on college visits and scholarship
applications. She attends staffings, teaches a 6th grade guidance
exploratory class, and an introduction to psychology class for
Iowa Central Community College at Northeast Hamilton, a class
which gives students dual high school-college credit.
These days she spends more time taking calls and questions
from parents. With grades and student information available to
parents online, most parents are more involved than ever, Greenfield said. At Northeast Hamilton, parents and the whole community take an interest in the school.
“The community really supports the kids’ success. In a small
school like this, everyone knows everybody else. Everyone
knows me, and I often get stopped by parents at ballgames, at
church and other places, and parents ask me questions or want to
know more about how their kids are doing,” she said.
“I think the fact that I live in the community and that people
know me make me accountable to the parents.”
She said that all of the teachers at the school are very caring
individuals, also eager to see the students be successful. There is
little turnover among the teaching staff, she added.
“That’s a great tribute to our administration. We have some
teachers who drive 40 to 50 miles every day from every direction
around us. They like working in a small school. They like the
kids. There’s just something about the atmosphere of a small
school. It’s like a family,” she explained.
“Have patience.” That’s the advice Greenfield gives others considering a career in guidance counseling.
“Patience is one of those skills that I never really thought about
when I started out, but its one of the most important things I’ve
learned,” she said. “Sometimes you have to know what to pursue
and what to let come to you. Maybe that’s just maturity talking,”
she said, chuckling.
Commitment to the students and the school, and collaboration
with parents, teachers and students are also necessary skills for
any guidance counselor, Greenfield said.
“Some of the things I’ve done in this job through the years—I
never dreamed I would be doing when I first started out,” she
said, “Those extra things that are not in the job description.”
Then, of course, there are the joyous moments that she shares
with her students—the graduations, the wedding invitations and
the baby announcements. She even keeps in contact via e-mail
with many of her former students who have moved on to begin
their careers.
“Now, I’m seeing the second generation of kids coming
through. It’s exciting seeing them come in as kindergarteners and
then watching them grow and mature until they cross that stage
with a diploma in hand.”
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The Daily Freeman-Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006, Page 7B
Mixing work & family is winning
combination for the Gilberts
BY TRACY RUNNEBERG
Most people love their families and often
wish for more time with them, but how would
you like to work with family members everyday?
Connie Gilbert and her daughter Jeana
Gilbert-Eide have been making it work for the
past few years.
This mother daughter duo are joined in their
family-owned business, Gilbert Jewelers, by
Connie’s husband, Ron, and three part-time employees; Connie Loffredo, Jana Reints and Maggie Maxon.
Both Connie and Jeana talked of the challenges of being a working mother, and the fact
that work takes a lot of time out of the day, as
does taking care of home and family.
“I began working 28 years ago, more to support my husband when he began his own business. I was raising three children, and often you
just have to do what you need to in order to
make it work,” Connie stated.
Jeana agreed, stating that after having her
daughter, Shelby, four years ago, she realized
right away that she needed a job with flexibility,
and decided not to go back to her job as an insurance agent.
“I knew that I wanted to work in an atmosphere that allowed for more flexibility; where
they would understand that being a mom is my
biggest priority. I want to be able to go to an activity my child has at school during the day, or
pick her up from preschool, not all workplaces
give you that availability,” Jeana said.
But working together has not always been
easy for this family. It took some time to work
out expectations before they found the balance
that worked, according to Connie.
“Ron and I went through a similar process
when I first began working with him. I would
let him know what I was able to give, as I felt
my main priority was still raising the children.
But over the years I continued to learn, and took
on more responsibilities, which helped to lighten his load,” she said.
“With Jeana it was very similar. Our expectations of her were higher than a normal employee, and we would sometimes treat her more
harshly than our other employees. Yet often she
would try to get away with things more than
what a normal employee would. But we accept
that now, and value her contribution very
much,” stated Connie.
Each of the family members have specific areas in the business that they are in charge of,
along with waiting on customers and the normal
ins and outs of a retail business. Connie handles
the bookkeeping, Ron takes care of repairs, and
Jeana works with advertising and checking in
inventory. All of the employees are included in
Mother and daughter Connie, left, and Jeana Gilbert-Eide have found that joining their husband and father, Ron Gilbert, in the family business of Gilbert Jewelers works very well — for
both business and family.
the buying process, and recently the entire
group made a trip to Las Vegas to participate in
a diamond and jewelry market.
“We thought it would be good to get input
from our employees, and it gave them a chance
to see what it is like. Each of them help by offering ideas, which keeps things fresh. Sometimes when you do something for so long, you
just kind of do it the way you’ve always done.
You don’t continue to try new things. This way
we can get opinions from various age groups, as
to what they like and what they don’t,” Connie
stated.
Jeana added that she loves to prepare and
work on custom orders. Especially when someone comes in with an older piece that has sentimental value, but it may be something that they
won’t get any use out of. She begins by finding
out what the customer likes and shows them
pictures of other pieces to give them ideas for
new possibilities. Although they do more economical for the customer to find pieces that are
already made up, and use the piece in a similar
fashion.
“I love to see a customer’s response after
we’ve taken a piece of jewelry they would’ve
never been able to wear, and placing it in a different setting or new piece of jewelry that fits
their style. It’s important to me to fill the needs
of the customer, and my goal is to get the customer what they want. I always appreciate it
when we have the opportunity to fill their
needs,” stated Jeana.
When not at work, Connie has stayed busy
over the years by working with the Chamber
Board, and more recently she has focused her
time on the pursuit of personal and spiritual
growth. She stays very active with her church
family, enjoys helping others, and attends Bible
studies.
Both women enjoy spending time with family
and enjoy traveling when they can. Jeana added
that she enjoys time with her friends, and spending time with her daughter. She is also active in
the local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)
group, and is a member of the steering committee. This ministry group is for women with preschool age children, that meets twice a month
for fellowship, and support. Daycare is provided, and the moms participate in a fun activity
while they are there, Jeana stated.
Although the group meets in the mornings,
both Jeana and Connie feel the program is important, and make time for Jeana to leave work
to attend.
Connie and Jeana went on to add that some of
the challenges of being a working mother are
tremendous.
“As a working woman, it often feels like you
never spend enough time with your family.
When you get home from work, you fix supper,
eat, then if you have younger children, you
jump right into bath time and then bedtime. You
have no quality time with your kids, that can be
very difficult. It’s not always easy to stay on top
of things, being organized and trying to prepare
meals ahead of time,” she stated.
“I think just keeping up with the house and
the laundry are major tasks for women who are
never there to do it. Say you have a couple days
off, you end up spending them at home working. It’s really hard to find a balance between
work, family and recreation,” said Connie.
“Recreation for me is staying at home. I don’t
look for a lot of extra activities to get me out of
my home, because I’m grateful for the time I
get to spend there.”
But being a working woman does have its advantages. Getting out of the house and making
sure you are working and talking with other
people, and changing your atmosphere a little
bit is good, Jeana stated.
Connie added that she never liked the role of
only cooking and cleaning, and that’s all you
do. She stated that when she had more time to
get things done during the nine years she
worked as an at home mom, she tended to waste
more time.
“After I went to work when we opened our
own business, I found myself having to be more
disciplined, regulated, and scheduled. Some
people are just wonderful homemakers, utilizing
their time and creating a great atmosphere. I
don’t think I would have developed that even
with time. I’ve always enjoyed the interaction
with people, and I feel that working made me a
more well-rounded person,” Connie concluded.
Salute To Women
Would Like To Salute The Women Of The
Webster City Hy-Vee For All Your Hard Work And
Dedication To Our Customers.
REPRESENTING
COMMUNITY IS
24/7
OPPORTUNITY
Hejlik puts a fresh face on
WC Chamber of Commerce
nomics at college.
“I feel like I’ve gotten so much use out of my
Webster City Chamber of Commerce Director
education with this job, it actually feels good to
Tami Hejlik, sees herself as something of a
write that monthly student loan check. It really
matchmaker in her new position. As she learns
makes me feel good to know that I didn’t waste
what types of business local citizens want, she
all that time and energy that I spent in college,
then uses her resources to try and bring those
and that I actually use my knowledge daily,”
business here.
said Hejlik.
She attempts to match business that may exist
She also feels a great deal of pride that all the
and work well in the community with the right
hard work and effort she puts forth daily can
people.
benefit the entire community.
“I’m always listening to new ideas and trying
“ The hope that I can really make a difference
to think back in my file of conversations to fit
really gets me going everyday. All the money,
the right people together for whatever purpose
status and power in the world will never really
they need,” Hejlik stated.
give you the same feeling that gives you, that
The Chamber and Webster City Area Develyou’re really doing something. I hope that
opment are split into two branches. Gary Sandeveryone feels that way in their jobs, Hejlik
holm takes care of the business and industry distated.
vision, with Hejlik working with the Chamber
She added “it can be challenging and difficult
of Commerce. Working through two main lines,
at times, because you want to make everyone
one promoting business and the other helping
happy. Then I realized that you can’t make
businesses grow and develop, Hejlik spends a
everyone happy, I know I just need to do what’s
majority of her time working with existing busibest. No one wants to fail or disappoint others,
nesses, getting to know what their needs are and
but if you just go to work everyday and try your
working to promote that business better.
best, that has to be enough. If you feel good
“Every day is different and every day new
when you leave, then you’ve done a good job,”
challenges pop up. Even if I write a complete to
said Hejlik.
do list for that day, it’s not going to be the same
Hejlik went on to talk about the importance of
at the end of the day. It will be a totally differseparating home and work. Stating that it can
ent list,” said Hejlik.
sometimes be difficult to leave a bad day at
Goal-making has become a large change for
work, especially if something happens that is
Hejlik, who stated that she now finds herself
beyond her control, which she may be concontinually working on looking forward to the
cerned or upset about.
future, three months, and six months down the
“My husband and I have worked really hard
road, instead of one day at a time.
to focus more on talking about other things at
“I’m always looking forward to what is going
home like hobbies, television, and working on
to be happening next year, what’s going to hapthe house. You can get burned out really fast if
pen three years from now. That’s a big chalyou don’t learn separate the two, Hejlik stated.
lenge but I love it,” Hejlik said.
Hejlik’s busy schedule, complete with nights
Keeping busy and staying in touch with busiand weekends, can make it difficult to spend
ness owners is one of the most important avtime with her husband, Andy, but luckily his job
TAMI HEJLIK
enues Hejlik wants to cover, stating that she
allows a bit more flexibility, so he can work his
you can’t show that to people. Even if you’ve
cery store or the gas station to discuss an issue
feels she wouldn’t be doing her job correctly if
schedule around hers. If Hejlik has to work late,
had a bad morning, or broken a heel, or stressful or idea.
she didn’t get out of her office to stop by local
they usually try to grab lunch together, so they
personal matters are on your mind, it doesn’t re“I always need to be prepared to listen to peobusinesses.
have some time together to connect as a couple.
ally matter because when you come here you re- ple’s needs no matter what time it is and where
“I try to spend as much time out of the office
“How can you be a kind, caring person to othally have to be focused on your job and what
I am, and although I enjoy it, it was hard to get
visiting with businesses owners, even if it’s just
ers, if you don’t take care of yourself? We all
the goals are that day,” said Hejlik.
used to. I feel I always need to be presentable,
stopping into a business to say to say ‘hi’. I feel
struggle to keep our families happy and togethBut Hejlik adds the biggest change and chaland I’m sure part of that is being in a smaller
that is important and definitely not a waste of
er, to be a good worker and be good to ourlenge in her new position as Chamber Director
community, which is new to me as well.”
my time,” Hejlik stated.
selves. I really need a lot of time for myself,
is that when you leave at 5 p.m., you really nevBut Hejlik is very glad to be putting her eduHejlik said a difficult aspect of her job has
and I couldn’t really be who I am if I didn’t
er leave the job. Hejlik stated that she always
cation to good use with her position at the
sometimes been the need to show the public ongive myself that time. So if it means not getting
welcomes new ideas, but she wasn’t prepared
Chamber. Stating that everyday has been a lesly the good, relating her job to customer service.
all the laundry done over the weekend, that’s the
when people first began stopping her at the gro- son plan or a book she read while studying eco“No matter what type of day you are having,
way it is,” Hejlik stated.
BY TRACY RUNNEBERG
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WEBSTER CITY, IA 50595
(515)832-3071
WWW.WEBCITYFED.COM
Member FDIC
SHE’S BACK
One of county’s few female physicians
about to return to local practice
chronic illnesses earlier," she commented. She shared the story of
a woman she saw at clinic in another community. The woman
came in with what Mofle believed to be an advanced case of
breast cancer. The doctor said the patient didn't come in sooner
because she didn't have the insurance or the money to get the
care she needed.
"I'm afraid we're not going to have very good news for her. If
she could have come in six months to a year ago, we might have
been able to medically do more for her," Mofle said. The doctor
added she has been working to find some assistance for the
woman.
"Those who use the free clinic are not just indigent persons or
the unemployed. Often, those using the free clinic services are
employed people who don't have or can't afford adequate insurance of prescriptions. Some are young people who have just
graduated from college. They haven't found a job or gotten their
own insurance yet, and they aren't on their parents insurance anymore."
BY ANNE BLANKENSHIP
Daily Freeman Journal Staff Writer
A familiar face is returning the Webster City medical community after a year's hiatus. Dr. Lisa Mofle will soon be opening her
own practice.
Mofle worked for more than three years at the Trimark clinic
in Webster City. She left Trimark a year ago, and due to a noncompetition clause, she could not practice medicine in the community for a year.
But now, she's getting ready to open her own office. Mofle will
set up temporary shop at Hamilton Hospital while her own space
is being remodeled. She hopes to be open by mid-November. Her
return to the medical community comes at a time when Hamilton
Hospital and area clinics are looking to the future as several area
physicians are nearing retirement age.
In the past year, Mofle has been working for McFarland Clinic
in Jefferson and at the community health center in Storm Lake.
She has also provided temporary coverage for other physicians.
Mofle is originally from South Dakota and received her undergraduate and medical degree from the University of South Dakota. She did residency in Columbus, GA. for one year, and at
Edgewood, KY, near Cincinnati, for two years. She also worked
in obstetrics for three years in Green Bay, Wis. Mofle said she is
eager be back in the community practicing medicine.
"I love medicine. It's always been my passion and I especially
love OB," she commented. "I look forward to coming back to the
community."
"I think Hamilton Hospital has a fantastic OB staff," she said.
"I delivered my last child there, and my first grandchild was recently born there. The staff does a fabulous job and they are very
caring and supportive."
Mofle believes the hospital's OB department is very important
to the continued success of the county hospital.
"If people are delivering babies at the hospital, then they are
more likely to use the local hospital for other services. If we
were to lose the OB department here, I'm afraid we'd lose some
of our younger population, too," she said.
"I'm dedicated to this community and I'm going to be here for
a long time. I like the community, I like the people and I like the
hospital," she said.
Mofle was also instrumental in the initial planning and organizing of the Webster City Free Clinic. At one point, she was slated to be the medical director of the clinic. Due to the non-compete clause, that wasn't possible. Mofle has had to sit out the first
few months of the clinic's operation. That didn't stop her from offering her time and talents in other ways at the clinic. She volunteered several times in a non-medical way.
"There're a lot of people that are underinsured, or uninsured or
who can't access health care. They end up in our emergency
rooms often times with conditions that have progressed, for example diabetes with heart and renal disease," she explained.
"They've been untreated for years and now their conditions are
much more serious."
"I really believe the country would benefit if they could treat
DR. LISA MOFLE
‘If people are delivering
babies at the hospital, then
they are more likely to use
the local hospital for other
services. If we were to lose
the OB department here,
I'm afraid we'd lose some of
our younger population,
too.’
Dr. Lisa Mofle
In her previous practice, Mofle said she tried to help out some
of her patients with reduced charges or with prescriptions. The
doctor has also been known to purchase medicines for her patients out of her own pocket.
As the clinic's list of patients has continued to grow, the organizers are continuing to look for donations to help cover medication costs.
This busy physician also has a busy family life. She has eight
children, ages 3 to 19. Keeping track of where everyone is supposed to be can be a challenge, Mofle said.
"Right now we have five kids in soccer so that means five
practices each week and five games on Saturday," she explained.
"Sometimes it's a zoo around here because we are constantly on
the go. I try to write down everything so I know who has to be
where and when. A lot of that stuff goes up on the fridge."
Mofle's four oldest children are from a previous marriage. Her
second husband, Shawn, has adopted Alesha, 19, Jay 15, Morgan, 13 and Mitchell, 12.
"That was a very special time in our lives," she said. The
Mofles then had four more children-- Ty, 9, Shalese, 7, Peyton, 4
and Nautica, 3.
This year, Mofle's oldest daughter had a baby.
"I've seen her struggle and grow. It's a challenge being a single
mom, but she's gained a sense of maturity," Mofle said. "Being a
grandmother is a different role for me, too."
Her family is very supportive of her move to establish her own
practice. Her patients are also anxious to have her back, she said.
Some of her former patients followed her to Jefferson and Storm
Lake and others have called to see when her practice would be
opening.
"Those people will be very happy not to have to drive to Jefferson or Storm Lake," she added. "They are great patients, very
loyal and hopefully I've given them the care that they've wanted
and needed.
"I can't wait to be back in my own practice," she said.
COMMITMENT TO LOCAL QUALITY
Family Practice:
Subhash Sahai, M.D.
Pediatrics:
Sushma Sahai, M.D.
Internal Medicine:
Anil Sahai, D.O.
Cori Fogle, PA-C
Darin Eklund, PA-C
• LOCAL PRENATAL
THANK YOU LADIES, FOR
YOUR COMMITMENT TO
SERVICE. FROM THE ENTIRE
STAFF AT WEBSTER CITY
MEDICAL CLINIC
• LOCAL FAMILY DELIVERIES
• LOCAL PEDIATRICIAN
• ADHD FOR CHILDREN &
ADULTS
....For you, your family
and our community
WEBSTER CITY MEDICAL CLINIC
1610 Collins Street • Webster City, IA 50595
W
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E
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515.832.6123
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C
O
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EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!
Anderson dishes out smiles
along with tasty dishes at SH
BY LORI BERGLUND
JEWELL — Little did Candy Anderson realize that her after-school chore as a child would
one day come in handy on the job.
The daughter of small town grocery store
owners, Anderson grew up in a family where
everyone was expected to do their part — kids
included!
“My parents owned a grocery store, and my
mom would work side by side with my dad in
the grocery store,” Anderson recalled. “My job,
from the time I was in the fifth or sixth grade,
was either to work at the grocery store after
school or to go home and cook supper.
“I could do either one, but I had to do something — mostly my preference was to go home
and cook supper,” she explained.
Now, just a few decades later, she may have
never cooked for more grateful eaters than her
own parents.
“They were both tired by the time they got
home from work and they said, ‘Oh, this wonderful. Thank you for doing it,’” she recalled.
Today she spends her days making sure kids
at South Hamilton Schools are well fueled up
with nutritious foods that will see them through
whatever after-school activities they have
planned.
Anderson, it’s easy to see, isn’t just a cook.
She considers herself part of the educational
team at South Hamilton, encouraging kids to
learn good nutrition habits.
And she’s even bit of a surrogate grandmother, making sure that, whatever else may be going wrong in a student’s day, there’s a friendly
face waiting for each one of them in the lunch
room.
“This cafeteria has to be a no-stress zone because the kids have got pressures coming at
them from every direction,” Anderson tells her
staff. “You can make or break a kid’s day because you may be the only friendly face they’ve
seen.”
Anderson, with her easy laugh and quick
smile, particularly enjoys the days she spends
with the elementary students. She’s there two
days a week, with three days at the high school.
She enjoys menu planning, loves to get in the
kitchen and do as much of the cooking as she
can, and tolerates the growing amount of paperwork that comes with the job.
“In the last several years, there’s been a lot
places as computer labs.
South Hamilton is receiving more than
$70,000 in USDA funds to provide the fruits
and vegetables this school year and is the only
school in the state where the program is available to students throughout the spectrum, from
kindergarten through grade 12.
In addition to the basic fruits and vegetables,
there are some very creative entries into the
market this year, according to Anderson.
“We found some new package things which
are fun things,” she said. “Pineapple push-ups,
which are pineapple spears in a wrapper. You
tear off the top and then you push it up. Fresh
pineapple is wonderful,” Anderson added.
She realized that the program was making an
impact when she heard some high school girls
happy to be back in school after the weekend.
“On Mondays we would always go through a
lot more fruits and vegetables at the high school
then we did the rest of the week,” she said.
At first, that statistic was a bit of a mystery
until a group of girls came rushing up the fruit
and vegetable cart early one Monday morning:
“Oh, we’ve been craving this all weekend,” they
said.
Candy Anderson enjoys a laughs with students during lunch at the South HamilNow that’s a rewarding thing for a cook who
ton Elementary School in Jewell.
loves kids and sees herself as part of the educamore federal regulations, so it’s becoming heav- one person at a table of little kids says yuck, the tional team.
Anderson, herself, has kept on learning and
ier on the administrative part. I’ve had to delewhole table is just about a lost cause.
trying
new things throughout her adult life. She
gate some of the head cook tasks because
But far be it from Anderson to shrink from
worked 14 years as a legal assistant before dethere’s not enough hours to get it all done,” she the challenge of encouraging kids to try new
ciding to take a risk and try something else.
said with a sigh.
things.
“I hit the age 40 mark and decided I didn’t
But, make no mistake, cooking is still her fa“I feel like I’m making a contribution to their
want
to do the same thing my entire life, so I
vorite task — unless one counts visiting the
education,” Anderson said. “When I was hired, I
started my own business.”
lunch tables and hearing what kids like and dis- thought education has to be part of this job —
Anderson opened and operated the successful
like.
because we have to expand their horizons a little
Carousel
Tea Room in Story City for eight years
“We’ve got close to 800 appetites that we’re
bit, as far as what’s out there and how you can
before
the
job of head cook at South Hamilton
trying to appease every day, and everybody with combine different foods and different flavors,”
came up. It’s a job without a lot of turn-over,
different backgrounds and different tastes,” she
she said.
said.
One of her biggest contributions to education and offered benefits and hours not possible for a
person who owns her own business.
Her goal early on was to make all those 800
at South Hamilton is through a USDA grant
She took the job at South Hamilton, but kept
tummies happy. After all, she’d never had a
program designed to establish healthy eating
her own tea room going for a year before decidproblem pleasing anyone around her kitchen
habits that, hopefully, will stick with kids long
ing it was too much to try and do both.
table.
after they’ve put away their cap and gown.
Anderson loves the contact with children and
“I found out after the first few months that I
“It’s wonderful,” Anderson said of the progives
the school district high marks as an emset my goals too high in trying to please everygram that makes free fruit and vegetables availployer. Her husband serves as South Hamilton
body — there’s no way you can do that,” she
able to kids throughout the day. They can simsaid.
ply take an apple, banana, orange, or whatever’s transportation director and both enjoy their jobs.
“We always say, between one or the other of
Like everything else in school, peer pressure
available on a given day from carts stationed
us
we know just about every kid in the school
plays a big role, especially in the elementary
throughout the school and enjoy it whenever
district. We feed them, or transport them, or
grades. While high schoolers are independent
they like. Teachers allow the students to eat the
both,” she said with a smile.
enough to know what they like and dislike, if
fresh fruits and veggies in class, except in such
SALUTING THE
WOMEN
OF
LADIE’S NIGHT OUT
WEBSTER CITY
SWINE GRAPHICS
ENTERPRISES, L.P.
Grab the girls for an
evening of fun, friends,
and prizes!
Thursday, October 26th
4:00-8:00pm
Stop by Classic Carpet and Interiors, Gilbert
Jewelers, Heart N Home, Osweilers, Romancing
the Home, and the Gingerbread House for an
evening of shopping and chance to win gift
certificates, a massage, and much more!
Don’t forget to stop by Second Street
Emporium for their “Ladies Night Out” dinner
and drink special.
Front row L-R: Kim Slagle, Mary Zorn, Kelly Keller, Loretta Leman Second row L-R: Judy
Hoveland Third row L-R: Mary Sealine, Vicki Koop, Nancy Hensley, Marge Hepperle,
Jonna Tudor, Angie Pagel, Marcia Fritz Fourth row L-R: Patrice Klaver, Cindy
Ingebritson, Kathy Anderson, Shelly Sjoberg, Dawn Chally, Julie Patterson, Linda
Pruismann, Kristi Ahrens Absent from photo: Kelly Westbrook
Heart N Home
Romancing The Home
Gingerbread House
DON’T
MESS WITH
LEX
Prisoners answer to the
voice of one strong woman
BY LORI BERGLUND
To manage a hodge podge group of sometimes unruly, uncooperative, men former Hamilton County Sheriff Scott Anderson
chose one strong woman.
He choose Alicia Salic-Leeck, but just call her Lex.
Oh, and by the way, we’re talking about the prisoners there,
which also includes a few unruly women from time to time.
Current Hamilton County Sheriff Denny Hagenson is glad to
have her still on the job, especially in a profession that is known
for a substantial turn-over rate.
But it was another former sheriff, this one from Kossuth County, who first took one look at Lex, quickly sized her up, and decided she was just the woman to oversee his county jail.
“I walked in, introduced myself to Sheriff Kevin Van Otterloo,
at the time did not know him, had never met him before. He said,
‘The job is yours.’ I said, ‘Sir, you don’t know me.’ He goes,
‘Your size, and I know your sister.’ He said, ‘The job is yours.’”
And the rest is history.
“This job found me,” Lex said of her entry into the profession
of jail management.
It was her father-in-law who saw an ad for jailers in Kossuth
County and suggested to Lex that she give it a try.
“I think you’d be perfect,” he told her.
Lex wasn’t so sure about that, but kept it in the back of her
mind. She eventually took the job as chief jailer in Kossuth
County after that 45 minute interview with Van Otterloo.
Her first day on the job came on a cold December day when
she and three other brand new jailers went to Des Moines for
their first day of jail school.
While jailers can choose a correspondence course for certification, Lex firmly believes in the benefits offered by the 40-hour
jail school offered at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
For many, the job of a jailer serves as a stepping stone into law
enforcement and the rigorous training of jail school is designed
to help students be sure that this is a good choice for them.
Even then, nothing compares to that first day on the job.
“We’ve had people, they walk the walk, they talk the talk;
they’ve done the schooling, or they’ve done a job show type
thing,” she said. “They get in here and they hear that door slam,
or the first time they have an inmate who is, say less than pleasant, we find out shortly that this isn’t their bag. They can hide it
for a little bit, but not very long,” she said.
On average, jails can expect an annual turn-over rate of 25 to
30 percent, and even that may be a little low, according to Lex.
“Somebody’s who’s got a good temperament, who’s a listener
as well as patient — not afraid to be firm when need be,” that’s
the kind of people Lex looks to hire.
And while it’s certainly not a job for every woman — nor man
— it’s been said that the right woman can often be more persuasive with male prisoners than another man. In some cases, male
prisoners may be less likely to make trouble for a woman, but it’s
not something any jailer counts on.
Lex is quick to give credit to her current staff for helping
things run smoothly at the jail.
“The two supervisors that I now have on the jail floor, one
ALICIA SALIC-LEECK, HAMILTON COUNTY JAIL ADMINISTRATOR
‘There are some folks who have
it better in here than they do
on the outside. In here, they have
a warm, safe, place to sleep.
Outside, they don’t have clean
clothes, and they don’t have
three squares a day.’
came from a jail up in Wright County, and my other one is a high
school graduate, father of two, with no background in corrections. They both do a fantastic job, and this jail wouldn’t do as
good of a job as it does without the two of them,” she said.
For Lex, a typical day at the jail starts between 4:30 and 5 a.m.
“I’m a morning person,” she said of those early hours. “Of
course, the first thing I do is make my coffee. I check to see what
has happened the night before, see how many we’ve got in.”
There’s also a night crew report to review and breakfast will
soon be on the way for inmates.
Lex is what’s known as a working jail administrator and is just
as likely to be working the jail floor as sitting in her office. In recent months, she’s pulled a lot of regular shifts as a pregnant supervisor has been temporarily transferred to protected areas of
the jail.
But really, Lex wouldn’t have it any other way, as she prefers
to be hands-on and values the time she has on the floor to really
oversee jail operations.
“I don’t just sit in my office,” she emphasized.
And what she sees out on the jail floor may surprise many
Hamilton County natives.
“There are some folks who have it better in here than they do
on the outside,” Lex said. “In here, they have a warm, safe, place
to sleep. Outside, they don’t have clean clothes, and they don’t
have three squares a day.”
Homelessness is an issue that hasn’t received a lot of attention
lately, but Lex knows it’s still there.
“People may not want to see it, but we have our homeless, or
those who are right there,” on the edge of becoming homeless,
she added.”It doesn’t matter what little town or big town you live
in, they (the homeless) are all over.”
Another huge problem that troubles county deputies and big
city police officers alike is that of the mentally ill.
“Our biggest challenge with inmates is when we have mental
health issues.That is the hardest for us because we don’t know —
they’re like a time bomb. Their surroundings, a sound, a color, a
gender can set them off,” she said.
Even those without mental health issues can be pushed to desperate measure upon incarceration.
“People who get sentenced to prison will try anything, even
hurting themselves so they don’t have to go,” she cautioned.
That means that every day is a new challenge, and oftentimes a
large, risky, challenge. But that’s OK with Lex.
“I always learn new things. I’m a person who gets bored easily. I like the challenge. Sometimes the challenge is extremely
high, but I like that,” she said.
She thanks Van Otterloo, Anderson, and Hagenson for allowing her the chance to find this career for herself. Back in Kossuth
County, she started with just an aging, 4-bed jail, eventually
opening that county’s new jail in 2001. More than two years ago,
she came here to Hamilton County, where there was barely room
for her in the old sheriff’s office as she prepared to open the new
jail here. And now, she is one of the few, if not only, woman in
Iowa to open two major county jails.
Not bad for a woman who was a little surprised when men
kept telling her she’d made a good jailer.
THANK YOU LADIES...
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Passing on a love of music
and resources in organizations
like the Music Teachers National Association. She became
associated with a chapter in
Nebraska that has offered many
activities for the teacher and
her students.
“In addition to offering auditions, MTNA also has activities
like the Monster Concerts
where they have 10 or 12 piShe was a music education
BY ANNE BLANKENSHIP
anos on stage and students pair
Daily Freeman Journal Staff Writer major and studied the whole
up for duet parts. So, there are
Music has been a big part of range of band and orchestra in24 students on stage. They
Joan Hopkin’s life. Since she
struments. She was also a voice
have a conductor and somewas a small child, she knew
and organ minor, so much of
times add in some simple pershe was headed for a career in
her week was spent in preparacussion parts,” she stated. “The
music. Today, she’s happily
tion of several hour-long leskids really like those and so do
sharing love and appreciation
sons. At the time, Hopkins
their parents.”
of classical music with young
worked in a music store, which
The auditions can seem very
pianists.
was adifferent type of learning
scary to the parents.
Growing up, she was one of
experience for her.
“I think sometimes when
four girls in a very musical
“I learned so much working
parents have had a bad experihousehold.
there, talking with teachers and
ence with a recital they get
“I think my dad thought he
filing music. I learned which
worried. But I think we’ve
was going to have four music
composers wrote what, and all
learned to prepare students betmajors,” she said. “We all had
about the publishers and availter. We have wonderful teachour turn at several instruments ability of pieces. And I learned
ing materials that have been
as we were growing up. One
what teachers liked,” she exleveled in a better sequence
girl would get on the piano
plained, adding, “It was great
than what I had. John Thompbench at 6 o’clock and we’d
preparation for private teachson did a great thing because
trade places at 6:45.” The home ing.”
he started the ball rolling. But
was filled with musical instruAfter college, she took a
we always lost students bements including two pianos, an teaching job in a small commutween book 1 and book 2 beorgan and various band instru- nity where her husband had accause it just got too hard,” she
ments.
cepted a banking position.
commented.
“There was music going on
“I’d always thought I would
Now, there’s a myriad of
all the time,” she added.
be a classroom teacher, and I
teaching materials available,
Her father was the girl’s best enjoyed work with high school
and it’s hard to keep up on all
critic, especially when it came groups more so than elementhe methods, Hopkins said.
to singing. He would listen to
tary. That’s probably because
“A lot of the materials are
then and give comments, Hop- of the rehearsing with high
being written and published by
kins said.
school music. I really love to
Joan Hopkins, piano instructor, works with student Jessica Nilles.
teachers. They try them out on
Once in a while, the sisters
rehearse,” she said.
their students. They know what
would perform together, when
That small town music posiworking before I left the unioften feels bad that her husleaving a note on the piano for kids are going to like for
guests came to dinner.
tion, however, introduced her
versity.”
band is on his own many
students ‘Just go ahead and be- sounds and there are a lot of
“We performed a lot of piano to all levels. She taught vocal
Hopkins
taught
in
an
eleevenings.
gin practicing and I’ll be right
technical ideas and ways to say
and organ duets. Whenever we and instrumental music to stumentary
position
before
mov“When
the
kids
were
still
back’.”
things that kids can pick up
had company, we would prodents in elementary through
ing to Webster City. She started here, he would play games
Hopkins said she has always on,” she explained.
vide after dinner music,” Hop- high school grades. Some of
teaching private piano lessons
with them, talk with them or
found talent wherever she’s
Hopkins prefers to work in
kins commented.
the classes were so small that
as
her
children
were
growing
help
with
homework,”
she
obtaught.
individual lessons. She said it’s
“I always knew I wanted to
they doubled up.
served.
“I don’t think its as much tal- difficult to teach a class full of
be a teacher. It just seemed like
“Those kids had music every up.
“It
seemed
so
easy
to
do
that
Her
children
often
gathered
ent
as it is a desire and comstudents because not everyone
it was my calling. But I didn’t
single day. Oh, what we could
compared
to
being
gone
all
day
around
the
family
dining
table
mitment,
In my experience,
progresses at the same speed.
think I would be a private lesdo! And the community was
with students who were waiting parents make all the difference.
“I know that kids often times
son teacher,” she explained.
very supportive of music,” she at a job,” she said. But private
teaching
also
had
its
draw
for
their
parents
to
arrive
or
Not
because
they
have
to
don’t
have an adult with them
While in high school, she
explained. “I would take the
backs.
waiting for a sibling to finish a hound or punish their children
for 30 minutes during the day.
gave pre-band lessons on the
job again given the chance.
“It was difficult at times be- lesson. She would allow her
into practicing. It takes the
There’s a kind of friendship or
recorder to 4th and 5th graders Even though, at the time, I was
cause
I
was
involved
in
lessons
children
to
interrupt
a
lesson
kind of parent who actually sits a feeling that grows between
and she also had a few piano
so green and needed so much
right when they would come
for a question, but otherwise,
down and listens to the student student and teacher. I’ve had
students. When the time came
prep time, choosing band,
home
from
school
in
the
afterthe
chore
list
was
posted
for
practice. Or even a parent who parents who allow students to
to choose a college, she folchoral and solo music.
noon
or
before
school,”
she
them
each
day.
calls in from the kitchen while continue on with lessons too
lowed the advice of several rel“I didn’t know what my resaid.
And
now
that
the
chil“I
purposely
didn’t
fold
launthe student is playing and says, long in high school when nothatives who had worked with a
sources were then. I should
dren
are
grown,
she
said
she
dry,
and
left
other
chores
for
‘Oh, you’re doing better with
ing was being done, simply becertain music professor.
have done a better job of netthem to do so that there was
that piece,’ or ‘I can hear
cause they felt the students
some structure to their day.
you’ve made progress on that
would share things with me
Then, of course in high school, piece’,” she commented.
that they might not share with
they had jobs and activities.
Hopkins said that teaching
the parents.”
Sometimes, running them here privately can be a lonely venHopkins occasionally holds
and there for activities meant
ture, but she has found support group lessons, which she said
the kids seem to really enjoy.
About every six weeks she
holds a group lesson and the
students have a mini-recital.
“I keep my room with very
little furniture so then I can set
up for different things, and we
can do movement things and
Special Orders Are Welcome
floor things,” she explained.
Under New Ownership
The group lessons also include
theory games and listening
skills.
The age to start children at
1544 Superior St • Webster City
the piano varies from student to
Hours: Mon - Sat 10-9 • Sun 12-4
student, she said.
“I started one of my daughter’s at 3 1/2. She did well.
And supposedly children can
read music before they can
read words. I think a lot of the
signs and symbols, if you’re
using an appropriate method,
could be started at age 4 with a
advice management real estate
lot of kids,” she said.
“Of course, I think you need
a
parent
there during the lesson
Ray M. Frye
and during the week in practice
as a follow up,” she added.
For most kids, the second
grade seems to be when they
are ready to start lessons, Hopkins said.
“I think it’s become kind of
an established thing that in second grade kids are ready for
lessons.”
It’s more than just learning
notes and theory. Hopkins said
it also takes time management
skills. She recounted the story
of a young pianist she met
while adjudicating a competition,
“The piece was really not in
good shape and I asked her
how many weeks she had
worked on it. Then we counted
the number of measures in the
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she would have had the piece
and it would have been memorized,” she said. Hopkins added
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breaking down the music into
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Hopkins always
knew a career in
music was for her
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Who needs retirement?
VanDeer works
to keep retired
folks on the job
BY ANNE BLANKENSHIP
Daily Freeman Journal Staff Writer
Today, senior citizens are
working hard to stay and active
and vital, and are seeking out
ways to give back to their communities.
Joan VanDeer, director of the
Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), said "Seniors
want to stay active and feel
useful. They want to help others and, through RSVP, we're
able to channel those folks into
positions where they can help
in schools, hospitals, nursing
homes, government agencies
and other groups."
VanDeer knows just what
she is talking about. At 71, she
works full-time finding interesting and challenging assignments for her volunteers.
She's worked at RSVP for 32
years. She started as a secretary-treasurer for the organization and later went on to assume the duties of program director. Before coming to work
for RSVP, VanDeer was a
homemaker while her three
children were growing up. She
and husband, Bob, and the
family moved to Webster City
39 years ago. Her husband
managed the Gibson Store and
later Pamida. She worked for
those stores some, but eventually found the RSVP job.
In her position, VanDeer actively works at recruiting volunteers, 55 and older, to serve
the community in public and
non-profit facilities.
"The goal is to recruit people
and place them in assignments
that they like. Sometimes, the
volunteers are knowledgeable
in their placements. Other
times, it's a learning experience
for the volunteer," she commented.
Volunteers receive no monetary compensation for their efforts. VanDeer said she plans
an annual party for them to
recognize their contributions,
especially those who have been
with the program for several
years.
She admits that sometimes,
finding volunteers can be a
challenge. She’s learned that
the best way to get someone
new on board is to pick up the
phone and make a call.
"I don't have any problem
calling up people and asking
for their help. I've learned not
to be afraid to call someone
and ask for their help, because
we need volunteers all the
time," she said. "And sometimes, all it takes to get a volunteer signed on is a personal
phone call. They just want to
be asked."
Currently, the volunteer roster includes more than 360 volunteers. VanDeer said that
number is down from years
past due to some program
changes.
"The Corporation for National Service changed its format a
few years ago, so we don't
serve in some of the areas that
we used to," she explained. At
one time, VanDeer had more
than 500 volunteers.
Her program operated both
in Hamilton and Wright counties, which has VanDeer on the
road to Eagle Grove, Belmond
and Clarion several times a
month. One of the biggest
challenges of her job is finding
volunteers in the Wright County communities.
"We have to get to know the
people in those communities so
we can fill the jobs in those areas," she explained. VanDeer
pointed out that most of the
volunteers come from the Webster City area, due to the size
of the community and the
number of requests from agencies.
Sometimes assignments are
long-term and last for months
or years. Other times, volunteers are needed for just one
day or a couple of hours, she
said. As the interests of the
volunteers change, VanDeer
said she tries to adjust their assignments accordingly.
Many of the volunteers help
out with projects and assignments for area schools. One of
the most popular volunteer pro-
grams is the Pen Pal Program
that matches seniors up with
third graders. The two then
correspond regularly and get to
know each other. The pen pals
meet in the fall at an organized
party, and continue their correspondence throughout the
school year. In the spring, they
gather one more time for a
wrap-up party, VanDeer said.
This year, they are in need of
more volunteer letter writers.
She has about 100 volunteers
for the pen pal program now,
but she's looking for 40 more
so every child will be matched
up with a senior.
VanDeer explained that other
volunteers go into the elementary schools and work as a
reading buddy or a math tutor.
They listen and help students
with reading and math skills.
Other volunteers help prepare
classroom materials for teachers-sorting, organizing and
preparing packets.
"It's all about feeling like
you have been of service. The
volunteers feel like they are
needed and in the schools, they
take a genuine interest in the
students' achievements," she
said.
If someone needs a ride to a
dialysis treatment, a checkup
or some other medical appointment, VanDeer will often help
line up some transportation,
both to in-town facilities as
well as outside the community.
She has a roster of drivers who
are willing and able to deliver
the patients to their appointments.
She also has drivers who
help deliver the daily Meals on
Wheels. The drivers not only
deliver a hot, nutritious meal to
shut-ins, they also make a daily
contact with that person.
"I really think that this service helps people stay in the
homes longer. In many cases,
if it weren't for the daily meal
delivery, some of those people
would have to go to nursing
homes," she said. "And often,
those few moments with our
drivers are the only contact
some people have each day.
The drivers seem to know that
those daily check-ins are very
important to those receiving
the meals."
VanDeer said there are very
few area agencies that haven't
benefited from the RSVP volunteers. There is a weekly
work group that helps with
mailings, filing and preparation
work.
"Those volunteers really enjoy what they do. It gets them
out of their houses and provides them with great socialization opportunities," she said.
"They are happy to do just
about anything they are able to
do, and if the volunteers can
chat and visit while they work,
that's even better."
As a senior herself, VanDeer
said she's still physically able
to do the job and the health insurance benefits are definitely
a plus.
"But I like working and being active. Even if I was retired, I'd probably be here volunteering in some way," she
said.
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Stephanie Carter
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Joan VanDeer said managing the Retired Senior Volunteer Program keeps her active and involved in the community. Above, she is surrounded by items from the
RSVP Craft Shop. The shop gives area crafters a place to showcase their wares.
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Karen & Korinne
Two sisters, two teachers,
one shared goal to further
their own education
BY LORI BERGLUND
They each followed in their father’s footsteps.
They each took their own path to get there.
And then, with perhaps 30 years of education experience between the two of them, they set off together to achieve a goal
they hoped would prepare them even more to do what they love;
to teach.
Karen Mason and Korinne Nelson are Karbula girls, daughters
of well-known, and well-liked, long-time local educators Roy
and Marie Karbula. While it was Roy Karbula who was a favorite teacher for the Baby Boom generation at the former Webster City Junior High, Karen points out that their mother, Marie,
also worked for the school system as an associate and secretary.
“She touched a lot of lives, too,” Karen said, adding that every
member of the school staff has an impact on students. “We learn
from example,” she added, and students can learn a lot about life
just from the way staff members greet and treat students every
day.
For his part, Roy Karbula guided a good share of the local Baby Boomers through those challenging junior high years. Over
the years, he taught in all three levels – seventh through ninth
grade — and in subject areas including geography, history, and
social studies.
Karen and Korinne are two of Iowa’s newest National Board
Certified teachers. It is a goal they choose to collaborate on, as
fellow educators and sisters, in order to enhance their individual
teaching abilities. Although their work to achieve this certification was submitted and judged individually, they said having one
another to bounce ideas off, to talk through problems with, and
just to offer encouragement as the process dragged on longer
than planned, was a major benefit.
Candidates for the certification choose from 24 topic areas.
There is both a written test, which is probably the easy part compared to the lengthy process of writing a portfolio in the chosen
topic area.
At its heart, the certification process is designed to demonstrate that “teachers know the subject area and they know how to
teach it to students,” Karen said. Because, after all, one of the
first things a student teacher learns is that knowing a subject area
is quite different than knowing how to teach that subject area to
a diverse group of students.
“We put in well over 400 hours working on it,” Karen said of
the portfolios each was required to submit. And, in fact, neither
of the two sisters made the certification the first time. Working
together, then, proved to be an even greater benefit when they
had to try again the second year.
“The two of us worked on it together, that was wonderful,”
Karen recalled.
The work finally paid off as they were honored at a reception
this summer at Terrace Hill along with other newly certified
teachers.
While they completed the certification process together, Karen
and Korinne found their careers in education through quite different paths.
To look at her resume, Korinne would appear to have always
known she wanted a career in education. She went to college,
earned her degree, went right to work, and has been there ever
since. Karen admits to taking “a more circuitous route.”
C
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Karen Mason and Korinne Nelson grew up in
Webster City where their
father was a long-time
teacher at the Webster
City Junior High School.
Today, the two sisters
each enjoy their own careers in education and recently became Nationally
Board Certified Teachers.
Karen, at top, teaches
fifth graders at the Stratford Elementary School.
Korinne, at right, a longtime fifth grade teacher, is
now teaching first graders
at Sunset Heights School
in Webster City.
Lori Berglund/
Freeman-Journal
Korinne a 1980 graduate of Webster City
High School, earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education in the summer of 1984, a
pretty speedy path for a four-year education that
frequently takes at least five years for many students.
Been there, done that, is one phrase that just
about sums up Korinne’s history with schools in
Webster City.
•Taught at the Lincoln Building, probably
took Home Ec from Elaine Scribbins there, too.
•Was a student at Washington Central Junior
High and taught at the Middle School that replaced it.
•Was a student at Riverview Elementary
School.
•Taught at Lawn Hill Elementary School.
•Taught at Elm Park Elementary School.
•Currently teaching at Sunset Heights Elementary School.
•She was a student, for a few years, at St.
Thomas Catholic School, and even taught there
a few years after college graduation.
Pleasant View Elementary and the old Hilltop
Elementary schools appear to be the only buildings she's missed over the years — but then
there's still a chance for Pleasant View in the fu-
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Years of Excellent Service!
ture.
"I've kind of been here, there, and everywhere," Korinne admitted.
While she has taught third, fourth, and sixth
grades, the majority of her teaching career has
been at the fifth grade level. And that’s one reason she requested a transfer last year, and is
now in her second year of teaching first grade at
Sunset Heights.
“I wanted to push myself a little bit, to see if I
can’t implement some of the things I’ve been
reading about with how to teach reading,” she
said.
Pushing herself is definitely one reason that
Karen wanted to take on the National Board
Certification process.
But then, Karen has never been afraid of
change and has a habit of taking on challenges
when least expected — hence her “circuitous
route” to becoming a teacher.
A 1976 graduate of Webster City High
School, Karen is a newcomer in the field compared to her younger sister.
“I attended Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids for
a year and a half, and was not successful at all,”
she said. “I quit school and just went to work.”
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She had gone to Mount Mercy originally to study social
work, but admits that just didn’t happen.
“I didn’t study a whole lot,
that was the problem,” Karen
said.
It’s easy to see how that
could be a disappointment to
any parent, let alone two parents in the field of education.
But Karen said her parents
were wonderful when she didn’t succeed her first time in
college.
“My folks, they were very
good. They actually called me
and said, ‘You’re not happy,
are you.’”
“‘No, I’m so unhappy,’” was
her response. “They were always just like, ‘You can come
home.’ They were really wise
in that respect,” Karen said.
So Karen moved back to
Webster City, and eventually
met her husband, Richard,
through volunteering in politics. They married and settled
down to raise a family on a
farm located between Webster
City and Stratford.
Surprisingly, it was her
youngest son, Thomas, who inspired Karen to follow in her
father’s footsteps.
“When Thomas was in
kindergarten, I started volunteering in his kindergarten
classroom. And it was just like,
‘Oh, I finally figured out what
I want to be when I grow up!’”
Karen said.
She went back to school,
starting at Iowa Central Community College and eventually
earning her bachelor’s degree
in elementary education from
Buena Vista University in
1995.
Karen did her student teaching at the Stratford elementary
school. She was later hired on
to work just one day a week in
the Exploratory and Character
Education programs. The following year she was hired fulltime for Stratford’s Title I
Reading program and did that
for about eight or nine years.
This is her first year in a traditional classroom, taking on a
class of 13 anxious fifth
graders.
“It’s wonderful. Our small
class size makes it really easy
to individualize that instruction,” Karen said.
In addition to Karen and Korinne, one other Karbula sibling also chose a career in education. Their brother, John,
lives in Fort Collins, Colo.,
and is principal of a kindergarten through eighth grade
school of more than 800 students.
Karen and Korinne, two different teachers, two very different career paths, but one
shared goal of teaching children to be the best.
Johnston looks at the life of nature
through the lens of a camera
BY ANNE BLANKENSHIP
Gloria Johnston of Webster City has a different perspective on nature and the world around
her. Johnston takes time to witness and record
some of the small, quiet moments in nature that
take place around us every day.
And she does it through the lens of her camera.
She takes her inspiration from nature, photographing flora and fauna, birds, foxes, flowers
and prairie grass. She’s traveled across the
country on photo safaris to national parks,
forests and wildlife refuges.
For a living, Johnston works in the laboratory
at the Webster City Medical Clinic.
It’s a good— and enjoyable — way to make a
living, but to really enjoy life, Johnston finds
happiness in photography.
Her interest in photography was peaked back
in 1980 around Christmastime.
“My cousin came from Texas for Christmas at
our house. He had a beautiful new Canon camera. I saw the wonderful photos he was taking
with the new camera, much better that the ones
I was taking. So, I went out in March of that
year and got myself a new camera,” she said.
She had the new camera, but didn’t know how
to use it, she explained, so she joined the Fort
Dodge Camera Club.
“I learned a lot from those folks,” she said.
She has since joined the Ames Camera Club as
well. She noted that the two clubs have different
approaches.
“The Ames club is very structured, whereas
the Fort Dodge group is more laid-back. I enjoy
both groups and both are very helpful,” she said.
Last month, Johnston switched over to a digital camera from a film camera. She had been
waiting to find just the right camera to work
with her other equipment.
“I wanted to purchase a Canon digital camera
that was affordable, but also one that would accommodate all the lenses I’ve been using with
the film camera,” she explained.
She’s still learning to work with the new
medium but is very excited about all of the features offered in the digital format.
She focuses her time on nature and some con-
Gloria Johnston has found great joy in photographing nature scenes. She travels
around the country on photo excursions, but sometimes, she finds her subjects
right in her own backyard.
‘I just don’t want to photograph people.
Nature is much more interesting to me.’
Gloria Johnston
temporary subjects. The photographer chooses
not to do many photos of people.
“I just don’t want to photograph people. Nature is much more interesting to me. And, I never want this to be more than a hobby. I never
want to be pressured into getting a good photo
for a wedding or a portrait. Just want this hobby
to be fun,” she said.
Some of her photographs are on display at
Stay-at-home mom creates her
own job with daycare service
BY TRACY RUNNEBERG
Many families find themselves dealing with daycare
arrangements when both parents work, and for some, daycare can create more difficult
situations rather than solutions.
Leslie Flaws found herself
in one of these difficult situations after beginning her own
family with her husband, Larry, eight years ago.
Prior to the birth of their
twin girls, Ashley and Allie,
Flaws had been working as a
family counselor full time, and
struggled with placing them
into daycare. She chose inFlaws is shown in the photo above with her crew,
stead to go to part-time hours in
the afternoon and some evenings. from left Drew Schwering, Shelby Queen, Trevyn
The Flaws' began a tag-team ap- Lyons, Lincoln LaSourd, and Kennedy Moore.
proach for their twins, with
Some of the advantages she has experienced
Leslie taking care of them in the morning, and
over the years include being home with her own
Larry taking over in the afternoon and evenings kids, and knowing she's appreciated.
that Leslie worked.
"I love being home with my kids, and getting
This regimen worked for their family, but
to know other people's kids. Everything I've
Flaws began to have concerns about what life
done over the years, between babysitting since I
would be like when the girls went to school.
was 12, to daycare and counseling, seems to
She soon realized that her time with them
lead me back to working with kids. I think it
would be more and more sparse as they got old- has also helped my children to interact with all
er.
different ages. They are awesome little moms
Two years after their third child, Hailey, was
and great helpers. Each family has their own
born, Flaws decided to look into other jobs and discipline and different behaviors, I think the
daycare centers for her own kids, and became
variety has helped them socially as well."
somewhat overwhelmed because she wanted to
"I also know I'm appreciated by the kids and
be home with her kids more, she stated.
the parents. It's great to see them outside of day"After calling around to many different daycare hours too. They are always very excited to
cares, I finally decided to stay home with the
see you. I don't know any other job where you
kids and begin my own daycare service. Within get hugs and big sloppy kisses everyday.”
a few weeks I had my first two kids who are
She counts being home all the time as both an
still with me four years later," said Flaws.
advantage and a disadvantage.
By word of mouth, Flaws began adding more
"It's nice to be home for my kids, and doing
families, and soon had her own group of daysomething I enjoy, but at the same time, it's easy
care kids. Even though her three girls haven't
to get tired of being at home all the time too. I
spent time in other daycares, Flaws stated that
do feel badly sometimes for my children, as
they still had to follow her rules during working they've always had to share everything, includhours, which were somewhat different than they ing toys, their rooms and me. Even though I
were used to, and they had to learn to interact
stayed at home so the kids would have more of
with other kids.
me, with all the other kids around they don't alFlaws' workday begins around 7:30 a.m.
ways receive 100 percent of me. Plus I tend to
when the first kids begin arriving. Prior to this
be harder on my own children, and at the end of
she has already helped her girls get ready for
the day my patience level is not the same for
school and they are normally finishing up
them as it was throughout the day for the other
breakfast. By the time everyone has finished
kids," Flaws said.
eating and the school kids are gone, it's time for
When people ask her when she's going to get
free play, which is in the basement playroom.
a real job, Flaws doesn't bat an eye. "I love this
"The group I have now loves songs, so we
job. Some people said that I should get a real
play music for them to sing to, and there are a
job after my kids started school. This definitely
variety of toys and puzzles to play with," Flaws is a real job, I didn't know what it would be like
stated.
when my kids were gone to school, but I like it
If it is nice outside, they take advantage of the just as much if not more. My main goal was to
weather by taking walks and playing outside on have a family, and this is what is working for
the equipment.
our family," Flaws stated... Some people tell me
"It can sometimes take an hour to get all of
I should use my degree in psychology and
the kids ready to go out, especially with diaper
counseling. I feel like I am, and I hope it makes
changes, cleaning up, and getting shoes and
me a better daycare provider. I can't see myself
coats on, but the kids love it. Parents come to
doing anything else, it's fulfilling and I enjoy
pick up their kids by 5 p.m.," said Flaws.
it.”
Mornin’ Glory Coffee Shop, and others may be
seen at Trinity Regional Hospital in Fort Dodge.
She said she always takes slides, so she’s prepared if she’s called to do a program for an area
club or organization.
Each year, Johnston tries to take a photography trip. The trips are geared exclusively for
photographers. She travels with other camera
enthusiasts, not professional photographers, but
those who enjoy taking pictures as a hobby. She
doesn’t know her fellow travelers when the trip
begins, but by the end of the 10-day trip, she
has many photographs, memories and new
friends.
“The organized trips are a great way to get into some wildlife areas that aren’t always accessible to the casual traveler,” she explained.
“There are many trips offered each year, so
there are lots to choose from. The number and
types of trips have grown and expanded,” she
said. The excursions are advertised in many of
the photography magazines and websites, she
added.
The trips last between a week and 10 days
and allow photographers to visit beautiful natural settings all over the world. One of her favorite photo experiences was a trip to the Galapagos Islands.
“That was fantastic. The Ecuadorians are really taking care of those islands. You can’t even
stay on the islands. We had to stay on a boat off
coast of the island,” she added
“They let us on the island with one guide for
every 10 people. The animals are pretty much
tame because they’ve never known predators, so
you can get right up close to the birds and iguanas, and of course, the tortoises,” she explained.
Photographing the brown bears of Alaska is
another favorite trip. She also had a chance to
take pictures of the monarch butterfly migration.
“Oh, there are so many of them, just clouds of
the butterflies,” she said. “We had to be really
careful of where you stepped so you wouldn’t
crush one.”
She has her eye on a trip to Norway for a polar bear photo session. The trip would almost
certainly give her an opportunity to do some
scenic photography as well, Johnston said.
“That would be a wonderful trip. I’d really
like to save up to take that adventure,” she commented. A visit to Tuscany to photograph the
landscape and architecture also interests her, she
said.
Her husband, Terry, has been very supportive
of her hobby and has allowed her to take the
trips by herself.
“He doesn’t go with me, but he allows me to
take off. I’m grateful for that, because not every
husband would be as supportive as mine is.”
She does find inspiration closer to home.
Johnston can often be found hunkered down in
her blind at Briggs Woods or along one of the
many prairie areas in the county. She said she
enjoys the peace and quiet during these photo
shoots as she waits for birds and other prairie
creatures to come out of hiding.
Sometimes, Johnston just has to step out her
own back door to find subjects for her pictures.
The Johnstons live on the edge of Webster City
and frequently have fox, deer, raccoons and
birds that frolic near their home.
The photographer doesn’t watch any television, but prefers to work on the computer with
her photo projects. She also knits and said she
always has a quilt in the frame. She can often be
seen pedaling around town on her bicycle, and
in fact, bikes everyday with a women’s group.
“We get up every day and bike at 6 in the
morning from May through September. And we
always take a trip at the end of the season. We
just recently got back from the Wabash Creek
trail,” she said. “
And of course, she took her camera along.
Thank You Ladies!
We’d like to thank the ladies of First State Bank
for their hard work and dedication over the years.
It is greatly appreciated!
Webster City
Front Row: (L to R) Barb Anderson • Sharon Stelzer • Glenda Wehrhan • Kari Pruismann
Back Row: (L to R) Laurie Beauvais • Linda Pergande • Linn Lilienthal • Marlene Schneider
• Jane Felts • Barb Peterson • Linda Cormaney • Lesa Moore • Nancy Burkhart • Alberta Voge
Not Pictured: Candy Butz • Beth Patterson • Bonnie Butler • Amy McCoy • Denise Shehorn • Sheila Johnson
Eagle Grove • Vincent • Badger
Front: (L to R) Gayle Morgan
• Beth Linn • Sharon Seibert
Back: (L to R) Bev Timmerman
• Jan Dencklau • Tiffany Lowe
Not Pictured: Janelle Wagner
Stanhope
Staci Olthoff & Cindy Cink
505 2ND ST • WEBSTER CITY • 832-2520
3 2 3 S C O M M E R C I A L AV E • E AG L E G ROV E • 4 4 8 - 4 5 6 7
6 0 0 PA R K S T • S TA N H O P E • 8 2 6 - 3 2 2 2
1 0 4 A RT H U R S T • V I N C E N T • 3 5 6 - 4 3 3 2
1 1 6 1 S T S T S E • BA D G E R • 5 4 5 - 4 7 0 9
Page 16, The Daily Freeman-Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Tuesday, October 24, 2006
A WELL DESERVED SALUTE TO OUR WOMEN EMPLOYEES AT
THE DAILY FREEMAN JOURNAL
We could not be a success without the hard work
and dedication of these fine employees.
THANK YOU!
L to R Front Row: Helen Youngdale,
Judy Amundson,
Cynthia Baumhardt,
Maise Youngdale, Tracy Runneberg
L to R Back Row: Janice Park,
Chrissy Buchanan
L to R: Shauna Stetz, Kristin Larson,
Brandy Gordon, Sonja Powers,
Aunyetta Blair
L to R Front Row: Anne Blankenship, JoAnn Withers, Ruth Shoars
L to R Back Row: Angie Anderson, Lori Berglund
W
W
W
.
F
R
E
E
M
A
N
J
O
U
R
N
A
L
.
N
E
T
Thanks Ladies!
For helping to make
Motor Inn of Webster City
North Central Iowa’s Best GM Dealer!
,
,
2007 Cadillac Escalade
‘Now In Stock’
Amy Stampka
Parts Manager
,
Emily Simpson
Business Manager
,
Joyce Brown
Sales Consultant
Trouble learning to W R I T E and difficulty learning
to R E A D could be the first signs of a learning problem.
The sooner you get H E L P , the better it is for your kid.
Don’t wait. C A L L , or visit us on the W E B N O W .
Learning Disabilities are smart.
They just Learn D ifferently.
Kids with
2nd St.
515-832-6638
Superior St
129 2ND ST • Webster City
N
20
20
17
www.motorinnautogroup.com
1-888-GR8-MIND www.aboutLD.org

01 DFJ 10-24-06 cover - The Daily Freeman Journal

Transcription

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