NEXT MEETING:
The next LAREA meeting will be at Cedar Creek on Wednesday, April 3rd , at 11:30.Please arrive by 11:15 (or earlier) so we can all be seated and served on time.
All meetings will be at Cedar Creek in Onalaska, WI.
What: A plated lunch and dessert with coffee and water for $15 (No salad course)
Remember: If you need special foods, please let Susan Evans know when you make your reservation. Please be aware that when you make your reservation to Susan, you need to be sure that you receive a response that she has your name on the list. She also sends out a reminder the day before the due date (which is one week before our meeting). If you do not hear form Susan, be sure to contact her asap. Also, bring your own "take-home"container.
No-show meals can be purchased. Our members can purchase the no-show meals. They will be boxed as take-out meals. If you are interested in purchasing an extra meal for the $15 cost, please mention that when paying and we’ll contact you during the meeting if there are members who made reservations and did not show up.
Note regarding lunch reservations. When you make your luncheon reservation, please make sure that you receive an email reply from HYPERLINK lacrosserea@gmail.com indicating your reservation is confirmed!
*If you don’t receive this message, we do not have you counted. Please help us avoid confusion as we give our count to Cedar Creek one week in advance and continue as great patrons!
Also, it has been reported that LAREA email has sometime ended in spam folders. Please connect with fellow members asking them to check their spam if they have not received this email. Adding lacrosserea@gmail.com to your contacts will prevent future notices from going to spam.
The 50/50 raffle: The 50/50 raffle which benefits our scholarship fund will be held. Note: Pay $20 and get lunch plus 6 tickets!
Masks: Masks are no longer required.
FUTURE MEETINGS:
All meetings will be at Cedar Creek in Onalaska, WI.
Thur., May. 2, 2024
La Crosse Park & Recreation offerings for retired citizens.
Thur., June 6, 2024
Celebrating summer with music by the Grumpy Old Men.
PREVIOUS MEETING NOTES:
March 2024, Denise Christy Moss and Rebecca Mormann-Krieger
with Michael James as guitarist.
The Enduring Families Project sponsored by the La Crosse Historical
Society portrays the lives of significant Black residents of La Crosse in
the later 1800s. Co-creators of the “Enduring Families Project”, Denise
Christy Moss and Rebecca Mormann-Krieger, along with guitarist
Michael James, gave information about this project and provided a
short portion of one of the programs that are available through the La
Crosse Library website. Dr. Bruce Mouser of the University of Wisconsin-
La Crosse began researching Black History in our area, and Denise and
Rebecca picked up on this to create this project. In honor of February as
Black History Month and March as Women’s History Month, the video
of Elizabeth Burt (1833-1899) of 1114 Vine Street who ran a very
successful boarding house was attempted; however, due to technical
difficulties it was turned off. Denise then portrayed Lillian Smith
Davenport (1894-1964), a Vaudeville performer and music teacher in
the Chicago Public Schools. She lived at 1136 Pine Street in La Crosse
and graduated from La Crosse High School (now Central High School) in
1913 and from La Crosse Normal School (now UW-L) in 1917. She was
known as a talented pianist and director for many performances, and
the newspaper Chicago Defender described her as “a pianist and a hot
singer”. In 1941, Lillian became involved in social norms to eliminate
discrimination. Denise, accompanied by Michael, sang “Ain’t Nobody’s
Business but My Own.”
Rebecca shared that the “Enduring Families Project” is
branching out to “Enduring Children’s Project” that will involve books
written about the Black History in the La Crosse area. The first book will
be about George Edwin Taylor who lived in a fishing crate when he was
five to eight years old in Alton, IL. Later he was adopted by Nathan Smith
who lived near West Salem. Intense research for these books is involved. It includes locating primary documents.
It was a fabulous program. We want to thank Denise, Rebecca,
and Michael!
CONGRATULATIONS TO BARB SCHULTZ, VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR!! Barb puts in many hours
as our treasurer and is truly deserving of this honor!
December 2023, Sarah Kolander and Andrea Halvorson from Life in Harmony Music Therapy, LLC of West Salem.
Life in Harmony
Sarah and Andrea discussed the benefits of music therapy and what
music therapists do. Life in Harmony is located in West Salem and
employs actual music therapists who work with local speech therapists
both in schools and in other institutions. Music therapy regulates the
body in the areas of social, motor, emotional, speech and language.
“Music therapy is the specialized use of music by a credentialed
professional who develops individualized treatment and supportive
interventions with people of all ages and ability levels to address their
social, communication, emotional, physical, cognitive, sensory, and
spiritual needs.” -Certification Board for Music Therapists
Who can benefit from Music Therapy?
• children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental
health needs
• people with development disabilities.
• people with learning disabilities.
• people with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.
• people with substance abuse problems.
• people with physical disabilities.
• people experiencing acute and chronic pain.
Where do Music Therapists work?
Wherever the need exists, in many public and private institutions as well as private residences. Their informative and interesting presentation was followed by a Christmas sing-along. Thank you, ladies!!
“My Two Elaines”Thursday, September 7 , at 11:30.Martin Schreiber, former Wisconsin Governor and author of
“My Two Elaines”: Learning, Coping and Surviving as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver.
Marty Schreiber is the author of My Two Elaines:
Learning, Coping, and Surviving as an Alzheimer’s
Caregiver. His humor and candor helped the audience to
realize that those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease do
have two lives – the one before the onset of and the one
during this devastating disease. The worst thing about
this disease is the ignorance of it, and there is no
prevention nor cure. When the love of his life was
diagnosed 20 years ago, Marty knew very little about
Alzheimer’s, and he admitted that he made many
mistakes during his role as caregiver. He wished he had
been better prepared for what lay ahead. In order to help
others going through this experience, he wrote this book.
His motto became, “Never let yourself be defeated, no
matter the situation.” Mr. Schreiber emphasized again
and again that the caregiver needs to join the world of the
Alzheimer’s patient and to follow the “3 P’s: prayer,
patience, and persistence”. Marty also said to use
therapeutic fibbing and redirection and to be there
(“touching of the heart”) and live the best life possible.
Remember that the caregiver is the lifeline, and that
means that the caregiver needs to take care of
himself/herself, too, or the lifeline can shred and break.
Mr. Schreiber also reminded the audience that the
caregiver is constantly grieving because the loved one is
dying a little every day. His book is available for
purchase; go to http://mytwoelaines.com
WREA Foundation Challenge Awards for Region III
Bags were passed around to collect for this year’s WREA Foundation Challenge Awards which will be
awarded to high schools in the state and must be applied for. Each district awards $2000 for 1st place
and $250 for 2nd place.
Thursday, June 1st: The topic was WREA by Susan Mokler. Susan Mokler, president of WREA,
entertained us with her background of being a graduate of UW-
Stout in Home Economics (now FCE) and teaching for 39.5 years
at Elkhorn High School. As this was her “swan song”, she wanted
to impress upon members present why it is so very important to
belong to WREA. In three years, WREA will be 75 years old. For
us to move forward, we need to concentrate on membership and
leadership. Last year, there were 20 new members while 91 passed
away. If each of the 5,994 members would get just one retiree to
join WREA, we would be able to see a bright future. Also,
members are encouraged to join one of the committees to keep
WREA on the right path into the future. Someone asked for help
with a brief script to share with new retirees about why joining is
so very important. Susan responded: 1) We need to keep
uppermost in our minds that our pensions are dependent on the
system working. 2) Our pension is funded at 106%, the best in the
United States. 3) WREA works with two lobbyists who are
monitoring and protecting our retirement system. The ETF is
worth $29 million, and politicians can get tempted to raid it, as has
happened in the past. 4) WREA members, whether retired or still
working, qualify for AMBA benefits. Those benefits easily make
up for the cost of membership. Susan then cautioned that, instead
of preaching to new retirees, we should instead ask questions to
lead them to WREA. Mrs. Mokler was, indeed, a powerful
speaker!
Joseph Schams was our May speaker on Thursday, May 4th, 2023.
Presentation: The topic was on End-of-Life Planning.
Speaker Joe Schams, of Coulee Cremation Group, talked about end-of-life planning, especially cremation. Joe was a graduate of Central High School in La Crosse. He had a funeral and cremation practice in St. Paul, and moved back in January 2010 to provide a niche for cremation in this area. Joe encouraged everyone to pre-plan and set up a trust with a funeral home (which involves a fund by a bank CD or, preferably, an insurance policy; making it irrevocable – no longer an asset; and being protected from Medical Assistance). It is illegal in Wisconsin to pre-pay funeral expenses; this is a consumer protection. Pre-planning involves
1) getting information and pricing;
2) meeting with family and discussing your wishes;
3) contacting estate representatives and/or attorneys and/or financial advisors;
4) drawing up a will in which you assign a personal executor, as POAs are defunct upon death of a person; and 5) funding a memorial plan.
There are many ways to have a funeral:
1) a simple cremation with no service;
2) a celebration of life open house that is like a visitation;
3) a celebration of life open house with a minister involved;
4) the body is present at a funeral with cremation to follow; and
5) the body is present at a funeral and then buried at a cemetery.
Many interesting questions were asked, including the idea of natural burial which is not yet prevalent in our area. Although Mr. Schams was not promoting his business per se, he can be reached for answers at 608-788-2188 or www.couleecremation.com.
No-show meals can be purchased. Our members can purchase the no-show meals. They will be boxed as take-out meals. If you are interested in purchasing an extra meal for the $15 cost, please mention that when paying and we’ll contact you during the meeting if there are members who made reservations and did not show up.
Note regarding lunch reservations. When you make your luncheon reservation, please make sure that you receive an email reply from HYPERLINK lacrosserea@gmail.com indicating your reservation is confirmed!
*If you don’t receive this message, we do not have you counted. Please help us avoid confusion as we give our count to Cedar Creek one week in advance and continue as great patrons!
Also, it has been reported that LAREA email has sometime ended in spam folders. Please connect with fellow members asking them to check their spam if they have not received this email. Adding lacrosserea@gmail.com to your contacts will prevent future notices from going to spam.
The 50/50 raffle: The 50/50 raffle which benefits our scholarship fund will be held. Note: Pay $20 and get lunch plus 6 tickets!
Masks: Masks are no longer required.
All meetings will be at Cedar Creek in Onalaska, WI.
Thur., May. 2, 2024
La Crosse Park & Recreation offerings for retired citizens.
Thur., June 6, 2024
PREVIOUS MEETING NOTES:
March 2024, Denise Christy Moss and Rebecca Mormann-Krieger with Michael James as guitarist.
The Enduring Families Project sponsored by the La Crosse Historical Society portrays the lives of significant Black residents of La Crosse in the later 1800s. Co-creators of the “Enduring Families Project”, Denise Christy Moss and Rebecca Mormann-Krieger, along with guitarist Michael James, gave information about this project and provided a short portion of one of the programs that are available through the La Crosse Library website. Dr. Bruce Mouser of the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse began researching Black History in our area, and Denise and Rebecca picked up on this to create this project. In honor of February as Black History Month and March as Women’s History Month, the video of Elizabeth Burt (1833-1899) of 1114 Vine Street who ran a very successful boarding house was attempted; however, due to technical difficulties it was turned off. Denise then portrayed Lillian Smith Davenport (1894-1964), a Vaudeville performer and music teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. She lived at 1136 Pine Street in La Crosse and graduated from La Crosse High School (now Central High School) in 1913 and from La Crosse Normal School (now UW-L) in 1917. She was known as a talented pianist and director for many performances, and the newspaper Chicago Defender described her as “a pianist and a hot singer”. In 1941, Lillian became involved in social norms to eliminate discrimination. Denise, accompanied by Michael, sang “Ain’t Nobody’s Business but My Own.”
Rebecca shared that the “Enduring Families Project” is branching out to “Enduring Children’s Project” that will involve books written about the Black History in the La Crosse area. The first book will be about George Edwin Taylor who lived in a fishing crate when he was five to eight years old in Alton, IL. Later he was adopted by Nathan Smith who lived near West Salem. Intense research for these books is involved. It includes locating primary documents.
It was a fabulous program. We want to thank Denise, Rebecca, and Michael!
CONGRATULATIONS TO BARB SCHULTZ, VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR!! Barb puts in many hours
as our treasurer and is truly deserving of this honor!
Life in Harmony
Sarah and Andrea discussed the benefits of music therapy and what
music therapists do. Life in Harmony is located in West Salem and
employs actual music therapists who work with local speech therapists
both in schools and in other institutions. Music therapy regulates the
body in the areas of social, motor, emotional, speech and language.
“Music therapy is the specialized use of music by a credentialed
professional who develops individualized treatment and supportive
interventions with people of all ages and ability levels to address their
social, communication, emotional, physical, cognitive, sensory, and
spiritual needs.” -Certification Board for Music Therapists
Who can benefit from Music Therapy?
• children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental
health needs
• people with development disabilities.
• people with learning disabilities.
• people with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.
• people with substance abuse problems.
• people with physical disabilities.
• people experiencing acute and chronic pain.
Where do Music Therapists work?
Wherever the need exists, in many public and private institutions as well as private residences. Their informative and interesting presentation was followed by a Christmas sing-along. Thank you, ladies!!
Martin Schreiber, former Wisconsin Governor and author of
“My Two Elaines”: Learning, Coping and Surviving as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver.
Marty Schreiber is the author of My Two Elaines: Learning, Coping, and Surviving as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver. His humor and candor helped the audience to realize that those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease do have two lives – the one before the onset of and the one during this devastating disease. The worst thing about this disease is the ignorance of it, and there is no prevention nor cure. When the love of his life was diagnosed 20 years ago, Marty knew very little about Alzheimer’s, and he admitted that he made many mistakes during his role as caregiver. He wished he had been better prepared for what lay ahead. In order to help others going through this experience, he wrote this book. His motto became, “Never let yourself be defeated, no matter the situation.” Mr. Schreiber emphasized again and again that the caregiver needs to join the world of the Alzheimer’s patient and to follow the “3 P’s: prayer, patience, and persistence”. Marty also said to use therapeutic fibbing and redirection and to be there (“touching of the heart”) and live the best life possible. Remember that the caregiver is the lifeline, and that means that the caregiver needs to take care of himself/herself, too, or the lifeline can shred and break. Mr. Schreiber also reminded the audience that the caregiver is constantly grieving because the loved one is dying a little every day. His book is available for purchase; go to http://mytwoelaines.com
WREA Foundation Challenge Awards for Region III
Bags were passed around to collect for this year’s WREA Foundation Challenge Awards which will be awarded to high schools in the state and must be applied for. Each district awards $2000 for 1st place and $250 for 2nd place.
Joseph Schams was our May speaker on Thursday, May 4th, 2023.
Presentation: The topic was on End-of-Life Planning.
Speaker Joe Schams, of Coulee Cremation Group, talked about end-of-life planning, especially cremation. Joe was a graduate of Central High School in La Crosse. He had a funeral and cremation practice in St. Paul, and moved back in January 2010 to provide a niche for cremation in this area. Joe encouraged everyone to pre-plan and set up a trust with a funeral home (which involves a fund by a bank CD or, preferably, an insurance policy; making it irrevocable – no longer an asset; and being protected from Medical Assistance). It is illegal in Wisconsin to pre-pay funeral expenses; this is a consumer protection. Pre-planning involves
1) getting information and pricing;
2) meeting with family and discussing your wishes;
3) contacting estate representatives and/or attorneys and/or financial advisors;
4) drawing up a will in which you assign a personal executor, as POAs are defunct upon death of a person; and 5) funding a memorial plan.
There are many ways to have a funeral:
1) a simple cremation with no service;
2) a celebration of life open house that is like a visitation;
3) a celebration of life open house with a minister involved;
4) the body is present at a funeral with cremation to follow; and
5) the body is present at a funeral and then buried at a cemetery.
Many interesting questions were asked, including the idea of natural burial which is not yet prevalent in our area. Although Mr. Schams was not promoting his business per se, he can be reached for answers at 608-788-2188 or www.couleecremation.com.
April 2023, at Cedar Creek Country Club.
Presentation: Sanita was born and raised in Latvia when it was under Soviet Union
Communism. She came to the United States in 2001 two weeks before 9/11
as an exchange student at UW-Eau Claire. It was there that she met her
future husband. Being under the veil of the Soviet Union was very
restrictive with citizens being careful of what they said and did for fear of
being removed to one of the gulags. Food items and personal items were
scarce, and long lines would form when people knew that they were being
delivered to various stores. Sanita shared a memory of not knowing where
she would get shoes to go to school. Her educational path involved learning
languages, especially English, although everyone was required to speak
Russian. Latvian customs were not allowed, and Sanita said that it might
take generations to lose the effects of Communism. Religion, of course, was
downplayed because the “gods of the government” became the religion;
churches were used for storage. She then opened up to questions, and
many were asked. You did a great job, Sanita, and we thank you for being
with us! There are lessons to be learned that pertain to this day.
March 2023, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
Speaker was Jen Barney, local owner of Meringue Bakery. Jen Barney has been a winner on many Food Network competitions. She spoke about her journey from a local pastry chef to where she is today.
December 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
Amanda Zieba ... From Educator to Authorpreneur!!
Always interested in writing, Amanda Zieba started out as a teacher and progressed to writing books for children, her first being Orphan Train Riders. She wrote a number of books for children but was interested in writing for adults, too. A contest for three authors to write on one subject led to her Champion Chocolatier series; the subject was hot chocolate! There are now four books in this series.
November 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
Topic: Voters First Wisconsin
November speakers today were Kyle Brockman and Mike DeRubis who explained what “Voters First Wisconsin” means and how positive it is compared to our current system of political campaigning and voting. This is also known as “Final-Five Voting”. It is voter and candidate friendly as shown in those states that are already using this system: Nebraska, Washington, California, Louisiana, and Alaska. The bill is in both Wisconsin Legislative Chambers and may be passed in 2023.
This concept was made more personal when each LAREA member attending was able to vote for his/her favorite color. The colors were tallied, and we were able to see this program working out.
Here is how Final-Five Voting works:
1) There is only one non-partisan primary with everyone running for a specific office on the same
ballot. Voters select their “one” favorite candidate.
2) The top five candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party.
3) Voters rank up to five candidates in order of preference.
4) First-place votes are counted. If a candidate gets a simple majority of 50%+, that person wins.
5) If no one has a majority, technology enables instant run-off voting. The last-place candidate is
eliminated, while the second-place votes are counted instead.
6) The process continues until one candidate gets over 50% to win a true majority.
Why should we even consider Final-Five Voting? #1 – It encourages healthy competition. #2 – It en- courages more civil campaigns. #3 – It encourages accountability. #4 – It encourages non-partisan- ship. #5 – It discourages big money. #6 - It makes the general election the most important election. #7 – It reduces the negative impact of divisive primaries. #8 – It eliminates the “spoiler effect” that impacts both major parties. #9 – It can improve election integrity.
If you want more information, here are two websites you can go to:
https://votersfirstwi.org/
https://finalfivevoting.info
October 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
What can you get from ADRC? There is too much to mention here, but a few are getting help for in-home services, yard work, nutrition, transportation (Abby Vans), health and wellness, brain checks, caregiver support and respite, adaptive equipment, housing options.
Tina Johnson is the Elder Benefit Specialist who can cut through the red tape of getting help. She can be reached at 608-785-6140. So, what does she do? She is trained to help older persons having a problem with their private or government benefits, like Medicare, Social Security, and others. She can help with the extensive and complicated paperwork that is often required. She can help figure out what benefits older persons are entitled to and then help them apply. How much does all this cost? $0!! However, donations are always appreciated and are used to expand the services. Service will not be refused or limited in any way if a contribution is not made.
What holds elderly people and those with disabilities back from approaching the ADRC? Usually it's the idea of shame, of being afraid to take that first step Ö but ADRC is here to help, not to judge. Everyone needs help at some point, and ADRC is that helper.
September 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
On September 1st, LAREA met Cedar Creek with Carissa Pagel-Smith, Director of ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center). This organization is filled with resources of all types to benefit the older population and people with disabilities. Its mission is to promote independence through its resources. A booklet of these resources is available by contacting ADRC at 608-785-5700 or 1-800-500-3910 OR by stopping by their office (300 4th St. No., La Crosse, WI) OR by going to their website (adrc@lacrossecounty.org or www.lacrossecounty.org/adrc ). One can also sign up for the monthly newspaper La Crosse Senior Life that contains lots and lots of information, places to get help, recipes, events, and so on. This is free, but donations are always welcome.
What can you get from ADRC? There is too much to mention here, but a few are getting help for in-home services, yard work, nutrition, transportation (Abby Vans), health and wellness, brain checks, caregiver support and respite, adaptive equipment, housing options.
Tina Johnson is the Elder Benefit Specialist who can cut through the red tape of getting help. She can be reached at 608-785-6140. So, what does she do? She is trained to help older persons having a problem with their private or government benefits, like Medicare, Social Security, and others. She can help with the extensive and complicated paperwork that is often required. She can help figure out what benefits older persons are entitled to and then help them apply. How much does all this cost? $0!! However, donations are always appreciated and are used to expand the services. Service will not be refused or limited in any way if a contribution is not made.
What holds elderly people and those with disabilities back from approaching the ADRC? Usually it’s the idea of shame, of being afraid to take that first step … but ADRC is here to help, not to judge. Everyone needs help at some point, and ADRC is that helper.
ADRC is funded by the Older Americans Act dollars; however, secure funding depends on program donations (either cash or materials). As with most organizations, volunteers are desperately needed.
June, 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
On June 2nd, LAREA met for lunch at Cedar Creek with Stu Robertshaw, aka Doctor Humor. Not only is he the president of the National Association for the Humor Impaired, but he is also the CEO. What started out as a joke was taken seriously by a reporter for the La Crosse Tribune, Terry Reinflisch. Since that start, Dr. Humor has presented to the FBI, the CIA, the IRS, Westinghouse Corporation, the National Embalmers in Cleveland, OH, among others, totaling more than 900 presentations in 49 states and four provinces in Canada.
Stu is not only Dr. Humor but also a lawyer and a special education teacher. He retired from the University of WI - La Crosse in 1998 to follow a career in humor. His goal is to find humor and mirth and laughter in as many sources as possible: court rooms, relationships, obituaries, education, business, signs, newspapers, display ads, classified ads, personal ads, general audiences. At one time, students wrote letters to God, a great place to find much humor.
Anyone can become a lifetime member of the National Association for the Humor Impaired for only $6. (What a deal!!!) See his website at HYPERLINK “http://www.drhumor.com” www.drhumor.com or email him at HYPERLINK “mailto:drhumor@aol.com” drhumor@aol.com.
Congratulations to the winner of the 50/50 raffle, Barb Buswell.
LAREA Honorees: The following members were honored for being members for 15 years: Jim Beebe, Susan Fox, Charlene Harnish, Carla Townsend, Mary Colleen Walsh. Congratulations!
Contacting Members or Families of Members: Bev Ranis reminded members to let her know if any of our LAREA members are sick/hospitalized or have passed away. She will send cards to those members who are ill or to the families of members who have passed away.
May, 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
On May 5th, LAREA met for lunch at Cedar Creek with Brad Williams as the speaker on “Special Memory, Special Memories”. Brad Williams is a native of Prairie du Chien, graduated from UW-La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local court, and city and county government. Brad produces the features “Yesterday in La Crosse” and “What’s Buried on Brad’s Desk.” He also writes the website “Triviazoids” which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group “Heart of La Crosse”. Brad has been featured on several national TV programs, including 60 Minutes, because of his memory skills. The University of California Irvine has launched studies on people who have this special ability to remember. The average person can remember what happens on ten days a year, while those like Brad can remember 100 or more days per year for years and years. Brad says that his brothers do not have this ability and that he was even poor in school. Mr. Williams then went on to quiz the audience, and the audience quizzed him. The secret? Perhaps there is a part of the brain that is larger than normal. He tries to connect memories around a certain date. Sometimes his knowledge is just plainly trivial.
April 6th, 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
LAREA met for lunch at Cedar Creek with an informative and interesting presentation by Lee Rasch on Kumbo, Cameroon – one of the sister cities of La Crosse. Lee shared a little of the history of Cameroon. Twenty-five years ago, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration picked St. Elizabeth Hospital in K
umbo as their project. Interestingly, the area was in dentistry. Sister Margaret, who had only a high school education, came to Western Technical College in the Dental Assistant Program. She then helped perform oral surgeries. The La Crosse Rotary Club became active in Kumbo, and Lee visited in 2008 and three more times after. There were many student exchanges who came to La Crosse to be schooled at WTC and Viterbo. Diane and John Withers suggested that Kumbo become a Sister City, and Mayor Kabat agreed. The population is a mixture of Christians, Muslims, and Tribal peoples. Unfortunately, it is a tale of two leaders – the mayor works hard to include all sects to accept each other while the Lifetime President has his subordinates run the country. In November 2017, conflict broke out between the French-speaking people and the English-speaking people with much violence. The Civil War continues.
Eight Rotary clubs, led by the La Crosse Rotary, are rebuilding three primary schools. Locally, the La Crosse Rotary assisted in the establishment of a Cameroon garden within the Friendship Gardens in Riverside Park.
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March 2, 2022, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
The LAREA met for lunch at Cedar Creek on March 2 with an informative presentation by Jason Larsen, Director of Saint Clare Health Mission, on the origins and evolution of the free health clinic. Many organizations and volunteers keep this clinic up and running!
The group reviewed proposed changes to the bylaws that we will vote on in April.
Dec. 8, 2021, Meeting Held at Cedar Creek, Onalaska, WI
With a “HO-HO-HO” and lots of Christmas cheer, Santa Claus and his beautiful Mrs. surprised members! Too bad Jerry Berns wasn’t there to meet the Jolly Old Elf ...
A special Christmas treat was the Special Export (Light?) Quartet which had formed in December 1997, with members Lee Raasch,
Roger Christians, Gary Buxengard, and Clark Hanmer. After Clark’s move to North Carolina, Charlie George joined the quartet to sing
bass. They sang a variety of songs, including Christmas carols ... and even some that they had revised to meet their humor. Tapping
toes, nodding heads. and lots of laughter showed the quartet how much they were enjoyed!Once again, members enjoyed a wonderful luncheon! Thank you to Tammy and the staff!!
The meeting consisted of a few announcements:
A huge thank you to everyone who brought holiday cards for veterans ... over 200 will be delivered by Peggy Green to Tomah VA. Thank you, Peggy!
Thank you, too, to everyone who made monetary donations for the area food pantries! Especially at this time of year, the food pantries can use the extra money.
A special thank you to Sue Schettle who searched and searched for venues for our in-person meetings! She spent many hours, and we thank her for her hard work resulting in Cedar Creek, a great choice!
Another thanks to all members who stuck with our organization during the times when we used ZOOM for our meetings. We pray that these times are over, and we can continue to meet in person.
Membership – Mary Ann Ekern sends out a big thank you to all who paid their local dues. Hopefully those who have not yet paid will do so as soon as possible.
An updated Membership Directory for 2021-22 will be available at the March meeting.
LAREA Volunteers – Phil Brochhausen continues to collect volunteer hours which can come from volunteering in our community, with
our youth, and for our LAREA/WREA organizations. Forms were at the tables to fill in and return to Phil OR email Phil at pgbroch824@mac.com. The combined total hours are shared with WREA and with our state legislators to impress upon them the value of the
contributions made by retired educators. Thanks, Phil, for continuing to do a great job with these volunteer hours!
Holiday cards for veterans at Tomah VA.
People brought holiday greeting cards for veterans at the Tomah VA. Peggy Green and others delivered them to Tomah.
WE CARE Packages – Mary Henthorne, Lynn Lange, and their committee members could not say thank you enough to all who
purchased and donated the many items needed for the WE CARE Packages for middle- and high-school students. There were sample WE CARE packages for these students on the table. Still needed are about 50 WE CARE bags to be sewn.
Sign-up sheets were at their table for volunteers for packing and delivering these WE CARE bags. The
dates for these activities are January 25th and 26 . If you can help in any way, call Mary Henthorne at 507-895-6226 or email her at mjhen@acegroup.cc; Lynn Lange at 608-317-1295 or email her at 727LLange@gmail.com
Thank you, ladies, for all your hard work with this project!
Please share with fellow public school employees about LAREA and WREA. WREA continues to protect the Employee Trust Funds
which are currently funded at 103% and rated the best retirement fund in both public and private funds. Information on joining is
available on the web for each of these organizations.
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, Back Together at Cedar Creek
Lee Rasch, former president of Western Technical College spoke about about Ethical Leadership.
Once again, members enjoyed a wonderful luncheon! Thank you to Tammy and the staff!!
The meeting consisted of a few announcements:
A huge thank you to everyone who brought holiday cards for veterans ... over 200 will be delivered by Peggy Green to Tomah VA. Thank you, Peggy!
Thank you, too, to everyone who made monetary donations for the area food pantries! Especially at this time of year, the food pantries can use the extra money.
A special thank you to Sue Schettle who searched and searched for venues for our in-person meetings! She spent many hours, and we thank her for her hard work resulting in Cedar Creek, a great choice!
Another thanks to all members who stuck with our organization during the times when we used ZOOM for our meetings. We pray that these times are over, and we can continue to meet in person.
Membership – Mary Ann Ekern sends out a big thank you to all who paid their local dues. Hopefully those who have not yet paid will do so as soon as possible.
An updated Membership Directory for 2021-22 will be available at the March meeting.
LAREA Volunteers – Phil Brochhausen continues to collect volunteer hours which can come from volunteering in our community, with our youth, and for our LAREA/WREA organizations. Forms were at the tables to fill in and return to Phil OR email Phil at pgbroch824@mac.com. The combined total hours are shared with WREA and with our state legislators to impress upon them the value of the contributions made by retired educators. Thanks, Phil, for continuing to do a great job with these volunteer hours!
Holiday cards for veterans at Tomah VA.
People brought holiday greeting cards for veterans at the Tomah VA. Peggy Green and others delivered them to Tomah.
WE CARE Packages – Mary Henthorne, Lynn Lange, and their committee members could not say thank you enough to all who purchased and donated the many items needed for the WE CARE Packages for middle- and high-school students. There were sample WE CARE packages for these students on the table. Still needed are about 50 WE CARE bags to be sewn.
Sign-up sheets were at their table for volunteers for packing and delivering these WE CARE bags. The
dates for these activities are January 25th and 26 . If you can help in any way, call Mary Henthorne at 507-895-6226 or email her at mjhen@acegroup.cc; Lynn Lange at 608-317-1295 or email her at 727LLange@gmail.com
Thank you, ladies, for all your hard work with this project!
Please share with fellow public school employees about LAREA and WREA. WREA continues to protect the Employee Trust Funds
which are currently funded at 103% and rated the best retirement fund in both public and private funds. Information on joining is
available on the web for each of these organizations.
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, Back Together at Cedar Creek
Lee Rasch, former president of Western Technical College spoke about about Ethical Leadership.
With joy a group of 50 members dined at Cedar Creek Country Club for our first in-person meeting in 19 months. There
were many compliments on the lovely venue and the meal. Lee Rasch, retired president of Western Technical College and a
lifetime WREA member, spoke on Ethical Leadership and generously shared his PowerPoint with us. Click here to view it
and find access to related resources.
New Members & Coming Full Circle - Welcome to four new members who were present at the luncheon; Janelle Laufenberg, Deb Klug, Larry Pischke, and Sherry Olson.
When learning that the 50/50 raffle helps fund scholarships to one student each at UWL, Western, and an area high school, Sherry Olson indicated that she was a recipient of one of those scholarships in the late 1970s when she attended UWL. Sherry believes that she wrote an essay about why she wanted to be a teacher. Now, retired from teaching after 23 years at Western, she reflects on the excitement of receiving the scholarship that helped her reach her goal.
With joy a group of 50 members dined at Cedar Creek Country Club for our first in-person meeting in 19 months. There were many compliments on the lovely venue and the meal. Lee Rasch, retired president of Western Technical College and a lifetime WREA member, spoke on Ethical Leadership and generously shared his PowerPoint with us. Click here to view it and find access to related resources.
New Members & Coming Full Circle - Welcome to four new members who were present at the luncheon; Janelle Laufenberg, Deb Klug, Larry Pischke, and Sherry Olson.
When learning that the 50/50 raffle helps fund scholarships to one student each at UWL, Western, and an area high school, Sherry Olson indicated that she was a recipient of one of those scholarships in the late 1970s when she attended UWL. Sherry believes that she wrote an essay about why she wanted to be a teacher. Now, retired from teaching after 23 years at Western, she reflects on the excitement of receiving the scholarship that helped her reach her goal.
State Convention
This marked the 70th year since the insightful creation of the Wisconsin Retired Educators’ Association, a group that has indeed protected our exemplary pension system and lobbied for the best for public education in our state. Phil Brochhausen, Mary Ann Ekern, Susan Evans, Peggy Green, Barb Fischer, Lois Sanwick, Barb Schultz, Susan Schettle, Joan Solberg, and Margaret Wood attended the virtual WREA state convention.
Report on October, 2021, Virtual Meeting.
Report on September, 2021, Virtual Meeting.
Given staffing shortages at Piggy's LAREA leadership team decided to change our September meeting from in-person to virtual on ZOOM.Report on May, 2021, Zoom Meeting. Judy Schabert, wife of LAREA member Stan Schabert, shared Stan's medical journey - from suffering a stroke here in La Crosse to receiving care in Mexico. She explained what they learned going through the long-term care system.
Report on April, 2021, Meeting. Eighteen members attended the April 5 meeting with presenter Andrew Nussbaum from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. He highlighted points of interest in each of the 72 counties in our state. His presentation had competition from the beautiful weather we experienced this week, with plenty to enjoy outside in our own backyard.
Report on March, 2021, Meeting. Barbara Geiger, our guest speaker in March, received the $25 stipend offered by LAREA and turned around and sent us a check for $50. She was impressed with our organizations We Care Bags project and scholarship offerings! Her donation will be split between the two.
When: Lunch served at 11:30. Doors open at 10:30.
Where: Cedar Creek Country Club at 2600 Cedar Creek Lane, Onalaska 54650
Presentation: Featured speaker will be
When: Lunch served at 11:30. Doors open at 10:30.
Where: Cedar Creek Country Club at 2600 Cedar Creek Lane, Onalaska 54650
Presentation: Featured speaker will be
What: A plated lunch and dessert with coffee and water for $15 (No salad course)
No-show meals can be purchased. Our members can purchase the no-show meals and they will be boxed as take-out meals. If you are interested in purchasing an extra meal for the $15 cost, please mention that when paying and we’ll contact you during the meeting if there are members who made reservations and did not show up.
If you plan to take leftovers home. Please bring your own container (s).
Masks: Attendees are asked to wear masks when entering and until you find your seat.
Please RSVP at LaCrosseREA@gmail.com if you will attend.
Note: It has been reported that LAREA email has sometime ended in spam folders. Please connect with fellow members asking them to check their spam if they have not received this email. Adding lacrosserea@gmail.com to your contacts will prevent future notices from going to spam.
The 50/50 raffle. The 50/50 raffle which benefits our scholarship fund will be held. Pay $20 and get lunch plus 6 tickets!
