Because my sister Kathy (a middle child) retired mid-week, mid-semester, mid-pandemic, she might have slipped away unnoticed from the job she loved. But, her team of coworkers, friends and family weren't about to let that happen. On Wednesday, we all gathered for a surprise retirement parade past her house on a perfect May afternoon, made [...]
Today marks my sister Kathy’s final day as an educator. She is retiring for health reasons following a 29-year teaching career. She began as an English teacher at Audubon Middle School, and spent the bulk of her career as a Library Media Specialist at Menomonee Falls High School. Truthfully, Kathy probably should have retired years [...]
Sometimes, to experience a theatrical production's true level of happy passion and sleep-deprived perfectionism, you have to look behind the scenes. Witness a drama mama's midnight sewing session, or a Diet-Mountain-Dew-fueled director's back-of-the-house pace. See the hand-painted backdrop or the hand-lettered stage floor. We've been lucky participants in the Appleton North Theatre Program for more [...]
Thanks to the quirky magic of Facebook, the first person to wish me a Happy Birthday this year was my high school Spanish teacher. "¡Feliz cumpleaños, Laura! Desde Chile donde estamos de vacaciones. GWizz" Gee Wiz, that message thrilled me, though we probably hadn't spoken in more than 30 years! Gladys Wisnefske brought an enticing element of savoir faire to [...]
For more than a decade our family has been living under the spell of a gifted theater director. The inexhaustible Ron Parker, whose Appleton North Theater Program recently was named the No. 1 high school theater program in the Midwest, consistently amazes us. In retrospect, our initial astonishment seems humble. We attended North's 2002 production of [...]
