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MORGAN

TRAVEL

VETERANS

Sings his way through life

Let’s visit the Wade House

Help Vets enjoy Christmas

page 6A

page 6B

page 17A

FREE

Muskego’s

POMMER:

what a life, what a family

December 2015 Vol 29 No. 12

CELEBRATE 50 YRS.

At Wilson Park December 4th page 1B

PHIL SHERMAN:

Will Social Security be a hot topic?

page 3A

FRAZIER:

Is local democracy endangered?

page 3A

NEMOVITZ:

There was water everywhere

page 13A

SPORTS

Seniors exchange bats for shovels?

page 20A

Phil and Joan Sherman with their favorite Catholic priest, Father Mike Strachota of St. Joan of Arc Church in Nashotah.

By Jack Pearson A person could go trolling for sea shells along the remote beaches of the Caribbean islands for hours on end and then, all of a sudden and quite by chance, discover an extremely valuable old Spanish gold doubloon down under the sand. Surprise finds like that are extremely rare, of course. But they do occur, not only in hunting for sea shells, but in many

By Karen walks Ellenbecker of life. & Julie Such Ellenbecker as with writers like myself, gathering information about a particular person or subject, and -Lipsky in the process, accidentally finding something even more interesting.

MONEY SENSE

EDITOR

Not long ago it was suggested to me that I look into the possibility of a story about a Muskego man, Phil Sherman, and his highly impressive career. I was informed that Sherman had been a crime scene photographer for the Milwaukee Police for nearly 30 years, a fascinating topic for starters. Prior to that, when he was younger, he served in the US Marine Corps in Japan in the years following World War II. While there, he was stationed high up on the slopes of Mt. Fujiyama. While way up there, as he said, for more than a year has to be quite a tale as well.

If those two portions of his life were not enough to SHERMAN continued on page 10A

2A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

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DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

• 3A

Social Security could be an election topic Social Security and Medicare changes could become key election topics next year with Rep. Paul Ryan of Janesville now leading Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Republican conservatives are demanding changes in America’s entitlement programs – Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Ryan has long been pushing to change those programs where much of government spending occurs.

Ryan has backed the idea of partially privatizing Social Security. On Medicare, he is seen as a person who could promote the conservatives’ idea of converting Medicare to a program in which recipients get vouchers and then buy their own health insurance.

Medicaid—the state-federal medical program for the poor—may offer an easier solution for the folks in Washington. The federal government could solve its own budget woes by sending grants to the 50 state governments and let each devise care for the

poor and disabled.

If additional money is needed, state tax dollars could fill the gaps.

Proponents say state governments are better at solving social problems.

Social Security already has bubMOVING THE bled up in next year’s raceINbetween RIGHT DIRECTION Republican Ron Johnson and DemoBy Bruce Nemovitz crat Russ Feingold who are competing for a six-year term in the U.S. Senate.

Johnson won the Senate seat in 2010 by defeating Feingold as part of the Tea Party election landslide. Feingold had served 18 years in the Senate, but once-defeated ex-incumbents rarely are returned.

AGING ISSUESSecuriJohnson has called Social

ty a “Ponzi scheme” and has said it’s a shame that it has not yet been privatized. Feingold champions the current Social Security program as he campaigns across the state.

MONEY SENSE Republicans who control state

By Karen Ellenbecker & Julie Ellenbecker government seemed to have helped -Lipsky Johnson’s chances for re-election.

They have tightened absentee voting rules and now photo IDs are required to vote. They are also changing regulation of elections by replacing a board of six retired judges with a partisan-dominated commission.

Financial Fi i l Wellness W ll That “Planting Tomorrow’s change will occur just in time for the Dreams Today” 2016 elections. Labor changes

By Bradlaw Olson, CFP have hurt unions, which traditionally support Democrats.

The Republican Party notes, with enthusiasm, that Gov. Scott Walker APRON has made his campaigning apparatus Emma available to Johnson. STRINGS Walker has won

By Aunt Emma three statewide elections for governor using those volunteers and lists of telephone numbers and addresses.

Walker has said he will be out

legal voters.

• Implementation of legislative redistricting (gerrymandering) that makes thousands of votes meaningless and practically PLANTING eliminates the TOMORROW’S concept of competitive political conDREAMS TODAY tests.

By Brad Olson Elimination of so-called John Doe investigations, especially as they apply to crimes that are committed involving elections, campaign finance, and ethics.

• Elimination of the non-partisan Government Accountability Board (GAB) and replacing itSPORTS with two partisan boards which By reverts back to a Jack Pearson time when the Legislature, by a near unanimous vote, created the GAB because the two separate boards were not working. (to quote Yogi Berra “it is déjà vu all over again”).

• Changes to the state’s campaign finance laws that will allow unlimited and secret contributions from wealthy individuals and corporations, including outside groups, and allow coordination with outside Political Action Committees (PACs) that include issue advocacy (political ads that do not say

vote for or against a particular candidate) as well as express advocacy (political ads that do say vote for or against a particular candidate).

I am not the only one that is worried about Wisconsin’s reputation for good government. In a letter to Wisconsin legislators, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law stated in regard to campaign finance law changes, “These provisions would make it easy for super PACs and other outside groups to flood Wisconsin races with secret campaign money, thereby transforming Wisconsin’s political system from one of the most open and transparent in the nation to one of the least.” The letter continues “That would fundamentally change the dynamic of Wisconsin elections and weaken democracy in the state.”

In a Washington Post article

by Scott Bauer/AP on October 24, 2015, writing about several of the above-mentioned changes, he starts by saying “Wisconsin Republicans are moving at breakneck speed to abolish secret investigations into political cor-

STATE CAPITOL COMMENT

By Matt Pommer

EDITORIAL

campaigning next year to assure that Johnson is returned to the Congress.

The governor has slipped in recent polls, especially among independents and in so-called “outstate” areas stretching across northern Wisconsin.

But Walker seems in tune with the concept of changing national entitlement programs. He refused having Wisconsin accept hundreds of millions of federal dollars for the expansion of Medicaid programs. Other states with Republican governors, like Iowa and Ohio, fashioned programs to use part of the available funds being made under Obamacare.

Walker has predicted the federal government can’t afford to send states large amounts of Medicaid money.

And, afford it or not, Republicans are vowing to repeal all of Obamacare.

Obamacare repeal, probably not earlier than 2017, could accelerate changes for Social Security and Medicare. But the Feingold-Johnson outcome may have a larger impact.

TRAVEL

SENIOR Answer Man

CRABBY

IT MAKES ME Democracy an endangered species in Wisconsin

By Tom Frazier

By Tom Frazier I moved from West Virginia to Wisconsin in 1976. I took a Civil Service test, was invited to an interview and offered a job with the State of Wisconsin. This was not the way things worked in West Virginia. I was proud to be a self-proclaimed Badger where things were different; e.g. Civil Service, good, honest, open government, high voter turnout in elections, Bi-partisan politics, a high degree of citizen participation in government decision-making, excellent public schools, and a large middle class. The football and basketball teams were not so good, but the fans were loyal.

I knew things were really different (better?) when someone I voted for actually won.

But now those things that were different have been bushwhacked by a series of changes that I fear threaten democracy itself in Wisconsin. Consider the following: • Passage of one of the most restrictive Voter ID laws in the country that will disenfranchise many more eligible voters than it will prevent il-

ruption such as the one that haunted Gov. Scott Walker, do away with the state’s unique nonpartisan elections board and legalize coordination between candidates and shadowy issue advocacy groups that don’t disclose their donors.” A New York Times editorial (Oct. 27, 2015) regarding abolishing John Doe investigations, said “Under the new law…Bribery, official misconduct, campaign-finance violations and many other election law offenses—all are now exempt from a law that has served Wisconsin well, and without controversy, since the mid-19th century.”

As you can see, Wisconsin’s reputation for good, honest, open government is suffering in the national media but, ultimately, those of us in Wisconsin willBysuffer the most. And, Enis Wright if you believe that these changes are anything but partisan attempts to grab and maintain political power then I may have some ocean-front property in West Virginia for sale.

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STATE CAPITOL COMMENT

Financial Fi i lW Wellness ll “Planting Tomorrow’s Dreams Today”

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

By Matt Pommer

By Brad Olson, CFP

4A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015 By Bruce Nemovitz

counter for a mid-morning breakfast or even for lunch. ByFi sitting Financial i l at Wellness W the ll countAPRON Emma “Planting Tomorrow’s MONEY SENSE er it will be easy for you to take part STATE CAPITOL STRINGS Answer Man Dreams Today”

By Karen Ellenbecker COMMENTBy Aunt Emma in some conversation back and MOVING IN THE & Julie Ellenbecker

By Brad Olson, CFPforth

By Matt Pommer -Lipsky DEAR SAM: RIGHT DIRECTION with others there. They, too, may be I am a man of age 66 and feel quite as lonely as you. I know you can find

By Bruce Nemovitz Save someone’s life by donatAGING Of course, you should be well restISSUES Financial Fi i l We W ing your blood. But before you think ed, have eaten a good meal, be suffi- alone now in life as my dear wife has friends at the local library, at a health

By Tom Frazier “Planting Tomo died and our children all live away at seriously about it, be certain that you ciently hydrated with water or juice club, at a church if you are a God fear-Dreams Tod great distances. Do youMOVING have any sugare in good health, weigh at least 110 and just plain relaxed. loving person. APRON I also haveBy read IN THEing orEmma Brad Olso gestions for me? pounds, have a photo i.d. with you that If you wish to give blood and don’t that there’s great relief in meditation.

STRINGS RIGHT DIRECTION Financial Fi i lW Wellness ll Just “Planting referTomorrow’s to me By as Bruce lonelyNemovitz shows your birth date, be prepared to know of a center, contact the Blood Emma But first a person hasBytoAunt learn how to Dreams Today” Oswald if you answer this. share your prescription list and your Center, bcw.edu/blood meditate.

There might be a person at MOVING IN THE

By Brad Olson, CFP RIGHT DIRECTION THANKS. medical history. a senior center who can help you with PLANTING

By Bruce Nemovitz AGING TOMORROW’S this.

DREAMS TODAY ISSUES DEAR LONELY OSWALD:

By Brad Olson Good luck and great meditating on

By Tom Frazier What a pity that you are so lone- the life you have Emma ahead. What’s gone APRON Over 60 percent of U.S. citizens thousands of dollars. A three-bedroom Emma ly. Yes, I do know it is difficult to get before you is just that. Gone!

STRINGS away, but life today own their own homes, or at least house, with which this writer is famil- over a spouse’s passing

By Aunt Em

By Aunt Emma SINCERELY, are making payments to ultimately do iar, lot already owned, was built in can’t stop for you. First, I suggest you SENIOR ANSWER MAN so. Of these numbers, 33 percent of 1939 for $3,500. AGING go to a local restaurant with seats at a the home buyers in 2014 had never Houses in Milwaukee ISSUES and suburbs AGING SPORTS

By Tom Frazier previously owned a home. Would By you in the late 1950’s and 60’s were beISSUES Jack Pearson PLANTING believe the number of homes sold last ing sold for the middle teens and just By Tom TOMORROW’S Frazier year totaled 4,940,000. These were in into the $20,000 brackets. An AmeriDREAMS TODAY the ThereWRIGHT are numerous things in life ushered into a patient room; I must have

By Brad Olson addition to the 437,000 newly con- can Family Insurance spokesperson that makeSIDE us uncomfortable and even been there a half hour seeing no one. of structed houses. says houses in 1963 averaged $17,200 crabby. I know I Wright recently met one face I commented when the doctor finally

By Enis While home ownership jumped compared to sale prices averaging to face and I didn’t like it. Perhaps this came into the room about his being very after the World War II time, the per- $175,000 in 2014.PLANTING may help me be a bit nicer to people busy. I was just making conversation, TOMORROW’S centage of home-owned households So, what kind of prices will hous- when confronting them in various cir- but he took it as a question about where DREAMS TODAY in 1940 was 44 percent. The prices es be selling with for By in Brad the nextMcLoone decade? cumstances. he was and what he was doing when he Jim Olson of homes then were mostly in the low I am going to tell you about a re- should have been honoring my appointcent visit to a doctor at which I arrived ment or at least explaining why not.

PLANTING SPORTS about three minutes early.

Yes, I had Perhaps I did act rudely after he kind of TOMORROW’S By Jack Pearson minutes TODAY be- snarled at me about being so busy and Don’t just sit there. Get moving. problems, obesity and, of course, heart been asked to be there 10DREAMS fore appointment time, but what was We know that each of we human problems. The low intensity workouts

By Brad Olsonhaving to work an emergency into his the big deal as long as I was there ahead already busy schedule. Being a regular beings needs some exercise. Still, there - walking or going up and down stairs of time?

Well, the receptionist, nurse Medicare check-up, he perhaps was are some of us who can’t do too much might just give youSPORTS a 33 percent chance

By Jack Pearson any more due to physical problems. of living longer. Household chores or whoever snipped at me as being ter- not making lots of money by seeing me.

But, we pass this on to you, which we may be more than sufficient for the ribly annoyed by my lack of consid- However, doctor, lawyer, merchant or read in the Arthritis Magazine. Two two minutes an hour. Get the big guy eration. While this bothered me, what thief, there are lots of fish in the ocean minutes of exercise each hour is what out of his chair and behind the vacuum really got to me was when I had been and doctors who swim with them.

SENIOR

EDITORIALS Holiday giving

IT MAKES ME CRABBY

TRAVEL

Home ownership

SENIOR

ARTS

Answer Man

Two minutes an hour

calendar IT MAKES ME CRABBY HERMAN WHI

ARTS

cleaner with handle in hand occasionally. Too much sedentary time can lead to an early death. He needs more exercise since he’s retired than going from bed to chair to dining table chair, back to TV chair and then to bed. Thank goodness for the occasional walk to the bathroom down the hall.

60KILLING TIME

Clean hands When was the last time you wit-

nessed a person leave a public bathroom without washing or sanitizing his or her hands? Yes, it happens all too frequently. Hand washing and anti germ solutions or gels should be utilized. They’re not placed where they are for adornment.

Would you believe there are germs lurking on the condiment containers at your restaurant table, on the

IT MAKE

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HERMAN ENTERTAINMENT calendar

calendar the WRIGHT SIDE of

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ENTERTAINMENT

NTERTAINMENT

it requires to live a longer and healthier life. Even standing up and walking around your office or kitchen for two minutes may do the trick.

We know prolonged sitting not

By Enisthat Wright only shortens our lives, but it can be the cause of various other health problems.

These can be arthritis, diabetes, kidney

Answ

APRO SENIOR IT MAKES ME STRIN Answer Man

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KILLING TIME with Jim McLoone

By Enis Wright

Thanksgiving was just observed e e e e e SPORTS and Christmas is just ahead. How You have to be a sort of rough and Jack Pearson many “Turkeys” will beBydining with tumble person to want to drive an hour you? Someone told us that their Cousin KILLING TIME continued on page 19A Tom is the biggest turkey of all.

with Jim McLoone

grocery carts, on public transportation seats and straps and even on your shoes as well as your hands dependent upon what they have last touched?

Do use the sanitizers. Do what you can to keep the flu and colds, among other illnesses, away. There is no time of year when you should not attempt to protect your health. It can require so little effort.

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EDITOR Jim McLoone WRITER/PROOFREADER Jill Slattery ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Saran Piehl ART DIRECTOR/PRODUCTION MANAGER

KILLING TIME with Jim McLo PUBLISHER Maureen Slattery

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DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

• 5A

Cardiac stress tests are often performed too frequently

By Dr. David Lipschitz

Annually, hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans have a stress test to screen for coronary artery disease. The stress test can be done in one of two ways. The heart can either be stressed by exercising on a treadmill or by injecting a radioisotope and scanning the heart before and after exercise. If exercise is difficult, the heart can be stressed by injecting the medication Persantine. In either case, abnormalities can identify coronary artery disease. Frequently, the heart is monitored during the stress test using both an EKG and an echocardiogram.

Recently, the United States Preventative Services Task Force reaffirmed the opinion of many experts that there was no value in doing routine EKG’s and stress tests in healthy individuals at low risk of having heart disease and who have no symptoms suggesting a heart problem such as chest pain or shortness of breath. They do so because the tests often yield false results leading to needless additional investigations that may cause more harm than good. Furthermore, a normal test is not a good predictor of future risk of

cardiac problems.

Even for those at higher risk of heart disease, the task force does not believe there is enough evidence either for or against EKG and stress testing and suggest that a decision be made on a case-by-case basis between doctor and patient.

So how do you determine your risk for having a heart attack? This can easily be accomplished by entering information into a risk assessment tool developed by the American Heart Association, which is available on the Internet (www.heart.org). Their heart attack risk calculator factors in the common conditions that contribute to a higher chance of having a heart attack including age, being a male or post-menopausal female, a strong family history of heart attacks, high blood pressure, an elevated total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, a fasting blood sugar greater than 100, smoking, being overweight, sedentary and eating poorly.

Once completed, the tool provides information of the risk of having a heart attack within 10 years and what steps should be taken to address any problems.

As heart disease is clearly the leading cause of death, it is fair to assume that everyone is in danger of problems, and therefore attempts at preventing heart attacks are far more important and valuable than finding out during a stress test that significant coronary artery disease is already present. This involves compulsively living a hearthealthy lifestyle, including exercise, eating right, smoking cessation and stress management as well as working closely with your doctor to identify and correct treatable risk factors.

If heart attack risk is moderate or high, a dialogue with a primary care physician or cardiologist to determine if a stress test should be done is appropriate. And for someone whose assessment indicates a very high risk of a heart attack within the next 10 years, a screening stress test is a realistic consideration. There must be an understanding that the result may lead to angiograms and angioplasty and even open-heart surgery.

No matter your risk, should symptoms develop, such as shortness of breath or chest pain, a stress test is then used as a diagnostic rather than a

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screening tool. Some experts may even forgo a stress test and opt for an immediate angiogram if symptoms are sufficiently compelling.

For anyone known to have coronary artery disease, who is being optimally managed with medications and who either has no or stable symptoms, annual stress tests may do more harm than good. In this circumstance, any invasive procedure to open a blocked artery (either by angioplasty using stents or surgery) will neither prolong life nor reduce the risk of a heart attack. Invasive procedures will relieve symptoms, but sadly angiograms and even openheart surgery are often done on individuals with no symptoms at all.

Nothing is scarier than dealing with a heart problem. The evidence is compelling that aggressive diagnostic and invasive procedures are highly effective when done for the appropriate indication. But numerous studies have shown that this aggressive care is frequently unnecessary and can cause more harm than good. In relation to heart health, the more you know, the more involved you are in your care, the better.

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6A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

Thomas Morgan: from Alaska to the Highlands Could the U.S. Army Air Corps members have spent their time rubbing noses with the Eskimos when they were stationed in northern Alaska during winter months? How busy were they?

The time was towards the end of World War II and the Cold War with USSR was at its height when Thomas Morgan served as a P-51 crew chief at the air corps base in Fairbanks. As crew chief, Morgan was responsible for everything, but piloting aircraft on their around the clock surveillance missions along the Alaskan coast of the Bering Sea, a narrow stretch of water that separates Russia from Alaska, which then was yet to become

a state was his main duty. It was international duty for those Army Air Corps men. All told, 99 P-51 crews were sent there after the fighting in Europe was over. The Japanese had abandoned their brief stay in Alaska after about 2,000 of our ground troops were killed in action while convincing them to do so. But the USSR was flexing its military muscles and interfering with US operations in surrendered Germany. We were becoming very wary.

Flying the Alaska coastline 24 hours each day was a job well done for about six months. As a P-51, crew chief, Thomas Morgan, now age 89 and a resident of Brookfield High-

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lands with his wife, Joanne, of 60 plus years, said the duty there left him anxious to get back to the States and to moderate weather. Temperatures there plummeted to near 60 degrees below zero and went as high as into the 90’s in summer, which was also far before mosquito spraying time if it ever was such up there in the tundra.

The P-51 fighter carried two 1,000 pound bombs, which if USSR troops were seen advancing across the iced straits, the bombs were to be dropped, shattering the ice and thus sinking any tanks and men caught crossing the frozen strait.

Morgan never claimed to have been a wartime hero. It was his melodious voice and his outward manner and great smile that first brought us to this story.

A native of Donora, PA he attended college to become an expert in laboratory work and ex-rays after getting his degree via the GI Bill that has blessed so many ex-service people.

Morgan served in the hospital clinical lab at Manitowoc until Abbott Laboratories contacted him to become their representative in the greater Upper Peninsula region. He kept this position until retirement and as time continued to march forward, the Morgans moved 12 years ago from Manitowoc to their present comfortable home off George Hunt Circle in Waukesha.

This writer came to know Morgan, appreciate his Irish wit and his friendly smile when Tom was singing as a member of the Ambassadors of Harmony, which uses Brookfield Highlands as its founding home.

Keith Merryfield, the original director, has since passed away and, for a while, Morgan served as manager.

Morgan, who began singing when he was six years old with Ave Maria at a relative’s wedding, still is belting out tunes 83 years later. The Ambassadors of Harmony are a large group of men who love singing and who do such quite well judging from the enthusiastic responses from their audiences.

Morgan, a barber shopper from way back, has sung in many states, formed a group in Naples, FL. and

IN ACTION: Thomas Morgan as he was while in the Army Air Corps.

HONOR FLIGHT: Thomas Morgan, a very happy veteran, led those on board heading homeward from Washington, D. C. in patriotic songs while he was a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight participant.

MORGAN continued on page 7A

DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

MORGAN IN ACTION: The National Anthem and God Bless America were sung as Tom recently led the audience at ceremonies at the Veterans’ Memorial Center in Milwaukee.

MORGAN continued from page 6A

was with a very popular quartet that sang throughout the Green Bay area and on television. Yes, you might recall him as a member of the Singing Sergeants.

Among the appearances, Morgan recalls was one as a Cream City Crooner performing before about

3,000 persons at the state capitol in observance of the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014.

You have to be getting up there in age to recall him as a barber shopping Manitowoc Monotune in the 1960’s or even as a Phourmonics member in the decade before that.

Almost ready to complete the in-

• 7A

WITH ARNIE: Thomas Morgan is pictured with his sister, Geraldine, right, and her employers Arnold and Mrs. Palmer at a Palmer owned air facility in Pennsylvania managed by Geraldine. terview, Morgan was asked, “Didn’t you have any interest in sports?” You could almost see the light in his eye as he raced to the next room, grabbed a picture that accompanied an autographed baseball that he brought to the table from his late hometown buddy in Pennsylvania, Stan Musial.

“Stan was a bit older, but what a great

guy.”

It was time to leave George Hunt Circle and the Morgans. Mrs. Morgan was about to fix supper. Would Tom have to sing for his supper after spending so much time doing this interview?

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What is a living trust?

Do you need one?

BY CARRIE SCHWAB-POMERANTZ DEAR CARRIE: Everyone I know seems to be setting up a living trust, even my friends who aren’t that wealthy. My husband and I have wills, but that’s it.

How do we know whether we need a trust? -- A READER

DEAR READER: It’s usually hard to get people to talk about estate planning, so I’m actually heartened by your question. No matter your age or your wealth, it’s smart to plan in advance how you’d want your property to be distributed should something happen to you.

Basic estate planning starts with a will, which deals with not only your property but also such important decisions as who will care for minor children if both parents are deceased. Another important piece of a basic estate plan is an advance health care directive, which is intended to let your doctors and loved ones know what medical steps you do -- and don’t -- want taken in a life-threatening medical situation.

If you have these two things in place, you’re generally covered. So why all the interest in a living trust?

Let’s take a look.

LIVING TRUST BASICS A living trust, specifically a revocable living trust, is a legal document that places your assets -- investments, bank accounts, real estate, vehicles and valuable personal property -- in trust for your benefit during your lifetime and spells out where you’d like these things to go upon your death. Because it is revocable, you can cancel or change it at any time during your lifetime.

You name yourself as the trustee (spouses can be co-trustees) and remain in complete control of your assets, moving them in and out of the trust as you wish. One difference from a will is that you also name a “successor trustee,” who will be your representative upon your death and transfer your assets directly to your beneficiaries according to your wishes.

Also, should you become incapacitated, your successor trustee would act on your behalf, handling financial issues and even managing property or business assets for you. It’s all clearly spelled out and, unlike a will, can be

handled without any involvement by the courts.

MAIN ADVANTAGES: AVOIDING PROBATE AND ENSURING PRIVACY This ability to bypass the courts is one of the big pluses of a living trust.

A will has to go through probate, which is the thorough but lengthy and painstaking legal process used to value your estate, settle any debts, pay taxes and transfer assets to your heirs. Any assets that are registered only in the name of the deceased must go through probate.

Probate costs and timelines vary by state, but generally, the bigger the estate the higher the costs (anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of the value of your assets) and the longer the time (anywhere from nine months to two years) until the assets are distributed.

Another big advantage of a living trust is privacy. A will is a public document, open for all to scrutinize and possibly contest. Probate itself is open to public view, so anyone can see the details of your estate. In contrast, a living trust is private, is generally more difficult to challenge and avoids the public probate process altogether.

For the record, there are other ways to avoid probate. For example, anything that has a named beneficiary, such as a retirement account or an insurance policy, goes directly to the beneficiary and wouldn’t be included in a trust. (Just make certain your beneficiary designations are up-to-date.) You can also set up payable-on-death accounts for bank accounts and certain government securities, and you can take title in property in joint tenancy or as survivorship community property.

A POSSIBLE DRAWBACK: COST There are online tools that let you create your own living trust, but I strongly advise using an estate planning attorney. To me, it’s best to have someone who understands the ins and outs of the process, as well as the nuances of your own situation, to help you plan appropriately and avoid potential pitfalls.

Attorneys’ fees will vary depending on the complexity of your financial situation. However, often an attorney will TRUST continued on page 9A

DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

• 9A

Walk the talk, holding hands while on way

By Doug Mayberry A READER WRITES: “Since our first date 38 years ago, when my husband and I first took a short walk together, he took hold of my hand and did not let go. We both realized that we were experiencing something new and different. We were both happy and excited because we both felt happy and comfortable -- and looking forward to more dates.

“What other site would serve as a better one to become better acquainted than regular walks. Now, as we continue walking and holding hands we are aware of other walkers looking at us, smiling, saying hello and that our holding hands reflects that we are very much in love.

“Laughingly, I tell the kids I continue to hold gram’s hands because if I let go, she is likely to run off and go shop-

TRUST continued from page 8A

set up a basic trust for a flat fee. Plan on starting at $1,000 and going up from there. If your employer offers a legal plan as a benefit, you may want to look into whether a living trust is covered or available at a discounted rate. To minimize attorney time and cost, think in advance about the assets you want to place in trust, where you want your assets to go when you pass away and whom you want to name as your successor trustee.

AN IMPORTANT CAVEAT: YOU HAVE TO FUND IT To get the benefits of a trust, you have to put your assets in it. This means retitling your property and accounts in the name of the trust. Your attorney may be able to take care of some of this for you, but if not, you must be sure to do this yourself.

You should also create a pour-over will. This essentially states that any assets not already in the trust should be included at the time of death.

ping at the mall.

“Walking and holding hands also showcase the fact that we are not alone and enjoy having a best friend. It also shows how proud we are of each other.

“Walking also helps us develop patience, get to know what we have in common, show our affection and friendship. We simply open up our schedule for time to walk!”

HOLIDAY MEMORIES! . Families differ when it comes to choosing a favorite holiday. Halloween, Christmas and Thanksgiving are the winners in our family. Of course as we age, our taste changes as four generations are now living together for lthe first time in history. Of course, our grandchildren favor the gift giving and candy bagging holidays as their favorites.

Q

As adults, what influences our holiday feelings the most? Is it health, finances or family? Having a positive or negative outlook play an important factor in our choices.

A

. As we age, we all experience the best and worst of times.

Growing up, maturing, and reacting to what we experience are major factors that influence our decisions.

The importance of family is validated.

The sharing of our family members’ day-to-day lives is done through computers, smart phones or other devices and sent immediately without comment.

Often, the information is incorrect and trigger erroneous reactions.

A SMART SOLUTION FOR MANY A living trust isn’t absolutely necessary for everyone, but it will certainly help if, for instance, you have a lot of assets, you own property in more than one state or you have an extended family with whom things could be more complicated.

Also, it’s not just a question of how much money or property you have. It’s what will give you the greatest assurance that your assets will be distributed according to your wishes and that the process will be as smooth and painless as possible for your heirs.

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Certified Financial Planner, is president of the Charles Schwab Foundation and author of “The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty,” available in bookstores nationwide. Read more at http://schwab.com/book.

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Life seems to become less and less personal. Many schools have ceased teaching cursive writing and when grandparents send birthday notes, the parents of the grandchildren have to read the letters to them. On the flip side, grandparents are not able to easily communicate to their families unless they are somewhat able to use computers or email.

We are thankful for our holidays because they offer us a time for reflection and understanding. The time for distraction and focus offers renewal of the importance of communication and caring for our families.

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10A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015 SHERMAN continued from page 1A

write about, there’s also the story of Phil and his wife, Joan. Most couples meet, fall in love and decide to get married in their 20s or even later.

Phil and Joan were in their first year of high school when they decided that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. And finally, there’s a Nashotah priest who is part of this epic, Father Strachota.

So with all those possible story leads, I called the gentleman, and he cordially agreed to an interview. He asked where we would meet, and I proposed that his home was as good as any, and we set a date and time.

It was a fortuitous suggestion, for it was in his home, on the wall of the dining room, that I spotted, in effect, my golden doubloon. It wasn’t an actual doubloon, of course, it was only a framed photograph, a picture of 20 smiling people.

We began the interview, but for some reason the photo stuck in my mind so I changed tact. “Is that a picture of your graduating class,” I asked? He turned around and looked at it and smiled. “No, not really,” he said. “I’m not even in it. It’s a picture of Joan with her sisters and brothers,” Phil replied. “You mean with their spouses?” I said. “There are 20 people in the photo.” He laughed. “No, those are her actual brothers and sisters. But you’re only looking at the ones who are still alive. Originally, there were 23. One brother was killed while serving in the Army during the Vietnamese war; one brother died soon after

birth, and a daughter died from lung cancer a few years back.” I was completely astounded. “Phil,” I said, “I have never heard of 23 children in the same family. That’s incredible. Were some of them twins or triplets?” He chuckled again. “No, Joan’s mother gave birth to all 23 children individually. You have to keep in mind that back in the 30s, and 40s there wasn’t too much to do during the long winter nights. Not even television to look at. Our families grew up on remote farms, too, both up near Crandon, Wisconsin, in the heart of the northwoods. So other than sleeping, making babies was about it.”

Well, I thought it was most exceptional, still do. I called several agencies to determine if it was the largest ever in Wisconsin, but didn’t have much luck. The Milwaukee Public Library’s Ready Reference Section had only one instance of a large family, Phil Sherman during his days as a crime and it numbered 19. The state’s med- scene photographer for the Milwaukee Police ical offices had nothing, nor did the Department. census bureau or even the Guinness Book of Records of people. Records Joan’s mother had her 90th birthday,” are easily obtainable as to the number Phil said, “and the kids threw a party. of people who see any particular ball There were all the daughters and sons game, or who live in any city, or the and their spouses, 54 grandchildren most people who ever stuffed a phone and their spouses, 92 great grandchilbooth. But nothing on the largest famdren and more spouses, and 13 great ily in Wisconsin. (So if you, the pergreat-grand kids, a whopping total son reading this story, can shed any of 210 family members for the party. light on the issue, please call or write And that wasn’t all of them, either. Fifto me in care of this publication.) ty-two couldn’t make it.” The whole Phil was amused at my perplexity. thing was highly difficult to compre“If you think 23 brothers and sisters hend. If everyone brought her a presis a huge number, you should have ent, it would have taken her a week been there a few years back when to open all of them. Could everyone

remember everybody’s name? I could not imagine a larger family birthday party, anywhere, ever. Where did everyone sleep that night? They had to have rented a town hall or someplace to hold the party. Can you even begin to imagine all of these people in one house?

Phil walked back to the photo on the wall. “You know, with a family as large as Joan’s, and with the limited income farms like theirs, provided, there just wasn’t much of any money to send the kids on to college,” he said. “But Joan’s family did all right for themselves. This one over here,” he said as he pointed to one of his brothers-in-law in the photo, “started his own business and worked hard at it and is now a millionaire. This one over here,” and he pointed to another brother-in-law on the other side of the photo, “I think is also close to being a millionaire. Actually, all of them, the women as well as the men, went on to full, productive lives. Joan and three of her sisters became nurses, and one a nun.” The oldest, he said, was 81, the youngest 54, a span of 27 years.

Which brings up all kinds of possibilities. For example, when the last of the children was only about 13, one of his or her brothers or sisters was already a grandparent.

But back to Phil and the story I started out to discover and write.

After high school graduation, Phil opted to join the Marines. “I was in the artillery,” he said, “and we were sent to Japan as part of the occupying

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SHERMAN continued from page 10A

force after the conclusion of the war.

Japan is a densely populated country, and there isn’t much open land. We needed a lot of open space for shooting practice, and the only place they could find for us was some 5,000 feet up on the slopes of Mt. Fujiyama. In a way it was nice, we had great views from up there and no one bothered us, but boy, it was cold. All year long, it was cold.”

Following his discharge, Phil returned home. He and Joan married, and then relocated to Milwaukee. “I took a job with the Milwaukee Police Department,” he recalled. “For the first few years, I rode a motorcycle. I got to do some escort riding for some important people. President Lyndon Johnson, then the Beatles – oh, those were hassles, especially keeping all the teenagers away from them – and Debbie Reynolds. Then after a few years, they transferred me to the crime scene photography group. I never really found out why, as I wasn’t a particularly good photographer. But I learned.”

Phil showed me a collection of some of the crime scene photos he took over the years with the Milwau-

kee PD. Many of them, especially those involving murder, were quite gory. You wouldn’t want to look at them before sitting down for supper.

“In the beginning it was often very difficult,” he recalled. “I had to get used to it, and I did. There are many aspects of police work that aren’t all as glamorous as you see on television or in the movies.”

That Sherman, who is 79, is still alive and kicking is still another interesting topic. Five years ago, he felt a pain in his chest, but after a short while it went away. The next day the same thing happened, and again, it didn’t last long. When it occurred for the third time a few days later, which actually was New Year’s Day, he decided it would be wise to have it checked out at the local hospital. After a series of tests there, his doctor came to him and told him surgery was necessary at once. “He said, in fact, that had I not come in that day, it probably would have been fatal,” Phil recalled.

“They performed six bypasses, so I guess the doc was right.”

I noted earlier that a Catholic priest played a role in this story. After they were married, Phil and Joan lived in Milwaukee and attended Corpus

Christi Catholic Church at 87th and Villard. There, the priest was Father Mike (Mike, not Michael) Strachota.

The Shermans liked Father Mike so much that when he was transferred to St. Joan of Arc in Nashotah, they would drive out there every Sunday to attend his mass. When they relocated to Muskego and built their own home there, they continued to drive to Father Mike’s mass on Sundays. “I’m truly flattered and honored that Phil and Joan have followed me and my services,” Father Mike said. “But it’s so much more than their presence that I appreciate. Both of them have added so much to the parish. Phil is a regular usher, and Joan is also so active in church work here. Everyone loves them, especially the children. They are wonderful with the little ones.”

It is also at St. Joan of Arc where Maureen and Tom Slattery, publishers of 50 Plus, met Phil and Joan, and it was Maureen, who suggested this story and took the accompanying photo of them and Father Mike.

I asked Phil if he had ever heard of read about a family as large as Joan’s.

“The subject has come up occasionally,” he said, “and we’ve done a little research of our own. But we’ve nev-

• 11A

er been able to find any real evidence that her family is the largest, or that it isn’t. We probably will never know.”

Incidentally, in regard to that total, 262 in the same family, Phil and Joan have done their bit to contribute, with three children, six grandchildren and one great grandchild. “It will be two great grandkids sometime in December,” he added.

“They’re planning another reunion – get-together next summer up in Crandon,” Phil said. “Joan’s mother, Mrs. Samz, the mother of all those kids, is no longer there, having died a few years back at age 93 (Mr. Samz lived to be 89). As you noted, at the last party 210 of the family’s 262 members were there. Maybe they will top that total this time.”

And for the children, I thought, perhaps they could arrange for a treasure hunt out in the woods. The treasure could be a golden doubloon.

50 Plus News Magazine

Can you believe all these smiling people had the same father and mother? They are all sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law to the subject of this story, Phil Sherman; all except the lady third from the left in front, who is his wife, Joan.

12A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

Legislation would help workers save now, so they aren’t left high and dry in retirement Dear Editor, A secure retirement seems like a distant dream for too many Wisconsinites.

Social Security alone isn’t enough to retire on – the average benefit for most Wisconsinites is about $1,300 a month. Across the country, millions of people are at risk of running out of savings after they retire. The nation is facing a vast retirement savings deficit, estimated to be as much as $6.6 trillion.

One of the reasons for this deficit is the fact that more than 57 million American workers- including nearly 1 million Wisconsinites – have no way to save at work. A study by the National Institute on Retirement Security found that the typical working-age household has only $3,000 in retirement assets and near-retirement households have just $12,000 in savings.

The scary part is that these folks are ahead of the game!

In Wisconsin, 42 percent of workers have no access to retirement savings options. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We know that people are 1,300 percent more likely to save if they can do so at work.

Wisconsin is one of 30 states considering “work and save” plans to seek a commonsense solution to work-based savings. AARP

supports the Wisconsin version, known as the Wisconsin Private Secure Retirement Act. The bill (AB-70 and SB-45) calls for a public-private partnership which allows workers to save for retirement via payroll deduction at work. These savings plans would be portable, voluntary, and the state isn’t responsible for any gains or losses in the market.

Plus, giving workers a simple way to save now will mean fewer Wisconsinites will rely on government safety net services in retirement, which in turn saves taxpayer dollars.

The Wisconsin Private Secure Retirement Act is an easy way to give thousands of Wisconsinites access to retirement accounts, empowering them to live their retirement years with independence and financial security.

Unfortunately it’s currently stalled in our state legislature.

AARP urges state lawmakers to schedule a hearing because there’s no time to waste in helping Wisconsinites save for the future!

Sincerely, Lisa Lamkins Associate State Director-Advocacy AARP Wisconsin, Madison

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of more than 37 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment security and retirement planning. We advocate for consumers in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www. aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP VIVA, a bilingual news source. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.

MONEY SENSE

STATE CAPITOL COMMENT

By Karen Ellenbecker & Julie Ellenbecker -Lipsky

By Matt Pommer

DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

• 13A

It happened to me! Water, water everywhere!

I’ve been lecturing and discussing the subject of downsizing a long-time home for over 20 years. It’s one thing to speak from other’s experience but now I can truly speak from my very personal journey through our purging journey!

My wife and I were comfortably watching our favorite sitcom when a very calming noise blended in with our show. You know, that oceanwave peaceful sound that many of us use to put us into deep sleep. It was coming from our main floor utility room where Jeanne was multi-tasking doing laundry while relaxing. It was time to investigate. To my surprise water was entering my kitchen floor from the laundry room at a fairly rapid pace. The wash machine decided it was lonely and needed our attention as it screamed out using the only means available which was elimination of its water waste onto our new wood floor! I am familiar with gravity and its many qualities which generally move mass downward toward the lowest point which was my

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

By Bruce Nemovitz

basement. Down the steps I went and ran to the spot directly under the wash machine. As I squished onto the carpeting I looked up and my ceiling was bulging so I thought I would poke my finger into tile above. Down came the AGING ceiling with its water waste on to my ISSUES head and body! SoakedByand a bit beTom Frazier wildered, I knew it was time to take action…you get the picture.

After the insurance company contributed to my cleanout, I knew it was time to take off paneling on my basement wall. There it was, a crack in the middle of my basement wall, which PLANTING meant repair. Being in the business I TOMORROW’S knew this would not be cheap but it DREAMS TODAY Brad favorite Olson was necessary. I calledBy my basement contractor, Accurate Base-

ment Repair, which responded quickly by examining the problem. Excavation, bracing and a new sump pump were in our immediate future!

Financial Fi i lW Wellness ll In a perverted way“Planting I wasTomorrow’s thankful.

Dreams Today” To repair the walls we had to remove

By Brad Olson, CFP every treasure in our basement from over 30 years of stuff we saved for some future need. That was a wakeup call! Why were we saving so many items that had not been touched for so APRON Emma many years? Why did we avoid downSTRINGS sizing our home and putting with

By Auntup Emma a musty bunch of boxes which were crushed to unrecognizable? That’s another article.

We decided to walk the talk and use the process and services that we have preached about to our seniors and their families for so many years.

The cleanout began. Believe it or not, we had the basement totally vacant and personal treasure organized in 8 hours! This is how we accomplished this monumental task.

First we called our team of professionals and scheduled them to come over one day before the basement

work was done. We summoned our first responders, handyman Jerry and our cleanout team of Mitch and Tom. We had Jerry bring up two long tables and put them in the garage which became our home base for sorting, discarding and donating items from our basement. Jeanne and I purchased 20 plastic storage bins which became the new home for treasures we decided to keep. Mitch and Tom carried up the stuff and placed them either in a pile to the right for donation, a pile to the left for the dump or on the table for items to go into one of the plastic containers which we would keep.

My wife, Jeanne, directed Jerry, the handyman, to help put the items into a plastic bin and Jeanne then labeled the container. By the time it was done in about 8 hours, we had a stack of bins with our treasures, the junk gone to a dump, and the items for donation on their way to Good Will.

The basement was completely empty!

Jeanne and I did not lift one item and saved our backs for another day.

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IT MAKES ME CRABBY HERMAN WHITE WRITES

ARTS

NEMOVITZ continued on page 14A

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KILLING TIME with Jim McLoone B R U C E & J E A N N E N E M O V I T Z H AV E B E E N H E L P I N G S E N I O R S TRANSITION FROM THEIR HOMES FOR OVER 35 YEARS.

T R U S T. E X P E R I E N C E . I N T E G R I T Y. CONTACT US TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION: (262) 242-6177 www.BrucesTeam.com | Jeanne@BrucesTeam.com | Bruce@BrucesTeam.com

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14A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

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NEMOVITZ continued from page 13A

Next the basement repair was done, which took one day! Then painter John sprayed the walls and painted the basement floor. No more musty smell. No more junk. No more anxiety about the thought of downsizing years of memories and stuff. It was totally freeing. It was a catharsis of major proportions. It was a total relief.

I am sharing this story because the biggest obstacle to moving for those of you who have been in your homes for many years is what to do with the accumulation of a lifetime of memories stacked on top of each other in your basement and throughout your home. I hear so often that “we are working on our downsizing� and then we will make the move to our new home once that is completed.

Well, 5 years later, I speak to the same folks who are still “working on it!�

Another excuse for procrastination is that “I have to go through all of the papers and decide what to keep and what to shred�. If you just follow my story, all papers can go into plastic bins and labeled for future shredding and organizing. 90% of all papers are

no longer necessary to keep. Today’s companies have all information online. Excluding tax paperwork from the last few years, it is not necessary to keep payment of every bill from the last 30 years!

I hope my story will resonate with some of you who keep putting off that downsizing elephant in the room. You never know when you will find that perfect next home or community, so why not begin today so you are prepared when it is time to sell? The toughest moves are when nothing has been done to prepare your home and a move date is set for a few months.

Imagine doing a basement repair, downsizing, preparing for the move to your new home and providing all of the paperwork needed to purchase a condo or move to a senior community‌all done within a month or two!

Don’t put off what you can do today especially when it comes to one of your largest assets‌your home!

Bruce Nemovitz is a Senior Real Estate Specialist, as well as Certified Senior Advisor. Bruce has sold residential homes in the four county Milwaukee-Metro areas for 35 years. He has published a book called “Moving in the Right Direction�, A Senior’s Guide to Moving and Downsizing. Bruce has just written his second book for the children of seniors, “Guiding Our Parents in the Right Direction�, Practical Advice about Seniors Moving from the Home They Love. This book is now available at www.GuidingOurParents.com. Past articles about moving and downsizing and other important information can be found at www.BrucesTeam.com.

Bruce received the 2010 “Realtor of the Year� from the 3,800 membership of the GMAR (Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors). He received the runner up Better Business Bureau Ethical Business of the year in 2015. Bruce is a featured speaker at several senior communities in the Milwaukee-Metro area. His discussions center on the challenge of moving from a long time home into a senior apartment or community. He has been listed in Milwaukee Magazine’s 5-Star Agents list for the last three years in a row. As such, he’s one of only a handful of Realtors who are continually included in the top 7% in client satisfaction in the Milwaukee Metro area. He’s rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau, and was a finalist for Concordia College’s Ethical Business Leadership Award. He works with his wife Jeanne at Realty Executives Integrity.

DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

Happy Holidays

• 15A

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Please send a check or money order to: 50 Plus News Magazine Subscription Department P.O. Box 230 Hartland, WI 53029

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Our ReStore, which is stocked by donations, staffed by volunteers and open to the public, was opened 8 years ago to provide a recycle/reuse service to the community and generate funds to support Habitat’s mission. To date, the ReStore has diverted over 2.4 million pounds of materials from our local landfills.

During the past 27 years, we’ve built and sold 84 houses, 48 new and 36 rehabs. In addition to eliminating blight in neighborhoods, more than $250,000 in property tax revenue is generated annually from Habitat homeowners.

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16A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

Make Christmas festive without breaking the bank

By Mary Hunt As much as I love Christmas, I must confess that there are some things about the holiday season I dread. I always get that heart-pounding feeling that my feet are in the starting blocks and any second I’ll hear the signal to start running as fast as I can to make it to the finish line before midnight on December 24.

It’s easy to let the busy chaos of Christmas get the best of us. We feel obligated to meet the expectations of everyone -- kids, friends, relatives, communities and even our employers.

This year, try these five ideas to keep spending under control and to make your dollars go further.

GIVE RETAIL VALUE. Determine the amount you want to spend on each person on your list. Let’s say you designate $50 for your sister. To your utter amazement, you find a gorgeous sweater at a high-end sample sale. It’s her size and favorite color, marked down to $30. It’s perfect. Don’t spend another $20 on your sister to satisfy a notion that you must meet the $50 al-

lotted. Your mission is complete. You purchased a lovely gift and cut the cost by at least 75 percent (you know what cashmere goes for these days!)

The actual cost is your secret -- and a reasonable way to cut the expense of Christmas.

CREATE LIMITS. There’s something to be said for setting limits on how many gifts to give the kids and other family members. Fewer gifts mean less shopping, less wrapping and, of course, less spending. You may discover that less is more than enough.

CREATE FAMILY GIFTS. Rather than buying individual gifts for all the kids in one family, consider a single gift that will be enjoyed by everyone like a board game or DVD. Start thinking and soon your creative juices will kick in.

GET CREATIVE. Not a talented artist or crafter? Don’t worry. You can still create your own gifts If you have the basics like a computer, printer, pa-

per supplies, writable CDs and DVDs, you can create unique gifts, and then duplicate as needed, giving the same gift to many on your list.

Ideas include a Family Calendar that is customized for your family and includes the names, dates and all pertinent information of every person’s birthday, anniversaries and other significant dates. You can even search “printable calendar” online to find templates.

A Family Cookbook is another great idea, and could be a compilation of your own recipes and family favorites that have, perhaps, been passed down from previous generations.

Share your Family Memories in stories, pictures or movies. Select and transfer family photos and videos that capture the essence of your family’s life over the past year. Add captions and short stories and you will have created the equivalent of an electronic scrapbook that can be easily duplicated.

As we head into the holiday season, don’t concentrate so much on the money you have to spend, but rather

on all that you have to give -- your time and talents, too. They’re the gifts that celebrate love and hope that bring us together as friends, families and communities. No matter how much you have to spend, we all have something to give.

Would you like more information?

Log on to EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at mary@everydaycheapskate. com, or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of “Debt-Proof Living,” released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

Christmas with the Vets is really special The 27th, annual holiday show, Christmas with the Vets, will be held Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Zablocki Veterans Hospital in Milwaukee.

This event is only for veterans who are patients at the Zablocki Medical Center.

Of course, this event must be paid for via donations of foods, and clothing

for the veterans as well as much appreciated lap blankets. Non-perishable items being donated can be dropped off any time now. Fresh foods can be brought beginning Dec. 9. Last minute drop-offs of donated items will be accepted from 11:30 to 12:30 on the day that medically needy veterans are entertained. For this collection point, dona-

tors should use the entrance from 44th and National Ave. and drive to the East hospital doors where volunteers will assist you. Otherwise, Christmas collection points are at Paratech Ambulance, 94th Brown Deer Road and Edward D. Jones, S72W16484 Janesville Road, Muskego.

• 17A

Cash contributions should be mailed to Jeff Dentice, S108W19843 Red Oak Court, Muskego, WI 53150. Checks are to be made out to Jeff Dentice/Vets Christmas Show.

Persons with questions regarding this event may call Jeff Dentice at 414-218-3030.

Little White Truck A book has been written by Mollie Manhattan about Joe Campbell’s little white truck and its extraordinary mission to transport the steel girder once part of the Twin Towers 9-11 site in New York City to Milwaukee where it now has a place of honor at the War Memorial Center in downtown Milwaukee. The book, 38 pages in length, sells for $13.95 and was published by Hall of Fame Publishing and Media LLC of Slinger, WI. Campbell, a Vietnam veteran and owner of a local manufacturing company, was accompanied to New York

by Mark J. Fox, a retired battalion chief of the Milwaukee Fire Department, who also served as photographer for the book that is all about the 9-11 tragedy and Campbell’s determination to bring a steel girder to the veterans center. The book details

the trip, the placement of the girder and the ceremony at which Campbell asked, “What is freedom? Freedom is protecting and passing on a wonderful and beautiful way of life.”

Pick Up a Copy Today

E E FR

MOLLY and JOE: Joe Campbell proudly posed with “The Little White Truck with the Big Mission” author, Molly Manhattan. Campbell, with Mark J. Fox, drove Campbell’s truck to New York City where a steel girder piece from the Twin Towers was then brought back to have a place of honor at the local War Memorial Center.

Yes, it was a big mission and one greatly appreciated, especially by the Milwaukee veterans’ community.

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Each name can only be entered Financial Fi i lW Wellness ll “Planting Tomorrow’s Dreams Today”

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m Frazier

Emma

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By Brad Olson

18A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

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December 4, 10:30 am Memory Café Hartland Public Library, 110 E Park Ave, Hartland This is an event for people who have been diagnosed with early stage dementia and their spouse or family caregiver. There will be light refreshments,with a fun program, and some time Jim McLoone for participants to socialize with others on the same path. Registration is required: please call Wendy at the Alzheimer’s Association, 414-479-8800.

the WRIGHT SIDE of

By Enis Wright

60

KILLING TIME Experience Regency Senior Communities

For When You Want More Visit our website for information on all of our seasonal events. Call now to schedule your private tour at one of our beautifully decorated campuses.

Happy Holidays!

December 6, 10 am – 2 pm Holiday Bazaar & Champagne Brunch Polish Center of Wisconsin, 6941 S. 68th St., Franklin Bazaar admission is FREE! Shop at the many vendors and walk away with gifts including Polish blown glass ornaments, Bolestawiec Pottery, amber jewelry, books imported Polish food and more. After shopping, stop at the all-you-can-eat buffett including made-to-order omelets, polish sausage, potatoes, fruit and more! Reservations are suggested for 4 or more.

For additional information please call (414) 529-2140.

December 10, 11:30 pm Cookie Exchange Hartland Public Library, 110 E Park Ave, Hartland Celebrate the new BRIDGES library system catalog launch! Bring two dozen cookies (all one type) and exchange

More Life. More Style.

JOHNNY MARTINI

with other bakers to take home a variety of delicious holiday treats! If you want to participate, register by calling 367-3350 or emailing jjensen@ hartland.lib.wi.us with “Cookie Exchange” in the subject line.

December 12, 10 am – 2 pm Greenfield Library’s 7th Annual Holiday Cookie & Bake Sale Library Community Room, 5310 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield Delicious homemade baked goods will be on sale for the Library’s annual fundraiser. New this year! We’ll have several crafters selling their wares!

Also featuring a special performance by the Greenfield Concert Band Quintet of classical, contemporary and holiday favorites from 11:00am-12:00 noon. And at 1:00pm, enjoy a return performance by the Greenfield High School Drama Club of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

December 15, 6:30 pm Preserving Family Stories Hartland Public Library, 110 E Park Ave, Hartland This friendly group seeks to preserve the history and character of their families by writing stories to be saved for their children and future generations.

They meet monthly to read aloud one of the stories they’ve written about their family. Newcomers are welcome

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to listen or share one of their stories as well. This group meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.

December 21, 12 – 1 pm Senior Fun Bridge Schuetze Recreation Center, Riverview Room, 1120 Baxter Street, Waukesha

KILLING TIME continued from page 4A

and one-half to the Wade House at Greenbush and then have to cook your own dinner over the Wade House openhearth fire. Do we ever stop to realize how well we have it today with gas or electric stoves and microwave ovens?

Don’t get me wrong, but reenacting the pioneers’ lives won’t get me breaking into song. e e e e e With Christmas days coming fast upon us, we must put on the smiles of pleasantry as we go about our work at rather a feverish pace. After all, Christmas gifts must be paid for. And please, don’t neglect the New Year’s Tax Man. e e e e e So many persons talk about how necessary it becomes that there is equal work for all men. The question, however remains, are all men equal to the work? We’ve read that the real secret to success is to make hay with the grass that grows under bystanders’ feet. e e e e e If we have heard this only once, we’d be lying. I am not certain who first said it, but it bears repeating. Old age, even with its aches and pains, is not so bad when you consider the alternative. We have gone from the age of stone tablets to the writing tablets and medical tablets of all types. But when we are gone, there’ll be another stone tablet showing where we are buried. e e e e e We’re told that large snowflakes won’t bring much accumulation.

They’re the small ones that bring heaping drifts of snow. Who will prove this theory wrong? e e e e e While we recently had more “eyes” than “nos’ at a recent meeting, we determine that’s the way it should be as we have two eyes and only one nose.

• 19A

ONGOING November 21 – January 3 Holiday Performances at The Domes The Domes, 524 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee Highlights include TUBACHRISTMAS, Folk Music of David Drake. Music and dance performances will add to the festive atmosphere during the run of Gingerbread Land, the holiday floral show. Highlighting the performance schedule are TUBACHRISTMAS and

Let There be Light, a folk music performance by David Drake. A variety of performances are also scheduled; from the opening-day performance by the Milwaukee Concert Band, to choruses, choirs, dance groups, and student

and professional musicians. To further complement the holiday show, Mr. and Mrs. Claus will make appearances Saturday, Dec. 12 and 19, from noon-3 p.m.

e e e e e Whoever decided where there was mistletoe hanging, there’d be smooching? I am surprised there’s not more of it hanging around. e e e e e Approaching age 90, we were surprised at seeing Dick Landwehr, Hartland, at an Ice Age Trail celebration.

Yes, Dick is older than the trail, but he can’t quite compete yet with the actual Ice Age. e e e e e We recently read through the program of coming events at Village of Manor Park. There appears so many interesting things happening there that older residents perhaps go to bed exhausted. e e e e e An old friend, just my advancing age, may be in an assisted living place, but he still gets more than enough running exercise. The only bathroom is just down the hall. e e e e e We will close this month with a poem by William Cullen Bryant, who died in 1878. “Even while we sing, he smiles his last; and leaves our sphere behind. The good old year is with the past. O be the new year kind.” e e e e e Recently, I read that the average income across the United States for workers is almost $67,000 annually. With that much money to spend, why are fast food joints so popular? It must be the speed as, in most cases, it surely isn’t the taste. e e e e e Are you surprised to learn that the second largest disposal problem at most universities is pizza boxes?

Of course, we know the first disposal problem is how to collect those soda cans. e e e e e

Thanks go to Wisconsin Lutheran High School for again hosting veterans for breakfast and a great patriotic program on Nov. 11. The school’s fine Arts Department gave a wonderful performance and the stirring remarks

by Lt. Col Henry Ratenski are memorable as he told fading stories of World War II. Arrowhead High School also treated veterans to breakfast. e e e e e How lucky can people from out of town be to have Kathy’s House in Wauwatosa as a place of lodging and support in a home away from home environment for hospital patients and their families. In the last year, Kathy’s House provided 9,200 nights of lodging to 1,300 persons during medical crises. Yes, Kathy’s House does accept donations to help patients and their families at any and all hospitals. The address is 600 N. 103rd St., Milwaukee, WI. For further information, call 414-453-8290. e e e e e Time does march forward. Who is still losing sleep over the way Manning so outplayed Rodgers in the Green Bay defeat in Denver? e e e e e Despite the statement that there would be “No walk-ins” that night for the Veterans Day banquet, we’re hap-

py to report very few were in wheel chairs. e e e e e I’ve decided that the next time you have a good plan or even an object that is in great condition, don’t share it with the politicians in Washington, D.C. It soon would be broken. When will they learn to govern responsibly and in the best interests of all the people? e e e e e Who believes history all the time?

The 100 Year War actually lasted 116 years. e e e e e While I am not non-alcoholically inclined, I am concerned about those driving while impaired. Forty percent of traffic-related accidents during the Christmas season involve impaired drivers. e e e e e This writer always has been a fan of AAA driver assistance service.

Would you believe that 30 million roadside assistance calls are answered every year? It makes us wonder about the products we are putting on the roads. e e e e e If you have the energy, why not take part in the Santa Hustle, Milwaukee, 5K run Dec. 5. Details are available at santahustle.com. $99 Security Deposit 2BR Now Available

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20A • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

PLANTING TOMORROW’S DREAMS TODAY

By Brad Olson

HERMAN WHITE WRITES

Senior softball players take on a whole new job Imagine this scenario. At a Major League Baseball stadium there’s a drainage problem on the field which prevents games from being played. The management of the stadium, strangely enough, does not have the funds or the manpower to repair the problem. Many games get cancelled. So the players of the Major League team who compete there come in on their off days with their own shovels and rakes to attempt to do the repairs on their own. Sounds ridiculous, right? Ballplayers today would never do that, or their agents would never allow it. Yet that is exactly what happened recently, not on a Major League level, of course, but at a West Allis county park.

There are a number of such parks in the Milwaukee Metro area that have softball fields and are open to the public for league and other play. But most of the games involving seniors, that is, athletes 55 and older, have been conducted for decades at McCarty Park in West Allis. From May through September every year several leagues involving dozens of teams and more than 200 senior athletes compete there. Most of the players are retired and thus are on limited incomes.

Since the cost of playing on one of the softball teams there is quite minimal, for most of them, the softball games are their sole source of recreation.

Unfortunately, ball fields, like automobiles or people or anything else, wear out over time. Undoubtedly, at one time the three softball fields at McCarty Park were contoured so that water drained off the infield area after rains. This allowed the infields to dry and become safe to play on once again. But over the years, the fields flattened out, and after heavy rains the fields turned into mud, and games had to be cancelled.

All of the hundreds of players were chagrined over the ensuing cancellations, because, for most of them the games were their only recreational activity. One of those players, however, decided that if the parks management didn’t have the funds or the manpower to re-contour the fields, that something else had to be done.

That player was Thom Mikich. In addition to being one of the more active players at McCarty Park over the last few decades, Mikich is also the

ARTS

ENTERTAINMENT

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By Jack Pearson

man who puts on and coordinates the annual Salute to the Troops Softball Tournament every spring at Wirth Park in Brookfield, one of the largest softball events in the entire Midwest.

“Last year, there were five weeks of scheduled league play cancelled,” he said. “That amounted to almost a quarter of the entire season. So I talked to two other players, Jack Simons and Jerry Javoroski, and we decided that if the County Parks people didn’t have the funds or the manpower to rebuild the fields so that they’d dry off properly, that perhaps we players should get together and do it. We also reasoned that if we were going to do this, that we had to obtain permission from the parks people. After all, it was their property, not ours. So I called the Milwaukee County Parks office, and spoke to Suzi Devich.

She said it sounded like a good plan, but that she’d have to present the idea to her supervisors, and get back to me. After a couple of days she did, and said that the plan was approved, but that a member of the Parks Department would have to be there with us on the days we were working, as a sort of supervisor. That was fine with us, so Jack and Jerry and myself started recruiting other players to work with us.”

To build up a work force, they contacted players from their team and others who competed in the leagues at McCarty Park. “We came up with a couple of dozen guys,” Tom said, “which was all we really wanted. Any more than that and they’d be getting in each other’s way. Everyone brought their own shovels and rakes.” So for every Monday and Wednesday, weather permitting, through October and November, there they were out there plugging away. True, they worked at a slow and measured pace, as you would expect from seniors, but remember, they were working on a voluntary basis; no one was paid.

the WRIGHT SIDE of

By Enis Wright

60

KILLING TIME with Jim McLoone

Tom Mikich, the man who got the ball rolling.

A few of the voluntary work force, front, left to right, Ron Kolz, Terry Wobick and Gary Stevens; rear, Doug Thompson, Jerry Javoroski, Bob Thomson and Ed Hurley.

DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

Will Mikich and his band of merry men succeed? After watching them at work on a couple of occasions, I think they will. They’re not just a bunch of senior softball players whacking away with their shovels helter-skelter. Many of them are trained in landscaping and surveying, and they’re doing the best they can. But whether what they’ve done achieves success will really only be answered next spring, after the first major rain storm.

More than a few fingers are being crossed.

Work was underway at one of the softball fields in McCarty Park. Over the years the infield areas had flattened out, preventing drainage after heavy rains.

Thirty truckloads of earth were needed to build up the infield areas to create runoff. Broken benches and stands had to be replaced. Mikich used a

portion of the proceeds from the last Salute to the Troops tourney to pay for these.

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Financial Fi i lW Wellness ll “Planting Tomorrow’s Dreams Today”

Emma really enjoys the holiday season MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

By Brad Olson, CFP

By Bruce Nemovitz

DEAR FOLKS: Here we are in December. It is my fondest time of the year. The excitement of the season is almost overwhelming as we prepare for Christmas and the gift giving plus recognizing the date for the celebration of the birth of the Christ child over 2000 years ago.

This is the AGING real reason for the seasonISSUES so if you are

By Tom Frazier a Christian, don’t let this go by without a bit of reverence in addition to the gift giving and receiving. When you enjoy that first hot toddy, think about Mary, Joseph and the little baby Jesus in that cold and damp manger. Wow! Today that would be akin to cruel and inhuman treatment.

PLANTING TOMORROW’S DREAMS TODAY

By Brad Olson

Emma

en’t a penny, a half a penny will do. But whatever, God bless you.” Obviously, Gramps did not make this little ditty up.

It had to be passed down from the old folks in Ireland, as we’ve not been able to spend a half penny as long as I know and I can remember backwards even further than a coon’s age.

We girls had our little coffee club this morning at Annie’s. She was very hospitable. Annie said that she got up when the sun was just rising in the east (Where else could it rise?) to bake cinnamon rolls for our group of six. They certainly were yummy and not exactly what a couple of our weight-watching participants should have indulged in.

But fat is where it is at.

We were full of corny jokes and jesting with each other. It must have been the season to be kind as hardly a mean word was said. It was almost like we had each put a new tongue in our mouths; one that had only learned nice words. Even Grace, who really is not very amazing, smiled a lot. Henry, God bless him for keeping his thoughts mostly to himself, never has liked Grace. He says she crows like an old hen and talks way too much. Of course, what Henry doesn’t like about Grace is that she keeps a close eye on her hubby when they are at the club. She doesn’t

By Eniswith Wright just wait by the door his hat and coat in hand, she counts his beers and stands right beside him ready to pull him away if he orders one too many.

Getting back to Christmas, I am excited about the season. It, to me, is the nicest time of the year regardless of if it is snowing or blowing outside.

Christmas gives me a feeling of personal warmth.

SENIOR

APRON STRINGS

Answer Man

By Aunt Emma

Henry says that we are going to start the season by going out to Oconomowoc (Remember the five o’s if you try to spell it) on the first Sunday in December for a program at their fancy music and drama center. I am absolutely thrilled as Henry, knowing how I cherish my Irish heritage, says the program features the Celtic Women, who are some great signers. There won’t be any yodeling at this concert. Henry even told me that he ordered the tickets way back in summertime so we will have great seats. It is hard to believe that this old Kraut loves me enough after all these years to think about pleasing me at Christmas time when it was still several months away. Why his daddy wouldn’t have even crossed the old plank road to hear some Irish women sing. I admit that I can only carry a tune in my handbag, but I love to listen to the ballads of long ago; the tales of St. Brigid and how a saint called Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.

I still like the prayer that goes somewhat like asking God that all people would like us. Then God was supposed twist the ankles of all those people who didn’t like us so we would be able to recognize them by their limping. That was a great idea, but I doubt that God would ever go along with it.

This old year is about to be turned in for a new one. It kind of is like buying tires. After so many miles, you should have new ones.

Yes, this good old year was just that.

IT MAKES ME CRABBY

As, my Henry might say, that’s enough of the sermonizing, Emma. Just recall as your old and now dead dad always said after he had a few beers as we watched the December Monday night football games, “Christmas is coming.

The geese are getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man’s hat. If you hav-

HERMAN WHITE WRITES

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the WRIGHT SIDE of

KILLING TIME with Jim McLoone

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• 23A

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December 2015 | SECTION B

December 4, 2015 1:00 - 4:00 pm

Wilson Park Senior Center December 4, 2015 •4,1:00 - 4:00 pm December 2015 Howard 2601 Wilson Park West Senior Center • 2601 WestAvenue Howard Avenue

1:00 - 4:00 pm AARP Andrus

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Program Highlights History and Celebration of the Older History and Celebration Americans Act led by Advocacy Leader Stephanie Sue Stein of the Older Americans Act

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Resource Fair Resource Fair

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2B • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

Inviting idle In-Laws becomes questionable

BY KATHY MITCHELL AND MARCY SUGAR DEAR ANNIE: My mother-in-law lives an hour away from us. My husband’s sister, “Dot,” and her husband, “Jeff,” and their married children, periodically come to our house for overnight stays in order to visit mom.

My husband often invites Dot and her

family to come for several days at Christmas. We now are lucky enough to have a vacation cabin, and he invited them to stay with us for two weeks.

When they visit, Dot and Jeff do not help with meals or do dishes. Jeff drinks lots of coffee, but never offers to make a pot. Dot means well, but is

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such a talker that she easily gets sidetracked on her way to help at cleanup time. They do not take us out for a single meal or offer to order pizza.

They both speak loudly. Jeff mostly talks about himself and Dot can carry on for hours.

My family gathers at a hotel for the holidays, and we invite my siblings to the cabin for two nights each summer.

While my husband welcomes my siblings, I do not enjoy hosting his side.

I want to show respect for my in-laws and make my husband happy, but it’s really unpleasant to be around them. I cannot handle two weeks.

I told my husband that we should discuss these invitations before they are extended. His retort is that I would never agree to host his sister. Do you have any suggestions? -- Can’t Do It DEAR CAN’T: All such invitations should be discussed in advance, but then you cannot dismiss all requests to host Dot and Jeff. The compromise is the length of the visit. You would find it more tolerable to host your in-laws if they stayed for a shorter duration -say, three days or less. Two weeks is too much, especially for guests who refuse to help out. Also, set some guidelines. It is perfectly OK to tell Jeff, “As long as you are having coffee, please make a pot for the rest of us.” It’s also fine to say to either one, “I could use some help in the kitchen,” and “Tonight, it’s your turn to treat us to dinner -- you get to pick the place.” Assert yourself, and make sure

your husband is on board. And when the conversation becomes too much, go for a walk. Alone.

DEAR ANNIE: As a senior citizen, I would like to suggest that stores, including grocery stores, provide some benches throughout their shopping areas. I could shop longer after taking a break. The benches in front, outside the checkout area, are inconvenient.

Also, the scooters offered at some stores often have not been fully charged. They are left in parking lots, and employees need to bring them in to recharge. Customers should plug them in. It only takes a moment. -Trying to Be Independent DEAR TRYING: You make a good point that benches at varying points throughout a store could encourage shoppers to spend more money, and owners might consider that an incentive. As for plugging in scooters, that relies on the consideration of each individual user. The same applies to those who use regular shopping carts and leave them all over the parking lot.

Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailbox@creators.com, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. You can also find Annie on Facebook at Facebook. com/AskAnnies.

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DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

Life’s options

Q

By Doug Mayberry : I am a 58-year-old bachelor in good health with a positive attitude about life. However, I am approaching 60, and I feel that once I hit that age I will consider myself a “senior.”

This is beginning to frighten me for several reasons. For most of my life I have thought of myself as a happy-go-lucky guy, and now I need to face realities. Like others, I have been both a bad and good boy. I believe it is about time I pay up for my bad choices! Is this a normal response to aging?

A

: Many of us experience similar thoughts as we age, especially as we approach our 60th birthdays.

Others simply celebrate that day as another milestone.

Now, at 84, I continue to look forward to more birthdays, because I do not think I have accomplished what I want to get done before I go!

One’s attitude and outlook are influenced by his health, family, friends, faith, lifestyle and sense of purpose.

Do you have a have a reason to wake up and get going in the morning? Do you have a partner to love and who loves you? Are you able to cope with living independently?

There are many positives to and ways to live longer and better.

Dr. Suzanne Tobias, after conducting a study at the University of Chicago, wrote that the keys to longevity are: 1. Commitment to fully get involved in whatever you are doing.

2. Control -- to feel you have influence in confronting life’s contingencies.

3. The ability to meet challenges.

4. To view change as a natural part of life, an opportunity rather than a threat.

Every individual makes his choice!

Pick Up a Copy Today

Q

JUST BEING NEIGHBORLY ... : As a retiree, I spend most of my day enjoying my woodworking hobby. My wife says I own more tools than that guy on TV. However, I have a problem with my next-doorSTATE neighbor.

CAPITOL COMMENT Joe does not have many tools and he

By Matt Pommer is always borrowing mine!

I am willing to let him, but frequently he does not return them promptly. Often I don’t get them back until I need them badly and have to MOVING IN THE RIGHTI DIRECTION knock on his door. What can do?

By Bruce Nemovitz

A

: My suggestion is to nail a pad of yellow sticky notes on the wall in your garage.

AGING Then, when a borrower ISSUES

By Tom Frazier sees you write down his name and the borrowing date, tell him that other friends are borrowers, too, and that you that you are finding it difficult to keep track of where thingsPLANTING are. As TOMORROW’S DREAMS TODAY you are serious about your hobby and

By Brad Olson a very caring woodworker, it should not be necessary for you to take time to get them returned. Good tools are expensive!

Of course, another optionSPORTS is that

By Jack Pearson if borrowers do not return your tools promptly you collect a late penalty: a generous gift of your favorite beverage!

Doug Mayberry makes the most of life in a Southern California retirement community. Contact him at deardoug@msn.com. Betty is a friend of Doug Mayberry, whom she helps write this column.

• 3B

EDITORIALS MONEY SENSE

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4B • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

ecember Dpoem

Do wish this month to be a wonderful December.

It certainly should be a season to really remember.

This time of Advent leads us into the holiday season.

As Christmas arrives, spread joy as a great reason.

The days are chilly, with at least frost on the ground.

It arrives overnight, so silently without even a sound.

Dutifully, it is time to get grandma’s ornaments out.

Red, green, yellow, they’re very pretty, no doubt!

They will definitely glisten on our fake Christmas tree.

In the ebbing glow, they again will be so lovely to see.

It is as though they silently state a loving declamation.

We recall grandma with more than a bit of admiration.

As time progresses, take care of the hungry and needy.

Modern day Scrooges too often continue as very greedy.

As Christmas arrives, the home will be as a beehive.

So do enjoy Christmas, giving thanks for being alive.

The miracle of Christmas continues as alive and well.

We give thanks for 2015 and feelings in our hearts that dwell.

Current year, slightly tarnished, will grow old in short order.

Mr. New Year and Father Time will exchange places at the border.

As we look ahead to 2016, do keep your mind open.

For it to be a great year for everyone, we’re so hopen’ Adjust your sails, prepare to shove off in the 2016’s sea.

May this future trip be calm and prosperous for you and me.

DECEMBER 2015 • 50PLUS

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• 5B

EDITORIALS

6B • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

CAPITOL MMENT

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The Wade House is a storied treasure MONEY SENSE

By Karen Ellenbecker & Julie Ellenbecker -Lipsky

Have you ever visited the Wade House, that 1850’s 27-room lodging house just off Hwy. 23 in Greenbush, WI? Greenbush, you say? Yes, Greenbush. Aren’t most of them now yellow or turning red if there are any Financial Fi i lW Wellness ll leaves left at all? Wait.

This only is the “Planting Tomorrow’s Dreams Today” beginning.

By Brad Olson, CFP The Wade House, a Wisconsin couple of business buildings besides Historical Society site, is paired with the Wade House. the Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum The Visitor Center and restauat Greenbush, which isAPRON about 20 miles rant are with the carriage museum Emma du Lac and roughly the east of Fond STRINGS Answer where visitors normally park their veMan

By Aunt Emma same distance from Sheboygan.

The hicles and ride the half mile via stageroute of Hwy. 23 originally was that coach to tour the still quite authentic of a plank road carved through the Wade House, which was the pride and forest on the northern edge of what joy and lots of work for Sylvanus and is now known as the Kettle Moraine Betsy Wade, who first arrived at the State Forest. You won’t miss the Greenbush site in 1844 after being quite impressive appearing Jung car- married in Pennsylvania, her home riage-of-all-sorts museum along the state, while Sylvanus was from Mashighway, but if you didn’t know the sachusetts.

Wade House was along Hwy. T, a half Times of Yankee refinery had not mile off Hwy. 23, you might never reached the Greenbush location where locate it today. It was in the 1980’s the Wades decided to finally tether or 90’s that the highway was routed their tired team of horses in what then around the tiny town of Greenbush, was definitely frontier territory. With which has few residents and only a the Mullet River waters racing ad-

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THE WADE HOUSE was built in 1850, with 27 rooms on three floors. There was lodging in 12 guest bedrooms. It is closed until May 2016 for other than hearthside dinner, Christmas celebrations and other special events. For more information, call 920-526-3271 jacent to the site, Wade would build a log-cutting mill there so he could use the wood to build the three-story stagecoach inn. Having been a blacksmith out east, Wade also erected what was to become known later as

the Dockstader Blacksmith Shop. Yes, he was handy with his hands!

Before we go further into the Wade House, let’s tell you that you can’t visit the house any more until May, except for special occasions.

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But the Jung Museum and restaurant are both open year-around. Questions can be answered by calling 920-5263271.

What are these special occasions?

You can enjoy a hearth-cooked meal that you personally prepare over the wood-burning fireplace at the Wade House. While seating is limited, it will be available by calling ahead.

Plans are for it to be offered Jan. 23, Feb. 13, March 19 and April 16. Cost is $55 per person. The guide told us that pork is the meat at the meal, plus turnips, apples, muffins and bread pudding, etc. Private hearthside dinners can be arranged, too, for groups from 10 to 20 persons. Breakfast at the inn will be held several times during the warmer season. At $35 each, the breakfasts are prepared just as Mrs. Wade might have done 150 years ago.

The Wade House and museum fee is $9 and payable at the Carriage Museum.

As a special treat, Christmas as experienced in the mid-19th century will be held Dec. 5-6 and 12-13 at the Wade House. There will be Yankee and German holiday traditions, period crafts, games, sleigh rides and stories of times long past to make this a memorable experience. There will be opportunities for sleigh rides in January and February. Call ahead for arrangements, again the phone number is 920-526-3217.

Stepping into the Wade House is like moving into a remarkable past venture as the Wades served meals to travelers and had third floor small rooms for travelers at 50 cents a night and nicer ones on the second

floor that had small parlors in addition to bedrooms that featured straw-filled mattresses for $2 per week. We suspect weary travelers found the straw-filled mattresses comfortable enough, especially if they had visited the Wades’ bar room where beer and brandy were three cents a glass and lemonade was six cents as lemons were hard to come by in that frontier territory.

Wade, Betsy and their 12 children (one had died as a child) lived in second floor quarters away from the guests. All totaled, they had 10 regular bedrooms and two suites for the wealthier travelers or those travelers staying over more than one night.

While there was a piano and a ballroom on the third floor as well as eight of the bedrooms, Wade’s first floor bar room was a Greenbush area-meeting place where tales were spun and drinks enjoyed amid laughter and conviviality after the structure, three years to erect from local timbers, was finally ready for customers. Opened in 1850, ladies, of course, were not allowed in the bar area. If you may be just into carriages and what travelers enjoyed over the years, the Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum, 20,000 sq. ft. in size, may be just what the frontier seeker ordered. The Jung Company was a staple of Sheboygan over many years.

The lead interpreter, Kathy Dianig, and Fran Fintzer, wearing a Wade era costume, were very helpful in compiling information for this visit to Greenbush’s historic Wade House.

Just before our arrival had been a tour by several people with the Wade name who were from England. We were in-

• 7B

DRESSED AS IN 1850s: Fran Fintzen poses near the fireplace where Betsy Wade cooked the hearty meals.

A TYPICAL third floor bedroom had a bed, a pitcher of water, a chair and a chamber pot.

THIS WAS THE popular community bar room at the Wade House.

THE SAWMILL was utilized from 1854 in to the early 1900s. It was operated

by Theodore Herrling, a German immigrant.

formed that visitors to date have been from every country in the world.

As a matter of interest other than the house itself, we learned that two of the Wade boys served in the Union army during the Civil War and Sylvanus paid $300 to keep a third son from the war. Syl-

vanus was the community leader and served as the first postmaster in addition to his duties at the sawmill, as an occasional blacksmith when needed and at the house as proprietor.

8B • 50PLUS • DECEMBER 2015

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