Neighbors

Chandler man transforms childhood fear of Halloween

Mason Petersen said Halloween terrified him as a child.

It wasn’t just the ghost stories and haunted mansions. Petersen is autistic and the flashing lights and loud noises led to some sensory overload.

Now, he’s the one dishing out the scares.

Petersen has built a display themed Ghoulish Graveyard and Cursed Catacombs for this Halloween at his West Chandler home.

“It’s fun just to share it with the neighbors and the people in the area,” Petersen said.

His display, at 6321 W. Post Road, will be set up through the month for Halloween. People can see all the displays and the nearly half dozen animatronics 6-9 p.m. Fridays-Sundays. It’s free but Petersen is seeking donations for Arizona Autism United.

Petersen is accepting donations from visitors with the money going to Arizona Autism United.

He said he’s been setting up a Halloween display every year since his family moved to Chandler in 2009.

Their display got a big boost a decade later.

Petersen said a woman named Kerry was driving past their house in 2019 and saw his display October.

“A lady came by, and donated her husband’s stuff that he had before he passed because he was also passionate for Halloween,” Petersen said. “I was

Mason Petersen use to be afraid of Halloween as a kid but now he is has set up his own holiday display in front of his home to benefit Arizona Autism United.

(Special to SanStan Sun News) “COVID wasn’t even a year old yet, … there was probably some fear around it, like most people weren’t comfortable, but like now the comfort is coming back. So we’re hoping to get more foot traffic this year.”

– Mason Petersen

See HAUNTED on page 37

100+ Women help Boost a Foster Family

BY LEANN LANDBERG AND SUSAN BARLOW

Guest Writers

In the unfortunate event that a child must be separated from their biological parents, placement with relatives, or kinship care, provides permanency for children and helps them maintain family connections.

Placement can come with little notice and can place a heavy financial burden on the foster family.

A Gilbert based nonprofit, Boost a Foster Family, helps foster children to be placed in a kinship home in a timelier manner, avoiding lengthy stays in shelters and group homes.

Boost a Foster Family helps prospective foster families fulfill their state requirements and be granted licenses quicker, thus allowing them to begin receiving much needed resources only available to licensed caregivers.

Boost a Foster Family receives referrals from the Arizona Department of Child Safety and Arizona foster care licensing agencies.

Once a referral is accepted, it swiftly supplies the required items, or coordinates the services, to ensure the home meets safety standards mandated by the state.

Foster families must meet all safety standards for their home before a child will be placed in the house. These standards include pool fences, child proof locks, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc.

The cost to make appropriate modifications to their homes can be prohibitive in proceeding with the placement. In addition, the organization provides support to get required medical services and CPR training.

Since incorporating in June 2016, Boost a Foster Family has seen incredible growth. By 2020, it had served over 1,000 families and 3,000 children.

The pandemic has brought additional concerns about the stability of foster care placements. Families already managing the stressors of the foster care system are also managing the stressors of the pandemic.

In addition, as schools have reopened, the overall number of children being placed in foster care has been increasing, creating a need for increased services.

In September, 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun presented Boost a Foster Family with a donation of $10,000 on behalf of their East Valley members.

Michelle Noe, founder of Boost a

Attending the check presentation to Boost A Foster Family were, from left: Crissy Haidos, Michelle Noe (founder of Boost a Foster Family), Kat Lepper, Jenny Cook, Jonathan Olson, Donna Olson, Susan Barlow and Alice Burba. (Courtesy of 100+ Women Who Care)

Sun Lakes Rotary mourns loss of Harold Wochholtz

BY DR. HONORA NORTON

Guest Writer

The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes is mourning the passing of Harold (Hal) Wochholtz, a member for 19 years after he moved to Sun Lakes from Mesa.

Hal, 90, passed away Sept. 19. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 67 years Phyllis Wochholz and leaves his son Hetz Wochholtz and his wife Sandra of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, daughter Julie (Michael) Pollard of Farmington, Connecticut, fi ve grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Growing up in Michigan, Hal graduated in 1949 from Albion High School having had great success playing football, basketball, and baseball. While at Purdue trying to make the football team, the Korean War broke out in the summer of 1950.

He enlisted in the Navy, where he got into electronics, setting up his pursuit of an electrical engineering degree at Michigan State University. He received highest honors upon graduation with BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering.

Hal had a rewarding 56-year professional career with major corporations involved in the fi elds of aerospace, rocket development, computers, electronic technology. He also was a professor at the University of New Hampshire.

He broke stereotypes by excelling as a computer design engineer for General Electric Company – sharing an Engineer of the Year award in the missile and space division. While vice president at McDonnell Douglas Electronics Co.’s Electronics and Flight Controls Division, Hal provided development support of the Apache helicopter. He retired from the Valley’s Boeing Corporation.

Hal fi rst joined Rotary in the Boeing Employee Club and after retirement, he and his wife Phyllis moved to Sun Lakes and joined RCSL. The RCSL was the sponsor to charter the fi rst Employee Rotary Club approved by Rotary International.

It was during his Navy service that Hal began his fi ght with polio. At fi rst devastated by disease and then strengthened by determination, Hal’s positive attitude gave him remarkable perseverance for combating lifelong challenges. Hal, in his twenties as a new father, read Dr. Spock’s baby book. While reading one portion to his daughter in which the symptoms of infantile paralysis were discussed, Hal said, “My gosh, I have all of those symptoms.”

Hal went to a doctor at the local naval hospital who dismissed it as being a ‘stiff neck,’ and sent him home. It got worse, so he returned again, and they concluded, “Yes, you do have polio.”

They checked him in for the beginning of life-long battle for him and his wife, Phyllis, his strongest teammate, and ultimate caregiver. He has battled all of the usual ailments, aches, and pains of polio, and suff ered from post polio syndrome.

He was able to avoid the iron lung, but used crutches, canes, and an electric-powered wheel chair, for all of those physically challenging years. He had his left leg amputated above the knee due to polio-caused poor circulation.

Hal became known in the Valley for his work as the “PolioPlus Poster Guy,” a title he had given himself in honor of those children in the 1930’s/40’s who served as President Roosevelt’s poster children. Hal’s substantial eff orts working to eradicate polio through becoming a leading force of Rotary’s End Polio Now drive are well known throughout the Valley and the worldwide Rotarian community. As committee chair, Hal raised sizeable funds in the Sun Lakes club’s PolioPlus program and Rotary International’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative to eff ectively respond to the stop polio outbreaks.

Hal served as the RI District 5510 PolioPlus Lead, making presentations at Rotary International conferences, most of the Rotary Clubs in the Valley and to principals, teachers, student councils and schools in the East Valley.

Those activities resulted in Hal being designated 2010 Rotarian of the Year for RI District 5510.

Hal brought the CHOICES program to the Sun Lakes Rotary Club, which has touched several thousand students attending Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa High Schools. CHOICES is a teaching program presented by RCSL for every ninth grader in the Chandler Unifi ed School District. The program helps students make good decisions regarding their education.

Hal was a proud supporter of both the Rotary International Foundation

Hal Wochholtz

See ROTARY on page 37

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ROTARY from page 36

and the Sun Lakes Rotary Foundation 2000. With the RI Foundation, Hal was a Multiple Paul Harris, a Major Donor and member of the Arch C. Klumph Society. Named after the sixth president of Rotary, the Arch Klumph Society recognizes The Rotary Foundation’s highest tier of donors — those who have contributed $250,000 or more during their lifetime. With the Sun Lakes Foundation 2000, Hal was a Legacy Guard Level 4 Major Donor and helped to start RCSL’s Endowment Fund for Education.

Hal and his wife Phyllis established an endowment to provide the Michigan State University Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities with a source of funding to market MSU as a university with an exceptional and sustained record of success in meeting the needs of persons with disabilities. Hal, a 1958 graduate of the College of Engineering and RCPD 2007 Outstanding Alumnus, identifi ed MSU’s accessible facilities as instrumental to the attainment of his engineering degrees and to his success as an engineer and aerospace leader.

The Wochholtz family’s generosity helps youth connect with vibrant futures via a quality MSU education.

Hal was a friend to many through his support of the Arizona Humane Society. Never one to be idle, his volunteer eff orts supporting church and community endeavors followed him throughout his years.

The family would like to thank the staff at Wentworth Senior Living for their care and compassion shown to Hal. In lieu of fl owers, please join Hal in his fi ght to eradicate polio by making a donation to Rotary’s End Polio site at endpolio.org.

Memoriam Contributors: Rotarians: Gary Whiting, Lucinda General, Jon Lyons, Dwight Grotewold (deceased); MSU Alumni Magazine and Wochholtz Family

WOMEN from page 35

Foster Family said, “Right now, we are partnering with a few other foster care charities in a campaign called All For One. Typically, we only help kinship families with the foster care process. This donation will help us widen our lane for three months and help community (non-biological) foster families across Arizona as well.” 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun is a group of like-minded, passionate women who want to connect to one another and to their communities. The ladies are leveraging their resources so their small quarterly gifts of $100 per member add up to a signifi cant donation to a local charity.

Since the chapter’s inception in 2015, close to $775,000 has been given to local charities. This group of women has learned that giving back is better together. To learn more about 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun, or to register for their upcoming giving circle on Oct. 28, visit 100wwcvalleyofthesun.org.

To learn more about Boost a Foster Family, visit boostafosterfamily.org. This charity is a Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organization under the Arizona Tax Credit program. Please consider supporting them when you are making your year-end donations.

HAUNTED from page 35

pretty shocked by the kind gesture.”

The donation quadrupled the size of his display overnight.

Petersen said the key to getting over his fear of Halloween as a child came after some family members took him to a haunted house.

“That kind of took away the fear,” Petersen said, adding that what also helped was he started working at Spirit Halloween, working directly with skeletons, witches and tombstones.

“Working with all the scary stuff took away the fear,” he said.

Petersen says it usually takes him twoto-three weeks to set up the display. He said most young children enjoy it and he’s never seen one freak out by it.

There are lights and music, but Petersen said he created the display so that it would not be sensory overload for people on the spectrum.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re autistic or not, I just think no one really deserves to have to deal with loud noises all the time.”

The one thing he would like to see this Halloween is more people visiting his display. He said despite having the biggest display he’s ever done last year, it did not draw a crowd because of the pandemic.

“COVID wasn’t even a year old yet, … there was probably some fear around it, like most people weren’t comfortable,” Petersen said. “But like now the comfort is coming back. So we’re hoping to get more foot traffi c this year.”

Petersen said he’s happy with the display and eager to show it off .

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