October 2011 | page 1

EVENT{FULL}Monthly updates from your {FULL} Life community

TOUCHMARK ON WEST PROSPECT

An offhand comment during dinner has brought a decades-old miniature threshing machine back to life.

Resident Irene Plainse mentioned during dinner one evening that she had a miniature thresher built by her brother sitting in her storage facility and that she didn’t know what to do with it. Robert Huelsbeck’s ears perked up, and he offered to take a look at it–and ended up taking it to Touchmark’s workshop.

“It was providence that I happened to mention it to someone who’s interested in repairing stuff like this,” Irene says.

Her brother, Richard Graef, built the thresher during the 1940s after finding a J.I. Case handbook. When he later went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, he took the miniature working machine with him. It later ended up in a

special exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Society, where it sat until his parents asked if they could have it. “My dad was very proud of it,” Irene says.

The thresher sat on her parents’ mantle until their deaths, and then Richard took it back. It sat on a shelf in his closet for years. “He really didn’t know what to do with it. When he died, I took it and just put it in storage,” Irene says.

After hearing about the machine, Robert was intrigued,

and he and fellow Touchmark resident, Merlin Loberg, set to work. They spent hours cleaning the machine and making repairs.

“It took a lot of elbow grease to clean it,” Merlin says. “We had to fix some belts. It was a big mess.”

He says the machine still works. “We found some grain and oats in it when we were cleaning. It was fun to get it up and running.”

Once the thresher was

Issue 10, 2013 | page 1

Touchmark duo bring miniature threshing machine back to life

From left: Merlin Loberg, Irene Plainse, and Robert Huelsbeck

(cont.)

TOUCHMARK ON WEST PROSPECT Issue 10, 2013 | page 2

Fall in love with the full life

Featured: The Roosevelt, 2562 Touchmark Ct

Offers:1,737 square feet, two bedrooms, two bath-rooms, gas fireplace, vaulted ceilings, covered patio

Featured: Apartment 126

Offers: 866 square feet, two bedrooms, one bathroom, convenient to all Touchmark amenities

Learn about the Full Life at Touchmark: home and yard maintenance provided, great neighbors, and attentive and caring staff. Call to arrange your personal tour—and find out for yourself why people fall in love with Touchmark!

Contact a Full Life team member for additional details, including registration, transportation information, and participation requirements. Due to construction, please check the calendar or with the front desk to confirm times and locations of events.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

restored, the duo made a display case. The machine is now on display in the Touchmark lobby, where it gets plenty of attention. “For a lot of people, it brings back memories. They remember what it was like to have threshing day—when everyone came over to help the farmer bring in his crop. Families would go from farm to farm helping,” Irene says.

Both Robert and Merlin enjoy working in Touchmark’s workshop repairing furniture for residents or working on their own projects. “It’s a great way to spend a few hours every day,” says Robert.

As for Irene, she’s excited her brother’s hard work is getting renewed attention. She’s looking for a permanent home for the machine, possibly back at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

“It’s wonderful people can enjoy it again and appreciate his work. It’s very intricate, and it’s amazing how he built it himself,” she says.

(cont.)

Touchmark on West Prospect 2601 Touchmark Drive | Appleton, WI 54914 | 920-832-9100 | 800-689-3479 | TouchmarkAppleton.com

TAW108 Rev. 12/08, © 2008, Touchmark Living Centers, Inc., all rights reserved

The Grande Homes

For illustration purposes only. Square footage, actual room sizes, and features may vary. See construction documents.

866 sq. ft.2 Bedroom | 1 Bath

2601 Touchmark Drive, Appleton, WI 54914 • 920-832-9100 • Touchmark.com

Single-Family Home

The Roosevelt 2Main 1,737 sq. ft. Garage 621 sq. ft.2 Bedroom | 2 Bath

DW

W/D

138241 July 2013

Friday, Oct. 4, 4 pm Oktoberfest Party.

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 3 pm Touchmark Speaker Series: Bee Keeping 101.

Friday, Oct. 11, 3 pm Larry Jankowski and his Electric Orchestra.

Friday, Oct. 18, 8:30 amLadies’ Breakfast.

Friday, Oct.18, 4 pm’50s Sock Hop & Soda Fountain.

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 4 pm Shine on Harvest Moon Happy Hour.

Friday, Oct. 25, 8:30 am Gentlemen’s Breakfast.

See the full calendar of events online: TouchmarkAppleton.com/pdf/community-event-

calendar.pdf

October 2011 | page 1TOUCHMARK ON WEST PROSPECT Issue 10, 2013 | page 3

Music and laughter

Residents had a roaring time at the ’20s speakeasy party with music by Arlie Schneider. Top, from left: Mary Kesler, Jean Ormson, Irene Gamsky, Anne Crone, and Ethel Moehring dress for the evening. Left: Guests enjoyed a mashed potato bar with the potatoes served in martini glasses. Right: Neal and Irene Gamsky are pictured. (cont.)

TOUCHMARK ON WEST PROSPECT Issue 10, 2013 | page 4

BRAIN BUILDERS

Inside of the name CHEERIOS are several other words made up of 2 or more letters. Two have been found for you already. Find as many others as you can.

Answers: Cheer, Chi, Choir, Chore, Chose, Core, Echo, He, Heir, Here, Hero, Hers, Hi, Hire, Hoer, Horse, Hose, Ice, Ire, Is, Ocher, Oh, Or, Ore, Rice, Rich, Rise, Roe, Rose, Score, Scree, Sec, Seer, She, Sheer, Shier, Shoe, Shore, Sic, Sire, So, Sore.

CHEERIOS1. Ere 2. Core

Residents enjoyed an afternoon of music during a recent happy hour as resident Jean Ormson played the piano, and Barb Boren played the flute.

Executive Director Barbara Pandolfo and Ethel Moehring

(cont.)

Look for Active Aging Week photos on Facebook and in next month’s newsletter.

Miles and Marlys Carlson, pictured with their daughters Kathleen and Kristine, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with an open house for all Touchmark residents and team members.

TOUCHMARK ON WEST PROSPECT2601 Touchmark Drive • Appleton, WI 54914

920-832-9100 • Touchmark.com

© 2011 Touchmark Living Centers, Inc., all rights reserved

MargeCoalman, EdDVice Presidentof Wellness &Programs

The “right” to happiness “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Is it a right or a privilege—the right to happiness, that is? Whatever your interpretation of the wording of the Declaration of Independence, it has become a multimillion-dollar business to help us all find our “right to happiness.”

We may have come equipped to pursue our own version of happiness, but North Americans seem to be endowed with the pursuit-of-happiness impulse. Many have the urge to find that greener pasture or nirvana … just over the hillside (or online, for that matter).

What does that mean? It means that the outdated definition of doing more, owning more, conquering the next challenge has become an ambition to “best” our neighbors, whether by straight-out purchase or credit. The snatch-and-grab phenomenon has become a job description for many and an “oh well” for our neighbors.

Interestingly, this is not true of those who live long and well. Studies repeatedly tell us

that philanthropy and a spirit of giving are essential to well-being. While it may not be the barn-raising or neighborhood party in this day and age, the impulse to help others is deeply imbedded. All of the current studies on “happiness” bear out the fact that compassion, concern, and action (in the way of helping hands or physical donations) make a difference in the quality of life we all seek.

So, pass up the infomercials and appeals you get in your mailbox to “feel good about yourself” with this tape or class. Release even an ongoing commitment to “feel good.” Instead, contact the Full Life wellness team at Touchmark on West Prospect to get involved in programs and services that do make a difference.

You said it!

“I really liked going to work with my Mom when we lost power. It was a lot of fun, and I want to live there when I grow up. I like aging people just as much as she does.”

-Layna Petersen, age 5, daughter of team member Rachel Watkins-Petersen