Senior Connections Senior Connections Aug. 2018 | Page 11

Local columnist ends her 50-year career

JAN ENGELHARDT

Correspondent

“ It is mind-boggling sometimes,” mused Cathy Stifter, reflecting upon her 50 years as a local news columnist.“ It’ s just unbelievable. Yeah, I didn’ t think I’ d ever make it 50 years in writing. I hate to call it quits, but I’ m going to have to.”

When you meet Cathy for the first time, you are likely to be enveloped in a warm hug, because, as she said,“ Hugs are better than handshakes.”

The lively, outgoing octogenarian cites the demands of family and wanting more time for her grandchildren and for community activities, as well as the competition of electronic media and news sources, as reasons for her decision to retire.

“ Now, it’ s going into email, the internet, plus Facebook, but nobody tells me anything. Some weeks, I hardly had anything, which is frustrating, because I wanted to do it, but I see so many editors, and what have you, that are retiring at this time, and I did turn 80.

“ And, I’ ve been really, really busy. I have a Downs Syndrome daughter, Laura, and she’ s 35 and working five days a week, which is great, but she still needs a lot of my attention.

“ My husband, Vince, has been ill since January, so he’ s been taking up a lot of my time. And if we make it to August, we will be married 60 years. It’ s one more thing to reach.”

The inspiration for a writing career had its roots in her childhood in Milwaukee, WI.

According to Cathy,“ It all started when I was about 10 years old. That’ s how I got started. Even in school, I hated getting up in front of the group and giving a big report, but give me a piece of paper and a pen, and I can write you a whole dang book.

“ How I got started, my mom, my dad, and my brothers and I, each summer, we would drive from Milwaukee to Friendship, WI, and the aunt that we stayed with was a schoolteacher, who also did the column for their local newspaper. Nosey me, I was reading all her stuff, and thought,‘ Gosh, I’ d like to do that someday.’ Low and behold, here I am, 70 years later!”

Stifter managed to write her Mayer News column while raising six children, Joe, Paul, Mary, Tom, Anne, and Laura. She assisted in the family business, R & V Auto Service Center, taught religion classes for 25 years at Watertown’ s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, and continues to volunteer in the Mayer community. Cathy began writing her column featuring local news snippets in May 1968.

Describing those early days, she said,“ Years ago, I had so much news. When I started, I could have many, many things in the paper: who visited who, who passed away, who went to funerals, who had birthdays. I would even put in birth announcements or graduations. I used to be able to list graduation parties, the people that were there. They always had

Cathy Stifter is looking forward to spending more time with her“ little dears.”

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some news for me. Special birthday parties, which was great. Just visitors, that was very important to the readers. Even weddings, I would have weddings listed, who had gotten married from town. Births, I liked to put those in. If somebody from Mayer had a baby, I’ d call them and get the lowdown on their babies. I used to have, like, half a page of my news in each paper.”

When asked to describe how her reporting had changed throughout the years, Cathy said,“ Yes, very many changes, very many changes. Years ago, I would have a list of the people in town who wanted news in my column. If they didn’ t call me before my due date, when I had to have it typed out and get it to the news offices, I would call them the night before. Then I would type it out. You know, years ago I had the old plink, plink, plink [ manual ] typewriter...

After hubby bought me an electric typewriter, it worked a little bit better, but fingers still made mistakes, so you had to erase.

Then, I had a fax machine, so I’ d fax it to each of the offices. I still don’ t know how to get into the email, so my son, Paul, sets it up for me when I want to do my news. After email, it was a lot easier. My son had it set so I could just put the little dash / check on each company or news office, and WOOSH, just like that! I did learn how to use the computer. Without the computer, I would type it up, print it out, then come up here, and send it on the fax machine to the different offices...

“ It always got done, though. I don’ t think I missed a week. I can’ t remember ever not having any news in... 50 years! I even got the news done when I was in the hospital [ giving birth ] with Annie. I did it in the hospital bed.

Cathy said, that doing the Mayer News column didn’ t fell like work, though.

“ This was my fun,” she said.“ It was entertaining, and I hope that the people who read it, enjoyed it.”

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