Voting to begin Monday for Mr. Niagara and First Lady

Heidi Phillips

NIAGARA, Wis. — Six candidates are nominated for Mr. Niagara and First Lady of Niagara, with the winners to be crowned at the Niagara Lions Community Picnic on June 29.

Voting can be done at Forward Financial Credit Union or Niagara Public Library. Votes also can be mailed to Niagara Women’s Civic Club, P.O. Box 103, Niagara, WI 54151.

Voting is $1 a vote. It begins Monday and ends June 28.

Karen Klenke was married to Jeff, who passed away in 2004. She has two daughters, Jennifer and Jill.

She was born in Brandon, Wis. She and Jeff moved to Niagara in 1964 and lived in the apartment at the Hatten House, the oldest house in Niagara.

Louise Swope

Klenke started her career as a registered nurse after graduating from St. Agnes in Fond du lac, Wis. When she moved to Niagara, she worked at Maryhill Manor when it was at the Red Brick Inn location.

She and Jeff started a family and then bought the Niagara Journal and ran it from 1972-1987. In that time period she became a photographer and went back to school to become a professional.

Klenke belongs to the Niagara Women’s Civic Club and Riverside Methodist Church. She is president of the Niagara Medical Committee and member of the Niagara Area Historical Society since it began in the ’90s. She is a member of the Shawl Ministry, which she and Teresa Nawn started 14 years ago. When asked about her hobbies, she said she was a knitting addict and loves taking photos.

Her proudest accomplishment is giving people their history with her family photography. She is proud to be able to make people feel comfortable recording their history. What she likes most about Niagara is the gentleness and graciousness of this town, from the old to the very young.

Heidi Phillips was born in Laredo, Texas. Her family moved to Niagara in 1978, when she was in third grade. She has three boys — Michael, Jonathan and Anthony. She also has two grandsons, Adyson and Owen.

Karen Klenke

Phillips worked for many years at Maryhill Manor, then she stayed home for six years to raise the younger boys. In 2008, she began working at Forward Financial Credit Union, where she now is a loan processor.

She was on the Niagara Rescue Squad for 10 years, taught religious education at St. Anthony Catholic Church and was a Cub Scout leader. Heidi has been a soccer coach for many years and has been involved in the Sunday basketball program for 18 years, as well as the flag football program

Her life revolves around her children, so her pastimes are things that include the kids. She finds a little time for flower gardening.

Her proudest accomplishment is raising her boys and giving to children in the community through mentoring. What she like most about Niagara is the small-town friendliness, where everybody is there for everyone.

Louise Swope is married to Gilbert Engel. She was born in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. After high school, she worked at the U.S. Marine Corps base in Barstow, Calif. After a few years she worked for Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Los Angeles.

BOB BURTON

From 1979 to 1994, she did accounting and bookkeeping at Teldyne Electronics in Gardena, Calif. Her job had to do with government defense. She worked at the Niagara paper mill from 1995 until it closed.

She belongs to the Silent Sporters, where she does snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and kayaking. She also belongs to the American Volkssport Association International Hiking Club. The club’s goal is to hike 10Ks in every state.

She and Gilbert leave for the East soon to do ten 10Ks with this group. She is treasurer of the Niagara Area Historical Museum and volunteers at the Almost Home Animal Shelter.

Swope is president of Chapter CX PEO, past president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs and now is district president of GFWC.

Her proudest accomplishment is marrying Gilbert and gaining two grandsons, ages 12 and 10.

Joe Geldmeyer

What she likes most about Niagara is the small-own feel and knowing your neighbors.

She was in Los Angeles for the 1994 North Ridge earthquake and had been getting up at 5 a.m. to drive two or three hours in five lanes of traffic. She decided she needed a change and came to Niagara in 1995 and loves it here.

Bob Burton is married to Rhonda. He was born in Grafton, Wis., and his family moved to Niagara when he was a sophomore in high school. He started his work career in the grocery business in Iron Mountain. Then he was a salesman at Home Furniture in Stevens Point, Wis.

He was a FedEx home delivery manager in Iron Mountain and later worked at the Sturgeon Mill and Lumber Company in Vulcan. He presently works for GT Independence out of Madison.

Burton is a grand knight in the Knights of Columbus, a volunteer track coach and spends each day at Maryhill Manor with his 96-year-old mother, Margaret, plus takes care of his sister, Mary, who lives with them.

Gerald Morin

He plays softball in the oldtimer’s league in Niagara, and also enjoys pontoon rides, barbecuing and bonfires with family and friends. He likes music concerts and festivals and loves listening to music.

His greatest accomplishment is being a grand knight in the Knights of Columbus. What he likes most about Niagara is the closeness of the people and the way they look out for each other.

Joe Geldmeyer was married to Jeanne, who passed away 15 years ago. He has a son, Scott, and four grandchildren, Ashley, Joseph, Justine and Emma. Geldmeyer was born in Norway and his family moved to Niagara when he was 4 years old. He worked 43 years at the Niagara paper mill.

Geldmeyer is a Niagara firefighter. He is on the senior citizens board, volunteers at the Niagara Area Historical Museum and works part-time for the town of Niagara. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He loves to hunt deer and go out west to hunt elk. His greatest accomplishment is raising his son and working with his grandchildren. What he like most about Niagara is the friendliness of the people.

Gerald Morin’s wife, Sharon, died 10 years ago. He has three children, Terri, Alan and Tammi. He was born in Norway. Niagara is his home town.

He started out working at the Niagara paper mill, then moved to Racine, Wis., in 1959 and worked at J.I. Case, then at Lakeshore Engineering in Iron Mountain welding winches for U.S. Navy ships.

He then worked at the Niagara paper mill for 16 1/2 years and then three years as head custodian at the Niagara Public School.

He became a millwright at the Niagara mill and went to school at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Marinette for millwrighting. Fifteen years later, at age 61, he retired.

Besides working full- time, he did masonry for 26 years, built his own house and also built 13 very large fireplaces.

Morin is a member of the Niagara Lions Club and has been a Niagara firefighter for six years.

He has been the Niagara Historical Museum handyman for four years. His proudest accomplishment is making moonshine for 56 years — best whiskey ever — and his work on antique tractors and his 1946 International Truck.

Morin believes the people of Niagara are very friendly and he loved working at the mill and enjoyed his life in this wonderful city with its beautiful bluffs.