Archive for November, 2012

Matt Thums hopes to change the lives of others with the construction of barrier free housing. His UIU senior project led to this possibility.

 Nearly seven years ago, Matt Thums was gearing up for bowhunting season in central Wisconsin. It was mid-September and he had climbed 15 feet in the air to his tree stand when the platform gave way and he plummeted to the ground. Doctors delivered some devastating news to Thums – he was now a T-7 paraplegic. He spent the next six months in a hospital recovering from injuries sustained in the fall.

Thums, who was a carpenter foreman on a bridge construction crew, needed a career that would fit his new lifestyle. He went on to college and earned his associate’s degree in accounting in 2008. He then spent the following year looking for a job. Thums realized quickly that he would be more marketable if he had a bachelor’s degree. A friend, who had just begun classes at Upper Iowa University-Wausau Center, recommended Thums check UIU out.

Thums immediately liked the schedule. He was able to work during the day, and take classes at Upper Iowa at night. In two years and one month, he graduated from UIU with his bachelor’s degree in accounting.

During his college career, Thums changed jobs from a local credit union to Main Street Homes in Wausau, Wis., where he is currently in charge of the company’s accounting department including project estimation and bidding for projects.

In his last year at Upper Iowa, Thums took the senior project course, which is designed to help a student analyze a real-life workplace issue, work through it and provide a solution to benefit the company as a whole. Thums developed a project that will have a positive impact on the lives of people like him who desire a home that is barrier free.

Thums and his fiancée, Betsy Dollard, had been searching for a home in the area that was barrier free to accommodate his wheelchair and allow him to live an independent life. Thums and Dollard became frustrated, especially when they saw homes that were labeled handicap accessible, but were ultimately not.

“I decided to put together my senior project as an opportunity statement,” said Thums. “Since we (Main Street Homes) build houses, I developed a plan to build truly accessible housing.”

Thums’ senior project detailed exactly what makes a barrier free home accessible to those of various abilities. Thresholds need to be flush with the floor, doorways and hallways need to be at least 36 inches wide and bathrooms require at least a five foot turning radius for wheelchairs.  Points of support in the walls have to be installed so that handles can be placed as needed. Roll-in showers are a must, as well as lower countertop heights in bathrooms and the kitchen.

Main Street Homes owner, Heath Tappe, was glad to put Thums’ project into practice,  and the company built its first barrier-free home this past summer.

Thums hopes to continue making more barrier free homes available, and he credits Upper Iowa University with providing him the opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of others.

About Upper Iowa University
Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to some 6,200 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study.

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Upper Iowa University’s Dean of the Andres School of Education Gail Moorman-Behrens visits with alumna Emma Hough, the University’s oldest living alumnus. Hough graduated in 1926.

Upper Iowa University’s oldest living alumna recalls the Fayette campus during the 1920s
Emma (Burkhart) Hough, ’26, will turn 108 December 2

 The Upper Iowa University Fayette campus has seen some tremendous changes throughout its 155-year history. Emma Hough, UIU alumna from 1926, can attest to that. As she reminisces on her college days from 1922-1926, Emma can accurately recall what it was like at Upper Iowa during the ‘roaring ‘20s’ – running from building to building – most of which are no longer standing – for class and activities. She even got into a bit of trouble at the local Fayette movie house, the memory of which makes her chuckle yet today.

Emma is Upper Iowa University’s oldest alumna. She will turn 108-years-old Dec. 2.

A native of Sumner, Iowa, Emma was the second child born to Albert and Sarah (Lauterbach) Burkhart. Her older brother, Charles, was 17 years her senior. They did not have much of a relationship, and after marrying, he took over the family farm. When she was 7-years-old, Emma and her parents moved to town, which was a welcome change for the outgoing child. With friends living just a few houses up the street, Emma had plenty of neighborhood chums to pal around with. They spent their days playing ‘Run, Sheep, Run’ all over the neighborhood.

When it came time for Emma to consider what she would do after high school, she insisted that she go to college. She chose Upper Iowa University, located just 14 miles away. Her father said, “Well, I’ll take her over, but she’ll never stay.” But stay she did. She hardly ever went home, and even took classes one summer after working out a deal with her mother: Emma could stay at Upper Iowa, if she agreed to take a sewing class (“I made five dresses for myself that summer!”) and a swimming class. She also took a course in education. “I was glad to get that out of the way,” Emma said.

When asked why, she replied, “You don’t know the teachers we had in those days!”

Emma quickly listed her main professors:
-  Marcia McNee, A.B, assistant professor of education – (“I didn’t dislike her; she was always nice to me.”)
-  William C. Mongold, A.M., professor of psychology and education – (“I didn’t care for Mongold!”)
-  Earl A. Roadman, Ph.B., STB, professor of philosophy, rural leadership and applied Christianity – (“Dr. Roadman was nice, but I wasn’t interested in his teachings. Maybe it would have been better if I had been.”)
-  Elizabeth Nichols, Ph.D., professor of English – (“Miss Nichols was my English teacher and my major teacher. She was always nice to me, but she was really an old-maidish lady – with high collars and such.”)

Emma (Burkhart) Hough was a member of Sigma Tau Delta while she was a student at Upper Iowa University.

Emma was active in campus life. She was a member of Sigma Tau Delta, an organization whose purpose was to promote “the mastery of written expression encouraging worthwhile reading and fostering a spirit of fellowship among those specializing in English language and literature,” according to an excerpt from the 1926 UIU yearbook, the PEACOCK. She was also a member of the Biological Club (she held the offices of president her senior year and secretary/treasurer her junior year), Aonia, YWCA, vice-president of the WAA (an athletic group for women at UIU), PEACOCK yearbook staff, an assistant in botany and the winner of the campus tennis tournament her sophomore year.

Her biology professor, Guy West Wilson, M.S., A.M., entrusted Emma a number of times with his class. “He let me take charge of things. When he went away, he’d give me all the tests and I (passed) them out to the class,” she said. “They used to go after me, those kids. They wanted to get (the tests), but I wouldn’t give ‘em!”

Emma said that while she spent a lot of time studying at UIU, she and friends found time to hike to Big Rock, a popular swimming hole on the Upper Iowa River near Fayette. She also remembers the one and only time she was kicked out of a movie theatre. “I think it was because I was running in and out looking for someone – that was the main thing,” she recalled laughing. Emma and her dorm-mates also snuck into the basement of South Hall, where they lived, and raided the olive barrel from time-to-time.

After winning the tennis tournament, she took charge of the team and got the women together for practice. At the time, the tennis courts were located across the road from the chapel (where Parker-Fox Hall is now), and near the hall where Emma lived that year, “which was mighty handy!”

A page from a 1926 ‘The Peacock’ yearbook showcases the Upper Iowa campus while Emma (Burkhart) Hough was attending the Fayette campus as a student.

She well-remembers the long-distance hikes, sometimes over six miles that the classes did as part of their gym requirement. She also recalls an extensive history class her freshman year that had three separate components.

In 1926, Emma graduated from UIU with degrees in English and Biology. She was hired as the physical education teacher and head girls basketball coach for Sumner Community Schools soon after she graduated – and quite frankly, even before she knew it. “I didn’t even put in an application,” she said. “I lived just across the road from the school house, and (Superintendent Thomas J. Durant) came over and told my folks that they’d hired me, so they knew that I had a job before I knew.”

Emma was not required to student-teach before she graduated. Her diploma qualified as her teacher’s license.

One year after starting her teaching career, a new member of the Sumner School District faculty caught Emma’s eye. She and Osage native Charles Hough, who was the business teacher, began dating. They married February 4, 1928.

The pair continued teaching in Sumner until 1944 when they moved to Ironwood, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. Emma taught physical education there. Then, in 1953, the couple accepted teaching positions in Manistee, Michigan, and Emma became the school librarian. During that time, Charlie worked on his master’s degree in commercial studies, and the couple spent five summers living in New York City where they attended Columbia University.

It was a remarkable time for Emma and Charlie as they not only studied but roamed the city and did much sightseeing while they lived there. The couple rented rooms in people’s houses when they lived in New York. They saw many Juilliard School performances and went to a lot of baseball games. They saw the greats in their hey-day – Whitey Ford and Babe Ruth. Charlie was a Chicago Cubs fan, while the New York Yankees have always been Emma’s favorite.

In 1969, the couple retired from teaching and two years later, they returned to Sumner to live.

Charlie passed away in 1981. Soon after, Emma headed out with friends to explore the world. She has traveled to 48 states including Alaska and Hawaii, and traveled to England and Germany as well. It wasn’t until Emma turned 95 that she put away her suitcases for the last time.

Since 2003, Emma has resided at Hillcrest Home in Sumner where she still walks at least a half-mile a day. She maintains an adventurous outlook on life and a feisty spirit. Her many feats have been chronicled in the local newspaper including an excursion in a Lambourgini, a camel ride when the circus came to Sumner and letting a boa constrictor drape itself around her shoulders.

At a recent get-together, Upper Iowa’s Dr. Gail Moorman-Behrens, Dean of the UIU Andres School of Education, told Emma she’d be back to visit with her when she turned 110.

Emma didn’t miss a beat, “I’ll be waiting for you,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

A campus shot of Alexander-Dickman Hall (then referred to as ‘Main’) and the chapel (now the site of Parker-Fox Hall) in 1926.