Anderson to retire from school district
Posted 1/23/03

It was 1973 when Janice "Jan" Anderson began working at the district office at Milaca Public Schools.

Her youngest daughter, Kristi, was starting kindergarten and Andersonís starting salary was $1.85 an hour.

Today, her daughter Kristi works at the district office with her, and her salary - well, itís grown up like her daughter has.

Anderson is retiring this month from her position in accounts payable, but the exact date sheís still not sure about. It was supposed to be Thursday, Jan. 16, but it appears she may be in the office a couple more weeks, on and off.

Born in Iowa, Anderson moved to the Foreston area in third grade. She attended country school until eighth grade and then attended Milaca High School (the old school, she adds).

She married her husband, Bob, shortly after high school and the two had four children - Pam (Novak), Paula (Beaudoin), Sheila (Ruprecht) and Kristi (Kragt).

Anderson worked at Fingerhut in Princeton for a couple years, then was a stay-at-home mom for about eight years.

Before working at the district office, she worked part time at Trinity Lutheran Church as a secretary for two years.

When she started at the district office, everything was done by hand. All the payroll checks were written by hand and taxes were looked up and figured out on an adding machine - not a calculator, she points out.

So, itís no surprise that the incorporation of computers was the biggest change during her nearly 30 years on the job.

You might think sheís seen a lot of changes in superintendents as well, but, Anderson says there have only been four since she began.

She was hired by superintendent Robert Kafka and she says, "He was always Mr. Kafka."

After Kafka passed away, the assistant superintendent, Terry Schmidt, took over. Next in line was Darwin Bostic.

It was during Bosticís term that Anderson suggested the school hire her daughter Kristi to do the payroll. And they did.

Working with her daughter the past four and a half years, has gone well.

"We havenít had any big spats or anything," she says with a chuckle.

Now, Anderson retires under current superintendent Barbra Zakrajsek.

Over the years, one of the most difficult issues sheís faced at the school has been phone calls after 4 p.m.

"Itís parents calling looking for their kids. Theyíre not home from school yet," Anderson says. "And several have been downright scary."

Trying to keep the parents calm while she works on locating the students is difficult, Anderson admits, because sheís trying to stay calm herself.

The school now has radios in the office, so the staff can contact bus drivers directly, which Anderson says has been a big help.

Now that sheís retiring, Anderson says sheíll enjoy spending time travelling and dining out with her husband, who retired three years ago.

She also plans to work on her flowers, clean out some closets, catch up on reading, attend some matinees, do some quilting projects, and take better care of herself by getting regular exercise.

And sheís looking forward to spending more time with her six grandchildren as well.

"I donít see myself getting bored," Anderson said with a smile.

A retirement party for Anderson is scheduled Saturday, Jan. 25 at Trinity Lutheran Church from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.