Nineteen years ago this week, Glenn Anderson left his teaching
job at Taft High School, unsure of what came next. Several
friends and colleagues who had retired moved south and just sort
of faded away, and at a spry 56 years old, with his mind and body
still relatively intact, Glenn decided that wasn’t the life for
him, and regarded the end of his teaching career not as
retirement, but “leaving with a pension.”

Since then, life has been anything but quiet for Glenn. Having
always been handy and enjoying working with his hands, he had a
small welding and blacksmith shop that leaving teaching allowed
him to expand. Married to an avid gardener and living in a house
over 100 years old, there are consistently tractors, rototillers,
and other appliances needing attention and maintenance, so his
mechanical skills are put to good use both in and outside of his
welding shop.

Not satisfied to be constrained to just one set of skills, Glenn
decided to help out a friend who took over the operation of a
local café by cooking breakfast for its patrons five days a week
for a while. Also a lifelong musician, he has found creative
release in playing banjo with multiple Dixieland bands in the
area of Wilmot, WI.

When the local county fair was looking for someone to manage its
grounds crew during the summer months, Glenn was more than happy
(and qualified) to take on that role, which led to his
participation in the Master Gardener program, clocking in many
volunteer hours to beautify public areas. After seven years with
the fairgrounds, the local cemetery was in need of a
groundskeeper, so managing the turf upkeep, snow removal, and
tree care is how he joyfully spends his hours now.

With so much going on, Glenn can only laugh when asked how he
plans to spend his retirement. “Too busy now to plan retirement!”