Don't know what to get your family or friends for the holidays? Make a donation in their name and we will send them a Tribute Card informing them of your gift.

1. How did you get involved with NATH?

I applied for the Administrative Assistant position. I had recently moved back from IL and thought this would be a great fit for me.

I chose to become part of the team to further help our community and the great staff members and wonderful volunteers!

I have been involved with NATH now for a year!

4.What is your favorite memory with NATH? 

I love all of the events, but I do have to say that working the Hodag Farmers Market with my mother was my favorite memory! I can't wait to make more memories with the NATH team!

Earlier in October NATH - Frederick Place sent out its Annual Appeal letter to our partners. We would like to thank Trigs Postal Express for their help with the folding of the letters. This made the project so much smother.

Thank you for any contribution you can provide. Donations can be made online from our website: www.nathnorthwoods.com.

Thank you to all who came to our last brat sale of the year!!

Your continued support is outstanding!

I have been sitting here staring at a blank screen for what seems like hours. I know this not to be true because I have answered the doorbell 5 times in the last 25 minutes. I also know when I send this to my wonderful editor and pen pal at zero dark thirty hours, I will feel like what I have written is not good enough. I always say if I can feel it, Springsteen has written a song about it. Not this time. It is hard to find the words that truly describe what I feel in my heart, but I will give it a shot.

One week ago today, Jamie told me her husband had accepted a position in Arkansas, and they were moving. One week ago I thought, “Oh. Well, ok. We will keep in touch.” Tonight I relieved her, and it became real. Although we only see each other once a week, we know we are there for each other. We just “get” each other. I know we can and will keep in touch, but it will be different. I apologize for starting this out on such a selfish note. I do not mean to diminish their joy by going on about my sorrow, but Jamie’s departure is a huge loss for all of us and for future residents. I truly am thrilled for Jamie and her family. It is next to impossible not to feel her excitement, because it is all she exudes when talking about or shares pictures of their new home. This is especially palpable when she talks about her daughter Maddie’s elation at the prospect of having her very own bathroom. Every detail she shares makes me happy for her because I love her, and her happiness is important to me.

I do not remember the exact moment when Jamie became one of my closest confidants. I do know that from the first time I met her in December of 2015, I knew she was somebody I could count on and trust. I cannot explain it – it’s just sort of a sixth sense. I do believe others and otherworldly individuals felt Jamie could be trusted with anything as well. Otherworldly, of course, would refer to our Emma, Frederick Place’s resident spirit. We’ve both heard our names called while in the basement, watched lights go on and off for no apparent reason, and when sitting quietly in the office, have witnessed file cabinet doors slowly open. Those are little occurrences we just shrug off. Jamie has had a few encounters that are hard to shrug off. One night she glanced at the camera monitor and watched a single curtain being pulled away from the window as if someone were waiting for a ride to arrive. Jamie also has the honor of being the only one to see an apparition of Emma. I remember that encounter well because Jamie called me. I could tell by her voice she had seen something that really unnerved her. She explained that she had walked through the Gathering Room and was suddenly compelled to look towards the couch. Much to her surprise, she swore she saw a silhouette of Emma sitting on the couch. Her hair matched a picture of Emma we have in the office. Since that happened, I cannot walk through the darkness of the Gathering Room without turning my head to the right, looking towards the couch. However, I have never caught a glimpse of Emma. Perhaps that will change once her favorite person is no longer here. I hope she goes easy on me. If not, I can always call Jamie to calm my nerves.

I would be remiss if I did not share the story behind this picture. Jamie has done so much and helped so many, but I have to be honest, she will forever be remembered as the one who sent the staff keys on a journey to the great unknown via the black hole that is the toilet. Jamie and a resident tried in vain to retrieve them, as did our “go-to” handyman, Jim Barnes. Where they ended up nobody knows. This incident prompted me to create the “Jamie’s Anti-Flush Device.” I have a feeling this story will join the ranks of Becca flinging garbage bags out the dorm door; a Frederick Place legend passed on to future generations of employees.

Jamie and I have a penchant for saying “I’m sorry” way too often for things we do not need to be sorry about. It is a curse. We cannot help ourselves. About a month ago I was sharing a story about a friend of mine who had to put a quarter in a jar every time she used a curse word. Having to pay a jar sure curbed her swearing. So, I decided to see if that would put an end to our habit. I found a mason jar and labeled it The Sorry Jar. So far it has not stopped the words from escaping my lips, but it sure has caused some laughter as it has gotten bigger than just Jamie and me. Becca has also gotten in on it. I prepay it, and I even received a reply to one of my “I’m sorry emails” from Tammy that began with, “You owe the sorry jar. . .” Something tells me the jar is here to stay.

Jamie, thank you for all the chats, especially ones you stayed late for because one of us needed the other. Thank you for the secrets you have kept and the trust you have had in me. I will forever be grateful for all the times you have covered shifts for me either with plenty of notice or last minute. Thanks for always taking care of me - especially when my stubbornness kicked in the way it did the day you threatened to call Becca and then did. I do not know if I ever told you that you were right. I did need to go to the ER. Thank you. I will miss you, your laugh, the conversations we have with our eyes. I am really going to miss your gut instincts that never seem to be wrong. I do not think you know how much I have relied on you for that and so many other things. I wish you an uneventful journey, happiness, laughter, and love in your new home.  I promise I will never quit saying “I’m sorry” so the fund can grow big enough for Becca and me to hop in her red Volkswagen Bug, pretend we are Thelma and Louise (minus going off a cliff), and come visit you. I think you know that is a promise I can keep.

These two sided book bags measure 15" wide by 15.5" tall and have been donated to NATH - Frederick Place by a "Friend of NATH". Supply is limited.

We are also in the process of having "grocery bags" created with the same logos that will be larger and have a wider bottom. Please watch for those on sale soon.

These sales will help us raise some of the money we have lost from our missed fundraisers.