Sally Mundt &

Carolyn Schloemer

Sally Mundt and Carolyn Schloemer supported Old World Wisconsin through Old World Foundation for over 30 years. Their commitment to the mission of Old World Wisconsin has been unwavering, and we are deeply grateful for this support.

Sally and Carolyn met as new hires at Watertown High School in 1955. The two new teachers—Sally teaching Spanish and Carolyn Business, formed a lifelong partnership, that took them to all corners of the world.

Sally died in 2023 and has left a legacy to a number of non-profits in Wisconsin—including Old World Foundation. “We were at opening day of Old World Wisconsin in 1976. It was quite an event,” recalls Carolyn Schloemer. Over the past 50 years, the pair would visit the site several times a year, enjoying holiday dinners and outdoor productions. With German and Norwegian ancestry—Sally always enjoyed those two sites. Both had a special fondness for the Pleasant Ridge area and the story of integration told there.

History was a big part of their lives, and they enjoyed learning about different cultures and the history of foreign countries. For years, the two traveled extensively visiting Europe many times, along with Russia, China, India, Cuba, Vietnam, Israel, and South America. Sally and Carolyn enjoyed walks wherever they visited. Summers at their cottage in northern Wisconsin found them walking in the woods near Minocqua or canoeing on the waters near Hazelhurst. In later years, the two enjoyed history shows on television, and filled their days with reading, quilting and embroidery work. Carolyn says it was a quiet life.

As an only child, Sally inherited money from her father—a successful businessman and investor. Carolyn said Sally never paid much attention to the financial statements she received and would have been shocked to know how large her estate was when she died.

Old World Foundation

Annual Meeting &

End-Of-Year Celebration

On September 18th, Old World Foundation held their Annual Meeting and End of Year Celebration at Old World Wisconsin. 

This gathering was an opportunity for us to thank our Friends – the individuals, grant funders, and corporate partners who allow us to fulfill our mission of support for OWW through their gifts. Representatives from several of our corporate partners were in attendance including Milwaukee Tool - Mukwonago, Associated Bank, Citizens Bank, Thelen Total Construction, and Moertl, Wilkins, and Campbell, S.C. 

Milwaukee Tool - Mukwonago and Associated Bank were recognized for both their sponsorship support and their volunteer support. 

In addition, Milwaukee Tool has provided in-kind support for several years through their donation of various tools. We received a pleasant surprise when Milwaukee Tool presented us with a symbolic check for an additional $4,000! These funds will be used to purchase an additional golf cart for Old World Wisconsin. Thank You, Milwaukee Tool - Mukwonago!

Old World Foundation is actively looking for ways to form mutually beneficial partnerships with area companies.

For more information on our Corporate Partner Programs, visit our website:

https://oldworldfoundation.org/other-partners.html

Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories-

A trip to the Field Museum in Chicago

In August, Old World Foundation accompanied two of our Friends and a representative from the Field Museum in Chicago to a program at Old World Wisconsin highlighting the work of Eliza Skenandore, an Oneida artist and cultural advocate. Eliza’s presentation offered guests an opportunity to engage with Indigenous perspectives and the story of the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. After the program, the OWW team was invited to the Field Museum to tour and learn about their new exhibit, Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories.

This was a wonderful opportunity for the team at OWW to learn how the Field Museum created this exhibit in collaboration with Native American and Indigenous people. From the Field Museum website:  

In Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, we invite you to connect with diverse Native stories and the individuals who share them. Dive deeply into current issues, like threats to Native land and the rights of tribal nations to govern themselves. Celebrate the thriving, modern cultures of today’s Native communities.

In addition, the team had the opportunity to visit the “behind the scenes” area of the education department and discuss the many opportunities offered by the Field Museum for hands-on exploration through school and community programs. Our thanks to the team at the Field Museum for hosting our group.

The Blacksmith Shop

As you know, Old World Wisconsin showcases 65+ historic structures that were relocated to the site from cities and towns across Wisconsin. This month, we are highlighting The Blacksmith Shop. 

Our thanks to Highlights Media who created the video, Alan Pape, one of the original construction supervisors at OWW and of course, Milwaukee Tool - Mukwonago for sponsoring The Blacksmith Experience at OWW.

Protecting the Land

This month we want to share this short video that discusses how the State of Wisconsin protected the land as they worked to create Old World Wisconsin.

Meet Betsy Gasper, OWW's new General Manager of Guest Services

Greetings from Ramsey Barn at Old World Wisconsin! 

My name is Betsy Gasper, and I joined OWW as the General Manager of Guest Services this July, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this amazing team! My role includes overseeing all of our Box Office duties, Museum Store, Food and Beverage and Historic Brewing areas of OWW. 

I come to OWW with a varied background experience in many areas that I believe will assist our site in all aspects of guest services.  I attended UW-Whitewater and studied public relations. My job experience includes: public relations/marketing for a non-profit, executive director for a chamber of commerce, volunteer & program coordinator for a local history museum, manager for a spa & salon, and working in volunteer leadership roles for various community organizations.

Outside of work, I love to travel and I am an avid sports fan! My husband Greg and I live in Fort Atkinson. We have 3 girls – Claire (who lives in Oklahoma), Mallory (who is attending Cedarville University in Ohio), and Julia (who is a senior in high school). And we have an adorable dog, named Smudge.

I am looking forward to helping create an amazing experience for all of our guests at Old World. I am so excited for our new Welcome Center, which will open next spring, and all of the new opportunities we will have to interact with our guests! From streamlining the ticketing and welcome experience, to expanding our store – I can’t wait to welcome everyone for our 50^th year of Old World Wisconsin!

Overview of the Previous Few Months...

The past few months have been especially busy for Old World Foundation. We ended our fiscal year on June 30, hosted our Friends Appreciation Day in July, hosted our Sunset Soiree at the end of August, and celebrated the end of the year with our Friends at our Annual Meeting on September 18. 

We are thankful for the individuals, grant-making organizations and corporations who partner with us to support Old World Wisconsin. With your support, we gave Old World Wisconsin $140,711.28 for various projects and programs in our last fiscal year, based on their requests for funds. As you can see on the graph, events and programming, followed by the animal program, received the greatest percentage of funding.

Please enjoy our Year in Review Slideshow created by Becky of Graphix Dezine, LLC

At our Annual Meeting and End of Year Celebration, we said goodbye to four trustees who are stepping down from our board: Kris Koeffler (unable to attend), Jennifer Johnson (unable to attend), Jennifer Motszko, and Jean Theis.

Pictured left to right:

Jennifer Motszko, Gwen Griffin, Jean Theis, Rosanne McGuire & Ron Buchholz

Rosanne McGuire is stepping down from her role as Chair and she passed the gavel to Ron Buchholz. 

We are thrilled to welcome Colleen Scholl as a new trustee, and we will introduce you to Colleen next month.

Rosanne McGuire was also presented with the

R. Barrington Peacock Award for Outstanding Service. R. Barrington Peacock founded the Friends of Old World Wisconsin (now Old World Foundation) in 1984. The award goes to a volunteer who has given extraordinary service through the Foundation, for over five years. 

Gwen Griffin

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Robin Oldenburg

BOOKKEEPER, EXEC. ASST.

Charity Meets Strategy:

ESTATE PLANNING THAT

MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Setting Up a Charitable Trust:

A charitable trust, such as a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT), allows donors to commit assets for charitable purposes while retaining certain benefits in the donor’s lifetime. Under a CRT, a donor or other beneficiaries, can receive income for a set period of time, and then when a trigger event happens, the remainder goes to the desired charity. 

Setting up a CRT like this offers a reduction in estate taxes for the passing donor but preserves the capital utility of CRT assets during their lifetime. 

We encourage you to speak with your financial planner or estate planning attorney to discuss your specific situation.

Visit our Planned Giving Page: 

https://oldworldfoundation.org/planned-giving.html