Dr. Harold Laatsch was born in a log house on a farm near Caroline on May 28, 100 years ago. The retired Clintonville dentist credits his longevity to taking good care of himself by eating right and staying in shape.
Some of his earliest exercise came by way of picking stones as a boy on the farm. He also recalls walking 6 miles to attend Marion High School.
“I didn’t mind walking because you were not alone,” Laatsch said. “There was always a half dozen others walking, too.”
After graduating from high school as co-valedictorian, he attend Oshkosh Teachers College for a year. He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, graduating with a degree in pharmacy in 1937 — the same year he married Ruby Bowers, whom he met in high school but really got to know while attending UW.
Laatsch worked part time as a fill-in pharmacist in several locations, but decided he wanted to become a doctor. He applied at the Marquette University School of Medicine in Milwaukee, but was told there was no space in the program. The dental program, however, was still open, and he quickly applied. He remembers the tuition and fees for a year totaled about $100.
Soon, the U.S. entered World War II. When he graduated from Marquette, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Dental Corps. He was first sent to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, for six months of training. He was then assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and later to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis.
After the war, he spent a few months as base commander at Camp Atterbury, which was a “separation station” for GIs being discharged and demobilized. He was promoted to the rank of captain and discharged in October 1946.
“I thought I should open my office around Caroline, but Rex Michalis, a civic leader, said, no, I should open it up right here in Clintonville,” said Laatsch, who retired in 1995. “I guess it was good advice. It was good to me as I was here over 45 years. God was good to me.”
Laatsch said he enjoyed playing softball and going fishing as a child, and later became an avid golf player. You would not find a dentist in his office on a Thursday in Clintonville, he said, because that was golf day. His partners were Richard Everson, Gordy Poole and Chub Johnson.
“I was a lucky player. I got a few trophies,” Laatsch said. “I guess I don’t dust them as much as I should, but that’s OK anyway. … I had a hole-in-one once.”
Laatsch and his wife, who passed away 10 years ago, were active members of St. Martin Lutheran Church. He had 45 years of perfect attendance in the Rotary Club, is a past commander of American Legion Post 63 and was one of the veterans on the first Old Glory Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., in 2009.
“I carried the American flag in the Memorial Day parade in Clintonville for many years,” he said. “That was such a thrill!”
Laatsch learned to play the concertina in high school and also took up the violin. For many years he played monthly at the Green Tree Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. Now a resident of Aster Retirement Community, he keeps his concertina nearby. He plays for residents’ birthdays, including his own when friends and relatives gathered recently for a celebration.
He has four children — Randy, Ginny, Pamela and Richard — and one granddaughter.
