Helen Kallies is the president of the St. Martin of Tours Council of Catholic Women at St. Martin Church in Cecil, where she is a lifetime, third-generation member.
Kallies was born in Newald, north of Laona. Her parents moved to Cecil when she was a baby. She graduated from Shawano High School and started work at Fort Howard in Green Bay. Kallies then went to work in Milwaukee at the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. She came back to Cecil and ran the Cecil Diner, then worked at Shawano National Bank and the Wisconsin Finance home office. Kallies then worked and retired from the University of Wisconsin-Extension as a 4-H paraprofessional. She is also a 25-year cancer survivor.
She is still a 4-H leader and chairs the 4-H Expo, which is public speaking, demonstrations, storytelling and illustrated talks. For 40 years, she has been a certified judge for Wisconsin county fairs.
Kallies and her husband, Maynard, were married for 47 years before his death in 2007. They have a son and daughter-in-law, Lawrence and Ann.
Kallies lives on the south shore of Shawano Lake and enjoys polka dancing, collecting antiques and reading.
Q What do you do as president?
A “We had to change our meetings from day to four meetings in the evening to accommodate the working ladies of the parish. There was a reorganization meeting in January 2014 at The Main Event. Our next event was in May. Body Essentials showed us how to accessorize with scarves. September was a style show where we had over 100 people. In November is the bake and craft sale. At Christmas we had an event at The Main Event. We have evening meetings January, May, September and December. The other months we have 9 a.m. meetings. We have 15 new members. What we‘re doing is appealing to them.”
Q What do you do for the church?
A “To show ladies we are active, we furnish items for the church proper and the altar. The tabernacle was refurbished. In memory of Maynard we redid the speaker system. We gave out laminated prayer cards and did a new Advent wreath. We bought artificial Christmas trees. We have a sewing group that sews clothes for other countries and makes lap blankets for anointing of the sick on that Sunday.”
Q Why do you volunteer?
A “My grandmother and mother were very active in the church. I feel that being involved is fun and you meet a lot of nice people. It’s incorporating group decision making and promoting leadership.”
Q How are you preparing for the World Day of Prayer?
A “We are co-hosting with St. John’s United Church of Christ. It’s a fellowship time. This year, it was written by ladies from the Bahamas. We will have food from the tropics.”
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