MONROE - For Katie Doyle-Baumann, life is about enjoying the little things. She believes there is beauty in each day if we look for it and she often finds it surrounding her.
She spent years doing a job that felt like the best in the world - surrounded by music and Monroe's youth, encouraging and seeing progress. Today, she's enjoying her new role as a grandmother, all while staying involved in the community she calls home.
She was born and raised in Monroe alongside her older brothers. The children were spread out in age, but all attended South School, following in her grandparents' footsteps.
Doyle-Baumann recalls swimming, playing at the park and just being outside on her bike with friends in town. She was also a Girl Scout until sixth grade.
Music was always part of her life. She has early memories of her mother playing piano and singing around the house while her father played trumpet. By the time she reached third grade, she began playing the piano after watching a cousin, and took lessons through high school.
She also has fond memories of Monroe High School. Doyle-Baumann was a big part of the band groups - marching band and jazz band, and much of her free time revolved around band friends and events. She also went out for track and worked at Bernie's Drive Inn, a place near her home where she proclaimed she would work since she was young. She enjoyed waiting tables and sometimes cooking - doing a little of everything for the two-booth, 15-stool restaurant.
"The people were wonderful," she recalled. "It was a great place to work."
The 1976 high school graduate had a plan to travel once she finished school, saying she hadn't really been anywhere and it intrigued her. But her father fell ill that summer and passed away. The event seemed to change her mind and her path, she recalled, and she instead went to University of Wisconsin-Madison with a friend for music.
After being there a short time, Doyle-Baumann said, she wasn't sure it was what she wanted in life. She transferred to Madison Business College to become a legal secretary. Back in Monroe, she worked for a few years, but eventually decided to complete her music degree.
Although she enjoyed her position as a secretary and had gotten away from music for a while, Doyle-Baumann said she simply needed something more.
"I felt like I was missing out," Doyle-Baumann said. "That wasn't truly what I was the best at."
She wanted to teach, be around children and also be involved in music. She finished school and landed her first teaching job in Kenosha, filling in for a leave of absence. She met her first husband there and they moved back to Monroe.
She continued to teach music in two parochial schools in Madison and enjoyed her time there. After a few years, she started a family and stayed home with her three children. She taught piano lessons out of her home for nine years before she stopped once her own children became more involved.
"It's still fun to see those students," she recalled.
Doyle-Baumann had a degree in general music. When she was asked to teach band lessons in Monroe, she went back to school to earn her band qualifications in 1994 and worked a few hours a week in the beginning. Her position began to evolve and in 2000, she came on full time, teaching general music and band at the expanded middle school.
"I always said I had the best job," she said. "It's such a joyful feeling and emotion, and it's so fun to see the kids."
In 2003-04 her band position was cut, but the chorus teacher was retiring, so Doyle-Baumann returned to school again for her choral degree. She said she feels fortunate she was able to stay within the Monroe district and continue the job she loved. She taught chorus at the middle school and spent two years teaching at the high school.
Without question, the middle school students were her favorite age to teach.
"They are so excited to do things," she said. "They haven't lost that youthful ability - they're very capable, and very fun."
Altogether, she taught for about 20 years and in 2013, she found herself ready for retirement. She had met her husband, John, and they were planning a wedding. It was a time for change in her life and she was getting more involved in the community as well.
She would miss her students and seeing them succeed.
"The excitement when they would sing or play something well - it unifies them," she said. "You just look at them and you can see it in their face. It's just a beautiful, beautiful moment to share."
She became involved with the Monroe Theatre Guild in 2008, when she turned 50. She said it was a time in her life when she was looking to get involved, and although she had directed several musicals, she had never been in one. She and her youngest daughter jumped into the cast of "Fiddler on the Roof" and she loved it.
"It was really fun," she recalled of the summer production. "The great cast and camaraderie hooked me. It was so nice to be involved, but not in charge."
By 2009, Doyle-Baumann began serving on the MTG board of directors, and spent four years as president. She's still on the board and loves the opportunities offered from community theater.
Doyle-Baumann has always seemed to incorporate music into her life in one way or another. She was the Presbyterian church's accompanist and sang in her church chorus. She always comes back to the piano - an instrument she still loves dearly. Although she doesn't perform much these days, she said accompanying people and playing on her own is still important.
"I just like to enjoy it for myself," she said, noting that she sometimes fits in time for the Monroe City Band, something she's been part of on and off over the years - dabbling in the trumpet and French horn.
She said it was John who got her involved with the Green County Humane Society and its fundraisers, and because she's always been an animal lover, she wanted to help. They have four dogs, and over the years have rescued several pets from the humane society as well as served as foster care for dogs. She serves on the Monroe Country Club Board as well.
She is currently enjoying life, and loves spending time with family. She enjoys seeing her children, Alex, Kerry and Liz. Her most exciting role yet is being a grandmother - to Kai, who is almost 1.
She and John enjoy traveling, to places like Palm Springs and Hawaii. They took a golfing trip to Ireland and Scotland recently.
When it's time to relax, Doyle-Baumann enjoys mystery novels, embroidery and being outside, whether to sit and enjoy or doing simple gardening and yardwork. She said she often has the door open to hear the wind, the birds or even passersby, to remind her how grateful she is in her life.
When Doyle-Baumann thinks of all she's done and learned through the years, she said she often hopes to follow the age-old saying: Seize the day. She no longer waits for a major event to be thankful or find beauty in the simple things life can bring.
"I think when we're young, we're always waiting for something big to happen," she said. "That can bring disappointment. If you just go with the day - each day there is always something good."
She spent years doing a job that felt like the best in the world - surrounded by music and Monroe's youth, encouraging and seeing progress. Today, she's enjoying her new role as a grandmother, all while staying involved in the community she calls home.
She was born and raised in Monroe alongside her older brothers. The children were spread out in age, but all attended South School, following in her grandparents' footsteps.
Doyle-Baumann recalls swimming, playing at the park and just being outside on her bike with friends in town. She was also a Girl Scout until sixth grade.
Music was always part of her life. She has early memories of her mother playing piano and singing around the house while her father played trumpet. By the time she reached third grade, she began playing the piano after watching a cousin, and took lessons through high school.
She also has fond memories of Monroe High School. Doyle-Baumann was a big part of the band groups - marching band and jazz band, and much of her free time revolved around band friends and events. She also went out for track and worked at Bernie's Drive Inn, a place near her home where she proclaimed she would work since she was young. She enjoyed waiting tables and sometimes cooking - doing a little of everything for the two-booth, 15-stool restaurant.
"The people were wonderful," she recalled. "It was a great place to work."
The 1976 high school graduate had a plan to travel once she finished school, saying she hadn't really been anywhere and it intrigued her. But her father fell ill that summer and passed away. The event seemed to change her mind and her path, she recalled, and she instead went to University of Wisconsin-Madison with a friend for music.
After being there a short time, Doyle-Baumann said, she wasn't sure it was what she wanted in life. She transferred to Madison Business College to become a legal secretary. Back in Monroe, she worked for a few years, but eventually decided to complete her music degree.
Although she enjoyed her position as a secretary and had gotten away from music for a while, Doyle-Baumann said she simply needed something more.
"I felt like I was missing out," Doyle-Baumann said. "That wasn't truly what I was the best at."
She wanted to teach, be around children and also be involved in music. She finished school and landed her first teaching job in Kenosha, filling in for a leave of absence. She met her first husband there and they moved back to Monroe.
She continued to teach music in two parochial schools in Madison and enjoyed her time there. After a few years, she started a family and stayed home with her three children. She taught piano lessons out of her home for nine years before she stopped once her own children became more involved.
"It's still fun to see those students," she recalled.
Doyle-Baumann had a degree in general music. When she was asked to teach band lessons in Monroe, she went back to school to earn her band qualifications in 1994 and worked a few hours a week in the beginning. Her position began to evolve and in 2000, she came on full time, teaching general music and band at the expanded middle school.
"I always said I had the best job," she said. "It's such a joyful feeling and emotion, and it's so fun to see the kids."
In 2003-04 her band position was cut, but the chorus teacher was retiring, so Doyle-Baumann returned to school again for her choral degree. She said she feels fortunate she was able to stay within the Monroe district and continue the job she loved. She taught chorus at the middle school and spent two years teaching at the high school.
Without question, the middle school students were her favorite age to teach.
"They are so excited to do things," she said. "They haven't lost that youthful ability - they're very capable, and very fun."
Altogether, she taught for about 20 years and in 2013, she found herself ready for retirement. She had met her husband, John, and they were planning a wedding. It was a time for change in her life and she was getting more involved in the community as well.
She would miss her students and seeing them succeed.
"The excitement when they would sing or play something well - it unifies them," she said. "You just look at them and you can see it in their face. It's just a beautiful, beautiful moment to share."
She became involved with the Monroe Theatre Guild in 2008, when she turned 50. She said it was a time in her life when she was looking to get involved, and although she had directed several musicals, she had never been in one. She and her youngest daughter jumped into the cast of "Fiddler on the Roof" and she loved it.
"It was really fun," she recalled of the summer production. "The great cast and camaraderie hooked me. It was so nice to be involved, but not in charge."
By 2009, Doyle-Baumann began serving on the MTG board of directors, and spent four years as president. She's still on the board and loves the opportunities offered from community theater.
Doyle-Baumann has always seemed to incorporate music into her life in one way or another. She was the Presbyterian church's accompanist and sang in her church chorus. She always comes back to the piano - an instrument she still loves dearly. Although she doesn't perform much these days, she said accompanying people and playing on her own is still important.
"I just like to enjoy it for myself," she said, noting that she sometimes fits in time for the Monroe City Band, something she's been part of on and off over the years - dabbling in the trumpet and French horn.
She said it was John who got her involved with the Green County Humane Society and its fundraisers, and because she's always been an animal lover, she wanted to help. They have four dogs, and over the years have rescued several pets from the humane society as well as served as foster care for dogs. She serves on the Monroe Country Club Board as well.
She is currently enjoying life, and loves spending time with family. She enjoys seeing her children, Alex, Kerry and Liz. Her most exciting role yet is being a grandmother - to Kai, who is almost 1.
She and John enjoy traveling, to places like Palm Springs and Hawaii. They took a golfing trip to Ireland and Scotland recently.
When it's time to relax, Doyle-Baumann enjoys mystery novels, embroidery and being outside, whether to sit and enjoy or doing simple gardening and yardwork. She said she often has the door open to hear the wind, the birds or even passersby, to remind her how grateful she is in her life.
When Doyle-Baumann thinks of all she's done and learned through the years, she said she often hopes to follow the age-old saying: Seize the day. She no longer waits for a major event to be thankful or find beauty in the simple things life can bring.
"I think when we're young, we're always waiting for something big to happen," she said. "That can bring disappointment. If you just go with the day - each day there is always something good."