MONROE - She can probably be found gardening in the summer and sewing in the winter - but those are just small drops in a big bucket of involvement for Monroe's Kris Winkler. She has cultivated a lifetime of caretaking in many forms and it's her nurturing nature that has led her down her life's path.
Winkler was born to Eugene and Mabel Meier and raised on a farm just south of Monroe with her three siblings. She attended a rural country school for four years and still has fond memories of it. In the middle of her fifth-grade year, all of the country schools were closed and Winkler went to Monroe after winter break.
When she was 15, her mother became ill with kidney disease, and she was expected to help on the farm and with the family. She said in some ways, those tough times defined how she spent her life - but it also taught her some strong life lessons about standing by family and responsibility.
She stayed active with chorus at school and spent her summers in 4-H doing projects, with her parents as leaders, and Future Homemakers of America (FHA). She always sang in her St. John's UCC church choir as well.
For the most part, Winkler's days and evenings were spent working. Her mother needed dialysis every other day in Madison, and it was Winkler's job to collect, clean, pack and sell eggs from more than 100 chickens, along with other responsibilities both on the farm and inside the home.
"I have a few chickens now and my dad would just laugh and laugh at that," Winkler said.
She graduated from Monroe High School in 1974 and that summer, her mother received a kidney transplant. It was mostly experimental at that time and she would have long hospital stays and struggled with anti-rejection medications before the transplant eventually failed and she went back to dialysis.
"In a lot of ways, we raised ourselves," Winkler said. The year following graduation, she married her husband, Kevin, and began working as a waitress and helped out at a local greenhouse. She still helped her mother and family out, too. She and Kevin found pride in their home, a refurbished cheese factory - it was all they could afford at the time, and they lived there 18 years before building their home.
In 1978, Winkler's oldest daughter, Kari, was born; Winkler's mother died two days later.
"It toughens you up," Winkler said of her mother's six years of illness. "You need lots of strength."
She intended to stay home with her daughter, and it wasn't long before a friend asked if she could care for her son. Although it wasn't an anticipated career, other friends and neighbors began calling, and Winkler spent three decades as a home daycare provider. Over the years, she has cared for more than 80 children.
"I enjoyed the kids and getting to know the different families and parents," Winkler said. "They really appreciated me."
Winkler still feels a strong connection to many of the families, and it also brought her to be involved in the community. She often would get the children involved in Monroe Park and Rec activities, swimming and they frequented the library.
"The kids will tell you they remember the cave of wonders," Winkler said of them enjoying being outside at her country home. "But it's just a bunch of rocks."
Once her first grandson was born, Winkler decided she wanted to be around more for him and it was time to stop doing childcare. But she isn't one to sit still, and while at church, someone asked if she could help clean their home. Many people knew how she had cared for her mother, and that evolved into Winkler cleaning homes for several people for the past 10 years.
She said her hardworking and involved parents are the reason she's still finding ways to lend a hand wherever she can.
"At the end of the day, you want to feel the sense of accomplishment and like you made a difference in someone's life," Winkler said. "Many people still remember my mom and they say I'm a lot like her."
All four of her grandparents were from Switzerland, immigrating here before the 1920s, and they all spoke Swiss among themselves. Although she picked up phrases here and there, Winkler regrets never learning it fully. She recalls fond memories of spending the night with her grandparents and walking downtown to Bernet's store to get a piece of Swiss chocolate. To this day, when the family gets together they make it a point to have a few Swiss dishes on the table.
"There's no greater compliment than someone saying "that tastes just like grandma's,'" said Winkler, who enjoys cooking.
Over the years, Winkler has been very involved with 4-H and still serves as a leader. She welcomes 4-H and school groups out to her 180-acre land to teach them about animals, plants and gardening. She does a lot of preserving and canning and loves to share her bounty with church friends. Her comfort with children and love for the land is a perfect combination for students to come out, see, touch, smell and learn about life in the country.
"We're just supposed to do that," Winkler said of why she welcomes so many.
She was also a Sunday school teacher, a past Girl Scout leader and is still active in HCE, participating in a program called Bookworm, where she reads to students and they take home books. She has been very active in helping at the Green County Fair over several years, is very involved with the University of Wisconsin-Extension and has been a master gardener for more than 13 years, to which she volunteers more than 100 hours annually. She also assists with the Monroe Arts Center silent auction.
She said the many treasures in Monroe are what keeps her so busy.
"I don't think I'll ever get bored," she said. "There's just so much you can do."
Once her youngest daughter graduated from high school, Winkler decided it was time to do a few more things.
Her Swiss roots have brought her to be a part of the Swiss Singers since 2000, and she said she loves feeling connected to her heritage. Her husband joined the group as well. Around that time, she also began volunteering for Turner Hall and still helps at events there about once a month.
In 2007, Winkler and Lynn Lokken learned about barn quilts in other areas and brought the idea to the UW-Extension and Green County Tourism, asking if they could start the barn quilt project here. They have spent countless hours meeting with people, traveling, sharing and painting around 150 barn quilts that now punctuate Green County. The two have led bus tours, made appearances in commercials and have been interviewed and written about in several publications. It's been a whirlwind neither of them expected, and Winkler often gets a thrill from receiving a phone call or an email from someone who wants to set up something similar in their area.
"It's been so fun. To have a conversation with someone who shares in the enthusiasm of a barn quilt is so special," Winkler said.
The duo also works together to give presentations on antique aprons and antique bed quilts. It's most rewarding when, often in nursing homes, the presentation will jog the memory of someone's past or family that they may not have remembered otherwise.
Winkler is a crafty person who enjoys quilting and is a member of the Courthaus Quilters. She makes things for silent auctions often and for her grandchildren.
She also enjoys crocheting and knitting and loves to make mittens from recycled wool. Her curious nature is always up for something new.
"I like to try a lot of different things," Winkler said. "That doesn't mean that I'm great at any of them."
Kevin is involved with the Wetlands Preservation, and they raise pheasants and enjoy perpetuating nature. The couple's passion for nature has been a wonderful bond.
She and Kevin enjoy traveling and have taken a Mediterranean cruise, a trip to Switzerland with the Swiss Singers and most recently California, to name a few. They also enjoy camping and being outdoors at home.
Winkler especially enjoys time with her daughters and their families, including her three grandchildren. She almost always has a book going and has recently started enjoying more activities with the senior center.
Mostly, she loves the area and the seasons that always come and go without fail. Each day - before Winkler passes through her front door to head out into her garden or to tend to her animals - she walks by her favorite quote that keeps a dear place in her heart.
"Life isn't measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."
Winkler was born to Eugene and Mabel Meier and raised on a farm just south of Monroe with her three siblings. She attended a rural country school for four years and still has fond memories of it. In the middle of her fifth-grade year, all of the country schools were closed and Winkler went to Monroe after winter break.
When she was 15, her mother became ill with kidney disease, and she was expected to help on the farm and with the family. She said in some ways, those tough times defined how she spent her life - but it also taught her some strong life lessons about standing by family and responsibility.
She stayed active with chorus at school and spent her summers in 4-H doing projects, with her parents as leaders, and Future Homemakers of America (FHA). She always sang in her St. John's UCC church choir as well.
For the most part, Winkler's days and evenings were spent working. Her mother needed dialysis every other day in Madison, and it was Winkler's job to collect, clean, pack and sell eggs from more than 100 chickens, along with other responsibilities both on the farm and inside the home.
"I have a few chickens now and my dad would just laugh and laugh at that," Winkler said.
She graduated from Monroe High School in 1974 and that summer, her mother received a kidney transplant. It was mostly experimental at that time and she would have long hospital stays and struggled with anti-rejection medications before the transplant eventually failed and she went back to dialysis.
"In a lot of ways, we raised ourselves," Winkler said. The year following graduation, she married her husband, Kevin, and began working as a waitress and helped out at a local greenhouse. She still helped her mother and family out, too. She and Kevin found pride in their home, a refurbished cheese factory - it was all they could afford at the time, and they lived there 18 years before building their home.
In 1978, Winkler's oldest daughter, Kari, was born; Winkler's mother died two days later.
"It toughens you up," Winkler said of her mother's six years of illness. "You need lots of strength."
She intended to stay home with her daughter, and it wasn't long before a friend asked if she could care for her son. Although it wasn't an anticipated career, other friends and neighbors began calling, and Winkler spent three decades as a home daycare provider. Over the years, she has cared for more than 80 children.
"I enjoyed the kids and getting to know the different families and parents," Winkler said. "They really appreciated me."
Winkler still feels a strong connection to many of the families, and it also brought her to be involved in the community. She often would get the children involved in Monroe Park and Rec activities, swimming and they frequented the library.
"The kids will tell you they remember the cave of wonders," Winkler said of them enjoying being outside at her country home. "But it's just a bunch of rocks."
Once her first grandson was born, Winkler decided she wanted to be around more for him and it was time to stop doing childcare. But she isn't one to sit still, and while at church, someone asked if she could help clean their home. Many people knew how she had cared for her mother, and that evolved into Winkler cleaning homes for several people for the past 10 years.
She said her hardworking and involved parents are the reason she's still finding ways to lend a hand wherever she can.
"At the end of the day, you want to feel the sense of accomplishment and like you made a difference in someone's life," Winkler said. "Many people still remember my mom and they say I'm a lot like her."
All four of her grandparents were from Switzerland, immigrating here before the 1920s, and they all spoke Swiss among themselves. Although she picked up phrases here and there, Winkler regrets never learning it fully. She recalls fond memories of spending the night with her grandparents and walking downtown to Bernet's store to get a piece of Swiss chocolate. To this day, when the family gets together they make it a point to have a few Swiss dishes on the table.
"There's no greater compliment than someone saying "that tastes just like grandma's,'" said Winkler, who enjoys cooking.
Over the years, Winkler has been very involved with 4-H and still serves as a leader. She welcomes 4-H and school groups out to her 180-acre land to teach them about animals, plants and gardening. She does a lot of preserving and canning and loves to share her bounty with church friends. Her comfort with children and love for the land is a perfect combination for students to come out, see, touch, smell and learn about life in the country.
"We're just supposed to do that," Winkler said of why she welcomes so many.
She was also a Sunday school teacher, a past Girl Scout leader and is still active in HCE, participating in a program called Bookworm, where she reads to students and they take home books. She has been very active in helping at the Green County Fair over several years, is very involved with the University of Wisconsin-Extension and has been a master gardener for more than 13 years, to which she volunteers more than 100 hours annually. She also assists with the Monroe Arts Center silent auction.
She said the many treasures in Monroe are what keeps her so busy.
"I don't think I'll ever get bored," she said. "There's just so much you can do."
Once her youngest daughter graduated from high school, Winkler decided it was time to do a few more things.
Her Swiss roots have brought her to be a part of the Swiss Singers since 2000, and she said she loves feeling connected to her heritage. Her husband joined the group as well. Around that time, she also began volunteering for Turner Hall and still helps at events there about once a month.
In 2007, Winkler and Lynn Lokken learned about barn quilts in other areas and brought the idea to the UW-Extension and Green County Tourism, asking if they could start the barn quilt project here. They have spent countless hours meeting with people, traveling, sharing and painting around 150 barn quilts that now punctuate Green County. The two have led bus tours, made appearances in commercials and have been interviewed and written about in several publications. It's been a whirlwind neither of them expected, and Winkler often gets a thrill from receiving a phone call or an email from someone who wants to set up something similar in their area.
"It's been so fun. To have a conversation with someone who shares in the enthusiasm of a barn quilt is so special," Winkler said.
The duo also works together to give presentations on antique aprons and antique bed quilts. It's most rewarding when, often in nursing homes, the presentation will jog the memory of someone's past or family that they may not have remembered otherwise.
Winkler is a crafty person who enjoys quilting and is a member of the Courthaus Quilters. She makes things for silent auctions often and for her grandchildren.
She also enjoys crocheting and knitting and loves to make mittens from recycled wool. Her curious nature is always up for something new.
"I like to try a lot of different things," Winkler said. "That doesn't mean that I'm great at any of them."
Kevin is involved with the Wetlands Preservation, and they raise pheasants and enjoy perpetuating nature. The couple's passion for nature has been a wonderful bond.
She and Kevin enjoy traveling and have taken a Mediterranean cruise, a trip to Switzerland with the Swiss Singers and most recently California, to name a few. They also enjoy camping and being outdoors at home.
Winkler especially enjoys time with her daughters and their families, including her three grandchildren. She almost always has a book going and has recently started enjoying more activities with the senior center.
Mostly, she loves the area and the seasons that always come and go without fail. Each day - before Winkler passes through her front door to head out into her garden or to tend to her animals - she walks by her favorite quote that keeps a dear place in her heart.
"Life isn't measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."