MONROE - As boys, twins Dave and Don Birschbach grew up in Monroe close to the St. Clare Center, where their father Edwin worked as an engineer even during the building's construction, and for decades they would watch him leave their home around 6 a.m., returning in late evenings.
"He was married to his job," Don said. "Our mother would feed him breakfast and then he'd have his lunch over there. I think he'd take his supper there, too."
It was that dedication which led to the renaming of the hospital's power plant building. In 1972, the same year Edwin retired from overseeing the engineering department at St. Clare Hospital, he was given a plaque. Hung on the wall of the building by then hospital president J. Douglas Richie, the metal shone with gratitude for his 46 years of service with the organization.
It wasn't necessarily easy to find, Don said. He and Dave both said they knew roughly where the metal proclamation honoring their father's decades of work was, but they had to turn a few corners to track it down on the side of the building.
"If you knew where to look, there was no question you were going to find it," Don said. "I wondered what was going to happen with it."
When Don read about the change in ownership from the Congregation of St. Agnes to SSM Health, he said he wanted to make sure the memorial was not lost in the transition.
A resident of Janesville, Don decided he and his wife, Carol, should contact Monroe Clinic to ask if they could relocate the plaque to his parents' tombstone in Calvary Cemetery. Dave made the trip down from Beaver Dam to see the steel plate again and recall the time he and his brother used to sneak into the construction site during the 1950s addition at the St. Clare Center. Seeing the current construction reminded them of those days.
"We wandered around the building like we were part of it, you might say," Don said. "If we were younger, we'd be sneaking around."
Dave said the boys would come over to the hospital "for pow-wows" when they were younger and spent much time at their father's workplace.
Because Edwin had been classmates with a few of the Sisters of St. Agnes in Fond du Lac, he was already acquainted with some of the sisters who worked at St. Clare Hospital. Don said his father would frequently drive the sisters to Freeport so they could take trains farther south to schools in Kansas, a task Dave took up sometimes as well.
Don noted his father "always had an ear to the ground" for methods to improve the engineering department. Eventually, Edwin found liquefied petroleum was more efficient than burning coal, the first method used in the building's power plant, and improved the facility. Still, he was not above tending to a broken toilet or repairing a broken elevator.
Monroe Clinic President and CEO Mike Sanders told the brothers he still hears their father's name spoken in conversations throughout the business.
Both Don and Dave grew up in Monroe but moved away after graduating from St. Victor High School in 1954. They both make visits back now and again, especially Don, whose wife has family farther west. Dave and his wife, Donna, usually make a trip south for class reunions.
Now 82, they realized the importance of ensuring their parents' memories are preserved. They explained during a presentation of the plaque Tuesday in Founder's Hall of Monroe Clinic that Edwin and their mother, LaVerne, were unlikely life partners. They told Sanders and Steve Borowski, director of facilities and operations effectiveness, that the sisters did not necessarily approve of a surgical nurse courting a blue-collar laborer.
But the two married in 1935 before moving to Monroe to spend decades together in the 2000 block of 5th Street. Edwin died in August 1985 at St. Clare Hospital.
Borowski said he was glad to hear Don had contacted the organization because Monroe Clinic representatives knew they would have to try to track down the people behind similar plaques and remembrances on the older buildings within the next year.
Don and Dave said they hope to put the plaque on the back of the tombstone, but not immediately - the weather needs to warm up first. Then they can ensure the memory will never be lost.
"We think this is the appropriate place for it," Don said. "Where else would you put it?"
"He was married to his job," Don said. "Our mother would feed him breakfast and then he'd have his lunch over there. I think he'd take his supper there, too."
It was that dedication which led to the renaming of the hospital's power plant building. In 1972, the same year Edwin retired from overseeing the engineering department at St. Clare Hospital, he was given a plaque. Hung on the wall of the building by then hospital president J. Douglas Richie, the metal shone with gratitude for his 46 years of service with the organization.
It wasn't necessarily easy to find, Don said. He and Dave both said they knew roughly where the metal proclamation honoring their father's decades of work was, but they had to turn a few corners to track it down on the side of the building.
"If you knew where to look, there was no question you were going to find it," Don said. "I wondered what was going to happen with it."
When Don read about the change in ownership from the Congregation of St. Agnes to SSM Health, he said he wanted to make sure the memorial was not lost in the transition.
A resident of Janesville, Don decided he and his wife, Carol, should contact Monroe Clinic to ask if they could relocate the plaque to his parents' tombstone in Calvary Cemetery. Dave made the trip down from Beaver Dam to see the steel plate again and recall the time he and his brother used to sneak into the construction site during the 1950s addition at the St. Clare Center. Seeing the current construction reminded them of those days.
"We wandered around the building like we were part of it, you might say," Don said. "If we were younger, we'd be sneaking around."
Dave said the boys would come over to the hospital "for pow-wows" when they were younger and spent much time at their father's workplace.
Because Edwin had been classmates with a few of the Sisters of St. Agnes in Fond du Lac, he was already acquainted with some of the sisters who worked at St. Clare Hospital. Don said his father would frequently drive the sisters to Freeport so they could take trains farther south to schools in Kansas, a task Dave took up sometimes as well.
Don noted his father "always had an ear to the ground" for methods to improve the engineering department. Eventually, Edwin found liquefied petroleum was more efficient than burning coal, the first method used in the building's power plant, and improved the facility. Still, he was not above tending to a broken toilet or repairing a broken elevator.
Monroe Clinic President and CEO Mike Sanders told the brothers he still hears their father's name spoken in conversations throughout the business.
Both Don and Dave grew up in Monroe but moved away after graduating from St. Victor High School in 1954. They both make visits back now and again, especially Don, whose wife has family farther west. Dave and his wife, Donna, usually make a trip south for class reunions.
Now 82, they realized the importance of ensuring their parents' memories are preserved. They explained during a presentation of the plaque Tuesday in Founder's Hall of Monroe Clinic that Edwin and their mother, LaVerne, were unlikely life partners. They told Sanders and Steve Borowski, director of facilities and operations effectiveness, that the sisters did not necessarily approve of a surgical nurse courting a blue-collar laborer.
But the two married in 1935 before moving to Monroe to spend decades together in the 2000 block of 5th Street. Edwin died in August 1985 at St. Clare Hospital.
Borowski said he was glad to hear Don had contacted the organization because Monroe Clinic representatives knew they would have to try to track down the people behind similar plaques and remembrances on the older buildings within the next year.
Don and Dave said they hope to put the plaque on the back of the tombstone, but not immediately - the weather needs to warm up first. Then they can ensure the memory will never be lost.
"We think this is the appropriate place for it," Don said. "Where else would you put it?"