Go ask Alice

Go ask Alice. About her gardening that is
By Sheryl Popp

Garden Tour 2011 spoiler alert: Next year, the gardens of Alice Iaquinta will be part of the Gardens of West Bend tour. But when I visited with her recently, the focus was really on what she had to say about herself and her yard. Generally speaking, people favor gardening interviews with me mostly in July or August. This year, many gardens are past their peak, although I haven't been anywhere that some vivid colors spots don't remain. So our chat in Alice's cozy backyard was most pleasant.

Alice made time for me on her last vacation day before returning to her teaching job at Moraine Park Technical College. There she teaches ethics, interpersonal communications and marriage and the family courses - a pretty full load. In 2006, Alice earned a masters of divinity degree from St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. After that, she was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest through a movement that is gaining momentum in the church, despite the Vatican's official position. Part of her course curriculum for the degree was in philosophy and ethics, so that is why she was asked by MPTC to teach the course. "It's really perfect for me," said Alice. "But it is gut wrenching to teach ethics in today's world. I need my sanctuary here." Her career does create time conflicts in spring and fall, but more on that later.

Alice moved into her Villa Park area home in December of 2000. There were five crab trees and a blue spruce in the back yard, and a maple and purple plum in front. Some tiered garden plots had been constructed in the front of the home, between the house and driveway. "The grass was nice," said Alice, "but it was my goal to reduce it." That winter was pretty blizzard-intense, Alice recalled, and she spent a good deal of time dreaming of how she would like her space to be someday, and drawing sketches. Alice has always gardened, and inherited her love of growing things from her Italian grandmother, Dominica. "She was a wonder with her gardens," said Alice, "but flowers were secondary to vegetables. I think she would relax in the evening by watering her flowers, especially phlox. So my phlox garden is sort of a tribute to her. She taught us how to suck the nectar out of phlox, and she had an enormous snowball bush. We would pick the flowers and have snowball fights with them. My grandmother would still spade by hand, in her house dress, when she was 78." The first summer in her new home, Alice was determined to carry out her plans, convinced a woman could handle the workload. She began rototilling the first flowerbed on July 4, 2001, and is currently putting the finishing touches on the last one.

There have been some obstacles, One summer, Alice became ill after a huge load of mulch was delivered. A man and his son from her church appeared on her door step and moved the load to the rear of the home, so she could place it when she recovered. "One funny story was about a lot of trees," said Alice. "I shopped at Trees for Less to buy two to three foot trees, because they have a root ball I could carry. I drag everything home in my convertible. When the truck delivered them, I had all the holes dug, but the trees were all six to eight feet tall! The driver said the owner of the place was making me a gift of the bigger trees for the same price. I asked the driver if he could place them next to the holes, and he said they didn't do that. But, when he learned I was moving them by myself, he did place them for me. So I enlarged the holes, and watching me kick, pull and push those big root balls into them must be been pretty funny. But I'm proud of myself for it." Then there was the time when it all just become too overwhelming for Alice. I had asked how she managed to keep everything so nice with her teaching schedule. "I have learned I have to ask for some help," answered Alice. "That was hard for me. That summer I was ill, I was thinking about giving up the house because I was so worried about the work. I ran into Mary Steiner and her friend Kristine Brundl, and told them that. They just looked at each in perfect agreement, and then they came to my house several times and cleaned up the yard. They were wonderful. They truly turned me around."

In the back yard, there is the phlox garden, and one on the property line that is more of a cottage garden. Looking in that direction, Alice enjoys seeing the taller flowers, shrubs and trees abut the skyline. She has one flowerbed devoted to antique Buck roses. These roses grow from the root up, and are not grafted. "I needed something that didn't need to be covered," said Alice. They bloom at various times, providing consistent color. The backyard has both gazebo seating to one side and a cozy patio to the other side. Alice places a great deal of value on enjoying each spot as it peaks: the early spring sea of yellow digitalis (foxglove), a cloud of purple flowers on her redbud tree, a circle of parrot tulips in a front bed. Flowering shrubs in the front yard provide six weeks worth of aromatic delight, a double mock orange, then ruby weigela, and lastly Jedi viburnum. Alice's favorites are whatever is currently blooming, although because of her schedule, she doesn't have fall blooming flowers. "My goal now that the last bed is in," said Alice, "is just to maintain. I feel like I've done everything I set out to do, and proved that a woman can do a lot on her own, although I must say the rocks I move have gotten smaller over the years. But I created the ambiance I wanted to, and I feel like that's part of living a full life. I love to entertain here now, and the gardens give me the opportunity to replenish, refuel and nourish myself. Also to pray. It's easy to meditate when you're pulling weeds."

Alice's tip. I hate dividing hostas, so I really thought this was a good idea. Alice buys her hostas at end of season sales, and immediately divides them into pieces. Then the plants can grow and fill into their spaces. It also saves her a wad o' cash.

Swing into spring at Nick's All Star Baseball Academy
by Sheryl Popp

Naturally, I know March Madness is just beginning, but baseball is the second sports world sign of spring. So it seems a good fit to profile Michael Nick's baseball academy now, even though the facility is open year round. I sat down with Michael and asked him to bring me up to speed.

Michael hails from Indiana originally, but moved to Silver Lake in West Bend when offered a job promotion in 1989. As he had always played and loved baseball, it was natural for him to foster that same passion in his son, Jonathan. They played together since Jonathan was little, and Michael took him to the academy (then owned by someone else), when he was eight. Four years ago, the academy's owner accepted a job out of town and was faced with closing the business. "I looked at the baseball academy as very beneficial to the community," said Michael. "So I offered to buy out his assets. It was kind of a hobby, and I thought both my children could work here in the summers." Before long, the hobby became expensive. Michael credits Vince and Janet Stockhausen with making it possible for Nick's All Star Baseball Academy to remain in the community. "This building (next to Stocky's Fast Track) was their old race track," explained Nick. "They made the space affordable and I have more room here - 5,000 square feet." The additional space has made it possible to grow the academy's offerings.

Actually, Michael had been widening the scope of the academy all along. "Originally," he said, "it was limited to private lessons and open hitting, and you had to be a member. I went out into the community looking for local talent like Wille and hired those people to teach specialty camps and clinics. I wanted this baseball academy to be different than any other." For other non-sports knowledge folk like me, "Wille," is Willie Mueller, a former Milwaukee Brewer pitcher. He played "The Duke" in the movie, Major League. Other trainers include local coaches, former Brewer Jim Gantner, and Mitch Knox, a West Bender who played for the University of Kentucky. Services at the academy include hitting lessons for baseball and softball, pitching lessons, hitting, fielding and pitching camps, catching, pitching and fielding clinics, girls' fast pitch lessons, men's slow pitch, weekly mini-camps throughout the winter months and more. One can still become a member and receive unlimited batting cage, soft-toss and pitchers mound usage. The facility's website, www.nicksallstarbaseball.com, lists all the various memberships and fees, plus scheduling. Camps and clinics are designed for various age groups, or to address a specific skill set.

"We film kids and analyze their form too," said Nick. "We place a great deal of emphasis on starting kids younger," he continued. "That's because most kids get hurt in sports because they don't know the basics. They didn't learn at a young enough age. Sports injuries are up like crazy. So, we introduce drills that you can't get in a big camp. We focus on quality and not quantity. Our camp size is about a dozen kids. That's about the biggest thing I've done since I bought the academy."

Specialty clinics help kids hone a skill that is rarely taught in a team environment. Not all are strictly physical. For example, an example of a mental issue might be a pitcher who runs into trouble whenever there are too many players on base. A physical example would be working on power hitting. That, said Michael, could literally be the difference between a double and a home run. Lest we forget, baseball has become an exact science. To succeed in this most competitive sport, players need to utilize every advantage. "Every kid dreams of becoming a pro," said Michael. "West Bend is really known for great baseball too. They've gone to State six out of the last seven years, and have done really well." Additional offerings and services that set Nick's apart include:

• a focus on younger girl's fundamentals and girl's fast pitch
• the indoor dirt pitching mound. It's completely regulation, with exact measurements. This is a huge advantage, said Michael, because a pitcher has to adjust his throw if using a simulated mound during the off season, and then back again. To the best of his knowledge, this is the only inside dirt mound in the state.
• a coach's key program. This allows local teams to have the facility to themselves for an hour and a half a week, year round. "This keeps kids' baseball muscles working," said Michael, "and it keeps the team cohesive, which builds continuity over the years. Also, it's just good general exercise during the winter."
• adult men's groups. Michael is developing less skill driven programs for men who would just like to practice. "I'd like to make it more of a social thing for them," he said. "I"m always looking for new ideas. For example, one of the kids who works here brought in the idea of agility and strength training. So we're offering a new clinic on that."

When Michael bought the academy, he looked at it as a community gathering place, but has learned it's a lot more than that. He employs six high school kids (including, as planned, his son Jonathan and daughter Jessica), and 12 local coaches. Other ex pros contact him because they have an interest in remaining active. He has also seen that the academy is ideally suited to promote a way for family members to connect, such as single parents and their children, or older siblings with their younger brothers and sisters. "The thing is," said Michael, "this remains a constant for them. Love of baseball doesn't change like musical taste."

Nick's All Star Baseball Academy isn't a money making venture. Michael is now self-employed, so he's able to handle the administrative end of things, and teach some of the clinics. It's open to anyone in the community and surrounding area, and fees are more than fair, considering class size and program advantages. If these costs are still too much for a family, inquire anyway. Something will be worked out. Nick's All-Star Baseball Academy is located at 6405 Stockhausen Lane in West Bend. The phone is 262-334-5093. Do go to the website above for a complete list of services, camps and clinics. Regular open hours at the facility are: Mon.-Thurs., 3:30-7:30pm, Fri., 3-6pm, Sat., 12-4pm and Sun., 12-3pm.


Michael told me he was a great cook. At first thought, you might not judge a cook by chocolate chip cookies. Take a closer look, these are indeed "special." "And," he added, "make sure to say they have to be put together in the order given or they don't work out."

Michael's "Very Famous" Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cream together:
1 cup of softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Next, add to the above:
1 Tbl. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat two eggs and add into the above. Then stir in:
1 cup dry crumpled corn flakes
3 cups oats
Set aside and in separate bowl, mix:
1 1/2 cups unsifted four
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mace
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. powdered cloves
Add to the above mixture. Finally, stir in:
4 oz. coconut flakes
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (Michael uses walnuts)
Drop cookies onto cookie sheet and bake at 350º for 10 minutes.
Note: To preserve softness, put into container with a piece of bread.