FarmHouse - Washington State University

FarmHouse Almanac p . 2 A s a fih-generation farmer, Karl Felgenhauer '60 spent 41 years running his family's Spokane County farm. roughout the years, he had the chance to serve on the Col- lege of Agriculture and Home Economics alumni advisory board, be part of the Washington Wheat Commission, and was a member of Class 1 of the Washington Ag Forestry Lead- ership program, but a true highlight has been watching his daughter and grandsons continue the family succession of the family farm. "Spending three weeks touring Asia in 1980 as a member of the Ag Forestry's Class 1 made a huge impact on what I give back to my community and industry," Karl said. Since his retirement 12 years ago, Karl has had numerous opportunities to give back, including the chance to spearhead several local projects such as converting Grange Hall into the Fairfield Community Center. However, Karl's largest project emerged in 2009 when the Evangelical Good Samari- tan Society abandoned their skilled nursing center and he helped form the nonprofit corporation, Fairfield Care, to provide jobs, senior housing, and healthcare to citizens in the area. Karl attributes his confidence to work toward his goals to his undergraduate years in FarmHouse. During his time as chap- ter president, the chapter was in the midst of building the cur- rent chapter house, a facility that could hold 48 brothers com- pared to the 15-man house they were in before. "Increasing the capacity threefold took a toll on our scholarship rating on the campus. Observing the dedication of the faculty advisors to help make it all happen made a huge impact on me," Karl said. "I found that learning to live and work within the frater- nity system paid dividends later in life." In the fall of 1961, during his senior year at Washington State, Karl married his wife, Ione, and lived next door to the chapter house. Now that Karl has more free time, he has started reconnecting with FarmHouse and hopes to pass onto younger brothers what his mentors had passed onto him. Karl and Ione have three grown daughters and live in Spokane, Wash. He can be reached at kifelgen@gmail.com. Across Generations Karl Felgenhauer '60 Strives to Give Back I t's hard for Al Steiner '71 to put a finger on why exactly he joined FarmHouse other than Washington State Chapter felt like a glove that fit just right. "I was impressed with the caliber of the men in the house during recruitment and with their focus on scholarship and studies," he said. "I felt comfortable. Like we had sim- ilar goals and things just felt right." Leaving home to attend Washington State University, Al found a support group within FarmHouse and broth- ers that could help him during a major life transition. "We were all growing socially and maturing while going from high school academics to what is expected in college," he said. "It was good to have a fraternity focused on scholarship and that had a real program that could help all of its members be as successful as possible. FarmHouse provided a great foundation, sup- port group, friendships, and goals for me at a time when I le the security of my family and home and was ready to go off to college and forge my own path in life." Aside from support academically, FarmHouse also provided Al oppor- tunities for spiritual growth through attending church services with brothers and he learned how to better communicate with men of various backgrounds. Growing up on a dairy farm, he had brothers with similar agricultural backgrounds, but also brothers who were far different and not agriculturally based. "We learned how to accept and listen to a diversity of ideas and opinions and it was a great learning experience on how to be open and respectful of all opinions and thoughts," Al said. "I remember some real interesting discussion and debates on all issues at the fraternity, but we withstood all those diverse opinions and stayed strong in our goals that we had for the chapter." Naturally, all the men in FarmHouse at the time had a direct impact on Al's undergraduate experience; however, he also remembers significant alum- ni involvement from Orville Vogel, Nebraska '29, Lloyd Slusser '61, and others and the level of expectation alumni had for each new pledge class. "You got the feeling that some key alumni of the fraternity were interested in who was in the chapter," he said. "You were being looked at for your character and there was a certain level of expectation for what it meant to be a FarmHouse guy." Character remains an important aspect of Al's life today, and he reminds himself every once in a while that nothing can go wrong by following the golden rule. "I think that simple concept in the long run is a good thing to be reminded of," he said. "You can't go wrong by always treating others as you would want to be treated yourself." Al met his wife, Linda, at a FarmHouse farmer's daughter contest that she was a contestant in. e couple has two sons, one daughter, and three grandchildren. Al was a high school agriculture teacher for six years out of college and has worked for the Northwest Dairy Association, also known as Darigold, for the last 36 years, until his retirement in October. Aside from work, Al enjoys church activities, spending time with family, gardening, and traveling when he has the time. He can be reached at aldcoug@fidalgo. net or al.steiner@darigold.com. THE PERFECT FIT Al Steiner '71 Reflects on His FarmHouse Experience Al Steiner '71 and his family decked out in Cougar gear in 1988 celebrating Washington State's football team earning a trip to the Holiday Bowl.

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