Karen Crouse and Maureen Huff have been volunteering with us since the 2005 Wooden Boat Festival, and three years ago they got promoted to year-round, weekly volunteer work stuffing envelopes, scanning documents, sending RV reservation reminders, and washing glasses for Bar Harbor. Since their contracts as public-school educators for their combined 72 years of service always ended with the words “and other duties as assigned”, they say this variation fits wonderfully.
Growing up in a small town in Arizona, Karen attended college in Texas and graduated with a degree in health, physical education, and recreation. She retired after 42 years in public schools helping children with special needs. When not at the NWMC, Karen’s time includes dancing, yoga, gardening, and working in her shop or in the yard. The highlights of her bucket list: summit Mt. Kilimanjaro at 70 years old, and then do two half-marathons in Victoria at 72 and 73!
Maureen grew up on Cape Cod and was fortunate to have learned to sail at an early age in the family’s bathtub-shaped/can’t-be-capsized/14’ Bigelow Kitten. She is proud of her 1965 Girl’s Sailing Champion trophy from the local ‘yacht club.’ After working as a teacher’s aide for two years, Maureen packed up her ’73 VW Bug and headed west to Houston where for 28 years she served as a school teacher and administrator. In 2005, she packed up her ‘03 VW Bug and headed west for the third, last, and best half of her life. (If Car Talk can have three halves to their show, Maureen decided she can have three halves to her life.) When unleashed from her duties at the NWMC, Maureen quilts, volunteers with third graders at Grant Street Elementary, and sips through movies at The Rose.
Together for 20 years, Karen and Maureen now call Port Townsend their home. They volunteer at the NWMC for fun and brain enhancement while creating a little mayhem in the administrative area almost every Tuesday. Fortunately, mayhem is appreciated by the people here.
Maureen and Karen say, “Come and enjoy the fun! The pay is great.”