Military spouse lived in seven states

Freund

By Erik Buchinger

For the first time in years, Katherine Freund and her family can go about their daily lives without the thought of moving.

Katherine is a few months into her new job as the youth services librarian at the Clintonville Public Library.

“It’s nice,” Katherine said. “No more moving, and we can finally set down roots somewhere.”

Katherine is married to Steven Freund, who has been in the military for 20 years.

“As a military spouse, we have had to move quite frequently,” Katherine said. “Before this, I was a school librarian, and then a prison librarian in upstate New York.”

Over the years, Steven and Katherine, along with their two children, lived in Alaska, Colorado, Alabama, Virginia, New York and California.

Steven will retire from his position as a Black Hawk pilot next month and return to Neenah where the Freund family lives.

“I feel like I have a lot more investment in the things I’m doing because I get to see and evaluation a process throughout the year,” Katherine said. “I generally don’t see the impact or the longevity, so it’s nice to have that kind of opportunity here.”
Katherine is a few months into her job. She took over for Diane Raschke, who retired.

Clintonville Public Library.
Bert Lehman file photo

“When I first came in and visited, it really felt like home here, which I think is important when you’re in a small community,” Katherine said. “I really like small town libraries. You get a lot more interaction, and you get to know the patrons a lot better.”

Katherine’s role is to order materials and plan programs for the kids and teens department. She also leads the summer reading program.

Katherine said she really loves her new job and enjoys reading to children at St. Martin and St. Rose/St. Mary schools.

“We’re starting to get a lot more teens coming in, which is great,” Freund said.

Freund said her goal is to continue to increase the teen programs and do more outreach for the schools.

“I like getting involved with the teachers and supplementing their material and increasing their access to information,” Freund said. “Teachers hardly have time for anything, and I would like to provide that for them. I want to do creative things for students in the library and make it an inviting place.”