KRIS BAUMGART

When I considered doing my life story, my first reaction was, "Why would I do this?  I am only 42 years old. I probably have only lived about half my life. There is a whole world out there that I haven't gotten to know."  But, so be it.

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 11, 1954.  .My birth seems to have started a major trend.  I was born in the Piedmont Hospital, which has since closed. All three schools I attended were in Arlington Heights, Illinois - North Elementary, which has since closed; Minor Junior High, which has closed; and Arlington High School, which also has closed. Iowa State and Drake could be in trouble.

I have a few recollections and a few stories my parents have told me of my early years in Atlanta. It is surprising that I remember anything at all since I was under two-years-old when we moved.  My first actual memory is one of walking down the hallway of our home, coming toward my dad and I winked at him. I have no idea why I remember that. Maybe it was my first wink. Another vague memory relates to the scar on my lip. We were at someone's house and they had a small dog.  I was sitting on the couch when, as far as I remember, the dog suddenly bit me on the lip. I don’t remember doing anything to the dog, but who knows.

A story my parents tell me was that our next door neighbor, Mr. Cosby, just absolutely loved me.  One day he was using his hose to water plants outside. I apparently asked him if I could water them and he let me. According to my folks, I turned the hose on him and completely drenched the man. I guess my sense of humor developed early!

My mother tells me that they learned very quickly not to swear around me.  When I was still less than two-years-old, my folks bought their first car with an automatic transmission (no clutch).   One day, Mother was driving somewhere with me in the front seat.  She had to stop quickly and, her instinct being still with the manual transmission, she hit the brake like a clutch and I flew down under the dashboard.  She said I just looked up at her and said "x?!#!"

I remember the day we moved in about 1956.  We were in the car, starting down the street, when neighbors came running after us and gave me a teddy bear. It is somewhat remarkable that I even survived Atlanta.  When my parents got ready to move, they folded up the playpen, which had been on a screened in porch, and found a black widow spider under it.

We moved to Edina, which is a suburb of Minneapolis. My parents have told me that when we first arrived, I had such a deep southern drawl that no one in Minneapolis could understand me.  Being two-years-old, having been born in Atlanta, and influenced by a black nanny, probably all contributed to the situation.  At some point in grade school, I remember having to go to speech class to learn how to say "r"s.

We had moved to Edina in late spring or maybe early summer.  I had never experienced snow.  Early in September my folks went out and bought me snow pants and boots and I began wearing them then, waiting for snow.  My first "girlfriend" was in Edina.  Her name was Candy. About all I remember is that she pestered the daylights out of me and talked all the time! Her parents had a talking parrot.  One day the parrot somehow got outside and a cat was chasing it. That bird was flying just out in front of the cat actually saying "Help me! Help Me!"

I remember once being very upset at my dad.  The ice cream truck was coming down the street and I ran and asked him for money (I think it was a whole quarter), which he gave me.  He told me to be careful not to lose it.  I ran all the way to the ice cream truck with the quarter in my hand but discovered when I got there, the quarter was gone. I was in tears, but Dad would not give me another one.

Late in 1959, we moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois. We had a puppy which we could not take with us.  His name was George after George Washington since he was born on Washington’s Birthday. Arlington Heights is a suburb of Chicago and, basically, where I grew up.  When we moved there, we were on the very outskirts of the metropolitan area.  Two blocks beyond where we lived, it was country.

We had to stay in a hotel for about the first six months while our new house was being built.  There was a field behind the hotel. I was out there one day and stumbled across the biggest, ugliest spider I had ever seen in my life! I had a great fear of spiders, which my brother knew, and one time played a really dirty trick when he was baby sitting me. He was 9 years older than I
and I adored him, although I would think that feeling would have been somewhat tainted by this particular occasion.  He hung me in a closet by my belt loop, closed the door and told me spiders were going to get me. To this day, I do not like spiders.

I remember one time when I tried to run away from home.  I was mad at my mom for some reason, so I told her I was going to run away.  She said, "O.K. I'll pack your bags for you" and began pulling a suitcase out of the closet.  I couldn't believe she was actually doing that!  I sure changed my mind quickly once I figured out my threat was not going to work.

There were many kids in our neighborhood and we had a great time growing up.  For me, as a child, summers seemed to last forever.  We would play ball all morning and then spend all of every afternoon at the swimming pool, harassing the life guards by doing "illegal" things off the diving boards.

For awhile I had bug collection-butterflies and others.  Except for spiders, I can thank my brother for my love of bugs. Remember that he was almost ten years older than I and, at one time, he had a bug collection. The key word here is that he had a bug collection. I ate it!  I honestly did! In fact, I must have had quite an appetite for bugs.  One time I was at a restaurant with my mom and, while we were waiting for my dad, Mom ordered a grasshopper.  I thought that sounded interesting so I ordered one too.  (I didn't get it!)

I remember once spying on my brother.  He and his girlfriend were in the basement necking on the couch.  I was at the top of the stairs peeking down. I lost my balance and fell all the way down.

I think I was a fairly typical boy. I had all sorts of different critters growing up.  At one time or another I had pet dogs, snakes, chameleons, frogs, alligators and hamsters. No, I didn't mix the alligator and hamster.

Our parents were strict.  They created a wonderful means of disciplining, a ''New Boy Department."  Any time I misbehaved or was bad, they threatened to call that department and have me replaced.  I didn't catch on until I was about 16!  But at one time I called their bluff. I said, "O.K., do it."  My father walked to the phone and dialed. Boy was I nervous!  When he saw that I wasn't going to back down, he gave up.  I haven't tried it with our children. In this day it might be called abuse.

For the most part I really was a pretty good kid- one threat of the New Boy Department would set me straight.  The strange thing is that somehow, in some way, my parents always knew what was happening.  For instance, there was a time when I was thinking about asking a girl to go steady.  I can still remember her name - Jill Fetters.  I hadn't told anybody but one day my mom asked if I’d asked Jill to go steady yet. My folks were always doing things like that and when I questioned them about how they knew, they always said "a little birdie told me."  I'd like to have found that birdie!

In 1965, we had a terrible snow storm.  Lake Michigan produces weather known as the "Lake Effect."  Essentially, when storms come in from the west, they hit the lake and get pushed back over the area.  A major snow storm came in and continually got pushed back overnight.  We received 36" of snow during that night! I remember walking up snow drifts right onto the roof­ tops of houses.  Coming from Minnesota, we had chains for the tires and were the only ones in the neighborhood who could get around for a couple of days.

Looking back on my child- and young adulthood - it was all good.  Our parents taught us a strong sense of honesty and ethics. Because of them, those are things I pride myself for having.  I also had a desire to do the right thing because I knew what my parents wanted and I didn't want to disappoint them.  I was and still am the type of person who wants to do the right thing because I came to know that there is a price to pay if you don't.  There were several instances that taught me that early in life:

In the fifth grade, a friend and I went around the neighborhood and stole outside Christmas lights. We did this because they made a "cool" pop when we threw them in the street. A bigger kid caught us and made us promise to quit and go home, threatening that if he caught us doing it again, he'd turn us in. We promised went about two blocks away and stole some more lights.  He must have followed us because he caught us again and took us to his house. His parents talked to us and got our names. Well, we decided to go home and when I turned the corner to our street, there was a police car in our driveway! I had to replace all the lights I stole, apologize to the owners and couldn't sit for a week!

Another time, a friend and I decided to egg a house.  My first attempt was my last.  I took some eggs from our refrigerator and hid them in our yard under a bush that was covered with snow.  Later that night, we picked up the eggs and were walking to the house we were going to egg.  I accidently dropped one on the sidewalk. It was frozen solid and broke in half like a rock! I hate to think what would have happened if we had thrown them at windows!

High school was an awkward time.  I worked, played hockey and studied.  Girls didn't interest me too much.  When they did, I had my usual run of good luck.  My first date, it turned out, was with a Mormon.  Boy, did we have fun.  The second girl I asked out told me that her brother had just died of leukemia (at least I believed her until just now as I am telling this). The high school I attended was large.  There were more than 670 in my class in the usual groups - the jocks, the "heads" or druggies and we could identify who they were.  I really didn't fit in anywhere. Some considered me a jock because I played hockey, but I never was, really.

When I was a sophomore, I went to work for a veterinarian and decided that was what I wanted to pursue in college. That was also my introduction into the field of medicine. I lovedworking at the clinic. I essentially helped with everything from office work to assisting in surgery. A friend of mine worked there with me and we had a great time and lots of fun. In the summers we would be in quite early to clean kennels and at least weekly we would have a monstrous water fight.  We would then have to clean it all up before the docs came in.  We got caught once but didn't get in any trouble.  However, working with animals leads to interesting situations.

One day we were prepping a small dog for surgery.  This dog was real mean and fast. Dean had him sort of muzzled and I was in front attempting to get hold of his front legs to tie them down.  Somehow, the dog lunged forward, slipped the muzzle and bit me on the stomach.  I pulled my shirt up expecting to see blood and a big hole.  All that was there was a large, red, oval ring of tooth marks.  I was so mad! I knew if I hit the dog I'd kill it so I kicked Dean in the rear end instead!  One day one of the vets hit me once in the jaw.  We were working on a nasty Afghan hound.  I was holding it with my arm wrapped around its neck and my other hand over its muzzle.  It was jerking and tough to hold. The doc got mad and went to hit the dog, but the dog moved and he smacked me.

Although the University of Illinois had a good veterinary program, I chose the veterinary medicine program at Iowa State University. I enrolled in 1973. Overall, I would say that was the best experience of my life. I was finally on my own.  I didn't go home every weekend.  I didn't know anybody so I was compelled to make new acquaintances and friends.  That, in turn, got me away from high school cliques. I suppose there could be some comparison between my experience and that of my parents' generation of young people going away during World War ll.

College was a truly enjoyable experience.  I made many friends, drank a little beer (not much, honestly!) and had a good time. I lived in Helser Hall, Mortensen House.  I had been rushed by several fraternities but decided they really offered no advantage to dorm life. While I didn't drink much beer, I had friends who did and we played some nasty tricks on them.  The best was getting a guy named Randy to go off to class at 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday.

After I had gone through preliminary courses, and intended to register for a pre-vet education, I decided I didn't want to be a vet.  I realized that I needed to re-evaluate.  That was in spite of the fact that, whenever I went home during breaks, I continued to work for the small animal vet that I had worked for since I was a sophomore in high school .

During my course of studies, I had taken one computer science course, which I had thoroughly enjoyed.  I thought I'd like to go into that field. I looked into the requirements but, as it turned out, with the exception of the one computer science course, none of the courses I'd taken during my first two years would apply toward that degree.  That took care of that.  I would have wasted two years, and I wasn't about to do that.  I checked into other possibilities and stumbled onto medical technology.

I decided to change my major and work toward a degree in that field. That is what I did. It required that, for the last 12 months, schooling would be in Des Moines, in conjunction with Drake University and the Iowa Methodist Medical Center.  I lived in an apartment with a roommate, Craig, who was from Ames and who is still my good friend.

He and I stumbled onto a unique way to study. Medical technology is a difficult major and we both took our studying seriously. However, we accidently discovered that, rather than studying and cramming at the last minute for a test, we did better if we spent the night drinking beer and watching TV.  I suppose that relaxed us.  We went into the test not uptight and nervous, and he and I were always one and two in our class of 12.

One night before an exam, we pulled a prank that could have had us arrested and thrown in jail. A girl named Laurie was one of the 12 in our class. She lived in an apartment about a mile from us.  Craig and I decided to go see her, and, as I look back on it, I know it was a stupid thing to do.  We had a paper bag, knocked on her door, and, when she opened it, we blew in and threw the bag over her head.  We didn't realize how badly we would scare her. She screamed bloody murder and we pulled the bag off as quickly as we could and said, "Laurie!  It's us! It's us!"  Why the police didn't come, I'll never know; but, believe me, we never did anything like that again.

While I was living with Craig, I also blew up a fish tank.  Each of us had one, and one of my fish was eating the other fish. I finally thought I figured out which one it was.  One night, after many long hours of studying (by our new-found method, I think), we decided to do some­thing about that fish. I taped a firecracker to a stick and lit the fuse.  When the fuse was almost to the firecracker, I shoved it down next to the suspected killer fish. There was a muffled pop and the entire end of the fish tank blew out, drenching both of us.  All the fish, including the killer fish survived and we threw them in Craig's tank.

I graduated in '78 and went to work for the IMMC (Iowa Methodist Medical Center) as a medical technologist.  I started out working in the emergency room lab. I spent about six months there and then went to hematology in the main lab.  There was a nurse working in the ER who, in my young, inexperienced eyes, I thought must be a real battle axe.  She reminded me of Nurse Cratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoos' Nest. One day, the ER was extremely busy.  I was absolutely swamped with work, running behind and getting very frustrated. This nurse brought more stuff for me to do STAT. About a minute later she popped in and crisply asked if I had the results yet. I didn't.  She was obviously angry. She turned to walk away and I had had it! Behind her back, I made a gesture I hadn't intended for her to see; but, for some reason, she turned around just as I did it. She didn't say a word. She just walked away and I figured I was dead meat.  She never did or said anything about it and we became great friends.

Medical technology is a wonderful career in which to receive some very good medical training.  A technologist could go on from there into a variety of related fields. As time went on, I came to find out that at a large medical center, everything is very specialized. Working there, I really wasn't getting much use of my training, education or thought processes.  Essentially the work required sitting in front of a machine, pushing buttons and waiting for results.  That was my job after almost five years of college.  I expected more from my education and experience, so, at that point in time, I began evaluating what I wanted to do.

I considered going back to med school with the goal of becoming a physician, or, as an alternative, getting my masters in business administration.  I talked with some of the physicians that I had come to know.  I saw some of the same ones, who began their days at 5:30a.m., working on until 6:00 p.m.  I decided that wasn't the family life I wanted, so I decided to get my
MBA (masters in business administration).

I worked full-time and went to night school.  By the time all was said and done, having picked up the prerequisite courses and completing the additional ones, it took about four years. The interesting part of the experience was that, at the time I was doing it, I didn't realize how difficult it was.  When I was done and felt the big burden drop off my shoulders, I looked back and thought, "Wow! Working full time and going to school at night - that was hard!"

The unfortunate aspect of it was the timing. I received my degree at a point when the value of MBA's went downhill. Lots of kids, who had spent four years working on their masters, did so directly out college. They graduated demanding six-figure salaries without having had any real world experience. By the time I received my degree, the business world had finally figured out these folks weren’t cutting it, so my expectations of getting a high powered job went down the tubes.

I continued with IMMC and worked my way up through the ranks.  I had started as a medical technologist.  I was put into a staff management position after receiving my MBA Later I went on to become Systems' Manager, which position carried with it responsibility for computer systems.  It was kind of a track record since each time I moved up, I really had no experience in what I would be doing.

In 1989, I got a new boss and sensed things weren't real good between us.  My first evaluation with her went well on paper, but afterward I asked "What is your opinion of me?" Her response, which still surprises me, was "I think you are domineering, power-hungry and egotistical." At that point, I figured things weren't going to work out.  One or the other of us would go and it wouldn’t be her.  So, again, I began evaluating to figure out what I wanted to do.

In December of '89 I had a job offer from a software company, HBO & Co., whose product was related to health care.  One of my former bosses had been a mentor to me so I went to talk to her.  I told her the situation with my boss, the job offer, and asked what she thought about it all. Her main comment was, "Well, we have been contacted by a hospital in southern Iowa. They have fired the administrator and want us to send someone to run it until they can get things straightened out."  I asked, "What do I know about running a hospital?" to which she replied, "Look at all the roles you have had.  Was there anything that you went into that you knew anything about?"  A week later I decided I'd try it.

Things began happening immediately. The CFO (chief finance officer) quit the day before I arrived.  Within an hour of first arriving there, 12 people from the community came with a petition to have the state come in and do an audit.  Welcome to the real world of hospital administration.

I spent six months helping straighten out the entire situation.  This included recruiting a CEO (chief executive officer) for them, and about the time I finished there, Clarke County Hospital's administrator, Tim Weyers, was leaving.  Again, IMMC asked if I'd like to go to fill in as administrator at Clarke. Again the agreement was with the understanding that it was an interim position.  If I liked it and the Board liked me, I'd have the option to stay or recruit somebody else. I came in '90 and stayed.                                                                                                         ·

I had two main reasons for staying: I knew the staff was very good and the town itself was a factor.  Remember that I came from a big town, an urban area, to Iowa.  I found Iowans to be warm, friendly, and open.  People are helpful, down to earth, truly genuine and caring. It was the people that kept me in Iowa as opposed to going back to Chicago.

What kept me in Osceola is that it is a nice town with a small town atmosphere. People here pretty much know everyone. While they exhibit all the qualities I noticed in Iowans generally, in a small community there is an opportunity to practice it more. Everyone watches out for each other. Additionally, Osceola is progressive. It is not like some small rural towns that are dying. It is a living, breathing, vibrant community with a lot to offer; and still close enough to Des Moines that we can go up there for Cubs games, a symphony or whatever.

Who would I say I am at this point in time? I consider that being in the position I am in now has happened by combination of hard work and good luck. At one point I'd probably have said it was due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But being CEO of a small rural hospital is extremely challenging. Health care is changing rapidly. We are confronted every day with the need to stay abreast of all that is happening.  The major renovations in the facility are a part of that.

I am certainly no miracle worker.  What has been accomplished has been achieved by a whole team of people.  Being CEO allows me to have vision and to communicate that vision, but I've been fortunate to have people work with me who see it, understand it, and make it reality.  I take very little credit for what’s been done.  To me the most rewarding aspect of a management position is that it allows one the opportunity to work with people and help them achieve their fullest potentials. That is how I define a manager's role.  I see myself having a responsibility to mentor, to coach, to teach, and to bring people along.  I could probably walk out of the position today and discover that my successor is already here.

What is most important to me is not that we have made money or look good on a bottom line, but that we have helped people develop their potential.  It is so rewarding to see people grow in their skills and abilities. My favorite book is the Seven Habits of Effective Leadership by Stephen Covey.   As far as my goals are concerned, they have changed over time.  There was a point where I wanted to be CEO of a major teaching hospital.  Now, I am quite happy doing what I am doing and want to be remembered for what I have done for people and the community in which I live.  Those are lasting.  Jobs or positions held mean nothing in the long run.

That is my work.  Regarding my family, Sandy and I met at Iowa State University when she was a freshman and I a sophomore. She had grown up in Cedar Rapids and was working toward a degree in elementary education.  I like to say that, essentially, I chased her until she caught me.  She made me go on our first date.  She had stolen a hat and wouldn't give it back unless I took her to a movie. We dated the whole time we were in college and I proposed to her about the last day of school at the end of my senior year.  It took her a month to answer, and we had to wait for her to finish college.

We were married July 15, 1978.  Our honeymoon was unusual.  We had reserved a room for a week, in a hotel in the Ozarks. We were married on a Saturday, spent that night in Burlington, got up Sunday morning and headed for the Ozarks.  Our first shock was to discover that the hotel in which we had reserved a room was hit by a tornado the night before.  The room was gone.  We were newlyweds with no room.  Not only that, we essentially had no credit cards. It was the height of the tourist season.  We called place after place.  They were either full or, since we didn't have a credit card that would apply, they wouldn’t accept a personal check as payment. As a last resort, we called the plushest hotel down there, the Tantarra, and relayed our situation to them.  They asked about a credit card and we said, "None other than Amoco."  They said, "Come on", and we went!

As it turned out, they gave us their most expensive room at their cheapest rate.  We stayed out our week and the day before we were to leave, my car died.  We had a bottle of French champagne that my brother had given us and we hadn't drunk it. So the hotel's maintenance man and I drank French champagne and fixed the car.

One thing marriage to Sandy has taught me is to be sly. She had a tendency to lock herself out.  One time she locked herself out when she had come from the grocery store and had a container of ice cream melting all over the table.  So, whenever she'd lock herself out, I would let her hear no end of it.  One day in the middle of a very cold winter, I came home before she did, went in and then let the dog out in the backyard.  I went with her and suddenly realized I had locked myself out.  I did what any good husband would do.  I played with the dog and continued to play with the dog until Sandy came home and unlocked the door to go in. It was a long, long time before I told her.

Erin was born in March, 1985.  I fell head-over-heels in love with that kid. With her being the first born, I learned a lot from her. I learned so much, in fact, that I'm surprised we had a second child. She was colicky - screamed and cried all night long. I called the hospital to see if we could take her back. But with the help of family we got through it.

One of the funniest recollections I have is of being in an Earl May store when Erin was about two.  Clear at the back of the store they had a glassed-in area with various birds in it.  As we were walking back that way, a very nice, elderly, grandmotherly-type lady was making eyes over Erin saying what a nice young girl she was.  Just then Erin spotted the birds. Being accustomed to her daddy going hunting, Erin yelled in her loudest voice, and continued to yell, "Daddy, look at the birds. Kill the birds, Daddy."

Another memorable time was when Bambi was released.  Erin was about four at that time. The scene came when Bambi's mother didn't return and, in fact, had been killed by hunters.  At that time the entire theater was silent and some small child in the front row, in a shaking, trembling voice, asked rather loudly, "Where's Bambi's mother?"  At which time Erin stood up
and probably announced to everyone in that theater, "Bambi's mother is dead."

Erin and I had become great friends when Curt came along in '87.  He was immediately diagnosed with VSD (ventricular septal defect).  The pediatric cardiologist said it was the worst one he had ever heard.  The decision was that we would wait six months then re-evaluate; but at that point in time he would probably need surgery.  Now, one of the ills of being in health care is that you know everything that can go wrong, all of even the most remote possibilities. The six months came and went.  Kurt was checked and the VSD had resolved itsel£1 It was then I discovered that, unbeknownst to me, I had totally ignored him for six months, afraid to get attached because I fully expected him to die.

Now, in 1997, Erin will be going into 7th grade.  Curt will go into 5th.  Sandy does some substitute teaching and meets the demands of the rest of the family's full schedule.  We are like many parents, fully involved in kids' activities. Erin is in 4-H, soft-ball and plays the flute in band. Curt is in Little League, baseball, soccer, football, basketball and this year started playing hockey. I coached their team. The kids like to go hunting with me for pheasants or deer. I also enjoy golf

I have many memories of the rest of my life.  They just haven't happened yet!  The ending is unwritten and it will be interesting to finish this story in the future.  I am sure that many people will be involved.

Return to main page for Recipes for Living 1997 by Fern Underwood

Last Revised May 7, 2012