website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Grace Maas
profile of
Earl, Grace Maas
mark 70 years together
Feb 19, 2014
Earl and Grace Maas
celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary Feb. 12, 2014
Earl and the former
Grace Cushman were joined in marriage on Feb. 12, 1944, at St. Bernard's
Church. The bride and groom were
attended by Edith Maas and Al Maas.
Grace worked as
co-owner of The Yarn Shop in Watertown from 1961 until 1988. She is now retired.
After two years in
the U.S. Navy, Earl Maas worked at Maas Brothers Construction Co. Inc. for 44 years and retired as
president in 1990.
The couple have
three children, Tom (Kathy) Maas of Duluth, Minn., John (Chris) Maas of
Watertown and Bob (Paula) Maas
of New Smyrna Beach, FL.
They also have six
grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
The couple
celebrated their anniversary with family and friends at Norwoods
Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, FL
///////////////////////
Grace Maas walks
through life at 102
wdtimes.com Dec 1, 2021
Centenarian plus
Grace Maas of Watertown attributes her longevity to walking and one glass of
wine a day. Those two things, along with several quirks throughout her life,
have kept her healthy to surpass the age of 102.
Maas was born in
Watertown on Nov. 13, 1919, with a twin brother Tom, to Augustus T. and Alma Cushman.
Her father was 70
years old at the time of her birth. It was a second marriage for Augustus, who
was a widower. He had a son from his first marriage, Martin, who was 48 when
his half-sister and half-brother were born.
Her mother, who was
a widow from her first husband, was 39 years old when she gave birth to the
only children from the marriage.
Her father died in
1926, when she was 6 years old, and her mother died in 1932.
According to
Augustus Cushman’s obituary published in the Watertown Daily Times, he was a
pioneer of the city. His father was a gunsmith and had a reputation among the
Indians for repairing their guns. His mother was of Beecher descent and a
relative of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
Augustus Cushman was
the direct descendent of Tom Cushman. Tom and his son, Robert, organized the
Mayflower voyage, according to John Maas, Grace’s son. A family member did
lineage for school and discovered the two Cushmans
came to the United States in the 1600s, not on the Mayflower, but on a later
ship from England.
The Maas family
recently learned Grace had two birth dates. John said the family discovered his
mother’s birth certificate when they moved her to Marquardt Manor. The
certificate states Grace Maas and her twin brother Tom were born Nov. 7, 1919.
After all these
years, she continues to celebrate her birthday on Nov. 13.
Grace is a 1938
graduate of Watertown High School. Following graduation, she was the recreation
director in Watertown during the Depression. She was the summer playground
director worked under the government program, Public Works Administration for
four years. In the winter months, she worked with school children. “They were
happy years as far as I was concerned,” Grace said.
She had a variety of
jobs, including working in a factory assembling boxes, at a vocational school
in business training, at Carnation Company in Oconomowoc as a receptionist and
at the Watertown Employment Service.
In February of 1944,
during the middle of World War II, she married Earl Maas of Watertown. He was
naval officer at the time. They were married for 74 years. He died just before
his 98th birthday.
The couple, who
enjoyed fish fries in Pipersville on Friday nights, have three sons, Tom
(Kathy) of Duluth, Minn, John (Christine) of
Watertown, and Robert (Paula) of New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Grace has six
grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
When the boys were
all in school, Grace and a good friend started The Yarn Shop in downtown
Watertown. They operated the business for 27 years. She said she has lost count
of the number of sweaters she knit over years. She also did crochet and later
got into macrame.
Earl was president
of Maas Brothers Construction for many years.
“Longevity was not a
family thing,” Grace said. Her twin passed away in his 70s. “I lived a good,
healthy life,” she said.
But she did a lot of
walking in those 100 plus year, all around Watertown.
She continues to walk one to two miles a day on a treadmill at Marquardt Manor.
“I walked all over
town,” Grace said of her daily strolls. “I walked five plus miles a day for 25
to 30 years.
“I walked when I
felt like it,” Grace said about the timing of her walks. She walked every day,
no matter the weather conditions.
When Grace and Earl
first moved to Marquardt 27 years ago, Grace had a treadmill in her home and
walked three miles a day, John said. She wore out a treadmill and had to get a
replacement. Today, she takes her walker, for safety reasons, to the exercise
room where she continues to clock about mile a day. “I go down and work out
every day.”
She also does leg
and arm stretches and participates in workouts offered at the manor.
Grace said she has
been blessed with good health. “I have followed a good diet, and I am not sure
if that has anything to do with it (longevity),” she said.
She also looks forward to her afternoon glass of white wine.
https://www.wdtimes.com/lifestyles/seniors/article_3b72f57c-7b8f-538f-94af-b87562c526cc.html
History of Watertown, Wisconsin