Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, May 19, 2007
‘Retired’ carpenter, teacher volunteers to help build Hmong cultural center
 Ken Wing poses out front of the Hmong memorial center on Ward Ave . Ken has volunteered at the enter when remodeling started . Dick Riniker photo |
It’s easy to spot Ken Wing at the construction site for the Hmong Community and Cultural Center: The 69-year old is the only one wearing a Green Bay Packers hard hat.
“They’re trying to get a hold of this so they can paint it purple,” Wing joked about some of the workers.
Wing’s a popular character at the site. “The hardest working retired man I’ve ever seen,” said Josh Horeck of Fowler & Hammer General Contractors. “He’s here 10 to 20 minutes before I am.”
“For a 70-year old man, he’s carrying two-by-sixes around,” said an awed carpenter and former student of Wing’s, Chris Schollmeier.
“I let these young bucks take care of the heavier stuff,” assured Wing, who had open-heart surgery two years ago.
Wing, who lives in La Crosse, doesn’t mind getting to work at 5:45 a.m. He doesn’t mind working 40 hours a week, though he retired three years ago. And he doesn’t mind not getting paid.
But the laid-back carpenter is strict about one thing: his lunch break. It’s 15 minutes, tops.
“I’ve been a hard worker all my life,” Wing said. “I like working outside, building things.” Helping build the center “seemed like the right thing to do,” said Wing, who wants to keep busy more than anything else.
“(Wing’s) a gem,” said Dick Swantz, co-chairman of the fundraising committee for the Hmong center. “He’s a very giving man, I’ll tell you that. I really didn’t expect him to give the time he has given.”
Originally, Wing’s job was to coordinate and oversee volunteers, Swantz said. He did much more. “I think he’s sort of hooked on this thing,” Swantz said.
Wing grew up on the North Side of La Crosse, and he lives in the house he was born in. “In those days, doctors made house calls,” he said.
After graduating from Aquinas High School in 1955, Wing started an apprenticeship as a carpenter. For 15 years, he built businesses and houses in the Coulee Region.
Then he began teaching at Western Technical College in La Crosse. He didn’t stop for 33 years.
Students liked him because he wasn’t too rigid, Wing said.
“He’s a very peaceful kind of guy,” Swantz agreed. “He doesn’t get worked up about anything, which is really nice.”
Wing has worked on the Hmong building since January, often working alongside former students. “There will be a guy who shows up here whose a carpenter — former student, guaranteed,” said Horeck, the fellow construction worker.
Though Wing loves working, he’s looking forward to finishing the project. So is his wife, he said. “My wife will feel good because I can do something around the house.”
What will he do to celebrate when it’s over? “Sit down and rest.”
Wing, By the Numbers
0: Wing’s pay for helping build the Hmong Community and Cultural Center.
4: Heart bypasses. Two years ago, Wing had open-heart surgery. Heart disease runs in his family.
6: Children. Two work in construction like their dad.
15: Years he worked as a carpenter in the Coulee Region
22: Grandkids, who he spoils rotten, Wing said.
33: Years he taught carpentry at Western Technical College in La Crosse. Wing still teaches night school there once a week.
40: Hours that Wing, who retired three years ago, spends building the center each week.
69: His age.
5:45: Time he arrives at the building site each morning.
1,000: Estimated number of students Wing has taught throughout his career.
Hmong center moves toward completion
The Hmong Community and Cultural Center is about 70 percent built, said Dick Swantz, co-chairman of the fundraising committee.
The Center, located at Ward Avenue and Mormon Coulee Road, will help educate the public about Hmong culture and provide a space for Hmong memorial services. Construction on the building started in October, and builders expected to be finished in May. “We’ve adjusted a few times now,” Swantz said. You have to be flexible when you’re dealing with volunteers and donated materials, he said.
Builders now expect an end date of late June or early July. Swantz said fall is more realistic. “If I’m wrong, that would be wonderful,” he said.
Jenny Dolan can be reached at (608) 791-8220 or jdolan@lacrossetribune.com.
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