One of the joys of writing this column is that people often come to my rescue if I need information. This is exactly what happened in this week’s column. When Marsha Biggs found out that I was having difficulty getting articles during the holiday season, she stepped up to the plate. Not only did she volunteer to participate, but she actually wrote her own story! So this week’s feature is in her own words….
Growing up in the early ‘70s meant a quite different high school experience than today. Girls were not offered machine shop or competitive sports, so we learned sewing, baking and homemaking skills in FHA (Future Homemakers of America) while boys took FFA (Future Farmers of America) and played basketball, football, and tennis. Looking back more than 50 years later, it’s remarkable how much has changed.
After graduation, I wasn’t ready for college, so I worked as a waitress and played casual pick-up softball games at Wakanda Park. I also played 4-H softball. In addition, I spent a summer giving tours at the Mabel Tainter and taught dog-training classes for 4-H members. A friend’s move to the Twin Cities inspired my own move, so I found work at the Humane Society in Golden Valley. However, I only lasted a year as the shelter was not a no-kill facility at that time. Therefore, it was too hard for me to know that pets were being euthanized.
I then moved on to work at an insurance agency where I met my future husband, Bill Biggs, an Eau Claire native attending college after completing his Army service. We married in 1978 and made Menomonie our home for the rest of our lives.
I worked a variety of jobs before joining the newly built 3M plant in Menomonie. Bill followed five years later, and we both built long careers there. Bill retired after 25 years, but my own path shifted when my CD ROM product line got sold and my position was eliminated after 16 years.
That change pushed me back to school, where I graduated summa cum laude from UW-Stout in 2000. During that time, I wrote the “Lifestyle” section for the Dunn County News and also volunteered at the Dunn County Humane Society.
In an unexpected twist, I was hired back by a 3M subsidiary based out of Maryland (3M HIS) in 2006. That job had me working remotely when I was not flying around the country installing medical software as an Implementation Consultant and later as a Project Manager. I stayed with 3M HIS for 18 years, continuing on after losing my husband in 2021, and finally retired at age 70 in December 2024.
Retirement has been full and meaningful. My husband and I cared for twelve dogs over the years, and my current companion is Choncho, an 8 year old German Shepherd. I also volunteer as a copywriter for Menomonie News Net, joined a (UW-Extension) Homemakers group, and discovered a new passion—writing lyrics and creating song videos. I post them on Facebook and Vimeo and have somehow gathered quite a following, which still surprises me. For anyone curious, my song videos can be found on my Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/showcase/11938626?fl=so&fe=fs
Menomonie has shaped so much of my life, and even after all these years, I still feel it’s the perfect hometown.
……Thanks, Marsha, for sharing your story. I really appreciate you volunteering to provide the first “MHS Grads” article of 2026!
Judy Foust is a retired longtime 7th Grade Reading Specialist at Menomonie Middle School. To submit info to her or to request an interview she may be contacted at [email protected]
