Basler Electric to hold open house

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Basler Electric Com. will host an open house at its Highland facility on Saturday, Oct. 7. The general public is invited to attend guided tours of the factory and office from 1 to 4 p.m., and light refreshments will be served. The facility is located at 12570 Illinois Route 143.

Basler Electric, a privately held corporation with worldwide headquarters in Highland, was founded in 1942 by Carl Basler. With Carl’s passing in 1984, his son, William L. Basler, assumed control of the company as chairman of the board and CEO. The company remains family-owned, and Bill’s three sons, Matt, Greg, and Chris, are involved in the day-to-day operations.

Basler manufactures an extensive line of control and protection products. Its equipment can be found in nearly every utility in the United States. Transformers are produced for the HVAC industry. If a home or office contains a furnace or an air conditioner, a Basler transformer is probably in it. Basler produces voltage regulators and excitation systems for generators — from home standby systems to emergency backup power systems at hospitals or data processing centers to large scale power generation, like Hoover Dam.

Basler has supplied regulation systems for military applications, like ground power systems for aircraft support, nuclear submarines, and nuclear aircraft carriers.

Basler Plastics produces injection molded parts for a variety of products, such as medical training aids, gunstocks, components for consumer goods like hair dryers, bullet pullers, and coin covers. Basler also owns a turnkey engineering company that designs, plans, and installs complete system upgrades for utilities, independent power producers, and industrial facilities.

Basler’s headquarters is home to its corporate services: accounting, purchasing, quality, sales, marketing, engineering, research and development and its design verification labs.

Basler also operates manufacturing plants in Highland; Taylor, Texas; San Marcos, Texas; and Piedras Negras, Mexico; and has offices in Littleton, Colo.; Suzhou, China; and Singapore.

Veterans memorial progressing

Progress is being made on the veterans memorial at Rinderer Park on Veterans Honor Parkway.

The memorial is a joint effort by the city of Highland, VFW Post 5694 and American Legion Post 439.

The concrete work is done, and the rock base and back fill has been accomplished and is ready for the brick and granite slab memorials for all veterans. These memorial bricks and granite slabs are available to or for any veteran, alive or deceased, who has served honorably for one term or made the military a career in any branch of the United States Military.

In order to have you or your loved ones engraved memorial in place for the dedication next Fourth of July, your order must be received by Jan. 5, 2018. Applications are available at Highland City Hall, Highland Chamber of Commerce, Louis Latzer Library, VFW Post 5694 and American Legion Post 439, all in Highland.

This year’s Harvest Days was one of best ever

The Highland Historical Society presented the 30th annual Harvest Days at the Latzer Homestead with great success Sept. 8-10. Preliminary calculations predict it was second-biggest year, which was especially good after last year’s heavy rains disappointing many. The weather this year was a beautiful, and visitors were able to enjoy the surroundings much more.

Sharon Hargus, Harvest Days coordinator, thanked all volunteer workers who devoted time — before the show, during, and after the festival for clean up — in helping make the festival a success.

Grief Support Group offered at St. Joseph’s Hospital

St. Joseph’s Hospital will host grief support group meetings on Tuesdays for the next seven weeks. According to Jeannie Korte, manager of spiritual care at St. Joseph’s Hospital, the goals of this support group are to provide educational information about grief and loss, to assist group members in developing coping and adapting skills, and to offer emotional support. The cost for attending the support group sessions will be $10, which covers the cost of the materials.

Series dates are Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31, and Nov. 7 and 14.

Topics to be covered in the weekly sessions include: Understanding the grief experience, handling the difficult emotions of grief, managing the stress of change, preparing for holidays and special occasions, and finding meaning after loss.

Space is limited, and prior registration is required. For more information about joining the grief support group, contact Korte at 618-651-2980 or jean.korte@hshs.org.

Indoor garage sale set at Weinheimer

An indoor garage sale will be held at the Weinheimer Community Center, 1100 Main St. in Highland, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6 and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 7. This multi-family garage sale is in a controlled environment with restrooms. It serves as a fundraiser for the 2018 fireworks put on by the city of Highland.

Master gardener to address club

The Highland Garden Club will meet Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Korte Recreation Center. Betsy Alexander, a Missouri Botanical Master Gardener, will present the program, “Gardening With Chocolate Plants.” Members will also have another chance to pay dues at this meeting. Guests are always welcome.

League of Writers to meet

The Highland League of Writers will meet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 2 in meeting room No. 2 at the Korte Recreation Center in Highland. Anyone interested in writing is invited to attend. Bring your ideas, plots, or thoughts, up to several pages for a friendly critique. Poetry, memoirs, magazine, anything written are welcome. You can also come just to hear the member readings. There are no dues, fees or assigned topics. Meetings are normally the first and third Monday each month. For additional information call Chuck Schwend at 618-887-4797 or email schwendcharles@yahoo.com. Visit the club at charlesbschwend.com/the-highland-league-of-writers/.

Senior Menu

Faith Countryside Homes invites all seniors 60 and older to join them for their fun, food and companionship community meal program. Meals are served Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, in the Countryside Community Center, 1331 26th St. Reservations for the upcoming week should be made by 1 p.m. this Friday. Call 618-651-3293. The cost is $3.50 per person.

Monday, Oct. 2: Ham and beans, fried potatoes, mixed greens, cornbread muffin, chocolate chip cookie.

Tuesday, Oct. 3: Smothered pork chop, steamed rice, side salad with dressing, dinner roll, Mandarin oranges.

Wednesday, Oct. 4: Herb-roasted pork loin, brown gravy, bread dressing, vegetable medley, bread, sweet potato pie.

Thursday, Oct. 5: Italian marinated chicken, buttered pasta, spinach salad, bread, poached pears.

Friday, Oct. 6: Butter crumb fish, garden blend rice, asparagus, dinner roll, frosted chocolate cake.

This story was originally published September 28, 2017 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Basler Electric to hold open house."