In 16 years, the Hormel Historic Home has been repainted, landscaped and its upstairs rooms were renovated for people to rent.

A garden was added, the ceiling repaired and the carpet and wall coverings redone.

These changes and many more have been overseen by Evie Mohrfeld, director of the Hormel Home.

On Dec. 31, Mohrfeld will retire from the position to spend more time with her husband, Jerry and their children and grandchildren.

"This does not come easy, as I have a lot of heart strings attached, but (I) feel the timing is right," Mohrfeld wrote in the Hormel Home newsletter about her retirement.

A new director, Tracy Plunkett, will take over Jan. 1, 2003.

Sixteen years ago, Mohrfeld was serving her third term as chairwoman of the Hormel Home Board. When the position opened, she thought it was a natural fit.

As director she keeps the Home running, organizes trips and activities, arranges tours and coordinates events.

During her time at the home, she has learned much more about the Hormel family. She points out that the chairs and table in the dining room were the Hormels'. A silver platter on the dining room buffet was a wedding gift for the Hormels.

She shows the check George A. Hormel wrote out when he purchased the house, a grand total of $3,000.

Arranging trips is one of Mohrfeld's main responsibilities. She has organized 444 trips through the home to locations all over the world. The trips are sometimes educational, others for entertainment.

"We do a lot of things just for fun," Mohrfeld said.

Mohrfeld goes on all of the trips and makes sure each traveler is comfortable. Her favorite excursion was to Austria and Germany.

Over 16 years, not everything always went smoothly. Mohrfeld remembers when the Home had trouble with bats coming into the home. Once, a bat interrupted a visiting group eating lunch at the Home.

Another time, a water pipe broke upstairs and started flooding the back entry way.

Mohrfeld's varied background as a tailor, hairdresser and store clerk has helped her manage the varied activities in the home.

"I'm a real people person," she said.

Mohrfeld said she would like to work part-time in travel somehow. She does not yet know what her future plans will be, but knows she will stay in Austin and find more time for her family.

"I want to stay active," Mohrfeld said. "But I don't want to be as committed as I am anymore."

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at :mailto: cari.quam@austindailyherald.com