From Math Teacher to Artisan Teacher: Meet Lindie Wessling

-- Marjorie Simon, Public Relations Manager

Lindie, a FOREVER® Ambassador, veteran scrapbooker, retired teacher, and photo aficionado, has worked with Beth Gibson Lilja for five years. But it was a captivating houseboat trip from New York’s Oneida Lake to Montreal’s “Expo ‘67” (World’s Fair) that piqued her passion for photography.

Though just 10 years old, Lindie vividly recalls cruising up New York’s Oneida Lake and Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario and eventually the St. Lawrence Seaway, to reach Montreal—a seven-day cruise. The scenery, of course, was spectacular—even the barges. “It was somewhat daunting to float near barges up to 700 feet long with our 32-foot houseboat, but it was also thrilling,” says Lindie. She recalls that all but one of the many locks on the Rideau Waterway were hand operated.

Her most indelible memory, however, was meeting Rod Serling—yes, Rod Serling, creator of “Twilight Zone,” whose cabin cruiser was positioned next to their houseboat in the canal lock. “I recall that we talked about traveling quite a bit,” says Lindie. 

After that, Lindie was hooked. She became the camera documentarian preserving memories of trips, family, friends and so much more. Other favorite travel destinations include various National Parks and Florida. “I like showcasing where we’ve been and telling the story as well as showing the photos,” says Lindie.

No wonder Lindie has 30 hard-copy scrapbooks and approximately 15 Artisan® digital books. Not surprisingly, Lindie was a Creative Memories consultant for 11 years, where she met Beth. Lindie enjoyed that because her teaching skills made her a natural for teaching clients how to scrapbook. 

When CM went digital, Lindie was thrilled. As a math teacher, she was very comfortable with technology. She liked that, “Once I bought supplies, I did not have to keep re-purchasing them. Digital is also easier and safer to store,” says Lindie.

When FOREVER® purchased Creative Memories’ Artisan® and Historian software, FOREVER® invited Lindie to become an Ambassador. She agreed, working on Beth’s team. Lindie was thrilled with FOREVER®’s Artisan® program and loved teaching that technology to her clients. She serves 10 “regulars” and 20 “occasional.” “I love Beth,” says Lindie. “She’s helpful, positive, enjoys helping people and will go to bat for you when needed. She offers suggestions and is a sounding board for running my business. She taught me perseverance—keep trying. She also holds us accountable. She keeps me on my toes!”

Lindie realized that her 44-year teaching career was coming to a close, with retirement in January 2020. No worries. She had a great post-retirement career awaiting her with photo management and preservation. These days Lindie scans and creates books, but much of her time is spent teaching clients how to use technology.

The comments she hears most often are, “I don’t have time,” “I don’t know how,” and “I have so many photos, I don’t know where to begin.” Lindie tells clients that if they have just 15 minutes a day—even while watching TV—they can begin ensuring their memories are preserved. She then reminds clients that her role is to teach them how to use the technology so they can do it.

Many clients are right about being overwhelmed about too many photos—it is simply overpowering. So Lindie helps them subdivide photos to narrow the field. That is when the books come together. Clients are enthralled at turning piles and piles of photos into scrap and digital books for personal enjoyment and sharing. 

“I’ve been teaching Artisan® to several people. One challenge is the blank page: ‘how do I best display the photos?’” Lindie teaches them Artisan’s capabilities which then guides page creation.

These days Lindie and Marcia Lee host “Dare to Be Digital” (virtual) gatherings. They demo FOREVER®, teach document and photo storage and answer Artisan® software questions. That gets clients started. Pre-COVID-19, meetings were in person. Now, they are on Zoom. “Zoom allows me easily to show my work to them in the conversation,” says Lindie.

Lindie is married with three adult children, one local, who has two daughters. Now Lindie creates albums for her granddaughters and grandson. They love reviewing them with grandma. Lindie adds, “My parents are 90 and 93. It’s nice that the grandchildren are then connected to their great grandparents. One day they can say, ‘I knew my great grandparents.’” Lindie also loves genealogy which she researches and manages for her family.

A graduate of George Peabody Teachers College in Nashville, Lindie met her husband Terry in 1977 at Harlow’s Discotheque, in Louisville, KY. “We got married there one month later. Three television stations covered the disco wedding with over 500 people we did not know, a DJ, and Justice of the Peace. Our attendants were the dance instructors at the disco,” recalls Lindie. On August 11, the couple celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary.

Want to take bets on how many photos Lindie and her husband will amass during retirement? (Hint, they have already purchased a camper and have road tested it at numerous Minnesota State Parks this summer.)