Katherine taught each of our sons during their 5th grade years in Forest Park. We had good parent teacher interactions over those 8 years. She was a tough as nails teacher working inside the school district for 10+ years, challenging leadership to better the schools for the teachers and children of the community.
Teaching has its challenges. Every teacher I’ve met professes how awesome the teaching part is, but how challenging the inner workings of the school district is. Forcing many teachers to want to leave. The retirement benefits are amazing, but the 30 year sisyphus struggle with internal politics makes the end of career benefits feel too far up the hill.
In 2015, Katherine and her husband Chris opened Exit Strategy Brewery in an empty old electrical supply warehouse, located on a potential hot corner of the main thoroughfare in Forest Park. Big risk and potential. Chris, a corporate attorney, was the brewmaster, Katherine was operations. Both dreaming the namesake would provide a stable exit from their former careers.
Exit Strategy had incredible beers. An incredible vibe. The kitchen of the brewery created challenges, like any restaurant owner will tell you, but the food was always top notch. A community was being established. TV’s were minimal. This was not a sports bar, which the village had many. Exit Strategy became a hub for beer and conversation.
Exit Strategy’s much anticipated 5 year anniversary celebration looked to be epic. Covid had other plans. The former school teacher and lawyer did all they could to hold together all they’d built. But in 2023 Exit Strategy closed their doors. A few months later another brewery took the space.
Katherine’s portrait, donning Rosie the Riveter-like attire, proudly carrying one of their kegs in front of a fermenter became a foundational image for the series. She embraced the persona of the 1940’s Rosie completely. Modernized with her badass tattoos, torn overalls, and All-Stars. Her statuesque “We Can Do It” spirit raging as the rare woman craft brewery owner lifting up her community through good beer and the conversations exchanged over a sip.
While Katherine’s vision for the space is no longer Exit Strategy, the corner has continued to be an economic driver and community hub for a different community. And her willingness and enthusiasm to be in this portrait has helped us create a movement to champion women, their voices, and an organization for future Rosies to carry-on that We Can Do It spirit.
Photographed May 2018