Matt Schachtner, president of Somerville Architects & Engineers
photos by Kelly Fochs
On a bucolic five-acre farmette in Kewaunee County, Somerville Architects & Engineers President Matt Schachtner and his wife Shawna have cultivated all varieties of life since they bought it in 2012.
This has included raising five children, a host of animals from chickens and pigs to sheep and horses, and a garden overflowing with strawberries, rhubarb, pumpkins, broccoli and kale.
Produce and meat raised on the farm account for about two-thirds of what the family consumes.
“There are many nights where everything on the plate is from our property, except the dairy and salt,” says Schachtner, a serial hobbyist who enjoys working with his hands. He’s dabbled in candlemaking, woodcarving, soapmaking, stained glass and even scrimshaw on a fossilized mammoth’s tusk.
But one of his most enduring passions is making maple syrup. He and Shawna first started “sugaring” by helping college friends tap maple trees. Thirty years later, Schachtner produces anywhere from 50 to 80 finished gallons of syrup a season, tapping about 200 trees on a neighbor’s property.
The finished product, complete with a custom label depicting the farm, is bottled in Schachtner’s garage and given as gifts to family, friends and the 50-some employees at Somerville.
In 2019, Schachtner suffered a heart attack which ultimately caused him to pull the trigger on purchasing his Smoky Lake maple sap evaporator system. It was a close call that informed his philosophy to work and life: There is no time for procrastination.
“Some people wait until retirement, but why?” says Schachtner, who is up by 4 a.m. most days. “When you have the time, do it.”
