March is a month of celebrating women throughout history. Executive Director of the Manitowoc County Historical Society, Amy Meyer, recognized the contributions of extraordinary women in our own geographical area in a recent guest column for the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter. Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Thomas More Bertels was among those chosen who helped make Manitowoc County what it is today. Who was Sister Thomas More?
Teacher, Author and Public Speaker
“Sister Thomas More Bertels is known locally and in the state as a teacher, author and public speaker.” Sister would be humbled by that description.
Indeed, Sister was one who felt very responsible for her own family’s well-being. After graduating from high school in 1935 in Ironwood, Michigan, she worked at a grocery store for years to pay off her family’s debt from the Great Depression. It was during this time that God called her to be a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity.
This happened quite naturally. She had our Sisters as teachers. Having watched out for her family, the young woman arrived in Manitowoc in 1939 ready to begin her studies to be a postulant and serve others in need.
In 1960, after fruitful years of enjoying teaching herself, Sister Thomas More was assigned to the faculty of the Arts and Sciences division of Silver Lake College of the Holy Family. She was dedicated to her students and desired them to understand the workings of government and empower others to do the same. To acquaint herself with local politics, she joined the League of Women Voters. She became the co-founder of Wisconsin Women for Agriculture. In 1988 she wrote a 350 page book entitled “In Pursuit of Agri-Power: The One Thing North American Farmers and Ranches Can’t Produce.”
Needless to say, Sister Thomas More had a real passion for issues that affected the family farmers, but even more had real relationships with people who humbly fed and clothed the people of the world. In 1993, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Agricultural Editors Association for her heartfelt dedication to the agricultural community.
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Article Comments:
Steve Kuper 03/15/2021 @ 7:48 pm
I came to know S. Thomas More when I was a freshman at SLC. She was a dynamo! Two other students and myself had formed trio; “A Day in September” STM insisted on marketing us and getting us to sing locally including as half time entertainment at the Manitowoc Chiefs football game. She was a powerhouse. Years later when I was living in Washington, DC, I met several a politician who knew STM and had such respect for her political involvement activism. Thank you for sharing this story.
Sister Jan 03/16/2021 @ 5:50 am
When I was in college, Sister T More, as we called her, took us younger Sisters with her to speaking engagements. We heard her speak and witnessed first hand her powerful leadership and love for the farmers. She inspired us to read, speak and serve.
Mary Kay Baum 04/19/2026 @ 7:39 pm
At age 18, I met Sr Thomas More Bertels while I was a high school Senior at Holy Family Academy. My dad, Vince Baum & I would talk about the farms being lost because farmers were required to pay property taxes like other land owners. But many farmers’ incomes were’t enough to follow that. I wrote a letter to the editor to Appleton Post Crescent about the injustice & they printet it. Many kept raising this issue. After many years and half measures, finally many farmers would say it is now fair with the full implentedly use value on Jan 1, 2009 as an emergency measure to help farmers facing record-low milk prices…
In 2006 State officials adjusted the formula to prevent large swings in assessments.
I am now age 78. What should be down now for fairness to our farmers regarding property taxes and other issues?