Herb Ripka is a longtime resident of Greendale. He moved here in 1993 after starting a new job at Reiman Publications in 1992. Herb currently works as a Product Demonstrator for CDS at Costco in New Berlin.

As an active member of the Greendale Lions, he serves as Rummage On The Green coordinator, Gazebo brick coordinator and assists in updates to the Lions website with Jody Smith. You may also know Herb as the former Cubmaster at Cub Scout Pack 505 at Canterbury Elementary School (2009-2013).

Herb has and continues to serve the Greendale community in many ways…

• He is the “chalk man” and webmaster for the annual Greendale Garden Gazing walk.
• Put together the “Greendale By The Numbers” trivia game.
• Leads the Greendale Investing Meetup Group, which meets monthly in the Community Room of the Greendale Library, to learn about investing.
• Organized the Memorial Day “Remember the Fallen” walk in 2020 and 2021.
• Organizes the annual Fourth of July Reading of the Declaration of Independence, for the 15th year in 2021.
• Most recently Herb started volunteering as computer helper at the Greendale Public Library, for a couple hours per week.
• This spring, Herb will be teaching various cards games for family fun at a six-week Park & Rec class called “Fast Fun Card Games for Families and Friends”.

Wow, right? Please join us in thanking Herb for his ongoing positive contributions to the Greendale community!

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Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.

My wife, Heidi, and I have 2 sons, Daniel and Joshua, who graduated from Greendale High School in 2018 and 2020, respectively. We have been members of Our Shepherd Lutheran Church since 1993.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Greendale and what do you love there?

I love going to The Steakout. I really enjoy a good steak, the food and the atmosphere. I miss Ferch’s.

Q: How long have you lived in Greendale?

I bought my house in 1993. Heidi moved in in 1998, after we got married. I grew up in Cudahy, and growing up, my parents took me to Southridge mall via Layton Avenue. One time my parents took a different route to Southridge, along Southway, turning north on Broad Street to the Village Hall. I fell in love immediately once I saw the downtown and knew I belonged here. The same thing happened with my house. Reiman Publications co-worker Judy Larson told me about this house for sale. I went to an open house, walked in, stood in the kitchen and looked out through a big picture window into the backyard and saw a beautiful view of the woods. I knew I had found my new home.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Greendale?

Just one? Where do I start? There are so many!!
– Karyn Birmingham, for being so vivacious and passionate about Greendale.
– Rich Busalacchi is interesting to me because he organizes the Lions’ summer festivals so well, with 1000 details in his head.
– Frank Bunker, a real character, who I met years ago in Cub Scouts at Canterbury, when our boys were both Scouts. Frank was my Committee Chair while I was Cubmaster. I sponsored him into the Greendale Lions Club.
– Roy Reiman, for his entrepreneurship, writing skills and community involvement.
– Pastor Doug Schroeder, of Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, for his sermon insights.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?

Vienna Austria for cosmopolitan culture and history. To Switzerland and Hawaii for scenic beauty. My backyard, overlooking the woods between the E and D sections, for being in nature and for serenity.

Q: What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theatre?

My all-time favorite movie is “Joe Versus the Volcano”. Its main theme is what do you want out of life, and what fears are holding you back from doing what you need to do. I watch this once per year. The first movie I remember watching was “101 Dalmatians” in a drive-in with my cousins in Michigan.

Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?

1. The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
2. Beware of your EGO. An acronym explains this. E.G.O. = Edging God Out or E.G.O. = Everyone’s Got an Opinion

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

Touring Vienna Austria.

Q: What is your favorite music and/or 3 bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?

Rush, Eagles, Steve Winwood.

Q: What current / former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Greendale?

I really miss Reiman Publications and the old Reiman Visitors Center. Reiman was the best place to work, ever!

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Greendale?

Go see my unique “Greendale By The Numbers” trivia game, posted on my website  http://herbripka.com/ . I found many interesting things about Greendale!! The Gazebo, a great idea by Lion Bob Drews, created a central point for our town. That fellow Greendalians have such a positive attitude toward our community. The downtown village area brings a lot of that together.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

Still in Greendale. I’d love to travel more, but Greendale is home.

Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

– That I have written a script for an animated or sci-fi movie based on the songs of the rock group Rush.
– That I took guitar lessons from Daryl Stuermer, who later joined Genesis and Phil Collins, at the Bel-Air music shop in Cudahy in 1972-1973.
– That I was creator/ director/ producer/ cameraman/ editor of a Community Access TV show called “Dance Party” on Warner Cable TV. I visited various dance clubs around Milwaukee, and interviewed people for the show.
– That Heidi’s family and my family knew of each other for thirty years, before we finally met on a blind date (at a church service!!)
– That Heidi and I volunteer as ushers with the Milwaukee Rep Theater, along with Frank and Sue Bunker.
– That I have relatives in Michigan, Virginia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany and Czechoslovakia.
– That even though I was born in Cudahy, I spoke German first, and learned English from watching Captain Kangaroo on TV.
– That I can do three different whistles with my mouth, all without using hands or fingers.
– That I have two and a half degrees from MATC. An Associate Degree in Printing and Publishing. An Associate Degree in Marketing, and a certificate in Web Design.
– That Heidi, my brother-in-law George Frisch and I go shopping on Black Friday to thrift stores and Goodwill. I joke we buy the things you bought five years earlier on Black Friday! 95% of the time I head to the book section.
– That I own 800+ books, 99.5% are non-fiction.
– That I prefer to eat Reuben sandwiches in January in memory of my mother, whose birthday was in January.
– That I have visited Germany five times, the last time with Heidi on a Reiman World Wide Country Tour in 1998.
– That I went on a mission work trip with our church to the upper Amazon River in Ecuador. Toured Israel. And been on three cruises!!
– That I haven’t been to a barber in 30 years. I use George Clooney’s method, which was made fun of by Mike Meyers in the movie “Wayne’s World. (look it up)

Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?

Tom Hanks. Previously, it was Robin Williams, sad to see him go.

Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, Housekeeper, Driver, Coach, Physical Fitness Trainer, or Nanny?

I would appreciate a chef the most, one who can cook a good steak.

Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative with whom would you love to have lunch?

I would like to have lunch with Elon Musk, an amazing entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal, and started Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, Neuralink and others. I would love to talk about AI Artificial Intelligence, entrepreneurship and the future.

Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

My Nest of Peace and Love, family, and community.