I am a farm boy and grew up in a German Lutheran family.  When I was born, my parents were living on a farm one mile SE of a small Kansas town called White City located north of Council Grove.  I have one sibling, Geraldine “Geri” Anschutz Tate, who lives in Topeka.

When I was 11 years old, my parents sold the White City farm and moved about 10 miles north of Council Grove where I attended a country one room elementary school with 9 total students.  I was the only student in my class during 7th and 8th grade years. I attended Council Grove High School and graduated in the spring of 1960.  Our class of 1960 had 42 students and we have keep in contact and had a 75% turnout for our 50th class reunion.  We are currently gathering for yearly reunions in Council Grove.

I served in the Army reserves for close to 9 years and graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in 1966 with A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a strong minor in  Business Administration.

I came to Kansas City to work for WDAF-TV as staff artist.  In 1970 I was hired as a Visual Information Specialist by the Federal Water Pollution Administration which was incorporated into the newly founded Environmental Protection Agency that fall.  So I became a Charter Member of the U.S. EPA.  I retired from the EPA with 41 years of Federal Service on January 1, 2011.