The People in Your Neighborhood; Jim Haage
by Tony Tone
June 02, 2021

By far one of my most favorite things is getting to meet new people and make new friendships. Luckily, in my professional life, I have made hundreds (if not thousands) of friends via my time spent working on the radio, at Hy-Vee, and now with the Muscatine Community School District. My most recent friend that I wanted to give a shout-out to in this column is Mr. Jim Haage. I’m sure he will be slightly annoyed that I’m writing about him, but it’s my column and I’ll do what I want.

Jokes aside, Jim Haage is a fantastic person who spent his professional career working as a teacher here in Muscatine. During the summers, Jim would work a side job as a painter and tells me he’s been doing that for several decades. I happened upon his contact information from a mutual friend, Denny Schuur, who had just had Jim do some painting in their home. Once my family and I moved in May, I knew we would be looking to do a bit of freshening up of the dining room and living room walls. Jim Haage was the first person I called. As a matter of fact, we spoke on the phone a couple of times prior to even moving into the new house!

Jim is kind, extremely professional, one heck of a good and meticulous painter, and apparently, a lifelong Yankee’s baseball fan. I would be remiss if I also didn’t give a special shout-out to Jim’s better half, Julie, who also worked as a teacher for several years as well.

I’m convinced there are people that you meet for the first time but feel like you’ve known them your whole life. That was my experience when Jim first came to the house to take a look at the project and to provide me with an estimate. I want to make it clear that this column is in no way a shameless plug for Jim’s business, nor did he ask me to write this. I’m a firm believer in featuring people in Muscatine (and surrounding communities) who are doing good things or volunteering or are just people that you should know.

I also admire people who have what I call side hustles. For instance, I have operated my Tony Tone Live DJ business on the side for nearly 15 years now. As you’re reading this, I’m gearing up for a wedding taking place this weekend that will be one of the last that I do. After December, I’m retiring from the DJ business to focus on my family. My father did the same back in the day while he was a police officer, he also operated a successful snow plow business during the winter months. That instilled a work ethic in me, or as my dad would say, “Those cold, snowy nights are paying for this vacation and our boat.” Who knows, maybe I’ll take up painting and work alongside Jim!

Thank you, Jim Haage, for being my friend and a valued member of the community!

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