DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — For one Sturgeon Bay woman, living through war as a child changed everything. Now, she spends her time helping others, hoping no one ever has to endure the hardships she once faced.
Helga Bobb was born in a German section of Poland during World War II. She was too young to remember much of the struggles her family faced in the early years, but their impact would shape her entire life.
Watch below to hear Helga share her childhood experiences and how they shaped her life:
"My older siblings all had flashbacks and everything like that," Helga Bobb said.
The second youngest of six, Helga is now the last surviving member of her family. She recalls that after the war, her family was displaced, and in 1952, they immigrated to Sturgeon Bay to seek a new beginning.
"Mom went to pay taxes one day at the courthouse and she saw this big billboard saying, she was reading it and it that people were needed in America," Bobb said.
Helga recalls that life in Germany, even after the war, meant being deprived of basic necessities.
"It wasn't you could just eat till you were full. No, you ate to survive," Bobb said.
Those early experiences are part of why Helga spends her days helping others.
"Everybody knows Helga. Everybody," Lorna Magliaro, Secretary at Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church, said.
Lorna Magliaro first met Helga almost ten years ago.
"People bring in breakfast casseroles, Helga organizes [Cafe Joy], and they just come in after church and she has this all ready. She sets it all up," Magliaro said.
Helga’s dedication doesn’t end with Café Joy, she also volunteers with the local nonprofit Lakeshore CAP.
"But if Helga's on vacation, or gone for a reason, she does take time off every once in a while, not much but a little bit. People will come in and say where's Helga, she's not sick is she?" Sandi Soik, Director of Lakeshore CAP Door county said.
People who know Helga say her presence can be felt all over Sturgeon Bay anywhere someone needs a helping hand.
"I am a person who likes people so wherever people are I am," Bobb said.
For Helga, helping others isn’t just about volunteering. It’s about rooting for the underdog, noticing people, and giving them the respect they deserve.
