Jesse Frank and his wife Ze Frank have served as Family Teachers at Mooseheart for 30 years. They were recently honored with a reception in their honor in the West Virginia Residence Home where they now serve.. (Click Photo To Enlarge)

MOOSEHEART, Oct. 21 - When Jesse and Ze Frank came to Mooseheart Child City & School as houseparents, their philosophy was the would just "try it" and see how it worked out.

That was 30 years ago, and the Franks say they're still "trying it."

The couple still work as surrogate parents of young men at Mooseheart, though they are now called Family Teachers. No matter what title is used to describe their job, they have spent three decades working with middle school and high school age boys and don't see an end in sight. The couple was feted at a surprise reception in the West Virginia Residence Home--in which they have served since 1991--on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

"I brought my uncle here for an interview and I asked if I could sit in on the interview," Jesse Frank said. "After the interview, I asked the gentleman what our chances would be of coming here. We didn't have kids and we were never going to be able to have kids. We'd thought about adopting and had kind of ruled that out."

What happened in those formative days in 1979 stoked a fire that has never stopped burning brightly for the Franks, who are by far the longest-serving Family Teachers on the Mooseheart campus.

"We found out pretty early that we were pretty good at what we were doing, so we continued to do it," Jesse Frank said. "There's not a better thing you can do in your life than to work with kids, to help children. That's what it boils down to, what's important in life is taking care of people."

As Ze Frank added, "We wanted to be with children and we didn't have any of our own. Our motivation was to help children. And that's still our motivation. We're here because of the kids."

Jesse, from Macomb, IL, and Ze, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, met while Jesse served NATO as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. Ze's father was a general in the Portuguese army. That sense of military discipline carried into the Franks' work at Mooseheart.

"At one time, we were considered the last place they would send a kid," Ze Frank said. "If they didn't make it with us, there were not going to make it (at Mooseheart). We were given a lot of tough cases because we could handle them. We were very consistent and very patient and we worked with a lot of tough kids."

There have been many changes at Mooseheart over the past three decades. The development of the current Mooseheart Model of Care and the unified manner in which is presented in training is probably the largest of those.

Jesse Frank said that in 1979, "It was pretty much on the job training. They put us in with somebody in and had us work with them to learn the do's and don'ts. The training was very short. We didn't have the formal training like they have had since they brought the new program in."

The Family Teaching plan came to Mooseheart in 1998 with then-Executive Director Dr. David Coughlin, and has evolved into the Mooseheart Model of Care -- which provides a unified method for student behavior and interaction with adults, whether at Mooseheart school, in the Family Home, or in public.

"I think that the training now is excellent," Ze Frank said. "It gives us all the tools need to use with the kids. Before, we were kind of left on our own judgment, our own values and our own way of doing things. Now there's more consistency in all the homes. We are all doing the same thing. I think that has improved the quality of care here immensely."

The Franks said they have literally had "hundreds" of Mooseheart children come through their homes. All have been boys. Initially in the now-razed Dixie Home, the Franks next worked at Ontario Home. They have served West Virginia Home since it was completed in 1991. There are currently six boys in West Virginia Home, and a seventh is to arrive in November. At one point early in their careers, they had 23 in their care.

Many of those boys, now grown men, keep in contact with Jesse and Ze Frank.

"A lot of them say that Mooseheart was the only stable thing in their lives," Ze Frank said. "And us in particular, they knew we were people they could count on. Their families either couldn't or wouldn't help. Mooseheart was their stability and Mooseheart was their home."

Stability is one thing the Franks have always made sure to provide for the children in their care. And that is set up very early in the Family Teacher-student relationship.  Jesse Frank is 62, while Ze Frank is 61. Neither said they are contemplating retirement.

"We're going to do this as long as we're able to and as long as Mooseheart will let us," Jesse Frank said. "I feel like we're still quite capable of holding our own at Mooseheart. I don't feel 62. I think working with the kids keeps you thinking young and keeps you more active."

Both Franks are long-time Moose members. Jesse Frank is a member of Batavia, IL Lodge 682. Ze Frank is a member of Mooseheart, IL Chapter 3001. They see first-hand what their fellow members create with their membership fees and donations.

"All of the men and women of the Moose work so hard," Ze Frank said. "They are not rich people. They are not people with a lot of means. But they do so much good work. It never ceases to amaze me. People from the West Virginia Moose just came here at Homecoming and they brought a $25,000 check to pay for our food for the next two years. They brought a big water jug water full of money. The bartenders gave up their tips for one year so they could give that money to Mooseheart. That's the kind of story you hear from the Moose that seem unbelievable but which happen all the time."

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S. , Canada , Great Britain and Bermuda . Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville , FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.mooseintl.org , www.mooseheart.org ., www.moosehaven.org , or call 630-966-2229.