Tim Mueller

Appleton, Wisconsin, native Tim Mueller spent two years at Iowa State before he joined a band and moved to Connecticut. "The band broke up when the bass player joined the Air Force," says Mueller, who stayed in Connecticut, found work at the Post Office, got married and had a daughter. After they discovered Oregon on a vacation trip, the family moved west in 1991. "Klamath Falls had the only postmaster in Oregon who would take a transfer," he says. Mueller got divorced three years later and transferred to Springfield. In 1997, he advertised for a housemate and found Michelle Jones, who was working with Steve Brown on their first autism retreat. "I helped because I had a computer and wanted to learn to use it," he says. "The three of us started KindTree Productions, aka Autism Rocks." While Jones and Brown have moved on, Mueller, now retired and remarried, remains as secretary/treasurer of KindTree - Autism Rocks. "Last summer we had 145 people at our family camp," he says. "Every year, the magic happens: someone has a breakthrough." On Friday, May 4, the public is invited to The PROM, a benefit event in the Vet's Club Ballroom, with music by Etouffee and DJ Elian, hosted by Queen Holly GoSlugly. Details at kindtree.org. Still a musician, Mueller will perform with his new band, Steel Wool, at the Saturday Market on June 23.