A three-generation experience at Björklunden
By Nancy Gazzola Hines '76
Nancy Hines, from Oak Park, Illinois, is a two-time Björklunden Summer Seminars veteran who accepted our invitation to write about her family's experience in the 1999 Family Week program.
Reprinted from the Boynton Society Newsletter, a publication for supporters of Björklunden vid Sjön.
Every spring since we started receiving the brochures about the summer programs at Björklunden, David and I have looked longingly at the course offerings, hoping that someday we could afford to attend a session. Then, when we were able to afford such an experience, there was the issue of what to do with our three children while we were tromping through the woods learning about the vegetation in Door County. Last year, we finally managed to attend a session by sending our two daughters to camp in Michigan and flying family in to stay with our son, while we enjoyed "Woodland Walkabouts" with Professor Nick Maravolo.
When we received the brochure this spring, we were elated to see the Family Week session. We talked with our children, and they were almost as excited as we were. Our daughter, Giulia, immediately called her grandmother in Minnesota to see if she would be interested in attending the "Hands-On Music-Making" session, and Sam, our youngest, asked his grandmother in Texas if she would be up for the "Closer Look at Nature" class. Both grandmothers agreed to come along, though they were a bit skeptical about what to expect from this "camp" in Door County. Having never visited Björklunden, they were expecting the accommodations to be a bit rustic, but they were willing to join us nonetheless.
So the grandmothers flew to Chicago, and we all drove north for what proved to be a fantastic week. The two seminar instructors could not have been better. Both Fred Luft and David Stokes were engaging, enthusiastic, patient teachers who encouraged hands-on learning. After the first evening, when they introduced their plans for the week, Sam was suddenly interested in participating in the music class, and Giulia wanted to partake of some of David's offerings in the nature class. With Björklunden Director Mark Breseman's blessing, Fred and David were more than willing to accommodate this increased interest, and all participants were allowed to experience both classes if they so desired.
The five of us immensely enjoyed the experience -- I was especially thankful for the fact that I did not have to plan one meal nor do one load of laundry for the entire week. Giulia came home with a beautiful dulcimer that she built from a kit with the help of her grandmother, confidently using an assortment of power tools and hand tools for the first time in her life. Sam came home with a plaster cast of his hand made on the beach and a leaf/dead-fish-print t-shirt. We all came home with a much greater appreciation of and respect for nature, music, and each other.
We will definitely do our best to return next year, and our entourage will likely include both a father and a grandfather because they were very envious of the stories we came home with. Thank you to Mark and the Lawrence students who enabled us to thoroughly relax and enjoy ourselves in the sanctuary that is Björklunden.
