June 14-19, 2011
What a lovely town! Willa Austin was my most gracious host. She is the 90-something author of "Homesteaders Daughter" a memoir of her family. She is a fascinating woman with a wonderful sense of humor. Her home is beautiful and she gave me not only my own room, but my own bathroom with dressing table! I felt like visiting royalty.
The church is a beautifully spacious building - white pews and walls, with blue stained glass windows and a deep red carpet. Even the baby grand piano is white. Rev. Steven told me he has long wanted to put a candelabra on that piano and have the pianist wear sequins... however, he doesn't think his congregation would see the humor in that, so he hasn't done it. The congregation is about 250 or so, people of all ages. Two of the younger members played piano and flute beautifully for Sunday's service. A lovely congregation, very warm and welcoming.
I attended the Women's Fellowship Executive Board meeting. They were planning their upcoming year of events and sponsoring of programs at the church. This is a very strong core group of about 15 members. Most of the women are retired and all have a great love of this church. I also sat in on the Church Council Meeting. This Council works well together, spreading out the responsibilities so no one person is overburdened. Also a friendly, welcoming group. John was running the meeting in the absence of the current Moderator, and he gave me a few minutes to talk about my impressions of South Dakota and to speak to what we are being taught at PSR. I appreciated the time and attention of this Council.
About a month ago, Rev. Steven had put out a sign-up sheet for lunches, dinners and tours/events, so every day I had different people to hang out with and was taken to different sites within the city. It is always good to have folks who live in the city take a visitor around. There are so many attractions in Watertown, I would have been at a loss to choose for the short time I had to visit. Thank you to Phyllis, Darla, Sue, Wendy, Audrey and the Zemlicka family who had a church potluck at their farm on Friday. Rev. Steven hosted a dinner for Willa and me at his new home. He is quite the chef and has some amazing art in his beautiful home. Thanks to these gracious new friends I had a wonderful and busy visit, and was able to meet many members of this congregation.
Thanks to Rich and the youth of the church there is a small, delightful labyrinth in a side courtyard of the church. This was of great interest to me and I met with Rich on Saturday to talk about taking a design from paper to ground. Rev. Marjie and I are batting around the idea of creating a labyrinth at her Retreat, so this gave me some ideas to go on.
The town is wonderful; population about 22,000. Lots of trees and beautiful houses. I realized why I like homes in this part of the country better than the architecture in California... pointy roofs! Of course that is because they get snow out here (and LOTS of it), but I like the shape. I guess it speaks to my childhood in Ann Arbor Michigan and Windsor Ontario.
I fell in love with the Goss Opera House and Gallery. Lovely 3-story brick building which has been receiving restoration. It was an amazing find, walking into the lovely old theatre on the second floor! I ran all over taking pictures. Check it out at www.gossoperahouse.com
I am also now on a mission to bring the art of Meranda Turbak to the Bay Area! Her amazing paintings hang in the Goss Gallery on the third floor. I purchased a print of "Happiness" and met the artist. She is a lovely young lady who also works in the cafe of the Goss. Check out her work at www.merandaturbank.com There is also a community theatre - they call themselves the Town Players. And there's a racetrack! This is quite a creative town and I may well go back for a visit if time permits.
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