From the Archives: Elderhostel Enriched My Retirement Years Beyond My Wildest Dreams
"When I retired, I started reading some books by American authors I had enjoyed in college, particularly Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Some friends came back from an Elderhostel telling us what an exciting and fun time they had. We secured a catalog and found a course on Thoreau at Gunflint Lodge, Minnesota in 1986. There we met the instructor, Wendell Glick, a past president of the Thoreau Society. He inspired us not only to join the Thoreau Society, but to search for other Elderhostels about Thoreau.
In 1988, we went to Watson Homestead near Corning, NY, where the instructor Jim Brewster taught a course on Thoreau. He helped us see Thoreau’s influence on the environmental scene, since Jim knew firsthand the problems of Love Canal at Niagara Falls. Jim also portrayed Henry Thoreau in costume at a wonderful evening program.
The next year, 1989, at an Elderhostel in Otter Creek, Kentucky, a husband and wife team taught us new insights about the book called Walden. We came to appreciate the true beauty of the “deep cut” passage in the chapter on spring.
In 1990, we went to Genesco, NY, where Walter Harding taught a course on Thoreau. We learned Harding was the dean of Thoreau scholars. He founded the Thoreau Society and served as its secretary for fifty years. What a wonderful afternoon I had when he gave me permission to go through his accumulated files of Thoreau materials.
With the facts I gathered and the enthusiasm the Elderhostels generated, I applied at Watson Homestead to teach a course on “Whitman, Emerson and Thoreau: Spokesmen for the Soul.” I was accepted and taught the course there in 1992 and 1993. I called it my “W.E.T. Course” and tried to encourage students to get their own feet “wet” by studying more about the lives and works of those authors.
Altogether, I have been part of 23 Elderhostel programs in 13 states. I’ve had courses on other American writers such as Dickinson, Frost and Sandburg. Many of the other courses I took, which initially I thought I might not like, turned out to be rewarding.
My Elderhostel experiences — and the inspiration I received in learning more about Thoreau — have enriched my retirement years beyond my wildest dreams!"
—Bob Hamilton
Cherokee Village, Arkansas