 |
| Members of Amy Ammons Garza’s “Writing from the Heart” class include, from left: David Workman, Elsie Haight, Lawrie Williams, Sylvia Peck and Eleanor Vieau. Garza is at right. The class shared samples of their work on Oct. 22 at the Cashiers Senior Center. |
 |
| Lawrie Williams tells audience members about a close encounter with a bear on a camping trip. |
 |
| Reading from memoirs she wrote in a recent creative writing class, Sylvia Peck shares a harrowing alligator wrestling experience from her childhood. |
 |
| Dr. David Workman reads an excerpt from memoirs he wrote recently in an SCC creative writing course. |
 |
| During a storytelling presentation on Oct. 22 at the Cashiers Senior Center, Eleanor Vieau describes her childhood experiences from the Great Depression. |
 |
| Elsie Haight (center) reads from her memoirs as classmates Lawrie Williams (left) and Eleanor Vieau listen. |
Reading softly and in a grandmotherly tone, Sylvia Peck of Cashiers quietly told of a horrifying alligator-wrestling experience in her native Florida.
Sapphire resident Eleanor Vieau offered heartwarming vignettes from growing up in Chicago during the Great Depression.
And Dr. David Workman recounted a tale that was quite literally out of this world.
Their stories, as well as those shared by Cullowhee residents Elsie Haight and Lawrie Williams, were carefully crafted over the past 10 weeks in Southwestern Community College’s “Writing from the Heart” class. All were read to an audience of several dozen on Tuesday (Oct. 22) at the Cashiers Senior Center.
And every single story was true.
“They all wanted to work on their memoirs in this class,” said Amy Ammons Garza, who served as the course’s instructor. “They are all very good writers. One great thing about senior citizens is that they’ve had to write all of their lives.
“Some didn’t think they could do it, but they got more confident as we went along,” Garza added. “It was so good to hear them all improve over time. I just feel very lucky to hear what they have to say.”
In a distinct Boston accent, Haight described a humorous story about spending time with family. And Williams spoke of a close encounter with a bear on a recent camping trip.
Meanwhile, Dr. Workman’s biographical account covered a span in his life when he worked for TRW – a subcontractor for NASA – during the famed 1960s “Space Race” with the Soviet Union.
The Cullowhee resident described what it was like when he “mingled among the ‘stars’ of the space program” and recalled the emotions of sitting in mission control during some tense, and exhilarating, moments of the Apollo 8 mission. He credited Garza with helping him get his memoirs off the ground.
“The most significant thing Amy taught me is that everyone has a story to tell, but if you don’t write it down, it gets lost,” Dr. Workman said. “She gave me encouragement to continue writing. My parents are gone now, but I keep finding questions that I wished I’d asked of them. That’s why I want to write all this down – so that maybe one day my children and maybe even my grandchildren can know some a little more about me.”
For more information about SCC and its programs, visit southwesterncc.edu or call 828.339.4000.
