LETTER FROM STUDENT -- By Dana Thelin

On Sunday night, for the graduate English writing corner - we have it at our apartment - the students watched the video of the Homestead. They were then told to write about what they had seen. The video is 12 minuets long. This is one of the papers I received. I thought you might enjoy reading it. I thought I would add some Homestead pictures.

Last Sunday night we gathered at Thelin's house. Mr. Jay gave us
some advices on writing. Dana showed us a home video about
their homestead beside the Buffalo River. We watched the happiness they enjoyed their.

The video introduced the Thelin Homestead. In the beginning of video showed the virgin land. Then there were pictures of the cabins, bridge, kitchen and even a bathroom that they built. What I was most impressed with was that all the building jobs were done
by the Thelin family. The whole family spared no effort in joining in this
project. They had a single aim, to make a real Homestead.

We saw a busy but cheerful scene, just like the background music. People came here in their vans, taking all kinds of tools to build playground for kids and campfire place for BBQ. It took some time to finish these complex jobs, and there were still more to do. However, the Thelin Homestead was no longer a wild wooded place, but the family’s paradise. They were cooking, dancing, and singing songs in happy voices.












The children really had fun at the river. Everyone was
excited. You could tell how happy they all were.

I deeply admire this kind of family life. It is a certain reflection of the spirit of freedom. Maybe it is the family powers that get members together and maximize their creation, intelligence and emotion. As a branch of the family tree, every member can find his or her own place. The tree can’t thrive without it's branches. Perhaps, this may be the essential meaning of a family. Jennifer