The Waiting and Weeping House: Stories from 250 Years and One Summer
Undergraduate: Linnea Lieth
Faculty Advisor: Priscilla Layne
Department: Art
Keywords: identity, place, history, culture, background, Germany, creative writing, illustration
I grew up hearing stories about Steegerhof, the house in which my grandparents lived in their native Germany, and the home in which my father had spent some of his childhood. It has been in my family for four generations, and I knew it was not only surrounded by stories and superstitions and full of historical artifacts from around the world, but also the reason why, in several cases, members of my family settled where they did. I began wondering: how did the house affect the history of my family, and how did my family change the history of the house? What could I learn about my family and the history of that region of land from studying the house? How could this information serve as a model, or inspiration, for others who want to learn more about their families and themselves by studying a place? To answer these questions, I spent the summer living in the house and recording my own experience in it, interviewed family members and family friends, looked at primary source documents such as letters and notebooks, and conducted historical and cultural research to supplement what I found. Throughout four generations, Steegerhof has shaped the lives of the individuals who spent time there in many ways, and each individual left their mark on the house in return. Steegerhof shares history with, and has influenced, the community around it. The art book I produced, The Waiting and Weepin