Bob and Katherine

Katherine and Bob moved to Camphill Kimberton in August 2021. Here is an excerpt from a piece they wrote for the Fall 2021 Newsletter:

We moved into the lovely red house on the meadow down from Kepler on August 3. It was a beautiful day and we were excited that the time had finally come; we had been thinking about it for two years. Since that day, our hopes have been more than fulfilled; we love being at CVKH and look forward to being part of the community for the rest of our lives.

The path that brought us has been long and interesting. We are fortunate to have reached this point relatively intact, with four wonderful children, four grandchildren, a very cute dog, and many happy memories of life adventures.  Katherine was trained in anthropology and has worked in many fields, including epidemiology, urban forestry, college teaching, and managing a program of China-related exchanges and events for Bard College. Her study of Chinese and research interests in medical anthropology led us to one and a half exciting years in Taiwan. Bob studied music (cello) and philosophy and taught for more than 50 years at various universities; he also played in a string quartet, worked for a computer company, and had the chance to start a new conservatory of music at Bard College. We spent the last two years, since the summer of 2019, in Berlin, Germany, where Katherine worked on a book about her family’s history (in the US, Germany and China) and Bob taught philosophy and music at Bard College’s campus in Berlin.

How did we come to live at CVKH? At first, we were wondering where we might spend a few years as volunteers before moving to a retirement community. We knew about CVKH and, thanks to Leslie Jones and Sherry Wildfeuer, we came for a visit. We were so impressed by the community – by its values and its practices and above all by its people.  We loved the landscape. We talked with Sherry and others to see what possibilities there might be for us to return to CVKH after the two Berlin years already planned. After many meetings and discussions, including a second visit, the idea developed that would allow us to join the community without becoming too much of a burden. As part of the plan, we contributed funds to build a house that would belong to CVKH, in which we would live during our retirement years. Diedra Heitzman and Mark Ohi managed the building project with expertise, patience and loving care, and we had the fun of watching from afar as the house took shape. We think it’s a beautiful house and we’re thrilled to be the present occupants.

Over the next years Katherine and Bob have become fully involved in CVKH. Katherine works in the Herb Garden on a regular basis. Bob developed the Chamber Music Residency Program that brings young music ensembles to CVKH for 4 to 7 day periods of intense rehearsal, interaction in the community, an open coaching session, and a public concert in Rose Hall. More recently, Bob became Director of Development.

As they wrote back in 2021:

“The meadows, the orchard, the woods, the paths, the farm, the cows, the rabbit at Sycamore [now at Farmhouse] – these are our delights every day.”