February 2019 – Hermann Sons Life – Page 5
Fournier story begins at The Altenheim
Editor’s Note: Hermann Sons Life is celebrating “Generations of Service and Protection” in 2019 by sharing the stories of our members and their generations of family membership in our organization. This is the first in a series of articles. If you would like to share your family’s story, call Communications Director Kathie Ninneman at 800-234-4124, ext. 273, or email her at kathien@hermannsonslife. org. You do not have to write the story yourself.
By LareLLe Fournier I am many things - a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, and, for a very long time, I have known that I am a “Hermann Son.” I didn’t quite know what that meant when I was young, except that when my best friend, Tanya Syler, was one too we were finally somehow related, and we were going to summer camp together! Amazingly, our family’s journey, like that of many families started with a love story. My Oma, Dora
Six cousins from the Fournier family attended Camp at the same time in 2016.
(Rausch) Biermann, was employed at the Hermann Sons Retirement Home, or as they called it then, The Altenheim. She was sweet 16, strong, lively, independent, and very pretty. I recall her sharing black and white photographs with me of her and her friends, all dressed up and meeting up with cute boys at The Altenheim. A few made her swoon, but none so wonderfully as Kurt Biermann, the true love of Dora’s life for 60 years. I recall my Oma telling me the story of her courtship. My favorite story was when she asked my Opa to meet her one afternoon at a particular tree on the grounds of the “old folks home.” If he was there when she arrived, they would run off to Mexico that night and elope. They both met at their special tree, drove to Mexico in a Model A, eloped and returned as a married couple to Comfort on New Year’s Day just in time to take in a dance during the evening’s festivities. In the 1950’s, Dora purchased life insurance policies for her children: David Biermann, Marlene
Larelle Fournier is pictured with children Hudson and Maren.
Lana Fournier, center, is pictured with her daughters. Lana was one of the original campers the first year it opend.
Marks and Lana Fournier. Dora was familiar with the benefits that were offered by Hermann Sons not only from working there, but also from visits with Kurt’s grandparents, Andreas Sprott and his wife Auguste who lived at the Retirement Home for many years. The policy purchases were just in time for Dora and Kurt’s youngest daughter to attend summer camp at Hermann Sons Youth Camp. Lana, my mother, was one of the original campers the first year it opened. At the time, the Camp consisted of one dormitory building and a swimming pool. The cafeteria was located on the ground level of the dormitory building and the campers had to participate in KP duty, which meant sweeping, wiping tables and washing dishes. Originally, Camp offered classes like softball, crafts and horseback riding. One of the most favored activities – taking place in the screened-in porch of the dormitory – was ping-pong! “I really enjoyed all four years of my Hermann Sons camping ex-
perience and made long-lasting friendships,” Lana (Biermann) Fournier. In the 70’s Dora and Kurt purchased life insurance policies for each of their grandchildren. This allowed us to attend Camp. For me, Camp was exciting and scary all at once. I know now that attending sleep-away camp is a right of passage into maturity. When I attended we had many dormitories and a separate cafeteria with a pavilion for movies on rainy nights. I attended during the years when you deliberated over your “activity choice card” for weeks. Horseback riding, ceramics, tennis, softball, canoeing, what would I choose to learn this year? Camp was a place where you had opportunity; a chance to hold an archery bow, learn a new stroke in swimming or swing a golf club that you had only seen on TV. It was a time of exploration and growth, failure and ribbons. The love story continues. From 1990-1993, my sister Chandra spent summers as a counselor at Camp while she attended Texas A&M. She began as a counselor, became a swim coordinator and finished her time as a senior counselor. She told me, “For me, HSYC gave me a chance to go back to Camp and realize I was capable of so much in my adult life. I saw myself in those campers…. I became confident in life! The biggest impact on me was how far a positive attitude towards another person, especially a child, can truly impact their lives. Spending only a week with a camper could make the difference they needed. To see them as valued and special.” See FaMiLY, Pg. 16