Meet the Editor: Sue Pappas' First Memories of Björklunden

*written by Sue Pappas

If I remember correctly, my connection and first memory of Björklunden can be traced all the way back to 1963. It was during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school when my family and I were on our annual vacation in Door County. My mom had read various news stories over the years in the Saturday Evening Post and Milwaukee Journal about Winifred and Donald Boynton’s chapel and their extensive gardens and thought it was time to view them in person.

You can imagine that my memories from that initial visit dimmed over the years. Yes, I did remember the unique wooden chapel on the edge of the Björklunden woods, set back from the lake shore, and the intimate interior space. However, I completely missed the stories of how the Boyntons were self-taught as wood carvers but kept persevering to create their own designs ornamenting the pulpit, baptismal font, pew ends and more. Nor did I hear how, completely inexperienced as a painter, Winifred carefully planned and executed several murals. However, most importantly, I lacked the appreciation of Winifred’s fierce determination in creating what she wanted to be a Chapel of Peace at a time when the world seemed as far from peace as it possibly could be during WWII.

More than fifty years later, when I rediscovered Björklunden while taking summer seminar classes, I was reintroduced to the wonderful gift of the Chapel of Peace that Winifred and Donald left us. For me, it is a deeply spiritual place to meditate and contemplate just as the Boyntons had envisioned.