Last Thursday, as part of the Woodstock Fine Arts Association
Creative Living Series, award-winning author Fern Schumer Chapman captivated the audience with an inspiring presentation. Fern shared the emotional story of her mother, Edith Westerfeld, who painfully fled Nazi Germany in 1938 and journeyed to America as an unaccompanied minor refugee. Fern then described Edith’s return to her small German hometown in 2014 to witness the installation of a memorial to remember her family. A conscience-driven activist-artist has embedded tens of thousands of hand-made bronze plaques to help today’s generation face their nation’s history and begin the process of atoning for the past. Fern’s program included a clip from an Oprah Winfrey program that featured Naperville 8th graders who reunited Edith with the best friend she met on the ship to America some 73 years ago. After her presentation, Fern invited her 93-year-old mother on stage to answer questions. The surprised and delighted audience responded with a standing ovation.