05/13/2007

Special to the Record-Eagle
Above, Gerry Ashley with seven of the students she took to France, at their 30th reunion in Leland in 2000.

French at Heart

Teacher pens tale of yearlong trip with ninth-graders

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS

mdrahos@record-eagle.com

LELAND — Gerry Ashley was just 22 when she and her husband sold their Ford convertible — a wedding present — and sailed for post-WWII France to study for a year at the University of Grenoble.

The experience sparked a lifelong love affair with the country and, 23 years later, an even more ambitious plan: to take eight of her French students — high school freshmen at Maumee Valley Country Day School in Toledo — on a yearlong study adventure in Provence.

"That was a time before we had cell phones, computers and the phone systems we have now,” said Ashley, who recalls details of their experience in her new memoir, " ... And So To France” (iUniverse; $13.95).

Published in March, the book is available locally at Horizon Books in Traverse City and at Leelanau Books in Leland, where Ashley — a former summer resident — moved with husband Charlie in 1995. Recently it got a nod from Peter Mayle, author of his own series of books about life in Provence, she said.

"He said he was already greatly loving it,” she said, referring to a letter the British expatriate wrote to her after she sent him a copy of the book. "That just sent me way up.”

A self-admitted Francophile and a fan of both Mayle and author-chef Julia Child, Ashley has made 15 trips to France, from the first in 1947, when she gave birth to her daughter, to the last a year ago, when she celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary. But none was more precious than the one she convinced administrators to let her take in 1970-71 with a group of ninth-graders from Maumee Valley.

For eight months she and two other teachers from the independent school lived with the students in Villeneuve-les-Avignon, where most of the buildings dated back to the 13th century or earlier. By morning, the students — including son, Tom — studied at the local Lycees. By afternoon, the group explored the region on day trips in their "class on wheels,” a rented blue van.

"The highlight was the daily fun of giving them something new to see every day and not having them think of it as a classroom,” said Ashley, adding that favorite day trips included Le Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct, and the Camargue, a marshy delta on the Mediterranean known for its birds, wild horses and bulls. "And the other highlight was not only did we go over on a ship but we voted and we decided to go back on a ship. That is my preferred way of travel.”

When not studying or exploring, students volunteered at local establishments like the patisserie and the library or played basketball and rugby with the locals. On breaks, they worked on individual research projects or traveled to nearby cities in Greece, Italy and England.

"Speaking French was the least of the benefits,” Ashley said now. "One of the things that came out most was that they learned how to get along with each other. They were 24 hours a day together and I was 24 hours a baby sitter. And that was a huge part of the experience — and, of course, learning to live in another culture. I think the younger kids are exposed to another language and culture, the easier it is for them to learn it.”

Ashley said she started the book in the winter of 2006 after receiving a note from a recipient of Maumee Valley's Foreign Study and Travel fund established in her name.

"She wrote thanking me for funds she'd received and telling me about her trip to Ethiopia,” Ashley said, adding that the communication got her to thinking about how different extended student travel is now compared to the early '70s. That in turn led her to go through a box of old journals and other memorabilia from the year in Provence, "and that just kind of spurred me on,” she said.

She treated herself to a new laptop computer, e-mailed her old students and their parents — all of whom she'd kept in touch with over the years — and waited for the approval she knew she'd get.

"Several of them have written to me and said that that trip changed their lives,” she said. "That's a pretty bold statement. But it started them thinking more globally.”

Traverse City artist Claud Mills was four years older than his sister Sarah and in his first year of college in Minnesota when she went to France. But the trip and the friends she made there — including "Francoise,” whom she plans to visit in July — have had a lasting impact on her, he said. Sarah Mills was among seven of eight students who came to northern Michigan for a reunion with Ashley in 2001, he added.

"I think it meant a lot. That group is really close,” he said. "I know it was pretty special.”

Ashley, 81, said the students and their families helped her recall details and memories long buried. Still footage from son Tom's old 8 mm movie camera provided photos for the book. Proceeds from its sale will go to the study and travel fund at Maumee Valley, where Ashley retired from teaching in 1981 and later served as alumni director and trustee.

She signed copies of the book at a recent alumni luncheon and will sign more from 5-7 p.m. May 26 at Leelanau Books and from 1-3 p.m. June 2 at Horizon Books in Traverse City.