Blog #2- Inspiration and Research

    The first few days of our project, Dani and I spent it doing tons of research in the Hakwken Archives. We learned a lot about Lori Kalberer who originally restored the Shakespeare Garden in 1977. We also learned about the White Family and their current estate. The garden here is over 100 years old and was taken care of by Mr. White’s wife. The White Family owned a very successful automotive company right here in Gates Mills, OH. This land had many different animals roaming around as well. Animals like horses, and dairy cattle, even having one of the biggest dairy farms in Ohio. Dani and I also got a glimpse into the all-boys aspect here at Hawken, and what life was like on campus. There were garden clubs, and students would garden during school hours and even after school. I thought that was something very special and I hope our project can turn into something like this, getting the Hawken Community involved in taking care of something that students helped build.

After learning about the history behind the garden and the estate, Dani and I decided not to keep the original Shakespeare Garden, and we decided to change the name to the Bétail Garden. In the French language, Bétail means livestock. Dani and I both have a love for language, her taking Spanish for ten years, and with me taking French for six, we decided to change the name to make the garden our own. Dani and I both aspire to take many languages and expand our knowledge of the language in college, and we could not think of a better way than to utilize our love and making this garden our own for many more Hawken students and faculty to enjoy. 

After the first day, I learned a lot about the White Family, and Dani and I hope to continue their legacy into the new and hopefully improved Bétail Garden. 

Included below are pictures of the original White Family Gardens