The Value of a Family Heritage Vacation

When you walk in the footsteps of your ancestors, you find an immediate sense of belonging

Knowing where you come from—and loving your heritage—gives you a foundation and identity that transcend the latest fads of the day. Biba Kayewich

Early this summer, my entire family made the trek to northern Wisconsin to visit our ancestral homestead. Roughly 25 years had passed since we last set eyes on it, thanks to conflicting schedules and other circumstances, but honestly, not much had changed at the old place.

Yet as I sat on the dock, my feet in the clear, iron-tinted water of the lake, or walked along the country road, marveling that numbers of my ancestors had once homesteaded in this community and owned the land I was passing, I gained a better understanding of the importance of family heritage. And in a time in which we’re bombarded with how terrible the past was, it seems fitting to explore that heritage, not only to honor those who have gone before, but also to inspire those who will come after.

Exhibit 1: Sense of Place

Even though I visited the family homestead only a few times in my childhood, there was still an odd sense of connection I felt to the property. This was where the stories that my father told of his childhood—of the old outhouse, the steep basement stairs he fell down, and the lake that froze in the winter and cracked like a gunshot—took place. This is where my grandfather—of whom I have only a dim memory—grew up. In essence, I set my feet on this land and had automatic roots. I belonged, even though I had rarely been there.