The tribute by the Client to the Architect of Bellingrath Gardens cited in Van’s sermon, Interpreter of Dreams reads,

"The Interpreter of Our Dreams which Resulted in the Perfection of these Gardens."

          Van knows well the sweet poignancy of that statement after having watched for over thirty years the peaks and valleys in the profession of architecture for one of his Ladye's children and her architect husband. Van has steadfastly celebrated his son-in-laws national design award honors, marched enthusiastically behind his architect son-in-law and the velvet coated Knights of Columbus on Dedication Day of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Kentucky, and offered support and encouragement during periods of little or no design work.

          But Van has also played a vital and important role himself as an Interpreter of Dreams in a story that began over sixty years ago.  He was a college student in search of summer work.  Through a fortuitous opportunity Van arrived to take his summer job amid the mountain beauty of the Presbyterian retreat center known as Montreat in the gentle mountains east of Asheville, North Carolina.  And the rest, so to speak, is history.

          From the many stories Van tells about his early years working at South Carolina Home, from hearing him describe how he would cleverly circumvent the early restrictive Sunday rules about not leaving the conference grounds, and from hearing the way Dr. Anderson molded the early history of Montreat, Van has permanently emblazoned his love for this beautiful little alley of Montreat on each of his family.  Van realized early on that in the quite and beauty of God’s creation called Montreat, he and those close to him could find rest and rejuvenation that would bring energy to them for life back in the real world.

          Little did Van realize that all of those trips to Montreat over all of these years, that all of the steps climbed to reach various rental houses, and that all of the lumpy bed he must have slept in in hopes of hearing the soothing melody of Flat Creek would result in his being an Interpreter of a Dream.  Dreams start with seeds, and it is Van and Ladye who planted and nurtured the seed of this good place of Montreat in their children's hearts and minds.

          Through years of summer vacationing at Montreat with dear, lifelong friends, Van and his Ladye sent a strong message to their children that there was something quite special about this mountain retreat.  The next phase was inviting members of the family to come to Montreat for summer vacations which they did.  The seed of love for Montreat was growing stronger.

          Through wonderful stories about his early days at Montreat, about his friends that regularly vacationed at Montreat at the same time each summer to be together, and about the importance of finding a place of beauty and respite, Van ensured that the seed of love for Montreat would grow in each of his children.

          Thus, it was no surprise that two of his children would catch the spirit of Montreat so intensely that they would purchase property a mere stone’s throw away from an original piece of property Van had owned on Greybeard Road.  The seed of love for Montreat planted by Van and his Ladye would now flower in the creative expression of an architect son-in-law and his wife who built The Brownie House on Memphis Lane.

          Van became an Interpreter of a Dream by nourishing his family's eagerness to enjoy one another's company in a beautiful, quiet place of peacefulness far from the hectic life of the city.  Thus was born the oasis called The Brownie House which now reverberates with memories from a multi-year tradition of family Thanksgiving celebrations, July the Fourth family picnics, a family wedding on the front porch, and many incarnations of moss-covered Brownie houses always with shiny quarters left in front of them by the Brownies.

          The service of dedication of The Brownie House written and delivered by Van during Thanksgiving 1995 holidays illustrates well the love he has for this beautiful place of Montreat and the dream he helped make happen on Memphis Lane.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Psalm 127:1

The Call to Dedication

Van:  As a place of rest and recuperation and a place to meet and enjoy our family, and friends of many years past, in beautiful Montreat

ALL:  We dedicate the Brownie House on Memphis Lane.

Peggy:  As a retreat from the busy world where we spend most of our days throughout the year, educating children and solving the problems of parents and children.

ALL:  We dedicate the Brownie House on Memphis Lane.

Meghan: As a place of good times where we first found money the brownies left, and got to know our family in good times together

ALL:  We dedicate this house.

Ladye Margaret:  As a place for planning meals, cooking good food, and enjoying happy times around the table

ALL:  We dedicate the kitchen and eating area.

Katie:  As a place of rest and recuperation, and for getting together with our Memphis family, and sleeping on a new futon.

ALL:  We dedicate the bed rooms and baths.

Christopher:  As a place for fun games, watching videos, eating brownies in front of the brownie tiles around a warm fire.

ALL:  We dedicate the brownie fireplace.

Jim:  For the joy of beholding the beauty around us, and for relaxing, reading, and listening to the water flowing by, and sitting in a rocking chair with a glass of wine after supper.

ALL:  We dedicate the porch and rocking chairs.

ALL:  For the brownie on top of the house to tell us the direction the wind blows, we dedicate the weather vane.

Prayer of Dedication in Unison

Our Father, who art in heaven and yet beside us here, we thank you for Montreat and all of its beauty.  We thank you for the wonderful memories we have of this place and now for this house built her in the midst of the beauty of your creation.  We thank you for the love of family and friends and the love of these mountains and the opportunities of happy vacations that bring us here to keep alive and strong our family love and ties.  And it is our prayer that you will:

Bless the four corners of this house,
And be the windows blessed,
Bless the hearth and bless the brownies too
And bless each place of rest,
And bless the door that opens wide
To stranger as to kin.
And bless each bright window pane
That lets the starlight in,
And bless the roof overhead,
And every sturdy wall,
The peace of people, the peace of God,
The peace of love oer all.
AMEN!