Lively’s the Theme at Elderhostel

It certainly didn’t have the ring of a faraway place or the sound of a glamorous hideaway, but Nogales was the place our friends chose for our introduction to the Elderhostel program.

So off we went. We knew it was the kind of vacation we liked; there would be interesting people, new things to learn and a different part of the country to explore. Now the week is over and our big decision is, “Which Elderhostel shall we enroll in next?”

There were 43 hostelers from 14 states of the Union and Canada in our class. They were writers, physicians, musicians, engineers, teachers and non-professional people. When a “student” corrected one of our teachers, she laughed and said, “Talking to an Elderhostel group is like talking to the Encyclopedia Britannica.”

Our weeklong course, under the supervision of the University of Arizona, included Arizona history, conversational Spanish and Mexican and Indian art. The cost: $205. The classes were lively and stimulating and the teachers had an infectious enthusiasm that charmed us all.

Bubbled and Joked

Our history teacher was Susan Clarke Spater, a graduate of Smith College, with a master’s degree from the University of Michigan. Spater bubbled, joked and taught Arizona history with an emphasis on Santa Cruz County, “Arizona’s best-kept secret.”

She poked fun at her own fervor and said, “People accuse me of thinking Nogales is the center of the universe.” By the end of the week I thought she might be right.

Arizona history, facts and dates rolled off her tongue as if they were on a computer printout but with a lot more sparkle. Her facts had to sparkle to keep pace with her red stockings, dangling earrings and love for her topic.

From her we learned that Jacob Isacton, a Russian immigrant, started a trading post in Nogales Pass in 1800 when the railroad line was being surveyed. From that beginning Nogales grew to the “gateway to the north.” Today as many as 600 semi-trucks, loaded with produce, cross the border at the Nogales station and head for Canada and the East Coast. When the border is closed, Mexican produce rots in the trucks.

More Like Mexico

Residents think of Nogales, Ariz., and Sonora, Mexico, as one city. They concede that Nogales is more like Mexico than it is like the United States and enjoy its lazy charm. One returning native son said, “I knew I was in Nogales when I saw the American flag flying upside down.”

For future trivia games we know that a Nogal is a walnut tree (there aren’t many left in Nogales) and that the Huichol Indians, seen begging in the streets of Sonora, are nomadic and may ride free on any airline, bus or train in Mexico.

Our Spanish teacher was Teresa Leal, a small, dark and fiery woman with a commitment to Mexico’s poor, the plight of the Indians and women’s rights.

Leal was born in Syracuse, N.Y., moved to Mexico when she married at the age of 18, and learned to speak Spanish after that. She teaches Spanish above the border and English and French in Sonora. She writes a daily column for La Voz del Norte, a Mexican newspaper and, in her spare time, cares for her eight children, of whom the youngest is 4.

When we asked her how she found time for Elderhostel she replied, “You are therapy for me--so light--so nice.”

Eye-Opening Comments

Her comments about Mexican politics were eye-openers and some of us showed more interest in her politics than in our conversational Spanish. As quickly as we would lead her away from the class outline, someone else would take her back to verb conjugation.

The third class of each day was Mexican and Indian art taught by Carinne Holm Melton, who was born and raised in Guatemala. Melton illustrated her lectures with slides of modern and primitive art, and each day wore a costume brighter and more colorful than the slides she showed.

In addition to our classes we took field trips to Nogales and Sonora and wandered through the shops with our shopper’s guide. We visited the Pimeria Alta Museum for a margarita party and a review of local history. We saw the chile factory, stopped at Mariposa Ranch for a short lecture on ranching, went to the Neighborhood Center for a concert by the Quintessence Woodwind Ensemble and took a walking tour of Nogales.

We traveled by bus to the Tumacacori Mission established by Father Kino in 1751. It was abandoned after Mexico won independence from Spain and, in 1849, a traveler named Hays wrote of Tumacacori:

“The fruit has fallen and none to gather it. Corrals still standing--not a living thing seen. It has a melancholy appearance.”

Living Demonstrations

In 1908 the mission became a National Monument, and today’s traveler can see living demonstrations of what life was like during mission days. There are also lectures and self-guided walks of the gardens and buildings.

Our “graduation dinner” was Friday night and one other first-timer said, “I feel as if I’ve made a whole new family and now I may never see any of you again.”

But the main topic of the last evening was, “Where are you going next?” And the answer: “Well, I’ve applied for Fort Robinson, Neb.,” or “We want to go to England but our second choice is Italy,” or “We’re signed up for Mexico to study Spanish for two weeks.”

Elderhostel is for any one over 60 (or for any couple where one partner is over 60), and you’re welcome whether you’re married, single, divorced, widowed or separated.

More than 1,400 study programs are listed in the Elderhostel catalogue, under the direction of 700 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and Israel. There are also 13 programs in France, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain and Switzerland in cooperation with the Experiment in International Living.

To receive a catalogue, write to Elderhostel, 80 Boylston St., Suite 400, Boston, Mass. 02116. Local libraries also receive a special edition.

If my teen-age years were my salad days, Elderhostel helps to make retirement the dessert course.