[Little Bird]

Found this today at Beatrice Daily Sun

‘When You Dream' presentation a tribute to family's homesteading legacy


By Joelyn Hansen/Daily Sun staff writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 9:26 AM CDT

Atz Kilcher's parents, Yule and Ruth, came to the United States in pursuit of a dream.

So, it is appropriate that Kilcher's program tribute to his parents and family legacy is entitled, “When You Dream.”

In an hour-long program, Kilcher, father of world-famous singer and songwriter Jewel, presented a multi-media presentation Monday afternoon about his homesteading family at the Homestead National Monument of America Heritage Center.

Kilcher's parents arrived in Homer, Alaska, in the 1930s after leaving Switzerland. Alaska lured them because of the opportunities it offered: free land and the chance to live among its natural beauty and wilderness.

Yule Kilcher eventually went on to help write the Alaska state constitution and serve as a state senator.

It was there on an Alaska homestead that Atz Kilcher, along with his seven siblings, was born and raised.

In a log cabin his father built, Kilcher's family cultivated not only the land they lived on, but also their creativity and musical talents. Song became a natural part of their lives, whether they were sitting down for meals or working outside on the farm.

The Kilchers also raised their children with the sense of capturing their dreams.

Kilcher's program, which pays tribute to his parents' legacy, takes its audiences back to the life of a homesteader through the use of movie film, photographs and music.

“It's an exciting treasure,” Kilcher said about the ability he has to share with audiences about his family. “I love to share my music, I love to share my story.”

The program consists of film footage taken during the Kilchers' early homesteading days as they cultivated the land. The film is the only known piece of colored film from that time period that documents the life of homesteaders, Kilcher said.

“It was a silent movie that my father used to narrate,” he said. “It kind of gives you a glimpse of quite a few years of homesteading and pioneering.”

In the film, the Kilcher family is seen working together on the homestead among the backdrop of the Alaska wilderness and shoreline.

As the film and photographs are shown across the screen, Kilcher sings a variety of songs he wrote in tribute to his family, particularly his mother and father, and other songs derived from events in his life that helped shape who he is today.

He also pays tribute to his own children, including his daughter, Jewel, who has become an accomplished singer and composer herself.

Kilcher, who has worked as a social worker and a music teacher, has made a number of performances through the years yodeling, singing and playing his guitar. He plans to travel and present this program at various venues in the nation to teach and entertain audiences with the history of his family.

“How lucky can a guy be to share his story, his heritage through music,” Kilcher said.