When Lorna Ehlke was teaching in Wisconsin, she often told her students not to be afraid of trying new things or testing uncharted waters. She practiced what she taught. The demure patron of the fine arts is a master of several of them. Inheriting a valuable violin, she was determined to learn to play the intricate instrument rather than use it as a conversation piece. This challenge brought her an appreciation of the difficulty of mastering the playing of stringed instruments.

One day while at an outdoors arts fair in a peaceful wooded setting in Milwaukee, she was browsing the displays of the works that the various artists had to offer when she heard sounds coming from a clearing. Glancing toward the sound, she saw five people - each plucking on a type of harp she had never seen. She walked over and listened and watched intently as the group continued playing. She was waiting for them to take a break, at which time she intended to approach them and inquire about the instruments that had enthralled her.

Lorna' voice became excited when she said, "I had a lot of questions to ask, such as where do you get these harps, how much do they cost, how do you learn how to play them?"

She received a warm welcome by the group; they proceeded to answer all her questions and provided her with information whereby she might further satisfy her curiosity.

The school teacher knew right then and there at that small clearing in the woods that this was going to be a leisure pursuit she would undertake during her upcoming retirement years.

Her first venture with the Celtic harp came at a folk musicians workshop where everyone was constructing some sort of stringed instrument. Lorna had purchased a beginner's harp in kit form. She remembers sanding it for eight hours and receiving assistance from the class instructor so she could install the strings and tune the instrument.

"It was fun, and it broadened my horizons just to be in this atmosphere of folk musicians," she said. "I had been a church organist and played the piano for school programs, but this was really enriching for me."

Once she got going she kept connecting to different facets of the genre. She managed to find a teacher of the harp and considers herself very fortunate to have studied under the master harpist that she still sees to this day when she takes occasional trips to Wisconsin.

One day while browsing through a harp publication she saw an advertisement for a harp that she had been looking for to replace the beginner's model.

Traveling 80 miles to look at it, she found it to be exactly what she wanted, and with a bit of maneuvering and help from the previous owner, they managed to fit it in her car. That has become the criteria when purchasing a new vehicle. Lorna enjoys telling of the auto salesperson who drove a car she was considering purchasing to her home and "worked up a sweat" trying to figure out how the harp would fit in.

He worked like crazy to get it in. He did, and I purchased the car."

Today, Lorna is active in many of the amenities offered at Spruce Creek South, and she also plays a great game of tennis. At home she can be found creating original works of art on canvas or tending to the lovely grounds that surround her residence. She has set aside one room for her piano and organ, but plucking the strings of the beautiful-sounding Celtic harp is what Lorna Ehlke enjoys the most. The accomplished harpist is often invited to play at various functions at Spruce Creek South and other retirement communities in the area.

Bob Turner covers Spruce Creek South for the Summerfield Press. Contact him at summerfieldpress@earthlink.net.