Lester and Rosemary Moeller Visit Former Exchange Student
published in The Miller Press, Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Cecilia Gadd graduated from Miller High School in 1985 after spending her senior year living with Rosemary and Lester Moeller, far from her home in Lidingo, Sweden. Since then, she has kept in touch and visited with Moellers in London, but for the first time they got together in Sweden, March 2011.
Cecilia now works for SEB, the Swedish bank, where she is an account manager for securities and wealth opportunities. Moellers had a reunion with her parents, Lizbeth and Christer Gadd still living in Lidingo. They met her sister Lotta and brother-in-law Magnus who live nearby for now. One of their three sons is serving in the military in Afghanistan.
Cecilia, a conservative Republican, took Moellers to the Royal Church in Stockholm, which was her first visit there, ever. Some Swedes do not support the maintenance of a royal family and their life-styles. The visit was exciting, seeing the great sculptures and beautiful Gothic windows. They also toured the Vassa Museum and then spent a day in Uppsala at the University, Church of St. Lawrence, tea shops and museums.
They visited the town of Sigtuna where the ruins of the ancient Church of St. Olaf are surrounded by Viking rune stone carvings. Great coffee and seafood added to the experience.
Cecilia remembers Miller very fondly, and had a wonderful time that year. She feels she learned to enter a new place, not just as an observer but as a community participant, which has expanded her experiences ever since.
