Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/20776
t a n The von Trapp Children in Glacier National Park. Left to right: Amanda, Melanie, Sofia, and Justin. PHOTOS COURTESY OF VON TRAPP FAMILY Music” appChildren BY KAY BJORK This story begins in a tall house that rises straight and proud out of a Montana field, rimmed with hol- lyhocks and hugged by massive boulders. I open the screen door into a large room bordered by a long kitchen counter, towering bookcases, an upright piano, and a wood- stove in the corner. A long kitchen table lies at its heart, where countless goodies, meals, and homework have been staged. A row of windows frames the Swan Mountains. Scents of coffee, pie, and wood smoke and a chorus of greetings wrap around me as I gather the sunlight from the smiles of Stefan and Annie and their children: Sofia, Melanie, Amanda, and Justin. They match their setting— fresh, wholesome, and beautiful—the storybook family for this storybook home. It sounds too good to be true, but you’ll believe it when you hear their story—and learn that they are the von Trapp family, descendants of Captain and Maria von Trapp who were made famous worldwide when they were portrayed in the musical and movie, The Sound of Music. Stefan von Trapp is the grandson of Captain von Trapp and the son of Werner, who was portrayed as Kurt in the movie, The Sound of Music. Stefan’s quiet reserve and yearning for a simple life led him from Vermont to www.distinctlymontana.com Montana where he began to write a new story for his fam- ily. He worked as a stonemason, creating beautiful and functional things out of stone. He and his wife, Annie, built a simple, but handsome house and homeschooled their four children. Days were filled with studies, chores, soccer, church, time with friends, and wandering in the woods, fields, and mountains of Montana. Even though Annie and Stefan did not consider them- selves musical, the children’s natural talent and affinity to music emerged as they sang through their days—at that immense dining table, in the cozy sleeping loft at bedtime, in the car on their way to soccer, and out in the field un- der the big, blue Montana sky. DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Want to see and hear the von Trapp’s legacy? Go to www.distinctlymontana.com/soundofmusic111 The children also had a natural talent for performing and began to sing at church and local concerts. People 45 M o ’ dv e n a o o nT r f s hn T “ S o u