HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Distant as West Michigan is from France, the devastating fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, brought back vivid memories for Holland-area residents who’ve visited Paris.
WHTC’s Patty Vandenberg went in 1971, when she was a West Ottawa High freshman — and the French class needed a few more students for a planned trip to Paris, opening reaervations to the whole school.
Vandenberg warmly recalled her grandparents’ generosity in paying for her trip, which cost about $1,000 at the time. She earned spending money on her own, bringing along a camera and 10 rolls of film — buying two more rolls during the trip.
Her strongest memory of Paris is the architecture, she said, and of the Cathedral’s upward-soaring lines.
