Jan Bowman and her husband Gerry Swanson have been coming to Holden Village since 1962, when they spent the summer here as honeymooners and work-campers. They are alums of Augustana College, Rock Island, and have worked at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks since 1969. Gerry was the campus pastor; Jan taught English. Two sons and their families live within a mile of their home; their daughter and her family live in Berkeley. Jan has published Carved Like Runes, a collection of poems drawing on a decade of loss and spiritual transformation. Several of these poems were written at Holden.

(Bio from summer 2005)