by GABRIEL HATHAWAY
Cotter Schools alum and former Winona resident Melissa Rousu recently wrote and published her debut children’s book, “Grandpa Loved Wild Things,” about her grandfather, Bill Drazkowski, a longtime Winona resident active in the Winona Bird Club, a nature photographer, and raptor rehabilitator.
Drazkowski passed away in 2017, but Rousu wanted to keep his memory, his love of nature and animal rehabilitation work alive, especially for the younger members of her family who did not get to experience his love and passion for wild things the same way she did growing up. The writing process came quickly, Rousu said. “It really was an idea one day in the car to do this, and I think it took me — and this can be a horrible thing to say — but I think it took me about 20 minutes to write on my cell phone because I knew exactly what the stories were that I wanted to tell,” Rousu said.
“Grandpa Loved Wild Things” tells a series of stories from Rousu’s childhood when she and her brother would visit Drazkowski in Winona and learn various animal facts and be surprised by whatever new critter he was taking care of at the time. Rousu said there were plenty of hawks and eagles, and at one point, an orphaned raccoon named Climber that Drazkowski cared for for a few months before releasing back into the wild. Although it’s a cute animal, it also has sharp claws and is prone to scratching people, Rousu said, and added that she learned the important lesson that these are still wild animals and need to be released back into nature.
Rousu explained what she learned from Drazkowski growing up. “The big part of it to us growing up was about preservation and conservation and the importance of being respectful of the land and nature and what’s around us,” Rousu said. “He’d take us in the canoe … and we’d grab garbage out of the river, you know, [and] just learn more about our part in the larger ecosystem that’s around us and how to be observant of it and not disruptive.”
After writing the book, Rousu said the most time-consuming part was finding the right illustrator, but eventually, she connected with Chaterine Piese, who is based out of Latvia, who created the artwork for the children’s book. “So many people now have seen it, especially within the Winona community, who knew him and have ordered the book are like, ‘Oh, that looks just like him,’ or ‘It reminds me so much of him,’ which is the best thing to hear,” Rousu said.
Rousu said she hopes a lesson that readers and families take away from her book is to slow down to love the wild things around us and to be present while making memories. “I feel like, maybe the older I get, I see more and more how technology and just the busyness of life is kind of preventing and stopping those moments from happening,” Rousu said. “You know, we’re all busy with work and keeping our houses going and all these other things that you forget sometimes to just stop and just take a moment to see what’s around us.” She added, “Anytime we’re out where he loved [to go], or we go to the cabin or we come down here … and just kind of stop and sit on the back deck and visit and listen to the birds and see what’s happening around us and put the phones down and just kind of be in it, I think, is the biggest way we honor him,” Rousu said.
Rousu’s “Grandpa Loved Wild Things” is available online, as well as locally at the Winona Public Library and Clara Louise.
