Published: January 21, 2026
Kendal at Oberlin is home to more than 300 people in their 60s and well beyond. They come from near (Oberlin and Cleveland) and far (Hawaii, Canada and elsewhere). The residents share many common values, such as sustainability and lifelong learning, and many have ties to Oberlin College. But each resident has his or her own unique story.
Meet Tom Van Nortwick
Tom Van Nortwick is certainly familiar with Oberlin. He arrived in 1974 to take a teaching position in Oberlin College’s Classics Department and never left the college or city, moving to Kendal at Oberlin in 2017.
But since picking up a camera about 15 years ago, Tom has been viewing the city, college and Kendal community with an eye focused on natural light, birds, trees, nature, architecture, bodies of water, nearby parks and the like. That vision is now on display in Kendal’s Friends Gallery with his second exhibit at Kendal entitled “Around Home.”
“I still haven’t learned much about the technical side of photography in the last fifteen years, but I have gotten to know more about what kinds of images I consider interesting and hopefully beautiful. I am grateful to my friends Kendal residents Mary Behm and Grover Zinn for inviting me to show my work,” he says.
Tom’s artist talk is Friday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Heiser Auditorium. The exhibit runs through Feb. 3. The public is invited to both events.
The exhibit is also available to view online on the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts (FAVA) website.
Tom’s photography journey
A gift from his wife Mary started Tom’s down the photo path. The small digital camera Mary gave him fit in his pocket and during daily walks before teaching Tom would take photos of flowers and other nature scenes.
“I decided to post one photo from my walks every day on Facebook, to share my interests with friends and add some discipline to the project,” he says. Tom continues this practice, posting a daily photograph related to the season either from his archive of 20,000 images or adding a new one.
As his confidence grew, Tom expanded his subjects and camera gear. The cottage he and Mary moved into at Kendal overlooks Rock Pond and “I suddenly had a whole new landscape to work with. Because I wanted to take close-up photos of the birds on our pond and also at the many wonderful parks in the area, I bought a second camera, a Canon “PowerShot” SX70 HS, which has a powerful zoom lens. The photos of birds in the show were taken with this camera.”
His other go-to camera is a Fujifilm X30, which has built-in filters to increase color vividness. Tom has also experimented with format, using both aluminum and canvas for the “Around Home” exhibit.
Tom’s interest in art beyond photography has led to two other activities. Next month he takes on the role of chair of Kendal’s Art Committee, which oversees all the public art in the community (about 900 pieces, all donated by residents and friends) and the three art galleries.
And he, along with Mary, are members of the FAVA Board of Directors.
Tom’s work in the classics continues
In 2016 Tom retired from Oberlin College as a Professor of Classics but he continues to share his knowledge with students and others interested in Greek studies. He’s involved in writing interpretative essays for Dickinson College’s (PA) online public-access site Dickinson College Commentaries.
“I have about 30 essays to go on Homer’s Odyssey and my goal is to finish them by my 80th birthday in October,” Tom says, adding “I like to do this because it extends my engagement with poetry that I love.”
