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Lost in Culoz...and Finding Gertrude Stein's House By
Arnie Greenberg Until I actually got there, I never knew where Culoz was. I prided myself in knowing France, but the village of Culoz was not, until then, on my tourist agenda. Now we speak of Culoz daily in our house. If you travel south from Geneva or west from Annecy and slightly northeast from Lyon, you'll find Culoz, mainly a one-industry town, nestled in the shadow of the Grand Colombier that is a forewarning of the French Alps only a few miles away. There is a lot to do in the area but not much in Culoz. Here, the good people work and watch their children grow. In nearby Nancy there is a great many things to do, even if it's only a walk around the old town or a ride in a dinner boat on the lake. Aix-En-Provence Nearby Nearby there's Aix-En-Provence, famous for its spa, casino and sparkling fish-filled lake. With so few lakes in France, both Annecy and Aix are hotspots for visitors. Not so Culoz. I first went there looking for the houses in the area where the American writer Gertrude Stein once lived. I found the obvious one in Bilignin, near Belley, to the south and stumbled on Culoz because of an invitation. At the tourist office in Belley, I was told how to find that Louis XV house made famous because Gertrude and Alice lived there during the war. I was also told that a conference on Gertrude Stein had just ended. The rest was complete coincidence…and without sounding romantic or maudin, my visit to Bilignin changed my life. The lady at the office gave me the name of the conference coordinator to whom to write. In the meantime, off I went to see the house I had read and taught about. Where Gertrude Stein Lived and Wrote At first I was disappointed. One doesn't just go up to a house in France, knock on the door and announce, " I am a professor from Canada. I'd like to see where Gertrude Stein lived and wrote." So I looked at the house from the road, hoping someone would emerge. But that was not to be. As I was about to leave, a farmer approached on a noisy tractor. I flagged him down. He stooped, but the engine roared on. "Do you know where the owners of this house are?" I asked sheepishly. He
had no idea, except that the owner was an old lady, hard of hearing, and probably
asleep. Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared. He introduced himself as Marcel Putz, and I knew I was talking to the owner's son. It was Marcel's father who had rented the house to Gertrude forty odd years before. The farmer left, and Mr. Putz invited us into that famous garden trimmed with boxwood that Alice Toklas had lovingly cultivated years ago. But we would not be able to get into the house. Madame Putz was indeed sleeping. I took pictures. We chatted about Gertrude, and I gave Marcel a copy of a play I wrote about her. There were even pictures of the house in my book. And so I left, but not before Marcel explained how when his father needed the house for himself, he broke the lease. He actually took Gertrude to court, and Gertrude and Alice had to move. A friend found them a suitable place in Culoz, only 25 kilometers away. Off we went to Culoz. I found the house. I took pictures and had the eerie feeling that I would be back. Dr. Robert Bartlett Haas Writes That winter, I wrote to the conference organizer. After weeks of delay, I received a letter from Dr. Robert Bartlett Haas, one-time friend of Gertrude who was organizing the next meetings. He had read my play and wanted me to be the guest speaker the following summer in Culoz. When I asked him how he found my play, he replied, "My friend, Marcel Putz, gave it to me." What a coincidence, I thought One never knows. Eventually, I arrived in Culoz, ready to give my talk. The town was familiar to me, except that now everyone knew me and I would get inside both houses. But there's more. It was in the house in Culoz that Gertrude lived during part of the war. German officers were billeted in the house, not knowing who else lived there. Gertrude stuck to her bedroom. She was still in Culoz when the Americans liberated France. Eric Severied found her and enabled her to give a radio broadcast back to the USA. Many thought she was dead. Jean d'Aiguy, the Son of the Famous Rose Few people know a lot about Gertrude Stein, but many know a rose is a rose is a rose… Imagine my surprise when I found out that the young man assigned to translate my talk was Jean d'Aiguy, the son of that famous Rose. His mother, now dead, was the daughter of the friend who had found the house for Gertrude. Baronne Pierelot lived nearby. Now Jean lived there. He invited me to come for breakfast. All he said was to come to neighboring Beon. I'd find signs for the place. That's when I got lost. On the road I met a farmer. He knew very well where Jean d'Aiguy lived and pointed out a narrow road with a long, high stonewall. "Just after the wall, you'll see a door," he said. "Knock hard. The bell doesn't work." I found the door and knocked. Jean opened it and invited me into an ancient kitchen. When we moved into the corridor, I realized I was in a wonderful old chateau. I later found out that this was Rose and Jean's ancestral home. Jean was at least a count -- possibly a Marquis. At the breakfast table was Dr. Robert Haas. The rest is history. I spent a week there and made many friends, who I still see or correspond with. I went back a year later with my wife, and on successive visits I brought my tour groups to Jean's 40-room Chateau Beon, where we would lunch on the lawn. Jean and I are still friends. We talk often about those days. Dr. Haas and I meet in Europe when we can. I called him yesterday. He was on a boat somewhere in the Mediterranean in the middle of a diving lesson. Our conversations are always about Culoz, a village I had never heard of until recently. I can get there with my eyes closed. By the way, it was Dr Haas who was instrumental in having my play about Gertrude Stein produced in Stuttgart the following year. I'm much grateful for that and the friendships that came out of it. I'll never be lost in Culoz again.
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