Matthew and Patrick Marsolek came to work at the Feathered Pipe in 1986 through their connection to India and Laughing Water. Their parents became friends with India and Laughing Water after meeting at the Real Food Store when the boys were in their early teens. They both were deeply intrigued by Eastern practices and philosophy which led to some of the Feathered Pipe family sponsoring the two of them to travel to India in the winters of ‘85 and ‘86. Shortly after that trip, they decided to work at the Ranch and continued for many more to come.
The two started in the kitchen and housekeeping but eventually, Patrick’s knack for craftsmanship landed him work with long-time ranch caretaker Tom Ryan doing maintenance and building projects. One of the main projects he worked on that we still to this day enjoy was the building of the bathhouse and sauna!
It was also apparent that Matthew and Patrick were gifted musically and liked to entertain guests with their playing. They developed a passion for drumming and group music-making which led Patrick to begin building frame drums in the old garage (now the Ranch Chalet). Matthew began to help as did their dad and older brother Michael which laid the foundation for the Drum Brothers that we know and love today.
Fast forward forty years, Matthew’s sons Nyon and Ravi are making their mark at the Ranch. Ravi started working in the kitchen and playing music in 2021, and Ravi joined us 2024. Once a year, their parents Matthew and Tracy Topp return to help host the Mindful Unplug Retreat and get to show off their drumming and community music-making talents right where it all started. Matthew’s brother Michael’s daughter Sophia (were you able to follow that?) also joined the crew this last season on the housekeeping and kitchen team which created a whole new Marsolek crew. We will continue to see what the Marsolek family’s creativity manifests over these next years and can’t wait to see what comes!