Winter Stories - 2014

by John Aldrich

Last Sunday, January 26th, was the night for our annual Winter Stories event. Organized by Rodger Williams, we were treated again to an evening of cultural immersion.

Once more Rodger invited us to imagine ourselves in a hogan listening to the stories that might have been told by our grandparents if we were young Navajo children. This event has become increasingly popular with our local Navajo population, and whole families came to enjoy the evening. My guess was that there were more Navajos than Bilagaanas in the audience this year.

As in past there was plenty of tasty food items to eat since most people brought one of their favorite dishes to share.

When Rodger announced that the program would begin with a prayer song, I wasn't prepared for the singer to be Sally White. It turns out that she has a beautiful voice, and, as best as I could tell, she rendered the song in a very convincing Navajo manner.

The drum group Southern War Pony returned again. Their singing, along with the stirring drumming, is a favorite with the audience.

The lead singer has an extraordinary voice.

Before any of the speakers made their presentations, our new princess, Tiffany Grace Singer, introduced herself.

The first speaker was Steve Todechine who spoke about a variety of cultural topics and described the shoe game in detail. This is an all-night entertainment on the reservation and quite popular in the winter time.

The audience listened raptly to Steve.

Other speakers/singers included Harry James who performed a Yei Bei Chei song.

Eileen Quintana, who always brings us words of great wisdom, spoke about a variety of cultural topics and reminded us, especially, that we are all five-fingered people - in other words, brothers and sisters.

Rose Jakub spoke and sang in her usual fine style.

Interspersed throughout were additional stories and songs from Rodger as well as additional performances by the drum group.

It was a wonderful evening. If you couldn't make it this year, make plans for the last Sunday of January in 2015.

Rug(s) Of The Week

by John Aldrich

The popular Tree Of Life design provides a cheerful note at this time of year when we are all wondering if spring will ever come. These rugs depict colorful birds flying into and out of a corn plant which arises from a ceremonial basket. Several interpretations are associated with this, but the end result is always a feeling of hope and optimism.

We recently added three fine examples of this weaving style to our rug catalog. They are all relatively small, reasonably priced, and well-woven.

The first two are from the loom of Verna Benally:

Both of these rugs measure about 18" x 20" and are priced at $400. In the catalog, the first is #7938, and the second is #7939.

The third rug is by Eleanore Towne:

It is priced at $375 and measures 19" x 28". It is #7966 in our rug catalog.

Eleanore was featured in a previous Rug Of The Week post which you can see here.

For a happy note in anticipation of spring, consider adding one of these to your home.

See this 2010 post for more information about the rug catalog.

Notes: Every effort has been made to photograph and present the rugs with as accurate rendition of color as possible. It's not possible, however, to be certain that your computer won't show some variance. Where two prices are listed in the catalog, the higher represents what the weaver hopes to receive and the lower, the minimum she will accept. As has always been the case at ANE all the proceeds of every rug sale go entirely to the weaver. Prices are set by the weaver, and since there is no "middleman" they are typically very reasonable.

And to see more of what's happening at ANE visit us on Facebook.

The Food Runs to Dilkon and Leupp - Early History

by John Aldrich, utilizing information provided by Ann Voda and Carol Ashton. Historic photos by Ann and Carol.

In two prior posts I tried to provide an overview of the food runs to Dilkon and Leupp. These included a bit of the history of those food runs. Subsequently Ann Voda and Carol Ashton have provided some additional details about those early years. Ann and Carol were a part of the original small group of volunteers that initiated these food runs.

The initial planning for these runs took place at a meeting in Winslow in May of 1999 that included Linda Myers, Cyndy Sheldon, Eunice Spencer, Louise Walker, Ann Voda, and Carol Ashton. Cyndy was a social worker at the Indian Health Service facility in Winslow and felt that the elderly population at both Dilkon and Leupp was in need of basic care and comfort items. Working with Eunice Spencer at Dilkon and Lorraine Walker at Leupp, a group of needy Elders greater than 70 years of age was identified and enrolled into the Program.

To keep the logistics simple, the Elders received $50 food certificates for Bashas supermarkets rather than food boxes at these initial food runs. There is a Bashas market located in Dilkon, and Winslow, a border town not far away, had one as well at the time. In addition to food certificates, Elders also received utility buckets filled with a variety of giveaway items that would be of assistance to their personal health and comfort.

In March of 2000 the first food runs took place. At Dilkon the meeting was held at the First Church Of The Nazarene, and at Leupp it took place at the local Chapter House. The group of volunteers that participated in this occasion were Linda Myers, Ann Voda, Carol Ashton, Sarah Sifers, Cyndy Sheldon, and Pearl Towne.

This photo, taken at the first Dilkon food run, shows Ann distributing items to the utility buckets that will be given to each of the Elders.

In September of 2000 the second food run to these locations took place and included these volunteers: Linda Myers, Ann Voda, Carol Ashton, Cyndy Sheldon, Pearl Towne, and Ray Coleman. In addition to food certificates, Elders received laundry baskets filled with soaps, scrubbers, towels, bleach, and other miscellaneous items. Ann and Carol did all the shopping for the items contained in the baskets for these initial food runs.

This photo, taken at Dikon in September 2000, shows Ann and Ray unloading giveaways from a car while Elder Bessie Paul looks on.

Here are some of the laundry baskets used to hold the giveaways.

After these first food runs, the number of volunteers increased and sponsors were found for the Elders. This made it possible for the food runs to evolve into full-blown food runs as we know them today. However, as mentioned in the other blogs about Dilkon and Leupp, the Elders at these locations have now elected to receive food certificates again in lieu of food boxes.

Ann Voda and Carol Ashton have been dedicated volunteers with ANE for many years and remained active in attending food runs until 2010. They still take part in the annual rug show where they can be found working at the hand spun rug table. Their heartfelt years of service and infectious laughter will always be an important part of ANE's history.

Rug Show 2013 - Weaving Demonstrations

by John Aldrich

The Elders come to the show primarily to sell their rugs and crafts. But they also spend time sharing their unique skills and creative vision with the audience. Prior to the show opening to the public there are demonstrations for school children, and during the show, there are several opportunities for people to see the weavers at work and to hear the stories of the rugs.

Most of the weavers still have their own sheep, and many still prepare their own wool for weaving. This is a time-intensive and laborious process which is little practiced by the younger generations of weavers who find that commercial yarn is much more convenient.

While other weavers work at their looms, a few of the oldest Elders show portions of the process that leads to finished wool that can be used in weaving rugs. Elsie Shay demonstrates carding where fine-toothed combs separate the wool into strands.

The raw wool is then worked into loose coils in preparation for spinning. These are the hands of Ruth Benally.

Using a hip spindle, May Shay is working the wool into a finer strand that can be used for weaving.

Katie Furcap shows a simple but effective way to coil and uncoil the wool.

The first weaving demonstrations take place on Thursday and Friday for over 600 school children before the show opens to the public. Rena Robertson works at her loom in front of a sea of fascinated young faces.

Elizabeth Clah is working on a twill pattern. This is a more complicated technique of weaving than traditional rug patterns.

During the weaving demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday, Elsie Benale and Ella Benally present and describe a rug from each of the weavers.

Lena Cowboy's hands work instinctively as she adds new lines of weft to her rug.

Anna Jackson's rug is a conventional pattern. It is remarkable that weavers in their 80's and 90's can still weave so beautifully.

Louise Reed worked on this Yei rug during the various demonstrations throughout the show. It remained unfinished on Sunday and will be completed later.

Christmas 2013 - Jingle, Mingle, and Bingo

by John Aldrich

As Christmas fast approaches, ANE volunteers enjoyed our annual party at the warehouse yesterday. This is always a time of happiness as well as an opportunity to feel grateful for the work that has helped to support the Elders throughout the year.

This year's party had an additional happy note as Linda was able to introduce her new assistant, Caroline Murdock.

Caroline made a very favorable impression on everyone. She is friendly, engaging, and assured in a way that makes one feel that she will be a great asset to ANE and an invaluable part of the team. We look forward to working with her and getting to know her better.

The party consisted of a pot luck meal plus a variety of games. The assortment of food items was both tempting and overwhelming. Joan Reid shows the colorful cheesecake she brought.

Before the games began, Sam and Sandi Aloia shared a few words about their trip to the Chinle area of the reservation to deliver Christmas stockings. They were also able to visit with their Elder on the trip.

Linda is quite a master of devising entertaining games, and all of the major prizes were to be won on behalf of Elders. This added a note of giving to the competition. Initially, people won points and awards for their answers to a variety of trivia questions. One that stumped everyone was, "Who first sang Jingle Bell Rock"? (For those who are curious, it was Bobby Helms in 1958). Other questions were of a more personal nature such as, "Who has ever received and then thrown out a fruit cake"?

There was quite a response to that one.

The grand prize for this event went to the person with the most points. Carla Sydenham tallies her score but didn't win.

Thanks to her ability to sing/recite the full Twelve Days Of Christmas song, Mary Ann Morgan was the big winner.

Before the bingo games began, C.J. passed around small gifts from the Elders to everyone.

In what may very well have been her first official function at ANE, Caroline also helped with this job.

C.J. was the emcee for bingo.

Mary Ann helped her granddaughter, Morgan, fill in her card using Fruit Loops for markers.

 One of the games needed an "L" to win.

 Joan won one of the big prizes.

Several of the prizes were Wal Mart gift cards. It seemed most appropriate that Sam Tsosie, a Code Talker from Dilkon, won this $50 card.

Sam is spending the winter months in Salt Lake with one of his daughters, and we were honored that he was able to attend our party.

And finally, these elves wish you a Merry Keshmish and Happy New Year on behalf of all of us at ANE.

Rug Show 2013 - The Auction

The Friday night gala opening for the rug show features a live auction as the main attraction of the evening. This event serves as the principal fund-raiser for ANE during the show, helping to defray the cost of bringing the Elders to Park City and staging the event at the Snow Park Lodge.

An auction has been a part of the show for many years, but this year was unique for the quality and appeal of the various packages that were offered.

Pauline Blanchard was the moving force behind the auction this year. A great deal of work takes place throughout the year to line up the various packages, and Pauline did an outstanding job.

We use bidding paddles to make the auction run more efficiently. KC Hale helped guests register  which entered them into a raffle drawing as well.

Pauline had a team of assistants who helped the auction run smoothly.

By the time the auction got underway, a good crowd had gathered.

The auction packages were presented to the audience by several Navajo girls in traditional dress.

Richard O'Keefe was once again our auctioneer. His style is fast-paced and very entertaining, so even those who weren't bidding had a good time at the event.

Winning bidders not only won their chosen package but were presented with  a white rose.

One of the packages featured a variety of items created by talented ANE volunteers. This beautiful watercolor by Sandy Sleeper was one of the items.

During a brief break in the bidding, the audience was treated to cookies.

The most impressive auction package of the evening was a Grand Canyon white water rafting trip for two. Fientje Allis facillitated this donation through Marty Mathis the owner of Grand Canyon Expeditions in Kanab, UT. Marty received a Navajo rug in honor of his generosity. The trip drew a high bid of $6000.

Lacee Harris and his wife had fun bidding and came away with several of the packages.

Perhaps the most unique thing at the auction was a package that provided a traditional Navajo meal cooked at the winner's home for ten guests. Along with the food the package included an evening of Navajo winter stories. The Eichingers won this package but live in Texas. They will fly Beverly Benally and her husband Howard to Texas this winter to provide the food and stories to their family.

When it was all over everyone felt rewarded with an enjoyable event and ANE benefited from the most successful auction ever.