You can check it out online.
You can check it out online.
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NUNS ON SHAW ISLAND
You can check it out online.
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AROUND THE WORLD WITH BOOKS
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Other than the lives of the Saints, which I devoured, I did not read much non-fiction when I was younger, but in College was swept up with Dr. Tom Dooley in his books: Deliver Us From Evil, The Edge of Tomorrow, The Night They Burned the Mountain. I wanted at that point to be a medical missionary and here was a man doing it all.
I loved Steinbecks's Travels with Charley: In Search of America, Mary Queen of Scotsby Antonia Fraser, My Family & Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (which I still read when I need a good laugh-This account of naturalist Durrell’s childhood years in Corfu is an unforgettable blend of wonderful human comedy and the foibles of older relatives and family associates as seen through a child’s eyes- those same eyes looking in wonder at the abundance and variety of wildlife in the world around), Nicholas & Alexandra by Robert Massie and The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway. These books all took me to places I had never dreamed of going, while introducing me to fascinating people.
Later came Thomas Merton's Seven Story Mountain, Black Like Me (John Howard Griffin), Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (James Agee & Walker Evans),A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf ,The Lives of a Cell Lewis Thomas, The Diary of Anne Frank, Nightby Elie Wiesel, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, With God in Russia by Father Walter Ciszek, SJ (who became a friend at RL), Anne Morrow Lindberg's Dairies & Letters (another Abbey Friend). Later her daughter Reeve would write the poignant No More Words.
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Books that colored my work with children were: Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl,
Dibs in Search of Self (Virginia Mae Axline) and Robert Coles' wonderful series, Children in Crises.
Since being back in the West I have discovered AllCreatures Great & Small(series) by James Harriot, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(Maya Angelou), Angela's Ashes(Frank McCourt) and the similar, All Over But the Shoutin'by that southerner, Rick Bragg. Personal History by Kathrine Graham gave me insight into a period of our country and Timothy Egon prepared me for life in WA with The Good Rain. Goat Song (Brad Kessler) was such fun reading that all in my bookclub loved it even if they had no interest in goats.
Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds by Olivia Gentile about the famous
Birder, Phoebe Snetsinger, is such a fabulous story and everyone should read about someone with such a passion for something that it spills over into obsession. And you don't need to have an interest in birds! (see Blog 1/26/2013)
Three Cups of Teaby Greg Mortenson .is pretty much the same type of obsession but one with a more humanitarian bent and the haunting The Flamboya Treeby Clara O. Kelly (a local author who presented the book on Shaw and brought her mother's painting of the flamboya tree) is a must read.
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World
(Tracy Kidder) and Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo (Zlata Filipović) both gave me a glimpse of a harsh life in other parts of the world.
The Glass CastleJeanette Walls is a shocking but lovely story, maybe too often true, of people who choose to live on the fringes of society, with children. The Zookeeper’s WifeDaine Ackerman tells the story of people prepared to lay down their life for others.
Joan Didion’sThe Year of Magical Thinking, speaks for us all when we loose a loved one and Darkness Visibleby William Styron describes deep depression as no one ever has- from inside the mind.
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Among my favorites are Flannery O' Conner's Prayer Journal(ed. by W.A. Sessions) and The Habit of Being (her letters edited by Sally Fitzgerald).
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| Flannery |
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CATHOLIC (??) MOVIES
Someone said to me recently, " since you have done some blogs on books, what aboutMOVIES"?
The Catholic Church and the movie industry have a relationship that goes back almost 100 years, to the beginning of film itself. Beginning with the Legion of Decency, the Church has had an impact in Hollywood that continues to this day, with a priest serving as a member of the appeals board of the Motion Picture Association of America. But the Church does not merely stand apart from film, casting judgment. The Church is frequently the topic of film – for good and for ill.
I made my list and then decided to check some Catholic sites, both here in USA and the Vatican. I was amazed that many of my favorites were on those lists. So I will divide this into three parts- here are the one's listed in Catholic sites. Many are from another generation but I would encourage movie fans to check them out.
Foreign films that made the list are:The Passion of Joan of Arc (an extraordinary silent film done in 1928),La Strada,Life is Beautiful,Francesco( the best film ever done on St. Francis),Au Revoir les Infants,
Babette’s Feast, Bakita: From Slave to Saint,andGiuseppi Moscata: Doctor to the Poor (I have shown this film to so many people I have lost count- but always inspiring - acting is great too).
Babette’s Feast, Bakita: From Slave to Saint,andGiuseppi Moscata: Doctor to the Poor (I have shown this film to so many people I have lost count- but always inspiring - acting is great too).
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American classics, not necessarily religious in nature but with a main thread of Christianity: are: Grapes of Wrath, The Quiet Man, The Miracle Worker,
Casablanca (It’s a pro-marriage, pro-loyalty, pro-sacrifice romance. Victor Lazlo is a classic Christ figure),It’s A Wonderful Life,Chariots of Fire, The Princess Bride, Shawshank Redemption (A story of hope and salvation in Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) as an innocent man convicted of murder. He enters the prison as an outsider, and brings hope and salvation to his prison mates by setting an example of charity.
2001: Space Odyessy, Braveheart, Ghandi, and Schindler’s Listone of the best films ever made. Oscar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is a model Christian in both his self-giving and role as savior..
Of a religious theme are:The Passion of the Christ,Diary of A Country Priest,Keys of the Kingdom, Hitchcock's I Confess,Boys Town,Molokai,Lilies of the Field,A Man for All Seasons(perhaps the movie we have seen the most over 40+ years andpossibly one of the best saint bio-pics ever ).
The Scarlet & the Black(one of our favorites with Gregory Peck),The Mission,Ben Hur,Of Gods and Men ( a true story of modern day martyrs),The Nun’s Story, andCome to the Stable. The original story was written by Clair Luce Booth about our Abbey in Ct. but when Hollywood got a hold of it she withdrew her script. The actual story is more fascinating and riveting than this watered down version but it is still a fun movie.
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(Robert Mitchum out of character but wonderful with my favorite Deborah Kerr), Sister ActandMoonstruck- all fun movies that I never tire of seeing.
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RAIN? WHAT RAIN???
Shaw Islanders are not singing in the RAIN according to our Fire Chief, Jon Shannon. Most people think that we live in one of the rainiest part of the continental USA. Our Islands are in what is called the Banana Belt but the last few years have been drier than usual. In January of this year Jon's curiosity led our Official Shaw Island Amateur Meteorologist to some eye-opening rainfall statistics, which started in his garden.
“As a gardener I am constantly digging holes in my yard. I always take note of the degree of soil saturation and how deep the soil is wet. A few days before Halloween last year I was planting some trees and dug some holes. I expected the soil to be wet or at least moist, but found instead it was bone dry. It made me curious about rainfall so I started looking into it. I was shocked. At first I thought it couldn’t be right and that I had somehow made a mistake while compiling the data. I double-checked it against the National Climate Database numbers and found that the numbers were correct: 7 inches of rain in 2013! It just didn’t seem possible.”
As surprising as those statistics are, there’s another set of numbers that might startle some islanders. Jon also compared the recent actual rainfall to the “long term” average. The set above used the average from 1999 – 2014. The more recent annual average was 17.65 inches. The long term average is 24.97 inches. That makes the recent years look even drier compared to the long term normal.
Is this a look at our future?
The fact that the long-term average of 24.97 inches per year has fallen to 17.65 inches per year in the new millennium is pretty astounding. Weather is fickle and who knows what the future will bring. It’s certainly nothing to panic about. Compared to Texas, California and the Southwest, this is nothing. But times are changing and we could be heading into a different climate regime as many experts suggest.
But compared to most places in the USA, our island is still a green paradise!
Information: Shaw Island Website (Sharon Wootton)
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CHILDREN in FILM
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What initially struck me in my study of films about children was very few were being made by American directors, and if they were, they did not delve deep into a child's psyche. This has changed in the past years, but I feel the European and other foreign directors led the way.
At the top of the list are (and some of the best are foreign): Forbidden Games(While not initially successful in France, the film was a hit elsewhere winning many awards). The Red Balloon (French), Whistle Down the Wind(UK),and Miracle of Marcellano(Spanish). A Grand Prize Award winner at the International Cannes Film Festival about a little orphan boy who causes a miracle. Left on the doorstep of a monastery as an infant, Marcelino was raised by the monks. He was well cared for but lonely and missed having a mother. One day he found a special friend in the forbidden attic... hanging on a cross. A friend that would repay Marcelino's kindness by granting him one heart-felt wish .
The Color of Paradise andChildren of Heaven (both by Iranian director Majid Majidi), My Life as a Dog (Swedish), andPan's Labyrinth(Spanish). The latter is one of my all time favorite movies showing the indomitable spirit of children crushed by grim reality of cruelty, esp. in war. It is a dark fairytale containing all of those classic mythical archetypes of Jung’s collective unconscious, esp. the battle between good and evil.
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The Wizard of OzandMary Poppins and Spielerg'sE.T. are old classics. The Dollmaker, the only movie of Jane Fonda's I ever saw. (It breaks your heart especially when the little girl Cassie dies).
Some more recent movies cannot be overlooked esp. Moonrise Kingdom (really funny) and Beasts of the Southern Wild (In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural order is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. It garnered Quvenzhané Wallis an Oscar nomination- she was 7 when she made the movie.
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Also we have Little Miss Sunshine, and The Secret Life of Bees. All of the children in these recent movies have "disabilities" of some sort which they overcome thru true grit!
Of course there are the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings Series- masterworks in their own right!
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MOVIES- THE END
One would wonder if we go to the movies weekly??? Many of these movies I saw before I entered religious life. My brother Jeff and I often went to Saturday matinees with friends, and my Mother was a real movie buff. We have had friends over the years who taped for us or sent us movies, so we can watch on Sunday night.If I were to divide films into categories it would be:
Favorite DIRECTORS:
Alfred Hitchcock would be at the top as he made so many movies that we like, esp. Rebecca, Rear Window,& North by Northwest.
I personally love the Coen Brothers: O Brother Where Art Thou (Mother Prioress' favorite)
Steven Spielberg: I add him as he did some of my favorites:Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List
(already mentioned), Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones series), and Back to the Future.
I take after my mother (who was an opera singer) as I do not like a lot of MUSICALS but
West Side Story, American in Paris,Singing in the Rain, and My Fair Lady can't be beat.
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Some movies on a lot of lists, I hated, such as Forrest Gump (sorry America), Rocky, Les Miserables (miserable!), and The Truman Show.
CLASSICS not yet mentioned are: Gone with the Wind (I cried so hard the first time I saw it I was an emotional wreck for days- what can you expect of a 12 year old?) African Queen (still a movie we all like to watch- Hepburn & Bogart at their best), Lion in Winter, and the tragic Red Shoes.
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BOOKS made into great movies: How Green Was My Valley, Old Man and the Sea, To Kill A Mockingbird, Wuthering Heights (the original with Merle Oberon & Laurence Olivier), Jane Eyre (again the original with Orson Welles & Joan Fontaine), Fried Green Tomatoes, The Life of Pi, and A Town like Alice (done in a series).
Other GREATS of long ago (really that long ago??) Roman Holiday, The Sting and Cool Hand Luke (both with the great Paul Newman), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Patton, Rainman, Star Wars, Driving Miss Daisy, Guess Who is Coming to Dinner, (Spenser Tracy shows up a lot), and Lady Hawk.
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Speaking of Emma, if it had not been made for TV, she would have had an Oscar for Wit.
The Big Year (my Community said they understood my obsession with birds after seeing this) and last year's The Grand Budapest Hotel.
There you have all the movies I have loved (or hated) over a lifetime (as far as I can remember). Now go watch some!
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ANOTHER ADDICTION? MORE SUMMER FUN!
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| Blue-eyed Darner- My First ID! |
Last month my oldest friend from the east coast was here visiting. We have known each other for 46 years and like me she is an avid birder.
While sitting at our pond and chatting the dragonfliesflitted by. She casually mentioned that now many serious birders in the east are into dragonflies and their relatives. Ummm, said I. Another passion in the future?
As a small child I can remember visiting a great aunt's home in the "tulies" and my mother warning me not to go near the ponds as the dragon flies would get into my hair. Having long, naturally curly hair I was sure this spelled disaster. I am sure it was just my mother’s attempt to keep me far from the water’s edge. So like many children, I grew up afraid of a perfectly harmless creature (I do love snakes) merely because I was told something false.
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| Common Green Darner |
So I went to my favorite ("cheap" website for books -no it is not Amazon) and ordered Dragonflies of Oregon. There does not seem to be a guide for WA and I was sure there would be an overlap anyway.
Already, as I write this I have identified 6 species at the pond by the guest house as well as my sheep pond. The nice thing is you just sit by the water and they come to you. On very sunny days they seem to just bask in the reeds and plants, giving you very clear identification (well, sort of). However, I have no doubt I will soon need an expert to show me the finer points.
These predatory carnivores (they consume vast numbers of insects) number almost 6,000 species worldwide, with 457 found in the USA and almost 100 in WA state.
These predatory carnivores (they consume vast numbers of insects) number almost 6,000 species worldwide, with 457 found in the USA and almost 100 in WA state.
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| Cardinal Meadowhawk |
Dragonflies and damselflies are members of the insect order Odonata, or “odes,” as enthusiasts call them.They are found on every continent except for Antarctica. Dragonflies and their relatives are one of our most ancient living creatures with fossil records dating back 425 million years.
Their lifehistory is in three stages: the egg, the larva and the adult. Amazingly enough, the larva stage is the longest (from a few months to five years). During this time the larva molts 17-24 times. The adult stage is all about reproduction, and this stage lasts typically from two to four weeks (or a few months).
I was sure that damsel flies were just smaller dragonflies... ha! You can tell a dragon from a damsel by its wing position when perched. Dragonflies hold their wings straight out to the side, while damselflies partly spread their wings or fold them together behind them and there is a difference in the placement between the eyes. Only a few species migrate; most overwinter in the larval or nymph stage.
To the Japanese, the dragonfly symbolizes summer and autumn. It is also the symbol of power, agility and victory. Among Native Americans, the dragonfly is a sign of happiness, speed and purity. Purity because the dragonfly eats from the wind itself .
New species of "odes" are being discovered and on average one new dragonfly species per year is discovered in North America.
Ecologists recognize that these colorful insects are excellent barometers of environmental health. If that is the case, our small island is in good shape!
Their lifehistory is in three stages: the egg, the larva and the adult. Amazingly enough, the larva stage is the longest (from a few months to five years). During this time the larva molts 17-24 times. The adult stage is all about reproduction, and this stage lasts typically from two to four weeks (or a few months).
I was sure that damsel flies were just smaller dragonflies... ha! You can tell a dragon from a damsel by its wing position when perched. Dragonflies hold their wings straight out to the side, while damselflies partly spread their wings or fold them together behind them and there is a difference in the placement between the eyes. Only a few species migrate; most overwinter in the larval or nymph stage.
To the Japanese, the dragonfly symbolizes summer and autumn. It is also the symbol of power, agility and victory. Among Native Americans, the dragonfly is a sign of happiness, speed and purity. Purity because the dragonfly eats from the wind itself .
New species of "odes" are being discovered and on average one new dragonfly species per year is discovered in North America.
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| Eight- Spotted Skimmer |
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| Western Pondhawk |
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SUMMER MUSIC - FAVORITE BARITONE
August is the month we look forward to as it is our FAB Orcas Chamber Music Festival. I have written about this in past blogs (8/26/13). One of my favorite people- not that they aren't all talented - believe me, the best of the best- but a personal favorite as we seem to gravitate to each other, is the very handsome baritone PHILIP CUTLIP. I have only seen ( and chatted with him ) twice, but feel a bond- for some reason.
He grew up in Ellensburg, WA and attended the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma) which many of our young friends have attended. He enrolled at UPS with every intention of completing a degree in math, then going on to grad school to eventually earn a Ph.D. He says: music was not an afterthought, but I did not aspire to more than singing in the Adelphian Concert Choir and taking voice lessons. I auditioned for the choir director and the head of the voice department, and they were surprised to have a "walk-on" with some talent show up. Over my four years, I went from being a math major who loved music to a music major who loved math, which I guess shouldn’t be surprising. There's a correspondence between the beauty and elegance of math and that of music. They both involve analysis and logic, but also imagination and interpretation."
After UPS he went to the Eastman School of Music for a master's degree. Then moved to New York City. It took 10 years, more or less, before he was supporting himself solely as a performing artist. He waited tables (I was a horrible waiter), sang in paid choruses, and temped in offices (again, not my forte, unless the job involved computers). "What kept me going was a combination of self-confidence and, well, bullheaded stubbornness."
Philip has appeared as soloist with nearly every major North American orchestra. Throughout his career Philip has portrayed many of opera's most well-known baritone roles including Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos with Seattle Opera, the title roles in both Don Giovanni and Il barbiere di Siviglia, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.
He has garnered consistent critical acclaim for his performances in both North America and Europe. Established on both concert and opera stages and he has performed with a distinguished list of conductors that includes Nicholas McGegan, Yves Abel, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Gerard Schwarz (Seattle), and Donald Runnicles.
"The man about whom the drama of Glass's opera is twisted, Orphée, is sung by baritone Philip Cutlip, one of the best among America's generation of talented young singers."
— Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts
"The star of the evening was Cutlip, whose commitment to the tormented character of Maurice Bendrix was moving beyond words, his diction as well as his sweetness and lightness of timbre ideal."
— Opera News
"Cutlip is remarkable. He looks more like a movie star than an opera/oratorio specialist. But when he lets the pipes loose, the windows rattle and he shows why he is in demand on stages at the top venues in the world. This guy can sing."
— Walt Amacker, Richmond Times-Dispatch
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| with his son- who is now in College |
On top of it all he is a genuinely nice man- Looks? well, you can see for yourself!!
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YOUNG MUSICIAN FRIENDS
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| P & M on left- Bain the Whalers |
Having done the Blog on Philip Cutlip reminded me of two other (even more local) Alums, PETER & MOLLY WILSON, who met at Seattle Pacific University, fell in love and married. We have known Peter since he was a toddler and know of his many talents. A career move to Montana and three children later (and a fourth on the way), Peter and Molly continue their music in the small town of Highwood. They spent the first months of married life teaching music classes for middle school students in China, but once they found out they were expecting their first child, they decided to look for a teaching position in the U.S. and Montana came into the picture.
While Molly trained to be a classical violinist, with a voice like an angel, Peter can play anything from Jazz piano to the bagpipes (and anything in between- having taught himself most)! "Once you have one thing, you can branch out with ease." Many would not agree with this!
Molly also is proficient on the viola and teaches private music lessons, when not chasing after 3 small children, all under the age of 8. She is one of the few violinists I know who can also do fiddle music and do it brilliantly!
Peter teaches music at Highwood Public School’s (90+ students K-12 ) in a day and age when most music teachers have to do other jobs to stay afloat. His goal is to see the potential in his students and nurture it while having fun in the process. He takes his students all over the West to show their talents.
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| Beth Rood- photo |
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| Beth Rood- photo |
Locally, Peter and Molly charm people with their talents: a St. Patrick's festival, a hoedown every year, teaching people how to Contra dance, plus for weddings and private groups. On top of all this they have a small farm and enjoy the animals they raise.
" We are dedicated to the craft of fine music making, and hope to encourage others to sing and make a joyful noise to the Lord"!
Their first CD - No More a Stranger (with Peter's cousin Brandon) is a set of Scotch/Irish and American fiddle tunes, as well as some favorite hymns with Molly on violin and voice and Peter on bohdran (the bodhrán is the heartbeat of Irish music. This ancient frame drum is traditionally made with a wooden body and a goat-skin head, and is played with a double-headed stick called a cipín, tipper, or beater), piano, voice and assorted instruments and Brandon Olson on guitar and mandolin.
Their second CD Over the River and Through the Woods is an eclectic mix of old-world, winter-season tunes; some modern surprises; and little-heard, sacred Christmas selections. We sell both in our monastery Shop. $10 (and a bargain).
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| At Cowboy Poetry |
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DUTCH BLESSED
One of our three Land Program young people for the year is from the Netherlands. This prompted me to find a "modern" Dutch saint. One of the things I find interesting is our "misconception" of other countries.
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I never realized that parts of the Netherlands, especially where Marijke comes from, is very Catholic. And yet some of our closest friends in the area are Dutch Catholics. The northern part of our state has a lot of Dutch who came to this country immediately after WWII, many to start dairy farms, others tulip (and other bulbs) farms.
BL. PETER DONDERS was born in Tilburg, Holland in 1809. Because the family was poor, the two sons could be given little schooling and had to work for the support of the home. From an early age, Peter felt called to be a priest. Eventually, with the assistance of the clergy of his parish he was able at the age of twenty two to begin study at the Minor Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1841.
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While still engaged in his theological studies he had been guided by his superiors in the seminary towards the missions of the Dutch colony of Surinam. Suriname is a small country on the northeastern coast of South America. Even today it is defined by vast swaths of tropical rainforest, Dutch colonial-era architecture and a melting-pot culture. On its Atlantic coast is the capital, Paramaribo, where palm gardens grow near Fort Zeelandia, a 17th-century trading post.
Bl. Peter arrived in Paramaribo in 1842 and applied himself at once to the pastoral works that were to occupy him until his death. His first duties included regular visits to the plantations along the rivers of the colony, where he preached and ministered the Sacraments mainly to slaves. His letters express his indignation at the harsh treatment of the African peoples forced to work on the plantations.
In 1856 he was sent to the leper station of Batavia and this was to be the scene of his labors for the rest of his life. In his charity he not only ministered spiritually to the patients, but even tended them medically until he was able to persuade the authorities to provide adequate nursing services. When the Redemptorists arrived in 1866 to take charge of the mission of Surinam, Father Donders and one of his fellow priests applied for admission into the Congregation.
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The two candidates made their novitiate under Bishop Johan Baptist Winkels, taking their vows in 1867. Father Donders returned at once to Batavia. Because of the assistance he now had with the lepers, he was able to devote time to a work he had long wished to undertake. As a Redemptorist he now turned his attention to the Indian peoples of Surinam. He continued with this work, previously neglected through lack of manpower, until his death. He began to learn the native languages and to instruct the Indians in the Christian faith, until failing strength compelled him to leave to others what he had begun.
In 1883 the Vicar Apostolic, wishing to spare him the heavy burdens he had so long carried, transferred him to Paramaribo and later to Coronie. He returned, however, to Batavia in 1885. He resumed his previous occupations until weakening health finally confined him to bed the following year. He lingered for two weeks until his death on 14th January 1887. The fame of his sanctity spreading beyond Surinam and his native Holland, his cause was introduced in Rome. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 23rd May 1982.
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BL. PETER DONDERS was born in Tilburg, Holland in 1809. Because the family was poor, the two sons could be given little schooling and had to work for the support of the home. From an early age, Peter felt called to be a priest. Eventually, with the assistance of the clergy of his parish he was able at the age of twenty two to begin study at the Minor Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1841.
While still engaged in his theological studies he had been guided by his superiors in the seminary towards the missions of the Dutch colony of Surinam. Suriname is a small country on the northeastern coast of South America. Even today it is defined by vast swaths of tropical rainforest, Dutch colonial-era architecture and a melting-pot culture. On its Atlantic coast is the capital, Paramaribo, where palm gardens grow near Fort Zeelandia, a 17th-century trading post.
Bl. Peter arrived in Paramaribo in 1842 and applied himself at once to the pastoral works that were to occupy him until his death. His first duties included regular visits to the plantations along the rivers of the colony, where he preached and ministered the Sacraments mainly to slaves. His letters express his indignation at the harsh treatment of the African peoples forced to work on the plantations.
In 1856 he was sent to the leper station of Batavia and this was to be the scene of his labors for the rest of his life. In his charity he not only ministered spiritually to the patients, but even tended them medically until he was able to persuade the authorities to provide adequate nursing services. When the Redemptorists arrived in 1866 to take charge of the mission of Surinam, Father Donders and one of his fellow priests applied for admission into the Congregation.
In 1883 the Vicar Apostolic, wishing to spare him the heavy burdens he had so long carried, transferred him to Paramaribo and later to Coronie. He returned, however, to Batavia in 1885. He resumed his previous occupations until weakening health finally confined him to bed the following year. He lingered for two weeks until his death on 14th January 1887. The fame of his sanctity spreading beyond Surinam and his native Holland, his cause was introduced in Rome. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 23rd May 1982.
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NUNS AND GUYS- PET PEEVES
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| Anni Morris |
Whatever happened to "women's lib"? In the beginning when it all started, I would stare at the speaker and say, "I don't see anyguys". But soon found that all it does is confuse the person, especially if they were born in this century!
Somewhere in another era, our society began to substitute ''people at work'' for ''men at work'' and ''humankind'' for ''mankind''. Just when we were starting to be aware of the degree to which language affects our perceptions of women, this ''guy'' thing happened.
The term ''guy'' to mean ''person'' is so insidious that I'll bet most women don't notice they are being called ''guys,'' or, if they do, find it somehow flattering to be considered one of the "guys". Some say that this slang is just a sign of the times (mindless), a catchphrase that will fizzle out.
I have seen no polls which let me know that other women resent this term, but nuns??? Here is one who is not content to let it fly..... to this nun it is just thoughtless!
Maybe we could take a hint from the people in the south and say: Y'all! Ladies, we need to unite!
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| Anni Morris |
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CANADIAN "ICON"
EMILY CARR(1871-1945) was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a Modernist and Post-Impressionist painting style, she did not receive widespread recognition for her work until late in her life. As she matured, the subject matter of her painting shifted from aboriginal themes to landscapes—forest scenes in particular. As a writer, Emily was one of the earliest chroniclers of life in British Columbia. She is called a "Canadian icon". She is best known for her attention to the totemic carvings of the First Nations people of British Columbia and the rain forests of Vancouver Island.
Born in Victoria, British Columbia (just a stones throw from our island), the year British Columbia joined Canada, Emily was the second-youngest of nine children. The children were raised on English tradition. Richard Carr, born in England, believed it was sensible to live on Vancouver Island, a colony of Great Britain, where he could practice English customs and continue his British citizenship. Richard Carr was taught in the Presbyterian tradition, with Sunday morning prayers and evening Bible readings. He called on one child per week to recite the sermon, and Emily consistently had trouble reciting it.
Emily's father encouraged her artistic inclinations, but it was only in 1891, after her parents' deaths, that she pursued her art seriously, attending the San Francisco Art Institute for two years before returning to Victoria. Later she traveled to London where she studied at the Westminster School of Art. She traveled also to a rural art colony in St Ives, Cornwall, returning to British Columbia in 1905.
In 1907 Emily travelled to Alaska with her sister, and this trip, which exposed her to the poles of the northern First Nations, seems to have changed the focus of her art. While she had earlier depicted First Nations people on Vancouver Island and in Vancouver, her attention was captured by the totemic carvings that she saw on this trip. She felt, however, that she was ill-equipped to draw or paint these poles, and she decided to seek further training in France .
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| Totem Walk at Sitka |
Following her return to Canada , in the summer of 1912, she went north to visit First Nations villages on the Skeena River and in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii). She produced an important body of work in the field, and in the fall of the year she produced the first of her major canvases of First Nations subject matter. In these works, highly influenced by her French training, she used bright, fauvist colors and, often, broken brushwork.
She showed these works in Vancouver in early 1913, hoping that the government of the province would purchase them. When the project failed, she returned to Victoria and turned her attention to other ways of making a living. She ran a boarding house, raised sheepdogs, made pottery and gave art lessons but she produced very little painting.
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| Haida Totems |
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| Cedars Sanctuary |
In the 1930s she began devoting most of her attention to landscape, particularly the forest, as subject matter. These paintings are among her most important contributions to Canadian art. They express her profound identification with the landscape of the province and her belief that nature was a tangible expression of God.
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By the late 1930s, having suffered a series of heart attacks, Emily found it harder to travel. She began to focus more of her energy on writing and produced an unusual and important series of books, including Klee Wyck, a book of stories based on her experiences in First Nations villages, which won the Governor General's Award for Literature in 1941. She died in 1945, in her native Victoria, at the age of 74, recognized as an artist and writer of major importance.
Emily interpreted the Pacific Northwest landscape and its indigenous culture at a time when these subjects were unfamiliar outside of this region. I find her colors very true to the shades found on our island, especially in winter months, with her images of lush forests, deep blue seas, and the rugged contours of the land.
She had a profound love of her country, its natural beauty and power, and the pioneering spirit that continues to shape it today.
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(STILL) CHASING WOODPECKERS
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| Black-backed W.P. |
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| Three-toed W.P. |
With their hard, pointed beaks, incredibly long tongues and thick, shock-absorbing skulls (one wonders why they are not brain-damaged), woodpeckers are well adapted for excavating cavities for nesting and roosting, territorial drumming, and hunting for insects and sap. Woodpeckers are made for tree living with their sharp pointed claws aiding them in scaling up and down trees. They have a short, stiff tail that helps prop them up when they are climbing. They are one of the most fascinating birds to watch.
Woodpeckers play an important role in the health of our forests. Abandoned cavities are used by a variety of other birds and the process of drilling and chipping for food and shelter also contributes to the necessary decomposition of dead trees.
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| Red-breasted Sapsucker |
As seen in 5/12 Blog I recently added the lovely White-headed W.P. to my list (WA). In my travels to Arizona I have seen the Gila, Strickland's and Arizona W.P., and Gilded Flicker and Red-naped Sapsucker. In California there are the Acorn and Nuttal's W.P. and Williamson's Sapsucker; in Texas the Ladded-backed & Gold-fronted and in CT the Red-headed and Red-bellied W.P. and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
So now? Who else is out there? After Labor Day I will be setting out with birding friends to the Okanogan areas of WA and Canada to try and find theBlack-backed Woodpecker and the Three-toed Woodpecker, two of our most northern birds and the elusive Lewis' WP.
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| Black-backed WP- Tom Munson |
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| Three-toed WP |
One of the largest species of American woodpeckers, Lewis's Woodpeckercan be as large as 10 to 11 inches in length. It is mainly reddish-breasted, blackish-green in color with a black rump. It has a gray collar and upper breast, with a pinkish belly, and a red face. The wings are much broader than those of other woodpeckers, and it flies at a much more sluggish pace with slow, but even flaps similar to those of a crow.
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| Lewis" WP |
Unlike other American woodpeckers, it enjoys sitting in the open as opposed to sitting in heavy tree cover. Lewis's woodpecker engages in some rather un-woodpecker-like behavior in its gregarious feeding habits. Although it does forage for insects by boring into trees with its chisel-like bill, the bird also catches insects in the air during flight, a habit that only a few other woodpeckers indulge in. It will be easier to identify- it does not have a yellow top!
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| Lewis' WP in full glory |
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CALIFORNIA SAINT- THE FOUNDER
Pope Francis is scheduled to canonize JUNIPERO SERRA on Sept. 23 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Junípero Serra Ferrer (1713-84) was a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded a mission in Baja California and the first nine of 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco, which at the time were in Alta California in the Province of Las Californias in New Spain. He began in San Diego on July 16, 1769, and later established his headquarters near Monterey, California, at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo.
The missions were primarily designed to convert the natives. Other aims were to integrate the neophytes into Spanish society, and to train them to take over ownership and management of the land. As head of the order in California, Bl. Serra not only dealt with church officials, but also with Spanish officials in Mexico City and with the local military officers who commanded the nearby presidios (garrisons).
Bl. Serra was born as Miquel Josep Serra i Ferrer to a family of humble means, in Petra, Majorca, Spain. On November 14, 1730, he entered the Alcantarine Franciscans, a reform movement in the Order, and took the name "Junipero" in honor of Saint Juniper, who had also been a Franciscan and a companion of Saint Francis.
Few people realize how well educated he was. For his proficiency in studies he was appointed lector of philosophy before his ordination to the Catholic priesthood. Father Serra was considered intellectually brilliant by his peers. Prior to his departure to the Americas at age 27, he was assigned by his superiors to teach philosophy in professorial status to students at the Convento de San Francisco. He received a doctorate in theology from the Lullian University in Palma de Mallorca, where he also occupied the Duns Scotus chair of philosophy until he joined the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico in 1749.
In 1768, Father Serra was appointed superior of a band of 15 Franciscans for the Indian Missions of Baja California. The Franciscans took over the administration of the missions on the Baja California Peninsula from the Jesuits after King Carlos III ordered them forcibly expelled from New Spain.Serra became the "Father Presidente."
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| Jen Norton |
During the remaining three years of his life he once more visited the missions from San Diego to San Francisco, traveling more than 600 miles in the process, in order to confirm all who had been baptized. He suffered intensely from his crippled leg and from his chest, yet he would use no remedies. He confirmed 5,309 people, who, with but few exceptions, were Indian neophytes converted during the 14
years from 1770.
On August 28, 1784, at the age of 70, Father Junípero Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo. He is buried there under the sanctuary floor.
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CALIFORNIA SAINT- CONTROVERSY
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The pope's decision to canonizeST. JUNIPERO SERRA, has led to some controversy, particularly over how he treated Native Americans. Well, many Jews opposed the canonization of St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). If we listened to the complaint of people who do not always see the total picture, we would have a lot fewer saints (or other greats for that matter). Junipero Serra was canonized because he was holy, not because he was perfect! We need to see he was a man of his times- and there was much wrong with the missionary approach of those days- just as there has been throughout history- even today.
Ruben Mendoza, a professor of archaeology at California State University, Monterey Bay, a person who describes himself as being of Mexican-Indian descent, told Catholic News Service that Serra was devoted to the Native Americans and to sharing the Gospel with them. "The irony is that, over these many years, those same communities tend to criticize him for what he did: evangelize them and bring them a different way of looking at the world."
"I think he would have been mortified if he realized the very people that he loved, that he devoted his life to, would now see him as the culprit in their disintegration," Mendoza said.
He said many of the Spanish missionary's critics are confusing the impact of Spanish colonizing and missionary activity on the native communities with what happened after California became a U.S. territory in 1848. "A decimation of the Native American population in the period after 1850; Serra had no connection to that phenomenon. Those who criticize Serra the most tend to conflate the American period with that of the missionaries."
Another major objection to Serra's canonization involves reports that Native American adults at his mission were beaten. "There is no documentation that the new saint himself abused any Native American. The system under which he operated did use corporal punishment, but that was also used for transgressors from all walks of life, including soldiers."
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Mendoza supports the canonization and said he believes it "has much to offer the peoples of Latin America, especially those of us of Mexican-Indian heritage who currently live under a shadow of doubt and denigration."
Msgr. Francis Weber, a historian and former archivist of the Los Angeles archdiocese, noted "five nations have concluded that Father Junipero Serra was worthy of being honored on a postage stamp - that's a distinction even more rare than canonization."
Msgr. Weber said church officials in California and at the Vatican spent "72 years sifting through" historical evidence to verify that he lived a holy life, loving God and serving others. "Serra did this in a way that went far beyond the average person. He traveled to the periphery of the world - California was the end of world back then - to share his love of God with the Native Americans, whom he deeply loved and they loved him in return."
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THE ROYAL HIGHWAY
The Spanish missions in Alta California comprise a series of 21 religious and military outposts; established by the Franciscan order between 1769 and 1833, to spread Christianity among the local Native Americans. The missions were part of the first major effort by Europeans to colonize the Pacific Coast region, the most northern and western of Spain's North American claims. The settlers introduced European fruits, vegetables, cattle, horses, ranching and technology into the Alta California region; however, the Spanish colonization of California also brought with it serious negative consequences to the Native American populations with whom the missionaries and other Spaniards came in contact.
The government of Mexico secularized the missions in the 1830s and divided the vast mission land holdings into land grants which became many of the Ranchos of California. In the end, the missions had mixed results in their objectives: to convert, educate, and "civilize" the indigenous population and transform the natives into Spanish colonial citizens. Today, the surviving mission buildings are the state's oldest structures and the most-visited historic monuments. And everyone has their favorites.
Patient years of labor, heroic decades of sacrifice by St. Junipero Serra, his Franciscan Padres, and the California Indians who supplied the labor lie behind the founding era of the 21 missions. Most of the missions still stand, sources of wonder and beauty originally a day's ride on horseback apart, along 600 miles of California's beautiful coastline. By the time the last mission was built in 1823, the Golden State had grown from an untamed wilderness to a thriving agricultural frontier on the verge of American statehood.
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| San Miguel- Ferdinand Deppe (First painting of a Mission) |
The first leg of El Camino Real was forged by General Gaspar de Portola on his journey from San Diego to find Monterey Bay. Tracing his path, missionaries, colonists and soldiers all traveled its dusty stretches; it was the only road between the few civilized outposts. The road was later identified with the missions because the padres maintained the roadway and offered hospitable lodging to all. It served as the north-south stagecoach route after California became a state in 1850, and in the 1920s bronze mission bells were placed along the highway to let motorists know they were traveling the historic El Camino Real.
Interesting to note, St. Junipero Serra only founded seven of the missions, the first being San Diego in 1769 and the last in 1782, San Buenaventura (Ventura). In between came: St. Charles Borromeo (at Carmel), San Antonio de Padua, San Luis Obespo, San Juan Capistrano (my favorite), and Santa Clara.
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| Julius Ludovici- 1860s |
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| Julius Ludovici- 1860s |
Father Fermin Lasuen founded nine of the missions and the remaining were found singly by other Franciscan friars. Father Lasuen founded Santa Barbara in 1786 followed by: La Purísima Concepción, Santa Cruz, Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, San José, San Juan Bautista, San Miguel Arcángel, San Fernando Rey, and lastly San Luis Rey de Francia in 1798.
San Gabriel Arcángel was founded in 1771 by Fathers Pedro Cambon & Angel Somera and
San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) in 1776 by Father Francisco Palóu.
Santa Inés in 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, San Rafael Arcángel (1817) by Father Vicente de Sarria and the last mission founded, San Francisco Solano in 1823 by Father Jose Altimira.
San Gabriel Arcángel was founded in 1771 by Fathers Pedro Cambon & Angel Somera and
San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) in 1776 by Father Francisco Palóu.
Santa Inés in 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, San Rafael Arcángel (1817) by Father Vicente de Sarria and the last mission founded, San Francisco Solano in 1823 by Father Jose Altimira.
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| Capistrano- Karen Winters |
The 21 missions that comprise California's Historic Mission Trail are all located on or near Highway 101, which roughly traces El Camino Real (The Royal Road) named in honor of the Spanish monarchy which financed the expeditions into California in the quest for empire. From San Diego to Los Angeles, the historic highway is now known as Interstate 5. From Santa Clara to San Francisco, the road is called State Highway 82. North of San Francisco, Highway 101 again picks up the trail to the mission at San Rafael. From there, State Highway 37 leads to the last mission at Sonoma.
Largely reconstructed after the ravages of time, weather, earthquakes and neglect, most of the missions still operate as active Catholic parishes, with regularly scheduled services. Some interesting facts about a few of the missions:.
San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, 2nd mission
Founded by Father Serra in 1770 on Pentecost Sunday, this mission was considered to be his favorite, and both he and Father Lasuen are buried here. It served as the ecclesiastical capital of California and also as Father Serra's headquarters for administrative duties as presidente of the missions. Set against the sea and mountains 115 miles south of San Francisco, this beautiful mission presents the complete quadrangle courtyard typical of mission architecture.
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| San Carlos- Shelley Cost |
San Gabriel Arcangel, 4th mission (The mission I visited most as a child)
Founded in 1771 by Junipero Serra, this fortress-like structure with five-foot thick walls and narrow windows is a design not found in any other mission. Located nine miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at one time it covered several hundred thousand acres; one fourth of the wealth of California missions in stock and grain was credited to San Gabriel. One bell, which weighs a ton, can be heard eight miles away.
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| Edward Vischer |
San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 5th mission
The humble chapel built of logs was dedicated to St. Louis, Bishop of Tolosa in 1772, and was the first mission to use tiles extensively on the roof due to repeated attacks by Indians who used flaming arrows to ignite the original thatched roof. Situated in the fertile, well-watered Valley of the Bears, the mission produced an abundance of crops, and two water-powered grist mills processed foods normally ground by hand. The mission underwent an extensive restoration program in the 1930's and today welcomes visitors to its nearly-original condition.
San Francisco de Asis, Mission Dolores, 6th mission
On a site selected by Juan Bautista de Anza, the first mission church was a 50-foot long log and mud structure that was eventually moved to higher ground, adjacent to Lake Dolores which gives it its second name, Mission Dolores. Dedicated to Saint Francis by Father Serra in 1776, today the mission sits in the heart of San Francisco and is the oldest building in the city. Much of the original church interior is intact and the guilded reredos and colorful wall paintings are good examples of early California art.
San Juan Capistrano, 7th mission (My Mother lived just miles away after my Father died- so a family favorite).
The chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano, built in 1782, is thought to be the oldest standing building in California. Known as "Father Serra's Church," it is the only remaining church in which Father Serra is known to have celebrated the rites of the Roman Catholic Church (he presided over the confirmations of 213 people on October 12 and October 13, 1783).
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| San Juan Capistrano |
Named for Crusader Saint John of Capistrano and designed in the shape of a cross, the great stone church once held seven domes and a bell tower so tall it could be seen from ten miles away. Severely damaged by an 1812 earthquake, the ruins are currently being preserved by archaeologists and engineers. A gilded altarpiece illuminates the Serra Chapel of 1777, the oldest building still in use in California and the only surviving church where Father Serra said mass. Each year on St. Joseph's Day, March 19, the mission celebrates the return of the cliff swallows from Argentina with a traditional Mexican fiesta.
Santa Barbara, 10th mission
Founded in 1786, the "Queen of the Missions" was the first to be christened by Father Lasuen, and has continuously served as a parish church for the local population since its founding. The church was destroyed in 1925 by earthquake; however, restorations have returned it to its original grandeur of wrought iron, terra cotta and carved wood. Patterned after an ancient Latin chapel in pre-Christian Rome, its twin bell towers and Doric facade present an imposing impression of strength. Fr. Serra was present at the founding of the Presidio of Santa Barbara in 1782, but was prevented from locating the mission there because of the animosity of Governor Felipe de Neve.
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| Santa Barbara- Paul Grimm 1945 |
La Purisima Conception, 11th mission
Founded in 1787 by Father Lasuen the mission is located 50 miles west of Santa Barbara. Considered to be the best example of mission architecture.
Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, 13th mission
The padres named this mission for Our Lady of Solitude in 1791, which fits the isolated location of Soledad. Settled next to the Salinas River in the pastures and rolling hills 45 miles south of Monterrey, this lonely outpost was cold, damp and frequently whipped by winds. The soil was rich and the water plentiful however, and by 1805 Soledad was producing more than 100,000 bushels of wheat per year, owned nearly 17,000 head of livestock, and had become well-known for its hospitality.
San Juan Bautista, 15th mission
Founded by Father Lasuen in 1797 this mission was unwittingly located directly above the San Andreas fault. Much of the original structure remains and has been restored to once again be the largest California mission church and the only one with three aisles. It was named for John the Baptist. Musical arts were taught here and the mission owned many instruments, which the Indians readily took to. Father Tapis developed a colored musical notation system and taught the Indians to read music as well as play it. Some of the parchments with colored notations still survive and the reredos behind the altar is so well-preserved that the paint is still brilliant.
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| San Luis Rey- Mary Helmreich |
San Luis Rey de Francia, 18th mission
Known as the King of the Missions, San Luis Rey de Francia lies in a sheltered valley just east of Oceanside on State Highway 76. Named for Louis IX, the crusading King of France, the cross-shaped church was dedicated on the Feast of St. Anthony in 1798 by Father Lasuen. Architecturally the most graceful of California's missions, it has been restored according to the original plans and designs.
Santa Ines, 19th mission (my second favorite- just for the memories and emoteness- at least once a year in High school, friends and I would venture there with a picnic).
Named for a 13 year-old Roman martyr, St. Agnes, who refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods in 304 AD, Santa Ines was dedicated in 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis. Amazingly, it survived the numerous earthquakes. It has lovely gardens that appear today much as they did nearly 200 years ago.
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| Santa Inez- Edward Vischer |
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A NEW FERRY- AND THE SAMISH
We have a new, much needed, ferry in the San Juans this summer. It was named the SAMISH and is the the second 144-car ferry. The total cost of the vessel was approximately $126.45 million (people wonder why we don’t have more ferries!). Who are the Samish the ferry is named after?
The SAMISH ( means “those who stand up and give) peoples were some 45 to 60 thousand strong in the 1800s throughout the San Juan Islands. They were comprised of the Salmon Fishing People, the Planting and Gathering People, and the Shell Fish Gathering People, all nomadic tribes. Linguistically and culturally, the Tribe is grouped as Coast Salish, speaking a dialect of Coast Salish known as “Straits Salish,” rather than Lushsootseed dialect of some of our immediate neighbors to the east.
Through the years, they were assigned to reservations dominated by other Tribes, for instance, the Swinomish Indians (Anacortes) and the Tulalip Tribes (Marysville). They are also enrolled in the Samish Indian Nation, formerly known as the Samish Indian Tribe, which regained federal recognition in 1996.
As part of a larger Coast Salish cultural complex the Samish formed a village community, which consisted of several important social groupings. These groupings can be listed as 4 units: the family, the house group, the villages, and the tribe as a whole. Samish tribal members married outside of their groupings, so as to create a network of “kinships.” These kinships regulated both the internal and external relationships between the families, the house groups, the villages, and the tribe as a whole. The Tribe relied on these relationships during bad times in order to be able to access areas of food and shelter that was not currently in their home territory.
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| Lawrence Yuxweluptun, Coast Salish- Scorched Earth, Clear-cut logging on native sovereign land, shaman coming to fix |
For reasons unknown, the tribe names Samish and Lummi were left off the final draft.
However, many Samish refused to go to the reservations and stayed in their traditional territory. They were often confused with the Skagit, and when they went to the Swinomish Reservation, they received only six household land allotments for the entire Tribe.
Their chief declined the US government’s offer of a reservation because they didn’t want to leave their ancestral lands. Three years later, their lands were taken from them, no deed given. Now only a handful of their tribe remain, approximately 1600 world wide and 60 here at home. Only 8 Samish people know how to speak the original language because it was forbidden once the government took over the lands Although the tribe is scattered throughout the San Juans, their home base is in Anacortes.
Many members went to Guemes Island to establish New Guemes (now referred to as "Potlatch Beach"), where they built a longhouse that housed more than 100 people. By 1912, the Samish had either moved onto the Swinomish Reservation or into other communities. They had been pushed off the island by white settlers, as the Samish had occupied the land with the only fresh water.
The Samish fished in the islands and channels off the coast of Skagit County. They had villages on Samish, Guemes, and Fidalgo Islands, and fished and harvested resources there and in the San Juan Islands. After the Treaty, some Samish moved to the Swinomish or Lummi reservations.
The Samish Nation's historical territory includes west Fidalgo Island, Guemes Island, Samish Island, Lopez Island, and southeast San Juan Island. A 19th century promise of a reservation was not fulfilled, but the Samish Nation has been building a land base since the 1990s. The Samish Nation's land base includes 78 acres held in trust at Campbell Lake on Fidalgo Island.
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| Button Blankets of Coastal Salish |
The Samish also were noted for their spiritual heritage. When foods were harvested, they were believed to be survival gifts from ancestors, to whom they responded with thanksgiving prayers or songs.
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NATIVE BRETHREN
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| Canoe Journey |
...Their voices insist upon a hearing and the cumulative wisdom of their long residence in this land offers rich insights to those willing to listen. The challenge now is to find a way to make knowledge of the ancient traditions, the experience of change and the living reality accessible and available..."
Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest: An Introduction by David M. Buerge
While we are surrounded by many tribes in the Pacific Northwest, we have no record of them on our small island. Middens (old dumps for domestic waste consisting of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics, and other artifacts) have been found on other islands, but not here. In spite of this we heavily "feel" the culture- past and present- of our native brethren. Due to the wealth of the area and the climate, they had an easier life than their relatives in other parts of the country.
While I was still living in CT "Native American" was the politically correct term to use when speaking of the native peoples of our country. Yet when I came back to these Western shores, I found the people themselves used the term- which I grew up with- Indians. When I asked a native woman, she laughed and said: oh, those Easterners- so political! Always dreaming up something". So in this blog I will use the term still used often in the Pacific NW.
The Swinomish (our closest tribe- in Anacortes where we catch the ferry to Shaw Island), Tulalip, Lummi, Skagit, Nooksack, Quinault, Hoh, Quileute, and Duwamish, tribes were known to have the most wealth. They lived on the western side of the cascades in Washington. The reason why these tribes were "so rich" was not because they were ornamented with gold or built gold statues, but it was their abundant food, and secure shelter.
The Puget Sound Indian supposedly, by cognition, could tell that there was so much salmon in the water, that they could pass the water by walking on their backs. Their environment was very heterotrophic, meaning there was natural food resources preserved.
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| Drying Salmon- note cloak made from bark |
In the waters, there were various salmon and other types of fish, such as halibut, flounder, and cod. They ate clams, crabs, seals, sea otters, sea lions, fish, herring eggs, and mussels, shellfish, sea urchins, fungus, and seaweed.
The men hunted land animals including bear, caribou, deer, elk, and moose. The Nootka/Makah and to a lesser extent the Haida also caught whales. While most tribes lived on the coast during the summer months, when winter came many moved their camps to a more protected area like up a river or inlet.
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| Salish man- Tulalip tribe |
In addition, cedar trees were landmarks to the region. The wood had a wide range of applications. They used it in everything from construction of houses and shaping canoes to carving out crude tools. Clothing such as blankets, toweling, and shoes came from softened cedar bark.
They did not have the methods or level of technology that was present in other parts of the world but they knew enough and were able to make it through the harsher exposure to the elements of nature. They developed a way to safely store food by drying it. Once that process was done, they took a vacation over the winter months, without having to face a renewed struggle in the fall so as to maintain their relatively rich lifestyle.
The Northwest Coastal tribes occasionally gathered together for a potlatch. The person hosting the potlatch gave away as many gifts to his guests as he could. This showed he was wealthy. These ceremonies could last for days. Singing, dancing, and story-telling were part of the celebration and they wore masks and head dresses for ceremonial purposes.
When I first came to the islands, I attended at potlatch on the Tulalip Reservation. It was an amazing event marking the one year anniversary of a young woman who was killed. This ceremony was the re-activating of her drums which had been silent that year. I was given many gifts- among which is a lovely prayer shawl I still use. I felt like I had been given a whole department store!
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| Arriving for the Potlatch |
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OUR INDIAN MAIDEN
In a past blog we wrote of a neighboring tribe, the SAMISH. Our connection is from the early days of our foundation when a friend donated a working copy of The 'Maiden of Deception Pass': Ko-Kwal-Alwoot.
It is an unusual carved wooden statue of an Indian maiden holding a salmon above her head with both hands. The pole that became the "Maiden" was carved of old-growth western cedar more than five feet in diameter and it depicts the maiden on one side, and on the other her transformation into a mermaid. The salmon she holds aloft is a gift of the sea!
The carving was done by artist Tracy Powell of Anacortes, working with Bill Mitchell, another Anacortes artist, and with Samish Indians, following consultation with members of the Samish Tribe, elders and tribal members who adhered closely to ancient tradition.
What started out as a totem estimated at about 12 feet soon doubled in size when it was discovered that the U.S. Forest Service would donate a cedar from a recent Baker Lake cut.
In regard to objections that a non-tribal member was selected as carver, Powell said: “...I came to an understanding that I would follow tribal instructions, images and techniques. For me to do other things on my own, such as miniature totem poles – that would be wrong.” The Maiden was completed in a painstaking carving process that took about a year.
What started out as a totem estimated at about 12 feet soon doubled in size when it was discovered that the U.S. Forest Service would donate a cedar from a recent Baker Lake cut.
In regard to objections that a non-tribal member was selected as carver, Powell said: “...I came to an understanding that I would follow tribal instructions, images and techniques. For me to do other things on my own, such as miniature totem poles – that would be wrong.” The Maiden was completed in a painstaking carving process that took about a year.
Ko-kwal-alwoot commemorates 100 years, celebrated in 1983, of changing relations toward understanding between Indian and non-Indian communities in Skagit County.
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| 30'x5' log |
According to Samish tradition, this maiden risked her life to save the tribe from starvation.
Ko-kwal-alwoot, a beautiful Samish Indian girl lived in a village at this site. Her raven-black hair shinned like obsidian, and reached below her waist. One day, as she was gathering seafood near the shore, a young man from beneath the sea saw her. He was very handsome, and his skin shone like silver. His eyes were large and luminous. He immediately fell in love with the young woman. But when this man of the sea asked her father for her hand in marriage, he refused, for fear she would try to follow her suitor, and drown.
The young man warned the maiden’s father that he held great power, and that the seafood would disappear unless permission was granted for his daughter to marry. Her father was a chief, and not disposed to succumb to threats, especially from a fish, so he refused.
Sure enough, clams, crabs and other edibles from the sea became scarce. The nearby sweet spring water dried up, and no longer trickled down the beach. Villagers protested that they were hungry for seafood. Under pressure, the maiden's father granted permission for the marriage.
They were married at the sea's edge. Once again seafood became plentiful, and icy, clear water gushed from the nearby spring. Her father demanded that his daughter return annually so he could check on her well-being. She returned to her people once a year for four years. Barnacles disfigured her once lovely hands and arms. Her long raven hair was intermingled with long, stringy kelp. Chill sea winds followed wherever she walked, and she seemed unhappy out of the sea, away from her husband.
Legend says her hair can be seen flowing with the tide around the Pass (not to be confused with bull kelp). She lives eternally underwater and ensures that the area has an abundance of food for her people. She has became immortal in the hearts of her Samishpeople!
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| The Princess |
Visitors to Deception Pass may look into the currents of Deception Pass and be fortunate enough to see, along with her own people, in the waters, the Maiden's hair, drifting gently with the tide!
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| Maiden of the Sea |
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HOLY PARENTS of ST. THERESE
Pope Francis will canonize LOUIS and ZELIE MARTIN, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux during the world Synod of Bishops on the family on October 18th.
The new saints were married in 1858. The couple had nine children, four of them dying in infancy. The five who survived, including St. Therese, all entered religious life. Zelie Martin died of cancer in 1877, at the age of 45 and her husband died when he was 70 in 1894.
The couple was beatified in 2008. They are believed to be the first parents of a saint to be beatified, highlighting the important role parents play in their children's human and spiritual upbringing.
According to the Lisieux shrine's website, a miracle being studied for the couple's canonization involves a little girl in the Diocese of Valencia, Spain
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| With Therese |
Pope Francis has a special devotion to St. Therese. He used to keep a photo of the 19th-century French Carmelite nun on his library shelf when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires
Before opening the October 2014 meeting of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis venerated the relics of St. Therese, her parents and another couple, Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi (see Blog 2/4/14). The relics were brought to Rome
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| Belita William- Artist |
Louis Martin was a successful watchmaker by trade. He also skillfully managed his wife's lace business. Born into a family of soldiers, Louis spent his early years at various French military posts. At twenty-two he entered the monastery of the Augustinian Canons of the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps . The blend of courage and charity the monks and their famous dogs manifested in rescuing travelers in Alpine snows appealed powerfully to Louis Martin. But the rigorous studies failed him and he became ill and dispirited, abandoning his hopes for the monastic life.
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| Zelie's lace |
Zelie Guerin was one of
Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin eventually met in Alencon
Sorrow stalked their happy life as the two baby boys, a five year old girl, and a six-and-a-half week old infant girl all died. Though Zelie was left numb with sadness she kept her strong faith. In a letter to her sister-in-law who had lost an infant son, Zelie remembered: "When I closed the eyes of my dear little children and buried them, I felt sorrow through and through....People said to me, 'It would have been better never to have had them.' I couldn't stand such language. My children were not lost forever; life is short and full of miseries, and we shall find our little ones again up above."
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| Reliquary |
The Martins' last child was born January 2, 1873. She was so frail that doctors feared for the her life. The family, so used to death, was preparing for yet another blow. Zelie wrote of her three month old girl: "I have no hope of saving her. The poor little thing suffers horribly....It breaks your heart to see her." But the baby girl proved to be much tougher than anyone realized. A year later she was a "big baby, browned by the sun.""The baby," Zelie noted, "is full of life, giggles a lot, and is sheer joy to everyone." This last daughter, named Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin, would later be known as St. Therese, the "Little Flower". She once wrote in a letter: "God gave me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth."
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