As the end of May drew near, and our excursion to Haines, AK also drew near it's close, Melba was scheduled for an afternoon session on the development and use of field journals with an elementary school class - some twenty or so miles out of Haines - near the Canadian border.
I accompanied her on the event. And, as it turned out, it was an afternoon that was exhilarating, deeply satisfying, and emotionally uplifting. I'm referring to mine and Melba's feelings of the afternoon. I can only hope that it also possessed something of those qualities for the children and their teacher.
Prior to visiting Mosquito Lake Elementary School, I had never been to what, essentially, is a one-room school. However, in the sparsely settled vastness of Alaska, small schools and home schooling are educational methodologies, that are utilized with a much greater frequency - than is the case in "the lower forty-eight."
And, so what did we find, upon our arrival at the school?
We found an attractive and functional facility - decorated, no less, than with attractive art across it's front.
We found, upon entering, a short, succinct, no-nonsense mission statement of the school's raison de' etre.
We found a well-behaved group of fourteen children ranging, from three children in kindergarten - up to one child, who proudly noted that he would be "a sixth-grader" in a week - with the remainder of the children, ranging from the first through the fourth grades.
We found a warm, engaging teacher - whose effervescence and acceptance of our presence - I believe, assured the warm, accepting, and cooperative response, that we received from the children.
We found a teacher who believes that "play" is an essential quality for learning - necessary to children's being able to continue skill development in hand and eye coordination, and to increase the development of all the senses - for facilitating learning. Thus, frequent short periods for the children - to go out and play on a well-protected and outfitted playground are built into the day's schedule. It felt to me that the children were the beneficiaries of a knowledgeable and caring teacher who believes and acts upon the principle - "that the mind can't absorb any more than the seat can endure."
We found a group of children - who despite their age differences - were engaging, on-task, and helpful with one another. It was collaboration and positive social skills development in a natural setting.
We found a school - where 80% of the children, while receiving assistance - were all scoring above the standards for their grade.
In other words, we found and experienced an educational setting where no child is in danger of being left behind - because they are the beneficiaries of a warm, accepting, engaged, and caring teacher, who has adequate staff assistance. In addition, child development needs, learning tasks, and learning objectives are correlated with a sense of age-appropriate needs, developmental skills, and abilities. The children are the recipients of significant individual and hands-on instruction. And, the emotional atmosphere of respect - teacher to student, student to teacher, and student to student - appears to be the "air" they all breathe, and the "water" that they all drink.
Melba and I have commented on several occasions - that it felt like a very, emotionally, healthy learning environment.
Our visit and cultural exchange sojourn to Haines, AK was a memorable experience for many reasons. However, from a perspective of serendipitous viewing, the afternoon sharing with the students and teacher of Mosquito Lake Elementary School, was serendipity for us - at a level, long to be positively remembered!!
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Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Haines, AK & Beaufort, SC - A Contrast of Similarities & Differences
For the past several days, I've been thinking, and asking myself, "I wonder what folk here in Haines, AK perceive about Melba and me being here - to assist in having a cultural exchange with Beaufort, SC?
I can think of any number of questions that could arise in person's minds - upon hearing that defining explanation of our presence here. However, I'm not going to spend time or energy, at this time - speculating about what those questions might be. I am, however, seriously attempting to maintain an internal dialogue between what I think are some of the questions, that might be raised, and my responses - as I develop and share these "blog" thoughts.
Melba and I, are former full-time residents, who continue to reside part-time in Beaufort. Along with our long-time friend, and now a Haines, AK resident, Carol Tuynman, we are the linchpins, who currently form the connecting bridge between Beaufort and Haines, AK. Therefore, I am going to go ahead, and "jump into the water" - so to speak - and offer my perspective of what a person - going from Haines to Beaufort - would see, feel, and experience upon their arrival.
I feel that I can legitimately offer that perspective - being a person who has lived in Beaufort County, SC for 32 years, and who now, is currently in the process of experiencing Haines, AK, and something of what the life and residents here - are like.
So, what do I see are some of the similarities and differences, that would be experienced by someone from Haines - traveling south, and spending a block of time in Beaufort? What is there about the two towns that makes having a cultural exchange - a positive and potentially - life-enhancing experience for persons within both communities?
At the top of my list is geography. Each town's geography is so distinctively conspicuous. Geographically, there are several interesting contrasts.
Beaufort County, SC lies along the inward-sloping curvature of the SE coast of the U.S. - about 60 miles south of Charleston, SC and about 40 miles north of Savannah, GA. The reality is that Beaufort County is actually a composite of about a 100 islands - the more well-known, and populated ones being Hilton Head, Port Royal, Daufuskie, Fripp, St. Helena, Parris and Lady's Island. At it highest elevation, Beaufort County, SC is no more than 25 or so feet above sea level.
Thus, given its geographical setting, hurricanes - with all their destructive force and power - periodically demonstrate an indiscriminate and random ability to severely disrupt the lives of families and communities. Several years ago, Melba and I were happy that our experience with a hurricane - whose traveling name was Hugo - was something akin to a passing acquaintance!! Many of our friends had more than a passing acquaintance with Hugo!!
Unlike Beaufort, SC, with its flat, coastal setting, Haines, AK has its identity - from its location on the famed Alaskan Inside Passage. Thus, majestic snow-capped mountains - that descend to the water's edge - form a captivating and geographically defining sense of presence. However, as is true in Beaufort, SC, so it is also true in Haines. AK. The many and vast waters that surround and cradle each community, are a vitally, critical element of each community's life - both recreationally and economically.
Shrimp, crabs, clams, and fish - the marine life that teems within the coastal waters and marshes, as they are daily inundated, and then emptied by the rhythmic flow of the ocean's tides - is as important to life in Beaufort; as are the salmon, euchalon, crabs, and other sea life, living in the tidal flows - that for centuries has been, and continues to be of vital importance for life in Haines, AK.
What do I see as being the most significant geographical differences? I think - without a doubt - it has to be the majestic, snow-capped mountains and the glacier ranges - that embrace and encompass Haines, AK - and all of this narrow stretch of SE Alaska. When a person initially visits Beaufort and the SC Sea Islands, it's usually the majestic, stately old live-oaks with their hanging moss, and the warm, sandy beach - that seduces, infatuates, and continues to echo within one's heart - the message - "again; you must come again"!
Here in Haines, I think it's accurate to say, that the infatuation and developing love, is from the attachment that occurs with the snow-capped mountains, and with their commanding presence - coupled with all the rivers, fish, wildlife, and sporting adventures that these mountain and river areas offer - in a vast and rich abundance!
For someone traveling from Haines, AK to Beaufort, SC - for any extended period of time, however, the one distinctive difference - that would be readily apparent - is the focus on history that permeates Beaufort. The entire downtown area - encompassing several square blocks - is designated and listed on the National Historic Preservation Register. And, the majestic, old ante-bellum homes - preserved from Gen. Sherman's destructive March through the Carolinas - because of their use, during the War, as military hospitals for wounded Federal soldiers - are both a nostalgic, and historic reminder of a former age - best characterized by the defining phrase - "gone with the wind"!
For someone, who might journey to Beaufort within the coming year, the emphasis, on her history, will be doubly apparent, as Beaufort is currently preparing to celebrate in January 2011 - the TriCentennial Anniversary of her incorporation - 300 years ago in January 1711.
Long, however, before Beaufort was incorporated as a town - and it is the 2nd oldest town in SC - there was, for a short period of time in 1562 - a French-Huguenot settlement, on what is now the golf course of the Parris Island Marine Corp Recruit Depot - a settlement, about which I'll elaborate more, in a moment.
However, prior to the French-Huguenot settlement, another European power - the Spanish had begun making repeated attempts to establish a foothold on the North American continent - along the SE coast of South Carolina. Spanish records show, that as early as 1514, Lucas Vasquez de Allyon, a Spaniard who resided on Espanol (Hispaniola), had sent ships to the SE coast - in search of new labor resources for their island plantations.
Archaeologists are in general agreement, that de Allyon landed somewhere along the coast of either North Carolina or South Carolina - the precise site, however, still remaining undefined. However, as a result of stories, which he gleaned from one of the captured indigenous persons - a man, named Chicora - de Allyon received a commission by Charles V - authorizing him to explore more deeply, and to make a settlement on the SE coastal area.
Thus, it was on August 18, 1525 - the Feast Day of St. Helena, the sainted mother of Constantine - that de Allyon's scouts spotted a point of land, which they named Punta de Santa Elena, in honor of the saint, Helena. And while it is not absolutely certain that St. Helena Island, in Beaufort County is identical with the point of land discovered by de Allyon, the name St. Helena does bear the honor of being the longest-lived place name on the eastern coast of North America.
In 1526, after completing his scouting mission, de Allyon returned to Espanol, and began recruiting 600 volunteers, and out-fitting them for a planned settlement to be named San Miguel de Gualdape. Again, archaeologists are uncertain as to the exact location of the settlement. There is, however, general consensus that the settlement was on the South Carolina or Georgia coast.
San Miguel de Gualdape turned out to be a settlement - that while significant - would have a very short life, due to multiple problems. These would including a supply ship that was lost at sea, deaths from disease - including the death of their leader, de Allyon, and mutiny by several colonists against his successor. Thus in 1527 - a year after the settlement was planted - the colony folded.
The Spanish continued to make several additional efforts to explore and colonize the SE coast - including Hernando de Soto's explorations in 1540 - that extended into AL, GA, SC, NC and going all the way - to the banks of the Mississippi River. However, despite the Spanish interest in the Port Royal area - with its deepest natural port on the East Coast, and coupled with the continuing allure of the wealth, which they had been led to believe were in the Santa Elena area - Spanish efforts at settlements and exploration of the area, always seemed to meet catastrophic ends.
Closely viewing all these Spanish efforts - much like an eagle intently scanning the landscape from its perch, high on a tree limb - the French were quick to also enter into the land settlement game. Barely two years following the Spanish loss of a large expeditionary force, during a hurricane off the coast of Cuba, Admiral Gaspar Coligny of the French Navy sent Jean Ribaut and a colony of French Huguenots to establish a French settlement in La Florida.
It was on May 17, 1562, that Ribaut discovered - what he noted was a broad, deep harbor, which he named Port Royal, and which he described as, "one of the fayrest ... havens of the world". And thus, it was in 1562 that Jean Ribaut landed on Parris Island - today, the home of the United States Marine Corp Recruit Training Depot. And, it was on present-day Parris Island that Jean Ribaut constructed the settlement of Charlesfort - a settlement composed of a small group of French Huguenots, who, thus, composed the first Protestant colony on the North American continent.
However, the Charlesfort colony was soon in desperate need of supplies, and Ribaut left the small, garrison of 30 men, and sailed for France - in order to procure the needed supplies. On the way, however, Ribaut was captured and imprisoned in England; his eventual return to France, thus being significantly delayed. And as a result, as had happened with the Spanish; the French also experienced failure - in their attempt at establishing a long term settlement. The French experience tended to mirror the Spanish experience - in that the settlement's failure was an interactive mixture of hunger, disease, mutiny, and fights with the Native American tribes in the area.
However, to put this date of 1562 and the French-Huguenot settlement on Parris Island, SC into a historical perspective, note that the initial English settlement at Jamestown, VA did not occur until 1607 - some 45 years later; and that the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock in MA, occurred some 58 years later - in 1620!
Thus, settlement activities by the European powers were occurring - up and down the SE coast, and in what is now Beaufort County, SC - from the earliest dates of European exploration activities on the North American continent.
What, you may be wondering, drove and fueled all these explorations along the SE coast - and in the Beaufort County environs - during the mid-15th century and early 16th century? And my answer, "in a nutshell", which the former American humorist, Will Rogers, noted "is where all answers begin - in a nutshell" - is that in a manner that is similar and mirroring of the Alaska experience - where France and Russia initially came for the riches that could be gained from furs - the Spanish and the French, with the English and Scots not far behind, were all seeking to claim the SE areas of Florida and South Carolina for economic gains, along with establishing geographical territories for colonization and national territorial expansion.
The French entrance, on to the scene, however, was not viewed happily by the Spanish. And, in order to respond and to counter the French efforts at colonization, the king of Spain sent troops under the command of Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles to North America - his objective being to eliminate the French threat, and to permanently establish Spain's claims on the continent, and along the SE coast.
The result was that in 1565, Pedro Menendez established the settlement of St. Augustine, and then, a year later, in 1566, sailed for Port Royal - where the Spanish built a fortified settlement, San Felipe. Menendez then declared Santa Elena to be the capital of La Florida, and appointed Esteban de las Alas, to serve as the provincial governor.
Unlike earlier settlement attempts, the San Felipe settlement did exist - for about ten years, until 1576. However, as had happened to previous settlement attempts, it too, fell victim to disease, poor leadership, and eventual destruction by the Native American populations.
These many and various efforts at colonization settlements, by the Spanish and French, were not in vain, however. Each attempt was, in essence, a stepping stone for the successive, additional efforts. And during the past 30+ years, the settlement sites have been the focus of archaeological research efforts - as excavations on Parris Island have slowly resulted in uncovering much of the lost stories of Santa Elena, San Felipe, and Charlesfort; with the result - that on September 21, 2004, the Charlesfort-Santa Elena National Historic Landmark was dedicated at Parris Island, SC.
One way of viewing the Spanish and French settlement efforts is that they served as the prelude to the eventual, long-term settlements - that resulted from the subsequent English and Scots expeditions, that began soon after the death of Oliver Cromwell, and the subsequent return of Charles II - from France to the throne of England.
In 1663, Charles rewarded eight persons - who had, steadfastly, remained his loyal supporters - with a territorial grant of all the lands that were between the 31st degree and 36th degree north latitude. The land that was given to these eight Lords Proprietors was given the name Carolana - in honor of Charles; Carolus being the Latin form of Charles.
Soon thereafter, on August 10, 1663, William Hilton sailed from Barbados - to explore the new area for the Lords Proprietors - arriving on August 26 on the SC coast, and exploring the waters in the vicinity of present day Hilton Head Island. He also visited and traded with the Escamacu Indians at Santa Elena (Parris Island). And, soon after Hilton's explorations, in 1666 another Englishman, Captain Robert Sandford, sailed south - from Cape Fear - also exploring the SC coastal area.
Sandford appears to have had greater, positive success in his dealings with the Native Americans - as he arranged with the cacique of the Escamacu to take the cacique's nephew with him - to be educated in the English language and customs. In return, Sandford left a young English surgeon, Henry Woodward, with the Escamacu cacique - to learn the language of the Native Americans, and to develop trading opportunities.
Henry Woodward was soon rewarded by the Lords Proprietors with 150 acres of "bounty land" - free land that was granted to certain immigrants, as an encouragement to settle in a new colony. Thus, quite literally, Henry Woodward - whose connections with the Native Americans was the basis for South Carolina's development of a lucrative trading relationship with the Indians - was, also, the first English settler in South Carolina.
From this point in time - about 1670 - what had been a trickle of colonization activity, began to become like a flood. Beginning with the English settlement of Charles Town on the peninsula, formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, soon there would follow, in October 1684, a group of Scottish Presbyterians, who would settle in what is current-day Beaufort County. Several of this group of Scottish emigrants were prisoners, who - for participating in abortive uprisings - had been sentenced to banishment, or they were Presbyterians, who had violated Anglican rules - and who were subjected to history's age-old solution for problems - movement to someplace, "out of sight and out of mind".
And like the cascading water-falls - that flow into the streams and rivers around Haines, AK - from this point in time, historical events and the persons - impacting and being impacted - also accelerate in SC - exponentially!! To immerse oneself in the ebb and flow of the early SC colonists and their relationships with the Native Americans; or to see the impact that the planting of long-staple cotton - which was initially planted and grown on Hilton Head Island, had on the development of antebellum Southern culture and politics, both regionally and nationally - and one can literally add topics and studies on the top of subject areas - ad infinitum!!
However, there is one historical and cultural similarity - that, while possessing one significant difference - is also common to both Beaufort, SC and Haines, AK. And, I can only barely, touch "the hem of the garment" - in attempting to explore, what I see are the relevant, common threads - in the give-and-take relationships, that each community has had with the Native populations and other cultures, with whom they've shared geographical existence.
In Haines, AK, an awareness, by residents, of the Native American Tlingit tribes - whose centuries-long presence in Alaska, long pre-dated the fur trade explorations by Russia and the European and American influences, that have arisen to Alaskan dominance since the early 18th century - although, having waned, has always been a present reality.
In South Carolina and Beaufort County, however, the end result of the early Indian Wars between the Native Americans and the early settlers - other than surviving as place location names, or the originating source of names for area rivers - has been, that the Native American presence is, a largely, non-existent reality.
There is, however, a historical saga - whose history does possess some connecting similarities, for both Haines, AK and Beaufort, SC. I'm referring to the African-American experience, or what history designates and records about various aspects of slavery in America. Although it is true that the Tlingit tribes pre-dated European and American presence, and have always been present in Alaska; in contrast with the Afro-Americans, who were not initially present; but were imported - in chains from Africa - the common, linked experience is, I think, the commonality and similarity of their experiences - as viewed culturally - in relationship with the dominant cultural restrictions, laws, and prohibitions - that affected each, within the contextual settings in which they lived.
In Beaufort County, SC, as was true all across the antebellum South, slaves were prohibited from speaking their native languages. Rather, learning and speaking English was mandatory. Their tribal religious customs were also not allowed to be practiced; rather, becoming Christian, and being instructed regarding the virtues of being "obedient" slaves to their masters was the focal emphasis. As slaves were, periodically, sold and traded - usually without regard to family connections - the resultant fracturing of family relationships took an immense toll upon the emotional health and sense of well-being, of innumerable persons.
The end of the Civil War and the long, difficult story of Reconstruction is a mixture of voluminous stories within itself. However, the reality is - that it has only been, in more recent decades, that the Gullah language of the Sea Island Blacks of the SC and GA coasts, has come to be recognized, respected, and is being reclaimed by the Afro-American community - as inherently significant, and possessing deep roots to their historical and cultural identity.
And, sweetgrass baskets - a craft brought from Africa - that were used as functional implements on the many rice plantations, up and down the SE coast; but, during the 20th century was an artistic craft - that could be purchased, cheaply, at stands along area highways - today, can no longer be purchased, cheaply. Today, the weaving of sweetgrass baskets is recognized as a significant historical and cultural expression, and many of the better crafted baskets are going into museums and private collections.
The significantly, critical concern for many African-American craftspersons today, is finding enough young persons who are interested in learning the "old" skills, and developing their capacities to take up the artistry, so that it will be carried on, for generations yet unborn.
It has been a lengthy, involved process that is still continuing to develop. However, the descendants of former slaves are, today, experiencing the honoring and the recognition of what had long been prohibited and repressed, within their culture - now, being rediscovered, honored, and reclaimed.
This experience with the cultural heritage experience of the SC Sea Island African-Americans - has, I've discovered, been closely mirrored in the experience of the Tlingits of Alaska. Since arriving in Alaska, I have been reading and acquainting myself with Alaskan history - using a small pocket guide book, which I purchased soon after my arrival - at the State Museum in Juneau.
Interestingly, in a chapter entitled, "Renewed Traditions: The Renaissance of Native Arts", the author details how the early explorers marveled at the Tlingit's rich history of ceremonial and craft traditions. However, the ritual masks, cedar columns, and potlatch feasts were perceived by other newcomers as practices to be eradicated and strictly prohibited.
The inevitable result was that an entire people's culture - for a long, period of time - essentially went underground; and, for many persons, became a source for the loss of cultural heritage and personal identity. All of which, are negative experiences for spiritual and emotional health.
What I perceive, and believe is significant - in our lives - is the vibrancy and deep-seated quest for viable personal expression - that is inherent within the human heart. And despite the blanket of shunned recognition - that for many years was cast over African-American culture and arts - the spirit of a people survived, and is now experiencing a rebirth.
An identical - and largely parallel - experience is also how I read, and sense what has happened - and is currently happening in Alaska - with the Native American cultural and artistic expressions within the expressions of spiritual and cultural life - that has sustained and borne them, to this present day.
Art and history are, by no means, adequate containers, for the whole, of what we mean by the term - culture! They are, however, significant and critical aspects for understanding and appreciating the life-soul - what I choose to express, as the "spirit" that lives, energizes, enriches, and bears each of us along the path of our life's journey.
This, I believe, and I can say with pride, and with confidence. In both Beaufort, SC and in Haines, AK, if one is open to the opportunities that each community offers, there is a rich, cultural, spiritual experience - that is a wonder, to taste and to enjoy!!
I can think of any number of questions that could arise in person's minds - upon hearing that defining explanation of our presence here. However, I'm not going to spend time or energy, at this time - speculating about what those questions might be. I am, however, seriously attempting to maintain an internal dialogue between what I think are some of the questions, that might be raised, and my responses - as I develop and share these "blog" thoughts.
Melba and I, are former full-time residents, who continue to reside part-time in Beaufort. Along with our long-time friend, and now a Haines, AK resident, Carol Tuynman, we are the linchpins, who currently form the connecting bridge between Beaufort and Haines, AK. Therefore, I am going to go ahead, and "jump into the water" - so to speak - and offer my perspective of what a person - going from Haines to Beaufort - would see, feel, and experience upon their arrival.
I feel that I can legitimately offer that perspective - being a person who has lived in Beaufort County, SC for 32 years, and who now, is currently in the process of experiencing Haines, AK, and something of what the life and residents here - are like.
So, what do I see are some of the similarities and differences, that would be experienced by someone from Haines - traveling south, and spending a block of time in Beaufort? What is there about the two towns that makes having a cultural exchange - a positive and potentially - life-enhancing experience for persons within both communities?
At the top of my list is geography. Each town's geography is so distinctively conspicuous. Geographically, there are several interesting contrasts.
Beaufort County, SC lies along the inward-sloping curvature of the SE coast of the U.S. - about 60 miles south of Charleston, SC and about 40 miles north of Savannah, GA. The reality is that Beaufort County is actually a composite of about a 100 islands - the more well-known, and populated ones being Hilton Head, Port Royal, Daufuskie, Fripp, St. Helena, Parris and Lady's Island. At it highest elevation, Beaufort County, SC is no more than 25 or so feet above sea level.
Thus, given its geographical setting, hurricanes - with all their destructive force and power - periodically demonstrate an indiscriminate and random ability to severely disrupt the lives of families and communities. Several years ago, Melba and I were happy that our experience with a hurricane - whose traveling name was Hugo - was something akin to a passing acquaintance!! Many of our friends had more than a passing acquaintance with Hugo!!
Unlike Beaufort, SC, with its flat, coastal setting, Haines, AK has its identity - from its location on the famed Alaskan Inside Passage. Thus, majestic snow-capped mountains - that descend to the water's edge - form a captivating and geographically defining sense of presence. However, as is true in Beaufort, SC, so it is also true in Haines. AK. The many and vast waters that surround and cradle each community, are a vitally, critical element of each community's life - both recreationally and economically.
Shrimp, crabs, clams, and fish - the marine life that teems within the coastal waters and marshes, as they are daily inundated, and then emptied by the rhythmic flow of the ocean's tides - is as important to life in Beaufort; as are the salmon, euchalon, crabs, and other sea life, living in the tidal flows - that for centuries has been, and continues to be of vital importance for life in Haines, AK.
What do I see as being the most significant geographical differences? I think - without a doubt - it has to be the majestic, snow-capped mountains and the glacier ranges - that embrace and encompass Haines, AK - and all of this narrow stretch of SE Alaska. When a person initially visits Beaufort and the SC Sea Islands, it's usually the majestic, stately old live-oaks with their hanging moss, and the warm, sandy beach - that seduces, infatuates, and continues to echo within one's heart - the message - "again; you must come again"!
Here in Haines, I think it's accurate to say, that the infatuation and developing love, is from the attachment that occurs with the snow-capped mountains, and with their commanding presence - coupled with all the rivers, fish, wildlife, and sporting adventures that these mountain and river areas offer - in a vast and rich abundance!
For someone traveling from Haines, AK to Beaufort, SC - for any extended period of time, however, the one distinctive difference - that would be readily apparent - is the focus on history that permeates Beaufort. The entire downtown area - encompassing several square blocks - is designated and listed on the National Historic Preservation Register. And, the majestic, old ante-bellum homes - preserved from Gen. Sherman's destructive March through the Carolinas - because of their use, during the War, as military hospitals for wounded Federal soldiers - are both a nostalgic, and historic reminder of a former age - best characterized by the defining phrase - "gone with the wind"!
For someone, who might journey to Beaufort within the coming year, the emphasis, on her history, will be doubly apparent, as Beaufort is currently preparing to celebrate in January 2011 - the TriCentennial Anniversary of her incorporation - 300 years ago in January 1711.
Long, however, before Beaufort was incorporated as a town - and it is the 2nd oldest town in SC - there was, for a short period of time in 1562 - a French-Huguenot settlement, on what is now the golf course of the Parris Island Marine Corp Recruit Depot - a settlement, about which I'll elaborate more, in a moment.
However, prior to the French-Huguenot settlement, another European power - the Spanish had begun making repeated attempts to establish a foothold on the North American continent - along the SE coast of South Carolina. Spanish records show, that as early as 1514, Lucas Vasquez de Allyon, a Spaniard who resided on Espanol (Hispaniola), had sent ships to the SE coast - in search of new labor resources for their island plantations.
Archaeologists are in general agreement, that de Allyon landed somewhere along the coast of either North Carolina or South Carolina - the precise site, however, still remaining undefined. However, as a result of stories, which he gleaned from one of the captured indigenous persons - a man, named Chicora - de Allyon received a commission by Charles V - authorizing him to explore more deeply, and to make a settlement on the SE coastal area.
Thus, it was on August 18, 1525 - the Feast Day of St. Helena, the sainted mother of Constantine - that de Allyon's scouts spotted a point of land, which they named Punta de Santa Elena, in honor of the saint, Helena. And while it is not absolutely certain that St. Helena Island, in Beaufort County is identical with the point of land discovered by de Allyon, the name St. Helena does bear the honor of being the longest-lived place name on the eastern coast of North America.
In 1526, after completing his scouting mission, de Allyon returned to Espanol, and began recruiting 600 volunteers, and out-fitting them for a planned settlement to be named San Miguel de Gualdape. Again, archaeologists are uncertain as to the exact location of the settlement. There is, however, general consensus that the settlement was on the South Carolina or Georgia coast.
San Miguel de Gualdape turned out to be a settlement - that while significant - would have a very short life, due to multiple problems. These would including a supply ship that was lost at sea, deaths from disease - including the death of their leader, de Allyon, and mutiny by several colonists against his successor. Thus in 1527 - a year after the settlement was planted - the colony folded.
The Spanish continued to make several additional efforts to explore and colonize the SE coast - including Hernando de Soto's explorations in 1540 - that extended into AL, GA, SC, NC and going all the way - to the banks of the Mississippi River. However, despite the Spanish interest in the Port Royal area - with its deepest natural port on the East Coast, and coupled with the continuing allure of the wealth, which they had been led to believe were in the Santa Elena area - Spanish efforts at settlements and exploration of the area, always seemed to meet catastrophic ends.
Closely viewing all these Spanish efforts - much like an eagle intently scanning the landscape from its perch, high on a tree limb - the French were quick to also enter into the land settlement game. Barely two years following the Spanish loss of a large expeditionary force, during a hurricane off the coast of Cuba, Admiral Gaspar Coligny of the French Navy sent Jean Ribaut and a colony of French Huguenots to establish a French settlement in La Florida.
It was on May 17, 1562, that Ribaut discovered - what he noted was a broad, deep harbor, which he named Port Royal, and which he described as, "one of the fayrest ... havens of the world". And thus, it was in 1562 that Jean Ribaut landed on Parris Island - today, the home of the United States Marine Corp Recruit Training Depot. And, it was on present-day Parris Island that Jean Ribaut constructed the settlement of Charlesfort - a settlement composed of a small group of French Huguenots, who, thus, composed the first Protestant colony on the North American continent.
However, the Charlesfort colony was soon in desperate need of supplies, and Ribaut left the small, garrison of 30 men, and sailed for France - in order to procure the needed supplies. On the way, however, Ribaut was captured and imprisoned in England; his eventual return to France, thus being significantly delayed. And as a result, as had happened with the Spanish; the French also experienced failure - in their attempt at establishing a long term settlement. The French experience tended to mirror the Spanish experience - in that the settlement's failure was an interactive mixture of hunger, disease, mutiny, and fights with the Native American tribes in the area.
However, to put this date of 1562 and the French-Huguenot settlement on Parris Island, SC into a historical perspective, note that the initial English settlement at Jamestown, VA did not occur until 1607 - some 45 years later; and that the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock in MA, occurred some 58 years later - in 1620!
Thus, settlement activities by the European powers were occurring - up and down the SE coast, and in what is now Beaufort County, SC - from the earliest dates of European exploration activities on the North American continent.
What, you may be wondering, drove and fueled all these explorations along the SE coast - and in the Beaufort County environs - during the mid-15th century and early 16th century? And my answer, "in a nutshell", which the former American humorist, Will Rogers, noted "is where all answers begin - in a nutshell" - is that in a manner that is similar and mirroring of the Alaska experience - where France and Russia initially came for the riches that could be gained from furs - the Spanish and the French, with the English and Scots not far behind, were all seeking to claim the SE areas of Florida and South Carolina for economic gains, along with establishing geographical territories for colonization and national territorial expansion.
The French entrance, on to the scene, however, was not viewed happily by the Spanish. And, in order to respond and to counter the French efforts at colonization, the king of Spain sent troops under the command of Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles to North America - his objective being to eliminate the French threat, and to permanently establish Spain's claims on the continent, and along the SE coast.
The result was that in 1565, Pedro Menendez established the settlement of St. Augustine, and then, a year later, in 1566, sailed for Port Royal - where the Spanish built a fortified settlement, San Felipe. Menendez then declared Santa Elena to be the capital of La Florida, and appointed Esteban de las Alas, to serve as the provincial governor.
Unlike earlier settlement attempts, the San Felipe settlement did exist - for about ten years, until 1576. However, as had happened to previous settlement attempts, it too, fell victim to disease, poor leadership, and eventual destruction by the Native American populations.
These many and various efforts at colonization settlements, by the Spanish and French, were not in vain, however. Each attempt was, in essence, a stepping stone for the successive, additional efforts. And during the past 30+ years, the settlement sites have been the focus of archaeological research efforts - as excavations on Parris Island have slowly resulted in uncovering much of the lost stories of Santa Elena, San Felipe, and Charlesfort; with the result - that on September 21, 2004, the Charlesfort-Santa Elena National Historic Landmark was dedicated at Parris Island, SC.
One way of viewing the Spanish and French settlement efforts is that they served as the prelude to the eventual, long-term settlements - that resulted from the subsequent English and Scots expeditions, that began soon after the death of Oliver Cromwell, and the subsequent return of Charles II - from France to the throne of England.
In 1663, Charles rewarded eight persons - who had, steadfastly, remained his loyal supporters - with a territorial grant of all the lands that were between the 31st degree and 36th degree north latitude. The land that was given to these eight Lords Proprietors was given the name Carolana - in honor of Charles; Carolus being the Latin form of Charles.
Soon thereafter, on August 10, 1663, William Hilton sailed from Barbados - to explore the new area for the Lords Proprietors - arriving on August 26 on the SC coast, and exploring the waters in the vicinity of present day Hilton Head Island. He also visited and traded with the Escamacu Indians at Santa Elena (Parris Island). And, soon after Hilton's explorations, in 1666 another Englishman, Captain Robert Sandford, sailed south - from Cape Fear - also exploring the SC coastal area.
Sandford appears to have had greater, positive success in his dealings with the Native Americans - as he arranged with the cacique of the Escamacu to take the cacique's nephew with him - to be educated in the English language and customs. In return, Sandford left a young English surgeon, Henry Woodward, with the Escamacu cacique - to learn the language of the Native Americans, and to develop trading opportunities.
Henry Woodward was soon rewarded by the Lords Proprietors with 150 acres of "bounty land" - free land that was granted to certain immigrants, as an encouragement to settle in a new colony. Thus, quite literally, Henry Woodward - whose connections with the Native Americans was the basis for South Carolina's development of a lucrative trading relationship with the Indians - was, also, the first English settler in South Carolina.
From this point in time - about 1670 - what had been a trickle of colonization activity, began to become like a flood. Beginning with the English settlement of Charles Town on the peninsula, formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, soon there would follow, in October 1684, a group of Scottish Presbyterians, who would settle in what is current-day Beaufort County. Several of this group of Scottish emigrants were prisoners, who - for participating in abortive uprisings - had been sentenced to banishment, or they were Presbyterians, who had violated Anglican rules - and who were subjected to history's age-old solution for problems - movement to someplace, "out of sight and out of mind".
And like the cascading water-falls - that flow into the streams and rivers around Haines, AK - from this point in time, historical events and the persons - impacting and being impacted - also accelerate in SC - exponentially!! To immerse oneself in the ebb and flow of the early SC colonists and their relationships with the Native Americans; or to see the impact that the planting of long-staple cotton - which was initially planted and grown on Hilton Head Island, had on the development of antebellum Southern culture and politics, both regionally and nationally - and one can literally add topics and studies on the top of subject areas - ad infinitum!!
However, there is one historical and cultural similarity - that, while possessing one significant difference - is also common to both Beaufort, SC and Haines, AK. And, I can only barely, touch "the hem of the garment" - in attempting to explore, what I see are the relevant, common threads - in the give-and-take relationships, that each community has had with the Native populations and other cultures, with whom they've shared geographical existence.
In Haines, AK, an awareness, by residents, of the Native American Tlingit tribes - whose centuries-long presence in Alaska, long pre-dated the fur trade explorations by Russia and the European and American influences, that have arisen to Alaskan dominance since the early 18th century - although, having waned, has always been a present reality.
In South Carolina and Beaufort County, however, the end result of the early Indian Wars between the Native Americans and the early settlers - other than surviving as place location names, or the originating source of names for area rivers - has been, that the Native American presence is, a largely, non-existent reality.
There is, however, a historical saga - whose history does possess some connecting similarities, for both Haines, AK and Beaufort, SC. I'm referring to the African-American experience, or what history designates and records about various aspects of slavery in America. Although it is true that the Tlingit tribes pre-dated European and American presence, and have always been present in Alaska; in contrast with the Afro-Americans, who were not initially present; but were imported - in chains from Africa - the common, linked experience is, I think, the commonality and similarity of their experiences - as viewed culturally - in relationship with the dominant cultural restrictions, laws, and prohibitions - that affected each, within the contextual settings in which they lived.
In Beaufort County, SC, as was true all across the antebellum South, slaves were prohibited from speaking their native languages. Rather, learning and speaking English was mandatory. Their tribal religious customs were also not allowed to be practiced; rather, becoming Christian, and being instructed regarding the virtues of being "obedient" slaves to their masters was the focal emphasis. As slaves were, periodically, sold and traded - usually without regard to family connections - the resultant fracturing of family relationships took an immense toll upon the emotional health and sense of well-being, of innumerable persons.
The end of the Civil War and the long, difficult story of Reconstruction is a mixture of voluminous stories within itself. However, the reality is - that it has only been, in more recent decades, that the Gullah language of the Sea Island Blacks of the SC and GA coasts, has come to be recognized, respected, and is being reclaimed by the Afro-American community - as inherently significant, and possessing deep roots to their historical and cultural identity.
And, sweetgrass baskets - a craft brought from Africa - that were used as functional implements on the many rice plantations, up and down the SE coast; but, during the 20th century was an artistic craft - that could be purchased, cheaply, at stands along area highways - today, can no longer be purchased, cheaply. Today, the weaving of sweetgrass baskets is recognized as a significant historical and cultural expression, and many of the better crafted baskets are going into museums and private collections.
The significantly, critical concern for many African-American craftspersons today, is finding enough young persons who are interested in learning the "old" skills, and developing their capacities to take up the artistry, so that it will be carried on, for generations yet unborn.
It has been a lengthy, involved process that is still continuing to develop. However, the descendants of former slaves are, today, experiencing the honoring and the recognition of what had long been prohibited and repressed, within their culture - now, being rediscovered, honored, and reclaimed.
This experience with the cultural heritage experience of the SC Sea Island African-Americans - has, I've discovered, been closely mirrored in the experience of the Tlingits of Alaska. Since arriving in Alaska, I have been reading and acquainting myself with Alaskan history - using a small pocket guide book, which I purchased soon after my arrival - at the State Museum in Juneau.
Interestingly, in a chapter entitled, "Renewed Traditions: The Renaissance of Native Arts", the author details how the early explorers marveled at the Tlingit's rich history of ceremonial and craft traditions. However, the ritual masks, cedar columns, and potlatch feasts were perceived by other newcomers as practices to be eradicated and strictly prohibited.
The inevitable result was that an entire people's culture - for a long, period of time - essentially went underground; and, for many persons, became a source for the loss of cultural heritage and personal identity. All of which, are negative experiences for spiritual and emotional health.
What I perceive, and believe is significant - in our lives - is the vibrancy and deep-seated quest for viable personal expression - that is inherent within the human heart. And despite the blanket of shunned recognition - that for many years was cast over African-American culture and arts - the spirit of a people survived, and is now experiencing a rebirth.
An identical - and largely parallel - experience is also how I read, and sense what has happened - and is currently happening in Alaska - with the Native American cultural and artistic expressions within the expressions of spiritual and cultural life - that has sustained and borne them, to this present day.
Art and history are, by no means, adequate containers, for the whole, of what we mean by the term - culture! They are, however, significant and critical aspects for understanding and appreciating the life-soul - what I choose to express, as the "spirit" that lives, energizes, enriches, and bears each of us along the path of our life's journey.
This, I believe, and I can say with pride, and with confidence. In both Beaufort, SC and in Haines, AK, if one is open to the opportunities that each community offers, there is a rich, cultural, spiritual experience - that is a wonder, to taste and to enjoy!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
"The Yellow Gold Trail"
For the past several days, I've been cogitating. Or in other words, spending some time attempting to get my mind around some of the events that are the stuff of Alaskan legend and history - pertaining to the famous Gold Rush.
And, I have to admit; it's beginning to feel just a tad frustrating - to be sitting only 14 nautical miles away from an epicenter of the Rush - Scagway, AK - and to still be attempting to work out the logistics of getting there. However, that's not anything new. A lot of folk - who have preceded me - have wrestled with the identical dilemma; i.e., how to get to Skagway!!
Actually, persons today have a couple of additional options - than were available over a hundred years ago. One can, of course, travel - as persons have traveled Alaska for centuries; and, that is - by water. Many of the early miners came by steamer up the Lynn Canal to Dyea, and then hiked overland - to Scagway. I'll say more about that in a jiffy!!
Today, additional, available access options exist. One can either fly to Scagway, or one can drive to Skagway - entering from Canada's Yukon through White Pass. As I've noted in an earlier note, driving is a 350 mile jaunt from Haines - and, I mean 350 miles one-way; not a round trip!!
So, what is the attraction of Skagway for me?
According to Alaska Magazine, February 2010, "Skagway is home to the only self-sustaining national historic park in the United States" - the U.S. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. As the article further notes, the park consists of four parts: "a visitors center at 117 Main St. in Seattle's Pioneer Square; a six-block historic business district in Skagway; a 17-mile corridor of land following the Chilkoot Trail; and a corridor of land along the White Pass Trail - both routes that Gold Rush prospectors took to the Klondike".
Almost every article that one reads about the Gold Rush, consistently uses a common term. That is the word, "stampede". It was a "stampede" of miners who came - seeking their fortune in the gold fields. And, as one writer, I think, - wryly noted - close behind the miners followed a "stampede of prostitutes"! To say the least, that creates a vivid mental image to play across the screen of one's mind - does it not?
I know that persons older than I, have hiked the backbone of our Eastern U.S. - the Appalachian Trail. However, I don't quite see that feat in my future. Nor, I might add, do my feet! But the 17 mile Chilkoot Trail - that just might be doable! When my brother-in-law, who is currently hiking, in segments, the Appalachian Trail, sees this, it won't surprise me, in the least, if he blinks his eyes, and does a double-take!!
But 17 miles over four days? Even a 71+ year old geezer should be able to get up for that - I think.
The first day is 11.75 miles through the Pacific Northwest Coastal Forest from near sea-level to an elevation of about 900 feet - following the Taiya River, where pink and chum salmon return to spawn. The trail - as it winds through the floodplain consists, primarily of old-growth Sitka spruce, alder, and tall, black cottonwoods - as the first day ends - at the first night's campsite - Sheep Camp. That sounds doable, I think.
Serene Halvorson, from whose account, I've gleaned most of this article, states that one thought entertained - as the group arrived into camp - was an attempt to imagine the myriad of tents of "stampeders" - there's that word, again; and what possessed over a 100,000 persons "to risk their lives, haul a ton of goods on their backs, spend their life savings, and leave their families for the remote chance of finding gold".
My guess is that the mining prospectors didn't view their chances as being so "remote". A "remote chance", is - I think - how our current day historical perspective, enables us to frame - what was the reality, that the miners faced. What is our common adage about hindsight? Something about being 20/20 is it not?
The second day's leg is noted as being significantly different from the first day - moving into the alpine tundra - and by midday, having moved to about 2,500 feet elevation. Not nearly as far - as on the first day - and definitely, not as fast. Lots of boulder fields, streams, and snowfields; not to mention, the famous, and most difficult part of the Chilkoot Trail - the Golden Staircase!
The Golden Staircase - documented in photos and paintings, and portraying a long, extended line of persons ascending a steep, snow-covered incline - is a "mess of loose boulders, ascending 1,000 feet in a little more than a quarter of a mile". It's crest marked the Canadian border, where stampeders could enter British Columbia - provided customs officials approved their supplies "against a detailed list of mandatory gear considered essential for survival".
With the requirement being that each person have 2,000 pounds of supplies, does it not speak to the force of both anticipation and determination - to imagine persons, who were ascending and descending the Golden Staircase, repeatedly - up to 30 or 40 times - so as to get their gear and supplies, up and over?
When I read that guides, today, warn "don't look up, because your pack will pull you backward", whether or not this is something in my future - to do - does evoke some second thoughts! However, knowing that one climb - not multiple climb events - is all that is involved, does place a somewhat, different perspective upon my cogitations!!
The third day is a hike through a different ecosystem - one that is designated a subalpine boreal forest, of alpine fur, lodgepole pine, willow and alder. It is also an area where moose, wolves, porcupine, and wolverine - as well as ruffed grouse and white-throated sparrows live. That sounds like a day that would be filled with beauty, and sights that these old eyes have never viewed.
The fourth and final day ends in Bennett, British Columbia, where one has, I'm sure, the welcome luxury of taking a train - the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway - back to Skagway.
For the stampeders who journeyed to Skagway through the White Pass, conditions were such that over 3,000 horses died - undertaking the transporting tasks, to which they were subjected. Today, negotiating the White Pass by railroad is a journey of "cliff-hanging turns, two tunnels, numerous bridges, trestles, and an elevation descent from 3,000 feet". Small wonder that this "narrow-gauge railroad wears the honor of being an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark - an honor it shares with the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Panama Canal".
Will I ever hike the Chilkoot Trail? Some might respond, "only in your dreams, Paul; only, in your dreams".
Oh, well!! Whether I'm ever back, to hike the Chilkoot Trail - in fact - or, whether it's just an event - in my dreams, I'll still be sharing a lot, in common, with those old Klondike stampeders. For, they were dreamers, too. They knew, quite well, that nothing is ever accomplished - without initially being dreamed, in one's mind and in one's heart.
What feels important to remember and mark - about those long-ago, stampeders - is that they live in story, legend, and song, because they were persons who followed their dreams - dreams of "a yellow gold trail"!!
And, I have to admit; it's beginning to feel just a tad frustrating - to be sitting only 14 nautical miles away from an epicenter of the Rush - Scagway, AK - and to still be attempting to work out the logistics of getting there. However, that's not anything new. A lot of folk - who have preceded me - have wrestled with the identical dilemma; i.e., how to get to Skagway!!
Actually, persons today have a couple of additional options - than were available over a hundred years ago. One can, of course, travel - as persons have traveled Alaska for centuries; and, that is - by water. Many of the early miners came by steamer up the Lynn Canal to Dyea, and then hiked overland - to Scagway. I'll say more about that in a jiffy!!
Today, additional, available access options exist. One can either fly to Scagway, or one can drive to Skagway - entering from Canada's Yukon through White Pass. As I've noted in an earlier note, driving is a 350 mile jaunt from Haines - and, I mean 350 miles one-way; not a round trip!!
So, what is the attraction of Skagway for me?
According to Alaska Magazine, February 2010, "Skagway is home to the only self-sustaining national historic park in the United States" - the U.S. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. As the article further notes, the park consists of four parts: "a visitors center at 117 Main St. in Seattle's Pioneer Square; a six-block historic business district in Skagway; a 17-mile corridor of land following the Chilkoot Trail; and a corridor of land along the White Pass Trail - both routes that Gold Rush prospectors took to the Klondike".
Almost every article that one reads about the Gold Rush, consistently uses a common term. That is the word, "stampede". It was a "stampede" of miners who came - seeking their fortune in the gold fields. And, as one writer, I think, - wryly noted - close behind the miners followed a "stampede of prostitutes"! To say the least, that creates a vivid mental image to play across the screen of one's mind - does it not?
I know that persons older than I, have hiked the backbone of our Eastern U.S. - the Appalachian Trail. However, I don't quite see that feat in my future. Nor, I might add, do my feet! But the 17 mile Chilkoot Trail - that just might be doable! When my brother-in-law, who is currently hiking, in segments, the Appalachian Trail, sees this, it won't surprise me, in the least, if he blinks his eyes, and does a double-take!!
But 17 miles over four days? Even a 71+ year old geezer should be able to get up for that - I think.
The first day is 11.75 miles through the Pacific Northwest Coastal Forest from near sea-level to an elevation of about 900 feet - following the Taiya River, where pink and chum salmon return to spawn. The trail - as it winds through the floodplain consists, primarily of old-growth Sitka spruce, alder, and tall, black cottonwoods - as the first day ends - at the first night's campsite - Sheep Camp. That sounds doable, I think.
Serene Halvorson, from whose account, I've gleaned most of this article, states that one thought entertained - as the group arrived into camp - was an attempt to imagine the myriad of tents of "stampeders" - there's that word, again; and what possessed over a 100,000 persons "to risk their lives, haul a ton of goods on their backs, spend their life savings, and leave their families for the remote chance of finding gold".
My guess is that the mining prospectors didn't view their chances as being so "remote". A "remote chance", is - I think - how our current day historical perspective, enables us to frame - what was the reality, that the miners faced. What is our common adage about hindsight? Something about being 20/20 is it not?
The second day's leg is noted as being significantly different from the first day - moving into the alpine tundra - and by midday, having moved to about 2,500 feet elevation. Not nearly as far - as on the first day - and definitely, not as fast. Lots of boulder fields, streams, and snowfields; not to mention, the famous, and most difficult part of the Chilkoot Trail - the Golden Staircase!
The Golden Staircase - documented in photos and paintings, and portraying a long, extended line of persons ascending a steep, snow-covered incline - is a "mess of loose boulders, ascending 1,000 feet in a little more than a quarter of a mile". It's crest marked the Canadian border, where stampeders could enter British Columbia - provided customs officials approved their supplies "against a detailed list of mandatory gear considered essential for survival".
With the requirement being that each person have 2,000 pounds of supplies, does it not speak to the force of both anticipation and determination - to imagine persons, who were ascending and descending the Golden Staircase, repeatedly - up to 30 or 40 times - so as to get their gear and supplies, up and over?
When I read that guides, today, warn "don't look up, because your pack will pull you backward", whether or not this is something in my future - to do - does evoke some second thoughts! However, knowing that one climb - not multiple climb events - is all that is involved, does place a somewhat, different perspective upon my cogitations!!
The third day is a hike through a different ecosystem - one that is designated a subalpine boreal forest, of alpine fur, lodgepole pine, willow and alder. It is also an area where moose, wolves, porcupine, and wolverine - as well as ruffed grouse and white-throated sparrows live. That sounds like a day that would be filled with beauty, and sights that these old eyes have never viewed.
The fourth and final day ends in Bennett, British Columbia, where one has, I'm sure, the welcome luxury of taking a train - the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway - back to Skagway.
For the stampeders who journeyed to Skagway through the White Pass, conditions were such that over 3,000 horses died - undertaking the transporting tasks, to which they were subjected. Today, negotiating the White Pass by railroad is a journey of "cliff-hanging turns, two tunnels, numerous bridges, trestles, and an elevation descent from 3,000 feet". Small wonder that this "narrow-gauge railroad wears the honor of being an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark - an honor it shares with the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Panama Canal".
Will I ever hike the Chilkoot Trail? Some might respond, "only in your dreams, Paul; only, in your dreams".
Oh, well!! Whether I'm ever back, to hike the Chilkoot Trail - in fact - or, whether it's just an event - in my dreams, I'll still be sharing a lot, in common, with those old Klondike stampeders. For, they were dreamers, too. They knew, quite well, that nothing is ever accomplished - without initially being dreamed, in one's mind and in one's heart.
What feels important to remember and mark - about those long-ago, stampeders - is that they live in story, legend, and song, because they were persons who followed their dreams - dreams of "a yellow gold trail"!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
When I Consider All The World Thy Hands Have Made
Earlier today, I wrote in an e-mail to a friend, "that there is beauty to be viewed, admired, and appreciated all over our country - in fact, all over the world. However, the pristine beauty of unspoiled wilderness and waters, coupled with animals living and playing in their native environ - as they have done for centuries - is a special beauty that is both soul-satisfying and soul-enriching."
I concluded my note by jovially stating, "that this is my story, and I'm sticking with it."
Actually, it's the story that is sticking with me!!
How does one do justice to an early morning cruise down the Lynn Canal, under a bright, blue sky and with balmy, Alaskan weather - that rather than causing one to feel chilled - evokes a sense of feeling exuberant and tingling with excitement?
We met our hosts and their young, 20 month old son, at 8:00 a.m., and were soon cruising southeast, down the channel, toward Sea Lion Rock - a series of ledges, I'm guessing, about 12 to 15 south of Haines, AK.
And, we were not disappointed!! Probably over 100 sea lions were resting, frolicking, and swimming - as well as serenading us with their incessant, cacophony of sounds. I think that it is best described as a free-style mixture of belching, burping, and moaning - depending on what a given sea lion was feeling and experiencing at the moment.
In a manner similar to almost everyone else who visits Alaska, Melba & I have hoped that we might experience seeing whales. And, again, we were not disappointed!! Shortly after leaving the Sea Lion Rock area and heading north up the channel, a humpback whale was sighted - skimming along at the surface level of the water.
And while it did not perform a full body leap out of the water, we did get a view of it - as it flipped its tail into the air, and took its dive down into the channel depths. At that point, we were boating in waters that were 700+ feet in depth.
As we continued making our way north - toward an area of waterfalls that our hosts desired to show us - all of us noticed a white object, on a distant rock - sitting and overlooking the water. As we drew closer, we were able to see that it was a mountain goat, and as our hosts informed us, it was a rare event to be able to view a mountain goat at such close range.
It almost appeared that he was as interested in looking us over, as we were in looking him over!! He maintained his position for several minutes. Maybe he enjoyed posing for the photo shots that we were busily shooting. Who knows? At any rate, he was not in any hurry to leave his rock perch, and when he did turn to leave, he moved with a stately grace that seemed to convey a sense that he was in his element, and happy to be there.
By this time, we were heading back to the dock in Portage Cove; however our hosts had one more site that they wished to check as we cruised back to the dock.
And sure enough, the seals that they hoped would be out, were enjoying the sun and the water. The boat's engine probably spooked them to some extent, as most of them moved and jumped into the water - as we approached. This was unlike the sea lions, who appeared to care less - that we were anywhere in their vicinity.
Sea lions, seals, whales, a mountain goat - all in one morning's cruise! And this doesn't include the numerous birds - both in the air and in the water, as well as the three bald eagles who were perched and watching, as we had left Haines earlier in the morning!!
I'm going to venture out and say that our experience gives a new meaning to the Afro-American spiritual, "My Lord, what a morning! My Lord, what a morning!"
This afternoon, I've thought about how many times I've heard or sung songs, such as "O Lord, My God, When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made." Or, "Oh Beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; for purple mountains majesty ... " Or heard or read, "The heavens declare the Glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork." The occasions have been many.
And, as I shared with my friend, that while there is beauty to be viewed, admired, and appreciated in many locales - here, in Haines, AK, one can experience a sense of being immersed and embraced in the beauty of God's creative wonders. They are so abundant and encompassing - everywhere one looks.
It's a feeling that, here in this environment - like two good friends - awe and humility meet, and warmly embrace - with gratitude - for the "love which from our birth, over and around us lies."
I concluded my note by jovially stating, "that this is my story, and I'm sticking with it."
Actually, it's the story that is sticking with me!!
How does one do justice to an early morning cruise down the Lynn Canal, under a bright, blue sky and with balmy, Alaskan weather - that rather than causing one to feel chilled - evokes a sense of feeling exuberant and tingling with excitement?
We met our hosts and their young, 20 month old son, at 8:00 a.m., and were soon cruising southeast, down the channel, toward Sea Lion Rock - a series of ledges, I'm guessing, about 12 to 15 south of Haines, AK.
And, we were not disappointed!! Probably over 100 sea lions were resting, frolicking, and swimming - as well as serenading us with their incessant, cacophony of sounds. I think that it is best described as a free-style mixture of belching, burping, and moaning - depending on what a given sea lion was feeling and experiencing at the moment.
In a manner similar to almost everyone else who visits Alaska, Melba & I have hoped that we might experience seeing whales. And, again, we were not disappointed!! Shortly after leaving the Sea Lion Rock area and heading north up the channel, a humpback whale was sighted - skimming along at the surface level of the water.
And while it did not perform a full body leap out of the water, we did get a view of it - as it flipped its tail into the air, and took its dive down into the channel depths. At that point, we were boating in waters that were 700+ feet in depth.
As we continued making our way north - toward an area of waterfalls that our hosts desired to show us - all of us noticed a white object, on a distant rock - sitting and overlooking the water. As we drew closer, we were able to see that it was a mountain goat, and as our hosts informed us, it was a rare event to be able to view a mountain goat at such close range.
It almost appeared that he was as interested in looking us over, as we were in looking him over!! He maintained his position for several minutes. Maybe he enjoyed posing for the photo shots that we were busily shooting. Who knows? At any rate, he was not in any hurry to leave his rock perch, and when he did turn to leave, he moved with a stately grace that seemed to convey a sense that he was in his element, and happy to be there.
By this time, we were heading back to the dock in Portage Cove; however our hosts had one more site that they wished to check as we cruised back to the dock.
And sure enough, the seals that they hoped would be out, were enjoying the sun and the water. The boat's engine probably spooked them to some extent, as most of them moved and jumped into the water - as we approached. This was unlike the sea lions, who appeared to care less - that we were anywhere in their vicinity.
Sea lions, seals, whales, a mountain goat - all in one morning's cruise! And this doesn't include the numerous birds - both in the air and in the water, as well as the three bald eagles who were perched and watching, as we had left Haines earlier in the morning!!
I'm going to venture out and say that our experience gives a new meaning to the Afro-American spiritual, "My Lord, what a morning! My Lord, what a morning!"
This afternoon, I've thought about how many times I've heard or sung songs, such as "O Lord, My God, When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made." Or, "Oh Beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; for purple mountains majesty ... " Or heard or read, "The heavens declare the Glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork." The occasions have been many.
And, as I shared with my friend, that while there is beauty to be viewed, admired, and appreciated in many locales - here, in Haines, AK, one can experience a sense of being immersed and embraced in the beauty of God's creative wonders. They are so abundant and encompassing - everywhere one looks.
It's a feeling that, here in this environment - like two good friends - awe and humility meet, and warmly embrace - with gratitude - for the "love which from our birth, over and around us lies."
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Best Small Library in America - 2005
The Renaissance scholar, Erasmus, is quoted as having said, "When I get a little bit of money, I buy books. If there are any funds left over, I then purchase food."
There are some of us - possibly, even someone reading this blog - to whom that statement has some personal resonance; or at least, it resonates with their wife!!
For bibliophiles, such as myself, I believe that I fully understand what Thomas Jefferson meant - when he said, "I don't believe that I could live without books." A bookstore or a library, for me, is like a magnet. There is a gravitational pull that is impossible to resist. And, I'm grateful for a wife that is understanding of - shall we say - that quirk in my personality.
Thus, today found me exploring the library in Haines, AK - where Melba and I are visiting this month. And, what did I find?
I found an attractive, functional, recently completed library that was awarded the "Best Small Library in America" award in 2005 - by the Library Journal and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Pretty doggone good for a small community of between 2500 and 3000 persons - I think!!
So, how did the folk of Haines, AK accomplish this feat, which -indeed, was no small task? First, the citizenry passed a $400,000 local bond issue with 67% of the vote. Second, to the bond issue was added grants from Alaska's Rasmusen Foundation, Murdock Charitable Trust, and Paul Allen Foundation. Third, there were fundraising events by a Friends group. Fourth, there were funds - rural development monies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And, finally there were additional grants, and cash donations; in the end, totaling $2.5 million. With the cash, there were multiple in-kind donations - exemplified by a local craftsman who contributed a week of his time to assist in building the library furniture.
Why do I find this story of the Haines, AK library to be of interest and of value?
First, I believe that placing a high priority focus on the importance of reading and learning resources, within a community, reflects positively upon a community's values. I'm thinking - that in the hard, cold, and long dark days of an Alaskan winter - reading and learning are good ways to utilize the time that one spends indoors.
Second, by building and equipping their library with quality resources, the folk of Haines are continuing to follow a long line of positive community tradition - from the ancient library tablet records of Sumer and Akkad, to the celebrated library at Alexandria, Egypt, and including the example of Benjamin Franklin's establishment of America's first public library in Philadelphia, PA.
However, visiting this library and gaining some initial acquaintance with their resources and programs, has a current point of interest for me. My current home of Sylva, NC is in the process of adding to, and reclaiming its former courthouse - a historic structure which sits on the highest point of land - in the downtown area - for a new library.
As has been true in Haines, AK, so it has also been true in Sylva, NC. There have been numerous grants and cash donations sought and received, as well as numerous fund-raising activities by a hard-working group of volunteers - the Friends of the Library. Thus, my home community, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, will also soon enjoy a new facility, and the opportunities for growth, enrichment, and learning that a new, up-to-date library facility can provide.
The Haines Library has an attractive children's section area, and as part of the activities associated with our visit to Haines, Melba will be presenting a program - utilizing art activities with the children - during the next three Thursday afternoons. One of things I currently enjoy doing is taking my four-year old grandson to our present, small library. So, make no mistake about it, I'm looking forward to being able to take him to the new facility, and to explore with him its new resource offerings, within the next year.
I seriously doubt that anyone can place a price tag upon the value of learning and the enriching of one's mind and spirit. If anyone, however, has doubts regarding the value of a community's investment in a library, I believe that the folk in Haines, AK are experientially demonstrating - that their library is an investment that is paying positive dividends.
From its opening in January 2003 to February 2005, the circulation - at 112,520 - reflected a five year volume increase of 77% increase - 27% alone, from 2004 to 2005. Free, unfiltered public Internet access has generated 28,000 user sessions - an increase of 70% from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, the citizens of Haines paid $113 per capita taxes for library services, and in 2005, the library was spending approximately 11% of its budget on collections.
While I don't know, I'm going to step out on a limb and speculate that all of the hard work and effort that went into the planning and execution of the various grants, fund-raising activities, and programs that resulted in this library being constructed, and gaining the prestigious award - awarded to it in 2005 - came from the hearts and minds of some very dedicated lovers of people and books.
And, if my speculation is correct, then from one bibliophile to others, may I say to each of you - my "congratulations", and a hearty "well done." You have a jewel in your community!!
There are some of us - possibly, even someone reading this blog - to whom that statement has some personal resonance; or at least, it resonates with their wife!!
For bibliophiles, such as myself, I believe that I fully understand what Thomas Jefferson meant - when he said, "I don't believe that I could live without books." A bookstore or a library, for me, is like a magnet. There is a gravitational pull that is impossible to resist. And, I'm grateful for a wife that is understanding of - shall we say - that quirk in my personality.
Thus, today found me exploring the library in Haines, AK - where Melba and I are visiting this month. And, what did I find?
I found an attractive, functional, recently completed library that was awarded the "Best Small Library in America" award in 2005 - by the Library Journal and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Pretty doggone good for a small community of between 2500 and 3000 persons - I think!!
So, how did the folk of Haines, AK accomplish this feat, which -indeed, was no small task? First, the citizenry passed a $400,000 local bond issue with 67% of the vote. Second, to the bond issue was added grants from Alaska's Rasmusen Foundation, Murdock Charitable Trust, and Paul Allen Foundation. Third, there were fundraising events by a Friends group. Fourth, there were funds - rural development monies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And, finally there were additional grants, and cash donations; in the end, totaling $2.5 million. With the cash, there were multiple in-kind donations - exemplified by a local craftsman who contributed a week of his time to assist in building the library furniture.
Why do I find this story of the Haines, AK library to be of interest and of value?
First, I believe that placing a high priority focus on the importance of reading and learning resources, within a community, reflects positively upon a community's values. I'm thinking - that in the hard, cold, and long dark days of an Alaskan winter - reading and learning are good ways to utilize the time that one spends indoors.
Second, by building and equipping their library with quality resources, the folk of Haines are continuing to follow a long line of positive community tradition - from the ancient library tablet records of Sumer and Akkad, to the celebrated library at Alexandria, Egypt, and including the example of Benjamin Franklin's establishment of America's first public library in Philadelphia, PA.
However, visiting this library and gaining some initial acquaintance with their resources and programs, has a current point of interest for me. My current home of Sylva, NC is in the process of adding to, and reclaiming its former courthouse - a historic structure which sits on the highest point of land - in the downtown area - for a new library.
As has been true in Haines, AK, so it has also been true in Sylva, NC. There have been numerous grants and cash donations sought and received, as well as numerous fund-raising activities by a hard-working group of volunteers - the Friends of the Library. Thus, my home community, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, will also soon enjoy a new facility, and the opportunities for growth, enrichment, and learning that a new, up-to-date library facility can provide.
The Haines Library has an attractive children's section area, and as part of the activities associated with our visit to Haines, Melba will be presenting a program - utilizing art activities with the children - during the next three Thursday afternoons. One of things I currently enjoy doing is taking my four-year old grandson to our present, small library. So, make no mistake about it, I'm looking forward to being able to take him to the new facility, and to explore with him its new resource offerings, within the next year.
I seriously doubt that anyone can place a price tag upon the value of learning and the enriching of one's mind and spirit. If anyone, however, has doubts regarding the value of a community's investment in a library, I believe that the folk in Haines, AK are experientially demonstrating - that their library is an investment that is paying positive dividends.
From its opening in January 2003 to February 2005, the circulation - at 112,520 - reflected a five year volume increase of 77% increase - 27% alone, from 2004 to 2005. Free, unfiltered public Internet access has generated 28,000 user sessions - an increase of 70% from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, the citizens of Haines paid $113 per capita taxes for library services, and in 2005, the library was spending approximately 11% of its budget on collections.
While I don't know, I'm going to step out on a limb and speculate that all of the hard work and effort that went into the planning and execution of the various grants, fund-raising activities, and programs that resulted in this library being constructed, and gaining the prestigious award - awarded to it in 2005 - came from the hearts and minds of some very dedicated lovers of people and books.
And, if my speculation is correct, then from one bibliophile to others, may I say to each of you - my "congratulations", and a hearty "well done." You have a jewel in your community!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Deer Rock
I'm a sucker for historical markers and information plaques. Always have been; probably always will be. It has to be something deeply woven into my DNA!! How many persons, for example, would have a desire - no, not just a desire - rather, a need to read the information on a marker, entitled "Deer Rock"?
A couple of days ago, during our tour up the Chilkoot Valley - near where we sat and observed a bald eagle doing it's daily grocery shopping, I stopped to read the marker next to a large rock - designated, Deer Rock. Our guide, at that point, added the commentary - that when the road was paved several years ago, the Highway Department had moved the rock, and had been preparing to break it into pieces - for crushing.
At that point, however, some native Chilkoots intervened, and made their plea - to stop - rather forcibly, as I understood it.
As with most, if not all native Americans, their is a deep-seated belief in "spirit", that infuses the sense of their relationship to the natural world - rocks and trees, as well as animal and plant life. It is a vitally important life principle, within native American cultures, that "spirit" be respected!!
What the Highway Department had done was to remove the most sacred rock in all of the Chilkoot Valley!! I can imagine that it would be - in our Western cultural values - like someone cleaning out old manuscripts, and carelessly tossing away the Declaration of Independence - due to its faded, fragile, creaky condition.
And the reason that Deer Rock held such a sacred sense within, the Chilkoot hearts and minds, is - as I perceive it - both fascinatingly profound, and spiritual.
Within the Chilkoot culture, the deer are reverenced as the most gentle of animals. So, when wars and disputes between other tribes and the Chilkoots, or between tribal factions was to be resolved, each tribe or faction selected the person, whom they most respected as being patient, far-sighted, honest, and compassionate. The person selected was designated as the "deer person."
The two "deer persons" then met at the Deer Rock, and there - discussed the points of negotiation, by which peace was to be made and sealed. Their agreement, once made, was a final and binding decision!!
As I've reflected on this history, that is narrated upon the marker next to Deer Rock, I've since asked myself the question, "how many "deer persons" - across the centuries - had been sent to sit, and meet with their counterpart upon Deer Rock, and how many wars and disputes had ended there?
No wonder, that Deer Rock is sacred to the Chilkoots!!
Maybe, it could be a positive thing if every city council and town council had a Deer Rock, to which they could send their "deer persons", to negotiate endings to strife and discord!!
Earlier, I had noted that the Alaska Highway Department had moved the rock, and had been preparing to crush it. However, to their credit, the Department listened and heard the "angst" of the Chilkoot - and the importance of "Deer Rock" to Chilkoot history and heritage. Had they not done so, it's my judgment that there would have been little difference between crushed rock, and the broken hearts that would have resulted!!
"Deer Rock", however, was moved back to the location, from which it had been removed!! And today, it sits - bearing positive testimony to the history of the Chilkoots, and to the "spirit" of peace and good will - that is the foundation for any richly, experienced, positive sense of lived life.
A couple of days ago, during our tour up the Chilkoot Valley - near where we sat and observed a bald eagle doing it's daily grocery shopping, I stopped to read the marker next to a large rock - designated, Deer Rock. Our guide, at that point, added the commentary - that when the road was paved several years ago, the Highway Department had moved the rock, and had been preparing to break it into pieces - for crushing.
At that point, however, some native Chilkoots intervened, and made their plea - to stop - rather forcibly, as I understood it.
As with most, if not all native Americans, their is a deep-seated belief in "spirit", that infuses the sense of their relationship to the natural world - rocks and trees, as well as animal and plant life. It is a vitally important life principle, within native American cultures, that "spirit" be respected!!
What the Highway Department had done was to remove the most sacred rock in all of the Chilkoot Valley!! I can imagine that it would be - in our Western cultural values - like someone cleaning out old manuscripts, and carelessly tossing away the Declaration of Independence - due to its faded, fragile, creaky condition.
And the reason that Deer Rock held such a sacred sense within, the Chilkoot hearts and minds, is - as I perceive it - both fascinatingly profound, and spiritual.
Within the Chilkoot culture, the deer are reverenced as the most gentle of animals. So, when wars and disputes between other tribes and the Chilkoots, or between tribal factions was to be resolved, each tribe or faction selected the person, whom they most respected as being patient, far-sighted, honest, and compassionate. The person selected was designated as the "deer person."
The two "deer persons" then met at the Deer Rock, and there - discussed the points of negotiation, by which peace was to be made and sealed. Their agreement, once made, was a final and binding decision!!
As I've reflected on this history, that is narrated upon the marker next to Deer Rock, I've since asked myself the question, "how many "deer persons" - across the centuries - had been sent to sit, and meet with their counterpart upon Deer Rock, and how many wars and disputes had ended there?
No wonder, that Deer Rock is sacred to the Chilkoots!!
Maybe, it could be a positive thing if every city council and town council had a Deer Rock, to which they could send their "deer persons", to negotiate endings to strife and discord!!
Earlier, I had noted that the Alaska Highway Department had moved the rock, and had been preparing to crush it. However, to their credit, the Department listened and heard the "angst" of the Chilkoot - and the importance of "Deer Rock" to Chilkoot history and heritage. Had they not done so, it's my judgment that there would have been little difference between crushed rock, and the broken hearts that would have resulted!!
"Deer Rock", however, was moved back to the location, from which it had been removed!! And today, it sits - bearing positive testimony to the history of the Chilkoots, and to the "spirit" of peace and good will - that is the foundation for any richly, experienced, positive sense of lived life.
Reflections on our Alaskan Adventure
For 71+ years, I've lived in the southeastern United States. And although desirous of doing so, I've seldom had the opportunity to travel widely - until now!! Never have I visited and viewed our great American Northwest, nor the majestic land of Seward's Folly!!
Well now!! All that is in the process of changing!!
By transposing the phrase, that "one man's trash is another man's treasure," one can, I believe, rightfully state, that "one man's perceived folly is a nation's treasure." In fact, dividends have been gained in furs, gold, oil, and - continue to be gained in the immense, beautiful environment - that is Alaska.
Through the graciousness of a long-time friend from our former home in Beaufort, SC - who now resides in the beautiful, picturesque village of Haines, AK - my wife and I are settled in for a month - preparing to work, play, taste, and enjoy life in the vast wonder of America's last frontier.
This opportunity has presented itself, in large part, due to the work of my wife, Melba, who in retirement, has continued to explore and expand the infusion of art - as a tool for assisting teachers to enhance the academic learning desires and skill development of their students.
During our month long stay, here in Haines, Melba will be consulting with several teachers and counselors in various settings - who work with children and adults, assisting them to view opportunities for using art as an adjunctive means of enhancing their work efforts.
However, by no means is our being in Haines an "all give" occasion. For although we have only been here less than forty-eight hours, it is readily apparent that this community loves and values art, and that it is a community of persons who are giving - in multiple ways - to enhancing the quality of life for themselves and others - through multiple and various ways.
There are several excellent craft shops in the area, along with a small, but impressive museum. The culture, particularly of the native Tlingit Indians - reflected in their totems, dances, and stories - is respected, and has in recent years, enjoyed a renaissance of cultural awareness and respect - that in former years was lacking. As I've listened to persons discuss the renewed respect for the Tlingit culture, it reminds me of the sense - in which the Gullah culture of the South Carolina and Georgia coast - has also enjoyed a renewed sense of cultural and historical respect in recent years.
However, my initial impression of Haines is that the word "beautiful" is too limited - in fact, too trite - for describing the overwhelming majestic beauty that constantly appears before one's eyes. As my wife states, "everywhere one turns and looks is a photographic opportunity."
Our ferry trip up from Juneau through the Lynn Canal - or more accurately, a fjord that in places is 1500 to 1600 feet deep - was a journey along mile-after-mile of massive, snow-capped mountains that, for me, repeatedly echoed Haydn's lines in "The Creation" - "the hand that made us is divine"!!
And yesterday afternoon, on an area tour into the Chilkoot Valley, the pristine majesty of this area, which attracted John Muir in 1897, was in subtle - but vivid display. It's been a life-time wait; however, being able to view a bald eagle sweeping and diving down from high in a fir tree, and plucking its meal from the waters - that's high drama, not often viewed in our modern world.
And to think that in October and November, each year, the Chilkat Valley area has the largest concentration of bald eagles anywhere on the North American continent. It's a family reunion of between 3500 and 4000+ eagles!! And what brings them together? It's the great, annual festive event of being able to feast on the remains - after the great spawning and salmon run.
So, what does our journey to Haines, AK hold for us?
Well, that's why we're here - to find out and to enjoy persons and events, as they happen. As the month unfolds, I'll be reflecting and commenting! Hopefully, it'll be worth your time to "stop by" for a few moments!!
Well now!! All that is in the process of changing!!
By transposing the phrase, that "one man's trash is another man's treasure," one can, I believe, rightfully state, that "one man's perceived folly is a nation's treasure." In fact, dividends have been gained in furs, gold, oil, and - continue to be gained in the immense, beautiful environment - that is Alaska.
Through the graciousness of a long-time friend from our former home in Beaufort, SC - who now resides in the beautiful, picturesque village of Haines, AK - my wife and I are settled in for a month - preparing to work, play, taste, and enjoy life in the vast wonder of America's last frontier.
This opportunity has presented itself, in large part, due to the work of my wife, Melba, who in retirement, has continued to explore and expand the infusion of art - as a tool for assisting teachers to enhance the academic learning desires and skill development of their students.
During our month long stay, here in Haines, Melba will be consulting with several teachers and counselors in various settings - who work with children and adults, assisting them to view opportunities for using art as an adjunctive means of enhancing their work efforts.
However, by no means is our being in Haines an "all give" occasion. For although we have only been here less than forty-eight hours, it is readily apparent that this community loves and values art, and that it is a community of persons who are giving - in multiple ways - to enhancing the quality of life for themselves and others - through multiple and various ways.
There are several excellent craft shops in the area, along with a small, but impressive museum. The culture, particularly of the native Tlingit Indians - reflected in their totems, dances, and stories - is respected, and has in recent years, enjoyed a renaissance of cultural awareness and respect - that in former years was lacking. As I've listened to persons discuss the renewed respect for the Tlingit culture, it reminds me of the sense - in which the Gullah culture of the South Carolina and Georgia coast - has also enjoyed a renewed sense of cultural and historical respect in recent years.
However, my initial impression of Haines is that the word "beautiful" is too limited - in fact, too trite - for describing the overwhelming majestic beauty that constantly appears before one's eyes. As my wife states, "everywhere one turns and looks is a photographic opportunity."
Our ferry trip up from Juneau through the Lynn Canal - or more accurately, a fjord that in places is 1500 to 1600 feet deep - was a journey along mile-after-mile of massive, snow-capped mountains that, for me, repeatedly echoed Haydn's lines in "The Creation" - "the hand that made us is divine"!!
And yesterday afternoon, on an area tour into the Chilkoot Valley, the pristine majesty of this area, which attracted John Muir in 1897, was in subtle - but vivid display. It's been a life-time wait; however, being able to view a bald eagle sweeping and diving down from high in a fir tree, and plucking its meal from the waters - that's high drama, not often viewed in our modern world.
And to think that in October and November, each year, the Chilkat Valley area has the largest concentration of bald eagles anywhere on the North American continent. It's a family reunion of between 3500 and 4000+ eagles!! And what brings them together? It's the great, annual festive event of being able to feast on the remains - after the great spawning and salmon run.
So, what does our journey to Haines, AK hold for us?
Well, that's why we're here - to find out and to enjoy persons and events, as they happen. As the month unfolds, I'll be reflecting and commenting! Hopefully, it'll be worth your time to "stop by" for a few moments!!
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