Letter to the Editor--Navajo Times

The letter was published June 26, in the Navajo Times. They really do publish a great newspaper.

June 19, 2008
Box #681 Ganado

Letter to the Editor:

Thirty years ago I was a “stringer” for the Navajo Times, sending in news from the Utah side of the reservation for 3 years. After that I taught journalism for 19 years and have continued to have a vested interest in the Free Press and what the newspapers of America publish.

Since moving to Ganado last fall, and again reading your paper, I have been very impressed by the quality of the reporting, done by the Navajo Times Staff. Though I’m sure sometimes reporters must be a thorn in the side to tribal government, and other agencies, we need to remember it is a good thorn: the kind that pricks us into action, pokes at our conscience, and even causes bad to fester until it is eradicated. Without a Free Press such as this, we would be poorly informed and bad decisions and actions would be swept under the carpet. We should all give a “high five” to your dedicated staff.

The leads of each article are universally strong and unique, thus enticing your audience to read” the rest of the story." It is not easy to wield the pen (or keyboard) consistently day after day in such a consistent and professional manner. The use of analogy, metaphor, allusion, and even puns keep us mentally alert and interested as we read. I salute the skills of your writers.

The other strength I see in the Navajo Times, that was missing in the early years, is the superlative photographs, and feature stories that “show us” the events and unique things happening across the reservation in the schools, hospitals, chapter houses, businesses, sports, and everyday lives of the Dine’. Your photographers are exceptional, and capture the essence of the moment without being intrusive. I am so impressed by the quality and quantity of photos you are able to publish, week after week. What a treat! Having the luxury of publishing in color periodically is also a wonderful addition that we should thank your advertisers for. Congratulations on the wonderful job you do. Keep meeting those deadlines, and doing such quality work. It is much enjoyed and appreciated.

--30—

J. Wilcox
Ganado, Az

Shoes ye this Day

I want to give tribute to the JC Penny's rubberized sole shoes, that I bought last October. You can't believe all the hard places they have taken me. Last winter, it was snow, ice and sleet, without nary a fall. Two weeks ago we walked into the Nazlini cemetary following a rain storm. My shoes started accululating layer upon layer of sticky clay mud, so by the time I walked back I was two inches taller. It took me some time to clean them up. Then at the baptism that Saturday, clutzy me spilled chile all over my skirt and shoes, while trying to help a young man with his cheese. This is what they looked like, but again, I was able to wash them up, and they are as good as new.

Check out my Slide Show!

Little Miracles on the Rez

In my spare time, I've been cutting out fabric strips from the polyester material EveLyn Perkins sent from Blanding. We're having our next sewing day on June 11, and I'm teaching the sisters how to make 9 patch blocks. I was worried as to whether we would have enough fabric for everyone, but today a double miracle came down.
1) At the flea market in Window rock I met Lennard Johnson, a member of the church from Twin lakes, NM and he had quite a bit of polyester and let me take all I wanted, plus he gave me 3 LDS Tapes. He was a very interesting person to talk to and we had a great visit. Thanks, Brother Johnson!!

2) Then about 3 PM a lady came up to our trailer, and asked if we made quilts at our church. I told her we did, and that I was doing a class next week. She said she had 2 sacks of fabric to donate. About 1/2 of of it was polyester as well!! She isn't even a member of our church, but was house cleaning, and didn't want to throw it away. Thanks Marci Wilson, for thinking of a way to bless others!

Provident living on the Rez

It wasn't raining when Noah Built the Ark!


After witnessing many results of unpreparedness the past 6 months, we decided we better start warning and teaching our branch members here in Ganado to prepare for emergencies. Some of the problems encountered:
>No running water; all water must be hauled
>No electricity in some homes
>Not enough wood hauled in for winter
>Too much money wasted on pop, fast food;
>No food storage
>Moms not cooking meals, relying on convenience food, which is too expensive
>Water pipes frozen, not wrapped for cold winters
>Money not budgeted so it lasts the whole month
>Tithing not paid, thus the windows of heaven are not open

We are using an 8 lesson course that Elder and Sister Peterson created for the Kayenta wards. Our neighbors, Elder and Sister Robrecht are helping us with the teaching. We conducted our first workshop Wed. May 28, and we will hold them the last Wed. of each month for 8 months.
We had about 15 people come to the first session with 11 families represented. The first session consisted of:
--A 3 ring binder to keep all of their notes, and print outs organized.
--A Jeopardy game (complete with music) to introduce the topics of spiritual preparedness, finances, food storage, and emergency preparedness.
--Instruction on getting out of debt, and tracking their expenses for a week
--A lesson on "waste not, want not" and utilizing the food bought, and not wasting it by letting it spoil in the frige.
--A tasters table featuring foods made from food storage, old fruit, and crock pot meals.

We are very encouraged with the response and hope it will make a difference in the preparedness of the branch here. If anyone wants more information, I can e-mail the files to you.

Strange Happenings and Requests

Last night we received our strangest request ever. One of our investigators had a broken fan belt, 5 miles down the road, and wondered if I had some nylons he could borrow to fix it. He tied the ends together and wrapped it around all the gears, and low and behold, it started right off, whirring around the gears! Up in Idaho we always used bailing wire to fix things, but things are different here on the rez!

Saturday night we were again visited by cows in the middle of the night. They like to graze off the tops of my flowers and bushes, so Elder Wilcox has invested in a pellet gun to drive them off.

Two weeks ago a high school student stopped by needing a place to stay. His friends had dropped him off but he had no where to go. It's not our policy to run a motel, but we let him stay. We found out later that he hadn't even told his mom where he was, so she had to drive several hours to come get him; arriving at 1:30 in the AM. We found out from this that even LDS kids can stretch the truth.

Auction at Hubbell's May 10

Hubbell Trading Post has an annual auction of rugs, pottery, art etc. and we got to enjoy some of the great crafts last Saturday. We also enjoyed the Navajo Tacos and fry bread and mutton.
Later that afternoon we helped host a going away party for Sister Klepacz, who has been serving for two years on the rez and has developed a great nursing program during that time. Her impact will be felt for many years to come.

Mother's Day Aprons for Sr. Citizens

In addition to making cute baby quilts, our Ganado sisters also helped cut out and hem nearly 30 chef aprons for the Grandmothers at the Sr. Citizen Center. We took them over May 7, so they had them in time for Mother's Day. We did everything except the pockets, which the director wanted them to do. They had the best time doing this, and loved the aprons and were so appreciative of what the sisters in our branch had done. Sisters: Robrecht, Farrah and Shar Tososie, and Alta Wauneka came and helped with the activity.

Sewing workshop #3--Floating pinwheels

Sister Robrecht and her daughter completed this cute quilt in just a couple of days.



On May 2 and 3, I taught another sewing workshop with about 10 sisters coming. This pinwheel block was actually a little easier and faster than last months. Here are some of the results.

Surprise Party

There have only been a handful of times in my life when I was really surprised, and this was one of them. I thought Steve was hurrying back to go to a church meeting, an when I walked in it was a surprise birthday party the branch had pulled together for me. It was so thoughtful, fun, and special in so many ways. Yet another reason we love the people here in this branch.