Jack Gladstone and Charlie Russell

My taste in music is very eclectic.  One of the many performers I enjoy listening to is Jack Gladstone.  He refers to himself as a "Blackfeet Troubadour".  His music combines traditional as well as contemporary music.

The first time I heard him play was probably the summer  of 1988 or 89.  I was living in the dorms at what was then Eastern Montana College.  (Now its called MSU-Billings.)  I was on the sixth floor and it was a warm Sunday afternoon and I was studying.  

As I was studying I could hear music coming down the hall.  It spoke to me.  I figured someone had the volume on their tape player on high.  I decided to learn the name of the album.   As I went down the deserted hall I came to the commons area and the doors were open overlooking a grassy area of the school. The music was coming from outside.   I followed the music to the piper.

 By now I was very intrigued and decided to go down and listen to the performance.  The man performing was Jack Gladstone and the name of the tape was "Wolves on Sea and Plains".

Today he has published 15 albums.  One of my favorite songs is "The Bear Who Stole the Chinook" and the "Fossil Fuel Sinner among others.  This is a link to YouTube where you can hear the "Bear that Stole the Chinook"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcynfN4gKLk

Over the years I have crossed paths many times with Jack, always enjoying his music and storytelling.  Last week he was one of the presenters at the conference I attended.  The 8th Annual Indian Education For All Best Practices Conference - "Pathways to Success"  .   Jack's presentation was on Charlie Russell's Montana.   At first I thought this an unusual pairing, then I learned that Jack was the first Montanan to receive the Charlie Russell award.  

One of the paintings Jack talked about was the "Fire Boat".  I had seen the painting many times and never knew the name.  It was a painting that always bothered me.  In the picture one of the warriors is holding his hand in a very unnatural way.  I always found it odd and wondered why he had painted it that way.

Sign language was a common language developed and used by many of the tribes in Montana.  (Our American sign language for the deaf got its start from this tradition.)  Jack showed us the sign for fire.  Umhm - the warrior in the painting was making the sign for fire.  On the water there is a steam boat, a piece of the picture I had never really noticed or paid any attention to.

And now you to know the rest of the story.

Fire Boat image from http://www.art.com/

Can You Even Check Out Books?

I really love my job as an elementary librarian.  I never know what my little kids are going to say next.  They make me laugh so often.  This year I am at two schools. Monday-Thursday I am at Washington Elementary K-5 and on Friday I am at Rose Park a K-6 school.  Rose Park has another part time librarian - Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

One Friday a youngster (1st grader) came in to check out a book.  He skidded to a halt when he saw me sitting behind the desk instead of "his" librarian.  He gave me the once over and his face betrayed every thought going on behind his eyes.  As I watched his face I knew he had come to a decision and so I waited.

"Can you EVEN check out books?" my young man queried.

"I think I can handle that."

"Good.  I want a book."

"What kind of book?"

"Science.   I like science."

I took him over to the shelves and found him some books about animals.  None of them met with his approval.

"No, I want the ones on the cart.  My friends find them on the cart."  (Books are on the cart waiting to be shelved.  On this day there are not many on the cart.)

I try to interest him in some other likely books and again they do not meet his approval.  I finally let him browse through the books on the cart.  He finds an old Star Wars book and proudly brings it to me.

Again I watch his expressions dance across his face as I ask his name and punch it into the computer, then scan the book.  As I hand the book to him I hear a soft exhalation of breath.  Until that moment he wasn't convinced that I really knew how to - check out books.

Photographing Montana - a Post Office At a Time

Terry, MT Post Office

Why should you put Terry on your bucket list of places to see? Here are the basic demographics about Terry -

• Prairie county
• population 605 (2010 Census) 
• once called Joubert's Landing.  
• had a post office since 1882
• incorporated in 1910     

So why do I think this community is worthy of being a bucket-list item?  The answer for me is centered on a previous resident.  Her name was Lady Evelyn (Flower) Cameron.   She was an English aristocrat who came with her husband and Honeymooned in Montana in 1889.

They fell in love with the badlands and relocated to Montana.  She and her husband started raising Polo Ponies in the hardscrabble hills of Montana.  Yes Polo Ponies.  The first time I read that I was shocked and said to myself no wonder they went broke.  As I dug, it was actually a good idea at the time - the Miles City area and nearby Wyoming boasted 5 active Polo Teams.  One was at Fort Keogh.  Europe was clambering for Polo Ponies with endurance.

Ewen was ill most of their married life.  During the 1893 financial scare they lost most of the money they had.  Evelyn tried many ways to earn money to help them survive.  She kept a daily diary of  their life (1893-1928).  These diaries have recently been digitized and are part of the Montana Memory Project http://cdm103401.cdmhost.com/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16013coll11 .  Evelyn's diaries were transcribed years ago by the Prairie Museum in Terry.  The transcriptions have not been digitized.

Evelyn's diaries give an amazing snapshot of life in the west.   She raised and sold vegetables to earn money and started taking in boarders.  One of her boarders introduced her to a new piece of technology - photography.  In 1894 she would create what would become a great legacy.  Evelyn's photographs would document the western frontier and its changes.

Donna Lucey in her book "Photographing Montana 1894-1928:  The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron" not only shares many of her photographs but shares the story of how this photographic collection was re-discovered.

I have been inspired by Evelyn's fearlessness, grit and her vision.

Evelyn Cameron self portrait.

Ewen and their wolves.

Video from YouTube  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLPzRBQ_8eQ

Can You Name One

Years ago I attended military leadership training on Equal Employment Opportunities with my unit.  A gentleman from West Africa was providing the training.  Sadly I have forgotten his name but I still remember his message.  You see he started his training with the following quiz - he said our answers could be names of people either living or dead, male or female except for the first two questions.

Try answering the questions yourself.

1.  Can you name one influential American man?

2.  Can you name one influential American woman?

3.  Can you name one influential Irish-American?

4.  Can you name one influential Italian-American?

5.  Can you name one influential Native-American?

6.  Can you name one influential Jewish-American?

7.  Can you name on influential Japanese-American?

8.  Can you name one influential German-American?

9.  Can you name one influential African-American?

10.  Can you name one influential Polish-American?

11.  Can you name one influential Chinese-American?


He gave us about 10 minutes to complete the quiz,  then he called for a show of hands.  How many answered all eleven questions.  No hands.  Ten questions - no hands.   Nine questions - no hands.  On the count went.  Five questions - my hand went up.  The majority of the group had about 3 answers.

I was feeling pretty good about my accomplishment.

With great dignity he quietly stated, "Other than the first question how many women did you list?"

Women? None - well one, the question that specifically asked about an influential woman.

He went on to say that this list was more about our values as a society.  It was about how our education looked at half our population.  Until we consciously teach about women's accomplishments we will never achieve true equality for anyone.

I'm not sure what else he said, my mind was was still reeling from his bombshell.  I who had felt proud moments before - now felt clueless.

Today- I close my eyes - and remember this dignified man.  This man in his suit and baby blue shirt.  The cadence of his words, with their soft accent.  His twinkling eyes as he threw the curve ball, "How many of your names were that of women?"

In that moment I changed.  Today I look differently at history and how we teach it.

Playapalooza Learning to Play Vintage Games

Every year the Western Heritage Centers hosts "Playapalooza" as family entertainment and a fund raiser for their educational programs.  Every year I think that this year I will finally get there, and every year I miss it.

What is a Playapalooza?  An event where you and your children or grandchildren can go and learn and play vintage games.  Games like checkers, tiddlywinks,  jacks, hopscotch,  marbles,  pickup sticks.  

As a kid I played checkers, hopscotch, jacks, and a little marbles.  I never learned to play tiddlywinks - imagine my surprise when I learned there are still tournaments and associations.

I know that Western Heritage have many of these games in their gift shop year round.  As I sit her writing I'm thinking about complex text - yah right.  What I was actually thinking was how directions are often very complex and confusing.  I wonder what my kids would think about having a mini Playapalooza -  reading the directions to figure out how to play the game.  Then letting them try.  I wonder if YouTube has anything on these games?

You Know There is Snow When Schools Close in Montana

The railing was bare Thursday night when I went to bed.  This morning at 4:30 am there was about 4 inches.  It is now almost 9:30 pm and I am guessing there is at least 15 inches on the railing.  The snow is still falling.

Missoula is approximately 350 miles from Billings, MT.  Sunday Dan and I left for Missoula about 8:00 am for a conference on Monday and Tuesday.  It was snowing.  We were blessed we hit snow, the roads were wet but not bad.  We stopped in Butte - snow but not bad, got to Missoula wind was howling.  Cold bitter and cutting - it was getting bad.

At breakfast we learned that neighboring areas (45 miles away) received about 21 inches that night.  I watched out the window it was still snowing.  Tuesday it quit.  Tuesday night I knocked the snow from the pick-up and went into town and had supper.  Wednesday we traveled home - roads were clear and dry.

Thursday the clouds were looking ominous.  The photos are from the railing on my back porch Friday night.  Oh by the way it is still snowing.

The news said that schools were closed in Missoula and surrounding areas because of Blizzard conditions.  Several schools in the eastern part of the state were also closed.

This next picture is from KECI 13- Missoula  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152235565954586&set=o.166203150057757&type=3&theater

This picture was taken at Lolo Pass about 30 miles from Missoula.

The news says we have two more waves on the way.  Yes I know it is still snowing.

Have You Ever Heard of Robert May?

As a teacher I believe that asking questions is a skill that all students need to be able to do. How many times have you said, “I didn’t know enough, to know what questions to ask”?  

One of the things I try to share with my students is the love of learning.  I love research, I am always learning things that surprise me.  I have been pairing pictures with the Question Formulation Technique developed by the Right Question Institute http://rightquestion.org/about/strategy/ .  I love the book “Make Just One Change”.

I have been featuring authors of children’s literature.  I decided I would feature Robert May - author of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as my mystery photo.  As I began looking for pictures of the author, I came across the picture I wanted to use in a post by Nate Bloom.    

http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/Shining_a_Light_on_the_Largely_Untold_Story_of_the_Origins_of_Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer.shtml

As I read his post I learned about the author of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and other Jewish writers who penned contemporary holiday music and stories.  The juxtaposition provides a tantalizing layer to these literary treasures.

I took the picture, put it in a powerpoint slide.  Broke it into quadrants - placed four text boxes filled with different colors over the picture.  Animated each square to reveal part of the picture each time I clicked.  The kids developed questions they wanted to know about the picture.  The rules are: write down every question as the person says it.  You can not judge the questions, or stop and discuss or answer them.  Each time I revealed part of the square the kids asked more questions.

I left the section with Rudolph’s head for the last piece to be uncovered.  My students are getting better at asking deeper questions.  This week we will explore May’s biographical information.  I wonder what questions they will have after reading about Robert May?

http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/The_Jews_Who_Wrote_Christmas_Songs_2012.shtml

Like every good Paul Harvey fan - "And now you know the rest of the story."