History of the Lost Canoe

For years an old Indian canoe was on display in Pioneer Memorial Park in Sequim. Where it came from and who was responsible for it was a mystery. Pricilla Hudson, a researcher and historian located the owner, carver and story of this intriguing artifact.

Hear Pricilla relate “The History of the Lost Canoe” at the January meeting of the Clallam County Genealogical Society. The meeting will take place at the Historic Dungeness Schoolhouse Saturday, Jan. 4. The Schoolhouse is located at 2741 Towne Road in Sequim.

The meeting will be a pot- luck social event beginning at 11:30 a.m. Bring a favorite dish to share. The society will provide plastic plates and utensils and beverage.

The public is welcome to attend. For more information, call the Genealogical Society at 360-417-5000 after Jan. 1, or check out the website: www.clallamcogs.org.

January: A Month of Creativity

It is time to commit to the FUN-A-DAY challenge. For at least five years, participants have been using the month of January (The Month of Creativity) to explore their creativity and work at it every day. Participation is simple. Each individual commits to exploring whatever their chosen craft for one month and doing it daily.

Choose a project or activity. This is open. It can be writing, woodworking, drawing, photography, sketching, fiber crafts, sewing, sculpture, just anything, Once the medium is chosen, then participants try to work on their project every day. Participants meet at the library in February to share their work.

Creativity is fostered by habit which becomes obvious by the end of the project. To participate you need to commit, chose a medium, work at it every day for one month and attend the reveal in February at the library on Saturday, Feb. 15, from noon to 3 p.m. The public is invited. And you really will have fun every day!

LEARN ABOUT LANDSCAPING WITH NATIVE PLANTS

Clallam Conservation District is offering a free workshop on landscaping with native plants. The workshop will be held in both Port Angeles and Sequim. The Port Angeles workshop will be on Thursday, Jan. 9, from 3:30-5 p.m. at the Port Angeles Library at 2210 South Peabody Street. The Sequim workshop will be on Thursday, Jan. 16, from 3:30-5 p.m. at the Dungeness River Audubon Center at 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.

The workshops are free; however, due to space limitations, pre-registration is required. Please register at clallamcd.org/workshops or by calling the Conservation District at 360-775-3747 ext. 5 or emailing info@clallamcd.org to register.

The workshop will focus on environmentally friendly landscaping principles, with special emphasis on the use of native trees and shrubs. Cultural requirements, landscaping values, aesthetic attributes, and environmental and wildlife habitat benefits of trees and shrubs native to the North Olympic Peninsula will be covered.

In addition, workshop participants will receive tips on designing a more sustainable landscape, learn how to care for bare-root trees and shrubs and prepare for planting.

Many of the plants discussed during the workshops are sold by the Conservation District as part of their annual Native Plant Sale. Orders are being taken for bare-root native trees and shrubs through Jan. 27.

Descriptions of the plants offered for sale, ordering information and online ordering is available on their webpage clallamcd.org/plant-sale. There is also an order form on the website that can be mailed in. Please contact the Conservation District by email at info@clallamcd.org, by phone at 360-775-3747 ext. 5, or visit the office located at 228 W. First Street, Suite H in Port Angeles from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday with questions.

Haida bead artist, PC alum kicks off winter Studium Generale series

PC alumna, Susan Hamilton, was the first graduate of the A.A. Bridge program to the Evergreen State College’s Native Pathways Program, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 2017. On January 2 she will kick off the winter Studium Generale series with her presentation, “Answering the Call of the Hummingbird: Discovering my Haida Culture Through Beading,” beginning at 12:35 pm in the Peninsula College Little Theater.

“My grandfather was Raven, Double Fin Killer Whale and my grandmother was Raven, Owl,” Hamilton said. “I grew up an urban Indian in Seattle. There was always a pull to my Haida culture.”

Hamilton discovered and taught herself beading in 2003. The focus of her art is traditional Haida designs, Alaska landscapes, and Alaska marine and wildlife. Her signature addition to her beading is the addition of Swarovski crystals.

“They twinkle like the Northern Lights of my beloved Alaska,” Hamilton said.

Her Studium presentation will begin with a digital story and a brief discussion of her evolution as a bead artist. She will include an emphasis on culture as resilience and beading as healing the mind, body, and spirit. She will also introduce the Ravenstail weavings of master weaver Kay Field Parker.

Hamilton was so moved and inspired by Parker’s weavings, she contacted Sadie Crowe to ask her to invite Parker to PC to be a guest artist in the Longhouse.

Hamilton was the featured artist in the Longhouse on the Peninsula College campus and was chosen to hold one of the internships for The Sealaska Heritage Institute in Juneau for summer 2015.

While attending PC, Susan was the president of the Students of Color Club, was a mentor to many other students, and offered workshops in beading. Her work is currently in the juried “Maker’s Market” at The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Dr. Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.