OCR Text |
Show j Opinions from our readers: j Dear Sam: j Juanita and I also attended 1 the recent Indian Day celebra-! celebra-! tion at Bluff. Like some others 1 we were disappointed that 1 there was no parade. But 1 unlike a few others, we 1 thoroughly enjoyed the day. 1 First off, we felt privileged to j be a part of this unique event 1 set to the slow and easy pace of the Navajo Indian. Second-j Second-j ly, we were charmed by the friendly attitude of the Navajo toward us and, thirdly, we found it quite informative as we watched members of the Navajo and Ute tribes engage in friendly competition, j Mary' Williams had suggest-I suggest-I ed that if we would take our I camp stools, find a shady spot ! and simply relax we would "have a ball". We did just that. We parked our camp J stools in the shadow of a I pick-up w ith a camper shell on ! it as we geared oursleves for a truly relaxing day. Between a events we found food and drink - Nava fry-bread, etc., which we regarded as delight- ful treats. As all the announc- ing was done in Navajo language we were at a loss to know w hen the outcome of an 5 event was announced or who ! had won until we would see a competitor rush to the announ-S announ-S cers booth to receive the j award. However, on either side of us were friendly II Inidans, some peering from 5 the backs of pick-ups and 8 others stretched flat on the ground or sitting on blankets. J We found they were delighted !to explain to us what was going on. We were intrigued by the way the ladies would enter the i arena decked in several E pounds of turquoise jewelry. B We watched as they removed B squash-blossoms, bracelets, etc. and gave them to a mounted Indiah who, in turn, deposited them in saddle bags, large pockets, etc. The ladies then engaged in contests con-tests that often involved being rolled, tumbled or dragged in the dirt. Following these events the ladies would retrieve and adorn themselves with their finery and calmly B walk out of the arena. Where else but in a small community B like Bluff, Utah, can one .... witness such primitive and JJ traditional entertainment? J It was 10:30 p.m. when we JJ finally dragged ourselves away JJ and headed for home. We B must commend the Navajo and B Ute tribes, for. not once during B the entire day and evening did B we sec one single Indian who S misbehaved in the slightest m manner. They were the perfect hosts. Wc felt it had been a rewarding experience for us as wc left with a richer feeling H and a deeper aprcciation of our B neighboring Indian tribes and 5 the friendly people of Bluff. B A word of caution: If one B wishes his entertainment with B lots of fan-fare and hullabaloo B and carried out in the rush, B rush, rush fashion of the white B man, then the Bluff Indian Day celebration is certainly not for m him. But if he is willing to S simple relax for a day, make friends with the Indians and learn to appreciate and respect Q their rather shy, but humbly B proud way of life, then the S esthetic values gained arc 9 quite rewarding. S It is said that boredom often m steins from too much hurry. B One rushes through life to die. H Wc slow dnwp to live. Perhaps H we all wnt in 'Jjvw tftitf ti 1 hit and learn to enjoy the esthetic values that are in store for us. Hats off to the people of Bluff for their interest and encouragement encour-agement in keeping this tradition alive. If it can't be called ancient, it is certainly cultural and is something a good many of us desperately need. Slim Mabery Dear Fellow Moabites, Our American Legion Auxiliary Aux-iliary activities at the state convention here last weekend were a success because of all that helped, and we want to say Thank You publically. Thank you to: Chamber of Commerce for use of the building and for stuffing literature lit-erature for our packets; Mil Pimpell for a Snukupaunus door prize; Sheri-Lyn Shop for fold-up cups and scarfs for door prizes; Shirley Miller, Norma Stocks, Jody Hayes, Becky Wilson, LaRue Gaither and Clara Shafer for cookies for our Gold Star Mothers Tea; and Gwen Meador and Gen Holyoak for piano solos. Our beautiful convention booklets with the colorful arch on the front cover were done by Sam Taylor and his staff. Ralph Miller, Jean Posey and their workers cooked a most delicious banquet meal. You merchants, all our ladies la-dies Auxiliary reported how-friendly how-friendly you all were and that it was so nice to have a convention in a small tow n. A special thanks to all the local Auxiliary members. You did an outstanding job. Nellie Beyeler Auxiliary President Unit 54 Dear Sam, This is a letter of appreciation apprecia-tion and thank you to Avis Burd, immediate past Grand County Chairman of the Democratic Dem-ocratic Party for 1976. Mrs Burd worked long and hard last year to organize the party, plan meetings, invite in speakers, etc. I am sorry to see her not running again for the office but do congratulate the new officers coming into office. I'm sure last year's central committee and this year's new officers and central cen-tral committee will endorse my feelings in this thank you letter. Avis, we love you and still want to see your smiling face at our meetings and conventions. Sincerely, Ann Pool, Publicity Chairmar Grand County Demotrat and Chairman of District 4 |