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Show - M 4 J4f Catherine Picket I XV :A , fr (is' ''" AKci-- iA f AAAAA-IAkI- ' ' A jf' ; ' it r ,-- - . - ' V M ' !? i A r .X - w4a.5s. rs, a AVAA . &" purplers C ife c '. t Judj K Ma? r- 1; j - Lile'l.s !e Iiditm MYTO.Y Duchesne County summer of 1942, the Rev 11 In 'he Buster Liebler, an Episcopal priest, rode horseback into the wilderness of Southeastern Utah to establish St Christophers Mission to the Nav ajos at Bluff Seven years later, into that same wilderness on an equally darins mission from a hospital nursing job in Norwood, Mass,, came Catherine Pickett answ ering a similar call to seiviee The Catherine Pickett store is as interesting as Fa' her Liehlcr s She's writing a new chapter at Cun Amore School for the severely and piofoundly handicapped in Myton She figure'- - prominently in Fatliei Liebier's book, 'Boil My Heart tor "11 Me " In conversation she'll ov all there in the hook There s a huptei on me. my little giri nid th eurlv veais at Bluff " f at her I.iehlei wrote "Born with poor eyesight she 'Miss Pickett' was denied her heait's amln twin of becoming a nurse, hut she made up for this by doing all kinds of work in the hospital, asking innumerable (pie-- ' turns and remembering the answeis and reading everything she ould find and above all. talking to the laird in prayer ' "Her letters liegan to amve. one on the heels of another, and finally detimtely if we would accept her The eye specialist who had been attending her wrote thal the condition showed no indication of growing worse and that we need expect no serious deterioration in the yeais to conn- so wc welcomed her ' Thl- was Catherine Pit kett A New Chapter There's a new kind of life for her m the eastern part of the state She was released from her medical missionary work at St Christophers in 1472 She'd virtually worked herself out of a job Her need to lie of service eventually look her as an educational aide to Con Amore two years ago She's one of three working with six preschtiolers in the school directed by Mrs Jane Thompsen Mrs Thompsen sees her contribution as invaluable She does the most remarkable job with the most difficult d children, Mrs Thomp sen said "She's not afraid to demand progress from the children and she will have the appropriate response Her vocation is one of service in a happy wonderful sense Hers is an ease laugh Reduced to limited sight in her right eye and the loss of her left eye to a blood clot, her goal is to work, to servp as long as she can She shows some impatience with questions of her sight Shes never seen well and in recent years what sight shes had has diminished Educated at Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts, shes never let not seeing slow her down "With my type of vision, I was never expected to learn to read But no one told me I couldnt, so I did There I was d attending Perkins, a school for the blend, and spending much of my spare time in the library devouring books 1 was never treated at home as though I had a handicap I wa ju4 one of the 1 1 children in the family I I didn't know I was different until A went to grade school younger brother started a year early to U- wiih me He learned to read in putdie school and so did 1 From 1449 to 1972 except (or time away in the early l0s, her life was at the mission When she arrived, there was no power save with the mission generator, no telephone Water was piped down from a spring up on the cliff Her room was a tiny cell in the main building She lived as a volunleei world-renowne- All Mine Being from a b'g familv, knowing institutional life, that c ell to nu oil to ", ' V- '' ?, V , s - , IA ' 4" r ' 'V '4 f s v 'vsi;-- ' A 5 N sA f but ad mini P vcriv im tiny squai e of priv ai y Her work began with a huge box ut donated medical supplies The box had its ow n spot in a corner of the room The clime, at first, was another cell with a hospital bed. a locking cuplxiard and some bits and pieces of equipment If she didn't know, she found out )i;M,' ;V? Mnail ! - $V ' ; B ? s ' B " . ' - , she serves people , X 1 ' a 'V 'x " v iW ' ' ' ' si -- A8 4:$t is;?3iv?4? 'Y- - brings light wherever ; , s fef hrL-'$- ? - VC? 'MUSIS v . V'5:v. .O - ? I'i, ;ivv U s ' V C-t ' 3 "I kept medical books handy Or I d call a doctor in Cortez or Ship Rock or Salt Lake City to get some answers They were good alxiut helping me. a nurses aide think the philosophy w d' that any help lor the Navajos than no "Today it couldn't work There's no little formal way someone with training would he pc rnntled to do all i Cv'V . v 1 ', ' K ' - fwsic; , : ..... WX ' (''? , 's ? is S did " ' muttei what she found in Ctah Miss Pickett had moved west to stay It lelt right Her job was medical care No matter when or w h it she w as doing her Navajo patients had priority ' It was Father Liebier's philosophy that we must make time and room foi the people lie told us we could nut serve a Christian message unless we first served the humanity of the people Our ioh was to improve their health, their education and their upper tumties First Concern Her first concern after organizing medical equipment and arranging clinic space was to treat impetigo, a contagious skin disease, especially prevalent among the children "It was a visible concern. A family of 12 that had to haul its water 40 miles by vc agon could not afford to throw away even a spoonful If one memtier had impetigo, they all would Another problem was trachoma, an eye infection Treatment was to pour a powdered medicine into the eye "The mothers would bring their little i hildren and would tell them they must have the powder in their eyes. I tried it myself to see how it felt. It burned a lot We got a hig boost when an older woman, almost blind from trachoma, came for treatment and regained her sigh' Patients came to the clinic on foot, on horse or by wagon "In those days, I remember one Navajo had a rundown pickup Now everyone has one The pavement ended at Moab It took uranium money to get paved roads On the anniversary of her first year. June 27, 1950, fire burned the mission Everything Father Liebler, Miss Pickett had, except what they wore, was ) No X ' I V' ' '' "''.; n; ,v ' - S ovs ! vx V4X? ' ' '' v' '' -- Vp,'X- lost w Rebuilding began and by Thanksgiving, a Navajo couple, both seriously dJ. was sleeping on cots amid the rubble Heat came from a tin stove with the smoke pipe stuck out a crack They were really ill. It took a while, but they got better. God was on our side. He had to be. I was a nurses aide with 5M years experience, a fascination for medicine. "I bad never given an injection before the mission. Aides weren't allowed to So I watched and practiced and finally used poor Helen Sturges for my first victim." For years, shed go to the hogans to assist with deliveries insisting on dean tajie to tie and sterile instruments to cut the cord. Not until mission medical facilities became more sophisticated, would she deliver babies Then business boomed. She delivered two one night w it h in seven minutes Out in Field On a visit with Father Liebler they found Jeanette, a 3 year old. 19 pound badly burned iluld Her mother had died of four days aftei her birth Her father was in a sanitarium "It was Jan 9, 1952, my eldest brother's birthday Thpre was a terrible flu epidemic to the north We'd driven up in Father Liebiers old rattletrap to Abraham Camp There was a tent with holes in the roof where the snow drifted m Inside were ail oldei man his young wife and lots of s n . j rr 1 r i; Catherine Pickett served years as medical missionary to the N'avajos at the St. children, all with the flu "We knew front her father that Jeanette was with them I asked about her They were reluctant to talk, but later pointed I saw a little shadow on went the floor in the comer. When over to pick her up. she whimpered I shined my flashlight on her She was covered with burns from the waist down They were really too horrible to 1 deserdx- - "They asked for grease to put on her hums I wanted to take her with me Finally, they agreed She wore a ragged sweater only I wrapped her in a blanket and held her on my lap all the way home She just lixiked up at me, never crying It txik three days to clean the dirt, sticks and stones from 'he burned area 'Hie child spoke no English iinderstixxl little enough Nav ajo Six weeks later. Miss Pickett weul home wilh a mission colleague to settle some family business m North ('uiolitia Jeanette went along She ww3'4Xn ; r-- I 'V yv Tribune Slat educational Christopher's Mission in Bluff. Her years service continue as she performs duties as of walked, but was bandaged In ladies' rooms along the way, Jeanette was so tiny she could duck her head ami walk in and out of the stalls We attracted a lot of attention Jeanette was beginning to talk, to tespond, to smile We had a wonderful time " Jeanette, her husband and four childicn are Miss Pickett s family She calls often and will share pictuies of the children When her job at the mission tan out Miss Pickett spent sevcial years looking for her place She was younger too young to than Father Luhlei retire Father I.iehlei has turned his mission duties over to othe's and has moved deefx-- r into Monument Valley She keeps m touih with this "phenomenal man tu p had v eal s "1 was too oiing to Van and ahead Friends of iniiv-Eugene Wlsch, bought some land and moved their trailer to (itishei I came out to look Un- plate nvei and tin , 1 . mWi, s i City Her daily tontine begins at 5 30 a in tune fo: bieakjard and to dn Ilf) her dishes so they won't he there when she gets home Another aide picks ht-- i up for the 14 mile drive to Myton Childicn ai living hv 9 i() and leave by tx-g- 2 3" home foi supper and the t'v cuing to herself Shi- listens to talking IxKiks and cassette-- . She .mil the W ( lies hav e a gai dell and pampci two - old t at- - in Myton. handicapped children asked me to slay Mv iiadt-- is behind Iheirs Through a rehabilitation tounselor, she met and presented her credentials to Mrs Thompson What had been a feeling that there was no place for her turned to a teal feeling of belonging at Con Amore Her memory is amazing Slit- supplies dates, times and places with ease There's no hesitation in supply mg from memory the phone number and address of a friend she's visiting in Salt Lake She's Ptnio by Lymt 8. Jonmea aide at Con Amore School for I'm not lonesome I have a phone and keep in touch with friends and family I've traveled a great deal and still love to go I feel about this work the way 1 did about my work at the mission Ive the same type of religious commitment The service is whats important. My philosophy is practical I remember Father Liebler saying good to tell a it doesn't do any lus soul is saved if he's sick or hungry The reason Con Amore is so successful is the level of personal attention each child receives It does make a difference Theyre more responsive They try harder They seem to know what kind of attention theyre re-- t eiv mg "With my age and health problems, moie schooling isn't possible. I want to go on working here as long as I can. The ioh is important to me It's something 1 need to do 1 Ivccll imos LIlMxt you i ould say iij Uie has |