TRIBAL MEMBER NEWS
Students “Plant the Promise” During
Red Ribbon Week
by De Anna Pearl
Approximately 250 youth and staff in Siletz Valley School and Siletz Valley
Early College Academy joined Delina John. Jenifer Metcalf, and me in participating
in and viewing the video Red Ribbon Week. highlighting why we are celebrating this.
This is our second year and in fact we are submitting our information to the
national Red Ribbon organizers in hopes of winning this year's contest.
This year's theme is Planting the Promise to Fence Out Drugs. Grades K-8
signed pledges and built fences with them. We had a lot of great participation.
The kindergarten through third-grade classes collected more than $100 in
pennies for the “Drugs Don't Make Cents" contest. The third-graders were the
winners by bringing in more than $50.
We had more than 25 entries in the “Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest.
Winners include:
4th Grade
Morgan Crawford (Winner)
Sierra Gerttula (Honorable Mention)
Janelle Potter (Honorable Mention)
5th Grade
De Anna Pearl, Tribal Tobacco Prevention and Education coordinator.
Ashley Hunt (Winner)
Kai Skidmore (Honorable Mention)
Keaston John (Honorable Mention)
hands out tulip bulbs to Siletz Valley School students to help
Planting the Promise
plant the promise to stay drug- and alcohol-free.
Every student was given a red bulb to plant in the hopes to further carry the
message. These bulbs will begin to show green in January and will bloom in
April just in time for Alcohol Awareness month. What a great way to remind
youth of their promise to themselves to keep ATOD free. Ten high school stu
dents volunteered to help with this.
The National Family Partnership organized the first nationwide Red Ribbon
campaign in 1988. Since then, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children.
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
by Walt Klamath
Last month, I talked a little about
some of the homesteads and allotments
on the north side of Sam’s Creek and
some of Big Rock Creek. Did not cover
all of them, though.
I think I know of about 78 old places.
Some were homesteads. Some were
allotments to Siletz people from some
of the stories that I have heard.
In fact, I was told some definite
things; whether that’s the way it hap
pened or not I don’t know. History has
left a lot out of what and how we have
heard it.
Sometimes the way I hear things is
not necessarily the way it was or is, but
no one is going to change my mind
about how I believe it happened. I’m
not stubborn, I’m determined!
Anyway, let’s start from the mill on
Sam’s Creek. That was the old Bull
Wienerd Mill. I worked there when I was
younger. In fact, the day it shut down for
good I was working pulling green chain.
The road was not the best in the
world going up Sam's Creek. I don't
know how Sam’s Creek got its name.
The first place going up was the
Elliot place. There was a big barn and
a big walnut tree by Sam’s Creek.
There is a bridge there now called the
Golden Gate.
At the Elliot place, there was a trail
uphill heading toward Chitwood. It
came to the Henry place. There was a
nice orchard that’s still an orchard.
Toward Sam’s Creek from there
was a place called the Schaffer. I think
there was one apple tree on that place.
I was told that Sam Henry was a great
piano player. At dances, he would have
to be held up so he could play.
There was another trail that went
toward Chitwood. I was told it came out
at Chitwood, but I never went all the way.
There was a homestead there called
the Rupert place. I don’t know too much
about him, but I did hear he bought a
brand new Model T that he wouldn’t
drive till he had it paid for, so it was on
blocks for years. From what I was told
when he crossed, it was still on blocks.
Back to Sam’s Creek. Going to
ward Norton’s, we came to the Spindle
place. I never saw any buildings there,
some broken-down fences. It was good
fishing there. One would have to sneak
up on the fish in the hole. If the fish saw
a shadow, they would not bite.
During the salmon steelhead runs,
it was very active there. That was just
over the hill from my grandma and
grandpa’s place on Rock Creek.
Further along the creek was Long
Prairie. There were falls in the stream
there, again a good fishing hole. I always
thought that Long Prairie was a flat
piece of land, but was told that was a
man’s name. I never saw any signs of
a building or fences or anything there.
That was on a trail along the creek.
To the north of the place was an old
wagon trail. That trail would eventu
ally end up at a place called Norton’s.
The start of Sam’s Creek was about
the area of old Henry Tinner’s place.
He had an orchard. I did have the honor
of meeting him when I was very
young. I remember his words as he
would talk; his favorite saying was
“galloping goldfish.”
Then we came to Norton’s. As I was
a little older, there was a fellow who
lived up on the hillside almost at the top.
He was Mayfrank. He had cattle scat
tered all over the Sam’s Creek area. I
doubt if he knew how many head he had.
I had the misfortune and good luck
to help the Moores and Wisnoskie take
food and other things up that hillside.
I think it was his yearly supply. We took
flour, sugar, and other dehydrated
things up there. That was a long haul
even for a 17-year-old.
He had a house made of vine
maple and other stuff. He had peep
holes all over so no one could sneak
up on him. His stove - he did not cut
wood, he cut poles and fed the pole
into the stove. As the end burned off,
he would push the pole in.
Sam’s Creek road or trail went all
the way through, had to do some jog
ging at the Tinner place. There it
crossed the hilltop and came out at Big
Rock Creek, then followed Big Rock
for a short distance then went straight
up almost anyway.
Mom said that when she was
younger, they would go to these places
for dances. They would go in the day
light and dance all night, then come
home in the daylight and do their
chores, then sleep.
She said they went by horseback
and sled pulled by horses. She didn't
say anything about wagons. The way
them trails were, I doubt if a wagon
would hold up.
I remember being up there peeling
chittum and looking at the nice big
trees and thinking there never will be
wheels up here. Daydreams - all has
been clear-cut.
Someday maybe I will get a chance
to show some young persons where
these places were.
One time several years ago, I had
a pretty expensive metal detector. My
uncle told me that many old-timers
buried their money around a big stump.
Well, seeing as how the Henry
place I kind of had an idea of where
the house was and there was a gigan
tic rotten stump by the house that would
be the ideal place to bury treasure.
My partner at the time had gone up
there with the intent of finding some
thing. Ran the machine around this
stump and the buzzer went crazy. Now
this machine was supposed to detect
10 inches down. Whatever it was was
either big or a lot of it.
Dreams of a cache of money started
dancing through our heads. We dug
down 10 inches - nothing there, but that
machine was going crazy, so were we.
Well, about a foot and a half down,
we hit pay dirt. It was an old metal
thundermug. For those unfamiliar with
the term thundermug, it was a night
time potty. What a letdown.
By the way, we did find a lot of
square nails that we did not keep.
December 2006
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Siletz News
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