After the Seminar in Moorhead MN Ended–Arlene and Kathryn went to the Black Hills. (Photos)
- To Mount Rushmore. To see the Presidents. George Washington is the foremost face on the mountain. The sun shines on his full face until 1:00 pm or later. And you can frame him with trees and sky and clouds. What a magnificent face he presents to the world. Did you know: that the faces carved on the mountain were to bring tourism to South Dakota because the state had such a small population. 400 workers, no deaths, under the direction of sculptor, Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln made American history march along the granite mountain. Click on the link to see President Washington and his colleagues. (links to come about the 20th)
- To Lakota Village. This group of Sioux teepees, on the north side of the mountain, includes a working model and one you can climb into and out of. Betty Street, the Park Ranger in the Lakota village and a Lakota Sioux herself, described the importance of the Lakota Tribe to the Black Hills and to America as a whole. Click on the link to see us learning new stuff.
- To Crazy Horse Monument. This monument is the work of sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, his wife Ruth, and their 10 children–8 of whom still work with Ruth on the project. It is funded and maintained by private donations and fees earned at the site. The massive site also includes the Indian Museum of North America–with some very impressive artifacts, most of them donated so they can be preserved for posterity. Crazy Horse, a warrior who was stabbed in the back at age 35, answered the derisive question, “Where are your lands now?” with these words: “My lands are where my dead lie buried.”
(To be candid, this project reminds me of my own challenge to provide a library for other people’s genealogy–genealogy that would be thrown away without a place to house and preserve it. It is truly amazing what a dream and dedicated volunteers can do to make a lifetime project take flight.) Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://www.arleneeakle.com
PS Stay tuned for our excursion to the Needle’s Eye. Kathryn insisted that she take my picture on the edge of the precipice–unaware that I am afraid of heights!