Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Community Projects: Pottery

The Duckwater Tribe owned a pottery wheel, however it was not used as it should have been.  I was able to set it up in a building behind the school.  In the end it made a nice pottery barn.  We also found money to purchase a kiln.  The building where we put the kiln did not have an adequate electricity supply as it needed to have 220, the same as for a stove.  This left the task of running a line underground to the out building.  I was able to get the wire through a pipe, but did not have the electrical know how to complete this project.  I was able to recruit Irwin Watson and staff from the garage and maintenance department of the tribe to complete this and make sure the kiln was well wired.  This project was done to support the school and the art program at the school.

Duckwater Community Projects August 1983-June 1985: Weight Lifting Set

I discovered that the tribe owned a universal weight lifting set.  This was stored in someone's garage.  In order to make it more accessible I had it moved to the community gym (which was used as the community center and the school.)  I also was able to purchase some new pins for the set as they old ones had been misplaced.  It almost fit in a corner of the gym, but was a safety hazard for those playing basketball if the were to dive over the side line in that direction.

Duckwater Community Projects: August 1983 - June 1985: Community Center

I was in Duckwater Nevada almost a couple years.  I worked for the Duckwater Shoshone Indian Tribe.  This was a small community of about 200 at the time.  Working in Duckwater was a little different than clinical social work.  because o the low number of residents I became involved in a number of community projects.  To keep busy I became involved in many community projects.

One of those was the establishment of a community center.

We arranged for the tribe to donate one of their old buildings for this.  There was an old building which had been used for head start most recently.  I wrote a grant with Kathy Graham, who was the alcohol and drug worker at the time.  The money for the community center would come from a grant from her program.  With the money we bought needed equipment.  This included a T.V., V.C.R. stereo, ping pong table and some board games.  With the Duckwater Shoshone Elementary School we bought a satellite dish.  The tribe had an old pool table which had been in storage in the garage.  We brought it over and got it through the door after taking the legs off.  

As part of the community center we would try to have activity nights two or three times a week.  Sometimes we would rant a movie.  We would make popcorn and sell it.  We would also buy pop on sale in Ely and then resale it at a profit.  We would also get candy at a distributor in Ely and resale it.  I would also sale pop and candy at work to make money for the rec. center.  

Sometimes I would do an educational group geared to young people at the center.  But usually we stuck to just trying to create a good time without alcohol being involved.  We had a rule against alcohol in the recreation center.   However that didn't keep kids from drinking before they arrived or after they left.

Artwork: Someone at Work Is Very Talented

 This work is titled "African wild dogs (Lycaon Pictus) running down a wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)."  I don't know who drew it.  This is black marker on the board in meeting/training room.  Someone is good at expressing their self through simple means.

Looking at the picture I can see the dog in front racing like the wind to head off the wildebeest.  The dogs behind are nipping at the hamstring and calf muscles of the wildebeest until he can't run anymore.  He will then turn, and chase the dogs, maybe brush one of them on, but it will be back.  Then when it is totally exhausted, the dogs will have their way.

Poetry I Like: Kenny Loggins

This is a Kenny Loggins song, but the poetry in this song paints a picture for me, and I wanted to share it.  The song is called "Walking in the Air" and was written by Kenny Loggins.

"Walking In The Air"

We're walking in the air,
We're floating in the moonlight sky,
The people far below are sleeping as we fly.

I'm holding very tight,
I'm riding in the midnight blue,
I'm finding I can fly so high above with you.

Far across the world,
The villages go by like dreams,
The rivers and the hills,
The forest and the streams.

Children gaze open mouthed,
Taken by suprise,
Nobody down below believes their eyes.

We're surfing in the air,
We're swimming in the frozen sky,
We're drifting over icy mountains floating by.

Suddenly swooping low,
On an ocean deep,
Rousing up a mighty monster from his sleep.

We're walking in the air,
We're dancing in the midnight sky,
And everyone who sees us greets us as we fly.

Youth Soccer and Tournaments

I came across an article in the Deseret News with regards youth soccer and tournaments.  I am not a great fan of soccer tournaments.  They are played on Saturday and Sunday, and I always had a problem with Sunday games.  Also the organizers often pit teams of unequal ability which is really not fun for either team.  I remember one son playing a highly advanced team and the score was so lopsided by half time that the coach spent the second half working on an off sides trap to try and keep the other team at bay.  Not a fun game.  In the article a pediatric doctor Scott Pugh.  He points out another negative is the time spent in cars traveling to the tournament rather than participating in the sport.  Most important perhaps, the doctor also says participating in more than two games a week increases the risk of injury by six times.  Tournaments often involve four or five games in a weekend.   There must be some better alternatives.  

Junior High/High School Friend: Kent Nate

Kent Nate

Having watched the movie “Cokeville Miracle” reminds me of Kent Nate, who moved into our Hyrum Fourth Ward when I was in Junior High.  He moved there from Cokeville.  I was introduced to Kent when someone asked me how I liked being replaced as the best basketball player in our age group at the wad.  We would play a lot of basketball for scouts.  And I wasn’t the best basketball player, that honor went to Brad Thomas who was much taller than me.  However I was the best guard, and Kent Nate fit right into our system as playing guard with me and challenging me for the top honor.  Honestly I would say we were evenly matched, even though Kent was a year younger than me (as was Brad Thomas.)  It seemed Kent and Brad became close friends.  We had experiences playing together for church basketball games, which was an organized league as I was growing up, and also experiences with scout camps and scouting.  Our ward boundaries changed several times, and we eventually were no longer in the same ward.  I went back to the second ward, while there were also sixth and eight wards along with the fourth ward.  I even heard Kent’s family moved back to Cokeville.  I did notice there were several kids with the last name Nate in the documentary of the Cokeville Miracle who must have been related.