Community Chat

[PamfromCT]

Loving Toni's sweet chicken dress, all set to share her summer adventures.  Although she is always so well dressed, she is so sweet and accepting of all.  Of course, she has a first-rate designer and seamstress.

Your photos of memories of Maine are wonderful.  You are a little darling, and so is your brother.  Your parents are a handsome couple.  And you were wearing braids!  As a little girl I wore long braids.  And then as an ode to my childhood, my daughter wore braids.  Did any of your little girls wear braids little her pretty mama?

[BlueFinch]

Little Toni looks adorable, as usual, having enjoyed her farm vacation. Now back to school, little one. She has more fun than I do. She's better dressed, too. 

The photos of your family and your cherished memories are a delight to see. They made me reflect on my youth, too, with the settings similar to some of my early family visit vacations, always on farms, with much to learn and explore. Thanks for sharing. 

[Enufstuff]

@meallen616   I'm glad that you enjoy seeing Toni and her

dresses. Some of my old childhood pictures, helped me to create

Toni's stories.

[Enufstuff]

@cheriere   Thank you so much. I'm happy that you enjoyed

                   Toni's Farm Vacation post.

                     Did you and your mother make dresses or       baskets?

                   It must have been fun to make things for the county  co-op.

                     In the late 70's-early 80's, I had a gift shop with

                    all kinds of things that I made. Two of my aunts

                    made some things for my shop, too. Then I

                    morphed the shop into an antique shop.

                    I wish that I could visit your vegetable farm.

               Fresh picked vegetables are so scrumptious.

                How are you doing, after your surgery? Has the

             pain subsided? Are you able to eat a little more,

              than before?  I hope that you are doing well.

[cimeranrose]

Love that pretty dress, especially the yellow dotted Swiss. You do amazing work @Enufstuff . That was special that you included pictures from your family vacation in Maine with your aunt and uncle...I'll bet those are special memories for you. I love looking at old photos. Thanks for sharing.

[Venezia]

@Enufstuff - Like @GingerHead  I immediately wondered if you'd ever considered writing a children's book with the stories of Toni's adventures?

You could use artists' drawings of her or photos in all her different outfits.  From the way you write, I think it would be a charming book for children.

Love your photos of your time visiting your aunt and uncle's farm.

(If Zeleka was a MicMac, your uncle's farm must have been in Northern Maine; Aroostook County area.)

[San Antonio Gal]

@Enufstuff  - I love these pics of your family that you post.  I really enjoy looking at them.  Takes me back in time. 

That's so great that you coordinate the pics with Toni and her advetures.  My mom use to put my hair into 2 braids like you and Toni when I was a little girl.  Brought back memories. 

[Enufstuff]

@Venezia   The farmhouse was in Cumberland County. That was where Eva grew up. There was an apple tree behind the house that she planted when she was a little girl.

                  Her husband came from Massachusetts, where we live. They settled in Maine in her childhood home.

                  I was only a child, so I do not not know where Zeleka was born. She told me stories about her people. She gave me a little ash and sweetgrass basket that was made by the MicMac. She told me how the ash was dyed using berries

and roots for natural dyes.

                  She may have lived on a reservation or somewhere in northern Maine. I don't really know. She may have even been put in one of those residential schools, away from her family. That was done to many native children, back then.

          Her husband was Caucasian. They may have settled in his town, in Cumberland county. At 7-8 years old, I didn't question where they had come from. Their log home was not in

a Native American settlement. It was next to Eva and Bert's

property.

         Originally, The log home was built by Eva's brother in law, as a vacation home. Sadly, his wife (Eva's sister) died in the 1930's when their daughter was ten years old. I don't know if the log home was sold then or later when he passed away. He was my grandfather's brother and he and his daughter lived in Massachusetts. Zeleka and her husband were living there in the 1950's.

           Most Native Americans from the northeast, today, have assimilated into the general population, who had taken over their lands since the Europeans came here. There are a still a few small reservations in the northeast. When we stayed in Maine, we sometimes would visit Indian Island at Old Town Maine. I last visited there with my husband, eleven years ago.

There are still about 500 Penobscot people  living on the island.

          My own Algonquin and Huron ancestors, married French settlers, in Quebec, in the 1600's.  My father's grandparents stayed in the same area in Quebec, until they and their children came to Massachusetts in the 1900's.

          My great-grandmother also had MicMac ancestors who

lived in Port Royal Acadia. Some of the MicMac married French settlers. When the Scottish people came to Acadia, they

violently drove out the French. Some went to other places in Maine or Canada and many went to New Orleans. Acadia became known as Nova Scotia (new Scotland).

          I don't know exactly when my great-grandmother's MicMac and French ancestors went to Quebec.

         Many people end up far from their original homes.

[Venezia]

@Enufstuff - Family histories are fascinating.  I will say that, if you're not aware, the sweetgrass basket Zeleka gave you, would be worth a fair bit now.

I have one that I bought many years ago at a university craft show.  I was stunned to see some recently selling for hundreds of dollars, even small ones like mine.  I'm sure yours, however, is "priceless", as is mine.  The work is just beautiful.  (I've had to put mine away to keep it from my cats!)

[Enufstuff]

@Venezia   Unfortunately I no longer have the little basket from Zeleka and it saddens me. It was left in my childhood home, probably packed away and I hadn't thought about it for years. My mother was young, when she passed away. She would have known where it was.

  Now, I do have a collection of about a dozen small native made baskets. Years ago, my husband and I went to a large inter-tribal powwow at the College of The Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.

  The tribes of the Wabanaki Federation were selling and demonstrating many of their beautiful crafts. I purchased  a small basket from each of the vendors, Penobscot, Maliseet,

MicMac and Passamaquoddy. They are mostly ash and some sweetgrass. I don't know if they still use natural dyes. The ones with the curled ash are so pretty. They were not inexpensive.

 In my collection, I also have Ojibway baskets made from birch bark, with porcupine quill embroidery, from a shop in Maine.

 One very old, little ash and sweetgrass basket belonged to my mother in law.  A few small ones, I display with my Native American dolls.

  I know what you mean about cats. Most of my baskets are high on a bookshelf, where my Katie can't disturb them.

  I have too many collections, including a large collection of

Native American jewelry. I was about eight years old when I bought my first two pieces on Indian Island. They were a bracelet and ring in silver and turquoise with a Thunderbird on each piece. (At that time, I didn't know that these were actually Southwest designs).

  I have been collecting ever since. Eastern Woodlands jewelry is mostly seed beads and some with porcupine quills and sweetgrass. Most of those pieces I have bought at local powwows. My silver and turquoise was bought in shops, at powwows and vintage pieces from Etsy. Pieces of wampam

(purple and white quahog shell) jewelry were purchased at

powwows and from crafts people on Etsy.

   I also bought wampum beads and discs, and made a bracelet and earrings for myself and pendants for me and my three daughters.

 About 6 years ago, I found a MicMac lady on Etsy, who made lovely seed bead jewelry, and purchased some jewelry from her.  She was from Maine, but lives in North Carolina. I also bought a seed bead necklace for my great-grandaughter, who was a Jingle Dancer at the powwows that we were going to, before Covid. I made her jingle dresses for her.  

  There haven't been any local powwows here since Covid and our family misses going to them.