Patricia Craig Johnson --- Searching for My Ancestors --- Sharing My Life Stories

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Friday’s Council Tree, NSDAR Annual Picnic 11 September 2010





A beautiful, perfect, wonderful September afternoon found 31 members and friends of Friday’s Council Tree Chapter gathered at Main Park in Windsor, Colorado. This was our annual family picnic and one of our favorite events. Last year was a bit less desirable as far as weather was concerned, but this year was absolutely gorgeous.

It was so wonderful to see the HODARS, Folsom Society C.A.R. children , prospective members, members and of course, our special guest, Domi Jones. The food was so good, but then we always knew we have the best cooks in the World. How we always end up with a perfect mix of dishes is a wonder to me. Everyone brings what sounds good to them and it all fits perfectly. Eva Sue Littleton did a fabulous job of organizing and arranging the food and providing the transportation for Domi.

After we ate, Eva Sue introduced Domi Jones (pictured above). She is the great great granddaughter of our namesake, Chief Friday. Domi shared the story of Chief Friday and gave us a personal picture of her ancestor and her people, the Arapahoe. She is a wonderful representative of her ancestor, Chief Friday, and we all know how handsome he was because we can see the sculpture of him at Horsetooth & Shields in Fort Collins. When asked how long Friday was away from his people and how did he find them later as a young man, Domi explained that Friday had a scar on his back from a bear that had struck him as a very little boy. When his mother saw that scar after he was grown and returned to Colorado, she immediately recognized her son, thus a happy family reunion. Domi is an excellent storyteller and we were all entranced with her program.

A special treat was when Domi shared how she begins each day with an Indian Prayer of thanksgiving that is said as she faces the six directions. As we all stood and faced the six directions, and read the words, Domi sang in her native language. Needless to say it was a moving experience. The six directions are North, South, East, West, Earth and Heaven. Before we left I asked Domi if we could all be members of the Arapahoe family and she said she would be honored.

Iva Zajicek was the lucky recipient of the drawing Lyn Rubenthaler arranged for the members that had paid their dues by September 1. The prize was a beautiful, patriotic, handmade tote bag.

We also found out at the picnic that the “Then And Now” float in the Harvest Festival Parade won 2nd place! That was exciting news, especially since it was our first attempt at a float OR a parade.

It couldn’t have been a better day. What a great way to kickoff our new DAR year. To the members that missed it, it was great!

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