Indian Arrowheads

Cardinal not on the creek but in my back yard... too great of a pic to not add

I use to love walking up and down the creek, Beaver Creek, looking for Indian arrowheads.  On Beaver Creek there were sand bars or really gravel bars fairly often and there would be all kinds of rocks rounded off by rolling around in the creek for hundreds of years.  The great thing is occasionally you would find some old flint rock which was used to make arrowheads.  And of course if you were really careful you could find an arrowhead or two.

I spent hundreds of hours walking up and down the creek looking primarily for those arrowheads or other instruments made by the Indians.  I remember finding what was thought to be a hammer which was a rock that was fairly round on one end and a little sharper on the other but made so you could tie leather strapping around it and fasten it to a heavy piece of wood.  These items became prized possessions which could be traded between our peers for other valuables.  Billy Snyder had a particularly great selection and I believe it was Kenny Kelsey who had another really good collection.  But no one ever came close to what Aunt Helen Conner had.

Now I have to tell you Aunt Helen was not really my aunt but she was extremely close to our family and we farmed her land for years and years.  Aunt Helen had (at least this is what was told but never verified as far as I knew) the largest collection of arrowheads and other artifacts.  She had them framed in large glass covered panels and later she donated them to the Pawhuska Museum.  She always seemed like an elegant lady to me and she had a keen interest in painting as well.  In fact before she passed away she gave me one of her paintings which hangs in our house.  She inspired me to collect arrowheads and to be interested in painting.  It was because of her that I found myself visiting art museums over the years and taking art classes in college and again just a year or so ago I took water color and oil painting classes. And if you think I am a sissy for painting I want you to know Ray Vaughn was there with me but he has talent.

 The other thing she was my inspiration for was when I was in college (1971-1975) I decided to make a study of "why I was a Methodist".  There was also another person totally unrelated to her that helped push me over the edge on this course of action and it was a guy named Norman Voss who was a student at Oklahoma Christian in Edmond, Oklahoma.  Just a side note but Norman and I sold books together in Kentucky one summer and he just made me mad because he challenged me to know what I believed in.  So between the two of them I set out on a study to figure out why I was a Methodist and what I discovered was that "I was raised that way".  I want you to know that is not a bad answer but I do believe that on something so important a person  should do a little thinking on their own.  It was also during that time I was trying to figure out what I was going to do in life and who I was going to be with and it was NOT an easy time.  I know I am way off the subject but college was the best of times and the worst of times for me.  School was not hard for me but girls and relationships and who you run around with was changing about as often as the semester changed so coming to know Christ on a personal basis relieved me of a lot of pressure. I invite you to take a look like I did.  "Evidence that demands a verdict" was the book that helped me the most at that time.

OK, back to the creek.  The creek was the center of a lot of my activities growing up like: fishing, hunting, arrowhead hunting, day dreaming, shooting turtles which included taking my buddy David Goldenberg from New York City to enjoy the sport, carp hunting, seining for minnows to fish, building a damn just for fun (Eddy Harris and me), and sometimes just walking and thinking.  Don't you just wish you could go to the creek?

What do you learn from the Osage?

• One lady and one example can change a life 
• Don't underestimate who or how many are watching YOU
• Know what you believe in - take time to figure it out
• The difference between the best and worst of times is what you are looking for
• Look for the best in everybody and everything - forget the rest

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com