Mendota Dakota Community Center

On Wednesday, May 23rd, I was invited to speak at the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community, in tiny, little Mendota, MN. It was a warm, muggy evening, but those in attendance grabbed a cold bottle of water and settled in. After my presentation we shared a few refreshments and mingled. I was surprised to find out that a couple of the people knew Paul and his family. In fact, Bill White, who takes Dakota language classes at the center, knows Linda Thompson quite well. Linda is Paul's cousin from Lower Brule. I stayed with her "on the bend" a couple years ago when I was still doing research for "Hidden Heritage."

Tiffany Eggenberg, the gal who invited me to their meeting, introduced me to several Mendota community members. The Mendota Mdewakanton are one of the few tribes not recognized by the federal government. Even so, they are working hard to honor of their heritage. They have a brand new sweatlodge in the backyard, and are planting several varities of prairie grasses. After listening to some of their family histories, it was apparent they too have some stories worth sharing.

It was a wonderful evening and I want to send a big "thank you" to Tiffany for inviting me! Next I'm going to try something new...a book table at the Eagan Panera, Thursday & Friday, June 14th & 15th, as part of Panera's "Author on the Rise" program.

Blessings,
Barbara

Presidio Schools - Tucson, AZ

On Monday, April 30th, I spent the day at Presidio Schools in Tucson with the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grade social studies classes. Miss Majchrzak, otherwise known as my stepdaughter Summer, invited me to speak to each of her classes about "Hidden Heritage" since they had been studying Native American history this year.

It was a real joy to spend the day with Summer's students. The kids were very interested in the story and had lots of good questions already prepared. During each class I spoke for about 15 minutes and then answered questions for another 15 minutes. I then handed out a word search using words from "Hidden Heritage," which seemed to be a hit. I also brought a few books, CDs, and photocards to share. One of the first things the students noticed was my last name on the front cover... "Marshak" vs. "Majchrzak"...technically I had the same name as their teacer but with a different spelling. They all agreed it made sense to get rid of those extra letters!

Presidio is so different than the schools in Minnesota, with much of their campus open to the outdoors. Can you imagine that around here in January? Not! Anyway, it was a great day and I was honored to be a guest at Presidio Schools.

Our real reason for being in Tucson was not my speaking engagement, however, the real purpose was Summer's wedding! On Saturday, May 5th, Summer Majchrzak and Grant McCall exchanged wedding vows at the historic Stillwell House in downtown Tucson. Our entire family, extended family, and friends were all there to witness the beautiful ceremony and celebrate with them. I hope to have pictures posted soon!

While we were gone from Minnesota, there was an explosion of GREEN around home...grass, trees, shrubs...everything burst forth with a greenness. The bold color stood out especially after seeing the brown desert terrain around Tucson. Each is beautiful, yet a complete contrast.

"Best wishes and many blessings" for a long and happy marriage to our newlyweds, Grant and Summer McCall!

Prior Lake-Savage Native American Family Meeting

On Thursday evening, April 12, I was invited to speak at the Family Meeting of Native American students at the Prior Lake-Savage School District. The evening started with a pot luck dinner, enjoyed by the parents and students attending. After dinner I gave my presentation, which was a mix of Paul's story and "Hidden Heritage", and also how I got involved in writing the book. Some people find that equally interesting, since I had no connection to Paul prior to starting the book.

I brought along several Brule'/AIRO CDs and played them throughout the evening. As usual, those who hadn't heard Paul's beautiful music before were instant fans. And once again, my photocards from South Dakota gained a fair amount of attention. The set of "Lakota Images" were very popular with the students.

I want to thank Sheri Jacobs for inviting me to speak, and also John Walsh for putting together the potluck dinner. Both Sheri and John work for the Prior Lake-Savage school district in student services and do a fabulous job there. I really enjoyed the evening!

Next up is a visit to a charter school in Tucson, Arizona!
Blessings,
Barbara

Bloomington Book Festival

On Saturday, March 24th, I took part in the Bloomington Book Festival at the brand new Bloomington Arts Center. The facility is very impressive, a beautiful new building. Thirty-three authors were featured at the festival this year. There were several writing workshops offered in the morning and authors were invited to do readings of their work.

I brought several copies of "Hidden Heritage...the Story of Paul LaRoche" for my book table. It never fails--Paul's stunning photo on the cover always gets attention from passersby. I have to commend MORI Studio of Minneapolis for their great design work, both on the cover and the layout of the interior. I can't tell you how many compliments I receive on the cover alone!

Since the weather was unusually warm for March, the attendance for the book festival was down this year. I did however have a nice surprise when three girlfriends from high school (we won't say what year, but back then it was Wadena High School in north-central Minnesota), showed up to check out the festival. I want to thank Irene Nelson, from Richfield, Eileen Westland, from Perham, and Marsha Karam, from Nevis, for stopping by to see my book table.

I am happy to say that my photocards received quite a bit of positive feedback as well. I brought both sets of the South Dakota series along and sold several packages. Both the "Holy Name Chapel" and the "Lakota Images" sets seem to be favorites with people.

A special thanks to Kate Pettit with the Bloomington Art Center for all her hard work in organizing the 2007 book festival! My next appearance will be at the Prior Lake-Savage Schools on April 12, 2007, with Sharon Boyer-Jacobs, Student Services Coordinator.

With our wonderful 81 degrees on Monday, I think we can safely say spring is on the way!
Blessings,
Barbara

Welcome!

Welcome to my brand new blog! Ever since "Hidden Heritage...the Story of Paul LaRoche" was released in 2006 from Beaver's Pond Press, I have received numerous emails from people who have read the book and want to share their comments. Paul too has been stopped by a number of people at his performances who want to tell him how the book has impacted or touched their lives. Because of this, both Paul and I would like to give readers of "Hidden Heritage" a place to share comments and thoughts about Paul's unique journey.

Just two weeks ago I attended the Southern California Writers Conference in San Diego and one of the things I learned is that "blogging" is the way to go! So a big thank you to my web designer, David Schneider, for getting me set up.

For any of you writers out there, I would highly recommend this conference. There were many topics covered, a wide variety of seminars to choose from, great speakers and presenters who were very approachable. The conference went from Friday through Sunday, and it was packed full of wonderful resources for writers of all levels. I came home with a huge notebook full of notes. I must say however, the networking and contacts I made with other writers, screenwriters, agents & editors at the conference will no doubt prove even more valuable.

I am looking forward to seeing how this blog develops. Another learning curve!
Blessings,
Barbara

First blog

This is my very first time to write on a blog.