Daniel Boone was out on a “fire hunt” one night with a friend. His friend had a torch and he a gun. They watched for eyes to shine and be reflected in a deer or elk. They were in a heavily timbered woods near a stream on land belonging to Mr. Morgan Bryan, a local pioneer.
Suddenly he saw a deer’s eyes shine. Daniel raised his rifle and then suddenly hesitated. His trigger finger trembled, something that never happened to him. Without warning, the deer ran off through the brush and ran like the wind. Daniel lit after the deer. He took logs and bushes at a leap, the quarry just ahead.
Very quickly he found himself at Mr. Bryan’s cabin with a pack of growling, barking dogs surrounding him. Mr Bryan came to the door, calling off the dogs. He asked Daniel why he was so winded and before he could answer a little boy came out of the cabin.
“Pa! Pa! Sister was down at the creek to check fishing lines and she was chased by a panther or something and she’s scared,” said the boy.
Daniel turned to see the same bright beautiful eyes he had “shined” a moment before. In front of him stood Rebecca Bryan and not long after this meeting that “deer” became Rebecca Boone, the wife and love of Daniel Boone.
Storyteller note: It’s fun to Google stories like this and see not only another version of the story but what people say about it as truth or?
As the year of 2019 comes to a close, we remember our joys and our sorrows, our friendships and our stories. We have much for which to be thankful. MO-TELL has a hard-working board of directors, Sue Hinkel, our treasurer, Jim Two Crows Wallen, our secretary, Gary Kuntz, at large and Perrin Stifel, founder and emeritus director. Many thanks to our board members. We also have helpers who do so much for us. Thom Howard helps us review our financials every year. Ken Wolfe designs and creates the monthly newsletter. Hilary Kuntz works on our website with her father Gary Kuntz. Karen Potts, Sarah Howard and Ken Wolfe worked on the Liar’s Contest. Thank you to Thom, Ken, Hilary, Karen, Sarah and Ken. We have a good working relationship with the Missouri State Parks and the Missouri Arts Council. Thank you. We maintain a good working relationship with the following organizations River and Prairie Storyweavers, Gateway Storytelling, Riverwinds Storytelling and Storytellers of the Ozarks, the St. Louis Storytelling Festival and the KC Storytelling Celebration, as well as numerous library systems in the state. Thank you one and all.
We were deeply saddened this year with the loss of Becky Walstrom, who was not only our board member but a wonderful friend. I miss her terribly as I know you do as well. She was a gift to storytelling who was full of joy and love.
We have added new members. We hope to add more this year and renew all our current members before January 31. (Check the newsletter for membership dues information.) We would love to hear what you think. The Annual Membership Meeting is January 25, 2020, in Paola, KS during the Chicken Festival. We would love to see you there. Come to the festival and stay for the meeting. You will have a great time.
Last year we were able to create a monthly newsletter, build a website, send storytellers to the Missouri State Parks, stage a Liar’s Contest and hold an Annual Membership meeting. We also were awarded a grant from the Missouri Arts Council to help with the state park storytelling. Looking toward the future, we hope to accomplish some of the same things as last year. We will again have storytelling in the state parks, stage a Liar’s contest, create a monthly newsletter, make the website better and hold an Annual Membership Meeting. We are also writing grants and brainstorming about future events. We want to add new board members from different parts of the state. We are planning a Missouri Bicentennial event. We would love to have your help and suggestions.
Thank you for your membership and support this past year. We are
nothing without you.
When the storytelling goes bad in society, the result is decadence.
Aristotle
A bit about myself:
Here are a few of my favorite things- being a mom , and grandmother; nurse; storyteller, walking in the woods; yoga and tarot. I love doing storytelling tarot- lay out the cards for someone and then using the placement and pictures on the cards create a one of a kind story.
Walking in the woods grounds and centers me as nothing else does; feel so lucky that there are so many walking trails around St. Louis. Love walking by the Mississippi and think about Mark Twain being on this
same river.
Interest in Storytelling
It began in my childhood-our family was very rich in stories, and had very little in material things, such as running water, indoor plumbing; radio or television. I grew up in rural Arkansas in a family where everyone told stories to entertain and to teach. My mother was very fact based teaching teller, and my father believed the truth should never
get in the way of a good story.
Therefore as a child telling stories was my way of being see and getting attention.
What tellers..
Sue Hinkel and her historical stories- my favorite being the 100 Dollar Bill Cynthea Jones- her transforming Greek myths into the 21st century ethos.
Favorites
As an adult it was patient stories that captured me. I worked on the addiction/psych unit at the VA for 21 years and it was their stories and our collaboration to create new and different beginnings/endings to their complicated lives that let me know how much
stories heal.
I was a fan girl of January Keiffer when she did storytelling at COCA- tried to go to every
performance. Took her techniques back to the VA to give to patients.
Lynn Rubright and the UMSL summer storytelling sessions. Learned there skills for
crafting personal stories.
MO-TELL -
Want to keep the art form alive ; well and growing; And see this as a challenge . Would like to see young people be involved, and am unsure how to support that, and more
diversity in our memberships and tellers in MO.
Favorite story - Retelling of persephone. Begins with - We all know the story about her, and she is always told as Demeter‘s daughter. “How would your story be different if it was
your mother who did the telling?”