Story of the Month: A Treasure

by Perrin Stifel

As I walk around the garden here at home this November, I am reminded that the blooms on our dogwood trees each April have already beendecided. Missouri’s state tree is gorgeous in each season. Summer brings wonderful green leaves and shade. In autumn bright red berries appear and leaves turn yellow, orange, red and even purple. Winter snow seems to sit in the pockets of the twigs. But the most interesting thing to me is to see all the bracts (buds) now that will turn a brilliant white in Spring. Any dogwood anywhere is beautiful throughout the year, and you can now see the number of blooms a tree will have for a Spring treasure.

This reminds me of one of our family’s Christmas traditions: a treasure hunt! It begins with a search for pickle ornaments on our decorated tree. We have five green pickles now, and one even yodels! After gifts are opened, the four grandchildren must find all the pickles on the tree. Then they are given a clue leading to the last gift. This clue leads to another room, where a second clue is found, and the group moves on to another going all over the house. All the family searches together as a group until the last gift is found. No Grinch or Scrooge can spoil the fun and the joy of gift giving and receiving will occur. Yes, the treasure will be there waiting!

And Spring’s treasure will also be there waiting when the dogwood buds of November will blossom and turn bright white in April. Guaranteed!

A Note from the President

Hello & Happy Holidays to all of you,

In olden times winter holidays were full of light, whether the candles were lit one day at a time on the Menorah or one time only on a tree or carried from house to house to guide the path or even mounted on someone’s head to bring the holiday buns to the parents.

Everyone needed and wanted light and still do. Light brings hope and the beginning of Spring. Light energizes me and makes me work harder and think better. I love light.

I am sure there are stories to go with every one of the holidays that are lighting this season. World Candlelight day, Diwali, Advent, Christmas, St. Lucia Day, Las Posadas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa come to mind. What holiday do you celebrate

with light? What is the story you tell?

“I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.”

― Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony

MO-TELL Member of the Month: Sarah Howard

Howdy, I spend most of my days as the Youth and Community Services Manager for the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Mid-Missouri. As the picture shows, we are trying to see how we can do things better during these challenging times and bring helpful resources and also joy to patrons of all ages. We are attempting that in

our Zoom Room.

I first heard Bobby Norfolk and Beth Horner in the late 80’s. They were the first people I met who had “Storyteller” as their profession. Both kind and encouraging. I attended an early 90’s National Storytelling Conference in Texas and standing on a street corner met Jim “Two Crows” Wallen and if memory serves me right, Steve Otto and Perrin Stifel and more. I traveled all that way to meet more Missouri connections. Started attending events put on by MO-Tell the next few years. Workshops at parks, weekends on the goldenrod showboat and more meeting Sue Hinkel and Priscilla Howe, Joyce Slater as tellers or organizers over the years. that weekend. I also attended a few Chicken Festivals over the years of fun and relaxation and story. I also began attending the National Storytelling Festival and hearing even more tellers. SO many wonderful tellers.

I have found I have a gift for putting on events or helping creative people keep up their creativity and while I do tell and sing with young children and families solo or along with my husband Thom Howard over the years, my real strength is producing events for the library.Over the years I have helped out in the now defunct group MOST (Mid-MO Organization of Storytelling) that has now folded into MO-TELL. I have served as a board member or helper at many events over the years for both organizations. Have worked a lot with Larry Brown in the past. Even got to help out RAPS and MO-TELL when the National Conference came to KC many many years ago (late 90’s) and when the National Storytelling Network moved to KC a few years ago. I look forward to supporting however I am able to in future years.

What tellers have been influential in my life? There are WAY too many to mention. With risk of leaving someone out. Let’s take it down to the level of the story. You never know when a story you have heard will come back and be what you need that day. I thank all the

tellers I have heard.

They have asked what a favorite story is....I can say some of my faves are hearing different versions of stories over the years and seeing how different cultures have similar themes and character roles. I am also a kid song nerd, loving to study the history of songs and tunes. I also love the backstage helping at any event and seeing how talented people

pull all the pieces together and make magic.

One day at work , I was helping a little boy around 4 and his mom find a dinosaur book. His mom said he could have one book. I was on the floor handing him choices. Mom was on the other side. He had one book in each hand. His body was vibrating with the joy of the books. Mom was attempting to hurry him along and make the choice. In a deep breath he blurted “Wait, I have to feel the essence of them.” Aahhh words and story and learning.

That is what makes our world go round. He got to take home two books.

May you all have good story in your life.