By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News
The Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner now boasts an exterior wall display like Nunn other.
The Sam and Colleen O’Brien Nunn Foundation funded the carving and mounting of two stunning cedar panels depicting “The Beginning of the Skagit World,” crafted by acclaimed Swinomish artisan Kevin Paul and his son-in-law, Camas Logue, of the Klamath Tribes.
The striking story boards, affixed to the museum’s west wall, were unveiled prematurely by a gust of wind just before a much-anticipated and well-attended 45-minute outdoor presentation at the museum Friday evening.
Mother Nature’s timing didn’t spoil the mood.
“It was actually a God-wink that the wind blew the curtain so that you could get a look at them during the program,” said Colleen Nunn, who descends from the Skagit Valley and La Conner area pioneer Bessner and Summers families.
Paul, whose Lushootseed language name is Waleehub, said he and Logue — both of whom are master carvers — spent about three months on the project.
The panels feature animals that represent the guardian spirits and powers of persons in the tribal community, explained Pat Paul, Kevin’s wife, an Alaska Native and local attorney active with the Skagit County Historical Society.
One of the story boards depicts how the Creator, with help from Raven and Coyote, planned the world in the wake of a Great Flood. The panel images, Pat Paul noted, were inspired by time-honored tribal legends passed down through generations.
Museum Director Jo Wolfe said that Colleen Nunn sought the unique skill sets of Kevin Paul and Logue to fashion cedar storybook pages adorning the museum in honor of the Bessner and Summers families and others who settled the Skagit River Delta area.
“This carving and design was her dream,” Wolfe said of Nunn. “It was her idea. She asked, ‘Do you think Kevin (and Logue) would carve it? And would the museum accept it? I said, ‘of course!’”
Nunn, a generous and longtime supporter of the historical museum, lauded its mission.
“I think it’s the jewel of the crown here in La Conner,” she said.
Having grown up in Olympia, Nunn alluded to a chance first meeting with her future husband, Sam Nunn, who would become a four-term U.S. senator from Georgia and chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I moved to the south 60 years ago and married a Georgian, which was quite unusual at the time, uniting Washington and Georgia. But we actually met in Paris.”
Despite taking residence in Atlanta and the nation’s capital, plus overseas travels, Nunn retained her Skagit Valley ties. She recalled attending family gatherings on Fir Island and the Pioneer Picnic in La Conner.
“I’ve always been proud of my Skagit Valley ancestors,” Nunn said.
So much so that she wanted to pay homage to them. That was the genesis of the new story panels at the museum.
“About a year ago,” said Nunn, “I invited Kevin and Pat to the museum to meet with Jo.”
They discussed a book of tribal legends that described the creation of Skagit Valley.
“Kevin and Pat knew the legends,” Nunn said. “So, I managed to talk him into doing a cedar storybook.”
Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen and La Conner Mayor Marna Hanneman were also among the main speakers at the briskly paced program.
“It’s an old thing (to say), but it takes a village,” Hanneman stressed, referring to the many hands involved in the museum’s newest addition.
“I met Kevin well over 20 years ago,” she said. “We’re so blessed to have him in this community.”
Citing funding cuts impacting the museum, Hanneman and Wesen urged people to support it through paid memberships.
Kevin Paul, who offered a blessing song, thanked everyone for their attendance.
“I want to thank all of you for witnessing this vision of Colleen’s,” he said. “What she had in mind was to have a story presented from the beginning of Skagit Valley.
“I’ve been doing this work since I was young,” added Paul, who previously taught Native art at La Conner Schools, “and I really enjoy it.”
And that joy was shared on Friday by all who gathered at the hilltop museum.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
