By Steve Schug | For The Times-Post

Picture if you will. An elderly woman, aged 87 in fact. Impaired by a stroke suffered 18 years previously.

She works at her task with a pair of scissors, cutting away endlessly at paper grocery bags, fashioning them into vests, to be worn by children in the coming year’s Native American Day: 700 of them.

Day after day from the September 2019 event well into the winter and spring, preparing for next year.

This was Marilyn Crosley, the founder of the Pendleton Elementary Outdoor Lab in 1993. She hadn’t realized 2019 would be her last Native American Day. The Covid pandemic shut down the event in 2020 and 2021, and in the summer of 2022, Marilyn passed away at age 90.

But last week, Native American Day was back.

Pam Schug and Chris Wilson, continuing their mother’s legacy with the Outdoor Lab and Greenhouse, with help from many volunteers, organized this year’s event on Sept. 22.

Native American Day celebrates the history and heritage of our country’s indigenous peoples, complete with a life-size teepee, face painting, storytelling and other celebrations of Indian culture.

And yes, the vests!

There were many volunteers whose participation was critical to the success of the event:

• Loretta Gray — Storytelling in the teepee

• Ron and Pat Hinton, Athena Hopkins, Jen Medina — face painting

• Diana Downing, Julie Trout — drum game

• Brent Schnepp — headdress demonstration

• Elaine Trippeer, Terry Cook, Lana Moore, Holly Taylor — crafts (vest decorating)

• Susan Downey, Jana Kemper — Native American Life with cornbread samples

• Chad Cook and students from the Carnegie Learning Center, Maintenance staff under the direction of Nathan Hall, Kyle Wilson, Jack Wilson, Ben Schug and me, Steve Schug — teepee erection

This year’s celebration was a huge success, the children had a great time and learned much from the volunteers.

And, Marilyn was there in spirit in every one of those vests.

Steve Schug lives in Pendleton with his wife Pam. Steve is president of Main Street Pendleton, a non-profit organization that focuses on revitalization, economic development and the maintenance of the historic downtown in Pendleton.