High Desert Museum, A Valuable Resource for writing The Ruin

Top Photo: The front entrance of the High Desert Museum. Next the entrance to the Hall of the High Plateau Indians. The next two photos show Stephan Zacharias tanning the deer hide hanging on the side of the pioneer storage shed in the lower photo. At the time the photos were taken Stephan was a Living History Dramatic performer and Interpreter at the HDM. He is now an Actor/Performer at Colonial Williamsburg. We learned much from Stephan as he donned the attire of such notables as the Rev. Thomas Condin, Oregon pioneer John Day, Explorer Jim Bridger, Civil Rights Activist John Beeson, Miner James Virtue and when he wasn't playing a dramatic role he was a steady figure at the pioneer homestead at the museum. Thanks for your inspiration and the memories at the Museum, Stephan.

Here it is New Year's Eve and it has been nearly a month since the last post. Today I was able to get back to The Ruin. Occasionally one has to set long term projects aside to complete other commitments. In this case three short movies for an exhibit to open in February at the High Desert Museum here in Bend.

If you visit Bend, be sure to schedule time for this world class Museum dedicated to the high desert regions of seven western states including the area of Colorado in which The Ruin takes place. The flora and fauna on this side of the Cascade range is similar to the area where I grew up in the 4 corners of Colorado.

In Bend we can drive a few miles to mountains and trout fishing streams or a few miles in the opposite direction to canyons and badlands. Our big game on this side of the mountains are the mule deer and elk. This area, like the 4 corners is also rich in Native American heritage. In the novel, the main character's home is a farm surrounded by Mesa Verde, the La Plata Mountains, and Ute Mountain. His family can drive a miles to mountain trout streams, dry land farms, badlands and canyon lands, or bare blistering hot desert.

The High Desert Museum has a major exhibit in the "By Hands Through Memory/High Plateau Indian" Exhibit featuring the collection of Doris Swayze Bounds. Many of the survival techniques such as fire starting, hide tanning, stone knapping, Dutch oven cooking and weaponry that Clifton Kelley, the main character in The Ruin uses are regularly demonstrated at the High Desert Museum.

A direct link to the HDM website is http://highdesertmuseum.org

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth Fenter

Sleeping Ute Mountain, Southwest Colorado

Ute Mountain. Photo taken by Ken Fenter from Summit Ridge Colorado 2004.

Clifton, the main character of my story in The Ruin views "his universe" as bound on the west by Ute Mountain. He sees this same profile from a distance of 15 miles. This view is taken from near the abandoned strip coal mine in the The Ruin. Cliff's universe is bounded on three sides by a landmark such as this within walking distance from his farm on the geologic area known as Summit Ridge.

The sign on highway 160 from Mancos to Cortez says that, in Indian lore, someday this mountain, The Sleeping Ute, will wake and drive the white man from his lands, and all will be good again. During thunder storms, lightning strikes on the main peak will occur so frequently that it is like a strobe light. One almost has to wonder if the old chief isn't about ready to make good on a promise.

Respectfully,

Ken Fenter

I finished proofing the mincemeat recipe That Etta Mae Kelley uses in the Novel The Ruin

Mincemeat Pie Recipe

I finished proofing the mincemeat recipe That Etta Mae Kelley uses in my new novel The Ruin.

Etta Mae is the mother of the main character Clifton. Etta Mae, farmer's wife, product of the Great Depression, grows enough in her garden each year to feed several families. She cans much of it. Her recipes are in quantities and are vague.

About this time of year I remember my mother's mincemeat pies. They were different than what we call mincemeat now days. What we get in the store now is a sorry imitation. Oddly enough when I go back to old recipe books, the recipes for mincemeat back then are basically the same as now. But what my mother made was different. There was no citrus. There was no tallow. I did a search for my mother's recipe and my niece finally found it. I had Etta Mae use it in the book.

When she shares the recipe with a friend, she doesn't have written down, but recites from memory, "It takes two hogs heads, cooked. Remove most of the fat...." Is this a clue to the quantity it makes?

I told my friend who teaches culinary arts at Central Oregon Community College about the recipe, and he said the whole hogs heads was probably the secret ingredient. He thought the process of rendering the heads mixed the juices of the bones, gristle, etc to the meat and gave it a richness that just meat alone could never produce.

I've been trying for several years to get my little clan to go in with me around Thanksgiving or Christmas to get a big canner, a hogs head, some venison, big box of apples, couple of quarts of cherries, raisins, currents....

Guess I better stop before I give the whole secret recipe away.

I think the comments feature in the blog works now. Click on it. Particularly if you have a Google account, you can sign in on your account and leave a comment very easily. Thanks for your patience.

Respectfully

Ken Fenter