While traveling anywhere, but this time west through the state of Nevada, Owen and I like to check out local museums and I’m always on the search for trade bead collections whenever there’s a display […] read more

Visiting my brother, Jim Hertel in Alturas, CA is always fun.  He has Coastwide Contractors and knows the area pretty well, so we get stories, directions to places of interest and bits of history.  The […] read more

Ben McPherson is a marvelous young artist who just happens to be Owen’s nephew by marriage to his niece, Kristina.  Ben is an exquisite painter having won some prestigious awards, plus he’s prolific in his […] read more

Since glass Trade Beads are one of my passions/addictions, my recent visit to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Reserve Site was exciting in light of the history preserved there.  Located on the northern bank of […] read more

I had set myself a goal to blog about Trade Beads every Wednesday and have found myself falling off the wagon.  So I’m jumping back on with this beauty of a necklace. It’s the Rain/Spawn/Salmon […] read more