The gift.

I got my first fetish in 1963, a gift from an old trader friend, John Stone, of Algodones, NM. John and his wife Ellie were half the reason I got into this business. Sitting in their living room behind their store playing with their dogs is such a fond memory. I first met them as a young kid in the late fifties when their shop was on the main road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque where I lived. John was originally a rug merchant. He married Ellie when she was 13 and he was 14. Do you have the suspicion they lied on the marriage certificate? I remember John handing me two fetish carvings and saying they were for me. I was so excited. He didn't remember who did them, as was typical in those days. I didn't find out who the artist was until 25 years later when Thelma Sheche confirmed my suspicions and said, "Oh, those are my dad's!"  Even more special. I had been given Theodore Kucate fetishes and still wear one almost every day. And when I do, I think of John and Ellie and a little kid thinking how much fun it would be to have a store and sell Native American arts and crafts.