AUSTIN – For many gathered in the large room at the Holiday Inn in Austin, it was the first time they’d ever seen each other.

Monday, March 04, 2002

AUSTIN – For many gathered in the large room at the Holiday Inn in Austin, it was the first time they’d ever seen each other. But by the end of the evening, after sharing food and the nourishment of stories, they parted friends.

The 17th annual Minnesota Storytelling Festival brought people from across the region to hear nationally known storytellers, and perhaps share a story of their own. On Friday night, 230 people – about twice the size of last year’s crowd – shared a family-style meal. They were joined by others after dinner to hear a concert of stories.

Angela Lloyd of Victorville, Calif., called the other storytellers to the stage to sing a song appropriate to a storytelling festival: &uot;Let us come in. Let us come in, into your house so gay. Let us come in. Let us come in. Please do not send us away.&uot; She accompanied the group and herself in the song &uot;I’m Looking for Some Longtime Friends&uot; on her autoharp.

Lloyd also told a story about meeting a hobo, helping him do his grocery shopping, sharing coffee and a bagel with him, and then parting ways. &uot;At 2 o’clock, as I was sitting at my desk, I heard the train whistle, and I wondered if the peanut butter got on safely,&uot; she told.

Lloyd describes herself as &uot;diagonally parked in a parallel world.&uot;

Tim Tingle of Canyon Lake, Texas, shared tales of the Choctaw Indians, and in particular, Charlie. He told of the time Charlie’s grandson was in a wedding. His grandmother altered an old suit for the boy, and Charlie himself cut off part of the drapes to make him a tie. When it was finally time for him to walk up the aisle, he’d go about four steps, growl, then repeat the process until he made it to the front of the church. He asked the minister why everyone laughed at him. &uot;I was supposed to be the ‘ringbear,’&uot; he explained.

Charlie later told his embarrassed grandson that he had brought &uot;bear medicine&uot; to the wedding. &uot;You and that bear medicine brought laughter to the wedding,&uot; he explained.

Tingle was named Contemporary Storyteller of the Year by the national organization Woodcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, and is currently working on his master’s thesis, &uot;Choctaw Oral Literature.&uot;

Bev Jackson of Albert Lea told about her trip to Egypt in late September 2001, and the fact that the country is a land of contrasts. She shared the story of Osris and Isis, then read a poem she’d written on her curiosity about the country.

&uot;In my job as director of a museum, I spend a lot of time telling people they all have stories to tell,&uot; Jackson said, concluding with another of her original poems, &uot;An Ode to Bean Soup.&uot;

Connie Regan-Blake of Asheville, N.C., shared tales of Appalachia. &uot;In the South, we have stories about Dog,&uot; she explained.

She told of Dog chasing Squirrel, only to chase for so long he got lost. Along came a panther, but some quick thinking and bones lying on the ground allowed Dog to escape being eaten by letting Panther believe Dog had just eaten another panther.

Squirrel, of course, let Panther know how it had been tricked. Dog once again saved himself with some quick thinking and said, &uot;You just can’t trust that Squirrel. I sent her out to get me another Panther, and she still hasn’t come back.&uot;

Regan-Blake also told a true story about Althea, a woman believed dead who had actually been buried alive. Because of a grave robber, she was able to escape her coffin, walk home and convince her husband Clint that she was not a ghost, but indeed still alive.

Michael Cotter of Austin finished out the evening with a couple of the stories which have made him famous: those of growing up on a farm. One he called &uot;Baling Wire Psychologist,&uot; a name taken from those farmers who kept their old equipment together with baling wire.

Another was about a team of horses his father had when he was growing up, and their hired man, Mike, who trained the horses. After a truck passed the team on the road, they were spooked. The driver was thrown and the horses dragged the rake. They were bleeding.

&uot;Mike knew they were ruined. He left the farm. He drank more after that,&uot; Cotter said.

Cotter’s father, however, hated to give up on the team. When he sound of a wagon scared them, though, and he was thrown, Cotter’s father knew the only option was to split up the team.

&uot;His dream had died,&uot; Cotter said of his father.

In addition to the storytellers, funeral director Jack Koppa of Austin entertained the crowd with selecltions on his concertina.

On Saturday, more storytelling events were held at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, and on Sunday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Austin.