Seven storytellers from Bethel came together last Friday to tell their scary, strange, hilarious and sometimes sad stories at the first Terrifying Tales on the Tundra event. The event took place at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center on Friday, October 27th, 2023. Emcees were Bethel’s very own Beverly Hoffman and Don Rearden.
Storytellers included Ian Poole, Tiana Lupie, Roxanne Saddler, Francisco Martinezcuello, Sugar Henderson, Eva Malvich, and Don Rearden.
Musical performances were provided by the band Velma Lyle featuring Paul Basile, Lisa Whalen, Bethy Whalen, Kevin Morgan, and Nate DeHaan.
Bev Hoffman opened the event with her tale of the Heart Lake Monster, a story passed on by the late Fanny Nicori of Kwethluk. She wore a pair of beautiful reindeer piluguqs mukluks made by the late Lucy Beaver.
The first storyteller was Ian Poole. He told the story of the time he was driving his boss to Atlanta, Georgia and on his way back how he got lost trying to take the back roads to avoid the highways.
He drove right into a riot, which was scary but he was able to get out safely and get home, and he never told his dad what happened.
Tiana Lupie told a story about the time her and her family were traveling on the river in the wintertime near Napakiak and how their dogs were acting strangely during a brief stop, like they were scared of something. They spent the night in Napakiak and were able to go home safely the next day after that incident.
Roxanne Saddler told a funny but also creepy story from her childhood when she and some friends went berry picking and almost went too far when they were following a lady in a qaspeq. They ended up swimming in a fenced in pool, which turned out to be Bethel’s sewage lagoon.
After a brief intermission (the audience went to go get some refreshments – chocolate cake, popcorn, water, and sodas) the band Velma Lyle from Mystery Inc. performed a song led by lead singer Paul Basile.
Next was Francisco Martinezcuello who read a poem that he wrote about his time in Iraq and the memories, some sad and traumatic, that followed him to his tundra home here in Bethel. He talked about the aurora borealis and his fascination with them.
Sugar Henderson told a story about strange occurrences that took place at their home in Bethel when her children were little. The audience was appreciative and relieved when her story ended on a positive note and thankful that everyone was okay.
Eva Malvich told a funny but also gripping story about the time she had to drive their huge boat to fish camp and how she had a hard time getting it going and that the front of the boat was sticking all the way up, making it hard for her to see while driving.
They made it to fish camp and she ended up enlisting the help of relatives who safely got them back to Bethel, although they didn’t seem too happy about the whole thing.
Lastly, Don Rearden spun a tale about how they lived in the village, his mom was the principal, and about all the strange things that happened at their living quarters, which also happened to be the school.
He said his mom always had an explanation to explain why things did what they did. Her logic and scientific knowledge made sense to him at the time and he was now here to tell everyone about it.
The night ended with another song by Velma Lyle.
The show will be rebroadcast on KYUK at 7pm on October 31st. You can also listen to Fanny Nicori and other stories at KYUK’s Tales of the Tundra. Sponsors for the show are the Kuskokwim Campus and UAF, The SouthWest Alaska Arts Group, and KYUK Radio.
