Collections staff and volunteers were working hard this week to prepare a new Navajo blanket for exhibit in the Native American gallery. At right, Curator of Collections Jan Postler does final vacuuming on the blanket to remove hair that may not have been picked up while vacuuming through a screen. Above, volunteers Susan Jones and Dr. Helen Ruth Aspaas, the donor of the blanket, sew a twill tape and Velcro fastener to mount the late third phase chief-style blanket. Dr. Aspaas's grandparents used the blanket to keep warm while they slept on their porch in the wintertime near Breen, Colorado. At that time, it was devoutly believed that the fresh mountain air was good for health, so some La Plata County residents slept outside year round.

Dr. Helen Ruth Aspaas at work on her grandparents chief-style blanket.