An Elder is a wise friend

by Peter Twitchell

As I am writing this article, I am sitting here on the late Elder Joseph “Joe” Jefferson Vanderpool’s favorite chair. Joe became like a lifelong friend to me back in 2019 when I first moved to the Matanuska Susitna Valley. In the short time that we got to know each other it was like we had known each other all our lives.

One day my friend Joe told me, “You can have my chair I’m not going to need it anymore.” My friend Joe was born September 17, 1928 and passed on August 23, 2019.

Joe used to call me in the morning inviting me to have coffee with him or breakfast and we often sat in the kitchen drinking his favorite coffee, which was Yuban, or Hills Brothers.

He was a no nonsense, down to earth man who spoke his mind and lived life to its fullest. Sometimes I have regretted not getting to know Joe earlier in my life. He was a good man full of wisdom and I saw him as a man of infinite knowledge.

He had a great sense of humor and we often sat there laughing at his jokes or real life stories.

He told me hours of his flying experience and mishaps flying in the frigid cold of Alaska. The man flew for over 60 years learning about single engine aircraft, from a short Irish pilot at Merrill Field at the age of 16.

Sometimes I wish that that knowledge about flying in Alaska would have been written in a book for student aircraft pilots. One thing he told me about flying was one year an engine quit soon after take-off. I can share a couple of many stories Joe told me about flying that got my attention.

Once while flying up around Pt. Barrow he lost a prop to the single engine aircraft he was flying. Another time his fuel line froze and he had to glide the aircraft and landed safely.

I met Joe in Bethel one day, my son married his daughter but it was another 24 years before we actually sat down and got to know each other when I moved out of Bethel.

One day he told me that he had seen me at the Larry’s Club 1972 in Kenai when he worked for the Kenaitze Indian flight school there as their flight instructor and I was playing with the band at the Larry Club.

I regretted not having met Joe in person back then.

We became good friends in 2019 and we talked about everything under the sun every time he invited me to have coffee or breakfast with him. Joe and I shared a lot of stories and we laughed a lot.

Now I’m sitting on Joe’s chair which he gave me as I write this. One morning Joe said to me, “If you like this chair you can have it because I’m not going to be needing it anymore.”

A word of advice for young people – never neglect or avoid Elders. Always acknowledge them and respect them, honor them because they know a lot about life because life is short and the times I spent with Joe in three months period were days and time spent talking I will never forget for the rest of my life. Thank you Joe for being a true friend, I was blessed abundantly!

1 Comment

  1. As I read this post, I am filled with a deep sense of longing and regret. The idea that I missed out on the opportunity to know and learn from someone like Joe, who was clearly full of wisdom and experience, is heart-wrenching. The reminder that life is short and that we should never neglect or avoid our Elders is a powerful one. I am grateful for the time that the author did spend with Joe and the memories they shared. It serves as a reminder to me to always make time for the wise and experienced people in my life.

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