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The Watchman
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 The Watchman |
The original Watchman (photo on right) was a small totem carved by Louis Jones, Sr. that was used as a gavel to open and close all of Kavilco’s Board Meetings and the Annual Shareholders' Meetings. It represented the spirits keeping an eye on the proceedings to make sure the right things got done.
The original Watchman was stolen along with President Louis A. Thompson's briefcase during a Board Meeting in 2005 and was never recovered. In April 2006, Mr. Thompson carved a new Watchman (see photo at left). His inspiration came from a photograph taken in Old Kasaan during the late1960s and replicates the top section of a mortuary pole near a grave site. The carving is about eight inches tall and one inch in diamenter. The wood is from a 250-year-old Alaska yew tree. The eyes are made of local abalone shell. The base of the carving is hollowed out and filled with lead to allow the carving to stand upright and serve as a gavel. Mr. Jones was inspired to create the original Watchman after seeing a Haida watchman on the corner post of a long house in Ketchikan. Mr. Jones carved the Watchman from alder wood and gave him eyes of abalone shell. He was sitting on a log on the beach with a walking stick under his chin. He was watching for friends returning from a hunt and keeping his eyes out for enemies, weather, animals and anything else that may be of interest to the village. Mr. Jones initially intended to carve the Watchman as the end of a halibut hook |
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