A little over thirty years ago, I got a call from Betty Pennington, who had worked as our manager at the gallery before moving to Phoenix to take a job at the Heard Museum.

She said, “Jackson, you need to come down to Phoenix and meet Byron Hunter, the manager at the Heard Museum Shop. I’m sure he would want to buy some things from you, but I think you guys would really hit it off.”

One day, back in the late ’50s or early ’60s, my father was on the Navajo Reservation. He had the good luck to run into Tom and Fran Bayless, two lovely young people from Ohio who had discovered the Southwest on vacation in 1952 and kept coming back year after year.

Yes, there is a day to recognize and celebrate Native American Heritage. It is the day after Thanksgiving. The month of November is Native American Heritage Month.

On Friday, April 21, Mom was the first one at the Gallery. She usually has been for the past 40 years. She would unlock the building, get the lights on, fire up the computer, and get the Gallery ready for business.

It is with great pride that we share the exciting accomplishments of two members of our extended Toh-Atin Gallery family!

2023 was the fortieth year Toh-Atin Gallery has been located in our building on Ninth Street in Durango. It seems like it was just a few years ago that we moved into our new space!