In the late 1960s, my father purchased American Flag weavings from Bertha Harvey. She would come to the old Pepsi Cola Bottling Plant, where the Toh-Atin Gallery began, and her daughter, Bertha, was usually her driver.
Esther and my father had a special relationship. The Harveys lived north of Window Rock, Arizona, which was not in Dad’s Pepsi franchise, but somehow, he had run into her and liked the Chinle and Wide Ruins style weavings that she wove. Vegetal dye weavings were very popular at the time, and Esther usually wove very nice, three-foot-by-five-foot rugs that he could buy at a fairly reasonable price.
He would visit her whenever he was in that part of the reservation to check in with her. They could have long conversations, considering that his knowledge of Navajo was the same as her knowledge of English! She showed him how she dyed her wool and several times went with him to demonstrations where she wove for the public.
Bertha worked at the Navajo Sawmill in Sawmill, Arizona, before it closed, and then she became the pastry chef at the Navajo Nation Inn. It is now the Quality Inn in Window Rock. She still works there every morning and has a legitimate claim to being the best maker of Fry Bread on the Navajo Nation. She shared her recipe with me about six months ago and brought me a bag of Bluebird Flour (a necessary brand for quality Fry Bread). My first batch wasn’t bad, but I think she held back some part of the recipe!
She also started weaving seriously. It is impossible to distinguish the difference in quality or design between her work and Esther’s. Her sister, Charlene, is also an excellent weaver.
Bertha, Charlene, and Esther Harvey
For some reason, Dad asked Esther to weave a U.S. flag rug. He had intended to keep it, but, like most traders, he let it go when someone saw it and wanted to buy it. From that time on, he would usually have a flag rug in stock. In fact, he went a little overboard, asking Esther to make a Colorado flag (which he gave to Governor John Love), a New Mexico flag, which was sold to a store in Santa Fe, and a Texas flag. The Texas flag didn’t turn out so well, as the star looked like a KOA sign that had fallen over. It was his favorite, and he kept it until he died.
In 1976, he had a bicentennial weaving with the “76” in place of the stars. He gave it to Bertha, and she wove him a beautiful Centennial Flag. He also kept it in his personal collection.
Esther passed away about ten years ago, and Bertha has continued the tradition of flag rugs. She weaves other patterns, but we always try to keep one flag in the gallery. It has been a tradition for over 60 years!
