STANWOOD – A valuable Upper Skagit Indian basket that was at least 130 years old is missing – and presumed stolen – from the Stanwood Area History Museum.
Museum volunteers believe the basket was stolen during the museum’s regular daylight hours while a docent was occupied. The thief moved the basket’s bulky glass-and-wood display case away from the wall, slid open its unlocked door and snatched the basket, according to Karen Prasse, a local historian and museum volunteer.
Only docents and officers in the Stanwood Area Historical Society have keys to the museum, and Prasse doesn’t think they took the basket.
The theft is the first in the museum’s history and the Stanwood Police Department’s first missing basket caper, acting Police Chief Rob Palmer said.
The department doesn’t have any leads yet, but since the basket was reported missing in mid- October, a detective has been searching for it on eBay and other online sites, Palmer said.
“We don’t have the resources to call Sotheby’s and Christie’s and search all the auctions,” he said. “I think at this point, it’s just keeping our ears open and eyes open.”
In the police report, the basket’s value is listed as priceless, but in the Indian art market it’s probably worth around $1,200, according to Sue Helmke, an appraiser of Indian baskets and owner of the Snow Goose Gallery in Seattle.
To Carol Ronken, priceless is definitely more accurate.
Her great-great-grandmother wove the 71/4-inch tall basket and gave it to her daughter, Jennie Whittier, as a wedding gift in 1876. Whittier was Stanwood pioneer Gardner Goodridge’s second wife.
“It was the only thing we had of her,” said Ronken, a retired state employee.
She believes the basket was intended for “hot rock” cooking. The method entails placing fire-hot rocks in a basket full of water until it boils. However, rather than using the basket, it was treasured – passed down from generation to generation, she said.
Her family donated the basket to the museum in 1998. At the time, they considered sending it to the more prestigious Burke Museum in Seattle but opted to keep it in the community instead.
They figured their heirloom would be safe in the community museum.
The Stanwood Area History Museum occupies a single room on the upper floor of a building in downtown Stanwood. Black-and-white photographs of Indian canoes and railroad cars line the walls. The museum is easily traversed in 15 paces.
Ronken realized the basket was missing on Oct. 15 when she took a friend to see it. The two other Indian baskets that her family’s basket was showcased with were in the display case, but theirs wasn’t.
She notified Prasse, who did some investigating and came to the conclusion that the basket was stolen between Oct. 10 and Oct. 13.
“There was a real sinking feeling – a real loss,” Ronken said. “And it isn’t a loss just of mine, but I feel that it’s a cultural loss for all of the Upper Skagit tribe.”
Since the disappearance, the museum’s other two baskets, which were in worse condition than the stolen one, have been moved into locked storage. At Ronken’s request, the museum is also considering adding more docents and video cameras to boost security, Prasse said. Meanwhile, the historical society is offering a $500 reward for the basket’s return.
“It’s a huge loss,” said Helmke. “It’s a beautiful piece and it’s an old one. You can’t just run out and find another one to replace them. They’re one of a kind.”
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@ heraldnet.com.
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