Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Patterson, Wes |
Notes |
John Wesley Patterson Tuscarora Nation White Bear Clan 1925 - 2000 "Wes" Patterson was born into a family of six in Lewiston, NY. Other than his time in the military service, Wes spent much of his time at Tuscarora Nation. He played both field and box lacrosse on the reservation, for a team at Springfield College (MA), and coached in Baltimore, MD. His dedication to the game earned him induction into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Baltimore (MD, 1993); Rochester-Western New York chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame (MA, 1998) and the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame (Saint Catharines, Ontario, 1998). From playing, to coaching, to carving sticks, this Haudenosaunee tradition was at the center of his life. While coaching the game in Maryland in the early 1960s, Wes recognized that obtaining wooden sticks was an obstacle for his players and resolved to remedy the situation by learning to make the sticks himself. He traveled and met with Haudenosaunee lacrosse stick makers at Cattaraugus, Onondaga, and Akwesasne, returning with the combined knowledge of generations to form his own company in 1970. Tuskewe Krafts employed family and members of the Tuscarora community. For the next 30 years the small company crafted hand-laced hickory men and women's field, box, and goalie sticks, becoming one of the largest wooden lacrosse stick production companies in the US. At its peak the company produced 5000 hickory sticks a year and another 1500 with plastic heads. From its barn-based home on Upper Mountain Road, Tuskewe Kraft built a devoted customer base around the world. Wes's interest in the game extended far beyond the business of making sticks. He formed the Iroquois National Team, serving as its first executive director in 1983 and fought for the team members to be able to travel on their Haudenosaunee passports. He also founded Little League Lacrosse (Baltimore County, MD), coached the Buffalo Lacrosse Club (1965-1970), and a team at Niagara University (1970-1973). He offered lacrosse clinics at numerous venues in MD, NY, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Washington, DC) and shared his knowledge of Haudenosaunee culture and craft traditions at schools, Niagara Community College, senior citizen organizations, as well as through interviews on television and radio interviews in Washington, DC and Buffalo, NY. In the true Haudenosaunee spirit of generosity, Wes donated sticks to start-up lacrosse programs in Canada, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Japan and, in 1992, a set to the Iroquois Museum's children's programs. Patterson lacrosse sticks are in the collection of the Iroquois Museum (Howes Cave, NY). *Bio text cannot be used in print or web publications without IM permission. Use for other purposes (such as research papers, presentations) should credit the IM. |
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