NOT SOLD (BIDDING OVER)
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This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2022 Sep 25 @ 22:02UTC-6 : CST/MDT
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Gouldings is a rare token. It was good for trade - groceries only - at either Gouldings Trading in Monument Valley or Kayenta Trading, 22 miles south. They shared many customers. Gouldings was a smaller store with limited grocery inventory. Harry Goulding and John Wetherill were good friends and "neighbors". Goulding's limited grocery inventory was an impediment to his trading for rugs, sheep, etc. so Wetherill assisted him by adding the trading opportunities for Goulding customers at Kayenta Trading. Navajo traders were respectful of other traders and their livelihoods. They all recognized that they had a hard life given their circumstances.
Harry Goulding married his wife, “Mike,” in 1923 and took her to Monument Valley. He considered this to be a special place to open a trading post and sheep ranch. However, the land was part of the Paiute reservation and unavailable for non-Indians. Goulding got a lucky break when the State of Utah made a land trade with the nearby Paiutes, and Harry was able to purchase 640 acres for $320. Harry started trading and living in a tent before he built a thriving trading post and a great reputation in the trade territory. The post and lodge were built in 1926.
In 1938, Harry went to Hollywood with his bedroll and photos to make a pitch for a movie location. His mission was to provide an employment opportunity for his Indian friends. The rest is history after he met Director John Ford. Stagecoach was Ford’s first film in 1939. There have been movies filmed regularly since then. In 1962 Harry retired at age 65 and gifted the property to Knox College. He and Mike were remarkable people. Knox College assumed ownership and hired managers to run the post. Some, like John Burton, were very successful and well-liked by the Navajos. We traded rugs and bought piñons for years from John. They had an excellent tourist trade and used a lot of jewelry. Their rug selection was always very good because John built good rapport with the weavers. And John served as an original director of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association.
In the 1980s, Knox decided to get out of the trading business and sold the property to Gerald and Roland LaFont from Thunderbird Lodge at Chinle. Gerald LaFont was a pilot, and the lodge had an airstrip, so it was a good fit for their experience and needs.
The LaFonts sold the post to Armand Ortega in the early 2000s. Armand died in 2014; his son Armand Jr is now the business patriarch of the family. It no longer has a trading post function but is now a wonderful museum and gift operation.
This was the only place that I spent the night on rug trips because John and his wife, Marlene, could only work with me after the store was closed. He had too many duties running the place during the day. He selected rugs and Marlene selected jewelry for the shop. Late at night after we finished our work, I could back my car up to the motel room door and then sleep lightly.
Auction Location:
3705 B-1 Ellison Blvd NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87114, United States
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