The White Falcon - 29.03.2002, Side 1

White Falcon
Vol. 61 No. 12
online at www.nctskef.navy.mil
Now
featuring
Eitainir
March 29, 2002
Artist returns home, teaches children
Illustrator C.B. Mordan teaches kids at the A.T. Mahan Elementary
School how to make the string figures from the book “Lost! A Story
in String.” Mordan spent a large part of his own childhood at NAS
Keflavik and used his visit to acquaint his own family with Iceland as
well as share his talents with the children on base.
Story and photo by J02 Jean Ross
Illustrator C.B. Mordan has proven that the
old adage “you can’t go home again” isn’t
entirely true. Having spent seven and half
years at NAS Keflavik when his father was in
the Air Force, Mordan recently revisited
Iceland with his family and shared his time
and talents with the children of A.T. Mahan
Elementary School.
“He’s always felt like this is his hometown.
He always wanted a chance to visit and we
couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see where
he grew up,” said Mordan’s wife, Linda.
While illustrating Paul Flieschman’s book,
“Lost! A Story in String” about a little girl
whose grandmother teaches her how to tell a
story using only her hands and a length of
string during a blackout, Mordan had to learn
the art himself.
“I created the string figures based on writ-
ten instructions. 1 would use my hands and a
pencil and draw the figure keeping the pencil
taut. I would also make the figures and have
Linda take a picture,” said Mordan.
He also used his children as references.
Mordan said the little girl in the book is
about his daughter Caitie, wearing winter
clothes and trying to look cool in the middle
of a Kansas summer.
Once the book was done, Mordan found
that he’d gotten pret-
ty good at it so he
visited libraries in
the states to show
children how to cre-
ate stories with
string. That was
when he decided it
was time to come
back to Iceland.
During the presen-
tation, Mordan’s
wife Linda read the
story while he and
his daughters Caitie
and Allie demon-
strated how to use
the string to create
figures. Mordan says
that his daughters
picked up the ability
quickly and have
created new figures
of their own.
But along with entertaining the children of
NAS Keflavik, Mordan looked forward to
showing his own children where he grew up
and telling them stories of his own childhood
in Iceland.
“C.B. used to tell us a story about when he
and his brother were little they would climb
to the top of a hill, open their coats and let the
wind knock them backwards. We were excit-
ed to see Iceland and see the place he has
always called home,” said Linda.
During his visit, Mordan also donated two
signed copies of “Lost! A Story in String” to
the A.T. Mahan Elementary School Library.
Red Cross thanks volunteers...
Pam Elser, left, presents Susanne Farley with flowers and a plaque.
Farley was named Volunteer of the year during the Red Cross
Volunteer Luncheon. (Photo by J02 Jean Ross)
The Red Cross took the opportunity to thank residents and service mem-
bers at NAS Keflavik for their tireless voluntary efforts with a Volunteer
Recognition Luncheon, Mar. 21 at the Three Flags Club.
Susanne Farley was named Volunteer of the Year for her work at the A.T.
Mahan Elementary School. Kindergartners from the school were brought
in to present Farley with flowers and a plaque.
According to teachers at the school, Farley takes care of everything from
dance decorations and taking photos for the yearbook to organizing ESL
curriculum into a spreadsheet. They agreed that Farley is a godsend who’s
there whenever needed.
“I am very surprised and honored to be the Volunteer of the Year,” said
Farley. “The kids are fun to work with and the teachers are wonderful.”
NAS Keflavik American Red Cross Station Manager Michael Patton pre-
sented Good Neighbor Awards to NAS Supply Department and Naval
Computer and Telecommunications Station for supporting the non-prof-
it organization.
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