Youngest NASC volunteer best friends with the oldest

By Mandy Catoe

August 13, 2017

Jake Catoe has only lived 10 years, but he has an old soul. 

Mr. Henry & Jake

He appreciates old things and what they’ve been through. He treasures Native American history, museums, real books and older people. He is particularly fond of retired schoolteacher Henry Shute, 75, who seems to love all the same things.
On Thursday evenings, Jake works in the archaeology lab at the Native American Studies Center on Main Street with about a dozen adults from their 30s to their 70s. Shute is the longest-serving NASC volunteer, having started on opening day in 2012. Jake is the youngest.

Last month, Jake heard that Carol Shute, Henry’s wife, had donated $500 to the center’s endowment fund in her husband’s honor. And she added a $500 challenge. If another person donated that amount, she would match it.
Jake collected $505 in four days. Almost half of that was loose change he grabbed from all the vehicles in his extended family. He delivered a wad of bills and 14 pounds of coins in a giant plastic tub that once held 1,000 cheese puffs.

Shute, Jake, and Chris Judge

“I really like the Native American Studies Center,” Jake explained. “It’s important to us, and I think that it is important to the community and all the people that go there. And I would like see it continue on throughout many years.”
When you hear these well-thought-out statements articulated with such precise word choice, it’s easy to forget Jake is just 10.
The only fundraising he had done up to this point was selling doughnuts for Discovery School, where he is a rising fifth grader. That was more like a trade – doughnuts for money. But this, money for a cause, is a harder sale.
When quizzed about his method, he simply said, “I just asked.”
1st visit to NASC
Jake first glimpsed the archaeology lab two years ago when his teacher, Billie Morrison, took the Discovery School third grade class to the NASC for a field trip. She was not surprised that Jake felt at home there.
“He is a minature Einstein in the rough,” she said. “His hero is Leonardo DaVinci.”
She praised his skills of whittling and flint knapping, which is shaping stone into tools or weapons. She also commended his persistence.
“Once he finds what is needed, he figures out a way to make that happen,” she said.
Like DaVinci, Jake has a sketch book filled with future inventions.
Jake’s mother, Stacy Catoe, says he instantly bonded with “Mr. Henry,” one of the oldest NASC members. They were kindred spirits, three generations apart, with lots of parallel interests.
“Jake is really into archaeology, paleontology, rocks and dirt and all that good stuff,” his mom said.  
Shute has been fascinated with Native American history since he was a young boy. He taught himself how to make arrowheads, bows and arrows, and spearheads. And now he teaches those things to Jake.
“He is funny, catches on to anything you show him, and everything about him is positive,” Shute said. “I taught him how to make arrowheads, and we made arrows together the way the Indians did.”
The affection is returned by Jake and his mother, who comes with him to the lab.
“We’ve officially adopted the Shutes as our bonus grandparents,” Catoe said.
Catoe appreciates the time and attention the men at the NASC give to her only child. She said “it makes my mama heart swell” when she sees Shute and NASC assistant director Chris Judge working with Jake.
Last Thursday, Jake and Shute strolled together through the museum filled with Native American artifacts, some donated by Shute from his scuba-diving adventures at Lake Wateree.
Jake pointed out various arrowheads and named the stones used to make them – citrine, rose and crystal quartz. He talked about the color variations in Catawba pottery as he and Shute stopped in front of the display cases.
“The only color that they could control when making pottery was the black,” Jake said. “The clay turns black when exposed to the highest temperature.”

Intellect, kindness
Jake has many interests – weapons since the beginning of civilization, World War II bombers and machine guns, and the list goes on. Adults need smart phones to keep up with him.
If he could buy anything in the world, Jake said, he would buy “ostrich eggs and wildebeest hides to make a shield and canteen like ancient African warriors.”
Besides brainpower, Jake is blessed with intuition and charisma, the people skills often lacking in the extremely bright. As photographs were being made, he insisted on waiting until the last member arrived so everyone would be in the picture. His mom said he once refused to eat after finding out how many kids could not afford hot dogs at the concession stand.
He has a half-dozen close friends from school who share his interests.
Jake’s high cheekbones suggest Native blood runs through his veins. He’s not sure about a genetic link, but either way, he feels a connection with the original Americans.
He’s a natural outdoorsman who makes forts with primitive tools. He taught himself to make pottery from clay he got from his grandma’s pond and has made baskets from straw. He can name every weapon on the wall at the Native American museum and describe hunting methods used to kill deer and mastodons. He said he knows how to hunt, but he refuses to kill.
He loves documentaries on serious things, but recently enjoyed “The Baby Boss,” an animated comedy film.
His mom said when he was born, his father lovingly called him “Chief Flaming Head.” Little did they know how he would grow into that nickname.  
Jake and his mom share a closeness. They frequently hug and she plays with his hair – his “luscious locks” as he calls them. He draws special inspiration from his mom, who has lupus. Jake intends to find a cure for the disease.  

Jake & his mom, Stacy 

The young volunteer archaeologist with shoulder-length blonde hair has a bright future filled with options. He says he might go into archaeology, paleontology, zoology or entomology.
“That’s the study of insects,” Jake said nonchalantly.
“I recently became interested in ants, and I am quite fond of all ants except for cow ants,” Jake said. “And they aren’t really creepy. I’ve held one and even felt its stinger rub against my thumb and I thought, ‘OK, enough of that.’”
Volunteers, donors
Anyone wishing to volunteer can drop by the Native American Studies Center on Main Street anytime between 3 and 7 p.m. Thursdays.
Shute has a warning about the archaeology lab. “It’s contagious. You will just want to keep coming back,” he said.
After a pause, he added, “Jake’s contagious, too.”
Judge said the Native American Studies Endowment Fund supports the center’s operations and programs. The center is nearing the $10,000 minimum required to establish an endowment, but far from what is needed to actually reap the benefits.

USCL Dean Walter Collins thanks Jake for his donation

Jake’s fundraising has inspired other students and faculty to raise the ante in their own efforts. On Oct. 5, the NASC’s fifth anniversary, the new total will be announced. The public is invited to visit the center that day from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
To donate, make checks out to EFUSCL  (Educational Foundation of USC Lancaster). To be sure the donation is properly credited, write Native American Studies or NAS in the memo line. Mail checks to Mary Faile, USCL Office of Development, P.O. Box 889, Lancaster, SC 29721.
Online donations can be made at https://giving.sc.edu/givenow.aspx. Or you can honor Jake and drop loose change in the donation jar at the Native American Studies Center.
Jake said he will be visiting local businesses with the donation jar. So get your spare change ready.

Mr. Henry and Jake at NASC

NASC Volunteers

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