OCTOBER 14, 2014

MASTER POTTER/ELDER AND OLDEST CATAWBA BERTHA GEORGE HARRIS DIED

Born on June 29, 1913, in Lancaster County, South Carolina, Harris lived in neighboring Catawba and York Counties for most of her life. Harris created Catawba pottery and was considered one of the Catawba’s master potters. Catawba pottery is composed of river clay, which is shaped without the use of a potter’s wheel. Bertha died at the age of 101, as the oldest member of the Catawba. She considered her being the oldest as an honor. Harris truly was the “Queen of the Catawbas.”

Sources:
Andrew Dys, “Oldest Catawba Indian had ‘a truly great soul,’” Charlotte Observer, 10/15/2014.  Retrieved 12/4/2023, Oldest Catawba Indian had ‘a truly great soul’ | CharlotteObserver.com (archive.org)
Wikipedia
Photo: Jim Kaftan, National Park Service, 2/22/2014.  Public domain.  Source: Bald Eagles Return to Cuyahoga Valley (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)