Fred Wiser and his mother, Lillian, with a couple of the baskets and village scenes that he makes and sells at the roadside, and also at area powwows. Mr. Wiser is the third generation of his family to make the baskets. A young Native American man by the name of Fred Wiser, 34, of Cedarville, is carrying on the tradition of three generations. Fred makes blueberry baskets for resale.

His grandmother, Angeline Gabow, taught his mother, Lillian Wiser, now 80 years old, to make the baskets and other items such as porcupine quill boxes, made of birch bark, sweet grass, pine cones, and dyed porcupine quills. Mr. Wiser would help his mother and grandmother from the time that he was seven years old. Mrs. Gabow made baskets until she was 92 years old. She passed away when she was 93.

Then his became the family's full time basket maker, and she is proud to tell that one of her baskets is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Wiser started making the baskets full time approximately 12 years ago. They are named "blueberry" because of the design and shape, which is similar to the blueberry itself. These baskets are made with birch bark, sweet grass, button carpet thread, and pine cones.

The birch bark is traditionally collected around the last week of June, when the bark peels and curls. It then is flattened and bundled, weighted down, and stored for future use. The sweet grass is harvested about that time of year, also, and dried by hanging it upside down, tied at the roots. It's hung to dry in the shed until needed.

It takes eight hours to sew the pieces of one basket together, Mr. Wiser said.

He has eight brothers and one sister, and only two of the siblings sew the baskets, the oldest, Russell, and himself.

Mr. Wiser also makes tepees and other miniature village scenes. They are good sellers, he said, and are popular with the younger people who come to see his wares.

He lives across the road from the Cedarville schools, but spends much of his time at the home of his mother in Raco, making the baskets with his mother and brother.