Hank Stock's portfolio

MY FATHER MY FATHER WAS A GENTLE  MAN. HE WAS BORN ON MARCH 19, 1895. HE WAS A MAN OF LITTLE FORMAL EDUCATION. WHEN HE COMPLETED THE SIXTH GRADE HE WALKED AWAY FROM SCHOOL AND NEVER WENT BACK, HE WAS A MAN OF IDEAS AND DREAMS. HE COULD ADD THREE COLUMNS OF NUMBERS IN HIS HEAD WITH SIMPLE EASE. WHEN HE WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD, HE FOUND OUT HE WAS ADOPTED. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE LEARNED THAT HIS MOTHER WAS A FULL BLOOD INDIAN. HIS ADOPTED MOTHER WAS ACTUALLY HIS AUNT. HE WAS ADOPTED TO REPLACE A CHILD THAT SHE HAD, WHO HAD DIED EARLY IN LIFE. HE WAS APPROXIMATLY THE SAME AGE AS THIS DEAD CHILD, SO WHEN HIS FATHER BROUGHT HIM TO CINCINNATI AND ASKED ONE OF HIS SISTER'S TO RAISE THE BOY, THE ONE, WHO HAD LOST HER CHILD, AGREED TO ADOPT HIM....

One of my granddaughters gave me the idea for this article. She asked for some suggestions for a dessert she was making for a Pot-luck dinner with an Indian Theme. When I used to visit schools, one of the first questions I was asked was...What did Indians eat? The Three Sisters (Maize (Corn). Squash, and Beans, were the most commonly grown vegetables for many of the native people. They complimented each other as the bean vines climbed the corn stalks and the squash grew in between the stalks to keep out the weeds. According to many origin stories, they, along with tobacco, were the gift of First Woman (Mother Earth), to her children. They first grew from her body after she was buried. Before the people had to depend on wild plant...

BEFORE COLUMBUS BUMPED INTO THE ISLANDS,  A LARGE VILLAGE STOOD NEAR THE RIVER JUST SOUTH OF PRESENT DAY DAYTON, OHIO. IT WAS THE CULTURAL CENTER FOR SEVERAL VILLAGES AROUND THE AREA. THE VILLAGE WAS SURROUNDED BY A STOCKADE WITH ONE EASILY DEFENDED ENTRY. THERE WERE OTHER SMALL OPENINGS PLACED STRATEGICALLY IN THE WALL. WHEN THE FLOCK OF TURKEYS FEEDING NEARBY SENSED DANGER, THEY WOULD ENTER THE VILLAGE THROUGH THE NEARESY OPENING AND THUS WARN THE PEOPLE FROM WHAT DIRECTION THE DANGER MAY BE COMING. AT ONE END OF THE VILLAGE STOOD THE LARGE COUNCIL HOUSE AND NEARBY STOOD A NUMBER OF POLES. THE LEADERS OF THE VILLAGE MARKED THE CHANGE IN SEASONS AND THE TIME FOR PLANTING AND HARVESTING FROM THE SHADOWS CAST BY THESE POLES. FALL WAS O...

In the Lakota-Sioux Language “KOLA” means Friend. Friends come in many sizes and shapes and at different levels during a life time. Among the Lakota your dearest friends are your relatives and your relatives by choice. Relationship among the people makes it so that everyone is either a relative or a friend. The terms Brother-Friend and Sister-Friend mean just what they say, a close friend, who is like a brother or sister to you One of the things that makes me very sad is that I often cannot remember people's names. In my life I have met many people as a Scout and Scout leader, as a soldier, and when I am telling stories or giving talks about the people. I often see faces that look familiar and so I'll smile at them. I find that s...

DECEMBER 1945..THE WAR IN EUROPE WAS OVER. I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH POINTS TO GO HOME SO I APPLIED FOR LEAVE SPECIFYING LONDON AS MY DESTINATION.  OTHER GUYS TOLD ME TO REQUEST LONDON AND THAT WAY I WOULD GET TO SEE PARIS ON THE WAY. IF THE CHANNEL WAS RUNNING HIGH I MIGHT EVEN GET A FEW MORE DAYS LEAVE. I ARRIVED IN ENGLAND ON DECEMBER 23 AND DID SOME SIGHT SEEING. ON CHRISTMAS EVE I HAD AN EXCELLENT DINNER AND STARTED TO WALK BACK TO MY QUARTERS. I MUST ADMIT, FOR A FELLOW  WHO WAS NEVER HOMESICK, ON THAT NIGHT, I WAS. I DECIDED TO WALK AROUND A BIT BEFORE GOING TO BED. I WANDERED INTO A DARK NEIGHBORHOOD BEFORE I REALIZED I WAS LOST. THE SNOW HAD STARTED TO FALL AGAIN AND I WAS SCARED. I SAW A LIGHT AND HEADED FOR IT. I COULD HEAR MA...

Have you ever driven along a highway, particularly one weaving through the mountains and wondered what kind of trail passed this way a century ago. I remember crossing the desert from Arizona to California and thinking about the settlers moving west. What took us a day must have taken them a week or more. The only water was what they carried with them on the wagons. I think about the thousands, mostly children, who died in the desert. Their graves now lost with the shifting of the sands and the earth. I'm sure their families marked them with a piece of wood or a pile of stones, meaning to come back someday and remove the remains to their new home. Many became so caught up in their new lives that they never came back. Even if they had t...

IT WAS A WARM SUMMER DAY. THE SKY WAS CLEAR EXCEPT FOR A FEW CLOUDS MAKING SHAPES IN THE SKY. BELOW A STREAM FLOWS GENTLY TO THE RIVER. POPULAR TREES  GROW ALONG THE BANKS. A GENTLE SLOPE RISES TO A MEADOW, HERE STANDS A GREAT OAK TREE, FILLED WITH BUSY BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS. ON THE RISE LOOKING WEST ACROSS THE STREAM ARE TWO MEN . ONE WEARS THE UNIFORM OF UNION COLONEL. HE SITS ON A BEAUTIFUL ROAN STALLION. THE OTHER IS A LAKOTA LEADER. HE IS DRESSED IN BUCKSKINS DECORATED WITH PORCUPINE QUILLS AND TRADE BEADS.  HE WEARS THE EAGLE BONNET OF A GREAT WARRIOR. HIS MOUNT IS A BROWN AND WHITE PINTO MARE. THEY HAVE COME HERE TO BEGIN A JOURNEY. A JOURNEY THAT WILL TAKE THEM ACROSS THE STREAM AND INTO THE MIST FORMING ON THE OTHER SIDE. THE...