Finally it was time to check out the first customer, then the second customer finished up their shopping and I was finally able to help the other two, when the phone rang and a telemarketing saleslady was wanting to ask me who she needed to talk to about the manager’s accident insurance needs. It was then that I told the man buying the keys that his total was $5.96 plus tax.

I didn’t know any of the four customers by name nor did the telemarketer tell me her name. But as I separated the first customer’s invoice, and completed my first transaction, the customer looked at me straight in the eyes and asked, "Just what does the red t-shirt with the Cherokee Nation seal of Mexico stand for?"

Just for a few seconds, I had to think about what he was asking, because I was thinking about my other customers, answering the phone, and then I remembered that the red t-shirt did indeed have an emblem of the Cherokee Nation of Mexico and then I remembered that I was wearing the same seal on my cap. The man then asked, "Where did you get that cap and t-shirt?"

It was then that I knew that he hadn’t been reading The Town Charter, as I had a fairly descriptive article describing our trip and how the Mexican Cherokees gave the Texas Cherokees the shirts and caps when we went to see the governor of Coahuila.

I knew that I was going to have to do a good job explaining just how I came about getting this red shirt and black cap, because the other customers were now beginning to listen to me tell the man about how the Mexican Government officially recognized the Texas Cherokees as a part of the Mexican Cherokee tribe.

As the time went by, and as I have explained that I didn’t know any of the customers, which is not rare due to all of the building going on around the area, the other customers joined in our conversation.

It was then that the second customer said you mean that the Cherokees are in Mexico too, which brought another addendum to my conversation as I explained that the Texas Chief was slain in 1839 when he was in a battle with a large group of newly arriving folks that considered themselves to be Texans. These new Texans picked up arms and it was then that the tribe of Texas Cherokees became separated; a part of them landed here in Onega and others went on to join other tribes for protection. Many of the Cherokees changed their identity in order to save themselves and their families from the same death as Chief Dewali. Many Cherokees fled to Mexico to save the lives of the few remaining Cherokee descendants.

I could tell that the four men were listening to the conversation and it was then that the second man said, "You know something young man, I am a retired history professor and I taught history for all those many years and that is not in my history books."

My only comment was "You have read a biased chapter or two, because if you had been able to have talked to the four little Indians that were discovered about a half a mile away under the persimmon trees resting and were suddenly shot and killed without them having a chance to pull out their note pad and pencils and give us a recount of the happenings under the persimmon trees and the hardships of survival in a land that was being invaded by profitsharing individuals looking for adventure and money.

The gray-headed man standing by the cash register said that this was very interesting and he was coming back to learn more about my red shirt and black cap with the emblems of Mexico.

By this time there were more people arriving to do their early shopping, and I never got to officially give them my name or get their names, but I was assured that they were all coming back because they would like to know more about local history that has never been written.

The fourth man said that I had better hang up the phone, because I may have another important call waiting. I did tell the fourth man as he was the last to leave the store, that I had personally purchased a "Trail of Tears" book and donated it to the Aubrey Library, and these stories are in this book to be read by history teachers and other students.

Instead of a photo this week, I will share with you what the money looked like at about the time Cherokee Chief Diwali was murdered under a tree in East Texas.