After I found that Holly could take my place in the store, I got busy gathering up a couple of local Cherokees to make the adventurous trip which required only a couple of hours driving down to Lake Waco. I asked Leon Milton and Hoyt Starr if they would like to attend this meeting, so they rearranged their schedules so they could take this trip with me.

We really didn’t have all of the time that we wanted to spend with the tribe; however, we knew that from midmorning till mid-afternoon would be all of the time that we had to spend at the meeting.

Several members from our Northern Towns Tribe were already there and had set up for camping and cooking when we arrived. We found Jackie Walp, our tribe councilwoman, and her husband Doug Walp, our district representative, along with DeWayne Carroll, our tribe treasurer, and Rosia Atherton, our district historian. They directed us to drive on down to their camping spot where they had reserved a handy parking spot for us.

Other local tribes people, to name only a few, that were there were Joe Parkhill, Mike White, Vera and Jim Parkhill and their teenage daughter. Rosia’s sister Edith was also there to extend a warm welcome.

Our Texas Cherokee Chief, D.L. Hicks, with his son Dave and grandson David came to welcome us. Deputy Chief Joe Gentry and his wife Judy were also amongst the welcoming line with many others from other parts of the state. The gathering was well attended by people from various parts of the state of Texas.

While our time was limited, we stayed busy attending the ceremonies that were conducted for the new tribesmen and a ceremony for the women.

A memorable event was when the Chief offered the thanks for the food. A large circle was made, it continued to grow as the people came into the circle from out of the trees from all parts of the camping area. The thanks was prayed in the native Cherokee language. As the Chief prayed a line in Cherokee, he would repeat in English. When the prayer delegate prays, he does not let his top lip touch his bottom lip, and the words in Cherokee are spoken with a very beautiful meaning and expression.

Our Tribe Chief D.L. Hicks has published ten books on Cherokee customs. He is a very interesting and knowledgeable person. He is retired from the U.S. Army, he was involved in interpreting the Cherokee language which kept the enemy confused and unable to know what the American forces were talking about. He possesses Congressional honors for his bravery and leadership during the Korean War. He was injured during his service; he had a bullet wound in his head. His suffering has been great since his injury.

The Chief also holds two PhD degrees in history and one degree in industrial engineering. I have found that when he or his boys speak, they are most certainly worthy of our attention. The Chief has many heirlooms from his Cherokee family, and it is most interesting listening to him tell about his possessions. The younger generations as well as all generations would be honored to listen to the Chief talk while sitting on the plush buffalo hides and poking cedar limbs while gathered around a campfire.

My words cannot tell you everything that I can achieve in such a short while. Our Chief has a nickname of "Pappy" and he has given me the name of "Old Man." I generally laugh back as he is only one year younger than I – he is a 1931 model while I am a 1930 model.

Old News from the 1800's Newspapers – accumulations from my great-grandmother.

On August 3, 1894 – Howard Smith, of Aubrey, was elected County Commissioner of Precinct 1 (He lived around New Hope)

On August 10, 1894 – Levi Martin a farmer of Midlothian claims to have invented a flying machine that will carry people. "I have conquered the law of gravitation, " he said.

On October 26, 1894 – Aubrey went "Wet" last Saturday, October 20, with a vote of 160 for and 140 against local option.

On April 4, 1891 – Miss Ratchford put up a stock of millinery in the Parker Store House.

On October 23, 1891 – Aubrey Baptist church secured the services of Elder E. S. Haynes for the 1^st and 3^rd Sundays.

On December 28, 1892 – Died December 21, 1892 at the Mullins House, May Lybass, age 4, of tonsilitis.