OSEU Four: Vernon Ashley– Son of His Gray Horses

My name is…my Christian name is Vernon L. Ashley. I am the son of Toshiko Haykota. His Gray Horses is my father's name. That's his original name. And I was born in January 15th, 1916, on the Crow Creek Reservation at the mouth of Wolf Creek. And if you drive towards from Fort Thompson towards Chamberlain, you'll see a pointed bank. I was born about 150 yards north of there, right along the edge of the river. And I was born at a time when there was no electricity, no running water, no indoor bathrooms and no television, limited radio. And we had a battery operated radio. And there were big dry cell batteries. And my father didn't want us to use the radio to listen to the news and listen to WNAX of Yankton and. But that was life. So I'm still here at 97 years old. And my next birthday I'll be 98 and thankful to God that I'm healthy.