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Longhouse Blog Posts by the Chief

Chief's Letter - November 2011	12/6/2011

I am excited to have the opportunity to be the Chief of the great Crooked River Longhouse for this upcoming season. This program has meant a lot to my family. I am starting my sixth year in the program with Eric “Lightning Bolt” and my third year with Ally “Sunset”. Between Eric, Ally and me, we have definitely created memories that will last three lifetimes! I look forward to working with an outstanding group of officers who work hard to make sure the program creates opportunities for parents to have fun with their children. It takes a lot of work to make sure events are planned, patches are designed, finances are accounted for, and the families in the Longhouse are kept in the loop through our websites and the Smokes. The officers deserve a lot of credit for their hard work towards the goal of making sure that our kids have fun at events. One of my goals for 2012 as the Longhouse Chief is to rebuild the Pathfinders Tribe. The goal of the Pathfinders Tribe is to give older children (fifth grade and older) a chance to stay in the program and participate in activities and events that are designed for their age group. A group of us will be creating an Event Calendar for Pathfinders. I want to thank our outgoing Chief, Eric “Little Hawk” Hustak, for doing an excellent job running the Longhouse over the last year. I look forward to him becoming one of our Sachems and also assuming the role of Ceremonial Chief. We had some great ceremonies and stories at camps this past year and we can expect even more in the year ahead. Nunway! Mike "Thunder Cloud" Sobera Longhouse Chief

Chief's Letter - September/October 2011	10/11/2011

Well, autumn has finally arrived and the kids are back into the swing-of-things in school. Time to check-in with the Crooked River Longhouse. It’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me, but it’s been a busy few months, especially for the Longhouse. In addition to all the school open houses, the Longhouse held seven of our own open houses. Thanks to all who helped make it happen! Now, let’s do a quick August and September event recap: August 18 – Olmsted Falls Heritage Days Parade – This was the final parade of the summer season. Despite the rain that fell before the parade stepped off and we had a strong showing a great march. August 21 – Canoeing at Mohican – Always a fun event and some of our older members made sure that it was a wet event. Good stuff! September 10 – Golf Outing at Emerald Woods – A week of rain caused us to postpone the outing to October 8. September 30 – October 2 – Pilgrim Hills Camp-Out – The rain wasn’t bad, but it was enough to make for a soggy weekend, but it wasn’t enough to slow down the 72 campers. Read more about Pilgrim Hills in article a few pages ahead. I’m noticing a lot of water in August and September! Lot’s of great events coming up in October and the beginning of November. I already mentioned the rescheduled golf outing on October 8. Next on the list is the Fall Festival. This is a family event so all are encourage to come! The Fall Fest is Saturday, October 22, 11am-2pm at Royalview Shelter in the Metroparks. Plenty of fun with lots of games, crafts and food! Saturday, November 5 is the Induction Ceremony. The ceremony will be a Redwing Cabin at Hickley Lake with lunch starting at 12 noon and the ceremony starting promptly at 1pm. This is where we induct our new Longhouse Chief, Mike “Thunder Cloud” Sobera, as well as the other new officers. It is also time for the white feather ceremony for our new members. This is where the parents and kids make a pledge to each other to have fun! On November 12, Crooked River will be participating in a program called Yard Charge. This is a program in Strongsville where groups of 10-20 people go out and rake the lawns of seniors. This is a HUGE opportunity for the Longhouse to do some good for the community and promote the group at the same time! Check out the flyer in this month’s Smokes for more details! REMINDER: Our next Longhouse meeting is Monday, November 7 at 7pm at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk “Pal Always, Friends Forever” "Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them.” ~ Richard L. Evans

Chief's Letter - July/August 2011	8/23/2011

Where did the summer go?! I swear it was right here a second ago. Boy did the summer fly by and what a scorcher it was! But you don’t have to shovel heat and humidity. I hope all of my Native Sons and Daughters and their families had a very happy and safe summer. Don’t forget to hold your tribal meetings. If you’d like me to attend a tribal meeting, just give me a call or send me an email and I’ll see what I can do about making it to your tribal meeting. Now it’s back to school! J As the summer winds down, let’s recap the busy months of June and July. June 4 – Sleepover at the Akron Zoo --- Super fun! The kids enjoyed sleeping with the jellyfish, meeting some of the zoo’s animals and even painting boxes which were given to the jaguars to play with. June 24 – Middleburg Hts. Parade --- Great start off to the long parade season. Parades are important recruiting tools so it’s always good to see people there. June 25 – Fishing Derby --- Lots of fun had by all who attended. It seems like the Longhouse made a new friend in Izaak Walton League in Medina. July 3 – Berea Grindstone Festival Parade --- This was a hot one, but thanks to the brave souls who were there to march. Even more exciting news is that the Crooked River Longhouse won “Best Group” in the parade. Congratulations and thanks to all who marched! July 16 – Champs Swim Meet Fundraiser --- Always a super time! This event is extremely important to the Longhouse for two big reasons: 1.) Its an opportunity for us to get our name out and recruit members, and 2.) It’s a great fundraiser! This year we raised over $1,300! Thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help. And a huge NUNWAY to Jay Hader and his family for all the work they put in to make the event happen! July 20 – Strongsville Homecoming Parade --- What a hot one it was!! Thank you to the dedicated souls who came out in the heat to march down the scorching blacktop. July 29 – Tent Camping at East Harbor State Park --- If you missed this camp, you missed a good one. The rain stayed away and the sun shined bright. Corn roast, burgers, dogs, pancakes, sausage all provided by the Longhouse. Beware of purple gorillas! Love the tent camps! WHEW! I told you it was a busy few months! Lots of good things coming up too! Olmsted Falls Heritage Days Parade on Thursday, 8/18, Canoing at Mohican, Sunday, 8/21, Golf Outing, Saturday, 9/10 and Pilgrim Hills Camp, Friday-Sunday, September 30-October 2. August and September is when the Longhouse kicks into recruiting mode. You should have received an email about the upcoming open-houses. Please consider signing up for just one! Word-of-mouth is also an extremely helpful tool for recruiting. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Tell that person with the small child standing behind you in the grocery store. This is how we help other parents and children learn about sharing the same memories you share with your son and/or daughter. Be sure to try to attend the Pilgrim Hill camp-out. This is going to be an extremely exciting camp-out and you’re not going to want to miss it! Lots of fun things to do, including special guests and a not-to-be-missed council fire. I assure you, you’ll regret not being there! REMINDER: Our next Longhouse meeting is Wednesday, August 31 at 7pm at the Berea Library. This is the September meeting; however the date was moved, due to Labor Day being the first Monday of September and conflicts with multiple school open houses. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk

Chief's Letter - June 2011	7/22/2011

It seems we just skipped over spring and jumped right into summer. That’s okay; you’re never going to hear me complaining that it’s too hot. You don’t have to shovel heat and humidity! With summer, comes sports and vacation. I know we all have packed schedules, but please continue holding your tribe meetings. Tribes are an extremely important part of this organization. I am willing to attend a meeting if you’d like, just give me some advanced notice and I see what I can do about making it to a tribal meeting. Also with the summer brings along parade season. We have four parades coming up this summer. The first is on June 24 in Middleburgh Heights and quickly followed by the Berea Grindstone Festival parade on Sunday, July 3. Parades are loads of fun, not to mention they are an excellent recruiting tool for the Longhouse. Please try to march in as many of the parades as possible. Be sure to wear your yellow Crooked River shirts, as well as your vests. And parades are family events, so we encourage all family members to join us. The bigger our presence the better we look! Also coming up in June is our Fishing Derby on Saturday, June 25. The derby will be held from 1-3pm at Izaak Walton League in Medina. The Longhouse will be providing a lunch and some great prizes. C’mon out and enjoy the summer and a little bit of fishing! REMINDER our next Longhouse meeting, Monday, June 27 at 7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. This is the July meeting; however the date was moved, since July 4 was the first Monday of the month. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk

Chief's Letter - May 2011	4/29/2011

The tribe is an extremely important part of this organization. I know we’re all busy, but I hope we are still holding tribe meetings. Meetings don’t always have to be at a home. Go to the park, McDonalds, the rec center, anywhere and share your meeting experience with the Longhouse by submitting an article and pictures to our Smokes Chief. Sharing your tribal event gives other tribes ideas. Have some tribal pride too! Spend some time as a tribe creating a tribal banner for display at events or, design a tribal patch or t-shirt. There so many things you can do to show your pride. I’m sorry I missed the Mini-Car races, but I heard that it was an awesome time! Thanks to all who made the event possible! Congratulations to all the racers --- you’re all winners! A special congratulations to Rachel Ramirez for her award winning patch design! Oh and before I forget, I’ve officially disqualified the Walston family from the races next year. The weekend of May 13-15, Asst Longhouse Chief Mike Sobera and I will be attending the Great Lakes Regional Advisory Lodge and the National Longhouse meetings. Let me know if there is something you want an answer to or an idea you want to share. Call or email me. May 14, we will be having a tour of the Strongsville Police Station & a gun safety program. All children who attend will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a pellet gun of their own. And let’s not forget, pizza and pop! This should be a really good time. June 4 takes us to the Akron Zoo Sleepover. Zoo sleepovers are lots of fun and only come around every few years. Don’t delay! Space is limited and who knows when this event will be on the event schedule again. You should have received an email with a link to a survey about the Crooked River Longhouse. Let us know how the Longhouse is doing. The survey is completely anonymous so I ask you to be completely honest. This is your Longhouse so share your thoughts and feelings Come on out to our next Longhouse meeting, June 6 at 7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk “Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” ~ Dr. Haim Ginott

Chief's Letter - April 2011	4/14/2011

They say that April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers brings? Pilgrims of course! LOL! I apologize for that terrible pun. It was completely unacceptable and it will never happen again. We had another great month of events. We already talked about Family Bowling on March 5 that brought nearly 100 bowlers to Brookgate Lanes. That was followed up by with two dozen members scaling the rock walls of Kendall Cliffs on March 19. And April 1 was no day for fools, but it was a day for Lake Erie Monsters Hockey where forty members invaded The Q to enjoy some $1 hot dogs and pops as well as open skate after the game. April will keep rolling with our annual Mini-Car races on Saturday, April 9 is. The practice track will be set-up for racing on Friday and the official scales and the measuring box will be available. Come on out on Friday and test the cars and make any final adjustments! This is a great time and we encourage you to invite your friends and family to come and enjoy the races. Looking ahead to May, we will be having a tour of the Strongsville Police Station & a gun safety program on May 14. All children who attend will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a pellet gun of their own. The weekend of May 13-15 will be the Great Lakes Regional Advisory Lodge and the National Longhouse meetings which I will be attending. If there is anything that you would like addressed, please call or email me and I will be more than happy to address your concern. As I mentioned last month, you will be receiving an email with a link to a survey about the Crooked River Longhouse. Please take a few moments to fill it out and let us know how the Longhouse is doing. What you like. What you don’t like. What we can do better. What kind of events would you like to see on the schedule next year. The survey will be completely anonymous so I ask you to be honest. Come on out to our next Longhouse meeting, May 2 at 7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk

Chief's Letter - March 2011	4/14/2011

March is certainly coming in like a lion, albeit a confused lion. It’s snowing, then it’s raining, then it’s sunny, then it’s snowing again, then it’s sunny again. Welcome to Cleveland! With the weather struggling with its identity, we need to take special care of ourselves in order to avoid the nasty flu bugs and strep throat that’s running rampant. Be s ure to Cleveland, but doesn’t mean we break out the shorts and flip February brought the Longhouse the ever-popular Camp Fitch! While mother- -flops.nature didn’t cooperate quite as well as she did with providing snow like Camp Y- Noah, this didn’t slow down our campers. Plenty of other activities and crafts kept everybody busy all weekend long. Lots of great skits at the council fire and the Great Toilet Paper Spirit even followed us to Fitch! And a big shout out to my Officers who helped exorcise the evil spirits from the silly string cans at the council fire. Family Bowling continues to maintain its popularity. On March 5, nearly 100 bowlers invaded Brookgate Lanes for a fun-filled after with the tribe mates and family. Keep it rolling! More great events are coming! March 19 brings us to Kendall Cliffs for rock-wall climbing. This is limited to 30 climbers so sign-up quickly. April 1 is a Lake Erie Monsters hockey game --- it is also dollar dog night and open skate after the game. Friends and family are welcome at this event. Saturday, April 9 is our annual Mini-Car races. The practice track will be set-up on Friday, so keep watch for availability to come and test the cars and make any final tweaks! If you still need one, kits can be purchased for $18 up until the April Longhouse meeting on April 4. And see the flyer on the recently added Strongsville Police Station tour and gun safety event on May 14. We’re still looking for some sponsorship help with mailing our Smokes to members’ homes. If you have a small business or know somebody who can help us cover some postage and printing costs, please contact me at ehustak@wowway.com Contributions are tax deductable. Within the next few weeks, you will be receiving an email with a link to a survey. Please take a few moments to fill it out and let us know how the Longhouse is doing and what we can do to make things better for you. Come join us at our next Longhouse meeting, April 4 at 7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. I am offering 10 honor tribe points to every tr . For the contribution, we will publish an ad in the Smokes as well as our website.ibal chief that brings a member to the April meeting that hasn’t been to a past meeting. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk get proper rest, eat healthy foods, and dress appropriately. I know 50 degrees in March is like a heat wave in

Chief's Letter - February 2011

4/14/2011

Greetings Members of the great Crooked River Longhouse! First off, Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers on their Super Bowl XLV victory! Well played Pack!

We started off 2011 with a couple great events. Many of our new and existing members enjoyed Camp Y-Noah in Akron in mid-January. Rumor has it that the Great Toilet Paper Spirit visited some of our tribe members at Y-Noah. Later in the month, well over 100 members and guests conquered the stairs of the Strongsville Chalet Toboggan Chutes. I spoke with a member who said he made the trip 16 times! WOW! That’s gotta be a record!

We’re not going to slow down for February or March. On President’s Day weekend, February brings us the ever-popular Camp Fitch. Fitch is always great for sledding, tubing and many other fantastic events. And, if the weather cooperates and it isn’t too cold, we will be bringing back the outdoor council fire and a torch light parade. Directions on how to make your torch can be found under the Useful Links section at www.crookedriver.org. Of course I expect some great skits, crazy antics and tribal pride at the council fire. Fitch will also host a mini-car workshop. We will call upon the "expertise" of some of our seasoned mini-car veterans to share some of their tricks of the trade with fellow members. Mini-Car Races aren’t until April, but don’t wait until the last minute to get your car kit and start building. Kits can be purchased for $18 at all Longhouse events, at the Longhouse meetings, or by contacting an Officer.

Next is Family Bowling at Brookgate Lanes on March 5. This very popular event has limited availability and sells out

We’re looking for some sponsorship help with mailing our Smokes to members’ homes. If you have a small business or know somebody who can help us cover some postage and printing costs, please contact me at ehustak@wowway.com. For the contribution, we will publish an ad in the Smokes as well as our website. Contributions are tax deductable.

Do you have ideas for a future event? How about a way to make an event better? Interested in volunteering to help out or even running an event? Please feel free to join us at our Longhouse meetings. Meetings are typically the first Monday of every month at 7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. However, locations or dates may change so please check the website, www.crookedriver.org, for updates. You can also friend us on Facebook, Crooked River Local Longhouse, to watch for updates or share your thoughts.

NUNWAY!!!

Chief Little Hawk

every year. Registration deadline is March 1 so don’t wait! See the flyer in this month’s Smokes for more details.

Chief's Letter - January 2011	1/2/2011

Can you believe it --- its 2011 already! It seems like only yesterday we were stockpiling our basements with extra food, water and batteries in preparation for the dread Y2K. It’s amazing how fast time flies, which is why we all need to take time to enjoy our children. They grow up way too quickly. We have a great start to our new year with Camp Y-Noah and Tobogganing on the schedule. Camp Y-Noah makes its return this year on January 14-16. This is Martin Luther King Jr weekend which is great because the kids will be off school on Monday to give them time to recover from the fun-packed weekend. Y-Noah is a fantastic camp, especially for our newer members. It’s a short drove down I-77 in Akron which is great for homesick campers. There will be many activities, crafts and sledding if the weather permits. I may regret saying this, but ‘pray for snow.’ Also, weather permitting; we will be having a torch light parade and outdoor council fire. I expect to see lots of great skits and a showing of tribal pride! Directions on how to make your torch can be found under the Useful Links section at www.crookedriver.org. Tobogganing at the Strongsville Chalet closes out the month on January 29. From 8-11am, the Crooked River Longhouse will have the chutes all to themselves. There will be piles of donuts and bagels as well as hot chocolate and coffee for all to enjoy. This is also a family & friends event. Bring a friend and encourage them to join the Longhouse. If they join, their tobogganing is free! Our Longhouse meetings are always at 7pm on the first Monday of the month at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. It is important for the Longhouse to have a representative from all tribes attend the meeting. Make it a tribal outing! I hope to see your child participate and grow at the many great adventures in 2011! Wishing you health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year. NUNWAY!!! Chief Little Hawk Children Children are the ultimate gift to two people who love each other and the ultimate inconvenience to parents that don't. There is no bigger responsibility, and yet a relationship with a child can bear the greatest rewards. Children intuitively know when they are wanted and when they are not. The way that they raised from the cradle will affect the people they will become. There is a famous saying that children spell love T-I-M-E. There may be many compelling reasons why you cannot be with your children, but none of them can replace time. It is gone forever.

Chief's Letter - December 2010	12/4/2010

Let me start out by saying that it is an incredible privilege and honor to be speaking to you as the Crooked River Longhouse Chief. This will be my fifth year in the program --- fifth year with my son Greagory “Running Rabbit” as part of the Yellow Knives tribe and second year with my son Liam “Thundering Buffalo” as part of the Mohegan tribe. The three of us have shared some awesome experiences over these past few years and I hope that I can continue with helping you create some long-lasting memories and fun-filled times with your children. I want to extend a huge welcome to our new and returning members. For the second year in a row, we held our Induction and White Feather Ceremony outside. While the weather wasn’t exactly the warmest, the Great Spirit did smile upon us by holding the rain clouds back and even letting the sun peak through the clouds every once in awhile. There were many people who helped to make the Ceremony a big success, but I would like to send a special thank you to our outgoing Chief and new Sachem - Anthony “Bald Eagle” Granata, my Assistant and Membership Chief – Mike “Thunder Cloud” Sobera, and our Ceremonial Chief – Mark “Broken Arrow” Lisi. These guys really helped make the Ceremony very special and memorable for me. Thank you! Hopefully, you were able to make it out to the Family Roller Skating event on November 20. If not, we have some great upcoming adventures in January including Camp Y-Noah on January 14-16 and Tobogganing at the Strongsville Chalet on January 29. Please check the website frequently (www.crookedriver.org) and watch your emails for updates about upcoming events. If you haven’t done so already, please join our Facebook page --- Crooked River Local Longhouse. We will be using this to communicate upcoming events or any last minute changes. It’s also a great way for you to share your experiences. A quick note, our Longhouse meetings are held the first Monday of every month at 7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Strongsville. It is very important for every tribe to be represented at these meeting to hear about upcoming events, various announcements, and to share their thoughts and suggestions. The Longhouse meeting is open to members and ALL are encouraged to attend. Finally, on behalf of my family and the Crooked River Longhouse, I would like to extend to you and yours a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! May your entire Holiday Season be filled with joy and peace! NUNWAY!!!!! Chief Little Hawk (Eric Hustak) One Hundred Years from now (excerpt from "Within My Power" by Forest Witcraft) One Hundred Years from now It will not matter What kind of car I drove, What kind of house I lived in, How much money was in my bank account Nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child.

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