My Daddy-Bernard Simon Balk

Bernard Simon Balk (he hated those initials) was born March 18,1916 in Garfield county Oklahoma. His mother Mildred Grace Rudd made the Run into Oklahoma from Nebraska. She was about 5 years of age and remembered walking alot of the way behind a covered wagon. His father Joseph Peter Balk immigrated to America at age 11 from Bavaria, Germany also made the Run with his father Peter Balk.( There are 2 stories about what happened to Peter-one according to an aunt, he couldn`t get his citizenship during WWI and was deported which is likely and one he went back to Germany to check on property which is unlikely. There wasn`t much money in the Balk home for travel. Dad believed the later one. We do know he was hit by a stray bullet and died wearing several layers of clothing and carrying all his papers.)
Daddy felt the sting of prejudice in his early life when an older sister went to OSU but couldn`t get a teaching job because of her Catholic faith. His family was not without prejudice-they disliked what he called Bohemians and blacks. (Chris don`t feel bad about that last statement. I rebeled and do not carry that particular prejudice). I think he feared he was part black. He had black curly hair and dark complexion. His Aunt Ruth had alot of black characteristics and her son looked just like Daddy.
Education was important to his family attending elementary school in Bison. All 9 siblings graduated H.S. except Lloyd the oldest. He was a rebel and ran off with a circus when he was a teen. Daddy attended public school and when the term was over he attended the local Catholic school for a few weeks as their term ran longer. He preferred Catholic school. He walked 2-3 miles to H.S. in Waukomis. His sisters boarded in town but for some unknown reason he walked. He played basketball and made good grades. He liked to tell the tale of once when Coach took him out of a game he just proceeded to the stands for the remainder of the game. Coach couldn`t find him to put back in.
This is getting long so tune in another day for the rest of the story.