Everyone has a Beginning

Everyone has a Beginning. . Charles Badger Clark was born on January 1, 1883, in Albia, Iowa. His father was a Methodist minister, and his mother was of Quaker faith. This family heritage created close ties, and their home was a hub of activities. Badger stated, "There was never any lack of laughter at our house, and I am still suspicious of any religion which makes its possessor grim or gloomy." , Charles preferred his middle name of Badger. This was not in relation to the animal; it came from his father's maternal grandmother's family name. , Close Families are Also Diverse , At three months of age, Badger and his family moved from Iowa to the Dakota Territory (near present day Plankinton, South Dakota).The Charks moved a few more times, ending their journey in 1898 at roaring gold camp of Deadwood. Badger graduated trom Deadwood High School in 1902 before attending Dakota Wesleyan College in Mitchell for one year. , The Cowboys Prayer , Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow I love creation batter as it stood That day You finished it so long ago And looked upon Your work and called it good I know that others find You in the light That's sifted down through tinted window panes, And yet I seem to feel You near tonight In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains , I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well, That You have made my freedom so complete; That I'm no slave of whistle, clock or bell, Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street Just let me live my life as I've begun And give me work that's open to the sky, Make me a pardner of the wind and sun, And I won task a life that's soft or high. , Let me be easy on the man that's down; Let me be square and generous with all; In careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town, But never let'em Say I'm mean or small! Make me as big and open as the plains, As honest as the hawse between my knees, Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains, Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze! , Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget. You know about the reasons that are hid. You understand the things that gall and fret; You know me better than my mother Just Keep an eye on all that's done and said And right me, sometimes, when I turn aside, And guide me on the long, dim trail ahead That stretches upward toward the Great Divide. , , Captions: , Badger's mother passed away in the fall of 1898, shorty after the family arrived in Deadwood She was a strong woman and took close care of her children. For fifteen-year-old Badger, her passing forever left an emotional scar , Badger described his father in the following way: “He was a man above middle height, had a full black beard which gave him a practical aspect, but which was off-set by kindly crinkles around his eyes.” , Four children graced the Clark family, with Badger being the youngest. His siblings, from oldest to youngest, included Harry, Harriet, and Frederick. , Harriet was born in 1870. She died in 1878 of scarlet fever, five years before the birth of Badger , Fred, the third oldest child, died of tuberculosis in 1894. His parents often considered him to be the brightest of the children, If he had lived, most believe that he would have been the “successful” one