A tribute to my father...
The story of my shop, but first a little bit of history...
The group of Native Americans known as the Comanche dominated the American plains for hundreds of years and had a particularity strong presence on the open grasslands of Texas. Ten Bears was one of the last great chiefs of the Comanche and is widely known for his address to William Tecumseh Sherman in October 1867. Within this address, Ten Bears asserted his beliefs about the encroachment of settlers as well as his desire to maintain lands and traditions which had been the way of life for the Comanche for hundreds of years.
So, what and why does this have anything to do with my ETSY shop? The name is a tribute to my late father. My father was an amateur historian with a passion for Native American, Hispanic, and War time history. As a child, I remember many times hearing stories about the past. As a youth I was not particularity interested but life is not without its irony. I myself have become a history teacher in South Texas. My father retired in 1995, he then created a hobby business recreating functional Native American weaponry and ceremonial items. He called his hobby business Ten Bears Outpost. I remember asking him why, of all the other great chiefs, why Ten Bears? He said that the Comanche were known for their skills in battle and war but Ten Bears had something special. While a great warrior, history remembers more about his diplomacy rather than his combat skills. This is a bit of a contradiction with common understandings of Comanche traditions. He would tell me that, "picking a fight is easy, but having a good reason to fight is hard."
My skills as a carpenter are learned from my grandfather, who spent most of his life in various wood working occupations throughout South Texas. He is a master carpenter who has forgotten more about woodworking then I may ever know. To this very day I still revere him for his skill, and am still learning from his vast knowledge and life experiences.
Finally a little bit about me. I am a third generation American Hispanic, born in South Texas. I grew up in a small simple town outside of San Antonio. I spent my early to mid 20's in the U.S. Air Force stationed mostly in Montana. After my enlistment, I spent my late 20's in Corpus Christi TX, where I attended graduate school working towards my teaching license. Currently I am in my mid 30's teaching advanced Macroeconomics and Military History North East San Antonio.
