This book has several subjects. The main one is about the long history of man's efforts to reduce livestock losses involving coyotes. The evolution of thinking and the influence of a educational program in Kansas brought about changes and resulted in the work of one man that helped change the thinking nation wide. The book also is about the lives of Karen Lee (Hollinger) and F. Robert Henderson. Their marriage has spanned more than 58 years. The book contains stories of happenings along the way. Our storied past in South Dakota, includes historical details of the most endangered mammal species in North America; the Black-footed Ferret. The book, also, contains a Kansas historical information about 4-H and other youth eduction programs about ecology and the environment. First of their kind in the Great Plains.

F. Robert Henderson has had an improbable life. He was born in Texas in 1933. His parents were both born in Kansas. At the age of eight, his father and mother split up. He grew up under his mother’s care. He attended college and received a Master’s Degree in Botany and Zoology from Fort Hays Kansas State University. He attended the University of Kansas where in 1960 a book he wrote was published by the Kansas State Biological Survey, entitled “Beaver in Kansas”. From 1961-1968, he worked as a Field Biologist for the state wildlife agency in South Dakota. During that time he wrote several articles in scientific journals, the most important being the results of the first study of Black-footed Ferrets in the wild, this animal is one of the rarest mammals in North America. In a research study he trapped and banded more than 10 thousand sharp-tailed grouse. More grouse that has ever been studied before. And during the study found a new method of determining the sex of these grouse. From June of 1968 until 1996 he was promoted from Assistant Professor to Professor at Kansas State University, where he received many awards for his work as Extension Specialist in helping people cope with conflicts involving wild animals. He became recognized as a national expert in preventing coyote damage to livestock. Many agencies and groups have honored him for his work. Among these awards include: Meritorious Service USDA Award for Outstanding Extension Work; USDA and Kansas State University Awards for Extraordinary Leadership in Kansas, the Great Plains and nationally for the development of educational programs; and the Great Plains Agriculture Council’s Outstanding Service Award in 1993. F. Robert Henderson did not accomplish these things without a lot of help and understanding and encouragement. F. Robert is grateful for the exceptional support of Karen, his wife and children, Tammy and Todd as well as numerous farmers, ranchers, hunters, colleagues and research associates. As a diversion from the stress of his work, in 1978, F. Robert Henderson began to study his roots, especially on the Henderson side of his family. At that time his late father, Frank Paul Henderson did not know who his second great grandfather was, or even, much about family history from that time back. Together, F. Robert Henderson and his father worked together to gather facts about their ancestors. This book is a result of that study.

This book traces the history of our Maninger family from 1600s Germany to present day America. It contains historical stories and first-person accounts of family events. There's also extensive family tree information on the Maningers and related families. The book is the result of dedicated research and cooperation by several Maninger descendants. Since the 1600s, generations of our Maningers lived in and around the village of Dittwar, Germany. It's a village in a side valley of the Tauber River southwest of Würzburg, Germany. The farms and vineyards sustained the Maningers for generations. By the mid-1800s, economic and military factors contributed to emigration from Europe to the Western Hemisphere. In 1854, Valentine Maninger left Dittwar for America, settling in central Illinois. He plied his trade as a shoemaker, then became a farmer. In Illinois, Valentine met and married Magdalena Smith Neuhauser. Magdalena's family had come from Alsace Lorraine , and had close ties with neighboring families. Those related families lived, worked, married, and worshipped together. In the 1880s, the families moved west together, to Harper County, Kansas. Valentine Maninger's descendants established farms and jobs and businesses in Harper. In the 20th century, succeeding generations found opportunity and work away from Harper. Today the Maninger descendants are widespread.

A family history primarily of the descendants of German immigrant Valentine Damien Maninger, who arrived in the United States some time in the 1850s. He married Magdalina Smith Newhauser of Gridley, Illinois, in 1867 and lived in Harper, Kansas.