Has anyone ever noticed the two large lion sculptures in town in front of the residence at 106 East Jefferson Street (State Route 571), “The Crawford House”? Most people reading this probably have, but do you know the story behind them? A man from Germantown, Ohio is responsible for them. His name is Homer Bud Kern.

Born June 26, 1900 and he died March 12, 2002 at The Friendly Nursing Home in Germantown, Ohio. He lived in Germantown his whole life and never married. His parents were Thomas and Bertha. He worked at the Germantown Dam when it was under construction after the flood of 1913. He worked at the Buckeye Concrete Company for 21 years and also did construction work to help build homes in Germantown until his retirement.

His recognition started in 1985 when a neighbor went to him and wondered if he could use extra cement he had left over from pouring a sidewalk. It was at that time Homer remembered a mold of a lion that had been in his barn from the 1930s. The maker of the mold was not known. The first casting of the lion he made, which

weighed more than four hundred pounds, was given to his Brother. After that, more and more requests for the lion figures were received from town residents and also from people out of town. When he first began creating the lions he could be seen every day hauling sand in his wheelbarrow from Twin Creek to his home on Mulberry ST. As more and more people wanted the figures, he eventually had to have supplies delivered to him at his home. The mold was retired in 1995 and it is estimated that in the ten years he made them, there were more than 400 of the lion sculptures produced. Germantown, which is in Montgomery County Ohio, is known as “the town with all the lions”, and Homer is known there as “The Lion King” He is buried in the Germantown, Ohio Cemetery