"I missed a lot of the years, the growing years," he said in an interview this week.

But he has tried hard to make up for it by spending time with his two sons, now 39 and 42.

And this evening he will be among 16 men who will receive fatherhood awards from the Father's Day Rally Committee at a reception in North Philadelphia.

"I really feel honored to receive this award," said Yellow Two Horse, who took the name after his brother had a vivid dream about it more than 19 years ago. "I don't think of it as something special I did; it's just another day being a father."

Yellow Two Horse, who was born in Siberia and lived with his family in Germany before settling in Philadelphia, now works with one of his sons, selling crafts at festivals.

"We go away for five days a week," he said. "In the process, we distribute happiness and good feelings to go along with positive attitudes."

The Father's Day committee has honored fathers in Philadelphia for more than a decade.

"This is a prestigious award, especially since fathers are not looked at as major [forces] in African-American families," said Bilal Abdul Qayyum, committee president.

"We are honoring fathers young and old, single, and even a few that are grandfathers," he said.

Also among the recipients will be Chad D. Lassiter, 35, an adjunct professor in the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice.

"I'm extremely elated," said Lassiter, co-founder and president of Black Men at Penn, which seeks to improve the lives of African-Americans in University City.

"Similar to Malcolm X, I do fatherhood by any means necessary, and I don't take responsibility of being a father lightly. It's something I look forward to every day."

Lassiter and his wife, Wanda, care for their two daughters, Kia and Maliakh. Through Black Men at Penn, Lassiter has mentored a number of younger African-American males, many of them fathers, so he has a keen insight into the issue.

"As I get this award, I celebrate the young people who have been fatherless, and thank them for allowing me to be a father figure in their lives," Lassiter said, noting that he and his wife recently cared for three foster children.

"I share it with them, with the great-grandfather and the thousands of youths I have worked with in the past."

Comedian and philanthropist Bill Cosby is the honorary chairman of this year's event.

Among the awardees are Mayor Nutter, former mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr., and Common Pleas Judge John Milton Younge.

Other awardees include novelist and former Daily News reporter Mister Mann Frisby; Guillermo Salas Jr., president and co-founder of the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises; Marc Lamont Hill, a Philadelphia social-justice activist; and Oliver St. Clair Franklin, president of International House, a nonprofit educational and cultural facility.

Qayyum said the committee wants "to put issues of fatherhood on the front burner."

"We are hearing more and more that young fathers are saying that they didn't have a father in their lives, and they don't want to do that to their children," said Qayyum, a grandfather.

"They know they have a responsibility, and now we are also hearing that young men wish they did have a father in their lives."

The awards presentation begins at 6 p.m. at the View, 800 N. Broad St. Tickets are $50.