RIDDLE.  What do you get when you put two scoops of vanilla ice cream in a stemmed tulip glass and add butterscotch sauce, chocolate syrup, pecans, whipped cream and a cherry on top?  A TURTLE SUNDAE! A soda jerk at a Chicago Walgreens in l922 made the first modern milkshake when he mixed vanilla ice cream into a chocolate malted milk.  My mother worked as a soda jerk in … [Read more...]

Part two of a series It cost 25 cents to ride the train from Freeburg to Caledonia. The train would pick you up wherever you were. Rural students could take 18-cent rides to high school in Caledonia. The train provided transportation from Caledonia to Little Miami with its the well-water swimming pool and tavern. But that all ended on June 16, 1946.  It was a beautiful, … [Read more...]

By Al Batt I’d started working a summer job at a large factory. I don’t know how many people worked there. The guy who hired me said it was about half.  The day I began working there, I was accompanied by a friend who’d been hired to stack boxes. I ended up with a job requiring a safety helmet, a few basic tools and an industrial shop rag. As we entered our place of … [Read more...]

The closest thing to flying Do you ever just want to do nothing? Can you really DO nothing? Doesn’t the word “do” negate the word, “nothing”? I have an idea for you to try. It’s a great summer activity of doing nothing and you just might like it! I’m going to call it, “the ultimate introverts hangout”! Aka, hammocking. Doing something together, by yourself. There’s … [Read more...]

Part one of a series Birds were singing on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning with healthy crops in the field, according to Margaret Goetzinger. June 16, 1946, was a special day for the family with Alvin Goetzinger’s baby daughter, Joan Kay, having been baptized that morning at Crooked Creek Peace Church.  However, the day became very hot, humid and windy. By late … [Read more...]

The closest thing to flying Do you ever just want to do nothing? Can you really DO nothing? Doesn’t the word “do” negate the word, “nothing”? I have an idea for you to try. It’s a great summer activity of doing nothing and you just might like it! I’m going to call it, “the ultimate introverts hangout”! Aka, hammocking. Doing something together, by yourself. There’s … [Read more...]

It was rush hour in a small town. I waited for the only other moving car to find a parking place and then I parked mine. I was hungry and there was but one eatery open – a bar. I walked in. Hamburgers were being made. There was enough grease in the air that I gained two pounds by inhaling deeply. I ordered a burger. The bartender told me that for an additional $1, I’d get a … [Read more...]