Part three of a series. Two men had been observed around town making small purchases. One claimed he was working on a model for which he would soon be applying for a patent. In 1870, it was surely common to see non-residents in a town on the heavily-traveled Mississippi River. It was later learned these two men had been staying in a log cabin not far from town – again not … [Read more...]
If I only had a brain with more bran
We didn’t have The Weather Channel. But we still had weather during my formative years. Things have changed. We continue to have weather, but today, The Weather Channel produces it, except for the wind. Wind turbines generate the wind. When I was a clever teenager, I’d noticed that all adults talked about was the weather. I grew up in Minnesota. The weather was a constant … [Read more...]
Fresh off the farm
My real (not “reel”) habit story for 2022 My daughters and I were struggling. Specifically with school attitudes. For three years, I tried all the bells and whistles to make homeschooling more fun, do the energetic “cool teacher” thing, or adapt the assignment. I felt like I was running laps in a three-ring circus – with pom poms. This story wouldn’t make the … [Read more...]
An answer to the eternal question
“Are all men idiots?” That was a challenging question and one with epic consequences. It was my wife who had asked. I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t heard her. I’d just had my ears cleaned. It might have been the first time, although I’d had uncles blow smoke in an ear or two to quell an earache. Fortunately, my ears never became hooked on smoking. The nurse hit each ear canal … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past They bounced their ears off a bang board
A bang board stood upright in a horse-drawn wagon. It was a target for a contestant to hit with an ear of husked corn, so the ear would fall into the wagon without the corn picker having to look at the wagon. He or she could continue looking only at the corn being husked or shucked. In 1940, witnessed by approximately 1,000 spectators, George Reining of Caledonia successfully … [Read more...]
A new year means a new hope
By Pastor Stuart Weist First Baptist Church of Preston Do you like change? Me either, I have always been a man of routine. While working for an engineering firm in my 20s an engineer once told me “The only constant in life is change”. I did not believe him; however I have found his statement to be truer than I ever thought possible. Twenty years ago, I was a kid that … [Read more...]
A little of this, A little of that.
I am a carnivore, not a salad lady. I enjoy salad along with my meat. I guess God and inflation want me to eat less of it. I have been thinking about food much of the time lately, especially about stretching meat. Then I realized I already knew how. My mother and grandmother did it all the time. I wasn’t grocery shopping or cooking at the time so I never noticed. Before I … [Read more...]
A Goodly Heritage
How is your memory? As the old year passes and the new one arrives it is common for us to look back over the events of the past year and reminisce. For some people wonderful things happened, yet for others harsh or tragic experiences occurred. My hope is that the former has brightened your life and been a delight. For those with the severe times of life to recollect, may … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past “Just gravity” and the electrified stool in Black Hammer
The Black Hammer Store, part two The first gasoline pump at the Black Hammer General Store would pump only one gallon at a time. In the store’s second machine, gas was pumped by hand from an underground tank into a tall above-ground, five-gallon glass globe. Whatever amount of gas the customer wanted would be pumped and then be dispensed through a hose into the automobile. “No … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion-I wonder as I wander out under the stars
By Rev. Debra Jene Collum Chatfield United Methodist While the rest of us have been organizing closets, trying new recipes, teaching children online and figuring out ZOOM; all worthy occupations, a team of engineers and scientists have been spending their time during the pandemic getting a new observatory satellite ready to launch into deep space. As you can imagine, it was a … [Read more...]