Sorted by date Results 626 - 650 of 1215
My mother had gone to her mother’s for a month-long visit, leaving my father, brother and myself alone to fend for ourselves. I was in charge of the kitchen and all the meal preparation, well at least dinner. I had recently started dating the man (really a boy) who would become my husband, I decided it was a good time to showcase my cooking skills. I invited him and planned the meal. It was nothing fancy, just a meat and potato supper but I knew from our dates that my guest liked desserts, apple pie in particular. We had an old apple tree in t...
Presenting biblical answers to tough questions Q: How should I pray about my cancer as a Christian? A: Let’s start by asking what we want out of our prayer. Is there a specific outcome to your situation that you want (i.e. healing from cancer)? Are we seeking inner peace and wellbeing? Or do we simply want God to show up in our lives? There is no right or wrong answer here, the specific desire will simply determine the approach we take in our prayer. Take a moment to clearly determine your desire. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting...
I’m not sure this first story should be printed, but I haven’t seen an event quite like this before, so please excuse me for passing this on. Nancy and I had a good laugh last week on our annual visit to the Veterans Clinic in Grand Island. No, this had nothing to do with anything medical. We always arrive early in the day to have our blood tests, and then grab a little of something to eat as we wait to see the doctor. Now, as a reminder, I’m guessing most of you know that most all government buildings of any size usually put pictures of the P...
We country folks don’t seem to have much trouble in locating our country destinations but for our urban guests, they often have problems. I understand why. The urban travelers are used to street signs and house numbers. It wasn’t until a few years ago the rural counties began naming rural roads. In order to receive rural mail delivery, each mail box has to be numbered. The numbers are not placed on the residence but on the mail box. When you are telling someone where you live, you tell them what style your house is, the color it’s painted, and...
From our vantage point it appears efforts to control property taxes and hold down governmental subdivision taxing are having the opposite effect. In recent days this writer received multiple envelopes from Jewell County each containing at least two legal size sheets of paper and one letter-sized sheet advising in March of 2021 the Kansas Legislature had passed a bill establishing limitations on ad valorem property tax levies. If the taxing authority wants to exceed those limits, a public hearing must now be held and a printed notice of when...
I’ve been having lots of “feelings” lately, and I don’t like it one bit! Feeling number one, sadness. Today I pulled the plug on summer. I don’t know why, but that’s how I feel every time I drain the pool. This year felt different, though, maybe because the reason I’ve filled it every year is because my son is leaving home and spreading his wings in less than a week. I know that’s how it’s supposed to work, but I’m still not crazy about the idea. Feeling number two, rage. I’ve been on a killing spree. There are so many stinking flies in my...
I enjoy passing along little bits of information I find interesting and hope someone else does as well. Reading the Sunday paper of the Lincoln Journal-Star, I read a story about the city of Omaha using “goats” to clear an area near the Missouri River of brush and weeds. It was an interesting little story and presented to the readers as something quite different and unique. This isn’t to criticize the writer, or the story, but using goats to clear land is not new, nor unique. Goats have been used for years for such tasks and continue to be so...
Piano playing is not for sissies! Knowing how to play the piano can be rewarding, a commitment, a challenge and comforting. Now taking piano lessons in order to learn now to play the piano can be time consuming with hours of practicing. It takes dedication, and at times, it can be down right frustrating. It takes years of lessons to accomplish what a student strives for. Yet, as a pianist and a piano teacher, I am thankful I managed to stick with it. When visiting with others who had taken lessons and decided to quit, they shared they...
One of the historical columns in this issue contains an item about a team of mules running away with a sickle bar mower. It apparently was a rough ride and the farmer operating the mower was thrown from the machine. The original story doesn't say if the farmer yelled at the mules to stop but it does report the mules stopped when they realized the farmer had fallen off the mower. Had I been driving the team, I suspect I would have had a few words for the mules. Sunday afternoon I was sitting at a...
Q: Who chose and compiled the books of the Bible? A: The simplest way to explain how we got the Bible is to say the 66 books that make up the Protestant Bible were inspired by God and then recognized by believers; first by Jewish believers in Old Testament times and finally by the early Church. Books of the Old Testament were verified by the miraculous works God did through the writers, by supernatural predictions which came to pass, and by conformity to books previously accepted (i.e. the psalms match the teachings found in...
Events of the past week have turned my thoughts to things medical. First of all, I ran across a card many folks would call a “Get Well Card.” I never cared for that title, but I understood the meaning and appreciate thoughts conveyed in most of them. However, a week or so ago, I came across the perfect card for a person who would not say they are feeling well. I enjoyed it enough that I want to pass it on here. To wit: “Ode to an Unwell Person” “You’re out of sorts and feeling bad, You’re quite the opposite of glad. You’re Achy, groggy, d...
The two hottest days of the year are the Nuckolls County Horse Show and Oregon Trail Day. Saturday was no different, yet hundreds of people turned out to take the tour in Oak and enjoy a day of history. More than 200 carloads braved the heat and the dust to see the Oregon Trail Re-Enactments. I was so happy that our youngest, Nicholas, could join us this year. He said it was fun and enjoyed it but would have enjoyed it more if it had been 70 degrees instead of a thousand! The daytime Emmy goes to Nicky! LOL! After the tour, we sat in the park,...
As Elvis Presley sang in one of his hit songs, “I’m All Shook Up,” that is how many of us in northern Jewell County and southern Nuckols County felt a little over a week ago. A rare event happened on July 17, a peaceful Sunday, when an earthquake was felt. Some reported hearing a bang, and then dishes shook, causing people to wonder what was happening. Moments later it was confirmed an earthquake did occur just south of the Kansas-Nebraska line, southwest of Superior. Within two days, another shaking happened. It was a “follow up” earthquak...
I remember when a co-worker brought her pre-school age son with her to work. The youngster was struggling with the concept of time. When he wanted something, he wanted it now. It was hard for him to wait and I quickly tired of telling him repeatedly he would have to wait a specified time only to have him ask again in 5 minutes if the time had passed. We made progress when I learned to describe a delay not in the number of days but instead in a number of sleeps. He didn’t understand when I said Saturday was two days away but he understood it i...
Don’t worry . . . Be happy . . . Don’t know why it took me so long to remember that song. I think it came about in the 1990s. I hope those of you who are of age can remember it. With the melody, it was popular and I think successful. The first verse sets the tone for the song. It was as follows: “Here’s a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note Don’t worry, be happy In every life we have some trouble But when you worry, you make it double” I enjoyed the song when it was released, however, it could maybe be more appropriate...
I have such great neighbors. I had a pile of tree limbs sitting out by the road. It seemed every chance we had to haul them off, it would rain, and we were unable to. One day, after work, I looked out, and the pile was gone. I asked Jacob if he had hauled them off; of course not! LOL! Another neighbor took the giant pile of rocks sitting in the back yard giving me anxiety. Maybe one day, I will get a chance to return the favor, or at the very least pay it forward. Last Wednesday, after delivering papers, I came home to mow the yard. Usually,...
A little trip down memory lane this week. Numbers . . . I may give up watching the national news on TV. It seems that nothing appears on TV news unless it involves many, many people. I guess I can understand that since they cover the world and want to tell their stories to as many people as possible because the event involved so many people. Many local news items involve maybe 10, or 50 people, but that is a ‘big’ event. I guess I’d rather tell the ‘local’ stories, rather than the big stories. Going to Alvin Schott’s graveside services la...
The last couple of weeks are finally catching up to me, and I feel as if I could sleep for a month. I drove to Fort Riley with a friend yesterday to pick up Robert’s vehicle. He flew out on Sunday for another six-week training and wanted me to bring the truck home to get some of the maintenance done that it is in dire need of. I’m not sure if the Army, my son, or myself can seem to keep dates correct, but I could have sworn he left a week and a day earlier than I was previously told. We got to Riley a little after lunchtime. We stopped at the...
National Cousin's Day was observed Sunday. Though I don't often make note of all the National Observances, this time it tugged at my heart. It brought back a lot of cousin memories. A sharing on social media stated, "Cousins are the best of both worlds because they are family and friends at the same time. Even if you're not close anymore, no one will ever understand you or your crazy family like your cousins do!" That is a great description of my cousins! Cousins are the first best friends most...
Monday’s rain was a welcome event. Seldom are there unwelcome July and August rains in these parts. We sometimes have a surplus of rain in the spring or fall but summertime is different. We are more likely to have summer rain shortage. Summer rains are most always welcomed in farm country. As welcome as this week’s rain was, it made a difficult week for this writer. It didn’t rain out a single event I planned to cover. I was able to go wherever I needed to go without getting wet. The rain brightened the countryside, was good for the crops...
A while back one of our granddaughters asked if I ever had any pets. I suppose she wondered since we didn’t have a farm dog, and the cats we have are pretty wild because they are just farm cats, meant to hunt out mice and rats. After living on a farm most of my life, I’ve had quite a few pets through the years. As a farmer’s daughter and later as a farmwife, I learned not to become too close to the livestock at an early age. Little calves and piglets are sweet. Soon they grow up and are sold at the sale barn, butchered to put food on the table...
I’ve long enjoyed community celebrations. Though I was only 4 years old when Superior staged a diamond jubilee celebration, I remember that celebration and the one and only 4-H fair held two years later in Superior. My favorite celebrations are those which feature history. History was the original focus of Superior’s Lady Vestey Festival and while history is still part of the festival, it seems to no longer be the primary focus. I’m glad two local celebrations have kept their focus on history. Earlier this week, the Jewell County Histo...
By Teraesa Bruce I am writingfrom the pump area of the Nelson swimming pool. It seems my office changes weekly, if not daily. I tried to sit in the office and type, but between the guards coming in and out and my pool rats, I couldn’t keep a thought in my head. Thankfully it’s a slow day, and the two guards can run things without me for the most part. I’m here to deal with the pumps, and water testing, have a level head in an emergency, and occasionally grab a kid out of the five-foot area under the slide when a child overestimates their swimm...
A couple of short items to start this week. I don’t know about the rest of the area, however, here in Lawrence the community lost electrical power late Saturday evening. As Nancy and I were talking about it later, we could not remember a time power was out for that long of time. (Only 3 1/2 hours.) We concluded we were lucky to have the service of South Central Public Power District to keep the lights on . . . along with all other electrical devises. It’s not everyone who stays up most of the night to keep us comfortable. Thank you, SCPPD and...
I don’t consider myself as a “Horder” but I will admit that I’m a sentimentalist. I want to keep things that have special meaning for me. My basement storage shelf area it is stacked with plastic totes filled with sentimental items collected through the years. As our family grew up, numerous photos were taken and organized in photo albums. With grandchildren added, the number of photo albums has increased. There are wedding dresses and prom dresses I couldn’t part with. There are special baby clothes kept that my sons once wore. There are...
