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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...
This week, from the position I had taken while on the outlook for Nuckolls County Fair photos, I was able to observe a young family and their horses. I'm not a good judge of youngsters ages but the youngest was in a stroller and I guess the others were spaced a year or two apart. The parents and their stair-step youngsters left the rig and horses and perhaps went to the food stand or to register the youngsters for the kids' rodeo. One horse in particular was not pleased to be left alone, It was...
“Stupid, smart people . . .” I heard this phrase for the first time maybe a year or so ago. It took me a while to understand what was meant by it. A national radio commentator used it every so often and I had to listen closely to understand just what he meant. To understand what is meant a person has to realize that there are many very well educated people around the earth and they do well for themselves and others. Quite often we give these people respect and understanding as they are often “experts” in their field of learning. They are som...
I read this on Facebook today, “Dear, whatever doesn’t kill me, I’m strong enough now. Thanks.” That hit home this past week and I’m pooped! It’s been one dramatic crisis after another. I’ve started answering the phone with “Now what?” instead of “Hello.” I wish I could go into more detail, but trust me, it would give you a migraine, and that’s a burden I must bear on my own. All I can say is the kids are happy and healthy. The husband is happy-ish, which is normal. I’m still kicking around, obviously, LOL. There is a roof over our heads, food...
At my hometown celebration of our country’s 246th birthday, there was a wonderful draw of people family and friends. Stories were told as everyone visited with one another, and memories shared. In a small rural community most everyone knows everyone. Often you know or knew their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. All come together to eat, visit and watch the fireworks. A great way to celebrate the 4th of July. The many kinds of homemade ice cream served were a hit. There is nothing like enjoying a bowl of homemade ice cream on a hot s...
America was settled by adventurous, hard work people willing to leave home and venture out with the hope and dream of success, prosperity and a better life in a new land. Monday we celebrated the Declaration of Independence which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The document states the residents of the 13 colonies were no longer subject and subordinate to the monarch of England, King George the III, and were now united, free and independent states. The Continental Congress voted to approve our independence on Jul...
Red Hair . . . To be specific, “Naturally Redheads” the headline read. I was perusing the Sunday newspaper yesterday when a headline caught my eye. It read: “Natural redheads may need more anesthesia.” A person may not guess that from what little hair I have left was at one time . . . red. However, it was, and I’ve survived many years not knowing for sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. And, never read much about the positive, or negative, effects of living with red hair. The headline caught my attention and several things caught my...
Happy birthday, Merica! I hope everyone made it through the holiday with all their fingers and toes intact. We did not do a lot of fireworks this year. In fact, I had the kids help in the yard this weekend to earn money to purchase said fire hazards, and they chose not to spend it all at the fireworks stand. I was impressed. We have a full house this week. Our Omaha boys are down to visit and will be here for 10 days. I may not survive; that’s a lot of dishes and laundry. It amazes me how many bowls and cups a family of five can go through i...
It's Kansas wheat harvest time in this area. As I write, whirling combine reels can be heard off in the distance, a neighbor is cutting wheat from one of his fields. That's all it will take in this rural neighborhood. When the sounds of wheat harvest starting is heard, other area farmers get the itch to start their combines. Though in this area, wheat harvest isn't what it used to be years ago. Most of the farmers have diverted their crop interests from wheat to all fall crops. Around the area...
Friday morning, as I sat on a street barricade and observed the preparations for the Project BOOM ribbon cutting, I tried to visualize what the street looked like a century ago. As I looked west on Eighth Street and south on National Street, I thought of my family’s activities in the area. Before 1930 my grandparents called four houses in that part of town “home.” Their first house in that section was near the intersection of Eighth and North Park. In more recent times it was removed to make way for the construction of the current bridge over L...
The week that was . . . People of different political beliefs have been busy since the end of last week trying to convince other people (or maybe just venting anger or joy) that last week was a week that will be remembered for a long time. I’m guessing that almost everyone by now knows that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) reversed a 49 year old decision concerning what liberals called a “Right” to an abortion for all women. In 1973 the SCOTUS found a right in the U. S. Constitution for women to have an abortion, regar...
Roe v Wade is all anyone seems to be talking about right now. There seems to be no blurred line on this topic; you are either for or against abortion. It is my understanding that the decision to allow or not allow abortion will now be left to the individual states. Before I give my personal opinion on the subject, I want to make one thing clear; I am not for or against abortion. I have never had to make a choice between myself or my unborn child. I would like to think I would never choose to end the life of my child, but without actually being...
Living in a rural community can’t be beat! Volunteering and helping out one another is a regular occurence here. Recently a fund raiser was held in my hometown for its rural fire department, who along with many other area fire departments came together to battle a fast moving wildfire that happened a couple of months ago, causing much damage. Hours and several days and nights were spent not only fighting the fire but making sure the fire stayed out. Many volunteers came together to hold this fund raiser. Donations were made in funds, food a...
A friend’s story shared on a social media site reminded me of my grandmother. My mother regularly drove an automobile. She used a special skill my father taught her to get through the water holes that separated our house on Blauvelt’s Hill and Superior. A Republican River flood had washed out the north approach to stateline bridge which served the “new” highway opened a handful of years earlier. With the new road closed, highway traffic was diverted over the former route we called “the old highway,” In the 1920s, Superior businessmen paved a po...
I keep getting reminders that I’m most likely included in that category of people that some call “old.” Others, kinder I suppose, might use the word “senior” rather than old. Whatever group I’m in, that’s OK, I’ll go with it. Maybe that’s the reason I enjoyed the following little bit of humor I came across just last week. The following was a list of “Things I am no longer interested in: 1: Driving at night. 2: Driving in the winter. 3: Getting on a scale. 4: Arguing with idiots. 5: Being “fashionable.” 6: Going to the gym. 7: Wearing clothes...
I’m so excited! We are going to visit Robert at Fort Riley this weekend. I have no idea what we will do, but I told him not to plan anything too extravagant since the traveling and hotel room have more than broken my summer budget. LOL! He said something about going to the lake. That sounded nice and relaxing to me. It’s not supposed to be quite as hot, but there is a chance of thunderstorms. I hope that changes and we have clear skies. Jacob’s ship date was moved up, so he will leave for basic training in late August instead of Septe...
It’s time to get after those invading noxious weeds we farmers have to fight year after year on our land. Though the musk thistles are the worst, if the thistles are treated and taken care of, their numbers can be kept at bay. But it takes a lot of time, money and effort. After listening to my farmer-husband visit with other farmers, the problems in our pastures lately include spreading locust trees, hedge trees, and of course, the ever growing and increasing cedar trees. One farmer friend joked when out spraying the locust trees, he always h...
