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To those who say, “There are no entertaining events in this area,” I say “Look around. You can get your fill of entertainment right here. Consider what the area has to offer from the end of May through July. At Memorial Day time there is the Lady Vestey Victorian Festival with games, foods of all kinds, parade, crafts, historical programs and even a machine to create your own teddy bear. At the end of May many communities host alumni reunions. Memorial Day services are held in almost every community. There are two great lakes within about...
With Father’s Day observed on Sunday, I’ve listened as a number of friends shared stories about what they learned from their fathers and what they did with their fathers. Their stories got me to thinking about the many things I did with my father and the many skills he taught me. As a youngster, I learned my father could do things I would never be able to do. I’ve have less than perfect vision and am waiting for an opportunity for cataract surgery. For much of his life, my father had keen vision and was very observant. If we went for a ride,...
Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions Q: How do you tell if someone is teaching falsely? A: The Bible offers two basic tests for truth: agreement with God’s Word and the character of the teacher. As the Nation of Israel was entering the Promised Land, God warned them about people who would seek to lead them astray. In order to prepare them to face this, He commanded the Israelites to memorize and study His Word constantly, then compare it with what others are teaching. Any teaching that did not match up was false (Deuteronomy 1...
Reading . . . writing . . . arithmetic . . . For years the basic blocks of a good education, knowledge and wisdom. I’m not sure I possess much of those three blocks, but, I’ve been called a blockhead a number of times, so maybe I’m working my way there. To me reading has always been enjoyable and I think maybe one of the basic ingredient to a happy life. I bring this up now because of two things that happened last week involving reading. They both happened within days of each other and made a connection with me right away. The first invol...
This past week felt like two! Besides the regular day-to-day, we managed to have a couple of hours to catch up with some friends and continue cleaning up the garages. Thursday, I drove to Kansas to pick up Jacob from his dad with two of his friends in tow. I’m so thankful for the company as that can be a long and boring trip by one’s self. On Friday, we set off to Omaha to see our two youngest boys. Along the way, we paid a much-needed visit to the bone-crusher. I gained an inch in height after what felt like having my neck broken. I can...
Farm activities have increased. Fields were fertilized and the planting of the fall crops is almost at an end. Around Memorial Week-end, the alfalfa begins to be cut and baled. Cattle now call the lush pasture lands home. It is hoped pasture fences have been checked and will keep cattle confined. Thankfully the spring rains came and the pasture ponds are filled. The grasses grew and hopefully the rains will come when needed to keep the grasses growing. Spring calving has thankfully concluded, as it began during a cold snap and some calves were...
Sunday afternoon, while returning from a visit with Rita’s mother at Osborne, we encountered a fireman stopping traffic on the highway south of Lebanon. Sheriff’s officers were stationed on Highway 36. Not seeing any smoke which would have indicated the presence of a fire, I thought there must be a horrific accident over the next hill and we would have to take county roads and detour around the accident scene. A fireman walked our way and we rolled down our vehicle’s window. He apparently read our vehicle’s license tag as he approached for he...
It’s interesting . . It seems that more and more information about the national media’s negative allegations about President Trump are being proven untrue. However, we rarely see or hear retractions by the national media concerning their mistakes. I suspect most people have heard or read about some of them, but I recently saw a list that must have contained at least a couple of dozen examples of the national media’s claims about Trump that have been proven false. The sad thing is that a number of them came during the 2020 political campa...
This weekend was exhausting. We cleaned out the garages at the money pit and started on our storage shed. For months they have been a catch-all and dumping ground for the family. We decided since we could not find any of our tools, it needed to be the priority for the weekend. Although we are still not finished, we have made a huge dent. I must say I am ashamed of the mess. I did not create it on my own, but I was definitely a part of the problem. I am hopeful it will continue to improve and things will get put away from now on, but we all...
Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions Q: Where in the Bible does it talk about how to be more patient? A: Let me approach the topic of patience by beginning with it’s opposites: impatience and frustration. We often approach life with an expectation of how things ought to be. When these expectations are not met, we can become frustrated and impatient. Instead of adjusting our expectations to better fit with reality, we simply try harder to make reality line up with our expectations. And we all know how well that goes! This is the r...
It was an exciting weekend in my hometown of Burr Oak, Kansas as the town’s 1871 founding was celebrated. The town’s roots began 150 years ago when A.J. Godfrey and his wife, Sarah, decided to move west. They first settled with others from the German Baptist faith in North Central Kansas. They established a little settlement. A post office was in one of their log homes, named Greenville near the White Rock Creek. Godfrey and his wife decided to move a couple of miles west, to where the White Rock meets with the Burr Oak Creek. They built a log...
editor’s notebook 6/10/21 Sunday I was glad I wasn’t trying to ride either my pony or bicycle on Highway 14. Without a doubt, I would have been spooked by all the traffic and I suspect most if not all of the horses I have ridden would also have been spooked and tried to escape. That day Highway 14 didn’t fit the description of a lazy country highway. For sure it wasn’t a place for the pokey Sunday driver I have become. Sunday morning the 28th annual Tour Nebraska cruise brought more than 450 vehicles into this area. Tour participants were sc...
When I was growing up in Superior, most of the downtown business district buildings were two-stories tall. The first floor usually housed a business. In some instances, the owner of the first floor store lived on the second floor but not always. Sometimes another business or office was located on the second floor or the apartments may have been occupied by the building owner or tenants. As I grew older, I became curious about what and who was on the second floor. In the case of Mont Livingood’s Jewelry store which is now part of the Walt’s Fur...
The Nebraska Legislature ended its 2021 session a week or so ago and I noticed an article about the session that interested me. It seems that almost 700 Bills had been introduced into the session this year. Not all were passed, but that seemed to me to be a lot. Can it be that there is so much wrong with how we handle the business of the state that it took almost 700 attempts to change, or correct, how we govern ourselves? One of the good things I think we have here in Nebraska is the limit we have placed on the length of each Legislative sessi...
We turned on the air conditioner the other night. It seems I will not get much of a reprieve from the freezing temperatures. The hubby has the thermostat set to “Meat Locker!” Outside of the house, I wear a tank top and shorts, and inside I wear a hoodie and sweat pants! He’s all happy, lounging on the couch in a pair of shorts, and I’m bundled up like it’s January and the power went out. The past week was a blur. I had so many things to do and so little time to do them. I’m not really sure how or if it was all accomplished, but the world d...
The past few days many people have been taking the country roads to visit cemeteries, decorate grave sites. At each stop, a memory of a loved one comes to mind. It’s the time to honor and show respect to those who are no longer with us. It is also the time for patriotic ceremonies. It’s time to honor those who gave their lives for this country and it’s freedom. It time to fly Old Glory, and to sing those special patriotic songs such as God Bless America, Battle Hymn of the Republic and of course the National Anthem. It’s the time for parades...
I suspect the thousands of people who most years gathered at Lovewell Lake for this week’s three-day weekend would have liked more sun and less rain but the weather was great for the annual Lady Vestey Festival. The sky was overcast and the temperature on the cool side making for a pleasant weekend. It hasn’t always been that way. While the parade has never been rained out, it has come close and rain has dampened a number of festival activities. One year a representative of the Vestey family was drenched when a vendor’s tent filled with water...
A friend of mine asked me how many hats I would be wearing this summer, and I couldn’t answer. In the last week, I served as a painter, photographer, babysitter, pool boy, quasi reporter, caregiver, manager, a crummy housewife and neglectful mother and friend. Honestly, it has been a blur, and I haven’t been able to remember what day it was for most of it. I run into the house just to run right back out of it, and by the end of the day, I don’t feel like I have accomplished a thing. This morning I drug myself out of bed at five! I’m not a m...
The name for writing this column was borrowed from my mother who occasionally wrote items under the heading “Puffs from the Locomotive.” After her passing, I just borrowed her lead. “After all,” she said, “a puff is simply a drip under pressure.” I try (and hope to accomplish) passing along a little humor and viewpoints that the national media just doesn’t seem to appreciate. I thank everyone who went out of their way to let me know they appreciate my efforts. I also thank those who do not always agree with me. Unlike some folks, I like to thin...
Q: I’m having a hard time forgiving someone in my life; is there anything in the Bible that can help me? A: The word forgiveness in the Bible is a financial term that refers to the cancellation of a debt. If you sin against someone else, the Bible says that you incur a debt to God, society and the victim of that sin. But forgiveness strikes out that obligation and releases all rights to be repaid for the wrong done. This does not mean we cannot feel hurt or upset by sin, it does mean that we can no longer seek payback or reparations. So much f...
The community is gearing up for the weekend’s activities for the Vestey Festival, to be held in Superior, the Victorian Capitol of Nebraska. The Victorian Era was named so because it was the time of the long reign of Queen Victoria of England, 1837-1901. It was during the Victorian Era that many influences and practices were done in certain ways, maybe not so much in rural America but in England and in urban area in the United States. Most of these practices and rules certainly would not be accepted in today’s society. Here are just a few of th...
With the expectation that thousands of visitors will visit Superior this weekend, community residents are working to make sure the community is looking the best possible. Mother Nature has cooperated and the vegetation looks great. Here at the newspaper we decided we should spruce up our windows. Since the festival was not held last year, it may have been two years since some of the windows had been washed. It has taken repeated baths to get the accumulated grim off. We also decided to change...
Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions Q: The Bible says we ought to “turn the other cheek.” Does this mean that Christians should not be soldiers or police officers? Is it always wrong to fight? A: The Bible does instruct believers to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-42). In context, the passage instructs us not to seek revenge for wrongs done against us personally, instead to show grace by repaying evil with good (see also Romans 12:18-20). Christians should let go of a vindictive spirit and forgive all offences committed aga...
The good news first . . . In dealing with the yearlong pandemic all athletic events should be put in a separate category. It hasn’t been an easy year. However, over the weekend, a special event did occur. The Nebraska Cornhusker 2021 Baseball Team captured the Big Ten championship trophy. We know the anxious feeling most Husker fans felt with the results of the football team, the basketball team and even the volleyball team schedules. It isn’t a national championship, but it is the Big Ten Baseball championship. Put it with the Bowling Tea...
With one crazy week in the rearview and another in the windshield, I’m feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Our Omaha boys will be here for Memorial Day weekend and into the next week, and fingers crossed, the pool will open that weekend as well, or at the very least shortly after. As with every year, it has been a struggle getting everything working correctly. I have to say I have had more help this year from the lifeguards than I have had in years past, and that, my friends, is a miracle! I have a love-hate relationship with the pool. I love working...
