Editor's Notebook

During the rain showers on Friday, it was tempting to take a camera and go for a walk around Superior looking for a picture to depict the rain. Fortunately, I didn't do that and I was at my desk when the fire department was called to an electrical fire at the rear of Aunt Flossie's Cupboard. Not often do I get to step out newspaper plant's back door and cover a breaking news story.

I don't remember the exact words used by the dispatcher when summoning the fire department but the message was something like "There is an electrical fire near the back door to the Mullet Building."

That was particularly alarming because the Mullet building is part of a complex of buildings used by Superior Publishing Company.

Here at the newspaper office before the call, we knew something bad was going on with the electrical system. We were busy shutting off equipment when the call went out. Our lights were flickering and press motors were running erratically. I suspected the main power feed to Superior had been struck with lightning and the entire town would soon be without power.

While I ran to see what was happening behind the Mullet building, other crew members were flipping breakers and shutting down equipment.

Fortunately for all concerned, the fire was contained to the electrical box and did not spread to any of the downtown buildings.

As for pictures in the rain, I took my first as a college student attending Kansas State University. In those days, I had to wrap my camera in plastic to keep the rain from ruining the delicate instrument. The plastic wrap made it difficult to focus and adjust the exposure but that didn't stop me from trying, If it rained when I didn't have class, I was out roaming the campus looking for pictures.

Once for a photography class assignment in which I was to submit a picture showing texture, I enlisted the assistance of a coed friend from Jewell County. We went to the current football stadium, which was then under construction, and waded in the mud until our shoes were covered. I liked the picture made of her high heels covered with mud and sitting by the back door to her apartment but the instructor didn't share my enthusiasm and I only got a B for the project.

Perhaps it was because the instructor didn't enjoy being in the mud and rain like I did.

And I had our two pairs of shoes to clean. Guys in the dorm kidded me a bunch about "My High Heels."

As a youngster, I liked to go outside and play in the rain. I dreamed of some day living by a flowing creek in which I could play. When the Courtland Canal was first constructed, there wasn't grass and weeds growing along the canal. I liked to walk along the canal with the mud squeezing between my toes. When the canal was drained at the end of the irrigation season, I liked to walk on the water softened canal bottom.

But when the canal was full it was best to not get close. The water was deep and sometimes swift.

One of my most memorable horseback trips was the time I was caught in a heavy downpour on the way to school.

It rained heavily the day Lovewell Dam was dedicated and unsurfaced roads leading to what is now the state park were difficult if not impossible to navigate in a car. My father launched a boat at the Highway 14 ramp and we cruised through the rain to where we could watch the speedboat races.

Friday afternoon three members of this newspaper crew didn't share my enthusiasm for walking in the rain. They were out to lunch when one of the showers came through and returned to work through ankle deep water. They worked barefooted the rest of the afternoon while letting their shoes dry.

Since my college days, I have purchased cameras that can survive exposure to the rain without being wrapped in plastic. However, to avoid water spots, one must still keep the rain off the face of the lens.