Lots of things going on in this world today that I don’t understand but thanks to a reader who saved the original clipping, I have this week reread a story the Hastings Tribune published in 1973 that is applicable to this country’s current...

There is a saying, “A book is a dream you hold in your hand.” There is nothing like the feeling you receive when on a snowy winter’s day, seated in a relaxing chair, wrapped up in a cozy throw, you hold a good book in your hands. Even on a...

I am embracing the crazy, or at least trying to! My yards are a mess, but at least my house is clean, for now. We haven’t been home long enough to mess things up. Granted, I have been following everyone around and picking up in the wake of their...

Like many people, because of the dangers associated with COVID-19, I’ve been staying close to home. Only go out when absolutely necessary, and so I miss meeting and talking with people. My grandparents taught me to people watch. On the Blauvelt sid...

Grandparent’s Day is Sunday. In 1978 it was proclaimed by Congress that this nation would observe National Grandparent’s Day on the first Sunday following Labor Day. Grandparents play an important part in the family’s lives. Long gone are the d...

Early Jewell businessman, John Calvin Postlethwaite was born in August 1848 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. He died Nov. 26. 1910, at Jewell. In 1869, he came to Kansas and entered employment at the Blue Valley Bank at Manhattan. He was the...

Mary Foley stayed last Monday and Tuesday at the home of her daughter, Mindy, and Mike Kilgore, Bennington. Kan. Visitors at the home of Nick and Kelley Bunting since Nick returned home from the hospital were Cheryl Hillman, Greg and Brynlee Manning,...

What’s up with this weather? I got to say, though, the cool temps are a welcome change. Only because I know they won’t last too long, I brought in my flowers and what was in the garden last night, didn’t take long. I’ve kind of neglected to...

Tuesday was the 75th anniversary of the signing of the treaty which officially ended our war with Japan. A war that began with the bombing of our ships in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Elsewhere in this issue, we have published stories told by area...

During the past two weeks, students have started the new school year. For most students, parents and teachers, the beginning of the 2020 school year is one of adjustments and decisions having to be made during the pandemic. Some are jumping right...

Football season is here! I forgot how tiring it is to chase the kid around to games! We have had one varsity game and one JV game so far this season, and I already have more than 1,500 football photos. I’m having issues getting them off the...

In the summer of 1970 people and businesses served by U. S. Highway 136 and Nebraska 14 were upset by a highway improvement plan being promoted by state roads department which they thought was shortchanging their highways and the southernmost...

We are getting closer to fall as August draws to a close. August is not one of my favorite months of the year. I guess it’s because of the hot days, knowing it’s the end of summer and winter awaits. Some interesting facts about August are it’s...

I locked my keys in my garage! House keys, garage keys, office keys, post office keys — all of them except the keys for the car I was driving. I haven’t found the spare garage key as of yet. I may be purchasing a bolt cutter soon. I was getting...

When many people were planting larger gardens this year, Rita and I decided we would attempt to raise more with less. Our plan was smaller but more carefully managed garden space than we have had some years. One of our goals was to use up seed left...

It was in the 1983 John Anderson’s Country Song, I’m “Just A Swingin!” For my birthday this year, my husband and I rescued an old porch swing which had been in storage for many years.This swing holds such special memories for me. The wooden...

I had a huge mom fail in the last couple of weeks. My youngest, Jacob, youngest of the second set of kids, is turning 16 in September. We went to do the driving permit thing, and the examiner told me he needed to have his learner’s permit or...

By now I should have learned to be careful about what I ask for. In this space last week, I commented about missing my late father’s story suggestions. Saturday afternoon a childhood friend called and suggested the day he smashed my finger would...

Birthdays aren’t what they used to be! With my farmer husband and I having our birthdays coming three weeks apart, we recently celebrated those days enjoying birthday wishes via social media and cards via mail. We had meals with friends and...

Since last week’s column was all gloom and doom, I’ll try to keep it upbeat this week. My oldest Robert, the oldest of the second set of kids that is, finally got his sign-on bonus for joining the army. Like any teenager with a dollar in his...

It’s been hard to find subjects for this week’s notebook entries. Most weeks when it comes time to write the piece to fill this space, I review what I have done in the past week and conversations I’ve had. Before his death eight years ago, a...

It’s time to start checking out the back seat of your car or pickup for those zucchinis and cucumbers left there by some willing giver. The vegetable gardens are bursting with produce just ripe for picking and those who have more than they can use...

Have you ever been to the circus and seen a juggler at work? They usually begin with two or three items, all thrown into the air and caught one after another. After a while, they add another item to the fun. I have seen a juggler juggling probably...

It was a typical summer Sunday afternoon. The humidity was almost unbearable making it hard to catch one’s breath. The sun bore down making the temperature reach well into the 90s. Weather forecasters had reported heavy rains were to arrive but...

The author of a newspaper column I regularly read often begins his column with “Things I know and things I think I know.” If I were to attach a title to this week’s column it would be “Things I don’t understand.” Saturday morning I...