We lost a great Kansan and American yesterday, Senator Bob Dole. Born in Russell, Kan., Dole was six years old when the stock market crashed and he grew up in the depression years. In his book, One Soldier’s Story, he told about those hard times when his mother sold sewing machines to help make ends meet and his father was a dedicated employee who only missed one day of work in more than 40 years. In Dole’s younger years in Russell, he worked as a newspaper delivery boy and later was a “soda jerk” at the local drug store. He knew what it was like living in a rural community, working hard, appreciating what a person had and the importance of agriculture. After graduating from Russell High School, he went on to Kansas University. He served in the Army during WWII and suffered near-fatal injuries in the final days of the war which left him without a kidney, without the use of his right arm and most of the feeling in his left arm.
Years later, Dole would serve his state and country in another way. He served in the U.S. Senate for 27 years and was the Republican leader for 12 years. He was a nominee for vice president for Gerald Ford and the 1996 Republican nominee for president. He was also the chairman of the National World War II Memorial.
Like many Kansans, my family was proud to have a fellow Kansan serving in Washington, D.C., let alone to be a nominee for vice president and president. My father backed Dole all the way - after all he was a fellow WWII veteran, and with the Boyles family as Republican supporters, it was a given. My memories of Bob Dole were when he was campaigning for the Senate. He came to Jewell County. It was a cold, brisk fall evening at a Braves high school football game held on the Burr Oak High School football field when Bob Dole arrived. He was dressed in a suit, tie and, of course, a heavy overcoat. He walked up and down the sidelines visiting and shaking hands and asking for people’s support in the elections. And he shook my hand.
Bob Dole stood up for what he believed and worked with the opposite side of the aisle in the Senate to get things done. He stood up for the farmers, ranchers and the rural areas.
Thank you, Bob Dole ,for your many years of service to this state and this country.
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The Annual Christmas shopping day with two neighbor women was enjoyed this week. Even though we picked a cold, windy day, we enjoyed the day. We started the event by trying to get a day that suited our three schedules. The next issue was who was going to take the vehicle, but no one remembered who furnished the vehicle last year so we decided to just start over. A starting time was finally decided as one of the women had to be home to do chores before dark and suggested to start our adventure pretty early. We met at our usual meeting place and off we went heading to the chosen shopping area. Little did we realize the day we chose would cause some problems for us.
It was a Monday and two of the stores we had hoped to visit are closed on Mondays. We like to chose a nice eating place for our noon meal together, but Monday presented a problem. We went through the list of places to eat in this area and three were closed. Thankfully, after a call was made to a friend who was familiar with eating places there, she suggested one and it turned out to be a winner.
The annual shopping photo was taken by a gracious store clerk and then it was ready-set-go shopping time. Soon our shopping baskets were filled with Christmas presents and holiday decorating materials for our homes. We had to stop and get some of our favorite flavored coffees on the way home. We exchanged gifts with each other as we always do. Then it was time to start our trip homeward. Laughs and family adventure stories were shared. Jokes were made, including the driver leaving the store first to move her vehicle from the parking spot to another spot so the others in the group would be surprised coming out of the store to not find the vehicle.
It was a good time shared with friends.
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