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Looking at the outward appearance

My old high school more than 60 years ago was small. The building housed grades K-12 so it wasn’t unusual for a high school student to run into elementary kids. One afternoon while walking through a nearly empty lunchroom I met two boys, probably about second or third-grade, walking the opposite direction. When our paths met, one of the boys looked up at me and, pointing to his friend, said, “He says you’re Lurch. Is that true?” In real life, Ted Cassidy, the actor who played Lurch in the 1960s The Addams Family television series was 6’9” tall. I’m only 6’7” but a ...

Should not take the newspaper for granted

To the Editor: Local newspapers are the informational lifeblood of a community. Some time ago Pulitzer Prize recipient Art Cullen, editor of the Storm Lake Pilot, wrote an article capturing the importance of local newspapers to their communities. That article is summarized here from another source: “Cullen’s article emphasizes that local newspapers like the Storm Lake Times are vital for community cohesion because they connect residents, foster trust, and keep people informed about issues that matter most in their daily lives. He argues that local papers serve as the ...

When Hometown Pride calls, say yes

I’ve heard this before, probably first from my mother, then later from friends or family. But I am identifying more and more with this. Sometimes there just isn’t enough of me. I don’t mean physically, I just feel mentally there isn’t enough brain power to keep all the plates spinning in the air. Especially as the harder I try, the more behind I get. I’ve always been a doer, and I know how to do many things, but no one can expand the hours in the days, no one can give us an eight day week, and months that should always be 32 days long, just don’t exist. It’s my ...

Road safety during harvest and year round

The world is moving too fast now, and no place do we see this more than on our roads. It’s time to slow down and be more aware, as farmers are moving farm equipment, trying to get their crops harvested before the weather takes another turn. But it’s also the time of the year, when the wildlife are running, as their shelters and food are disappearing as farmers hit their fields. It seems obvious that with fall, we should all be paying more attention to the roads and how the weather conditions impact not only people, like the farmers, but the animals that we share our world ...

Our kindest and tenderest emotion

Do you remember the day you left home to strike out on your own? I do. It was in October, 59 years ago. The oldest of six children from a large close-knit family, I was the first to cut the apron strings and move into a place of my own. It was time to leave. That spring my father, at the age of 40, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Dad ran the feed mill in town and it was obvious his working years would be cut short by the illness. One less mouth to feed, I figured, would help the situation. Equally obvious was the fact that Dad and I didn’t see eye-to-eye ...

Be grateful, be safe, thank those working around us

This week across Iowa, harvest is in full swing. After a long rainy September, our farmers can finally get into the fields. If you have been in Iowa a few years, you know what is involved. People are working long hours using large equipment. Our roads are having entirely different traffic patterns. Even the deer are more erratic as corn fields are leveled. Despite all of the September rain, there is even a risk of devastating field fires. I grew up on a family farm in Greene County. As soon as I could walk, my parents and big brothers were telling me to stay away from the bull ...