Back in the 1950s we would describe something very good or nice as “swell.” It was a slang word, one of many. We called a small child an “ankle biter.” The hipsters used “Daddy-O” as a term of endearment. And while I was still a pre-teen, I had a foggy idea of what “back seat ...

I know I don’t speak for all of us, but there are times when the seemingly infinite number of choices we have become overwhelming. Just go to a “big box” store and look for a simple tube of toothpaste. Please don’t get me wrong; I fully appreciate not having to settle for a single kind ...

We must save what’s left of our historic buildings. Why? Because they are a crucial part of this community’s identity. How we treat them, how we leave them — or don’t leave them — will be our legacy. I say this because now another of Webster City’s downtown historic buildings ...

Have you ever had a time in your life when you ran into the perfect person to lift you out of a slight funk? A time when you may be having, dare I say, a bit of a “pity party?” It seems that an accident I had some years ago — as in 1977 — has, after all this time, reared up and I’ll ...

We had some special guests in our home recently. All five grandkids (and their parents, of course) spent a weekend with us. They all live at least four hours away so we don’t see them frequently. These are Julie’s grandchildren but she lets me play with them. The grandkids range in age ...

Ever since I can remember I’ve been very interested in American military history, particularly the Civil War. (Very interested being a way of saying I was infatuated.) One character I portrayed while writing and speaking around Minnesota was Colonel John B. Sanborn, commander of the ...