It was a Sunday in late February 1960. I was 12 years old and we were visiting my paternal grandparents. After Sunday dinner, my father and grandfather were visiting across the room from where I was quietly reading. It was a strange week for my family. Dad was fired from his job on Friday and ...

This is the first of four articles about veterans from Webster City who will be part of the next Honor Flight from Fort Dodge to Washington, D.C. on September 18. The Honor Flight Network, a remarkable initiative dedicated to honoring America’s veterans, has its roots in a simple yet ...

Another school year has begun. Millions of young Americans are back in the classroom and I’m glad I’m not one of them. Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t hate school. I just wasn’t a big fan of being cooped up in a classroom all day. When asked what I most wanted out of school, I said: ...

My memory is selective, but I clearly recall two pivotal moments from junior high. On my first day of seventh grade our bus was late, it had rained, and the lane to our farmhouse was extraordinarily muddy. By the time I climbed into the bus, there was so much goo caked to the bottom of my ...

A short time ago, I had that particular joy of taking my granddaughter to Sunday brunch at the Grid Iron Sports Bar & Grill here in Webster City. Its brunch buffet is not to be missed and will satisfy a 9-year-old as well as a 69-year-old! My mind drifted, as it is prone to do, and I ...

When you get to be closer to 80 than to 70, when your career has involved multiple jobs and when you have resided in more than a dozen communities in your lifetime you have become acquainted with many different people. Sadly, I have forgotten some of the people I have met over the decades, ...