Breaking News

Local Columns

‘… These tears I can’t hold inside.’

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 two days later we’re at my grandparents’ home. I heard Dad tell my grandfather about his job situation. And then I witnessed my grandfather do something that shocked me. My grandfather began crying as he consoled his 33-year-old son. This was uncomfortable to see. From an early age I had ...

The Honor Flight leaves from Fort Dodge on September 18

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 profound idea. Conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain, the program emerged from a deep-seated respect for the men and women who served their country.   Morse, working at a VA clinic in Springfield, Ohio, observed the profound impact the newly-completed World ...

A tribute to a wonderful teacher

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: “Me.” That said, I had some excellent teachers. One teacher, however, stands out in my memory. That was my second-grade teacher, Miss Caudle. Miss Caudle was kind. She was pleasant. She was smart. And in this second grader’s eyes, she was pretty. Seven and eight-year-old boys are too ...

Teachers

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 saddle shoes that I spent the entire trip to town attempting to uncake them. Unsuccessfully. Our bus unloaded at Washington Central Junior High, which is now gone, and the already assembled student body turned to stare at the newcomers so late to the event. The principal beckoned us to find ...

A little neighborhood history — before the Grid Iron

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 ...

A friend for a lifetime

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, but there are some folks I can’t forget. Among them are the people who I claim to be friends — some for various times and circumstances — and others for a lifetime. Fifty-five years ago I was working at a small-town radio station in Webster City when the boss hired a guy named Bill. He was my ...