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We don’t smoke and we don’t chew

“We don’t smoke … we don’t chew … and we don’t go with girls who do.” I hadn’t heard that old ditty for many years but when I heard it again recently it reminded me of how things have changed over the years. The last two decades of the 20th century were no lucky strike for the tobacco industry. After decades of being the trademark of sophistication, smoking fell to a new low in popularity and has continued falling. How long has it been since someone offered you a cigarette? After my father quit the habit “cold turkey” in 1959, smoking was a taboo in our home. ...

Herb Granville, of The Men’s Shop

A week or so ago I was having a conversation with a friend and the subject turned to Little League baseball during our youth. I remember our team sponsor was a men’s clothing store up in Minneapolis (this, of course, was quite a few years ago). Although we weren’t much good at pitching, ...

Making our lives a whole lot better

I remember the first nurse I ever met. She slapped my little butt when I was born. Then she took one look at me and slapped my mother. That story is obviously so much baloney, but I’ve enjoyed telling it for the past 50 some years. Actually, I like nurses and have great respect for the nursing profession. I read recently that National Nurses’ Week is the first full week of May. Many of the appointments in my Google calendar these days begin with “Dr.” so I’m seeing more nurses now than ever. My first real recollection of a nurse is of Mrs. Norris, the office nurse for ...

Standing guard in Our Neighborhood

There are times when life just has to be put in perspective. Yes, today is windy … but the sun is shining and 54 degrees is not so bad for April in Iowa. The front page of the Daily Freeman for August 8, 1963, has a main story about 20 to 30 men robbing a train in England and getting away ...

Homer Ankrum

When I grew up outside of Minneapolis, I learned of the military heritage that is the Midwest, especially Iowa and Minnesota. The blending of the two, in a way, culminated in the 34th Infantry Division, formerly the Sandstorm and now the Red Bull Division. Later, working at the Owatonna ...

We were almost cousins

One of the joys of my career was the fascinating people I had an opportunity to get to know. My years in newspaper advertising sales in Sioux City gave me opportunities I never dreamed of as a country kid in rural Iowa. When Cindy and I moved to Sioux City in 1974 we became aware of a chain of local appliance stores. Williams Appliance operated four stores in the market at that time. When I began working for the Sioux City Journal, Williams Appliance was served by an older account executive. When this man went on vacation one summer, I was assigned to cover that account on his ...