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Eating like a buffalo

When my maternal grandfather came to the United States from Germany as a teenager, he brought along a treasure of adages in his native Low German. Some of those sayings are in rhyming verse; a few are a bit earthy. Most impart a gem of wisdom. Opa shared those bits of German horse sense and nonsense with his 12 children and over the years I enjoyed listening to my mother and aunts and uncles repeat those little Low German ditties. I understand the language well enough to get the gist of many of the sayings, though I often had to ask to have them repeated a few times. Other times I ...

A visit to the filling station

If you were educated in an Iowa school system in the 1950s you undoubtedly remember those little yellow dental cards. How could you forget? Early in the school year we were given a dental card in need of our dentist’s signature confirming that our teeth were in good shape. Of course, that often meant that we needed some dental work first. Our family struggled financially when I was a kid and there were some years when circumstances did not permit a visit to the dentist. However, we did get to the dentist when toothaches dictated. When we did return the signed card to our teacher, ...

A gentleman’s guide to Valentine’s Day gift giving

We’re in for a month of romance, folks. This February brings us Valentine’s Day and Leap Year Day to boot. As difficult as it may be to believe I am not, nor have I ever been, a Romeo. I do, however, have nearly 60 years of experience in this game and I would like to share what I have learned about romantic gift-giving. Just keep in mind that I have experienced failure. VALENTINE CARD: A carefully selected Valentine card is the first and most important component of a gentleman’s gift -giving plan. Most gals prefer a sensitive card but if you never say anything sweet or ...

Litchfield made ag equipment

The cold snap we had recently certainly caught me by surprise. It made me wonder what heating homes must have been like a hundred years ago. Being cooped up with the trusty laptop and internet unfazed by the frigid weather outside, I started to look and found … Lyman Litchfield was born ...

Fond memories of a ’55 Chevy

An important anniversary (in my life) is being observed (by me) this month. January marks the 59th anniversary of the purchase of my first car. As with most teenage boys, I had dreamed of owning my own car since the day I got my learner’s permit. After getting my driver’s license the intensity of my desire for my own wheels heightened. Financial limitations led my search for a car to my uncle’s junk yard. Uncle Dick owned what had to be the largest auto salvage yard in Grundy County. Occasionally he would get in something a little better than junk. I had kept my eyes on his ...

Welcome to winter …

As I sit writing this, the wind is whipping snow horizontally past my window, filling the backsides of fences, making it hard to see Our Neighborhood across the street. I am so unfamiliar with this scene, having spent so many winters away from the Midwest, that I’ve taken to streaming the ...