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Speaking of the mother tongue

At a local supermarket recently I was asked by the clerk how I was doing. “I’m doing well, thank you,” I responded. The gentleman in line behind me said, “You said it correctly. That’s how it should be stated.” “What?” I asked. “The clerk asked how you were doing and you said ‘well’ instead of ‘good,’” he explained. “That is the grammatically correct way to say it.” I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Thanks,” I finally said. “I had a great English teacher in high school who stressed things like that.” English — what a language. I’ve ...

His Name was Magic

I remembered an important lesson last week during Career Day at Webster City High School. Standing at the front of a room that was once my history classroom, when Coach Dick Tighe was my teacher, I recalled for the so-much-younger students whose attention I wanted to deserve the favorite story ...

Doane was a wit and treasure

Being an historian, even an amateur one like myself, so much time is required to collect the information on a subject or person you want to write about. I can remember, vaguely, those days before the advent of the Internet, when travel and time scouring, reading and taking notes seemed ...

When the doctor recommends a vaccination

A couple of weeks ago Julie and I went to a local pharmacy for our annual flu and COVID vaccinations. We are vaxxers. As such, we trust vaccines and believe in their ability to stave off the worst of the seasonal maladies lying ahead. Unlike the privacy of a clinic or doctor’s office, drug store vaccinations are given in semi-privacy. In our case, we sat behind a small screen while a pleasant young lady administered the shots. A young mother and her three pre-adolescent daughters were waiting for their vaccinations. The youngest girl, age seven we learned, was sitting in a position ...

Newspapers are needed now more than ever

National Newspaper Week — October 1-7 — slipped by me this year. I hope, it’s not too late to offer a few memories of my career in that industry. I began reading newspapers as soon as my reading skills allowed me to do so. My parents subscribed to the Des Moines Register and our hometown weekly, The Ellsworth (Iowa) News. The Register’s daily front-page political satire feature, Potomac Fever, puzzled me. I was too young to grasp the satire. Comic page humor, however, was more easily understood and I became a fan of Little Debbie and other comic strips. As my reading ...

‘The Iowa Barr Organization’

I was born and raised in a suburb of Minneapolis, well aware of my Minnesota ancestors and the roles they had in the early days of that state. This is more than likely why I so enjoy learning and writing of the early settlers and builders of Webster City. One of my great-great-grandfathers ...