We must save what’s left of our historic buildings

August 31, 2023

We must save what’s left of our historic buildings. Why? Because they are a crucial part of this community’s identity. How we treat them, how we leave them — or don’t leave them — will be our legacy. I say this because now another of Webster City’s downtown historic buildings is in trouble. The City of Webster City identified visible exterior problems at 547 Second Street, an iconic commercial edifice that was built in 1890 and was, for many years, the Coulter Paint Store. An unsafe building sign has been posted and barricades set up along the southwest corner of ...

Ed Snow was resilient, and then some

August 29, 2023

Have you ever had a time in your life when you ran into the perfect person to lift you out of a slight funk? A time when you may be having, dare I say, a bit of a “pity party?” It seems that an accident I had some years ago — as in 1977 — has, after all this time, reared up and I’ll ...

Playing with Julie’s grandkids

August 28, 2023

We had some special guests in our home recently. All five grandkids (and their parents, of course) spent a weekend with us. They all live at least four hours away so we don’t see them frequently. These are Julie’s grandchildren but she lets me play with them. The grandkids range in age from five to 13. In fact, the oldest, Eliza, celebrated her 13th birthday the second day they were here. I first met Eliza when she was nearly 3 years old. I remember this curly-haired toddler with whom I helped build “towers” with wooden blocks. We interrupted block-playing for supper. As ...

B.F. Wilson, janitor and Civil War veteran, was greatly respected

August 22, 2023

Ever since I can remember I’ve been very interested in American military history, particularly the Civil War. (Very interested being a way of saying I was infatuated.) One character I portrayed while writing and speaking around Minnesota was Colonel John B. Sanborn, commander of the ...

The judge was a local Miracle

August 15, 2023

When I watch or listen to any form of broadcast media these days, I feel inundated with political ads. There are times when I simply want to tune it all out; hence my enjoyment of streaming music while mowing the lawn (now that we’ve gotten some rain). Surely it hasn’t always been this ...

What I learned 50 years ago

August 13, 2023

Fifty years is a long time. Fifty years before I was born the world was still in the 19th century! Fifty years before I graduated high school the U.S. was embroiled in World War I. Fifty years has always seemed like a long time ago. The other day I was ruminating on this matter and realized that only 50 years ago it was 1973. That went fast! So what was I doing 50 years ago? Fifty years ago I was a young married man. My wife and I had welcomed our first child, a son, into our family in December 1972. Fifty years ago I was the sports editor of our local daily newspaper. ...