Columnists

The start of a school year has a way of sharpening old memories. I do not remember every first day of school, but I remember the first day school changed sizes. At North Nodaway, kindergarten through fourth grade attended school in Pickering. Fifth grade through seniors were in the larger building at Hopkins. On paper,…

I love animals. I do. My husband and I are blessed to be able to see all kinds of animals traveling around our home. Just lately we have enjoyed a juvenile owl in our back yard, pelicans on the pond behind our house. Loved watching a young doe and buck grazing in our yard early…

It seems like no matter where we travel, every town has one of those places locals know but passersby pay little attention to. In my hometown of Hopkins, that place was Hoover’s. Hopkins had four places where a person could buy gas. On the south end of town was the Mobil station owned by the…

In May I bought a small plant when my grandson Simon was with me. I planted it and water it often. The other day when the grandkids were over, they were helping me water my plants. I showed Simon the plant and reminded him he was with me when I bought it a few weeks…

There have been a few cloudy mornings lately down home, when the sunrise happens behind a humid layer of fluff – no real weather threats (although there has been a small shower before or right at dawn a couple of times), just enough cover to put a sweaty gloom on everything. And on a couple…

For the sake of clarity, I am not of a mountaineering ilk and not referring to the major mountain range in Europe. Any thoughts about conquering anything that requires my climbing it are limited to stairs, high sided vehicles (even with a running board), and my high mattress bed that requires me to do a…

The best thing about the Missouri State Fair is that it is almost impossible to see all of it. That may sound like a complaint, but it is not. It is part of the charm. There are livestock shows, 4-H and FFA exhibits, grandstand concerts, equipment displays, tractor pulls, food stands, political gatherings, carnival rides,…

I needed a few back-to-school clothing items, so I picked up what I needed during a couple of recent shopping trips. A few shirts, a couple of pairs of pants, and that’s really all I needed this time around. But the experience made me think back on the back-to-school lists from my childhood. There was…

The State Line Cafe sat just north of Hopkins on Highway 148, close enough to the Missouri-Iowa line that the name was not trying hard to be clever. It served good food, but if your ears were open, it also served wisdom from the regulars who came in for coffee or a meal. One morning,…

“Nanny, I want to go to the pool this summer.” My sweet Grand shared this with me while we were swinging at Beal Park one afternoon. “The pool? But WHYYYYYY?” I responded, trying not to sound too desperate. Water, you must understand, is not my favorite. I don’t like swimming or boating. The thought of…