Cautionary Tales

There are many things that we are told repeatedly not to do in life just as there are things we should know automatically not to do.One day in elementary school I was walking home from school with no one else anywhere in sight on my block at the time.A medium-sized truck pulled up ahead of me and...

Some thoughts on small towns

(Reprinted from the October 17, 1996 issue of the Timber Lake Topic) A small town is like a big family. And like families, small towns have their conflicts, traumas, joys, and triumphs.Your small town knows you, just like your family does.

America’s founders saw need for free press

When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, newspapers throughout the colonies shared the life-changing news with their readers.With all of the enormous changes in this country and media since 1776, it’s noteworthy that more than 5,000 newspapers are still informing their...

Prairie Docs: Shingles vaccines

Too many people know the pain of having shingles. Shingles, or Zoster, occurs when a Herpes virus, the same one which caused chicken pox in childhood, reemerges from dormancy in a spinal nerve.

PRESSED BETWEEN THE PAGES: Donald saves the drive

“Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, keep them dogies rollin’...” The theme song from Rawhide lured Delmer and me into our living room on Friday nights. The 1960s TV series spotlighted trail boss Gil Favor and ramrod Rowdy Yates as they led cattle drives from Texas to Missouri.

Return on Investment

When my kids were little, we put them in bed each night.After prayers, the last words out of our mouths were often “We are so proud of you!”

PRESSED BETWEEN THE PAGES: The ties that bind

Before starting school, we were supposed to know how to tie. Likely, first grade teachers had better things to do than tie students’ shoes. My attempts at tying began long before I stepped into the classroom.

Every job is a good job

A lucky person will do several jobs in their life, each providing insight and opportunity the others could not.In my first college job, I was a janitor at a fine-arts center, the only job where I had the freedom to think unencumbered without interruption and without a set schedule of tasks.My first...

LETTER

Dear Topic, I was so happy to see the 50 years ago article in the August 13, 2026 Topic about the Chapel School.My mother “Christina,” known as Margaret Caswell, was one of those first students in the Chapel granary. She talked about it a lot as to how fun it was.

Stray Thoughts:

There are times in our lives in which “knowing when” can alter the trajectory of our existence.Here are but a few examples:• Knowing when you are old enough to personally choose to leave the children’s table at family dinners.• Knowing when you shouldn’t talk back to parents and knowing when you...