I don’t know the name of the girl to whom my Dad proposed marriage before he met my mother. I never heard it, and if either of my sisters did, they’ve forgotten. Most definitely it is not recorded in the family Bible. Whatever became of this ex-fiancee, I wonder? Did she and Dad stay in ...

The Sinking Boat Analogy To understand what Depression might feel like, imagine taking a boat out on a lake. The boat can coast along the water and get where it needs to go easily. When the wind picks up and the waves become higher, it makes the ride a little bumpy and may slow you down, but ...

A double whammy hit young Edwin Coppoc of Winona in early 1842. His father died and because his mother was unable to care for all her six children, 6-year-old Edwin was sent to live with John Butler near Salem. Butler, a Quaker, was a “conductor” in the Underground Railroad. He reportedly ...

Forget the hateful things I wrote about pond muck. Pond muck is my new best friend in the garden. “Pond muck is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer packed with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, suitable for gardens, trees, and composting,” according to Google’s AI ...

“You have to cut back on the garden this year,” my wife said. I nod and smile. Of course I will (won’t.) Honey has to share part of the blame because of her no-kill philosophy about the spring vegetable and flower plants she starts in our house under, as she puts it, 16 feet of grow ...

David Holbrook died. David was my summer friend and the other half of our gang, The Ringneck Club, during endless boyhood days at the Tomlinson Run State Park swimming pool in the 1950s. David was always there because his father, Napoleon “Nap” Holbrook, was in charge at the state park. ...