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THE BABYSITTER AND THE BOYS It seems a lifetime ago, in the land where the Chiefs ruled the gridiron and the court, my Dad was a young Superintendent of Schools working his way up from one large school district to an even larger school district with more students and more responsibility. Iroquois was in fact the fourth place I had come to live in my young life after having lived in Hosmer, Selby, and then Bowdle where our Dad had served as either a teacher or Superintendent. Iroquois is where I...
THE GHOST OAK In 2017 with our youngest daughter graduating from high school, and the corporation I worked for being simultaneously acquired by a larger firm, my wife suggested we make yet another move. After 13 years in Colorado, she wanted someplace wetter, greener, and warmer. We ultimately settled in a home outside New Bern, North Carolina that met both my bride’s and my prerequisites; hers as previously stated, and mine being near a military base, a home on a single level meaning no s...
LETTERS HOME It's been three years since my Mom passed away and some boxes containing her possessions remained unopened. To say that she saved and stored away scraps of life's bits and pieces would be an understatement. Although she was no pack rat or hoarder by any stretch of the imagination, my Mom did save some unique mementos of people, places, and events that occurred during her lifetime. The complete edition of the November 1963 Aberdeen American News newspaper detailing the assassination...
ora et labora… A Daily Routine Who can honestly say that the daily rhythm of their life has not been upset to some degree by the introduction of the COVID-19 virus into American society? While millions around the world have become infected, we are fortunate at least that the mortality rate of the current virus is significantly lower than the previous pandemic. In fact, to quote numbers, in 1918 the influenza epidemic was notable for its virulence where over 20 million people died worldwide: approximately half a million (500,000) in the U...
PANDEMIC PRAIRIE PEDIGREE Most likely, like mine, your family has a story to tell of the most recent past pandemic that occurred in 1917 and stretched into 1919. The influenza, or Spanish Flu, as it was mistakenly called, is thought to have originated in the World War I military training camp outside Fort Riley, Kansas known as Camp Funston. Having spent time at Camp Funston during a hot, humid summer training in preparation for an overseas deployment in 2006, I understand the virology of how men from small farms and large cities packed...