The Old Settlers Day celebration in Marion is quite an event, for those of you who have never been to it. This past weekend was the 95th annual. I had the privilege of judging the parade on Saturday morning along with Kristen Cooper and Benny Holtsclaw, who also sang the national anthem quite splendidly.
The parade was huge and I think the Marion High School band went through twice unless I was seeing things.
It was amazing to me that we were unanimous in one category of judging, and all three of us picked the top three in the other two categories-only not in the same order, necessarily.
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I have met many wonderful people through the years who have had us help them print their books through the book-printing side of our business.
One particular project I really enjoyed helping with involved a children's book written by an Oklahoma woman who was planning to give all of the proceeds from the 3,000 books she printed to a little Amish girl and her family. The little girl is fighting leukemia.
The book is called a "Story of Faith" by Melynna Hewitt. A friend of hers did all of the illustrations, which are extremely well done. In a short time she has already sold $9,000 worth of books.
We don't sell books for our printing customers, but if you are interested in helping with this cause we can put you in touch with her.
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I think one of Hillsboro's best-kept secrets is Wheatbelt Inc., makers of rolling shutters for many applications. Roger Hofer has quietly been growing and expanding his business and it now has attained the 25-year milestone.
I learned at the open house on Saturday that a lot of what they manufacture is shipped out of the country, making it truly an international business.
Employment has grown and the floor space has grown tremendously. We congratulate everyone at Wheatbelt on their success.
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I don't know about the rest of you, but I was really concerned for Popeye the Sailor Man when spinach was taken off of the shelves for a while. Fortunately for all of us, spinach is back.
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After watching all of the crime scene investigation shows, I learned a trick that came in quite useful recently. I called someone and left a message. Then they called me back and left a message. I didn't have their phone number because I misplaced the little piece of paper it was written on, and it was a cell number so wasn't in the book.
I just used the redial like I've seen them do on TV to find out whom the victim last called. I wasn't a victim, but you get the idea.
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Since the house we used to own on South Adams was open on Sunday, we thought we'd see what had been done to it in the past five years. The present owners picked up where we left off and made it spectacular. If we still had kids at home, it would be the perfect place for us.
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I know why the TV show "Lost" is called "Lost." I am lost about what is happening every time I watch it.
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Seems as if we all need to be reminded that there are people who would like to scam us at every turn. The rule is to be wary of people you don't know.
