Book will mark 150th for Marion

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 23 August 2011 14:39

Marion is celebrating its 150 birthday this year—which most of you already know—and which happens to be the sesquicen­tennial for state of Kansas.

At first I had problems being able to say “sesquicentennial,” but now with practice it flows off of my tongue quite fluidly. If you need help saying the word, it is pronounced this way: seskwisen’ten??l.

There are other significant milestones in Marion in addition to its sesquicentennial. Old Settler’s Day is celebrating 100 years, the hospital is celebrating 100 years of health-care services in Marion and the Marion Historical Museum is reaching its 50th anniversary.

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To help celebrate these events and commemorate Marion’s history we are publishing another photo book...

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Landscape changes to the north

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 16 August 2011 15:36

The rain line isn’t far north of here. On a quick trip to Lincoln, Neb., Friday, I was amazed at the difference in how the corn looks just north of here compared with our burned-up crop.

Once you get past Abilene, the crops are a luscious green. I saw in a Nebraska newspaper that they might be looking at a record crop this season.

According to the prices I saw at Cooperative Grain & Supply headquarters this morning, I wish I had bins full of beans to sell at around $13 per bushel.

Unfortunately, abundant rain is not something we can count each year in these parts.

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My mom’s uncle Leonard Schroeder would be the right guy to have in charge of our country right now. He was as frugal as they come.

I was told that when he got...

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Free papers not dead these days

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 09 August 2011 15:35

I attended a publishers and owners summit sponsored by Midwest Free Community Papers in Dubuque, Iowa, this weekend and was in awe of the wealth of experience and knowledge in the room.

The consensus is that print is not dead in the free-paper industry. It is still the one medium that delivers the message to all age groups and income levels that advertisers seek. While dailies are suffering, the free weeklies are strong in the communities they serve.

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Dubuque is a unique city in that the city dads have made sure the old buildings have been preserved for new uses and not demolished. It has the only gold dome courthouse in the state, and it has been refurbished twice—all paid for by donations, not city funds.

Dubuque is located on...

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Fair a great event for all ages

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 02 August 2011 19:50

The 81st Marion County Fair is in the books and I believe I can safely say it was one of the hottest ever. The early fairs were in October, so those years wouldn’t have come close to this one.

The temperature on the bank was 109 degrees when the parade kicked off Wednesday and really never let go until Friday, when it rained about an inch. If you missed seeing the parade in person you can see it on our website under “Breaking News” at hillsborofreepress.com.

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The Friday rain and cool-down was perfect for the carnival later that night. It had to be worth lots of cash for the carnival and I’m glad for that. According to our grandsons, it was a great one, and by the number of times they rode the Zipper, we determined the...

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