Written by Joel Klaassen Wednesday, 13 February 2008 09:25

It’s always good to connect with our kids and grandkids as we did again this past week in Atlanta.

Cameli’s Pizza just finished its big expansion and Friday night was the grand reopening event, which created record sales for the 12-year-old business.

Weather can create a lot of havoc. It tried to make trouble but failed as we got out before the snow on Tuesday night. The lightning and the rain while driving in the dark to the airport early Tuesday was a bit odd.

You could have read about this one in the Reader’s Digest, but it really happened here in Hillsboro.

The pastor announced on Sunday morning that the offering was going to be moved up from where it was listed in the bulletin to right after the hymn...

Read more: Trip means connecting with family

Written by Joel Klaassen Wednesday, 06 February 2008 16:09

In the you-can’t-win-them-all department: K-State finally beats KU in Bramlage, then loses at Mizzou. New England can’t finish with an unbeaten season in Super Bowl XLII.

This is one Super Bowl where the game was better than the commercials. I thought the best ad was the toddler talking about his investments and hiring a clown from his earnings.

Ham and green bean soup is one of my favorites. It takes about three hours to finish one bowl—10 minutes to eat it and the rest of the time to pick the ham out of your teeth.

The following is from a blog by Jack Schultz, author of Boomtown USA, which I thought would be worth passing along.

 Second Oldest Profession

No, I didn’t mean it that way! Here is my...

Read more: You can't win them all, I guess

Written by Joel Klaassen Wednesday, 30 January 2008 10:24

It’s a rare thing in these parts when a business celebrates 140 years of continuous operation and in the same location which I think is even more noteworthy. Look no further than Case and Son Insurance in Marion. That business has been on Marion’s main street since 1868 and is in its fifth generation of the Case family.

We congratulate the Case’s and their employees for this remarkable achievement.Here is a word of caution to anyone who eats while watching TV and likes to have the remote handy at the same time.

We were having spaghetti while I was watching the NFL playoffs and I came really close to using the remote for a breadstick to push some noodles onto my fork.While in Texas recently I went out to dinner at the Texas Land...

Read more: 140 years in a family business

Written by Joel Klaassen Wednesday, 23 January 2008 09:35

I took Inter­state 35 to Dallas this past week and didn’t notice if it was a NAFTA road or the highway to heaven or hell, which was the subject of Dale Suderman’s column in last week’s Free Press.

I saw one truck from Canada in Oklahoma, but it looked just like our trucks except for the tags and sign on the door.

For two days I experienced what it’s like to commute to work in a big city. I stayed with a friend in Garland and then drove ito downtown Dallas for the Texas Press Association trade show at the Fairmont Hotel. That experience is a far cry from walking across the street to work. Maybe it is something to get used to, but I don’t know how people can do that every day. Nothing is measured by miles. Just in minutes...

Read more: I-35 just an interstate after all