I keep track of these things so you don’t have to. Effective this week, I have written my column 21 straight years without a miss. If you would like to read the first twenty years, I have published my columns in a two-volume set, which contains more than 1,000 pages and supports a Free Press Journalism Schol­arship for high school […]

When I see the words “Start your free trial now, or today” I get off the online site right away unless it is something I am interested in. Whatever happens, is probably good for the one who is offering the deal. If you forget to cancel they have another sale, they already have your credit card information. Nothing is ever […]

I take exception to what the writer of the letter to the editor wrote in last week’s Free Press. I believe the situation in town isn’t as bleak as he tells it, and I don’t have a clue who the business bullies might be. We moved back to Hillsboro in 1977 and no store owner or employee has told me […]

Hillsboro First Menno­nite Church Pastor Tom Harder, his wife, Lois and their three daughters (Five times Harder) will present a concert of folk and bluegrass music Wed. night, July 24 at 7:30. Watch the fair parade down­town and then go over to the church at Ash & Grand; cool off and listen to great music. Open to the public. ◼ […]

This might be one of the craziest things I have thought up yet. Where does a guy go to drive when he has taken himself off of the road because his reactions are too slow and his vision sucks? You guessed it—The Demo Derby! When I shared this fantastic idea with my wife she ixnayed it right away saying that it […]

This information comes from the Kansas Press Assoc­iation bulletin. A historian who studied journalism coverage of the suffrage and anti-suffrage movements in the early 1900s, said the journalism industry has an opportunity 100 years later to do better than it did the first time by providing necessary history and context to the public. Did you know: ◼ That women suffragists […]

I just read there is a huge pocket of fresh water that lies beneath the Ocean off the east coast of the U.S. and other places around the world. The one off the east coast contains about 670 cubic miles of fresh water, and there are other pockets in other places around the world. This was discovered by researchers at […]

With the Women’s World Cup in Soccer going on these days I can’t help but drop a name. We have met the USA Women’s coach, Jill Ellis, who is a friend of our niece Whitney on one of our trips to LA. Whitney is an attorney and works for a sports management group in LA and just happens to be […]

I think 52 is a pretty good number when it comes to wedding anniversaries. We just celebrated ours on June 8. To celebrate this year we went to Cy’s Hoof and Horn in Sedgwick and spent a dollar for every year we’ve been together. It may sound expensive (included tip) but it always is enough to bring home for another […]

There are many things to look forward to these days. While things haven’t worked out as I had planned for my retirement, there are still many things that go right. The good thing is that I can still do many of the things I used to be able to do. If good balance and being able to see clearly is […]