This post is published with the modest expectation that readers have the capacity to recognize foolish behavior and determine not to follow the examples described. As I do qualify in the body of the narrative, I preemptively point out that,…
Iowa Hero Bud Day Dies at 88
From the Des Moines Register: Retired Col. George “Bud” Day, a Medal of Honor recipient who spent 5½ years as a POW in Vietnam and was Arizona Sen. John McCain’s cellmate, has died at the age of 88, his widow…
The Blizzard of 2011: A Picture of Main Street in Keosauqua, Iowa
Keosauqua has piles of snow.
Nothing puts a lump in your throat quite like, “Drive your tractor to school day,” in Stillman Valley, IL
Today in Stillman Valley, we celebrated, “Drive your tractor to school day.” I am not sure how the FFA chapter decides when to celebrate this gala event (perhaps the last Friday before the March equinox or something). Nor have I…
Meet Pastor Mike Mosier and Zion Bible Church of Douds, IA (You must read the story at the end)
One of my concerns for the church in North America today is that local churches are too disconnected from one another. While there are several highly visible churches, many of the people in our local churches have relatively little awareness…
Same Stars Over Keosauqua
Phil Stong, the author of State Fair, is from my home town of Keosauqua, IA. Here are two excerpts of an article he wrote in 1951. “Let’s go home for Christmas.” This is an airy phrase, a soap bubble of…
Our smiling faces are on the cover of Sports Illustrated. “Let’s buy 5 copies for our mothers”
Sure, it’s the ugliest 9-0 record in D1 history. Still, we’ll take it. It’s a great day for those from the GSOI.
Let’s Wake Up the Hawkeye Echoes
There’s never been a day in my long sojourn on this earth when I could wake up with Iowa undefeated in November. We’ve got Indiana in Iowa City today. Sure, it’s not Florida-Alabama, but we’ll be pumped never the less. …
A Tribute to Bull Fighting on October 12
October 12 brings back Southeast Iowa memories of friends, brothers, and bull fighting. When I was nine years old, Arnold Barker bought a magnificent Black Angus bull and moved it to a farm he owned along the Des Moines River…
Remembering the 1972 County Fair at Keosauqua, IA
I’m biased, but I don’t think there is a better place to grow up than on a farm in Iowa. Thirty seven years ago, I won an award at the Van Buren County Fair in my hometown, Keosauqua, IA. This…