Lifestyles

The night is dark— as the herders sleep
Trusting in—the dogs to keep

This original piece was written in 2018 and defined the Lamar Holiday Basketball Tournament in all its glory. Unfortunately, the tournament was forced to take a leave of absence in December of 2020, but was generally back, if not hesitantly so, last year 2021.

The old man settin’ there on the porch
His hair and mustache white
The young man with a pencil and pad
Lookin’ for a story to write

For over 60 years, Eads, and specifically the United Methodist Church in Eads, was the home to the annual Christmas Cantata. Tommy and Philomene Liesen directed the multi-community choir for most of those years.

Last week I cited some of the somewhat disturbing trends I have found in our culture. I made it known I assumed that, while they were problematic to me, I would understand if no one else seemed troubled by them.

Well, we are comin’ up on the day that has made November famous. Thanksgiving.

Last week’s election brought positive news for those who supported the funding for building a new K-12 School in the McClave School District. The passing of a tax hike in order to build the new school comes with a sizable bill and there was most definitely a slight divide in those who supported the school tax hike (57.

It seems in today’s world no one wants to pull their own weight or haul their own freight. Instead of draggin’ their own wagon they hitch their team to the wagon that’s movin’ fastest.

As we enter November, which means the beginning of the wonderful holiday season that runs through to January, I thought it would be nice to bring you a column centered around what makes the holidays special to people out here on the plains of southeastern Colorado. For the most part, the Holidays means HOME—for old and young alike—as we come together to celebrate family traditions and perhaps bring in some new ones, as well.

Kiowa County was developed due to two distinct historical occurrences that promoted Westward Expansion in the United States. The first was the development of the railroad, in Kiowa County’s case, the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and the second was the federal Homestead Act that brought thousands of landseekers to this neck of the woods hoping to establish a new life as a landowner.

On September 30 Ruthie Hull turned 102 years old. On that day, she was able to return to the family homestead at Mount Sunflower just over the Colorado-Kansas border.

Just published in October, Celeste Ng’s third book is again another Reese’s Book Club pick. I read her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere in 2018 and still remember it.

With the chopping of silage near completion and corn harvest beginning, farmers are busy during the month of October. The harvest moons make their appearances for all to see the wonder in the night sky.

The high school knowledge bowl season kicked off with competitions at Swink and Plainview. Knowledge bowl is an academic competition that includes a written test and three to four rounds during which students answer questions presented orally by a reader.

It took me 3 days to tell him how I felt. When I finally did, he explained that he’d felt the same way for quite a while.

Summer’s over, the Hiatus is behind us and Fight Club for men has returned to Eads.