Do you remember what you were doing the morning of Sept. 11, 2001? I was busy that morning getting the Montezuma Republican ready for printing.
     On the front page of that week’s issue was a photo I took at the former Sutfin Furniture on Main Street in Montezuma. The photo was of a sign in the window that stated it was the store’s final day. It was kind of chilling to think for many, it was the final day.
     For some reason, I was thinking we had a television at the Republican office. I don’t remember. Anyway, all of us at the office listened and watched as the events of the day unfolded. A planned attack on American soil.
It’s been 20-years since that day, I day that I will never forgot. I hope none of us forget! 
     I arose early Saturday morning, Sept. 11, 2021, and headed up to Montezuma to cover the 4.12 mile Honor Walk hosted by the Montezuma Fire & Rescue Department. 
    Following a prayer and moment of reflection, fire department volunteers and walkers from Montezuma and elsewhere took to the streets at 7:30 a.m. in honor of the 412 emergency responders who lost their lives on that day. The walk was led by volunteer firemen dressed in their turnout gear, carrying an American and other flags.
    The walk ended at the Freedom Rock on the southeast side of the Poweshiek County Courthouse where a  moment of reflection and prayer was led by the Montezuma American Legion & Auxiliary. The event included the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer and the singing of “God Bless America.”
    During my career, I’ve coved lot of community and school events, parades and other gatherings. I’ve written hundreds of news and features stories and taken more photos than books in the Library of Congress, or it seems so. These memorial events, no matter the cause, are always touching and memorable. I’m thankful to God that He has put me in the position to be on the frontlines of journalism to share these events with others. Thank you for your support.
Following are the events of the 9-11-2001
    • 8:46 a.m. – American Airlines Flight 11 was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing 92 passengers and crew members onboard.
    • 9:03 a.m. – United Airlines Flight 175 was flown into the South Tour of the World Trade Center, killing all 56 passengers and nine crew members onboard.
   • 9:37 a.m. – American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked over Ohio and it crashed into the west side of the Pentagon. The crash killed all 64 crew and passengers onboard the plane and 125 in the Pentagon.  
   • 10:03 a.m. – United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Penn., killing all 44 passengers and crew onboard. The bravery of the passengers who attempted to regain control of the aircraft from the four hijackers ultimately diverted the flight from its intended target of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., to the crash site in Pennsylvania.
    The attacks on 9-11 resulted in 2,977 fatalities, including 412 emergency responders…23 FDNY, 37 police officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police departments, 23 NYPD, eight EMT’s and paramedics and one patrolman from the New York Fire Patrol.
    In wrapping this up, I wish to encourage you to get involved, give to others and be a difference maker right where you are. Change doesn’t start with the nuts in Washington, D.C., it’s starts in our communities, our neighborhoods, our jobs and in our homes. Take time out of your busy life this week and be a difference maker in the life of someone else.
    My momma taught me that it is always better to do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. It’s a truth that has made me the person I am.
    Don’t quit giving and don’t give up. Stand up and be proud – this is America, home of the free and home of the brave.
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

    Pawnee, Okla., a town of about 2,100 folks located 55-miles northwest of Tulsa is home to the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum.
   Pawnee Bill, whose legal name was Gordon W. Lille, was an American showman and Wild West show performer in the late 1800s and early 1900s. According to the museum website, the home, which was completed in 1910, is filled with Lillie family memorabilia of Gordan and his wife, May, photographs, original artwork, and more. The ranch property also houses a museum with exhibits related to Pawnee Bill, Wild West Shows, and the Pawnee tribe. The 500-acre grounds include the original ranch blacksmith shop, a 1903 log cabin, a large barn built in 1926, and an Indian Flower Shrine—all available to the public.
    Pawnee is also the modern day home of the Oklahoma Steam Threshers & Gas Engine Association. The association hosts a steam and tractor show the first weekend in May.
    It was the mid-1980s when I heard about the show and asked my dad if he would like to go. He was delighted. In fact, my mom and brother tagged along that first year.
    I’ve always been interested in old tractors and steams engines and that show was a good one. My dad attended the Pawnee show for many years until his health failed him.
    My dad was always looking for a good deal. I remember a story he told me about the time he found a cultivator seat at the Pawnee show. He asked the fellow how much and it was more than he wanted to pay.
    “I just walked the grounds and came back,” my dad said. “I asked a different person how much for the cultivator seat?”
     “That was still too much,” he said.
    He did that several times and finally was able to get the cultivator seat for around $12, more in his price range.
    In addition to the Pawnee show, Dad and his buddy, Roger, went to tractor and steam engine shows in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri through the years.
    And in 2003, he and Roger made the trek from Oklahoma to Mount Pleasant to attend the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.
    It rained quite a bit that year, but Dad loved every minute he was on the grounds when it quit raining. Debbie and I bought him the video of the show that year for a Christmas present. He and Roger were watching it one night and the two discovered my dad walking through the log cabin at the 1856 Log Village. He always treasured that.
    This past weekend, my Iowa family enjoyed our annual trek to the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion. We have attended reunion as family every year since 2007.
    We had a great time camping, cooking on the grill, walking the grounds, visiting the vendors booths, enjoying the music, riding the steam train and electric trolley and checking out the sights, sounds and demonstrations of life back in the day. I love antiquing and Old Threshers features two buildings of antiques. Add in antiques on the square in Mount Pleasant and I’m doing good.
     And the food! It’s old-fashioned and it’s good. My favorite is the chicken dinner at the Methodist tent. When I first attended the reunion in 1999, the food vendors were in tents with sawdust floors on the north edge of the grounds. Nowadays, they have modern kitchens under a large metal building with seating for hundreds.
    I also collect Old Thresher Buttons and attend the button collector’s forum on Sunday morning in the Colfax School on the north edge of the campgrounds. There is always something to learn and when funds permit, I pick up one of the older buttons from the 1950s. I still need a few more to make my collection complete.
    I love my family and I’m glad they enjoy the Midwest Old Threshers as much as I do. 
I hope you had a good time with your family on Labor Day. And if you get chance, make the trek to Mount Pleasant and attend the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion some year. You’ll love it and want to go back again.
Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

    Not only is Debbie my wife, she is also my organizer, alarm clock, dirty sock picker upper and much more. She’s also my PR agent.
    Let me explain.
   Our oldest nephew, Gavin, was one of three Iowa graduating seniors to receive the Gov. Terry E. Branstad Iowa State Fair Scholarship in a brief ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 14 at the Bill and Anne Riley Stage at the Iowa State Fair.
   In hopes of securing a good location to take photos, I arrived a bit earlier than Debbie and rest of the family only to discover the place was packed. The ceremony was held prior to the crowning of the Iowa State Fair Queen and people were everywhere.
   You know how people are at these type of event – they save seats - lots of seats for family and friends.
I found a seat about halfway back on the west side of the stage. From that vantage point, I would have been lucky to see Gavin, let alone take his picture.
   After a bit, I decided to explore my options for a better photo of the scholarship presentation. That led me over to the east side of stage where Gavin and the other two scholarship recipients were. Gov. Branstad, Bill Riley Jr. and other dignitaries were also present.
   Here comes Debbie. She walks right up on the east side of the Riley stage and speaks with lady from Iowa College Aid, the organization that handles the funding of the Branstad scholarship. She told her that I am a journalist and that I would like to get a photo of Gavin and the former governor. Just like that, I’m standing next to the former governor and I’m taking a photo of him and Gavin holding the certificate prior to the actual event.
    I went from “I can’t see,” to being right in the middle of the action.
Debbie then directed me to a row of wooden chairs in front of the stage for the fair queen judges. I found a seat and was able to take some great photos.
   “I got you right up there,” Debbie said to me after the presentation.
   “You sure did,” I replied. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
   Debbie is a state fair junkie. She’s probably walked every inch of that fairgrounds. She’s spent hours there with her friends, her family and now with me.
   She knows the shortcuts and she knows her way around. She understands the campground and the tradition of families, like hers, who have camped at the fair for many years. I’ve listened to many stories of trips to the fair and I welcome them every year.
    She’s witnessed the many changes to the fair through the years – some she likes and some she doesn’t.
Now that we are married, camping and attending the state fair is part of our lives together. There is always something to do and see at the state fair. There’s people watching and people to visit with and benches to rest a spell and take a quick nap. Our nephews show livestock, so there are shows to watch.
   The first building we stop at on the first day of the fair is Pioneer Hall. I enter antiques and this year I entered 10 items. I earned four ribbons, including a first place ribbon and rosette for my Will Rogers Clock from the 1940s. It’s a neat clock. I first saw it on American Pickers and later was able to purchase one from a seller in Ohio through Ebay.
    I earned a fourth-place ribbon for a Wizard of Oz peanut butter tin, and a third-place ribbon for a lady’s hat that I found in my mother’s things from my parent’s estate. I can’t imagine my mother wore that hat, maybe her mother did. And I picked up a second-place ribbon for my patriotic postcards that I recently purchased on Ebay. I try to enter different postcards each year. My goal next year is to focus on agriculture-related postcards of tractors and farming equipment.
    Anyway, on the last Saturday of the fair, we stopped at the state fair museums. As we milled about one of the museums, a couple and their daughter stopped to visit. 
   The gentleman shared a story about his mother, one of 14 children, saying some of the items in the museum were like things she used growing up. I shared a story about my mom using the metal top from an antique kitchen pantry, like the one they have on display at the museum, that she found at their farm to put out a fire that had gotten out of hand. I shared about meeting Debbie at the fair and about our books and such.
    It was a nice time of reminiscing and reliving memories of days gone by. I always enjoy meeting and visiting with people. I wished I had written down their names. I hope to meet them again at the fair.
​    In this crazy-busy world, it’s nice to take a break from work and the cares of life and enjoy some time at the Iowa State Fair.
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

    Carrying my freshly-filled 32-ounce mug of iced tea from Hardenbrooks at the Iowa State Fair, I scanned the Pella Plaza looking for a place to rest a spell. I noticed an older gentleman seated on a bench by himself, so I asked if I could join him for a while.
      He was wearing a Korean War military ballcap with a medal pinned to it. He welcomed me to take a seat.
      It wasn’t long before I struck up a conversation. I’m good at talking to folks and meeting strangers seems to be one of my specialties.
        As I sipped on my iced tea, I asked the gentleman if he was in the Veterans’ parade.
        “No,” he said. “I came to watch the parade.”
     I introduced myself and he told me his name was Philip with one “L” and that he was from Pleasantville. He said his last name, but I didn’t write it down. 
        We visited a bit and by the time I was done, he had shared most of his life story with me.
        I asked his age and he said he was 91 and had been blessed with good health.
       “I have a good heart,” he said. “I’ll be 92 in October.”
     Philip was drafted into the Army as a young man and served in the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry, 3rdDivision. 
        “I was in the same unit as Audie Murphy, but just in a different war,” he said.
        For those who may not know, Audie was from Texas and served in World War II. He was the most decorated soldier in the military.
        Philip was shipped off to Camp Crowder in Southwest Missouri. From there, he rode a train to Fort Ord in California for infantry training. For Ord has since closed.
       “We were going through a mountain pass and the steam from the train would fill our train car,” he said with a smile.
     He saw action on the frontlines in the Korea War from November 1952 to July 1953, where he earned an Army Combat Infantry badge. It was pinned to his hat. He spoke highly of his time in the military, making reference to his badge a couple times. Philip spent eight years in the Army, two active and six inactive as a member of the reserves.
      After the war, he returned to Pleasantville. He said times were tough and his folks were about to lose the farm. The banker suggested he go into partnership with his parents. Philip said that wasn’t too good of an idea, saying he and his parents would have lost everything. Somehow, he stayed on and saved the family farm.
      I asked if he had married and he told me that he hadn’t. He shared a story of his first love before going to war
      “She was a beautiful girl,” he said. “We dated a couple years.”
       I could tell that it was bringing back memories from a time long ago.
      He said he saw his first love’s father one day after the war and told him that he couldn’t marry his daughter, that he needed to stay and help his parents on the farm.
      Philip said he dated different gals off and on through the years, but never married and he seemed to be fine with that.
     Well, it was time to go, so I asked Philip if I could take his photo, which I did. We shook hands and I said something about hoping to meet him again. He agreed.
    Philip was one of many people I stopped and visited with at this year’s fair. I always talk about meeting Debbie the first time at the state fair. We will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary in September.
Prayer makes a difference
     On Saturday prior to the Iowa State Fair Queen contest, I was mingling about the queen candidates behind the Bill and Anne Riley Stage looking for the Poweshiek County Fair Queen, Miss Hailey Heishman. I found her and asked how she was doing. She said she was having a good experience. I asked if I could take her photo, which I did.
    One of the nearby queen contestants asked some of the girls if they would like to pray. A dozen or more of them held hands and prayed, asking God to bless and be with them.
    In this crazy world we live in, it was refreshing to see these young ladies, all of them vying for the state fair queen title, taking time to pray.
    I live a blessed life and am thankful for every opportunity that crosses my path. I hope you had a chance to attend the Iowa State Fair where memories are made.
Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

    I have been judging 4-H photography since 2012. I love working with the 4-H’ers and helping them become better photographers and better young people.
    This year I judged at the Davis County (Bloomfield) and Johnson County (Iowa City) fairs. I also judged fourth-graders at the Poweshiek County Fair along with open class, which I have done for a half dozen years. 
     It all started thanks to Cathy Lents, the Poweshiek County Extension Director. I had taught several adult and 4-H photography classes and was interested in becoming a judge. Cathy provided the information I needed to take the 4-H judge’s training session, which was held in Polk County in November 2011.
      Judges are asked to use their knowledge to evaluate, educate and encourage 4-H’ers. Sometimes it is hard to tell a 4-H’er that they need to do a little better or to hand out a red or white ribbon. I have given out a lot more blue and purple ribbons than I have red and white.
     My first fair was in Mahaska County in 2012. I was a nervous wreck and a little unsure of myself. But as with all things in life, success starts with a step, a shaky step, but a step. 
     Thanks to the help of some of the other judges, I finished the day and enjoyed the experience. I have since judged in Mahaska County three more times through the years. 
      I have also judged twice in Keokuk County at the 4-H Expo, where I judged creative arts one year. I also judged in Washington County and twice in Benton County. I have judged once in Iowa County and judged open class there twice in years past.
     I’ve also judged twice in Linn County in Central City, the last time due to Covid, I judged virtually. And I’ve also judged one time each in Marion (Knoxville) and Warren (Indianola) counties. I have had chances to judge in Polk, Jasper and Lucas counties, but they didn’t work with my schedule and covering the Poweshiek County Fair.
     Two years ago, I had the opportunity to judge 4-H photography at the Iowa State Fair. That was a different experience as there were no 4-H’ers to talk with about their photos. I’m used to talking to the 4-H’ers and at the state fair, I had to write everything down.
     All the photos that are judged on the county level and advance to the state level, get judged again. There are several eyes that look at the photos on display in the 4-H Building on the state fairgrounds.
Outside of taking good photos, one of the most important aspect of any 4-H project is the write up.
      “I just wanted to take a good photos,” many 4-H’ers will put on their write ups. My questions to the 4-H’er, “why?”
      “Tell me why you took and what interested you in taking this photo?” I will ask.
      I explain to them it is like writing an essay paper. Who, what, when, where and why. That is the teaching part of being a judge.
     I had one 4-H’er not only provide detail in her write up, she wrote separate stories about each photo. All the photos were taken at her grandparent’s farm, which later was destroyed in a tornado.     This young 4-H’er not only captured the memories, she told the story to go with it.
      Film was king when I first started taking photos in the mid-1970s and into the 80s. My first camera was an Argus Twin Lens Reflex camera that used Kodak 620 film. It had a bulky side-mounted flash that used bulbs. My first 35mm camera was a Konica FP-1, which I won in a weight loss bet in 1983 with a co-worker in Tulsa. It was a basic manual focus camera. I later purchased a Konica FT-1 camera. It was more advanced and gave more control over my photography.
    In community college in Oklahoma, I started with a black and white class and then advanced to color. I learned about f-stops, depth of field and rule of thirds. I took a lot of photos, developed lots of film and spent hours in the darkroom crafting my art. I then went to the University of Missouri-Columbia and learned the craft of photojournalism from some great teachers.
     Being a judge is a great opportunity and fun. I learn so much from the 4-H’ers. I’m proud of every 4-H’er that I have worked with, no matter their skill level. They are learning and growing and that is what 4-H is all about.
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

     I had never heard of a butter sculptor or the famous Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair until I moved to this fine state and attended my first fair in 1998.
     Iowa is unique in that there is actually someone who is trained to make a life-size cow and various other characters from Star Trek to Sesame Street, John Deere and Elvis out of butter.
     That task goes to Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines, who spent 15 years learning the butter sculpting trade from the now late Norma “Duffy” Lyon of Toledo. Lyon sculptured her first butter cow in 1960. Pratt took the butter cow reins in 2006 and is only the fifth butter sculptor in Iowa State Fair history since the first butter cow was made in 1911.
     Pratt has also sculptured butter projects at the Kansas State Fair for a number of years. One of her most recent projects was a butter sculpture of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz characters, the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man in 2019. Pratt even made ruby red slippers for Dorothy using red dye and moldy butter for consistency, she said in an interview.
    And in 2017, Pratt and her husband visited my hometown fair, the Tulsa State Fair, where they created a Tilt-A-Whirl butter sculpture.
     And thinking of butter sculptures, a few years ago, Debbie and I were invited to be special guests at an Iowa State Fair themed day at a summer school at Meredith Middle School in Des Moines.
     If my memory serves me right, we had offered to donate some of our books to a Des Moines teacher we met through another teacher, who just happens to be the daughter of the people who run the horseshoe operation at the Iowa State Fair.
    She passed our name along to another teacher and that led to us somehow being invited to this summer school. The teachers are all working on their master’s degree through Drake University.
    The idea was to give young people with various backgrounds and cultures from around the world who now call Des Moines home a chance to learn about the Iowa State Fair. I believe Pratt made an appearance at the school the previous year and taught the students how to make mini butter cow sculptors.
     The DM Register and local television stations were there and filmed the experience. A story in the next day’s Register mentioned our state fair book. 
    It was neat to meet the students and share our books and talents with them. We gave away a number of signed books that day. But more importantly, we shared our culture, talents and ideas with others. We need more of that in our country during these trying times.
     Life is like that. You make connections and meet people on your life journey and that can led to many good things and experiences. A last minute story idea led me to the Iowa State Fair in 2003 where I met Debbie. 
     I once drove through Montezuma on my way back to Columbia, Mo. I never had any idea that I would one day meet my wife, work and live in Montezuma. I’ve been here for 21 years.
Life is about living and making memories with family and friends. If you have a little extra time, take a trip Des Moines and enjoy the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 12 – 22.
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

    Having grown up in Tulsa, Okla. a city of 400,000 plus the neighboring communities, I was fortunate to be raised in the same house and neighborhood all my life.
     I knew all my neighbors and like a small town, we checked on each other and called if we needed anything. 
    My boyhood home was a two-bedroom, one-bath model. It wasn’t fancy, but it was filled with love and good memories. My parents bought and closed on the house on April 11, 1959, just five months and a few days before I was born.
    We prayed at the dinner table, ate together as a family and talked about life as it happened. My parents wanted the best for their children. They took us to church and taught us the good book. If I got in trouble at school, which I did on occasion and got a spanking, I got a second one at home. I’m thankful for every time my mom got the belt out as it kept me from a lot of trouble later in life.
    Our house featured a two-car detached garage. It included a wooden workbench with a vise and there was an attic, which I converted part of into a club house in junior high. I put carpet squares down and had electricity via an extension cord and lights. I had a bean bag chair, a radio, games, a fan and a cot to take nap. It was my boyhood cave of sorts.
      We cooled the house with a window air conditioner and fans during the day and an attic fan at night.
     My folks remodeled the kitchen in the early 1960s and added a utility room to the house in the early 1970s.
   My dad spent many summer days working the yard. He and Mom always had a small garden in the backyard where they grew tomatoes, okra, potatoes, onions, lettuce and green beans. For some years, my parents and another couple from church, grew a large garden in east Tulsa. That garden produced a bounty of goodies.
    I remember spending many summer days at the garden as my dad tilled the earth and Mom gathered the fresh vegetables. I also helped my mom snap green beans for canning and smashing tomatoes in a tomato press. I can still hear Mom’s pressure cooker jingling on the stove.
    My dad enjoyed wilted salads with bacon grease poured on top and fresh onions from the garden. Some the best advice he gave me was to slow down, chew my food and enjoy it.
   Mom was the best cook. Anything fried from chicken to pork chops, fish, potatoes and okra were my favorites. And for years, Mom baked wedding, anniversary and birthday cakes for family, friends and church folks.
     All my neighbors were like family. I was especially fond of the Belknaps, who lived next door to the north. I spent many hours playing dominos with Mr. Belknap and eating popcorn. Mr. Bell, as I called him, was from Harris, Iowa a small town in the northwest part of the state. He attended Texas Christian University where he met his wife, Madge. He was well into his 90s when he passed away in 1991. He would have been in college prior to World War I. I hope to visit Harris someday down the road. 
    The Watson family next door to the south gave me my first camera when I was in junior high school. It was an Argus Twin Lens Reflex camera that used Kodak 620 color film. I still have the camera and a box of photos I took using it.
   I will always be appreciative of the hard work and dedication of my parents to raise their boys with love, care and correction. It’s something that I take to heart in everything I do and achieve in life.
Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.

    With the 2021 Poweshiek County Fair in the books, it’s time to look ahead to the Iowa State Fair, which returns Aug. 12 – 22, following a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Last year’s state fair cancellation was only the sixth time in state fair history that the annual event has been canceled. There was no fair in 1898 due to the world’s fair in Omaha and the Spanish-American War. The fair was also a wartime casualty for a four-year span from 1942-45. Last year was the first time that the fair was cancelled due to a pandemic.
   I’m looking forward to the fair’s return and spending time with my family in the campground all while searching the fairgrounds for benches to take short naps. Of course, the state fair has special meaning to me as it was where I met Debbie in August 2003. We will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary on Sept. 25.
Some of my favorite fair foods are at Beattie’s Watermelon Stand. In addition to the watermelon, the family-owned business serves huge tenderloins and some tasty ham and roast beef sandwiches. I’m not a big tenderloin fan, but the ham and roast beef is hard to beat.
   Another favorite of mine is a polish sausage stand located on the southside of the Varied Industries Building. My mother-in-law told me about the food stand a few years back. It’s hard to beat a polish sausage with fried onions and mustard. Top it off with an extra-large iced tea and all in the world is good.
   My favorite place to visit at the fair is Pioneer Hall. I always enter antiques in the fair and have won a number of ribbons through the years. I enjoy visiting the antique booths and listening to the music.
   Back to food, according to the state fair website, 70 percent of fair attendees come for the food. With an average of 1 million attendees, that is 700,000 plus people who bring a wallet full of bills to feed the family fair food.
   There are currently 69 food items served on a stick offered at the fair, as noted on the fair website. This includes bologna on a stick. Being from the south, I’ve never had bologna on a stick, but I have enjoyed many fried bologna and cheese sandwiches with a slather of mayo between two slices of bread. It’s hard to beat a fried bologna and cheese sandwich.
   One thing I didn’t see on the list was fried butter on a stick. I did find an article that it was first served at the fair in 2011. I can’t imagine biting into a whole stick of butter on a stick dipped in a cinnamon honey batter and deep fried, coated in a sugary glaze.
   Anyway, there is the famous Butter Cow, one of the main attractions of the Iowa State Fair. Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines is the current butter cow sculptress and only the fifth person in state fair history to sculpt the butter cow since its beginning in 1911. She spent 15 years learning the trade under the late Norma “Duffy” Lyon of Toledo before taking over the job in 2006.
   According to the state fair website, the butter cow starts with a wood, metal, wire and steel mesh frame and about 600 pounds of low moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. Once inside the 40-degree cooler in the Agriculture Building, layers of butter are applied until a life-size butter cow emerges - measuring about 5.5-foot high and 8-foot long. Each year, much of the butter is recycled and can be reused for up to 10 years.
   A real dairy cow weighs more than 1,000 pounds, but the butter version comes in at around 600 pounds. Did you know the butter cow would butter about 19,200 slices of toast and take an average person two lifetimes to consume?
   If fried butter doesn’t tantalize your taste buds, there are plenty of other foods on a stick to try. They include pickle on a stick, peanut butter and jelly on a stick, apple pie on a stick, loaded tators on a stick, deep fried Twinkies, cookie dough in a waffle on a stick, caramel dipped pecan pie on a stick, deep fried cherry pie on a stick, bacon wrapped riblet, salad on a stick, smoothie on a stick and funnel cake on a stick. And of course, one of my favorites, pork chop on a stick. There is also pork belly on a stick and pork on a stick. 
   The state fair unveiled a new list of fair foods in an email I received the other day. They include a chicken bacon ranch ball on a stick, Barney’s beef ribs, rattle snack sausage, rattle snake corn dog, Nashville fried chicken sandwich, Maytag bleu cheese dip, peel and eat scrimp, bacon, tomato and avocado egg salad with Indian fry bread chips, flaming hot Cheeto funnel cake, Tennessee Twinkies, cowboy beans, bacon pickle mac n’ cheese, pickled spicy eggs and a large Duke’s Quebec style poutine. Poutine is a dish of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. Another new fair food this year is Waygu beef hamburger made from a Japanese beef cattle breed. I like hamburgers. I might have to try one.
   I hope you can take time from the busyness of life to enjoy the state fair with your family and friends. There’s plenty to do, to see and to enjoy from the entertainment to the food. It’s also good place to make new friends and relive family traditions.
   Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.
 

    I’ve enjoyed eating my share of bacon, sausage, ham and pork chops during my life. But it wasn’t until I became a community journalist and moved to Iowa that I received an education worthy of distinction in the art of raising, showing and photographing hogs, pigs or swine.
    I mention hogs, pigs and swine as it seems that all three names fit them well. One farmer I spoke with and asked what the correct name was for a hog, pig or swine, and he said, “they all work.”
​    I am reminded of this as the Poweshiek County Fair gets underway this week and I will be there covering most of the animal competitions, including the swine show.
     Having grown up a city boy, I knew very little about the critters. My grandfather on my mom’s side had a few hogs back in day as did my Uncle J.W., my mom’s younger brother, who raised them for food.
     I remember once when I was a young fellow going to a farm sale and my Uncle J.W. bought a runt pig for 50 cents. We all thought the little fellow was going to make it, but the odds were not in its favor.
     Some years after moving from Tulsa to their farm in Bixby, Okla., my parents bought a couple Berkshire hogs to root out the weeds in the family garden. Mom and Dad built a moveable pen and let the hogs do the rest of the work.
     Without going into too much detail, one of the hogs didn’t make it all summer due to lack of water and the hot Oklahoma summer.
    Since moving to Iowa, I have not only learned a thing or two about the animals, I’m also a good pig photographer, an adventure in itself.
    I’m quite proud to say that I have photographed the swine show at the county fair every year since 1998.
     Some may recall reading a column or two that I have written in years past about the first time I tried to photograph the animals at the county fair. It was July 1998, less than a year after I graduated from college and moved to Iowa. I was sent to the Iowa County Fair to cover the swine show, or hog or pig show.
    The swine show superintendent at the time decided to finish the show then take the winning photos. That was not too bright of an idea as it was getting dark and the animals had returned to the comfort of their temporary homes for the evening.
     So, here comes a long line of hogs from the barn to the showring.
    It was quite an experience for a city boy. One fellow had a bucket of slop and another fellow had a table-top like device he used to keep the ornery critters in line.
    After sometime of trying to coax the animals to stand still for more than 5 seconds, the powers that be got one hog to stand still. I ended up taking about a half dozen photos of 4-H’ers holding their winning banners in front of the same pig.
   Since that experience, I have learned a thing or two about photographing the animals. I’ve also expanded my knowledge of the different types of hogs. For example, there are barrows, boars, gilts and sows.
    I’m planning to dive more into the different types of hogs next. Stay tuned for more.
I hope to see you at the Poweshiek County Fair. Stop and say hello and maybe we can talk some pig, hog or swine business.
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.
 

   My (almost) new American Flag is flying high at the Parker Homestead, thanks to family and friends.
    The flagpole kit was a gift from Debbie for Christmas about a dozen years ago. It had been in the basement closet for a long time. I’m not too good about getting around to these household projects. I have several other projects to wrap up, too.
    We had a handyman coming last November to install a new gatepost for our horse pen, so while he was out, I had him install the base of the flagpole. It took about a half dozen bags of concrete mix, some water and muscle to get the job done.
    At some point, I had opened the box and got the instructions and kit items out such as the pully, rope and other attachments, which I somehow misplaced. I’m sure they are stuffed in a box or plastic tub somewhere in our home. No problem, a stop at the local hardware store and I had all I needed to get Old Glory flying high.
    And in typically J.O. fashion, the base was installed but I hadn’t gotten around to finishing the project. Thanks to one of my kind and hardworking nephews, the flag is now flying high.
   I was driving home from my day job the other day and Old Glory was waving in the wind. It makes me proud to be an American.
    I can remember as a kid growing up saying the Pledge of Allegiance to start the day. I always remember my family praying at the dinner table before each meal. I can still hear my dad laying in the bed at night praying for his family. It made a difference.
     Putting up my flag couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s sort of a celebration of good things to come in this great nation.
    American is getting back on its feet and back in business following COVID. Folks are out and about enjoying life again after being prisoners in their homes for most of last year.
    Many Iowa communities celebrated the Fourth of July and America’s 245th birthday this past weekend. I covered parades and celebrations in Montezuma and Grinnell. And three weeks ago, I covered the Brooklyn Flag Festival activities.
    There are several things that come to mind that I believe make this a great nation.
The freedom to worship God.
    Our military who serve and our Veterans who served, many giving their lives for our freedoms.
The great men who signed the Declaration of Independence and had the forethought to establish this nation with principal and common sense. It’s something we need more of in this country, especially in Washington, D.C.
   Our police, sheriff deputies, highway patrolman, FBI and other law enforcement agencies who keep us safe.
    The freedom to speak our mind and protect our families, thanks to our forefathers.
   The great men and women who forged through challenges to build buildings, develop companies and create products and create jobs, making life better for all.
   We can fly or take a train. We can drive or take a bus. We can come and go as we please.
   We can buy homes and land and sell it as well.
   We can study at great universities and colleges, no matter our age.
   We can learn a trade or improve our skills, no age requirements
  We can dream and follow our dreams. Whatever it is, if you can imagine it, you can do it in America.
   My hope is that the people of this county will continue to stand and not lose sight of our rights and make this nation great for now and future generations.
  Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.