I just wrapped up covering the 2023 Poweshiek County Fair, July 8 and July 11 – 16, in Grinnell. This is my 24th year to cover the Poweshiek County Fair and 27th county fair overall since moving to Iowa in December 1997.
I take great pride in knowing that my streak of covering swine shows continues onward. I have photographed a lot of hogs, pigs or swine, as they are called, having never missed a year. Even during the three-year stretch that I wasn’t working for a newspaper, I still attended and covered the Poweshiek County 4-H and FFA Swine Show and the rest of the fair. I have also enjoyed a lot of pork chops, ham sandwiches and bacon and probably have eaten some of the pigs I have taken photos of through the years. I have attended the Poweshiek County Fair long enough that I am now taking photos of kids of kids I photographed when I first arrived at the Montezuma Republican on July 20, 2000. I had just covered the Iowa County Fair the previous week and two days after arriving in Montezuma, I found myself covering the Poweshiek County Fair. I didn’t know a soul. Had it not been for a Montezuma family, I would have been totally lost. I take great pride in covering and supporting the 4-H and FFA programs in Poweshiek County. This includes covering the county fair and various events at area schools throughout the school year. Anything I can do to support these local youth programs is time well spent. It has led to me receiving the FFA Blue and Gold Award and the Friend of 4-H Award some years ago. I also have great respect for 4-H leaders and FFA advisors who spend hours helping young people get ready to show an animal, create a project or participate in a state or national contest. Thanks also goes to all the parents and family members who spend hours helping their children with their projects. Seeing them shine, no matter how they placed, is something to celebrate. Having grown up in the big city, I wasn’t involved in agriculture. My grandparents on my mom’s side of the family had an old milk cow. My mom loved the opportunity to bring home a gallon or two of fresh cow milk when visiting. She had a churn and sometimes would make fresh butter. I wouldn’t drink raw milk if I had to. I have always preferred milk from the store. I remember having the opportunity, if you call it that, of plucking chickens. My grandpa would tie the chickens to a board stretched across the corner of the fence and chop of their heads. It was my job to take a freshly killed chicken and dunk it into a pot of hot water, then pull the feathers off the dead critter. I sure did enjoy that experience – not! In the late 1960s, my folks joined forces with another family from the First Baptist Church in Tulsa and they grew a huge garden on a spot of land in East Tulsa. When I was about age 7, my dad and the other family drove to the Arkansas River to get a load of gypsum mineral to fertilize the garden. I got out of the truck and made a few steps before I started sinking. I thought I was in quicksand as my dad reached out and snatched me to safety. He had to go back and retrieve my shoe that got stuck in the gypsum. My parents bought a rototiller from Montgomery Wards in the late 1960s and would carry it to the farm to plow around the plants. They grew tomatoes, onions, potatoes, okra, corn, green beans, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupes, watermelons and more. In the years that followed, my folks had a garden at my boyhood home in Tulsa. My dad enjoyed eating wilted salads with onions fresh from the garden. After my parents moved to their farm south of Tulsa in the early 1980s, they bought a Jersey cow so they could have fresh milk. That old cow lived for years and produced many gallons of milk and lots of butter. My dad also owned about 40 head of cattle that he ran on their 20-acres and the adjoining 40-acre farm to the west. When people would ask my dad how many cattle he owned, he always said, “Under 100” with a chuckle. After moving to their farm, they grew a number of gardens and my mom did lots of canning. They also had chickens and enjoyed the bounty of eggs that they produced. There are lots of great memories just like the ones I am making at the county fair with my many friends. Thank you to all those who support my work at the county fair and across the county. It is much appreciated. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.
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I’m so proud of my wife, Debbie, and love her very much.
This year marks 20-years since we first met at the Iowa State Fair. In September, we will celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. And we just learned last week that our “love story” on how we met at the state fair is possibly going to be featured in the Iowa State Fair Museum across the road from Pioneer Hall. It all came about last year while visiting the museum where we saw a poster or display requesting state fair love stories. We filled out a form and left it with the museum curator. We had forgotten about it until the other day when I mentioned it to Debbie, as we had not heard anything. A couple days later, we received an email asking us to send in a short paragraph of how we met along with a photo. We are still in the running to be featured at the fair museum. I remember the first time I attended the Iowa State Fair in 1998. I was fairly new to Iowa and had heard about the great fair. At that time, all the trams met next to the agriculture building. Those who climb that hill these days to hitch a ride to the campground or Pioneer Hall know all too well how nice it was back in the day. I ended up on the wrong tram and landed in the fair campground. I didn’t have my hand stamped (a must anytime you go on the state fairgrounds) as I thought the tram was headed to the parking lot. I was wrong and ended up in the campground and was the last rider on the tram at the gate. I thought I was going to have to pay to get into the fair a second time to get out of the fair to go home. Thankfully the gate keeper let me through. Making my way down the hill, I ended up hitching a ride with two police officers on a golf cart after asking for directions. I was hanging on for dear life as we zoomed through people and cart traffic on the grand concourse headed to one of the gates. And one of the police officers must have been having troubles at home as he was talking awful about his family with the other officer. I don’t remember a thing he said, but can’t forget the experience. Five years later in 2003, I met Debbie in the campground while doing a newspaper photo story on state fair campers. I was walking along one of the camper rows filled with lots of Montezuma families and there she was standing by her family camper. The rest is history. At the time, I was actually thinking about wrapping up my time in Iowa in the newspaper business and heading south to my native Oklahoma for a job. God had something different in mind and all is good 25 plus years later. And thinking about good, Debbie is ready to release her third book, “Attempting Redemption,” in the Hope Series. Unlike her first two books, “The Auctioneer” and “Moving On,” she did all the work on this book, including the cover design. We had two area people help with editing and appreciate their services. We will be making a book order this week and plan to host a book signing sometime later in the month. We will announce it on Facebook and our website at Our Front Porch Books. She also has written a novella entitled, “Mister Christmas,” that she plans to release in the fall. The book is about folks in an Iowa town who almost don’t have a Christmas celebration. And she has written and is editing book four in the Hope Series, (Accidental Reveal), with a goal to release it in the fall. And thinking about books and authors, we are bringing back the All-Iowa Writers’ Conference this year after a three-year hiatus due to Covid. Debbie has been working hard on the line-up of speakers and so far we have four authors booked. The conference is Sept. 16 and is currently slated to be held at the Brooklyn Ruritan Building. And I am hoping to offer a short writing course this fall. I will share more details when possible. It is exciting times in the book and writing world at the Parker house. I can’t forget to mention that it is almost county fair time in Poweshiek County. I will be there the entire fair taking photos of all the award-winning youngsters and their prized animals. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of fun. This is my 24th year to cover the Poweshiek County Fair. I’ve taken a lot of hog and other animal photos through the years and love every minute of it. I hope to see you there. Come on out to the county fair and sit a spell and let’s visit. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I opened my presentation to the 35 plus attendees at the Marengo Methodist Church Women of Faith luncheon last week with a story about my dad.
“My dad loved to visit and no one was a stranger to him,” I told the gathering. I went on to talk about a trip Dad and I took together in June 1989 to the Grand Canyon. “My dad would stop and talk to anyone,” I said. I said it used to drive me crazy that he could talk to a total stranger. “Now, I do the same thing,” I said. “No one is a stranger to me.” I was invited to the luncheon to talk about my postcard collection by a former co-worker at Marengo Publishing Company (MPC). It was a honor to be there. I ended up sharing a little bit about my life and how I met Debbie, all mixed with dos and don’ts of collecting postcards. This is the fourth time since March 2022 that I have shared about my postcard collection. I have spoken at the English Valleys History Center in North English, the Genealogical Society of Linn County in Cedar Rapids and the Poweshiek County Historical and Genealogical Society in Montezuma. This was by far the largest group I have spoken to about postcards. After I mentioned my name, several of the ladies indicated that they knew me. I am sure it is because of my newspaper column, which is published in newspapers in Iowa and Benton counties along with the Poweshiek County CR. After my one-hour presentation, several asked questions. I also brought 10 of my three-ring binders of postcards for attendees to check out. One lady wanted to have her photo taken with me, saying I was a celebrity. I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but I do appreciate the attention and give God the honor for pulling me out of my shell and opening the door to life’s wonderful possibilities. Another lady said she enjoyed listening to me and that it would have been OK if I had talked for another hour. I definitely have the gift of gab. I also shared about the four books that Debbie and I have self-published – “An ABC Photo Album of the Iowa State Fair,” “Family Reunion – Midwest Old Threshers,” and Debbie’s two novels in the Hope Series, “The Auctioneer,” and “Moving On.” I announced that Debbie, who was with me in Marengo, had just ordered a proof of book three, “Attempting Redemption.” She did all the work on book three, except for proofreading, including designing her own cover. For the first two books, we hired a cover designer. Once she approves the book, she will order copies to sell. Her goal is to have the book out by the end of June or early July. She also has a novella she has written entitled “Mister Christmas.” Plans are to release that book in the fall and hopes are to release book four in the Hope Series in the fall as well. We will announce the release of book three and have plans in the works to hold a book signing event in Montezuma. And thinking about books and writing, we plan to host the All-Iowa Writers’ Conference on Sept. 16 in Brooklyn. This will be our 11th conference and the first since 2019 due to Covid. Debbie is busy working on the lineup and for those who plan to attend, it will be a day filled with lots of wit and wisdom. I’m thankful for every opportunity and open door. I love sharing stories, covering and writing community news and talking about God and life. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. Friday, May 19 started out like any day of the week.
I rustled out of bed just after 5:15 a.m., showered and prepared for the workday. Arriving at work just before 6:30 a.m., I pulled into a parking spot behind the office. I shut off my van, which had run great, entered the building and clocked in for the workday. Our morning meeting started at 6:40 a.m. It was at least 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes after arriving at work, when someone looked out the warehouse door during our morning meeting and noticed a vehicle on fire. As some of the employees headed outside, I followed suit. Within a few moments, I realized that my van was on fire. Inside the van were a few personal items along with my glasses and New Balance shoes. I was one of five employees that day who had volunteered to participate in the Poweshiek County Extension Ag Safety Day in Montezuma. I brought my New Balance shoes to change into to make standing all day more comfortable. After the Grinnell Fire Department put out the fire, I looked and the entire front of the van was melted. The licenses plate, the headlights, grill and even most of the dash were a melted mass of plastic. Everything plastic was melted off the engine, including one of the valve covers. I may have been in shock, I don’t know. One of the office employees gave me hug as I stood there looking at the van wondering what was next. What do I do? Management decided to send me home, which was a good move. I hitched a ride with the crew headed to Montezuma for safety day. By days end, I had contacted the local bank and Chevrolet dealer about another vehicle. I connected with Teen Challenge/Sheepgate and donated what was left of the 2004 Mercury. It was my mom’s van and Debbie and I took possession of it in October 2010 as was the wishes of my parents following their earlier deaths. It served us well and had 227,000 plus miles on it. Many have asked what happened and I don’t know the cause of the fire. The Grinnell FD Chief said he wasn’t going to try and find a cause. What I am most thankful for is no one was hurt. No other vehicles in the parking lot were damaged. And the fire didn’t happen while I was driving or sitting in the van. That is a good thing. Debbie and I and our oldest nephew returned to my work later in the day and retrieved a couple items out of the back of the van. Debbie found my glasses case, which was tucked in front of the center console. She had just bought the $3 glasses case on Amazon a few weeks earlier. The case was somewhat melted, but the glasses were fine. My New Balance shoes didn’t fare as well as debris from the fire had melted on them. They went to the trash can. That evening, the telephone rang and it was Ron Hensel, aka Ron the Barber in Montezuma, on the other end of the line. He called to ask if it would be OK if he set up a fund drive to help us get another vehicle. Humbled, I of course said yes and thanked him for what he was doing. He opened the account with $200. He posted a picture of our burnt van and asked others to help. He spoke of my years of writing stories and taking photos of various events around Poweshiek County. “J.O. had liability Insurance on his van but by it being an older vehicle and totaled, he could use Poweshiek County residents help,” Ron wrote in his post. “Many pictures and stories he's given us, maybe we can give a little something back.” In addition, a week later, a co-worker of mine opened a Go Fund Me account seeking funds. It was a big help. Thanks to the generosity of so many, we were able to purchase a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban from Vannoy Chevrolet in Montezuma on June 9. Capra Bank in Montezuma was a big help in keeping track of the fundraiser and Montezuma State Bank helped us with a small vehicle loan to purchase the Suburban. It’s older, but has low miles and has been well taken care of. It will serve Debbie and I well for a number of years. So many stepped up to make a difference. Ron did a great job keeping folks updated and then shared a photo of our newer ride. One lady sent us a card in the mail and talked about the time I wrote a story on her business. She included a nice donation. Others thanked me for all I have done in telling people’s stories. One man handed me a donation at a community event and thanked me for all I have done. Another young lady posted on Facebook about me being the best photographer at the Poweshiek County Fair. “I remember being stressed after the rabbit show after I didn't do as good as I wanted and J.O. was going to take a picture and I replied with, "But I didn't win." He calmly stated, "It's still important. You worked for it." Those words have always been in my mind since. I'm glad that he is appreciated by everyone in Poweshiek County!” Talk about beauty from the ashes. In closing, the success that I have enjoyed in community journalism would not be possible without people supporting the paper and allowing me to tell their stories. Debbie also plays an important part in my life. She is my resident proofreader. I bounce ideas off her and she gives me story ideas and helps in so many ways. She gets me up and ready to go each and every day. I’m so thankful for all she does to make life better for both of us. I’m so blessed! Life to me is about giving to others and Debbie and I are most thankful for everyone who gave and made a difference in our lives. It is so much appreciated and will never be forgotten. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. Graduations at most high schools, colleges, tech schools, junior colleges and other learning institutions are in the books for 2023.
Congratulations! The world is a better place because of you. You are valuable and have purpose on this earth. I hope that soaks down in your heart as you plan for your future in whatever direction you decide. It may be selecting a college or choosing a career or new job or who you will date and marry. Life is full of challenges and also failures. Many of the victories I have had in my life have come with a few failures along the way. When I returned to college at the University of Missouri-Columbia in my early 30s, I faced a myriad of challenges. I was a non-traditional student and my goal was to get into journalism school. I had barely passed high school English some 15 years earlier. Math was also not one of my strong points. I took a pre-college math test when I arrived in Columbia and the folks at the testing center encouraged me to return to high school. I had previously dropped out of college algebra twice when I was encouraged by the math department to take a non-credit pre-algebra course at MU to prepare more for the main course. I found a tutor to help me and I attended algebra tutoring courses through the math department a couple days a week. After finals in pre-algebra, I ended up with a “D” in the course. I needed a “C” to move on to college algebra. At the end of that school year, sometime around 1994, I paid a visit to the MU math department chair. I explained my situation and asked if there was anything I could do that summer to bring my grade up to a “C” so I could move on. “No,” the math chair said. “But let me talk to your instructor and see if we might have made a mistake on scoring your final.” A door of opportunity had just opened and I was about ready to walk inside. “What do I do?” I asked the math chair. “You stop at 11 a.m. next Tuesday and we will talk,” she said. My heart was about to jump out of my chest as I am thanking God for this open door. I was facing a set back and this door of opportunity was actually a set up for good things. Tuesday came and I showed up at the math chair’s office in the math building right on time. I knocked and no one said a thing. I knocked again and no one said anything. I could hear someone in the office, so I knocked again. This time, the math chair opened the door and wasted no time in telling me that a mistake in my test had been found and that I had passed the course. “You are going to have to work hard in algebra 10,” she told me as a big smile came across my face. Looking back, I don’t know if the math chair found a mistake or not. What matters is I never gave up and a door opened. I went on to take algebra 10 for credit and passed with a “C.” It took hours and hours of tutoring and working math problems to get it done. No matter the challenges you will face in life, here is my advice: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep on walking, no matter the outcome. Don’t doubt, just believe, even when facing a failure. Asking for help is not a weakness, but a strength. Failing a test doesn’t make you a failure, get up and try it again. See the positives in everything you do in life. Focus on your dreams and goals and keep chipping away at them. Hang around people who believe in you and encourage you to find ways to overcome obstacles. Doing for others is always a good thing. And the most important, show up on time. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I love the story Debbie tells about playing softball for the Montezuma Bravettes during her eighth-grade year in junior high. The Bravettes were playing in a tournament for the now late Coach Denny Johnston.
Debbie hit the ball and took off for first base and was not going to be denied. The first baseman was blocking the bag and Debbie said she collided with her and ended up with a bloody nose, elbows and knees. “They took me out of the game and the person they put in my place went on to score and help win the game for Montezuma,” Debbie said. Even though her softball career ended in high school, her love for the sport, especially the OU Sooners, continues to this day. And rightfully so. The Sooners are at the top of their game and are posed to win their school’s third straight national softball championship in 2023. OU has won six national championship in softball under head coach Patty Gasso since 2000, the first for the program. They won again in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022. Our dream is to attend the College World Series sometime down the road. We had the opportunity to see the Sooners live in late March when they played in Ames. The ISU softball stadium was packed, mostly with Sooner fans who came from Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, Missouri and several other states. It was quite an experience and lots of fun. That was the fourth time we’ve seen them play at Iowa State University. With only one loss and a number one ranking all but one week during the 2023 regular season, the Sooners continue to march through the playoffs after winning the regular Big 12 season and overall Big 12 championship. OU run-ruled Hofstra and Missouri, my alum mater, and beat California, 16-3 in regional play to advance to the super regionals where they will take on Clemson Memorial Day weekend. They need one more game to tie and two more wins to break the 47-game win streak currently held by Arizona. The outcome is yet to be determined at the writing of this column. The winner advances to the College World Series at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Action gets underway on Thursday, June 1. Heading into the Super Regionals, eight of the 16 teams have an OU influence through the coaching ranks. Debbie enjoys reading the stories about Gasso, who has coached the Sooners for 27 years, and her Christ-centered influence on the team. It’s typical after a game or series to see the Sooner players gather with their opponents at the pitcher’s mound for prayer and fellowship. We need more of that in this world, especially in sports. “We’re excited every time we get to come out and play, because that’s another opportunity to just glorify God, have fun and enjoy each other,” said OU junior third baseman Alyssa Brito. I watch a lot of softball during the regular season, which gets underway in February and continues into the second week of June. Debbie loves it and sometimes talks about how fun it would be to have a job associated with the sport. She’s glued to the television and watches hours of softball. She will watch teams play that she doesn’t care for if that is all that is on. All that matters is the game, the defense, the offense, the homeruns, the strikes, the double plays and so much more. Even on her birthday in late May, regional softball action was on the television and I couldn’t have drug her out of the house for a date for anything. There is a lot of craziness in this world, so it’s nice to enjoy softball and spend time together. That was the best birthday gift, along with a few slices of cake. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I love cookies!
I’m not at cookie monster level, but I enjoy a tasty cookie ever so often. My favorites are peanut butter, chocolate chip, monster cookies and Oreos. I like Nutter Butter cookies, Vanilla Wafers and about anything Little Debbie, too, but I don’t buy them often. Most days, there’s usually a bag of cookies or package or Oreos on the kitchen counter. I often dig into the sweet treats, especially after work at my day job, or after supper. We enjoy pizza most Friday nights. The pizza joint has homemade cookies, too, and they are good. We usually pick up a dozen to enjoy throughout the week. Sometimes they don’t make it past Sunday. Debbie says she needs to install a cookie camera to see how many times I dip into the Oreo package. I admit, I sometimes eat more cookies than I should. They are good and not too many calories. I like cake as well. Back in the day, my mom made some of the most beautiful cakes. She made wedding, anniversary and birthday cakes for friends and family. Watching her make a cake was like watching a sculptor piece together an art project. She had a cupboard full of custom Wilton cake pans including many cartoon characters, Raggedy Ann and Andy, a guitar pan and even a grand piano. I have most of the cake pans that I got in the estate. I’ve thought about selling them, but haven’t brought myself to doing that. My mom designed her own cakes on occasion. She made the best icing, too. It was light and sweet, not the fluffy kind. My brother, Tom, followed in our mom’s footsteps and started making cakes a few years back. He made our parent’s 50th wedding anniversary cake in June 2007. It was a beautiful cake. He doesn’t make too many cakes these days, but he learned from one of the best. My mom had her own business cards. She called her cake business “Muffs.” I remember when I first met Debbie. I bought a Wilton heart cake pan. I had big aspirations, but never got around to making the cake for her. I did make her a regular cake using my mom’s recipe, courtesy of my brother. The cake tasted good with icing. It was the writing part where I needed help. I can write a story, but writing a message on cake using a tube of icing with a metal tip is much more difficult. I’m sure got an “A” for effort. At Christmas, my mom made fudge and old-fashioned divinity candy. Pecan divinity is one option for the sweet treat. I don’t remember my mom making pecan divinity, but maybe she did. There is an abundance of pecan stores in the Tulsa area. She had an antique cooking thermometer and I would watch as the divinity would boil on the stove. It had to be just the right temperature before pouring it in the pan. Beyond that, I don’t know a thing about making divinity. My mom also made a Jello cake. I called it the glass bottom boat cake. She used Gelatin and would mix in a half dozen different colors of Jello, all diced and stirred together. I was going to make a Jello cake for Christmas a few years ago, but never got around to it. I think the Jello has since expired. In Tulsa, there is Bama Pie Companies. The company, which was founded in 1927 and is still in business to this day, is located at 11th Street and Delaware, right on Route 66. The company was famous for their mini pecan pies. They also made biscuits for McDonalds. I checked the company website and learned they also make fruit-filled turnovers. Back in the day, they had a discount bake store right across the street from my junior high school. I would ride my bicycle there and pick up a dozen damaged mini pecan pies for a $1. No wonder I was a big kid in school. Too many pecan pies. Too many sweet treats. I better get on Amazon and look into buying a cookie camera. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. It was the Spring of 1970 and the last week of my fourth grade school year at Sidney Lanier Elementary School in Tulsa.
I watched from the playground as the sixth grade class walked the half mile to Bells Amusement Park at the fairgrounds in Tulsa. My elementary school was just a few blocks from the fairgrounds. It was a long tradition at Sidney Lanier to take the sixth grade class for a day of fun at Bells as they closed out a chapter in their education. In the fall, the class would be transitioning to middle school, or junior high as I called it. Two years quickly passed and during the Spring of 1972, I got my chance to spend the day at Bells. What a fun day I had with my classmates and good friend, David. I probably rode every ride, including the famous Zingo, a wooden roller coaster at the park. That may have been the first time I rode the roller coaster. Among the rides, the park featured the Phantasimorgana, Scramber, Himilaya, Ferris Wheel, Tilt-a-Whirl, White Lightning Log Ride, Bumper Cars, Wildcat and many other rides. On the south end of the park there were two nine-hole miniature golf courses. Bells was founded in 1951 by Robert Bell, who started with a miniature train around his Tulsa home in 1948, later offering children’s ride at one of Tulsa’s drive-in theaters. He opened Bells at the Tulsa Fairgrounds in March 1951. The amusement park remained in operation by the Bell family for 55-years through the 2006 season when the park lost its lease with the Fairgrounds. I’m sure city politics were involved. It was a sad ending to a popular Tulsa attraction that provided memories for many young people and families through the years. Bells was the place to visit on a Friday or Saturday night. There have been efforts in recent years to bring the park back, but nothing has materialized. There are a couple Facebook pages hosted by fans of the park that I follow and enjoy reading the many comments. The Tulsa State Fair, which starts on the fourth Thursday following Labor Day, was a popular event I attended with my family. Back in the day, all the older students at my elementary school received free tickets to the first Friday of the fair and a day out of school. Like the Iowa State Fair, the Tulsa fair runs for 11-days, only six weeks later than Iowa. The Tulsa State Fair features the Golden Driller, a 76-feet tall statue of an oil worker resting his hand on an oil drilling derrick. The driller man, as he is often called, took up permanent residence at the fairgrounds in April 1966. Debbie and I have attended the Tulsa fair a couple times since getting married. It’s not as large at the Iowa State Fair, but it’s still a good fair that has provided lots of memories through the years. I was thinking about the state fair and Bells the other day and it flooded my memory with the many August vacations the Parker family enjoyed. My dad, who spent nearly 40-years in factory that made huge pumps that moved crude oil through pipelines, would take three weeks off every August for a camping vacation. My dad had a 1967 Chevrolet pickup with a shell camper and walk-in door. My mom had three beds built in the back. We were able to store our luggage and camping gear under the beds. My brother slept on a homemade bed in the middle. We drove and camped, mostly staying in KOA Campgrounds. My mom cooked our meals on a Coleman cookstove and my dad would load and unload the camper. We enjoyed a great trip to see my mom’s uncle in Flint, Mich., then drove into Canada to visit Niagara Falls. We got to tour the Kellogg cereal plant on that trip. In 1974, we took a trip Nashville and our truck broke down in Dixon, Tenn. My mom had planned to attend the Grand Old Opry, which just opened in the new opry building, but was unable to as we spent all day at a gas station getting our truck fixed. My parents didn’t have a credit card and buying tickets online was not an option at that time. We’ve enjoyed many trips to Southeast Missouri to see family where my mom was born and raised and also Van Buren, Mo., on the Current River, where she attended high school. And I can’t forget about the trip to San Diego to see my mom’s cousin. We got to go to the ocean and visit Tijuana, Mexico. We enjoyed lots of great trips and I’m thankful for the memories. Summer is coming and it’s a good time to take the family on a vacation. It doesn’t have to be three weeks, it can be a day or two. Iowa offers lots of wonderful attractions, museum and camping offerings. There is always something to do these days to keep people busy working and dealing with life. The work will still be there when you get back. Enjoy your family and take time to thank God for your many blessings. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. My first rock-in-roll LP was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Platinum and Gold” that I purchased for $11 in 1981.
I had just purchased my first home stereo system that year. Previous to that, I had two old television speakers wired into the headphone jack of a Panasonic cassette tape player/recorder to listen to music. I was uptown with my new stereo system, which consisted of an Akai stereo receiver, Akai turntable, a Yamaha cassette tape player/recorder and two Norman Lab speakers. It seems like I paid around $900 for it all. The receiver and tape deck have since bit the dust, but I still have the turntable and the speakers. I had the speakers tested a few years ago and more than 40-years later, they still sound as good as gold. The turntable is stored away. I’m sure with the addition of a new needle and some tender loving care that she will be good to go. At the time, I was working nights on the janitor crew for a grocery/drug store chain in Tulsa called Skaggs Alpha Beta. I became friends with the deli cook who arrived at work at 4 a.m. daily. She was known as Mama Jane, a name she garnered as a restaurant owner in the Tulsa area. I would make my way to the deli kitchen on my break most mornings and dig into the bacon she was cooked on big pans in the oven. Mama Jane lived in west Tulsa with her only son. Her husband, who was in the military, passed away within a few years after they were married in the late 1950s. We became good friends and that friendship lasted many years, long after I moved from Tulsa in August 1992. And it all started over a pan of bacon. I often called Mama Jane and would visit for an hour or more. After moving from Tulsa, when I was in town, I always tried to stop and visit with her. The store I worked at in Tulsa had a stereo cabinet I wanted. One morning, Mama Jane was walking through a store aisle and I enthusiastically asked if I could show her the stereo cabinet I wanted. “I will buy it for you,” she said to my surprise as I showed her. She said she would bring the $50 on Monday and she did. I ended having to go to another Skaggs location in Tulsa to buy the stereo cabinet as the store I worked at was out of stock. And it happened to be on sale, so I had $10 left over. I offered to give Mama Jane the change, but she told me to by a record album. I visited Sound Warehouse in Tulsa and bought the Lynyrd Skynyrd album. Never underestimate how a small act of kindness can impact your life. She gave me something from her heart that was the beginning of a life-long relationship. At one point in my life, I had well over 100 albums. I spent a lot of money buying LPs at Sound Warehouse, Honest John’s Records and Tapes and Peaches, a chain record store that once had a location in Tulsa. They even had LPs at Skaggs. I don’t have any of my rock-n-roll albums these days as I sold most of them. However, I do have more than 100 Christian rock albums. Having grown up in the Southern Baptist Church, I thought the only music was hymns sang on Sunday morning. I good friend, Rob, who I grew up with, took me to a Sunday afternoon concert in one of Tulsa’s city parks to hear Sweet Comfort Band, a California-based Christian band that had put on a show the night before at Oral Roberts University. It was a great show and I bought the band’s first album, “Breaking the Ice,” which I still have to this day. I saw them and other Christian bands in concert a number of times through the years. I’m glad to see the resurgence of vinyl, as it is called these days. It’s great to relieve the memories of listening to music of my time period. There’s nothing better than an LP spinning on a turntable and reliving memories. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I call it a wave of patriotism flowing across this great nation and I witnessed it first-hand last week.
I joined up with a group of men and women with the Montezuma American Legion Post 169 and its Auxiliary and traveled to the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, April 25 with camera in hand and a bit of excitement in my heart. I was there to welcome home three veterans from Montezuma, Ron Curry, his son-in-law, Jim Failor and Dan Cook, who had participated in the #46 Eastern Iowa Honor Flight that day. Ron’s two daughters, Sue Failor and Kim Huth, were chaperons for Ron and Jim. Ron’s grandson was also present to greet him in Cedar Rapids. Dan’s son was his guardian on the flight. His wife, Nancy, and a grandson were there to meet them. I also met a couple from Grinnell that evening as I was leaving the airport. I wasn’t sure if they had participated in the flight or were there to support the veterans. They recognized me and it was nice visiting. There were hundreds of people of all ages who came to show their support for our nation’s veterans. Many carried and waved American Flags while others held signs and banners welcoming back their veteran grandfather, father, mother, son, daughter, or family member. The Cedar Valley Big Band from Cedar Falls was on hand providing music while some couples enjoyed dancing. One couple I met was from Welton, Iowa and they were dressed in 50s outfits and they knew how to swing to the tunes. I watched as photographers jockeyed for the best place to get that heartfelt moment of appreciation and thanks while honor flight staff and law officials milled about to make sure everyone had a safe experience. I captured a few moments with my camera of local legion members shaking hands and thanking the veterans, most they didn’t know, who had just returned from the long day spent in Washington, D.C. seeing the sights of our nation’s capital. “Thank you for your service” could be heard ringing out across the airport lobby as the entourage of veterans made their way in wheelchairs and by foot through the long line of supporters and family members who came to show their support. KCRG in Cedar Rapids reported that there were nearly 100 veterans on Tuesday’s flight. Their trip to Washington, D.C. included visiting WWII, FDR, MLK, Lincoln, Korean War, Vietnam, Arlington National Cemetery, USMC and USAF memorials. The veterans were also taken on a city tour where they were able to see the Smithsonian, Capitol, White House and various other historical buildings. The Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, which is a non-profit 501(C)3 charitable organization, was founded in 2009. Some of the men in our group had participated themselves in the #45 Eastern Iowa Honor Flight in November 2022 and others in previous flights. They knew what it was like to return home and be welcomed by so many. It was a heartfelt evening of patriotism and something that I will never forget. I’m a firm believer that this country needs more of that these days. I miss the days when there wasn’t so much division in this country, especially in our nation’s capital. There is always someone pointing a finger of blame on someone else. This reminds of June 11, 2022 and the dedication of the Harold “Pie” Keller monument at the Avenue of Flags in Brooklyn. That event was a showcase of patriotism like I had never seen. Tuesday’s event was right up there with it. I’m thankful for the privilege to participate in events such as the “Pie” Keller Memorial dedication and the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight and for the opportunity to share the stories of the men and women who have and who serve this great country. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. |
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