I never got to meet Joe Cool before he died in 2018. I wish I had, because besides having a cool last name, he was … just a cool guy. Well, that’s my impression after hearing his son, Brad, talk about him. I also found a 2004 MPR news story on Joe Cool and his clothing store while ...
I often wonder about the rest of the 21st century, what the world will become as it continues to change. I experienced a good indication last weekend when I met a 1-month-old infant on Friday and another one on Saturday. I don’t get to meet newborns very often, so meeting two in two days was a special occasion. The Friday opportunity happened at Boulder Estates when I returned home from having the interior of my car cleaned. One of the activity assistants brought her firstborn baby boy for a visit. She and her husband named him Reese. On Saturday I went to my uncle’s house in ...
I was about 6 years old when I discovered that I have an extraordinary talent for making things disappear. I owned a Barlow jackknife that had both a long blade and a short blade. This meant that I was prepared for anything from fending off a ferocious tiger to cleaning my fingernails. That pocketknife was my constant companion. One day I decided to try my hand at whittling, having found a funky stick that looked as though it could be carved into a likeness of the Statue of Liberty. I reached into my jeans pocket and found… nothing! Well, not exactly nothing. There were a few old ...
When I write one of these, it’s like sewing a rug. I take a bunch of ideas and stitch them together till I have a column that I can shake outside and put on the floor. Today, I have a lot of loose ends. These are remnants from our trip to Europe in June. Instead of rug, it might come out looking like a bunch of rags. We spent a week in the Czech Republic and a week in Poland with two daughters, a son-in-law, and a 10-year-old grandson. Part of that was seeking ancestral places. Part of it was touristing. Both those countries were behind the Iron Curtain 50 years ago when I ...
In our local area Labor Day corresponds to railroads and Tracy’s annual Box Car Days. It’s a very appropriate connection because of how railroads shaped our region, its farms and our communities. Development happened quickly in the late 19th century. It was spurred by rail expansion. Our town street configurations were based on railroad designs. We had through towns with development on both sides of the tracks and T-towns, which had a street parallel to the tracks and a Main Street branching off. Residential blocks were laid out on both sides of the business district. There ...
In early July, this column focused on a report delivered by Marshall Police Chief Jim Marshall to Downtown Business Association members. The subject of community policing and the successful working relationship established with downtown retailers was brought up. Marshall’s report led to discussion on scooters and bicycle riders moving at sometimes high speeds on downtown sidewalks. "I still see scooters downtown," one member was quoted in the column. "I've personally seen them going down the sidewalk. Sometimes they're two on them. I see one of the non-classified e-motos, the ...
