“I arrived at a little town on the Wisconsin River,” Frederick Louis Haeberle wrote in his nineteen-page essay, “Why I Came to America.” He arrived in early March, 1884, after immigrating from Germany. “It was very cold, and my clothing…
We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.—Jimmy Neil Smith, Director of the International Storytelling Center. Since human life began, we’ve shared stories. Whether the details of…
Hi, it’s Josie the Cockapoo, hoping to get this into the paper before Mum-Amy catches me. She doesn’t let me write often—something about too many run-on sentences and getting off track—but I’m turning 12 on the 12th of this month…
Think about a pleasant memory you have of your grandparents. I’m guessing it isn’t opening a Christmas or birthday gift from them, but it’s a fun experience you shared. That was my hope when I set out to spend a…
My husband’s and my 45th wedding anniversary is days away. Our older granddaughter has a boyfriend and is the same age I was when Frank and I married. The world has changed dramatically in 45 years, but the basics of…
It was 2007, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I walked into the funeral home for my beloved step-father’s visitation. He’d married my mother a few years after my father died, when I was in my late twenties.…
On a beautiful spring morning at Baraboo’s International Crane Foundation, friends and I talk about people who have recently passed away. One friend says, “I told my husband we’re at the age when we need to check the obituaries every…
Earlier this year, I had fun with mystery columns on a local man, woman, and business. Now see if you can guess this mystery bird. The bird whose scientific name is Cathartes aura flew directly over my head last night…
My daughter Heidi flew in from California over Mother’s Day to spend time with me. Since her two boys weren’t along, we had the chance to dine out, visit Madison’s botanical garden, kayak the Wisconsin River, and have a memorial…
“To survive, you must tell stories.” Umberto Eco, Italian philosopher Two weeks ago in my Mother’s Day column, I talked about Mom telling me she’d gotten angry with my father and had cut her wedding dress up to made curtains.…