Posts Tagged ‘South Dakota’
Midwestern Yankee in the Tar Heel State – Part I
I moved to Winston-Salem, NC, in December, 1978. Yep. A long time ago by most measures. For guy who grew up in the Midwest, the adjustments to take up residence in the South took some time. For one thing, the countryside was no longer flat. I couldn’t step out onto the back porch early in…
Read MoreHonored with First Place Poetry Award in Literary Festival
On the Same Page Literary Festival in West Jefferson, NC, concluded Saturday, September 29th after a session in the Jefferson County Library during which the finalists in the festival poetry, non-fiction and fiction contests read their pieces. I was very pleased that my entry in the poetry contest was awarded first place, even more so…
Read MoreDuck Hunting was a Weekend Pursuit When I Was a Boy
#hunting #duck hunting #pheasants #shotgun Hunting ducks always comes to mind as the autumn season deepens. My dad was an avid hunter. He could not wait until my brother and I became old enough to accompany him on his weekend excursions into the South Dakota countryside to hunt ducks and pheasants. I remember going with…
Read MoreTeaching Was a Year Round Vocation in Small Town Mid-America
#teaching #Yankton #littleleaguebaseball #highschool Teaching was my vocation of choice. Upon entering college, I initially chose business administration as a major. Somehow I imagined a career where I would rise to become a captain of industry. Never mind that there were no major companies in my hometown of Yankton, SD to give me any inkling…
Read MoreDeadly Portfolio Holds Autobiographical Material. This In Memory of My Father.
My father died on May 28, 1980. I was in Oak Ridge, TN at the time. I returned to my motel room after dinner and found the message light blinking on the telephone, as I tell the story in my novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Funds. In the book, the man taking the…
Read MoreDime Stores for Valentines and Other Gifts.
#valentine #fiveanddime #dimestore A dime store was a dime store in the 1940’s. No two ways about it. Scott’s called themselves a “five-and-ten-cent store.” Newberry’s went one better. See the sign in the picture to the right that has been copied from a postcard as it was in the mid-1940’s. Newberry’s proclaimed they were a…
Read MoreEpiphany, the 12th Day of Christmas, Ended the Season in My Boyhood Home.
#epiphany #chrsitmasseason #holidays Another Christmas season is history. When I was a boy, it felt as though the high point in the year was over and the long uneventful winter stretched out as far ahead as I cared to imagine. I longed for summer when the festivities of the holidays were a distant memory, and…
Read MoreDecorating the Christmas Tree Signaled the Start of the Season.
#christmas #1950s #decorating #christmastree My earliest memories of Christmas, reinforced by family movies, include decorating the Christmas tree, a task that sign. “You can bring the tree in now, Daddy,” mother would call after she had spread an oilcloth on the carpet in the living room where it was to be placed. In the 1940’s, Christmas…
Read MoreFrequent Changes in a Portfolio Seldom Produce Desired Long Term Results.
There were no lakes large enough in South Dakota to entice anyone to go sailing until the mid-1950’s when the 37 mile long reservoir of Lewis and Clark Lake was formed on the Missouri River near Yankton. Locals then took to the sport in earnest. A sailing club was formed. Races were scheduled, and in…
Read MoreWorld War II Eventually Came to Chalkstone, South Dakota
World War II was real enough to people who lived on the east coast. They knew ships were being sunk every week by German submarines. The explosions on the stricken cargo vessels and tankers could often been seen from the shore. On the west coast, also, anxiety about the war was intense following Pearl Harbor.…
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