Stories by Janie Jenkins

A lifelong resident of the Mahoning Valley, Janie Jenkins retired in 1987 as a feature writer and columnist at the Youngstown Vindicator. In June of that same year, she started writing her column, "On My Mind" for Farm and Dairy. She loves all animals and is an accomplished equestrienne. Local history is also one of her loves, and her home, the former Southern Park Stables, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A pet owner’s nightmare

Thursday, August 28, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

They were such an unlikely pair, but pair they were. Playing together. Sleeping together. Eating together.
They were Hamilton, 70 lovable pounds of boxer mix, and Winston, maybe 8 pounds of Jack Russell terrier, a bundle of lovable, feisty, endless energy. Winston was boss. No one ate until Winston finished his meal, not even Jesse, the […]

Didn’t summer just get started?

Thursday, August 14, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

These poignant lyrics to a sweet melody — “Believe me if all those endearing young charms were to fade by tomorrow and melt in my arms …” — are from a long ago love song Thomas Moore wrote in 1801.
Why does the sentimental ballad play in my mind this bright August morning? Because I remember […]

Didn’t summer just get started?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

These poignant lyrics to a sweet melody — “Believe me if all those endearing young charms were to fade by tomorrow and melt in my arms …” — are from a long ago love song Thomas Moore wrote in 1801.
Why does the sentimental ballad play in my mind this bright August morning? Because I remember […]

New technology not always easy

Thursday, July 31, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

Long before November, the television’s remote or its mute button or both will self-destruct. With my help.

Witness the gag reflex for the explicit commercials for what should be very personal problems for men and women, invariably aired at supper time. Hit the button.

And now pre-election political come-ons for both parties are repeated over and over, […]

Enjoying two- and four-legged friends

Thursday, July 17, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

“A funny thing happened on the way to …” and it should continue “the Forum”, but in this case, it was the recycling center.
Happily, the center is only about a block from me, and I recycle everything possible, so I make the trip about once a week. (And I am always appalled at the terrible […]

House guests provide inspiration

Thursday, July 3, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

If there is one thing that will get you off your duff, whether or not you feel like it, it is the impending arrival of out-of-town guests.
Suddenly, your reasonably clean house and reasonably tidy barn look filthy, your just-mowed lawn seems to have turned into a hay field, your adequate supply of food and beverage […]

Finding sanctuary in these 8 acres

Thursday, June 19, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

These 8-1/2 acres I have managed to save from almost wall-to-wall development represent such a small refuge, but refuge it is, and I constantly marvel at the variety of wildlife that has found it.
Here I can blink back at the fireflies over the pasture at dusk so it resembles a trackless city. Here I can […]

Childhood memories swirl in spring

Thursday, June 5, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

Like a breaking floral wave, the locust blossoms frothed and foamed in the breeze, their inimitable fragrance beckoning bees whose humming was an audible drone.
In our back yard at home, when the grass stretched down the little grade to Yellow Creek, there were maybe six towering locust trees and when they were in flower, we […]

Good grammar is never out of style

Thursday, May 22, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

The extremely heavy book in my lap as I write this column is titled National Encyclopedia of Business and Social Forms and Embracing the Laws of Etiquette and Good Society.
Written by James D. McCabe and printed by the Home Publishing Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1882, it contains 838 pages. This particular copy, according to […]

Flowers and birds are a bit mixed up

Thursday, May 8, 2008 by Janie Jenkins

No matter your opinion of the late but unmourned winter — since this is a family publication we’ll not offer our thoughts — it would seem that every flowering shrub, tree, bush and even traditional spring flowers believed it was the best ever.
Maybe we’re mistaken, since the winter seemed so endless, but didn’t everything […]