Thursday, January 15, 2026

Standing atop the sweeping farm ridge 70 miles north of Berlin, the stiff wind off the Baltic Sea painted my cheeks apple red in minutes.

There has never been a time in my life without dogs. I can't imagine it any other way. I remember a black and white photograph in an old family album.

Combing through yellowed pages of Farm and Dairy from 1925 yields a unique look at history. As I look for items to include in the "80 years ago" portion of our weekly Read It Again feature, I'm struck by how different life was then, and yet, how little has changed.

It strikes me as peculiar how one little thing can change the course of our existence so quickly. Some of life's greatest tragedies occur in a mere second, altering everything that follows.

"Silos go to Preschool," "Grown Men Get Paid to Work with Playdough," "Where Playdough and Silo Meet" or "Dairy Farms are Future Site of World Record Playdough Production" might have set the stage for what was to come.

Thirteen years ago this week a thin packet containing four agricultural columns hit the cluttered desks of 124 newspaper editors and publishers in 14 Midwestern states.

Friends seem puzzled by the fact that I know very little about television hit shows from my childhood era.

Authorities and searchers might have been at a loss when they launched a nationwide hunt for "runaway bride'' Jennifer Wilbanks recently, but the real experts - wedding planners - knew this was no kidnapping.

I firmly believe that when mothers compare notes on childbirth this can only be because they have not yet experienced the pain and sheer endurance that a 6-year-old's birthday party entails.

I first spotted the recent fad, a yarn manufacturer's dream, when sisters entered the Next to New Shop where I work part-time.