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While perusing through books at an estate sale, a friend found a book about celebrated Civil War nurse Mother Bickerdyke. A passage from “Mother Bickerdyke and The Soldiers” described the defense of Corinth, Ms., from Oct. 3 and 4, 1862.
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On Nov. 11, 1918, Ralph Lindsey wrote from his hospital bed in France “Armistice signed at 11 o’clock. Grand celebration all over France. War is at last over and I am still alive!” Later in life if you asked him about the scars on his chest he would simply respond with a shrug and say, “I zigged when I should have zagged.” Ralph was my great grandfather, and now, nearly 103 years after he wrote those words, our nation once again finds ourselves celebrating the contributions of our veterans during a period where their sacrifices may be less visible than they have during the past 20 years of war.
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Early in 1864 the United States Army organized the 1st Volunteer Infantry, a regiment of Confederate prisoners of war mustered into service. The former rebels were pardoned and “galvanized” after taking the oath of allegiance to the United States. Richard W. Musgrove was appointed captain and took command of the regiment of Galvanized Yankees on April 24, 1864.
Read morePaid time-off for farmers is one of the intriguing ideas that caught the attention of our group during the recent Kansas Farm Bureau Casten Fellows international travel experience to the Baltics. One of the young farmers we met shared that the Replacement Farmers program provides subsidized, qualified workers to help during illness or time away on vacation.
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Local teachers will have a little extra cash in their pockets this year, thanks to another successful year of teacher negotiations.
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In the opening days of the Civil War, the “Kansas Brigade” led by Col. James H. Lane burned and looted farms and towns in an effort to “clear out” southern sympathizers in the border counties east of Kansas.
Read moreCup holders — it all began a few days ago when I was unable to put my drive-thru dollar drinks in my cup holders. It was a fiasco witnessed by the drivethru attendant as she held my much needed drinks out the window patiently waiting for me to take them out of her hands and drive away.
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Crimson and golden leaves bring thoughts of seasons past and the grim certainty that winter will soon be upon us. The passing of the seasons mirrors life itself, and so Spring (birth) leads to Summer (the prime of life), to Fall (the golden years), until the season fades and the stark reality of the grave echoes from winter’s cold, colorless landscape.
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