Collecting can be great good fun. Dispersal of a collection as one nears “the end” should also be. Hoping for another 25 years… but starting to muse about who MIGHT appreciate (knowing the kids won’t, sigh).

Satisfaction, Gratification, Fulfillment

Obviously, advancing an author collection has been made armchair easy by this thing called the internet. Four decades ago, it meant second-hand bookstores, many now no longer around. (And yes, I still go.) Sigh.

Satisfaction, Gratification, Fulfillment

I’ve been gathering books and collecting authors for almost four decades. And attained the complete set recently for a somewhat obscure author, H.B. Fuller. I talk about it this week… tell me what you think.

Satisfaction, Gratification, Fulfillment

Not too much left that suggests they (WWII POWs) were even here. But indeed they were, distributed to all 48 states and spread out in relatively small numbers throughout our region. My weekly ramble…

"They Wore the Varnish Right off the Floor"

The quote from Mr. Sweet that gave this column its title prompted me to check area obituaries to see if he was still living. I first met him in 2010 — terrific guy — but we hadn’t stayed in touch. Learned he passed away two years ago. I wanted to honor him, in a manner of speaking, by quoting him in this ramble.

"They Wore the Varnish Right off the Floor"

I'm disappointed there isn't more from or about the POWs that spent a year (sometimes more, sometimes less) among us. But as Mckenna pointed out, it was sort of a hush-hush thing. So glad Wells has done more than most communities. Hooray for capturing these stories!

"They Wore the Varnish Right off the Floor"

I was driving by the embankment in this photo yesterday en route to the Twin Cities to catch a flight early this AM… great time to stop and take a picture.

"They Wore the Varnish Right off the Floor"

In the bleak midwinter, a story of tenacity and perseverance — and success! — from a century ago, late January, 1925.

“Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence.”

Current temperature in Nome, Alaska? A rather chilly minus 22 degrees. But the wind is only 6 miles per hour. Downright balmy compared to a century ago. Read on!

“Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence.”