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The Wrestler
Part 2 Circa 1971 to 1973 Please read Part 1 of this story to get full context. A reader shared a couple of thoughtful comments regarding Part 1, which prompted me to add a bit more background related to those observations. Vern Gagne—who many remember as a hugely popular professional wrestler in the 1960s and…
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The Wrestler
Part 1 Circa 1971 to 1973 Notable Quotes (not from this era, but I thought I would start adding a few based on my love of American History). “If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced…
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2025 Recap: My View from 1958
As this year comes to a close, I thought it would be a good time to share a few updates about my blog—and maybe even a handful of statistics. I believe I’ve stayed true to my original intention: to create a space that is a collection of stories and perspectives shaped by growing up in…
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The Route Part 4
Final Chapter First, Some “Humble Pie” When we travel I-80 across Iowa, we’ve passed the Brooklyn, Iowa exit dozens of times. At that spot there’s another sign that reads, “Home of Harold ‘Pie’ Keller.” On a trip this past week, curiosity finally got the best of me, so I Googled Harold Pie Keller. I assumed…
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A Tangent into American History
I’ll wrap up the story called “The Route” in my next post. This week, though, I felt like taking another tangent—this time into one of my lifelong passions: American history. I’ve been reading history books for as long as I can remember. Back in sixth grade, Mr. Anderson was our reading teacher. His class was…
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The Route (Part 2)
I had several jobs during my youth besides the paper route. I helped to bale hay, hoed or walked beans, detasseled corn, worked at the local Lake’s and Earl May Seed and Nursery and cleaned hog pens. It seems like when I was old enough, I always had a summer or weekend job. Probably a…
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The Route (Part 1)
Year: Circa 1970 My Favorites Songs in 1970 “Let It Be” by The Beatles…really anything by the Beatles. “Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head” by B.J. Thomas. “American Woman” by The Guess Who. My brother had this album, so I listened to it quite a bit. “I’ll Be There” by The Jackson 5—yea, the J5…
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The Pigs of Sleepy Hollow (Part 2)
Circa: 1968 Johnson Run Creek provided several years of adventure and entertainment. The creek formed the Southern border of Sleppy Hollow, and I suspect it was a source of water for the Henry Fields Flower Farm and pond (see Part 1). My brother spent a few years trapping the creek. He would trap muskrats and…
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The Pigs of Sleepy Hollow (Part 1)
(New Format, let me know if you like it) Circa: 1968 My Favorite songs My Favorite TV Shows World Events that stick in my mind I was 10 years old in 1968. I grew up in Shenandoah, Iowa at 110 Southview Blvd where we lived until we moved to a small acreage in 1974. Our…
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Viet Nam Turns 50
April marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Viet Nam War. I was born in 1958 and graduated high school in 1976. United States involvement in Viet Nam began in 1955 and the war officially ended for the US in in 1973 when the last US combat troops left. The war did not…
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Football in a Small Town (Part 1)
Growing up during the 1960s/70’s, the weekends brought four events I could always count on: Saturday mornings in downtown Shenandoah spending my paper route earnings at Woolworth or Western Auto, going to church, going out to eat after church and Kansas City Chiefs Football. I will talk about my paper route in a future Blog.…
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Dad, can I have the keys to the car?
My last Blog entry was about cruising in the 1970’s. Of course, you had to have a license to cruise or friends with a license who wanted you to cruise with them. Once a classmate reached the golden age of16, he or she became very popular. You have a license and you have a car…
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Cruising in the 70’s
The 1970’s was a golden era for car culture, especially in small towns like Shenandoah, Iowa. It was all about showing off your ride, blasting rock music and socializing on the strip. Friday and Saturday nights were prime time. Teenagers and young adults would drive their cars slowly up and down the main drag, looking…
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Bacon and Eggs
Dick was the Page County Deputy Sheriff, future Sheriff and future Chief of Police. He is one of the nicest guys in the world. Great sense of humor, friendly, outgoing. He speaks with what I would consider a southern accent, but he was born and raised in the Midwest. His laugh is unmistakable. Dick was…
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Camping: Part 3
The Early Years I would never have thought waves on a lake could be so high. The wind was relentless, 3 feet forward, 4 feet back. The ballast in the canoe was not set correctly. The canoe continued to pull to the right with or without the wind. We were in the middle of a…
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Camping: Part 2
The Teenage Years As a reminder, I am working backwards in time for my posts about camping. For my last post, I described my current camping adventures in Colorado. This time I will focus on camping during the teen years. My family continued to camp up until about the time my brother and I discovered…
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Camping: Part 1
Rocky Mountain Camping I enjoy camping. At age 67, I still camp. My infatuation began when I was a kid. Our earliest family vacations used to be tent camping. What a blast! We had crappy air mattresses to lay on and they would never stay inflated. I can still remember dad cursing in the middle…
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Harvey and the Hayshakers: Part 3
The End of the Trail Time changes all. As the 80’s rolled into the 90’s there were multiple factors impacting the band, least of which was the age of the bandmembers. Being in a band is a young man’s game. Late nights, setting up the equipment and then packing it up again, driving 60 to…
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Harvey and the Hayshakers: Part 2
Becoming Hound Dog Headliner and Leisure Suits Times were good in the 1970’s and early 1980’s in my hometown of Shenandoah. The farm economy was strong, a new Eaton’s Transmission factory just opened (eventually employing about 400 people) there were 4 Seed and Nursery companies, a gate factory and a robust main street. Main street…
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My View from 1958 