I tried to go back home again; I couldn’t

November 25, 2023

“You Can’t Go Home Again” is the title of a 1940 novel by Thomas Wolfe. He is correct. Last week, I tried. I could not go home again. Affection for the songs of the late country music star Johnny Cash sent me to my hometown of Warren. A tribute singer performed at the century-old Struthers Library Theater, an iconic relic of what Warren had been. I spent 44 years in Warren, more than half of my 80-year-long life. It began when I was born in 1942, back when billboards at each entrance to the town proclaimed it as the home of “15,000 friendly people.” Today, 9,000 ...

View from Hickory Heights: Trip down memory lane

November 24, 2023

Last week my son and daughter-in-law brought me a box of old magazines. They told me about them first, then brought them up for me to go through. They were something that was missed when the homestead had been cleaned out. My mother-in-law and I both subscribed to a magazine called “Workbasket”. It was published monthly. Years ago, I went through my copies and got rid of what I did not want. These magazines were from before I subscribed for the most part. Surprisingly, the patterns were not out of date. There were baby sets and mittens that could still be useful. Now, I do not ...

Grappling with decline in area youth athletics

November 18, 2023

The scholastic and collegiate wrestling season is fast approaching and our sons and daughters in Warren County will soon begin training. Participant numbers for wrestling at middle-high schools in Warren County and across northwest Pennsylvania are in continual decline. This decrease in the ...

View from Hickory Heights: Giving thanks

November 17, 2023

’Tis the season for giving thanks. This holiday that we know as Thanksgiving was first designated by President George Washington as a day of national thanksgiving. Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave it the fourth Thursday in November date. I think this goes back to our roots as a nation. We have always been a nation under God. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had that phrase added to our pledge during his administration. It was added during the Cold War as a reminder of our heritage. While I was researching this, I found out the original pledge of allegiance was written for the Columbian ...

Shattering tales of black and blue pigs

November 16, 2023

The shiny blue pig is covered with pink flowers. It sits on the bureau below our wall-mounted television. And it eats pennies. Actually, this is blue pig No. 2. Number one suffered a sudden, untimely death. I bought the china piggybank when our grandson Malcolm was two, I thought it would be fun to teach about coinage, and maybe later, the concept of saving. It was fun. Every time Malcolm put a penny in, it triggered a little button that played a tune. That produced lots of excited giggles. And dancing. Each time he came to Gogo’s house, I would have a stash of pennies waiting. ...

The corner store

November 10, 2023

Most communities had at least one corner store. When I grew up there were three corner stores along the way as I walked to school. The one we frequented most was owned by the Denglers. He had groceries as well as some paper products. The thing that I remember most about this little store is the little loaves of bread that he often had to give away to children. I think maybe Sunbeam or Wonder Bread was the maker of these little loaves. They were child-sized. I do not think the slices were cut either. I remember taking my little loaf of bread home and cutting it to make a tiny ...