Mt. Pleasant News

I was born on one of the coldest days in January and if you ask my two younger sisters, that is no coincidence. If you ask me, it is. I like to think I was the warmth on that cold day in Peoria, Ill. I was several hours late to my own birth, and if you ask my mother, that is no coincidence. If you ask me, I'd have to tell you she's right.She always tells me I'm going to be late to my own funeral. Once again, ...

Many prophecies about the Messiah began with Isaiah, about 750 years before Jesus lived as Emmanuel ? God with us.When reading stories of Jesus' public ministry, you may have noticed that he seldom identified himself as the Messiah. We look at the stories today and wonder why he didn't. It was true, so why didn't he simply announce and proceed from there?It was because there was a difference of interpretation. ...

?Spory, huh?? The man said inspecting my debit card. ?What is that, Greek??I was baffled, to say the least. First of all, I'd never had anyone inspect my driver's license that closely, let alone my debit card. And at a farmers market no less. Secondly, Greek? That was definitely a first. I'd been asked before if I was Jewish and one college professor swore up and down I was Polish, even speculating what village ...

I needed Ginnie to help me string the electric chicken wire fence ?- her to hold the roll while I shoved the stakes in the ground. I figured it would be a good time for her and me to work together outdoors, on the farm, in the fresh air. I was right.It was rather cold and windy the morning of our fence building, so we had to bundle up properly. I spied Ginnie stuffing facial tissue in her coat pocket to blow her ...

By Jean Thomson Spring weather thus far has generally proved to be cool indeed ? too cool even for some of the cool-loving vegetable plants. However, it is a good time to be thinking about planting possibilities so that we can seize the opportunities that may arise.Cole crops such as broccoli and cabbage grow best in daytime temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees. While they do not flourish in the heat of ...

Lurking in the back of my mind ? niggling at my conscious thought ? is a slogan developed by the Ford Motor Company in the late-1960s. ?Ford has a better idea.?The slogan was coupled with a visual image of a bright light bulb, which signified inspiration. People, seemingly, were swayed by the slogan, persuaded by the image of the light bulb and, literally, bought Ford automobiles ? lots of Ford automobiles. Ford ...

Feb. 20 was the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the ?Mister Rogers' Neighborhood? TV show. Mr. Rogers often talked about love, kindness, acceptance, inner strength and being creative. Many of us watched his show with our kids, always learning something each day.We don't hear much, if any, of this on TV recently. I for one, feel we need more of this type of programming for our kids and grandkids to ...

With the NCAA tournament officially underway and ?March Madness? sweeping across America, I thought it would be a good time to let you readers in on a little madness I endured last week.On Tuesday, March 6, I spent an hour and a half aimlessly walking around Des Moines trying to find my car.How did I get myself in this predicament? I asked myself that same question about 900 times over that 90 minute period.Fir...

I'm a little confused with the term ?mad as a wet hen.? Our hens don't get mad when they get wet. As a matter of fact, they seem to enjoy a rainy day. They busy themselves scratching in the wet grass and generally run around and act as if they're on holiday.On a rainy day, I leave the door open to their hen house and they have the option of staying indoors where it's dry or going out in the rain. They always go ...

Ginnie and I may be entering our second childhood. We actually went out after dark three nights in a row. Can you believe it?The first night, a Thursday, we went to a stand-up comedy act in Wapello. I read a review about it in the newspaper and decided to give it a shot. I had never been to a stand-up comedy act ?- life holding enough humor for me ? and Ginnie had been to only one.Knowing that our pastor was ...

March feels like the beginning of the gardening season, at least when the sun shines. For vegetable gardeners who begin indoors raising their own plants under lights the season is truly underway.In addition to vegetables, annual vining plants such as sweet peas can get an early start under lights. Also consider giving tender plants such as canna and elephant ears an early boost under lights or in a sunny window. ...

I called my grandpa the other day, and the first thing he said to me after ?hello? was ?You know, you share a birthday with your great-grandmother??I said, yes, papa, that's why I'm calling.You see, one of the ?interesting facts? about me is that my great-grandmother, Wilma Drahos Dolash, was born on March 12, 1911. Eighty-four years later, here I was, born on March 12, 1995.I only knew my great-grandmother ...