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From the Editor in January
By R.D. Hohenfeldt Managing Editor
Hold on, folks, it will get better Posted Thursday, Jan. 18 On Monday night about 11:30, I looked up from my computer and said to my wife, "Honey, I can't bear the thought of another night on that air mattress if there's a chance that we've got power at the house. I'm going to go see if the lights are on." Normally, she doesn't want me to drive at night, and will say something like, "Oh, let it wait until tomorrow. Just stay in tonight." This time, though, she said, "OK, drive carefully." After spending Saturday night and Sunday night sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of the The Ozark Chronicle office, she was eager to go home. When I got to the house, I was thrilled to see light, glorious light. I called her on the cell phone and told her the good news, and when I got back to the office, she had on her coat and was ready to go. We are fortunate, and we know it. There are thousands of people in the Ozarks who still don't have power. Down in southwest Missouri, which got hit much harder by the ice than we did here in south central, some people are going to have to wait many more days. And with the warning that another winter storm is probable this weekend, many of us could go through this again. It's difficult, but we'll all get through it, I hope, and we'll get back to the normal routine and way of life that we're grateful to have here. Keep the faith and hang in there.
Dealing with the cards the weather deals Posted Monday, Jan. 15
Boy, howdy, the weather has made life a little adventurous for us Ozarkers, hasn't it? About 3:30 on Saturday morning I woke up knowing something was wrong. Delaine woke up about the same time, and we quickly figured out we had no electricity in the house. I looked out the window to try to tell if the whole neighborhood was dark or if it was just our house. The street lights were on, and I couldn't really tell, so I stood at the window in the front room and kept watch. It wasn't long before an RMU truck rolled down the street. Later, a firetruck showed up. We sat up and watched the activity going on, which included a bucket truck crew doing some work on the pole in front of our house. I lost track of time, but I think it was about 4:30 or 5 when the electricity came back on in the house. I went back to bed. We normally get up at 6 at our house, so I awoke again at 6--and found that we were again in the dark. We stayed without power throughout the day, and Saturday evening we had to figure out what we were going to do. We decided to camp out at The Ozarks Chronicle office, sleeping on a queen-sized inflatable mattress. We loaded up the three dogs, the little bitty kitty cat and the bird and headed off in the station wagon to the office. "I'll tell you what, honey," I said to Delaine on the way. "I don't ever again want to hear you deny being a hillbilly. Anyone who travels with a pack of animals the way you do is a genuine, bonafide hillbilly. You can deny it if you want, but, honey, you have become one of us." She laughed. "Well, there's a lot worse things to be," she said. We spent an uncomfortable night on the air mattress Saturday night. The power still wasn't on in the house at 3 p.m. Sunday; it was raining and the temperature was in the upper 20s, so we decided that we would not get out anymore, even if that meant another night on the air mattress. But now it is 11:36 p.m. Sunday and that air mattress is not very inviting. The temperature has inched back up to 32 and the ice storm warning has been lifted. I think I'm going to go home and see if the lights are on. If they are, I'm going to spend the night in a comfy bed. Last night's "campout" was a nice adventure, but I hope that we don't have to repeat it. Well, now it is 12:10 a.m. Monday and I just got back to the office after my little jaunt to the house. It is still dark, so I guess we'll spend another night tossing and turning on the air mattress. Life is an adventure, isn't it?
Got any ideas for us to use in 2007? Now that you’ve read The Ozarks Chronicle for more than three years (you have, haven’t you?) you know the kinds of stories we publish, so maybe you’d like to suggest a story subject. If you’re new to The Ozarks Chronicle’s readership, let me explain that our favorite stories are stories about interesting people—and we find just about everybody interesting. We especially like artists, musicians, craftspeople, scientists, farmers, gardeners, businesspeople and writers. We like flower growers, bird watchers and mushroom hunters. We like giggers, deer hunters and people who search for antiques. We like banjo pickers, tall tale tellers and men and women who look at stars. We like cooks and cooking, people who work cattle and raise sheep, folks who study local history and folks who examine Ozarks streams, frogs and wildlife. We like Ozarks life, so if you’ve got a story idea, run it by us. You can drop by the office at 2025A Industrial Park Drive, which is right next to the CanTex factory, and visit with us. You probably ought to call first at 426-2229 to make sure I’m in the office and not out making an advertising call or conducting an interview. You can also e-mail your ideas to rdh@theozarkschronicle.com or ozarksboy@yahoo.com. You can send me a letter or note at P.O. Box 1122, Rolla, MO. 65402. I’m also looking for stories from readers. We’ve have some wonderful stories about watching rabbits grow in a next in a flower bed, growing onions from Colonial Williamsburg, playing in a family farm’s wonderful old barn and preparing cushaw squash. We published a story last month about an Ozarker celebrating Christmas in the Bahamas. I’m sure you’ve got a good story to tell. Imagine you and I are sitting next to a wood stove, drinking sassafras tea and telling stories. You read my stories every month in these pages. Now, just write down your story and send it to me so I can read your story. If you’ve got other ideas about improving The Ozarks Chronicle, I’d love to hear them, even if I can’t publish them as stories. Send them to me at those same addresses listed above. We enjoy delivering this down-home, uplifting publication to you each month, and we believe that with your help and ideas, 2007 will be even better than the wonderful years of 2005 and 2006. See you back here next month.--RDH
Letters to the editors Dear Editors: We really enjoy your newspaper and we give it to friends who grew up in your beautiful state, then they send it to their relatives in Needles, and from there it goes to a few more places. It gets around. We wish you continued success. Louis and Alice Tuerlings La Puente, Calif. Well,
thank you so much for reading and enjoying our humble little magazine.
And thank you for recycling The Ozarks Chronicle by giving it to
friends. The way we see it, no Ozarks Chronicle should ever be thrown
away or taken to a recycling center. Instead, each copy of each issue
should be read thoroughly and then passed on to someone else who should
read it thoroughly and pass it on to someone else … and on and
on.—RD and Delaine Dear Editors: I just wanted to extend a sincere “thank you” for your continued delivery of The Ozarks Chronicle during my deployment in Iraq. It’s been great to get a ‘touch of home’ while being so far away. Well, it looks like I’ll be home for Christmas since they shortened me up by 2-3 weeks. We are all really excited that this tour is coming to a close. This will be our longest separation (from wife Amber), but we weathered it okay and it’s almost over. Thanks again for the papers and for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. They really helped me to get through this long boring deployment! Garey W. Payne, TSgt., USAF Dixon Thank
you for your service to our country, and best wishes to you and Amber.
We’re happy that our humble little magazine brought you a little bit
of home over there. –Delaine and RD |