Stand back, Dad’s bringing in his ‘Kielbasa and Sauerkraut’! by Mary Jo David As many readers know, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for a Nellie Maxwell main dish recipe from 1924—one that doesn’t involve cow’s tongue, calves’ liver, or codfish gravy. This month I still didn’t have any luck when perusing the September 1924 […]

by Clyde Whitaker We have my wife, Mary, to thank for this month’s topic. She suggested writing something about our camping experiences over the years. Good idea! Mary and I have been camping for many, many years, beginning when our kids were toddlers. We started out the usual way, with a tent and air mattresses, […]

The 1960s called. They want their fish eyes back! by Mary Jo David What is it about olives—whether green or black—that led someone to say, “I think these would make wonderful fish eyes in a molded salad?” J That idea caught on in the 1960s, and many samples are viewable on the Internet today, like […]

74 years later, Gabriele Mikelonis still thanks God and the U.S.A. for a better life by Clyde Whitaker Following on the heels of America’s Fourth of July celebration, this seem like a perfect time to write about a good friend of mine—Gabriele Mikelonis—who endured hardship and sorrow in her early life in Lithuania before moving […]

Nellie’s ‘Pound Cake’—weighing in at 1 pound 9 ounces—is a keeper by Mary Jo David After last month, I’m happy to report that my desk drawer is unjammed and I can, once again, access my thumb drive containing the old issues of the Stockbridge Brief-Sun. While I was happy for the opportunity to veer off-script […]

Val West and Libra Industries: Lessons in patience and confidence building by Clyde Whitaker I’m sure most of you can recall your first real grown-up job. As I think back to mine, I remember the anticipation and maybe a little fear of what was to come. I also recognize, now, that my teachers really did […]

It takes a village to fix a jam by Mary Jo David If you read the headline and assumed this month you’d be following along making a 100-year-old jam recipe from Nellie Maxwell, you’d be—wrong! This month, I was at the mercy of my desk drawer, which was “jammed” shut. It’s the desk drawer where […]

Mrs. Anderson’s patience and encouragement paid off—in the long run by Clyde Whitaker Hello again everyone.  I feel obliged to start off my column this month with a “thank you” to all of you who have told me how much you enjoy reading my column.  It is very humbling and I really do appreciate your […]

by Clyde Whitaker Well, admittedly, I don’t think I can top my story from last month about my grandfather, but this story is special, too. It’s about a local educator from long ago—Emma L. Smith—and her beloved 1936 diary. Many, many years ago, my mother-in-law, Alice McGinn, was at a garage sale in Chelsea and […]