I only remember one time that my dad took us fishing, and that was more a picnic by the river than anything else.My husband, however, went fishing all the time as a child, so after we were married, I quickly learned to enjoy throwing a worm in the river and relaxing while waiting for a ...

In my hometown of Beaverton, Michigan, there’s a reservoir called Ross Lake. This lake and the river below the dam are well-known for the monster carp that inhabit its waters. It is said that the largest carp of this species caught in the world — 114 inches long — was caught there ...

A small river ran through the family farm in the northwestern part of Missouri where I grew up. Papa and Grandpa both liked to fish.About once a week, from early spring to late autumn, in the late afternoon or early evening after the day’s work and chores were finished, Grandpa would come to ...

Some of my most precious memories are fishing at Toledo Bend in Louisiana with our friends, Don and Bythella. All of us had gone to school together, and Don and my husband, Arnold, had been college roommates. We each had a son and a daughter, and everyone got along well.One fishing trip in ...

Fishing has never held much appeal for me. I don’t like worms. I don’t like shivering on a frozen lake. And I don’t like getting burned in the sun while sitting and waiting to catch “the big one.” I also don’t like snakes, which always seem to hover near water.However, while growing ...

Everyone has the power to make a positive impact on the world around them, whether it’s choosing locally made products, making environmentally friendly home solutions or helping those in need. These actions can be beneficial to your family, your neighborhood and your community. It’s the ...

If I were to invent something, it would be a pet car seat for my dog. Not like the run-of-the-mill type seen advertised on TV, but one that would work with the bucket seats in my car, and one that would allow my dog to see everything.Why we need dog seats for carsMy dog, Cuddles, loves to ride. ...

The creation I dream about isn’t something new, but instead would be a remarkable change – or perhaps upgrade is a better word – in transportation vehicles that have been around for many years.I would start upgrading cars first, then airplanes, and then move on to other types of public ...

I would love to invent a new kind of kitchen stove.It would be a very modernized stove that would recede into the wall when it wasn’t being used, and when it was needed, you would simply pull it out.Space-saving appliancesWith my newly created stove, it would free up a lot of space in the ...

When I was a teenager helping my dad in the fields in the early 1950s, rainy summers often found us coaxing a reluctant, self-propelled Baldwin combine out of the mud.Sometimes getting unstuck was as simple as placing sand and large rocks in front of the tires to move the combine forward on its ...

At this time of year here in our offices in eastern Kansas, I always feel like one of the luckiest of humans. Except for the heat, humidity, chiggers, ticks and mosquitoes, we have a delicious life here. And I do mean delicious.I know there are people working in offices where no one orders ...

When art teacher Jane Beran looked at the weed-lined former swimming pool in Sidney, Neb., she saw possibilities for a beautiful new garden. Her vision took root and flowered into reality, thanks to a local government receptive to fresh ideas and a community willing to volunteer time and labor ...