Gone Fishing

This photo of our fishing spot on the Ninnescah River was taken in the summer of 2010. I don't remember the last time the water was up this high.

Drought isn't good for crops. It's not good for fishing holes either. Our favorite local fishing spot is at a pasture on the Ninnescah. 

2010

Back when we were actively farming, we'd load up the 4-wheelers and join our cattle who were "vacationing" for the summer at the Ninnescah pasture. Our cows and calves are still there - managed by the Millers - but drought has impacted the pasture as a fishing venue. (It also meant fewer cow-calf pairs to spend the summer in the pasture, which is a far bigger problem than missing convenient fishing.)

Summer 2015

Our catch in 2010!

Randy had already scouted out the pasture this spring, and he knew that fishing there was not an option. Instead, our Saturday "date" was a trip to the Pratt County Lake. It's not the lake I remember as a child. Just like an HGTV show for nature, they've done a total redesign of the lake. 

OK, it's been awhile since the lake was rebuilt. If my internet sleuthing is accurate, the lake was rebuilt in 1981, the same year we got married. But, in my mind, the Pratt lake is still like it "used to be" - the version that was completed in 1936. For those keeping track: No, I wasn't around then, and I realize I sound ancient when I reminisce about the "good ol' days."

But the new set-up is nice, with shelters on individual peninsulas scattered around the lake. 

It was a beautiful morning for fishing ... or for reading.

I'm a more dedicated reader than I am fisherman. As long as I stayed in the shade of the shelter, it was a beautiful day in nature. And bonus: I got a book done.

It took awhile for Randy to catch anything at all. Then, the majority of the fish were not exactly keepers.

 But, eventually, he caught three fair-sized catfish. 

It was enough for a small fish fry that evening. And, best of all, Randy was the chef. (I should have taken a photo, but I didn't.)

***

During the first week of May, one of my Facebook friends posted that it had been 269 days since we'd received at least 1 inch of rain. His records showed that August 4, 2023, was the last day that had appreciable rainfall in our area. He also included a report from the National Weather Service-Dodge City, which said that the month of April 2024 tied with 1909 as the driest April since 1875, with only 0.02 inches of rain. The next driest was 1935 with 0.03, 1893 with 0.04, and 1963 with 0.07 inches of rain.

So, I'm thrilled to say that we finally did get more than an inch of rain. It's certainly not enough to impact the drought in our area, but we are thankful for each drop! At the end of last week, we got 1.10" at home and 1.50" on farm ground north of Stafford. Yesterday's (Monday, June 3) gentle rainfall added another inch here at home, but only 0.15" north of Stafford, so rainfall was highly variable. Still, we are thanking God for this wonderful blessing of rain!

Booking It to the Library

It seems appropriate that the ribbon cutting for the renovations at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford occurred during October - National Book Month.

However, in my opinion, it's always the right time to celebrate libraries and books - two of my favorite things. 

The ribbon cutting during Stafford Oktoberfest celebrated the renovations for the library, which has been part of Stafford since 1905. It was constructed in memory of Nora Emily Larabee, who died in 1904 at the age of 27 from tuberculosis. One year later, her parents, who were prominent Stafford residents - Joseph Delos and Angeline Larabee along with her two brothers - contracted the building of the library, complete with a stained glass portrait of Nora. The family donated the library as a gift to the City of Stafford. 

Stained glass window at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford

 

In 1963, the library had its first expansion. Mrs. William E. Richardson donated the east room - The Richardson Wing - in memory of her late husband. 

Taken several years ago in the east room of the library - The Richardson Wing.

The community rallied together in 1975, raising the funds to move the children's library from the basement to the south room addition it currently occupies. 

Guests at the ribbon-cutting could also walk downstairs to the old children's room to view the tiles surrounding the old fireplace. That is a defining memory for many of the people who grew up in Stafford.

Randy (AKA Fantastic Fritz) doing magic for a Nora's Gathering at the library's current children's room on the main level in May 2022.

In 2006, the library was accepted for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, thanks to the initiative of longtime librarian, Dixie Osborn. As librarian in 2020, Denise Dickson commissioned an architectural and structural engineering site assessment of the failing foundation and front door. Then, in 2021, librarian Jan McKeel wrote an article for The Stafford Courier, asking for donations to fund the foundation restoration project. Additionally, she wrote a successful application for the Heritage Trust Fund Grant, which brought in $90,000 from the Kansas Historical Society.

Taken during the reception following the ribbon cutting, October 7, 2023

 

The Courier article attracted the attention of two major local donors, who pledged $50,000 and challenged the library and community to raise matching funds. Thus, the Preserving Nora's Legacy Committee was launched. During the fall and winter of 2021, donations from large to small began arriving at the library, thanks to the hard work of volunteers. An additional $98,000 was raised. The library also got grants from Golden Belt Community Foundation, South Central Community Foundation, Kansas Strategic Economic Expansion and Development and Midwest Energy. To date, $310,000 has been raised to help restore and preserve the library.

Donors are recognized for their gifts in this memorial display, created by local woodworker/artisan Robert Owens.

While the library is an historic treasure in Stafford, it is not simply serving as a "museum" to the past. Nora's Place - as it is affectionately called locally - has undergone a renaissance in the past few years. Librarians and volunteer committees are also working hard to make the Nora Larabee Memorial Library a hub of community activity. Since 2021, the library has sponsored Nora's Gatherings. These once-a-month events offer art, music, storytelling, children's activities, food and fellowship. In June, I had the honor of displaying my photography during Nora's Gathering. The display remained in pace as Stafford welcomed Bike Across Kansas participants. The library provided a cool place for weary bikers to rest, to access reliable wi-fi, get a homemade piece of pie and ice cream and visit with fellow bikers and community members. Nora's portrait in stained glass became a backdrop for many photos that bikers shared to provide a memory of that day in Stafford. (Click HERE for more about that event.)

I love the Larabee Library. But I am an equal opportunity library lover. I also claim the Hutchinson Public Library as "my" library. I first got a library card there when I moved to Hutchinson to begin working at The Hutchinson News in 1979. A trip to Hutchinson ALWAYS includes a stop at the library. 

If you are a library lover, too, and have some discretionary funds, the Nora E. Larabee Memorial Library is still raising funds to redo the front steps and finish repairs on the historic windows. They also are seeking additional grant funding.

For more information, check out the Preserving Nora's Legacy and the Nora E. Larabee Facebook pages.  There's a Paypal link on the Legacy page. Or contact the library if you have questions about donations. You can also email them at preservingnoraslegacy@gmail.com.

***

During this National Book Month, I thought I'd take the opportunity to recommend a few more books. As I've mentioned before, it's always a little risky to recommend books. What I like to read may not appeal to you - and visa versa. And that's OK. At my age, I've come to the realization that if I don't like a book, I'll stop reading it and start another one. So many books ... so little time.

The River We Remember is by William Kent Krueger. I probably liked two of his other books - This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace - a little better than this one. But I enjoyed this one, too. It's set in 1958 in a small Minnesota town located alongside a river. A local man is murdered and another is arrested for the crime. But does the local sheriff have the right person? Why won't the man proclaim his innocence. Who is he protecting? Just like the river, there are undercurrents of the past and the present in the lives of the people in the community of Jewel, Minnesota, including prejudice, post-traumatic stress disorder from the war and other scars from their pasts. I loved this summary in the epilogue: "Our lives and the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them there is truth, and in all of them, a good deal of innocent misremembering."

ANYTHING by Fiona Davis. My sister, Lisa, who shares similar taste in reading, suggested The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. I read - and enjoyed - that book in September, which featured Radio City Music Hall, and then went in search of other books by Fiona Davis, and I have loved them all so far. Since that first suggested book, I've read four additional Fiona Davis books. They all have an iconic building as their centerpiece. They also have two story lines from two different time periods that eventually intertwine.  

Since I'm writing about the library today, I'll start with The Lions of of Fifth Avenue, which featured the New York Public Library. One of the women was a librarian's wife and essayist in 1913, Laura Lyons. The other portion of the story deals with Laura's granddaughter in 1993. 

The Masterpiece was about Grand Central Station. One portion of the storyline deals with Clara Darden, who teaches at the Grand Central School of Art in the 1920s, unusual for a woman of that day and age. The other - set in 1974 - tells the story of Virginia Clay, a recent divorcee who ends up working in the dilapidated Grand Central Station information booth. 

I've also read The Address and The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis. I think I have two more Fiona Davis books to read until I'm fresh out. I hope she's working on her next one.

Change of Plans was a light read by Dylan Newton. In it, chef Bryce Wetherford suddenly becomes guardian to her three young nieces. She moves to a new town and meets Ryker Matthews, who lost his leg at war and now runs an auto mechanic shop. It's a light, funny, romantic comedy that reads really quickly. 

I've enjoyed other books by Shari Lapena, and Everyone Here is Lying is no exception. The town of Stanhope seems to be a great place to raise a family. But Avery Wooler, age 9, is missing. Her father - William Wooler - seems to be a family man, but he's been having an affair. William isn't the only one on his street hiding a secret. Who took Avery? There are lots of twists and turns in this domestic thriller. 

I've also enjoyed several books by Matthew Quirk this year, including The Night Agent. I guess there's a Netflix show based on this book, but I don't have Netflix so I can't speak to it. I can speak to the ability of Matthew Quirk to write fast-moving thrillers. An FBI agent's reputation is tainted by his father's legacy. Peter Sutherland's dad was suspected of selling secrets to the Russians. Still, Sutherland is given a job in the White House Situation Room. Can Peter uncover a Russian mole that's been hiding in plain sight in the upper echelons of the American government before it's too late? Quirk's books are fast-moving conspiracy thrillers with lots of action.

If you have books you've enjoyed, please let me know. I'm always in the market for a good book.

The Bookworm

Thanks to Carol Mosier for posting these vintage Summer Reading Program certificates on the Facebook group, "You know you're from Pratt, KS..."

I don't NEED prizes to get me to read. I was way ahead of the era in which bibliophiles earned mini pan pizzas from Pizza Hut just for reading. I have loved to read since my brain made the connection between lines on a page and a wonderful story to unfold.

Not long ago, someone posted photos of Summer Reading Program certificates from the Pratt Public Library on the Facebook group, "You know you're from Pratt, KS."

Those bookworms filled in with green stickers struck a chord with me and with several others in the Facebook group. I remember carefully sticking those green circles on the bookworm as I finished book after book. 

Old habits die hard. This summer, I've been participating in the Hutchinson Public Library summer reading program for adults and another for my local library, the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford. In this newfangled age, I keep track of my reading for the Hutchinson contest through a Beanstack app on my phone. I still use pencil and paper for the Stafford library version. At the Hutch library, they randomly draw names from those who've read books that week and award prizes throughout the summer. Not long ago, I got a phone call from the library, saying I'd gotten a prize. Next time I was there, I picked up my $10 gift certificate from the Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce. 

I still use the book bag I won a couple of years ago in the Hutch library reading contest.

 

Even if I hadn't won anything, I'd still believe I won the lottery with the services provided free of charge at public libraries. 

 

But who doesn't like to win? (I still get a little thrill from entering things in the county fair, too, you know.) My summer reading prize this year may not have been a trip to the Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty, like I earned one year during the summer reading program at the Pratt library. But it was a nice treat anyway!

During my Covid cleaning days, I found a prize from what I'm guessing was my first reading award. It was a book by Robert Louis Stevenson.

These days, I may not read 230 books a year, like I did in second grade. However, I still usually read around 100 books a year. (They may be slightly longer than the ones from second grade.)

This was how I looked on the first day of 2nd grade. I probably didn't look a whole lot different at the end.

When I weeded out books on the office shelves, I found a couple of other books awarded as year-end reading prizes. I got "Best Friend" for reading 166 books in third grade and "Anne of Ingleside" for reading 47 books as a 4th grader. (I guess I was a slacker in 4th grade or the books got longer - probably the latter.)

Kim's 3rd Grade Class - Byers Grade School

As you can see, I didn't have to "beat out" too many readers in the third grade at Byers Grade School.

My fourth grade class dwindled to three people. (So you can take my award-winning ways for what they are worth!)

The following year, when I was a 5th grader, Byers joined Skyline Schools, a rural consolidation. Either books weren't awarded as year-end prizes or I was no longer the "champion" reader. I'm kind of guessing it was the former.

Just for a little perspective: I also found some report cards and notes from the same teacher who awarded the reading prizes. She sent math flash cards home over the summer, with a note to my parents that I needed to practice my math skills. So I certainly wasn't winning any math awards in grade school (or high school, for that matter! Thank you, Mr. Bisel for getting me through Algebra and Geometry!)

"A Child's Garden of Verses" has beautiful illustrations. One of the poems talks about where books "take" you. "At my dear land of storybooks," I can forget the world and get lost among the characters I picture in my mind. Reading can transport us away from our everyday lives.

They can help us think "Happy Thoughts."

We all could use a little of that, don't you think?

 

***

 

It's time for another round of book recommendations. As I say every time I do this, everyone has their own taste in books. I take photos of book covers and send them to Jill or to my sister, Lisa, thinking they'd like particular books. But I always find it a bit risky to recommend books to others. 

I read. Randy golfs. I am a much better reader than golfer.

But here goes. Maybe someone else looks for recommendations from someone they actually know. If you like them, let me know. And, if you don't, that's OK, too. Everyone has different genres, authors or other preferences. So find one you like and read it. And be sure and tell me: I might like it, too. At my age, I've decided that if I don't like a book after I've given it a fair shot, I move onto the next. As the old saying goes: "So many books. So little time."

I've given an Amazon link for each one. That's not to encourage you to buy it. I don't get a cut from sales. It just gives more of a synopsis than I've given. I'd encourage you to find the books at your local library. Or support a local bookstore and purchase locally. I occasionally buy secondhand books through the Thriftbooks website. I also enjoy going to Bookaholic for second-hand books when I'm in Wichita. But, the vast majority of books I read are from my public libraries, including all the books below.

  

Hello Beautiful

by Ann Napolitano 

This book has been one of my favorites of the year so far. Like Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," it tells the story of four sisters. It's also the story of William Waters, who grew up in a very different kind of family than the Padavano sisters. William meets the oldest Padavano sister, Julia, when he moves away from home to attend college on a basketball scholarship. They marry, and the book explores the family dynamics as Julia and William make a home together and interact through the decades with her three sisters. But it also touches on the precarious ways mental illness impacts individuals and families. Does tragedy tear people apart or bring them together? It's a wonderful story, but it's also beautifully written. 

***

Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421

By T. J. Newman

 

This is another favorite of the summer. It was one I had trouble putting down, and I read it in a day. I liked T.J. Newman's first book, "Falling," too. It's mystery, family drama and thriller, all in one. Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors, but the plane sinks with 12 passengers trapped inside, including engineer Will Kent and his 11-year-old daughter Shannon. 

Among those working on a rescue is professional diver Chris Kent, Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife. The clock is ticking as the plane perches on an unstable, underwater shelf and the oxygen in the plane dwindles.  It's an edge-of-your-seat thriller.

 

***

The House of Eve

By Sadeqa Johnson

 

This book is set in the 1950s and centers around the lives of two young Black women: Ruby is a hard-working student in Philadelphia determined to become the first person in her family to go to college. Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, to attend Howard University, where she meets William Pride. He is from one of the city's well-to-do families and his family thinks she's all wrong for their son. The two women's lives collide in an unexpected way, which will change both of them and their families forever.

 

*** 

I Will Find You

By Harlan Coben

It's always a good day when I discover Harlan Coben has a new book out. This one did not disappoint. David Burroughs was once a devoted father, raising a 3-year-old son, Matthew, with his wife, Cheryl. But that all changes when David wakes up to discover Matthew had been murdered while David slept just down the hall. David says he didn't do it. But he's convicted of the murder and is serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison. Then Cheryl’s younger sister, Rachel, makes a surprise appearance during visiting hours and shows him a photograph. It was taken at an amusement park, and someone in the background looks like Matthew. How can David prove his innocence? 

 

***

 

 

You Were Always Mine

By Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Cinnamon Haynes works hard as a career counselor at a local community college, living with her husband in a small beach town. Taking lunch breaks at a nearby park, she meets a young girl named Daisy. She doesn't know her well, but Daisy seems to time her trips to the park to overlap with Cinnamon's. Then, one day, Cinnamon discovers a baby left behind the bench where she typically sits for lunch. Cinnamon had no idea that Daisy was pregnant, but Daisy leaves a note, asking her to take care of the little girl. But while white couples often foster or adopt Black babies, it's much less socially-acceptable for a Black woman to foster a blue-eyed, blond-haired little girl. Both women are challenged when Daisy's grandparents take Cinnamon to court to get custody of the baby. It's a well-written story, and it makes you think. That's a winning combination, in my book (pun intended).

***

 

 

Yours Truly

By Abby Jimenez

 

You'd think that life as a doctor would be smooth sailing. But it isn't for Dr. Briana Ortiz. Her younger brother needs a kidney transplant, and she isn't a match. To top it off, she thinks she's about to be overlooked for a promotion in favor of a new doctor at the hospital, Jacob Maddox. They have a run-in - literally and figuratively. To apologize, Jacob writes Briana an old-fashioned letter. Briana writes him back, and they begin to correspond via the written word - not texts or emails. Jacob ends up being a donor match for her brother. Is there a catch? This one isn't War and Peace, but it's a good, well-written light read.

 

***

Books by Viola Shipman

A Wish for Winter

Famous in a Small Town

The Recipe Box

I've read three books by Viola Shipman this summer. They are in a similar vein as Yours Truly. They are light reads, but they were all engaging stories. Since there was a dash of food in a couple of them, they appealed to me. They are written by a man, using a pseudonym inspired by his Grandma Viola. 

Viola Shipman has written a number of books. I will keep adding those to my book list to pick up at the library.

***

Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen

by Joe Drape

I'm a football fan - high school, college and NFL. And while I don't read a lot of nonfiction books, I enjoyed "Our Boys: A Perfect Season." It tells the story of Smith Center (KS) High School's Redmen, coached by Roger Barta. During the year in which the Redmen were seeking their fifth straight state high school championship title, a New York City sportswriter - Joe Drape - moved his family to Smith Center to follow the team and became part of the community. If you're anxiously awaiting football season and Friday night lights, this book may tide you over. As is often the case for coaches, Barta was looking to develop good young men - not just great football players:  "Respect each other, then learn to love each other and together we are champions." Roger Barta