When Pettis County was first settled in the 1820s, the area was filled with game of all kinds and the streams full of fish, according to the 1882 History of Pettis County. The History mentions bear and elk, in addition to the more common deer, rabbit, squirrel, and waterfowl. Hunting was a n…

Dear Editor:

You only know as much as you know.

I was up at dawn this morning, listening to the birds, worrying about the world. 

A closet. We have a closet! It is painted, and our clothes are hanging nicely from the rods. One thing still remains, which should be no surprise to anyone who knows us, er, me: a shoe rack. Fortunately, we found one that will both fit in the available space and will hold all my shoes. It ar…

I watched the movie “Back to the Future” on TV again the other night, and I thought, I doubt that many of us who have watched that movie has done so without wishing they could go back in time to relive a good memory. The movie holds a lot of things I am familiar with since the ‘50s were my g…

Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of looks at Pettis County seniors who are experiencing a nontraditional end to their high school careers and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.      

I am not sure about everyone else but this whole coronavirus season is affecting my spirit. I find myself melancholy one day, jovial the next. I am normally an even-keeled guy with lots of joy and peace in my spirit. 

When discussing why people leave their homelands to settle in another country, historians and geographers speak of push factors and pull factors. Push factors are those situations that prompt people to leave or emigrate. Push factors include overpopulation with the resulting unavailability o…

How do we measure or define love?

When I used to have time to leisurely thumb through a woman’s magazine – Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, for example – I often read articles about how it was easy to “update” the look of a room for less than $100. We could buy new throw pillows! We could get a small area rug! We could find w…

In the past few weeks, the wearing (or not wearing) of face masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus has become some sort of national political symbol. And of course the good Lord knows what we need most right now is another political symbol. 

There are different kinds of love some of us experience throughout our lives. Most of these loves are of the human-to-human type, like the ones we have for our parents, siblings, wife and children, grandparents, and all the other parts of our families. We also have a feeling akin to love for…

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of looks at Pettis County seniors who are experiencing a nontraditional end to their high school careers and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.      

A few days back I reflected on a commonsense proverb which simply states, “…what does not kill you will make you stronger.”

Immigrants often formed societies that acknowledge their ethnic heritage. In Sedalia’s early years, the Irish, the Scandinavians, Jews, and the Germans had such clubs that hosted entertainment, raised money for the poor in their native lands, and created bonds with those of similar backgrounds.

I’m not certain that I have ever been more at odds with myself than I am right now. 

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

Isn’t it odd how, when you can’t do something, you want to do something? Yesterday, for instance, I was simply aching to call our good buds Kim and Kevin and ask them to meet us at the Craft Beer Cellar. The funny thing is that I don’t really like beer. When we meet there, I hope for a good …

The COVID-19 crisis has required us to add new words to our vocabulary: coronavirus, pandemic, social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine, etc. I’m pretty good about observing some of the protocols but in other areas I have problems.

On April 25, shortly before his birthday, a young man was murdered as he went for a jog on a pleasant road in a good neighborhood. Two men sat in wait for him in their parked pickup truck. The young man was shot with a shotgun, at least once at point-blank range. He bled out in the pleasant …

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of looks at Pettis County seniors who are experiencing a nontraditional end to their high school careers and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.

On May 6, 1856, Robert Edwin Peary entered the world. Born to ordinary circumstances in Pennsylvania, Peary went on to lead an extraordinary life as one of the most famous explorers in history. Educated as a civil engineer, Peary served in this capacity when he joined the Navy in 1881. While…

I am always inspired after reading about the weight loss challenge the Sedalia Democrat prints news on each year, and it makes me ponder my own weight problem. 

I’m a hugger. I am an unapologetic hugger because I don’t think or care to ask permission before I give a hug. I know this is not correct behavior and sometimes it is not appreciated, but my hope is that after you have spent some time with me, you’ll want me to hug you again.

In the 1870s, Missouri citizens ratified a new constitution that became effective on Nov. 30, 1875. This constitution outlined the operations of the various branches of state government, including the judicial branch. It specified the existence of a state supreme court, the St. Louis court o…

Community means neighbors, family and friends, church and school. It means where we work, the stores where we shop, the restaurants where we eat and where we go to enjoy ourselves and relax. It’s the everyday moments, and probably the things I’ve taken for granted until now, that make me tha…

May has always offered a sense of excitement: Max’s birthday, Mother’s Day, Mother’s birthday, and Libby’s birthday. Then, before it gets too hot, we celebrate Father’s Day, too. The teaching semester winds up, and God seems to know that I need a breather; He doesn’t send too many clients my…

On the 5th day, in the month of May, in the year 2020, during the great SARS-Cov-2 pandemic, a man died.

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of looks at Pettis County seniors who are experiencing a nontraditional end to their high school careers and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.

Once a person has come to faith in Christ there is a certain progression and testimony which speaks to one’s personal relationship with God. This is assuming that one has believed the gospel and given testimony to that fact through believer’s baptism. 

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

I have to admit I have had my share of COVID-19. I had come to a point where I was simply over it and based on the low numbers we had seen in Pettis County, I ventured out with my husband to Menard’s and didn’t wear my mask. I’m going to call it peer pressure because I feel bad now for havin…

The social mores of the 19th century, sometimes referred to as “Victorian values,” rose from a strange combination of harsh judgments made by those who considered themselves arbiters of behavior, an exaggerated fear of how others would judge one’s behavior, and a strict interpretation of Bib…

I love to garden. 

It has come to our attention that not only do we have too many sweaters, but we also have too many … everything. Either stuff has to go, or it has to go someplace. To this end, we have begun expanding the closet. Whatever doesn’t go in the closet is going out the door. I haven’t yet told Max…

When Winston Churchill became prime minister of Great Britain in May of 1940, he formed a National Coalition Government composed of all political parties in the House of Commons. Politics took a backseat to the one supreme, overriding goal – winning the war, which looked very doubtful at tha…

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of looks at Pettis County seniors who are experiencing a nontraditional end to their high school careers and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.  

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

Sedalia was recognized throughout the latter half of the 19th century for having public utilities long before other Missouri cities of the same size or even larger. Much of this is due to the progressive outlook of the citizens who encouraged the development of such enterprises and were will…

Are you stuck?

The world’s best storytelling always involves food: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s tantalizing descriptions of pioneer fare in the “Little House” books. The hearty feasts of the Hobbits in “The Lord of the Rings.” Marcel Proust’s famous madeleines. And my father’s childhood tales of growing up in th…

The world has changed a lot since we were kids, and the bad guys were the ones who wore masks at our Saturday matinees. Now we see it is the best among us that wear masks as they risk their lives for the sake of those who are ill or not able to care for themselves. 

Moving musings: I figured it would take us a month to unpack and get settled in our new home. I am now multiplying that by four. Every box contains something we must keep but now have no room for – things such as framed photographs, totally useless lovely crystal, and big purple dinner plate…

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of looks at Pettis County seniors who are experiencing a nontraditional end to their high school careers and preparing for the next chapter in their lives.

My wife and I spent the last week of February on the beach in Treasure Island, Florida (on the gulf next to St. Pete Beach). We had a great week of relaxing, biking, seeing old friends and just being together. Little did we know that soon after coming back to Missouri we would see our lives …