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This Christmas card from 1919 offers a political statement of the time. It reads: "I can't drink your health this Xmas with either bourbon or rye, for I'm living the life of a camel in a state that has gone bone-dry."

For more information about "states going dry" in 1919 click here.

This card and the card on the home page from the collection of Fred Steiner

AARP will offer a Driver Safety Program at the Bluffton Senior Center  from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday,  March 23, according to Tonya Meyer.

The program is the first and most recognized comprehensive nationwide course designed for older drivers. The course material is based on information gained through research to determine what is needed by this age group to update driver knowledge and skills.

The course covers defensive driving, new laws, anti-lock brakes, blind spots, air bags and interstate traffic. The cost of the class is $12 for AARP members and $14 for non-members. To sign us, call the Bluffton Senior Center at 419-358-8971 or stop by during regular business hours.
 

By Joanne Niswander

For additional columns by Joanne Niswander click here.

Waking to another snowy morning (I’m writing this Tuesday, Feb. 16), I am reminded of last week’s snow – and the signs of spring that came with it. Signs of spring, you say? In the middle of a mini-blizzard?

Well, if you happened to be at the right place at the right time, you would have seen what I saw. Just outside my window, in the locust tree growing by Maple Crest’s ice-covered pond, was a flock of robins.

Yes, robins. In Ohio. In the second week of February.

By Joanne Niswander
As some of you know, my husband Dean passed away just after the first of the year. It wasn’t unexpected. He had been in Mennonite Memorial Home for the past 15 months.

In addition to physical problems that kept him in a wheelchair, he had Alzheimer’s disease. And that is what I want to talk about.

The word “Alzheimer’s” scares the dickens out of most of us. We sometimes joke about it when we have a “senior moment” but, down deep, we’re well aware that Alzheimer’s disease might come to us no matter how hard we try to will it away.

By Tanya Pike

One of my responsibilities when I worked at the Bluffton News was to develop the black and white film that the editor shot every week. That was back in the days before digital cameras were the photographer's tools of choice. After winding the film into the canisters in total darkness, the process of developing each roll took about 30 minutes.

It was always a somewhat stressful half hour for me.

What if I'd mixed up the chemicals for development incorrectly? Or what I forgot to set the timer and there was no way to know the precise measurements for development with any accuracy? What if the fixer was old and didn't stabilize the images into the film?

By Joanne Niswander

    Take it from someone who is experiencing her 80th (oops, now everyone knows!) Christmas season: Christmas isn’t what it used to be.  You’ve probably thought the same thing.  But, before you start nodding in agreement that Christmas has gone to the dogs, read on . . .

An Ordinary Day
By Tanya Pike
By the time I arrive home it is dark. Winter Solstice is upon us and I am grateful that natural light will soon be returning, tick by tick.

I pull into the driveway as dusk is falling. The flowers in the gardens that we worked so hard in all summer are gone. There are brown leaves covering the small patch of grass that has finally moved from green to rest in brownness.

I shift the car into park. Our Christmas tree sets the front window ablaze with white light. The windows of the kitchen are glowing yellow and as I sit, watching, I can see A in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner.

I pause. Watching. Listening.

By Tanya Pike

Last night, while finishing up the commercial cleaning account, we decided that pancakes and bacon sounded good for dinner. Sometimes we like breakfast at the end of the day. Mixes things up a little! A. asked if we had everything we needed and I did a quick rundown in my head. The only thing we were short on was maple syrup.

By Tanya Pike
Gramma is dying. That’s the news I got last night. Hospice is coming to help her through the final stages of her life. I imagine she has helped others - family, friends, countless farm animals and companions – through these same stages. Anyone who has lived as long as she has knows how it plays out.

Gramma has lived a good life. She taught me how to live too.

Right now, one of the things she’s missing are her memories. I have some of them and I’m taking good care of them.

By Jason Cox

Find more articles by Jason Cox on his blog at www.stingyfriend.wordpress.com

The Internet has re-invented how we live in many ways – we send and receive mail instantly, we can read our news without the risk of a paper cut, and now we can borrow and lend money directly to each other. 

While this may not be a novel idea (you still owe me $5, Jim), it is a novel idea to make peer to peer lending easy, legal, and with relatively low risk.  

The idea is to cut out the middle man (in this case, a bank) and loan money directly to each other.  This results in lower rates for those applying for loans, since the person loaning the money doesn’t have the overhead costs that a bank does.