Column from June 17, 2010

These are my two grandsons Harley (left) and David. The picture was taken last Christmas.

A very special dad

This week, my column is dedicated to someone who truly exemplifies being a father and a dad.

The young man never really had a good example of how to be a father until recently, yet he is one of the best dads I know.

Growing up, his biological father checked out of the family when he was only 4 years old – first mentally and then physically. Several years later, his mother remarried and his stepfather turned out not to be someone to look up to, either.

However, the stepfather he now has is a wonderful role model.

Yet, through those formative years, somewhere along the way, he taught himself how to be a caring and loving person. Today, he has two boys, ages 6 and 15 months. He takes full responsibility for his children and does everything he can to ensure they have the necessities in life.

They have a roof over their heads, plenty of food in their tummies and all the love he can give.

His older son lives with his mother in Ephrata and he has him on weekends, school holidays and every other week during summer break. The little one lives with him and his fiancé.

He’s a hard worker and strives to do the best job he can, at his place of employment and at home with his children. I consider him as close to perfect as a person can be.

At only 26 years old, he’s mature beyond his years. He has a fun and amusing sense of humor and he is passing that on to his sons.

He’s protective, understanding and patient, which isn’t always easy with two little boys! He’s also teaching them right from wrong.

This young man is my son.

Sometimes, when I watch him with his boys, I am amazed at what I see and I wonder how I managed to get so lucky. He has been an absolute blessing in my life and now, he has given me these two wonderful grandsons. If they follow in his footsteps, they, too, will be special men and fathers.

That’s what I’m counting on.

So, this Sunday, I wish my son a Happy Father’s Day and thank him for being a part of my life.

Extra easy lasagna

¾ pound ground beef

3 cups canned spaghetti sauce

6 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 container (15-ounce) ricotta cheese, about 2 cups

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

¼ cup water

In 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned, stirring to separate meat. Spoon off fat. Add spaghetti sauce; heat through, stirring occasionally.

In 2-quart oblong baking dish, spread 1-1/4 cups meat mixture. Top with three uncooked lasagna noodles, half of the ricotta cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining meat mixture. Slowly pour water around inside edges of baking dish. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes eight main dish servings.

Column from June 10, 2010

Preserving history

I was cleaning off a shelf at the museum the other day and I came across some old leaflets from the American Association of State and Local History. They were all about how to work with museum displays.

Although they are rather dated – they were written in the 1970s – they still contain some useful information that will be helpful as we continue to work on reorganizing some of the displays at our local museum.

One of the leaflets talks about historical photographs. This is of particular interest to me because I’m the archivist for the museum. I take care of hundreds of photos, some dating back to years before Othello existed.

I recently watched a program on TV about preserving photos. I was worried about the old pictures because they are beginning to deteriorate. The commentator said there is no way to stop this and recommended scanning the photos onto a computer disk.

He said all photos, no matter how they have been cared for, will begin to deteriorate rapidly when they reach 100 years of age.

So, the next question is how to decide which pictures are important to save. The leaflet said to look for those that depict a “first” or shows the beginning of something. Then, consider those that show a person, place or object of importance. Other ways to evaluate include those related to local stories or folklore, evidence of local pride, samplings of appearances in the environment, sites or events marked by local news, pictures that provide a good comparison with earlier or later photographs and those that tell a story on their own.

After that, you want to consider what not to save. If you have many different photographs of the same subject, pick out the best and discard the rest. Likewise, get rid of those that are out of focus or show the subject as dull or stupid.

This is good advice not only for museums, but for individuals as well. Many people have boxes of old photos in their closets they should sort through. Make sure you mark them before you forget what they are showing and get rid of the redundant ones or those so out of focus as to be a waste of space.

The picture of Aunt Ethel falling into the mud puddle may be funny, but is it really worth showing if it embarrasses her every time the family gets together?

Once you decide which ones you want to keep, scan them onto a computer disk and put it away for safekeeping. You can then use the originals for your scrapbooks or photo albums.

Remember, nothing lasts forever and old photos are no exception.

Here’s a great recipe to use those wonderful fresh strawberries that are available now.

Chocolate strawberry shortcake

1-1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cold butter, cut up

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoons brown sugar

2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping, thawed

3 cups quartered fresh strawberries

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix first four ingredients in large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add next three ingredients; mix well. Pour into two greased and floured nine-inch round pans. Mix 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the brown sugar; sprinkle over batter.

Bake 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate as directed on package. Place one cake layer on plate; top with half each of whipped topping and berries. Cover with second cake layer. Top with remaining whipped topping and berries; drizzle with semi-sweet chocolate.

Column from June 3, 2010

Civil War veteran Francis Adams is buried next to his wife, who was the first pioneer to have a place at the American Legion Cemetery at Highway 17 and Sutton Road. Mr. Adams donated an acre of his homestead to provide a cemetery for the new town of Othello.

Honoring some of our earliest veterans

As usual, Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens was beautifully decorated with flags, wreaths and flowers Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Every year, there are comments about how nice the cemetery looks.

I wonder, however, how many people notice the little cemetery at the corner of Highway 17 and Sutton Road. It, too, has several flags on the graves to recognize veterans who are buried there and families do put flowers on some of the graves.

The American Legion Cemetery began in 1906 when Frances Adams died. It was winter and the weather was bad enough to prevent taking her to the cemetery in Cunningham, where many of the early pioneers were buried.

Her husband Francis Adams set aside an acre of land on the corner of their homestead and donated the plot to the town as the first cemetery. It was, for many years, known as the Adams Cemetery until the American Legion took over the care and maintenance of that small acre of land.

Today, the cemetery is overseen by a Adams County district board of elected officials.

At the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. On May 5, 1868, General John Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veteran’s organization, issued a proclamation that “Decoration Day” be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of that year. The date was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of a battle and the tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance.

Many of the state of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day because of lingering hostility toward the Union Army and also because there were few Union veterans buried in the South.
The name “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but it didn’t become more common until after World War II. It was declared the official name by Federal law in 1967 and the following year, the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Holidays bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create three-day weekends. Among those holidays was Memorial Day and the changed moved it from the traditional May 30 to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.

After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted the measure within a few years.

Francis Adams was a veteran of the Civil War, so it’s only fitting the American Legion Cemetery is included in the local observance of Memorial Day.

If you get the chance, take some time to stop by and walk among the headstones. You’re sure to find some names you recognize from the early history of Othello.

Grilled Cornish game hens

2 Cornish game hens (1 to 1-1/2 pounds each)
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoons black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
½ teaspoon salt

Split hens lengthwise. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place hens in large plastic bag and set in large bowl. In small bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, peppercorns and salt. Pour marinade over hens in bag, close bag securely and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning hens occasionally to coat with marinade.
Drain hens, reserving marinade. Place hens, skin side up, on grill, over and cook 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Baste with reserved marinade occasionally.
Makes 4 servings.