Who turned these old doorknobs before me? By Randal B. Thatcher Feb. 22, 2018 I have a cousin who has always been interested in very old things. An inveterate rock-hound and arrowhead-seeker, he is continually on the hunt for that rare item of hidden beauty or historical significance. Such expeditions have more recently led…
Utah’s own was Father of Television By Corrie Lynne Player Feb. 8, 2018 Headlines “David Defeats Goliath!” and “Farm Boy Inventor Wins” blared from newspapers across the country on May 13, 1938. On that day, the examiner for the United States Patent Office, for the second time, awarded priority to Philo T. Farnsworth…
This Way or That? Choose a Route North By Randal B. Thatcher Jan. 25, 2018 Since moving to this lovely mountain valley over four years ago, I have come to realize some unavoidable facts of life and living in our Sanpete Valley: Herds of sheep will sometimes be blocking the road you’re traveling….
Watch out for your kid’s dusting activity By Corrie Lynn Player Jan. 11, 2018 Nope, this column isn’t about monitoring your kid’s helping around the house. It’s about a deadly fad among kids, especially those between the ages of 8 and 18, even good kids who proudly wear their “D.A.R.E.” buttons. A couple of…
Too much is never enough – the paradox of abundance By Corrie Lynne Player Mar. 8, 2018 Much of the U.S. economy has sputtered and stumbled for the past several years, shocking those of us who’ve been accustomed to ever-increasing real estate values and soaring stock prices. Bailouts and entitlement programs were touted as…
Is that really Willie Nelson’s ranch? By Randal B. Thatcher Dec. 14, 2017 I like to keep an eye out whenever I go traveling around Sanpete Valley for those big, iconic ranch gates that dot this agricultural county. I love to read the names of these sprawling ranches on the big gate-signs that…
Reflections on Blessings and Thanksgiving By Corrie Lynne Player Heaven Help Us Nov. 23, 2017 The month of November, with Thanksgiving, starts what I believe is our most important holiday season. I thoroughly enjoy reflecting with family and friends about just how blessed I am. I live in one of the most beautiful…
Well-Situated Sanpete Gateway to Scenic Splendors of the World By Randall Thatcher Nov. 9, 2017 Convincing friends from faraway places to come visit us here in lovely Sanpete is usually not a difficult proposition. But, for the more reluctant, I tend to sweeten the proposal with two further inducements: First, I offer to…
Optimism is much more comfortable than pessimism By Corrie Lynne Player Oct. 26, 2017 Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the glass as half full or half empty? How you perceive the world will affect whether or not you can be happy, no matter what happens around you. Research…
Metal Shop Miracle A life lesson in the form of a metal riveting hammer Randal B. Thatcher Columnist 2-16-2017 It’s been decades now, but the memory is still as vivid as if it had happened yesterday: When the least likely, least confident, least capable boy in that year’s 8th grade metal shop,…
A Half-Bubble Off Plumb Reawakening my inner, snow-loving child Randal B. Thatcher Colmnist 12-8-2016 Leaving my native state of Utah some 30 years ago, I felt glad to be also leaving behind the condemnable snows of a Utah winter—swapping all that troublesome white stuff for the less hassle-inducing rains of a Seattle winter. …
Optimism is more comfortable than pessimism Corrie Lynne Player Columnist 10-20-2016 Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the glass as half empty or half full? How you perceive the world will affect whether or not you can be happy no matter what happens around you. Research shows that happy…
Heading up into the hills… my first real hunt By Randal B. Thatcher After four years of living in this lovely, high-mountain valley of ours, and having had so many horizon-broadening “country” experiences during that time, I wasn’t sure how many of these experiential “firsts” were still left for me to assimilate. But…