Opinion

Currently, U.S. history is in danger of being steered, rewritten and in some cases, erased, by people with differing agendas.

For your reading enjoyment, we continue to publish Rambling Vines by the late Marylea Vines as she recalls events and names of Corning folks from many years ago. We are currently in the year 1989 Life As It Was Before 1945… Thanks for the Memory (Contributed by a Reader) We are survivors! Consider the changes we have witnessed: We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and “The Pill.” We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens; before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes… and before human beings walked on the moon.

I consider it a good thing to be able to say that at my age. I age, and I learn. I age and I perceive. Even as my steps falter, my stride not so confident and strong, still, I marvel at a machine that was created three fourths of a century ago and still moves down most whatever trail it is directed. As some of you who know me personally know, Kerry and I have been a part of the Texas Renaissance Festival for 32 years. It is a marvelous event, full of a magic of its own, and an energy that can be felt for huge distances around it when it is happening. I was in my early 50’s when I began. It was exciting to be a part of something that big. The crowds would descend on us Saturday morning and many of them would stay and more would come on Sunday. Our shop was built in the shape of an octagon, with counter space and displays of our products all around us. Indeed, some of our customers complained we made them dizzy, going in circles. But they were always smiling with that remark. We were dressed in the period garb for our personas and were ‘on stage’ for about 11 hours a day. The work was hard, but it was happy work. You see, when you have happy work, it gives you a different attitude about life. It motivates you to reach out for new experiences, and new ideas. It urges you to open your mind to new thoughts and concepts. It also helps you to gain experience to make judgment calls about your life and your goals. I had worked hard all my life, mostly for other people and businesses. I had worn many hats; I was a farmer, then I worked in factories, then I learned to operate heavy equipment. I worked construction of different kinds. And then, I was an OTR truck driver for over 20 years. None of these did little more than keep a roof over my head and food on the table. Now, I know those are necessary items, don’t get me wrong, but in most cases they do little to elevate the mind and help you reach for those stars that twinkle high above you. You may not know that you n

LITTLE ROCK – The state Department of Education has released its annual school report cards, which allow parents to evaluate how well their children are being taught and whether they are learning at grade level.

It’s a bad look for a state when efforts are being made to ensure FOIA is an amendment to the state Constitution in order to protect it from its own governor. Former State Representative Nate Bell is spearheading that effort with bipartisan support.

This week, October 8-14, is National Newspaper Week… that’s us, as well as all the other thousands of weekly and daily newspapers in the United States. I realize that this special designation by President Bush won’t mean as much to everyone as it does to me… newspaper work has been my “bread and butter” for a long time now. Although the process has become highly mechanized and undergone a lot of improvements over the years, it is still as rush-rush as ever… and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I’ve worked in just about every department of the plant at one time or another (I don’t claim to be good at them, just acquainted with what is going on) and I am so accustomed to meeting deadlines that I forget that I have ample time to eat and can’t help but “wolf” down my food, even on days that I am off from work. Anyway, I am proud of what all I have experienced since joining up with The Courier… I felt then, and still do, that I have the best job available to anyone in Corning!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time when the world unites in a sea of pink ribbons, illuminating the urgency of breast cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment. In Arkansas, more than 2,400 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Sleeping on a front porch during warm nights in Kansas City, a young nine-yearold boy was living the dream. It was the 1940’s when my dad would rise in the predawn hours to roll his newspapers and prepare to ride his bicycle to throw papers onto subscribers’ front porches.

Celebrating 150 Years of the City of Corning & Clay County in 2023 History of The Bobcats With Lurora trimmed, Piggott humbled, Pocahontas scalped and Highland leveled and our Corning Bobcats headed for a 1973 championship, now if a fitting season to recall the beginning of football in our community. The photograph on the Courthouse Square portrays the squad of pioneer Bobcats at practice in the Fall of 1910.

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing in recent years about the death of local newspapers, those bastions of democracy and chroniclers of community. While the loss of any newspaper hurts the people they serve, residents of rural areas and small towns are hit especially hard when a newspaper shuts down.