Category: American Countryside
The First Encounter with Wild Bill Hickok
Mention the name Wild Bill Hickok and many people have images of a western lawman not afraid to enter a shootout to bring about justice. …
Ruts That Are Never Filled
If someone cuts ruts down a muddy dirt trail, someone else will probably need to come and fill them in before the road can be…
The Flying Priest of Bolivia
Buying a plane seemed like a good idea. Then again, Mike Gould didn’t know how to fly. It turned out to be one of his…
Bolivia on Horseback
It’s been nearly seventy years since Mike Gould was assigned to work in Bolivia. He’s spent almost all of those seven decades working in South…
Finding New Markets in a Pandemic
When the Covid pandemic hit this country, this small business suddenly found half of its sales gone. It was a staggering blow that caused them…
Ropp Jersey Cheese
It may be difficult for a small dairy producer to make a living. However, just outside of Normal, Illinois, Ken Ropp is doing just that,…
The Ropps of Ropp Road
Ken laughs when people tell him he must be pretty famous to have a road named after him. It is true the road bears the…
The Bronze Star Optometrist
Over two decades after he first entered the army…Kermit Bell was now on his way to Vietnam. Not only would he serve in that conflict…but…
Fighting the Second of Three Global Wars
For Kermit Bell, the Korean was just the second of three world conflicts he would find himself in…
How the Batchtown Farm Kid Made it to West Point
Kermit Bell never intended to make a career in the military…but by the time he retired from the army he had served in WW II,…
