Hey, I’ve Moved — Yes I Have

I want to thank everyone who has stopped here in the last 1 1/2 years, and even in the last month. But, I’ve moved.
Yes, for anyone who has followed me at this address, my blog is still on Word Press but it has moved under the umbrella of GazetteOnline.
Here’s the address: http://gazetteonline.com/blogs/about/
The new site has all of [...]

Hey — I’ve Moved

For anyone who has followed me at this address, my blog is still on Word Press but it has moved under the umbrella of GazetteOnline.
Here’s the address: http://gazetteonline.com/blogs/about/
The new site has all of my former blog posts as well as my new posts. I will not be posting here any more. Thanks for follow me.
Dave

Back From Iraq

Nathan Timmel, the North Liberty comedian who was the topic of my July 1 Ramblin’ column in The Gazette and a post the same day on this blog, has safely returned from a 10-day trip entertaining troops in Iraq and Kuwait.
Nathan reports he had a great time. Although he’s a Wisconsin native and started his career there [...]

Fourth Street Tracks

The HO gauge replica of the Fourth Street tracks running through downtown Cedar Rapids, circa 1954, has taken shape once again, this time in Dave Lodge’s Cedar Rapids basement. And this time with the help of primary builder Don Lodge of Atlanta, Ga., who grew up in Cedar Rapids in the ’40s and ’50s. (See today’s Ramblin’ [...]

Man On The Moon Memories

Eastern Iowan seemed to be everywhere, from Vietnam to South Dakota, from Germany to Alaska, from Nicaragua to Canada, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon July 20, 1969.
For the 40th anniversary of this great achievement, I asked them to send me their recollections of where they were and how they watched Neil Armstrong become the [...]

Iowa – The Tall Corn State

Don Radda of Washington, Iowa, put all arguments to rest in the 1940s when officials from various Midwestern states claimed they were the tall corn state. In 1946 Don grew a stalk of corn 31 feet and 7/8ths inch tall. It still stands as the world record.
Hence the Washington (Iowa) County Fair this year has erected [...]

Studebakers Invade CR

Everywhere you look in Cedar Rapids this week, you’ll probably see a Studebaker cruising somewhere, even though they haven’t been made since 1966. Nearly 500 of them are here for the 45th annual Studekaer Drivers Club International Meet, the first time it’s been held in Iowa. Last year it was held in Lancaster, Pa., and [...]

Man On The Moon – Where Were You?

OK, so where were you July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon?
I was 16, at home, watching on a black and white television. That didn’t matter because the images were broadcast in black and white, anyway.
It’s a day I’ll never forget. We heard phrases like [...]

Putt, Putt, Putt — Pow

As Independence Day approaches, we expect to hear the pow, pow of fireworks going off. But, we don’t necessarily  expect to hear the putt, putt, putt, of old tractors.
But, that’s what Vernon Althoff of rural Coggon has been up to this time of year since the mid-1990s. He put out a couple of his tractors [...]

Comedian Is Off To Iraq

When you talk to a comdian who plays the national circuit of comedy clubs, you expect to hear a joke a minute.
Not so with Nathan Timmel, 39, of North Liberty, the subject of today’s Ramblin’ column in The Gazette. He’s a real down to earth guy, a Wisconsin native who left Los Angeles for North Liberty three [...]