Category Archives: General

Those dog-gone blues

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Marty Ryan

A good friend of mine, and also a homegrown native of Vail, Iowa, Tom Hawley, was the publisher/editor of The Record-Herald and Indianola Tribune when I lived in Martensdale with my sixteen-year-old daughter in 1994. Tom approached me to contribute … Continue reading →

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A Different Kind Of Holiday Season

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Marty Ryan

Two of my favorite holidays are celebrated this week, Pie Day (3.14) and Saint Patrick’s Day (March 17th). We began the week with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. You can never start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day too soon. Actually, … Continue reading →

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Off To The Races!

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Dennis Mohatt

Growing up Vail meant fending for ourselves when it came to recreation.  As Marty has shared, often the fending for fun could edge toward activities parents today would find horrifying.  Hell, for all I know, our parents were horrified too.  … Continue reading →

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Missing In Action

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Marty Ryan

Upon being drafted by the U.S. Army in 1970, I figured that after two years, if was still alive, I would be discharged from military service and be done with the government’s intrusion into my life. But no, I hadn’t … Continue reading →

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Legislative Liver

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Marty Ryan

I spent ten years as a sausage maker at Farmland Foods in Denison, Iowa. I spent twenty-seven years as a lobbyist at the Iowa Capitol. “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made,” quipped Otto … Continue reading →

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A Brief Tale

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Marty Ryan

Have you ever gone skinny dipping? If you were a boy living in Vail, Iowa, during the 1950s and 1960s there was just about no way to avoid the practice of diving into a farm pond sans clothing or swim … Continue reading →

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