May 2011

Nebraska Wesleyan Graduation Speech,
Dec. 15, 1989

From my Progress perch I have been studying the residents of Polk and community for more than 30 years and have stumbled upon a Great Truth, which I think will lose none of its greatness when extrapolated to include all of Nebraska, the United States and the world— People can be divided into two basic groups: Talkers and Listeners. I was born a Listener. You may well wonder why I am standing here talking. I have two reasons. First— I don’t listen so good (which is how the Progress Swedish Philosopher described the behavior of a small great granddaughter, who had accompanied her to Sunday church services—“She sat so good.”) My hearing is deteriorating. Second—Listeners can be divided into writers and nonwriters. I have spend the past 30 years writing. Talkers like to hear themselves talk. Writers like to read what they write.

By John Kretschmar

Protests in Madison, Wisc., during February and March over removing many collective bargaining rights from public sector employees in Wisconsin has reacquainted many Americans to what unions are, why they are necessary to protect workplace rights and how they go about accomplishing that task.

Even with that renewed acquaintance, labor unions remain controversial, and when it comes to the issue of unions, it’s hard to find any “neutrals.”

Review by Patricia H. Scudder

“A Harvest of Words: Contemporary South Dakota Poetry”
Editor: Patrick Hicks
Publisher: The Center for Western Studies

Whoever selected the title for this book of poetry has witnessed staggered lines of combines marching resolutely down fields of South Dakota wheat. Harvest, indeed, is as iconic an image for South Dakota as is Mount Rushmore. Whether there is such a thing as “South Dakota poetry,” though, is as difficult to determine as whether there is such a thing as “New Jersey poetry,” especially if you believe that the poet expresses the human condition. For me, that belief universalizes poetry rather than limiting it to a specific region, for human beings are found everywhere, even in New Jersey.

By Shaun Dunn

Open any local newspaper, magazine or log onto any blog and you’re likely to see a story about wind energy. You can’t get away from it, wind energy is everywhere: from the recent completion of the latest wind farm in Richardson County to the small-scale turbines the city of Lincoln is installing to power traffic signals (in cooperation with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Lincoln Electric System). It seems everywhere you look, there’s wind energy being harnessed for a variety of reasons.

By Jack Phillips

It’s hard to kill an oak with a cannon ball. I learned this at Middleton Place Plantation when I was speaking on “The Soul of an Oak” for the Charleston Garden Festival. Middleton is a relic of colonial South Carolina and was attacked during the American Revolution; British ships sailed up the Ashley River and opened fire on plantation buildings and on the live oaks growing along the banks. Many of the buildings were destroyed. The oaks survived.

By Mark Brohman

The Nebraska Environmental Trust is getting ready to celebrate its 20th birthday next year. It has been an exciting 20 years for the trust. The Nebraska Legislature created the trust and then the citizens of Nebraska voted to establish the Nebraska Lottery with the trust receiving a portion of the proceeds. In 2004 the citizens again voted to support the trust and provide it with 44.5 percent of the Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

By Sara Gorski and Charles Francis

Organic, sustainable agriculture is an ancient concept. Historically this was the only way to grow food, well before the introduction of chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and transgenic crops. New technologies have drastically changed how we produce food and also caused a shift in cultural values related to what, where and how we eat. Even a century ago we consumed largely whole, unprocessed foods, including a diversity of vegetables, fruits and grains from backyard gardens or nearby farms. People knew where their food came from, often who produced it and how crops and animals were raised. Most food was prepared and served in the home. For decades, our school lunches reflected this food culture, with children enjoying hot lunches served in schools or bringing food prepared at home.