Help and Courage

This is the second and final installment of my May 5, 1985 Daily Press article about the tornado which destroyed Peggs, Oklahoma on May 2, 1920. This was 104 years ago but it’s a part of history that shouldn’t be forgotten. In 1920, Walter Neel lived with his parents, brothers and sisters on the Gid […]

A Squirrely Problem

A Squirrely Problem

This is a soggy morning after a rip-roarin’ wet night (or was it in the wee, small hours of the morning?) The eaves are dripping, the wet pavement glistens, and in the back yard, a cardinal enjoys a quiet breakfast, unhampered by squirrels. Yesterday, I hung my new squirrel-proof bird feeder and it works! The […]

Little Cedar and the Big Storm

Fierce winds tugged at Little Cedar. His scrawny boughs bent and swayed but he dug his roots deeper and hung onto the rock buried beneath the mountain soil. “The wind is so cold,” said Little Cedar. He shivered from his topmost limb to the bottom of his twisted trunk. “It must be nearly Christmas again.” […]

A Springtime Horror

A Springtime Horror

Each year I re-print the story of the Peggs tornado that I wrote for The Tahlequah Daily Press in 1985. This story is important because it is a part of our history. It is a sad story, but it is also full of human compassion and courage. We should not forget the many whose lives […]

Storm Threat

Ned McNeil and Darcy Campbell have quite a lot in common, for example, getting caught in thunderstorms. In Grave Heritage, July is the rainiest month of the year, contrary to its usual behavior. But, that’s what makes a story, isn’t it–happenings that are far from the way things are supposed to be. Ednalee, Oklahoma is […]

A Little of Everything

A Little of Everything

Yesterday was sunny and warm. The Boston fern went onto the front porch to enjoy the sunshine. But, after hearing what the weather would be today, I brought it in before sunset. Then, last night, Nemo and I woke up to thunder and something that sounded suspiciously like hail. We had some wind and hard […]