Articles written by Charles Haddon Shank
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Dear Editor: The Cost of Living is Increasing
Dear Editor, The cost of living is increasing! We see this almost everywhere, but probably more noticeably as Winter threatens. I don't keep a real close eye on it myself (probably because I drive an EV), but apparently, the price of gasoline has rec...
Dear Editor: Why Can't We All Just Get Along?
Dear Editor, A wise man once asked the eternal question, "Why can't we all just get along?" Well, as you know, we're all different, so that might be one way to explain it. How many people do we know, however intimately, who are as different as night...
Dear Editor: Organized Religion
Dear Editor, This letter is not in response to anyone. It IS, however, a bit of a diatribe! The main subject of this letter may engender a negative response among certain people in this town; but then, sometimes the pot just NEEDS to be stirred! Not...
Dear Editor: The Sound of Freedom
Dear Editor, I wasn't planning to go see The Sound of Freedom; in fact, I was planning not to, but a friend asked me to watch it with her, so I decided to give it a whirl. I wasn't too disappointed;...
Dear Editor: We Can't Blame It All on Gen X
Dear Editor, We can't blame it all on Gen X. Although much could be directed toward the generation in question, this is a generalization; it's not quite fair to say all people from this particular...
Dear Editor: Whitehall Public Restrooms
Dear Editor, I am a bit cautious about writing such a letter, on what could be a very touchy issue, but the growing lack of public restrooms in Whitehall is a bit distressing! One really can't blame our local business owners, with the blatant...
Dear Editor: CHICKEN
Dear Editor, Most of your readers probably remember the 80s TV show Who's the Boss? That's the subject of this short rant. I vaguely remember writing something to this effect previously, though it's...
Dear Editor: Turn and Face the Strange
Dear Editor, Turn and face the strange... Some of your readers may recognize these words from the refrain of David Bowie's Changes. I begin in this manner because of the changes coming to our small...
Whitehall Happiness Corner: Owen David Shank
OWEN DAVID SHANK St. Patty's Day 2023 dawned bright and clear. For a change, the ever-present wind was fairly calm as well. This was also the day my dad, Owen David Shank (who went by David) decided...
Dear Editor: Stress, not Technology, is the Real Killer
Dear Editor, Over the past week, more or less, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking on the subject of this generation’s reliance on technology and the detrimental effect it had. I originally wrote, “technology is killing us,” though I DID...
Dear Editor: Term Limits
Dear Editor, As you and your readers know by now, I despise politics, especially as they stand in this day and age where the almighty dollar seems to have taken precedence over our precious right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The...
Dear Editor: Freedom to Practice Religion Starts with You
Dear Editor, I am by no means a lawless person, but neither am I one of those who say "there outta be a law." In the interest of peace and positivity, I'm not going to point fingers here, or name...
Creating Fiction From History: 1/25/2023
You've come a long way, Baby! At the tender age of 13, not only was Carolina Duggard the first from her family to attend an institute of higher learning, she also might have been one of the youngest...
Creating Fiction from History: Week of 1/18/2023
As babies go, she certainly wasn't remarkable. Of course, every baby, no matter how ugly they are, is cute. Barley certainly wasn't an ugly baby, although one might have noted that they'd seen cuter...
Creating Fiction from History: 1/11/2023
One might say she was born to it; It was in her blood! Carolina Mae Duggard was born January 16, 1919, in Harlan County, Kentucky, a region of the eastern United States called Appalachia. Her parents, Jim Bob and Lucy, ran the family business, which...
Creating Fiction from History: 1/4/2023
Roberta Henson never won a beauty contest, but to certain people, the ones whose opinion truly mattered to her, Bertie was a veritable angel from heaven! Our homely heroine entered this realm in the...
Creating Fiction From History: 12/28/2022
Joseph and Mary Smith never planned to settle down in the wild, wild west, much less raise a family there. However, as life is what happens between our plans, Joseph's new job required him to travel...
Creating Fiction from History: 12/21/2022
Mary Ann McGee was born to William and Margaret McGee on November the 8th, 1889, which, incidentally, was the day when Montana gained statehood. Where Mary started her life on this Earth is not so...
Dear Editor: Addiction & Politics
Dear Editor, I broach this subject very carefully, with a bit of hesitation and more than a bit of consternation, because it is a rather touchy one! Addiction! Of late, there has been a lot of talk going around having to do with another touchy subjec...
Creating Fiction from History: 12/7/2022
Since the day the world made her acquaintance, December 19 in the year 1871, "Woozie" had been known for her sweet demeanor. When Winifred Louisa Johnson first greeted this cold, sometimes cruel,...
Creating Fiction from History: 11/30/2022
Technically, Anya wasn't Russian. Though she had lived in a rural area just south of Moscow since she was three, Anya Mussorgsky was actually from the good ole U.S. of A. She had been adopted by...
Creating Fiction From History: 11/23/2022
She coulda been a contender!! Ginger Woodbridge might have been the first great female boxer, but as the case may be, the little fighter, born Virginia Woodbridge on a cold Winter's day in 1919, would...
Creating Fiction from History: 11/16/2022
In 1883, especially in North-Eastern Allamakee County Iowa, life was not easy for young Alberta Haney. Born to John and Fanny Haney on September 14th of the year 1867, Alberta, or Bertie as she was commonly known, being the oldest child, had been...
Creating Fiction from History: 11/9/2022
Sir Robert Moore was born of Scottish ancestry to John and Mary Moore on the official centennial of the birth of this great nation. The family farm was halfway between Lansing and Waukon, on the...
Dear Editor: Shop Local
Dear Editor, I am not perfect by any means, particularly when it comes to the subject of this letter. At the danger of retracing our steps in what’s probably familiar territory, I again wanted to bring up the subject of Shop Local. I totally...
