Opinions

This was the view from the front porch of the photographer’s abode just as the snow started to fall last Saturday afternoon...the house is less than a block away...
Sometimes, some ideas are, well, kind of dumb... ...we’ll get back to being dumb in a word or two. And trust me, your writer is an expert at being dumb. Before we get to that, just a couple of thoughts... ...so the New England Patriots are back in the Big Game. Again. And they will be playing the...
Just a guess, but this photograph appears to have been taken during Anna’s big centennial celebration, which was in 1954. Somebody had scribbled “The settlers arrive” on the back of the photo. “Conyer’s Studio  313 1/2 S. Main  Phone 1037-W  Anna, Illinois” was stamped, in red, on the back.
One just never knows what one might find when a clean up project starts... ...such was the story last week at The Paragraph Factory. During a bit of cleaning up and sorting, folks came across a box filled with a whole bunch of old photographs, a veritable plethora of pictures. Some other treasures...
The white-tailed deer on the left seemed to be striking a pose to be admired, while the other critter was keeping an eye on the photographer.
Nope. No partridge in a pear tree. Looked just to make sure. Not a feathered creature to be seen. This little bit of a story has its origins on the fifth day after Christmas, when my true love and I decided to go on a Sunday afternoon drive through the countryside. Besides, given that it was the...
Our little friend's new family is a large one, and very welcoming, too. There are even three cats, who don't do much but take naps...and eat...
“There was once a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.” Perhaps you  might recognize the opening sentence from “The Velveteen Rabbit,” which was written by Margery Williams. With apologies to Ms. Williams, allow me to share a story which began on a cold and gray morning...
Ten Canada geese flew in formation over Stinson Memorial Library in Anna last Sunday evening.
Sometimes, inspiration flies overhead, or falls from above...or, maybe, just happens to be seen in a tree... Another weekly deadline was approaching, and yours truly was coming up empty when pondering what to write about for this week. I’m thinking I was pretty much worn out from all the work which...
The Opening Scene: (Voice of Narrator, who has a British accent. After all, a good nature documentary will have a narrator who speaks with a British accent. Besides, I could’t get James Earl Jones to be the narrator.) “It’s midday. The groundhog awakes from a slumber. Or whatever it was doing. The groundhog is hungry. He begins a search for sustenance, which common folk know as food. However, I am British.”
This week, dear readers, you have an opportunity to experience a landmark chapter in the history of this column with the debut of our first nature documentary. As far as I know, the newspaper has never presented a nature documentary. I suppose that’s mainly because it would be a little difficult to...
This last week Americans recognized the end of World War I, Nov. 11, 1918, commonly referenced in history books as “The Great War.”   Millions of Europeans died in this conflict, along with large numbers of Americans who sailed across the Atlantic to join in. Others sustained wounds physical and...
How many leaves could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck leaves? The answer is 14. I watched the critter chuck 14 leaves right after this picture was taken one morning last week in Cobden.
One never knows what one might get to talk about on election night at the Union County Courthouse in Jonesboro. Did you know there was an election last week? Mercifully, the election silly season has come to an end, and with it the seemingly never-ending cycle of absolutely horrible election...
In your writer’s simple little mind, everybody should at least get a glimpse of the Mississippi River at some time during her, or his, life. The picture, by the way, was taken several years ago at the Trail of Tears State Park near Cape Girardeau, on a very hot summer afternoon. An overlook and viewing area at the park offers a breath-taking view of the Mississippi River.
This week, we’re about books...and places to visit...as in a reading list with 1,000 books...and a list of 1,000 travel destinations... ...as often happens when this writer sits down to write, one thing kind of led to another... Last week, during a visit to Stinson Memorial Library in Anna, yours...
We are now looking at the “midterm elections” (between presidential/Congressional elections). It seems appropriate here to focus on the important educational opportunities posed by elections, rather on their specific political consequences. While I have been flooded with funding requests from...

Pages

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
4 + 12 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Comment Here