State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Main Street

  • On the Trail to a Selfie

    This is the face of a man trying to understand how his Android camera works. The background on the state park trail was planned. The green sweatshirt is my standard winter uniform, although I own sweatshirts in several colors. The watch cap was a gift from a farmer friend. My unshaven face is because I’m… Read more

  • Cemeteries and Decorations

    BIG GROVE TOWNSHIP, Iowa — A couple of years ago the Solon American Legion moved their annual Memorial Day commemoration from Oakland Cemetery to the new service memorial at American Legion Field. As remaining World War II veterans depart on their long journey after this life, the new field is level, lessening the possibility of… Read more

  • We’re Going Home — Hamburg Inn No. 2

    With yesterday’s announcement Hamburg Inn No. 2 is being sold by 68 year-old David Panther, another chapter in the long exodus of sixty-somethings from Iowa City’s public stage is closing. With growth and a burgeoning new population, long time aspects of Iowa City iconography have changed and are changing. Old is giving way to new.… Read more

  • Independence

    INDEPENDENCE— Friday was a mini-retreat from paid jobs as I drove support for a small team of riders on the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). The first ride was Aug. 26 through 31, 1973, when people got whatever bike was in the garage tuned up and headed to the Missouri River for… Read more

  • Friday at the Town Festival

    SOLON— The hay bale rises above the crowd to clear the bar. Main Street is packed for the hay bay toss— a farm-related activity in a festival put on where traditional farming, matters. Bingo has begun, a band with a local lead singer is covering The Band Perry, and the beef and pork sandwiches are… Read more

  • Saturday In Photos

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  • Federal Food Funding Sequestered

    SOLON— After proof reading the newspaper last night, it is hard to feel cheery this holiday season. The Area Agency on Aging has cut off funds to our congregate meals site, and the seniors found the proposed replacement meals to be a form of prepackaged pabulum. The administrators at the agency blamed the change on… Read more

  • Letter to the Solon Economist

    To the editor, There were two pictures of biscuits and gravy next to each other in my Facebook newsfeed Sunday morning. One from Salt Fork Kitchen and one from Big Grove Brewery, two new restaurants that opened this year in Solon. While I am not partial to the dish, one has to appreciate the fact… Read more

  • Hope for a Small Town

    Whether it was the high school football game between Regina and Solon, or the new restaurant and microbrewery, Main Street was hopping when I returned from the political fundraiser in Coralville. Cars lined the streets and people were standing at the intersection of Main and Iowa Streets. That hasn’t happened for a long time. Perhaps… Read more

  • Reggie’s Weenies is Gone

    SOLON— Word is out that another Main Street restaurant is gone. Reggie’s Weenies of Solon shuttered their doors last week. I noticed the for lease sign, then it was taken down, then the lights were off during the breakfast service and people started talking. Telltale signs of the end in a small town. Partly, the restaurant… Read more