As a kid I remember rooting for Idaho when they played the Cougars. It was great in both 1999 and 2000 when the Vandals won. In 1999, Idaho won 28-17, and in 2000, 38-34. They had a great tradition: the losing cheer squad had to... — Updated 9/27/2023

We are slowly losing a national treasure. Former president Jimmy Carter is 99 years old and is under permanent hospice care in his home in Plains, Georgia. His wife Rosalynn is also under hospice care. Jimmy is a national treasure... — Updated 9/20/2023

Last Saturday was football time. For so many of us it was time to slump down in the old recliner and focus on the television set. My days of covering football for a newspaper are over, but the season causes me to relive some... — Updated 9/6/2023

For a lot of years, I have enjoyed how my family has grown. It started and flourished for a time with my four kids, two boys and two girls. It is always true that as parents we have notions on what our kids might become. Toss that... — Updated 8/30/2023

Happy Humphrey was a professional wrestler. He stood out because he weighed over 600 pounds. Happy came to Boise near the twilight of his career, and the place where he wrestled had to be reinforced due to his weight. The... — Updated 8/16/2023

Quite a few years ago my friend, Will Chaussee, asked me to take some time during my trip to Thailand to see if there might be any Thai interest in purchasing sapphires from his mine in Montana. Will had a cedar lumber company in... — Updated 8/9/2023

Last week I came across a number of old letters written to me from my three older brothers who served in various theaters of war during World War II. They were written in the 1940s, some nearly 80 years ago. The question I am facin... — Updated 8/2/2023

I recently returned to Palouse to say goodbye to my final classmate. Bob Olson and I were born in 1930, at the beginning of the Great Depression. We entered the first grade together in 1936, midway through some very hard times. In... — Updated 7/19/2023

While taking a walk recently I had the opportunity to visit with my neighbor, Brad McConnell. Brad has lived next to me for nearly five years and this is the most extensive visit we’ve had. As we were talking about travel, he s... — Updated 7/12/2023

Mel Johnson is an oil painter I first met while living in Bothell. I used a framer in Lake Forest Park to frame pictures I liked. Knowing I was a reporter, he said that I ought to do a story about Johnson. He had a couple of... — Updated 6/28/2023

When we used to return to Southern Idaho to visit my wife’s family, we were usually treated to something special by her brother, Robert Compton. He is still known affectionately as “Uncle Bob.” This particular time we got in his c... — Updated 6/21/2023

If you could, you would end up with someone who has the human characteristics of Colleen Leskinen. Colleen lives a couple of miles out of Nespelem. She was mayor there for 14 years, but if you know her it is probably for her... — Updated 6/14/2023

When checking into a motel or hotel have you ever wondered who had stayed in this place? In this country, places seldom reveal who has been there before you, like it would be an invasion of privacy. That’s not true in many p... — Updated 6/7/2023

If you are a basketball fan and have been around the sport for a while, you will know the name. When the Denver Nuggets won over the Lakers the other day, I recalled how I knew him. Dick went to school in Palouse and was part of a... — Updated 5/31/2023

With the basketball season coming to a close, we will be into baseball. It will be a strange season; I can’t name a single player, on any team. I remember that when I was covering baseball, I kept track of several big league p... — Updated 5/24/2023

The Colville Tribes have reason to be proud of Michelle Stanger. Michelle just returned from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she competed along with 26 other Indian national representatives for national honors and the opportunity... — Updated 5/17/2023

I have been to the nation’s capital city. My efforts have been to see as many famous places as a day there will allow. My first visit was a real disappointment. We had hired a tour guide to shepherd us around, believing that we w... — Updated 5/10/2023

Hearing the deadly dust storm on Monday caused me some alarm. The storm was reported to be in Indiana, where I have a close friend. So I called Warner Bartleson, who is well known in the coulee. Warner was hospital administrator... — Updated 5/3/2023

I think there’s a song about that. In a few days it will be 75 years since I graduated from Palouse High School. Palouse will always be where I am from, and my home away from home. We had 24 in our graduation class, 15 of us a... — Updated 4/26/2023

Our youngest son, Nathan is visiting the 37 courthouses in Oregon with the intent to create a book. He received his bachelor and master degrees from the University of Oregon. For the past 25 years he has been teaching at a private... — Updated 4/19/2023

All work and no play…. You know the rest. While in college in 1955-59, I occasionally took some needed time off to go fishing, despite two jobs, a full college load of classes and being a husband and father. I was located in N... — Updated 4/12/2023

[Editor’s note: We mistakenly ran only a part of this column last week; here’s the full piece.] I’ve visited both the spectacular and the simplest of places where the faithful gather. A visit to Angkor Wat near Siem Reap in Cambo... — Updated 4/5/2023

I’ve visited both the spectacular and the simplest of places where the faithful gather. A visit to Angkor Wat near Siem Reap in Cambodia is probably the place I will always remember. The complex is huge and the construction h... — Updated 3/29/2023

I held the last “coffee hour” that Sen. Warren Magnuson ever held. The senator had assisted me with some of my arrangements when I made my trips to the Far East. So when one of his aides called and asked if I would hold a cof... — Updated 3/15/2023

Jimmy Carter is in the news. At 98, Carter has entered hospice care. He has been counted out many times only to resurface with a hammer in his hand, building houses for other people. While having a lackluster one-term presidential... — Updated 3/1/2023