“A Rough Patch” Written By Teresa Howell | The year: 1908, or thereabouts. The place: Watauga, a soon-to-be born town at the end of the railroad line in South Dakota. The actors: Fred, John and Art Nehl, my great grandfather and his brothers. The task before them: sow the garden they’d tilled out of virgin sod before their wives arrived on the train from Iowa. Unfortunately, the Nehl boys got into a jug of whiskey. They didn’t want to let work interfere with the fun, so they put … [Read more...]

“A Rough Patch” Written By Teresa Howell | These late spring days, my sister Beth and I often have coffee on the side porch by my flower garden. It usually smells fresh this time of year. “It’s always windy around your place,” Beth commented. “You should do something about it. It’s not good for the plants.” “I don’t like to take antacids. Besides, it’s a natural process, and it’s simply hyperbole that it can kill plants or strip paint or any of that other … [Read more...]