Columns

Early surveyors needed a place where they could worship

August 19, 2021 Dr. Marcus O. Durham Rosemary Durham

[Looking at why our area has its unique political and religious attitudes.] On what peninsula was the first church in Creek Nation? Anytime we are talking about the first, we are about to time travel. Travel in 1834 was pretty much the same as the first British colonists in 1600s. Technology changed little. The Spanish…

Galloping inflation is making everything cost a lot more

August 12, 2021 Charles Biggs

This summer,I saw an online ad for a Tulsa grocery that had 95% ground beef for $6.59 a pound. This particular store had a discount program with ground beef at $4.58 a pound but that is still 50% higher than what we paid last year. In the summer, we like to buy ice cream from…

Historic landmarks can’t match up with granddad’s house

August 12, 2021 Walker Moore

In just a few weeks, two-thirds of the Yada Hoodies will be heading back to school. It has been a weird summer. For the first third, we had constant rain, and it was cold. For the second third, we were looking at COVID-19 as it resurfaced, and for the final third, it was constantly over…

How did the churches in the south develop as they did?

August 12, 2021 Dr. Marcus O. Durham Rosemary Durham

[Looking at why our area has its unique political and religious attitudes.] Where did the first churches in the south develop? Let us time travel back to the period between 1720 and 1920. You are living in the area around Virginia or further out. Suppose you are an eleven-year-old youngster and hear your parents talking…

Staying in your present home may be the wisest choice

August 5, 2021 Charles Biggs

In 1997, we purchased the house we now live in. By all accounts, 24 years later, it is worth double what we paid for it. Maybe more. The housing market is exploding. In our neighborhood, when a house is listed for sale, an offer is made in day or two if not within hours. Why…

It’s time to pass the fried chicken and the mashed potatoes

August 5, 2021 Walker Moore

I grew up as a Baptist, I am still a Baptist and will probably die a Baptist. Baptists are famous for two things: food and fighting. I don’t know if you realize this, but Baptists invented wrestling. Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat, referenced in The Iliad and depicted in what some believe are…

How did Kamala Harris become the first female vice president?

August 5, 2021 John Grimaldi

The American Dream is turning into a nightmare. When Emma Lazarus penned the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty it gave everlasting hope to those who sought the freedom and the opportunities the U.S. offered. All they needed to do was to knock at our door. As Ms. Lazarus put it, Send these, the…

How is it possible to lose a person’s history and heritage?

August 5, 2021 Dr. Marcus O. Durham Rosemary Durham

[Looking at why our area has its unique political and religious attitudes.] How can we lose a person? When looking through historical records, we occasionally come to the end of the line for a person. They seem to magically appear from nowhere, with no parentage or family lineage. What happened deep in the bowels of…

To see corn, drive through Kansas, Nebraska, S. Dakota

July 29, 2021 Charles Biggs

Driving through Kansas, Nebraska and parts of South Dakota in the summertime is like seeing the set of Field of Dreams over and over and over again. For the second time in two years, we drove from Tulsa to Mitchell, South Dakota, on a long July 4th weekend. Our route was about 660 miles. There…

Grandsons provided eight+ years of blessing

July 29, 2021 Walker Moore

This is my eighth year of being a grandparent. These have been some of the best days of my life. For years we thought we weren’t going to have any grandchildren, and then we found ourselves with three handsome, vivacious grandsons. What I didn’t expect that they would be the teachers and I would be…