Friday, October 8, 2021
I should have mentioned that this 'history' blog is about my experience of the SIUe story - nothing official, not the numbers reported to finance committees or the lobbying the officials did with state legislators to get more funding. It's just a little glimpse at what goes on behind the curtain on... Sign in to see full entry.
Thursday, October 7, 2021
RANDOM CONSIDERATIONS AND QUESTIONS
Here's the situation: My house, which I have nestled into and cluttered with all kinds of memorabilia and souvenirs of time and place that no one else would think of as anything but junk, is no longer quite what I need. I'm 18 years older now than I was when I bought the place. That nice big... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
THE SIUe STORY - Cont'd
As acquisition of the 2,600 acres near Edwardsville became a done deed, the former owners moved on, the engineers and contractors began mapping and designing, the architects, Hellmuth, Obata and Kassebaum (HOK) of St. Louis began visualizing the layout. There were meetings with state officials,... Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
THE SIUe STORY - Cont'd
I first applied for a job at SIUe in June of 1960, before the Edwardsville campus was even a design on the architect's drawing board. The state of Illinois had purchased the former Shurtleff College campus in upper Alton to begin a limited operation on that campus. I took the Civil Service exam and... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, October 4, 2021
THE SIUe STORY
When the State of Illinois began checking out a 2,600 acre site just outside the city limits of Edwardsville in southwestern Illinois, they didn't explain why they wanted the property. Word spread that the state wanted to establish a prison there. It was prime farmland, rural and mostly wide open... Sign in to see full entry.
Sunday, October 3, 2021
ESSENTIALS
Thinking this morning about who really runs this world - or at least the bureaucracies and systems that make up governments, companies and the education system. It's way more than just the policy makers, the guys and gals at the top, the ones with CEO or President following their name in the paper.... Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, October 2, 2021
WHERE A WRITER GETS IDEAS
Everywhere. Stuck my nose out the front door around sunup this Saturday morning to test the temp and the humidity. We've had a lot of hot, muggy mornings these last few months. And there came a hint from the Universe for the next little chapter of "DAYS OF OUR BACKYARD SQUIRRELS." The musky scent of... Sign in to see full entry.
Friday, October 1, 2021
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE OLD WEST
Think of an old western town's typical dusty street as portrayed by Hollywood. There are rough-hewn board sidewalks, a general store that carries utensils, tools, fabrics, sacks of flour, salt and vinegar, etc. Somewhere in the middle is the saloon. Hitching racks for horses are out front of most... Sign in to see full entry.
Thursday, September 30, 2021
LAUNDRY
My daughter and her wife and two little Yorkies (Liberty and Justice) drove up from Florida to spend my birthday weekend with me. On Sunday Robin asked if she could use my washer to do a load of clothes, so they'd have clean ones for the drive back. Of course. So she tossed a load into the washer,... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
CONNECTIONS
NPR did a story this morning on the wildfires in California. But it wasn't about the brave firefighters or the new giant 'copters that can suck up water from a lake and drop 3,000 gallons in a few minutes. No, this story was about the impact of all the smoke in the air on our health. The smoke is... Sign in to see full entry.