Growing up, I had the great good fortune to spend part of six summers at a girls’ camp in northern Minnesota. This was made possible by...

The crown jewel of South Dakota’s state park system is Custer State Park, located in the southern Black Hills approximately 50 miles from...

It is indeed true that “It Takes a Village” to raise a child, and I’m living proof. I spent every summer, all summer, with my maternal...

Did you know that thirteen of the first fifteen United States presidents owned slaves?   This stat is quite well-known among historians, ...

My mother dedicated her life to teaching.   Not just teaching,  but reaching out to those left behind in America’s broad educational...

For the past three months I have been getting a taste of what retirement might look like.   And let me tell you,  I don’t like it much!  ...

We live in a world where it seems our entire vocabulary is transformed with each passing development. A couple of years ago I had rotator...

I don’t have any verified homesteaders in my family tree  –  well, maybe a few  –  but it is always tempting in times like these to...

I belong to an alumni association which is more social club than academic,  and was reminded recently of our penchant for creating what...

As a historian I recognize that every generation thinks that the next is going to hell in a hand-basket.   I personally was raised with...

I received a thank you note in the mail the other day.  You could have knocked me over with a feather!   I don’t even remember the last...

Traveling with a purpose is the latest buzz-phrase in the travel business,  and I always get kind of a kick out of it,  because I can’t...

Editor’s Note:  At a recent social function,  I found myself talking to a friend whom I see only once or twice a year.   But she is an...

Everyone living in the 21st century is familiar with this scenario:  you run into a problem with the internet,  a database or other...

The phrase “Lest We Forget” came to mind recently.   In America,   and I dare say,   much of the world,   this phrase has come to be...

It is interesting how some things that you learned as a child stick with you,   even when the years and decades pile up.   I was thinking...

I don’t know where you live,  but have you ever noticed that there is a world of difference between Spring Fever and actual Spring?  ...

My library has a really cool feature.   If you have read more than one Trail Talk,  you may be surprised to learn that I spend very...

It is embarrassing to open a sentence with,  “I was taught”.   I like to think of myself as a free-thinker even in my developmental...

Have you ever wondered just how the man most widely perceived as our best US President,  managed to triumph in a field of four...