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World War II: Gripping Story of Erwin A. Thompson’s “Down to the Wire” Night Patrol story told by Laura Griffith in The Telgraph…article and video
“Even with his body ravaged by shrapnel, Erwin Thompson managed to drag one of his men back to safety. He didn’t know it, but th man was about to return the favor. “Thompson, now 92 and living in Jersey County, remembers a time during World War II when he was put in charge of a…
Ask Pop: Car History—When were keys first used to start a car?
Erwin A. Thompson, answer man QUESTION When did automobiles first get a keyed start? Were they keyed in 1919, the year of my current novel? Was it a crank, a push button? I have scoured the internet and while there is info abounding on the classic cars, the keyed start seems of no interest to…
Alton Sesquicenntenial. We’re playing, folks!
Pop and I were musicians in public this weekend. We played both days at the Alton Sesquicenntenial. Just so you don’t have to look it up, that’s 150 years, the anniversary of the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates in Alton. Click here for a schedule of the weekend and more information on the Alton Sesquicenntenial. On Saturday…
“Music, the International Language,” by my father Erwin A. Thompson. Stories from Botwana, Ghana, Brazil, and the South Sea Islands
Make sure to read Part 1 of Pop’s International Music stories! This set of stories written by my father Erwin A. Thompson is part of the ongoing Riehlife series “Mondays with Pop.” At 95, he continues to be a masterful storyteller who loves history, music, and culture. He was a reluctant traveler compared to my…
Erwin A. Thompson Sings of Bums & Tramps
My father wrote me that recently one of his friends had educated him on the difference between bums and tramps. These were terms in use during the Great Depression…before Street People and Homeless. Listen and learn.–JGR I had always thought that the words “bum” and “tramp” were interchangeable. Not so. A tramp is a person…
Snowbound: Filling the Feeder (a new poem by Janet Grace Riehl)
A foot of snow atop our bluff: Evergreen Heights, Jersey Township, SW Illinois. Mother, that which you filled and then emptied, we fill again as best we can. Your chair hold us at the wheelhouse hub, yet a glance windowward unfolds and holds worlds beyond. This morning’s world insulated in a snowy rug. Cardinal families…