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Holidays with Pop atop the Snowy Bluffs
Quiet, quiet Christmas Eve Day morning as the birds wake up on top of our bluffs above the Mississippi. They flitter and twitter around the Ruth E. Thompson memorial bird feeders. A nod to one of my mother’s most passionate pass times. Snow, snow, snow. Even the river is frozen. We used to skate on…
Erwin A. Thompson tells Folk Stories from the Soil Conservation Program
As part of reading the river, Pop told me two dryly humorous folk stories from the 1932 US Soil Conservation Program.–JGR ______________________ “The brown color of the Mississippi is tied-in to an issue of land conservation, too. As more and more of the land is cleared for housing and farming, more soil is eroded away…
Teaching Philosophy She Lived—by my mother, Ruth Evelyn Johnston Thompson with commentary by my father Erwin A. Thompson
My father, Erwin A. Thompson, in his paper sorting, found this gem among my mother’s papers. He says, “It could come out of any textbook, and still has some personal touches not found in them.” He goes on to make these comments: “These were not idle words. I listened to her stories of the children…
Learning Jingle Bells…quiet holiday spirit here…a child’s old-fashioned courtesy
Both my father and I are Holiday Drop-outs, lying low for the most part until after New Year’s Day when the world turns back to sanity. Our holiday spirit is a quiet one…dedicated to continuing to do the things we usually do…and keeping it all on a small, human scale. Last night was one of…
Best Travel Writing–Solas Award for Riehl’s “Driving Lessons”
Travelers’ Tales gave a Best Travel Writing Solas Award to my story “Driving Lessons” in the category of “Family Travel: The best story about traveling with family of all generations—or journeying to discover roots.” My story won a Bronze Certificate. It’s such a treat to go to an awards list an find one’s name there!…
Summer in Full Bloom: Peony Memories
We’re in the time of Summer Solstice now when summer is in fullest bloom with the longest day and shortest night. To celebrate this time on Riehlife, I’m sharing a peony bouquet plucked from an email correspondence between Susan J. Tweit and my father…about the horticultural history of our homeplace, Evergreen Heights. Photo by Susan…