On Newspapers

Shirley, favorite position, reading the Omaha World Herald, early 1980’s. I wonder who took this pic, maybe Brandon, for a school project on what his mother does all day?

Call me Papergirl.

I love newspapers!

I love them so much that I’ve been gifted with a small town Iowa weekly, The Coon Rapids Enterprise, which I now get in the mail. It covers my hometown area of Carroll County. I also read the digital versions of The Carroll Times Herald, (covering Carroll, IA news), and the Omaha World Herald, but I prefer paper copies.

My favorite time to read those papers used to be in late afternoon, right after it got delivered to our home on 55th Street. I would slow down, stop everything, and sit on the front porch steps to read it. My neighbors did the same, bonding with me as I waved “hello” and read.

Summers in Okoboji (since 2010), I’m desperate for an actual physical paper. The Coon Rapids one, being forwarded, doesn’t always make it. Every Tuesday, The Lake News Shopper shows up in my mailbox. I spread it out on the kitchen table and peruse what it offers. It’s a surprise to me how entertained and informed I am by this free publication.

There used to be vending machines a short bike ride away from our lakehouse. One had the Des Moines Register, the other, The Omaha World Herald. Sometimes I’d splurge and spend all my quarters on both. One year, they just disappeared, leaving me nostalgic for the simple pleasure of biking to retrieve a paper, with the wind in my face, shady trees above, and often a grandchild by my side.

So, I went on a search, driving around, looking for a paper. Every gas station, grocery store and book store was checked. My familiar papers were nowhere to be found. I guess the business of delivering copies was no longer profitable.

The conscierge in our midtown Omaha condo building told me once that he thinks the paper is trying to steer everyone to digital by not making deliveries more efficient. He was in charge at that time of getting the newspapers to people’s doors. There were always problems, apparently.

Now that I’m a subscriber once again to hand held paper editions, I’m in charge (ha ha, not true). I’m only delivering to customers on our floor. I get a kick out of it, for now. When I tire of this volunteer job, I’ll give it up and let another person experience the joy.

I get up very early, always have. So, it makes sense for me to be the one to bring the rubber banded bundle inside, and check off what I’m taking.

Outer lobby, drop off site. Not many papers here!

Organizing my floor. I go behind the conscierge desk to get a pen. On this day, a Wall Street was missing! Not my problem.

My concern (a minor one) is what to do with the rubber bands? They’re a little ink smudged. I think I’ll keep them, and give them back to the delivery person, if I ever figure out how to meet that person. Wonder what time he/she gets here? I am NOT going down in the middle of the night for the zero waste sake of a few rubber bands.

Our son, Brandon, and daughter, Leigh, each had paper routes. They earned a ton of their own spending cash, and relished those rewards. One of Brandon’s customers saved all of the rubber bands (a red color then) and gave them back to him so he wouldn’t have to buy any. He thought that was ridiculous, if I remember correctly. Paper carriers bought their own cloth delivery bag, clear plastic sacks, and rubber bands to get the job done.

1990, Brandon, and Wed. PM papers. Quite a big job! The World Herald had 2 editions each day.

When Mom and Dad visited, Brandon was helped by Dad, who really enjoyed giving him a lift, driving around his route. We only did that with him in bad weather, and maybe on Sundays.

Years later, there was only one daily, delivered in the morning, to our mailbox on the curb. Dad was the first one out there (often barefooted, even in snow- he had sturdy feet, EEE wide). I’d get up at the same time to go walking. I thought we could visit a little, but he seemed happy reading the paper. I understood. We both liked the alone time; his at the table, mine along the path outside.

Newspapers have provided me with lots of entertainment. Artist friends suggested I read The Wall Street Journal. They liked it for thoughtful subject ideas, based on the news, as well as arts and culture coverage. So did I, and still do.

Dan’s job took us to Long Island, NY for almost a year (our big adventure). Conor and Leigh went to high school at Cold Spring Harbor High. We all explored the area, and I explored the newspapers, becoming a fan of Newsday, which I now follow on Social Media.

I enjoy the stories and photos in any newspaper. Besides the headlines in news and sports, I read the Opinion and Obituary pages. Opinions help me feel connected to our community, and the world. I’ve written a few letters to the editor, and saw them published. One was somewhat controversial. It was brought to Dan’s attention by his superior at work (the president of the company) who did not appreciate my comments in the letter. The company had taken the opposite position (which I had no knowledge of). It had to do with downtown development. Dan knew nothing about my letter.

We can laugh about it now.

Once, I wrote an essay, “How to Build a Cupcake Shop”. I wanted to highlight our small business and my partners there. The World Herald printed it, and changed the title to “Recipe for Success”. I was not happy. It was too generic, I thought. I learned firsthand the power of an editor.

It took me awhile to think that obits were worth my time. My friend, Liz, told me she always reads them. We were in our 30’s at the time. It didn’t seem that a young person (how I saw myself) would read those. I now like a well written obituary, especially if it’s concise with a few individual characteristics of the person. Some are quite humorous, making the reader happy to be alive.

Newspapers are a luxury to me. When we stay at a hotel, the papers in the lobby are such a treat. It’s even better if it’s dropped outside your door. Local news right from the city we’re visiting!

One time I was tempted to steal a neighbor’s paper in a hotel hallway. It was right next to our room. Then, I discovered that we had a “back door” into our suite, and this paper was actually ours. Yippee!

Another luxury for me, once a year, was breakfast in bed, on Mother’s Day. The Sunday paper was all mine to look through first, and leisurely, delivered with the breakfast.

Call me Happy (or Papergirl:),

Shirley

An Okoboji Goodbye

The Marina at Village West had boats, jetskis, paddleboards and Maui Mats for rent. Enjoying it here are cousins from our group. Photo by Heidi Johnson.

When our niece, Wendy, titled her farewell e-mail, “An Okoboji Goodbye”, I thought it was so poetic. We had missed her family’s departure from the Neary Clan 2023 Reunion, where 130 people arrived and departed at all hours. It was a 10 day get-together at Village West Resort in NW Iowa’s glacial lake region, specifically at West Lake Okoboji.

Happy Wendy, Carlos and some of their family, Village West Convention Hall, June 25, 2023.

Wendy and Carlos. There’s a lot to tell about them, (too much for this blog post). They have always wowed us! It was really astonishing to have them attend from AZ, along with 5 of their 6 boys, and 1 daughter-in-law. You see, an illness has invaded their lives for more than a year. It is near miraculous that the afflicted person is still with us, here on earth, partying and talking and dancing. A true reward of intense faith and spiritual practices.

Every person who came was celebrated. Those who could not were remembered and thought about often. This is where the Neary reunion was held almost 40 years ago, in 1984. It (and we) looked a lot different then. Attendees this year remarked on how fabulous it was to have their 10 year old kids experience this place that they remember so fondly as a 10 year old.

Matriarch Betty Neary, with her 12 children, 1984, at what was then called Vacation Village.

Great pic of the cabins (now gone) and Peg with Kendra, 1984.

For this reunion, people stayed in timeshare buildings, where the owners had given up their week. It was all co-ordinated by Marne, at the resort, and our daughter-in-law, Amy. A super feat of organization.

Oh what a week it was! Highlights and special memories for me were :

Taking 5 year old Liam down the steps to the dock, where he hadn’t been for a year, and having him say, “I remember the spider webs.” Funny! I thought he’d say the water, the fish, the swimming. Spiderwebs are everywhere near the lake. Gus got a “face plant” as he entered the fishing boat early one morning, and Jess had to do a “limbo” move to get under a horizontal web over the steps.

The broom we use constantly to clear out webs.

Meals were catered in for most nights, as the resort’s restaurant has not re-opened since 2020. Wednesday night was Texas BBQ. We received an appreciative note from one of the kids, which I passed on to Back Alley Texas BBQ.

Standing in line for dinner one evening, I found myself behind a teen from AZ. I asked him if he went out at night to see the stars. He said, “Yes! We went into the cornfield, chasing the fireflies.” It was the first time he had seen them, in person! Before, he had only seen them in cartoons, ha ha. Note: we call them lightening bugs in the midwest.

No fireflies in this photo of family enjoying an Iowa corn field, near Village West. I’m tempted to draw them in!
Photo by Amanda Stoft, June 2023.

Seeing the young kids and adults enjoy the music of @DJNateT (our nephew on my side of the family, a Thelen). So much splendid dancing!!!

Heavenly. I now think of “Shout” as a Gospel tune.

Having a Catholic priest friend attend for special blessings. We need them.

Meeting a young reader from Oklahoma. We became instant friends on Goodreads.

Spilling the tea, the coffee, the wine, the beer, the water, and wiping it all up with old beach towels. Everyone helped. Speaking of clean up time, it was fun to see this crew dancing through the job!

Brandon, Bryan and Dan, serving Brats and Bob’s Dogs (sloppy joes over a hot dog) to Tammy and Charlotte. Dan bought this roaster pan especially for this.

Conor, Gus and Sam.

Trash. No industrial composting site is available in the area, and we couldn’t send it all back with Leigh (she composts everything-for herself and her customers-through@hillsidesolutions). We tried not to have too much waste, using a set of metal eatingware for some of the utensils, and steel cups, which were all put in the dishwasher at home each night. For plates, we used disposable ones made from palm leaves (said to decompose in 2 months). Forks were made from birch trees. Bryan said that using these was like eating with chopsticks, ha! He is so funny.

In our quest for non-plastic, we found these online. Made from palm leaves and birch trees.

Steel cups from @exist_green in Omaha. Planning chart by Shirley.

Mistaking Jason for the Hy-Vee breakfast delivery guy, saying, “Just put it over there”. He looked at me quizzically, and said, “No, I’m Jason, your nephew”. Ha ha. Oh well, it was early, and he did have a hat on, somewhat hiding his identity. Still, how embarrassing.

Solving the online NYTimes Sunday Crossword with Leigh and her husband, Brandon, on the dock, and getting an answer from a boat filled with Nearys passing by. “Try HOWDY DO” Jane yelled in answer to the clue “Old time country greeting”. It fit!

An Okoboji trip is not complete without a stop at Arnold’s Park for rides and amusements.

Kids loved the arcade at the resort, earning these tickets for prizes.

On another day, we had an impromptu Lemonade Stand at the end of our dock, calling over the pontoon carrying our relatives. Actually, Amy zipped out on the speed boat to make sure they heard our invitation. Conor quickly made and served 2 pitchers of freshly sqeezed lemonade.

Peg and Jean hosted an ice cream social, with the works-a good idea! They bought so many toppings and so much ice cream that it went on for 2 nights.

Jean even made a batch of hot fudge sauce in the crock pot, which went fast.

From the oldest to the youngest, we bonded.

Here I am (not quite the oldest) with the youngest attendee. Photo by Shannon Meyer.

So, to paraphrase the Irish writer, James Joyce, they came “and laughed and loved and left”, leaving us with shadows of their heartwarming presence.

And, leftovers, in our freezer and pantry still. And, many, many photos, YAY!

Enjoy your family. Here’s a photo of some of ours:

By The Des Moines Photo Booth Co., (owned and operated by another nephew, this one married to a Thelen), set up the same night as our DJ.

Shirley

On Personalities Larger Than Life

*These thoughts go out to a special friend right now (first written on August 1, 2021).

Some people are just so bold and strong. I’m thinking of a particular person who many of us know and love. She is like no other.

It starts with love, humor, and a generous giving, sharing and caretaking personality.

“Her mind just works that way,” her husband once told me, trying to defend her energetic uniqueness, which needed no defense.

Last summer, as I sipped a peach sangria, (made by Jess, my daughter-in-law, from Cupcake Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc), I was reminded of my introduction to Cupcake Vineyards.

“I found this in a gas station along I-35, on our way back from Kansas City, and thought of you, so here are 2 bottles.”

She dashed in and out of Cupcake Island, (our bakeshop at the time) and said she was on her way to get her teenage son to the ER for stitches. She also had parked far away because our 3 parking spots were in use, and the Bridge studio next door was in session, filling up the parking lot. She had to run!

As she flew out the door, our manager asked me, “Who was that woman?”

“Wonder Woman,” I replied, Ha ha, and we laughed.

Our group, behind the scenes at the zoo, in 2009.

Another time, I was helping to host a behind the scenes tour at the Henry Doorly Zoo. As we waited outside, gathering our group, I counted and realized we were one short of the planned attendance. Just then, this figure flashed across the parking lot, literally changing clothes as she ran, from a dress to more casual gear. A hilarious memory!

Now I’m thinking of the time she delivered her collection of hardcover Nancy Drew books to my grandaughter’s house. When a younger sibling answered the door, and saw her petite size, he asked her, “Did you come over to play?”

The Lauritzen Gardens Antique Show, its biggest fundraiser, occurs every September in Omaha. I usually go to browse the fabulous displays from around the country. Some years, I’m a guest at one of the chairperson’s 3 tables that she reserves for Friday’s luncheon lecture, which is always a treat.

One particular year, I wanted to reserve my own table of 8 and invite friends. My invitees, busy with jobs and obligations, all said they would be there. It worked out pretty well, although I barely made it in time myself for the 11:30 start, from the cupcake shop.

A Friday luncheon setup at the Gardens Antique Show.

The LAST person to arrive was my friend, who raced over from a local news station segment, where she was doing entertaining recipes and food learning sessions, as a Registered Dietician. She had quips like “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it into a fruit salad.”

She admitted that antiques were not really her thing, (neither is food actually, with only DQ Dilly Bars and vodka in her freezer), but she wanted to support the show (and me) by making the effort to attend, and be there.

When her mother-in-law was dying, she became very close to her, even crawling into bed with her “because people don’t like to be close to dying people”. Her mother-in-law, who was large and sturdy, said, “Oh, you’re so tiny.” My friend replied, “I know. I’m fun sized.”

Ha ha! Her stories make us laugh until we cry.

Thanks for the memories, A.C.S., and on to many more!

Live Large!

Shirley

On Talking to Claude

This puzzle was started on February 18, 2025, and hung around until Thanksgiving of the same year. I have never given up on a jigsaw puzzle, and with Claude’s help, I didn’t have to on this one. There are 1000 pieces, and only a 5″ by 7″ photo of this 1906 painting to go by.…

by Shirley Neary December 30, 2025

A Boy and his Boat

As our boats move away to winter storage, my thoughts are moving to another time in our life pre-boats. Our oldest son, Bryan, bought a fishing boat. It was the year 2000, he told me today when I asked about this picture. He remembered because it was before Clara, his first child, who was born…

by Shirley Neary October 7, 2025October 11, 2025

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Ahhh, the surprises of summer. Inside, I am wowed by my little water garden, in a sunny window, (above). It is re-growing romaine lettuces and celery, from grocery store produce end cuts. This is my 2nd growing. I ate the first salad, photo below: I’m also attempting to root a cutting. After 1 week, it…

by Shirley Neary July 23, 2025July 26, 2025

Walgreens; it’s a Walk in the Park

You may know that I like to walk. Many years ago in our first Omaha nighborhood, near 55th and Jackson, I met up with 2 other walkers for an hour long, 4 mile urban hike at 6 AM. We had an understanding that we would never give a wake up call to each other. We…

by Shirley Neary May 14, 2025April 28, 2026

I Left my Heart in Arizona

This morning, I woke up from a dream about throwing on some clothes and going for a pre-dawn walk around the Royal Palms Resort at the base of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, like I did every morning last week. The complimentary coffee was set up in the MixUp Bar. To get there, I enjoyed a…

by Shirley Neary February 20, 2025February 23, 2025

The Amaryllis

It wasn’t the right time. I may have been overwhelmed. It was Christmas, 40 years ago. We had traveled to Carroll, IA, from Omaha as we often did, with four children, food, and presents packed in the minivan. I had wrapped the gifts in brown kraft paper with red ribbons and handmade stamps applied (made…

by Shirley Neary December 25, 2024December 26, 2024

On Dishcloths and Dishrags

Funny, Reusable, Washable Paper Towel Substitutes, from the Exist Green shop in Omaha. These were gifted to me last Christmas, and made all of us laugh.

The other day, I splashed a lot of coffee on a favorite white cotton dishtowel. As I vigorously sprayed hot, hot water on it, in the sink, very close to the stain, I was reminded of how I learned to do this from Ed ( Co-owner and Master Baker) and Kara (Pastry Chef and Operations Manager) at Cupcake Island.

It seems that I was bothered by the chocolate stains on our pure white terry towels and was throwing them in the laundry bag, until Ed caught me and said if I kept on doing this, we would have way too much laundry. So Kara said, ”Haven’t you ever learned this?” as she showed me the technique for quick stain removal. I was fascinated!

Cupcake Island, Opening Day, 9/5,2006, Shirley and Grandkids Sam and Clara. This is where I learned many new things.

At home, this desire to change out the towels frequently came from our daughter-in-law’s sister, Sarah, who likes to clean, and always has a clean dishtowel. Now I do that also, at least once a day.

However, in the past, I’m not sure what I did in 45 years of marriage and household management. I remember installing a bar inside the cupboard door under the sink for the dishcloth to dry. I’ve never been a fan of the lumped up dishcloth (or dishrag as my family called it) in the bottom of the sink, or hanging behind and around the faucet.

Another old dishrag hanging around. Don’t like to see this.

On this dishcloth/dishrag designation, my brother-in-law, Tom, says, ”When it’s new, it’s a dishcloth; after it’s been used, it’s a dishrag.” Ha!

Summer, 2021 splurge. Brand new all cotton absorbent kitchen cloths, my favorite.

When the used ones became musty (inevitably), I washed them. To prevent the mustiness, Grandma Philomena gave me the tip of putting a few drops of bleach in the pan of dishwater. That works really well until you don’t do the dishes that way any more, with most being cleaned in the dishwasher now. But you still need a wet, soapy cloth to clean countertops, cooktops, refrigerator front, and appliance handles.

Recently, my sis-in-law, Jane, told me that her husband, Pat Neary, would put the wet cloth in the microwave for a minute or so, to dry and disinfect it. I have not done that myself, but it seems to be a good idea!

Another idea from my daughter-in-law’s ”fond of cleaning” family: have 2 kinds of towels out everyday, one for drying your hands, and one for the dishes. The one for dishes is the flour sack, muslin type, that is thin, soft and very absorbent. Good idea! I had never thought of that.

Photo found online. I used to have many of these.

Embroidered dish towels were very popular in the 1950’s and 60’s, and a good gift from Aunts and Grandmas. They had line drawings and often cute sayings, or days of the week, with colorful embroidery outlines. I’m sure I even made some of these in 4-H or Girl Scouts, as a way to learn stitchery.

Another thing about dishcloths-you can use them almost anytime you’d use a paper towel. But, do you really want to? I ask myself that often, because many times a day, our granite counter is very spotty with food prep and water splashes. Since I don’t have a sink of soapy water due to dishes being placed in dishwasher, I have to make a little soap and water each time I wipe the counter, or use a spray cleaner with paper towels. Now, with our waste free philosophy, (learned from our daughter, Leigh), I usually feel too wasteful to do that. We buy very few paper towels these days. So, I get a clean dishcloth, do the cleanup, and put that one in the laundry room, because, as you know, I don’t like seeing a wet cloth in the sink.

Like I said, I don’t know how I did it all of those years raising a family. For sure, I was not as obsessed with how things looked in the kitchen! Now, I have that luxury, and I kind of enjoy it.

As the TV ad said, “Life is messy; clean it up!” , with your dishrag or dishcloth, whatever you call it!

Shirley

On a Drawing

I found one sheet of this fabulous drawing paper (Rives?, Arches?) in my supplies from my days at the University of Nebraska Omaha, studying art. The Berol prismacolor pencils and drawing board were there also.

This drawing, “Clara in the Boat” was started in August 2018, while I was staying solo at the lakehouse. The composition of putting Clara in the lower part of the page was inspired by a portrait I saw at Joslyn Art Museum, where the figure was placed like this.

I like this stage of color in the water. The circles are an attempt to show the sun sparkles. My plan is to draw a simple outline of the boat, in black, and add detail to Clara.

Water too dark, I think! I left this drawing at the lake, to sit until the next summer, hoping I could lighten it up. Maybe if I did that, the dark spots would show the depth of the water.

Finished! That darkness in the water bothered me all winter (in my mind, because it was away from Omaha). I just didn’t like it, and I didn’t know how I was going to fix it.

After erasing a small section with a good art/pencil eraser, I used a tissue to rub off some color. It worked perfectly, taking off the pastel chalk that I had used on top of the colored pencil.

Then, I outlined the boat some more, and added color to the towel, which was an especially fun process!

Shirley