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Pulling from the past

Edgerton, Mo., usually only claims about 600 residents. But when Edgerton Pioneer Days rolls around every fall, thousands swarm on the little town for the three-day festival. “Being a small town like we are, a lot of us have watched it through the years. And it keeps getting bigger and bigger,” says Pioneer Days president Julie Crook.

A pickling tradition

Tom Carneal is known for many things, including being the curator and treasurer at the Nodaway County Museum in Maryville, Mo. But in some circles he’s known as the pickle man. That’s because at potlucks and get-togethers he usually brings a platter of homemade pickles — and usually by request. They might be beet pickles, pickled okra, lime pickles, Swedish pickles, French sweet pickles, pickled peaches or pears. Whatever they are, the pickles are crisp and delicious. The art of pickling is something he learned from his mother, grandmother and grandfather.

On a mission

Not many U.S. natives can say Ecuador feels like a second home. But that’s exactly how Rachel Gunderson describes the country, where she recently traveled as part of a surgical mission team. The Heartland Health registered nurse was accompanied by Denise Veraguth, also a nurse at Heartland, as part of a medical team from the Overland Park, Kan.-based Medical Missions Foundation. Both women received financial help from Heartland to make the trip.

Healthcare notes for Sept. 7

Cheap chic

Garage sales. Discount shops. Hobby Lobby accent pieces. The economy hasn’t changed the desire to make over a living space, just how to do it. Decorating with a blend of second-hand, cheap and quality pieces makes a strict bottom line easier to work with. “You can do almost anything on a budget,” says Linda Huffman, owner of Interior Design II: The Nesting Place in St. Joseph. First, you need an idea of what you want the room to look like. The vision helps make the bargain hunting and the rummaging through estate sales a little easier.

Soccer dad

You may not see it yet, but St. Joseph is on its way to becoming a soccer town. That’s if Dan Sommers has anything to say about it, anyway. He’s got nothing against the other sports, mind you. He runs marathons, is a triathlete and plays golf, too. It’s just that soccer is his heritage, his passion and something he has dedicated his life to.

A labor of love

It started in the days shops weren’t open on Sundays. Convenience stores and truck stops the size of small malls weren’t yet road-trip staples, and accepting food from a stranger wasn’t risky.

Weekender: History, luxury, culture and fun

If you’re stressed out, overworked or just plain need a break this fall, a trip to Fort Scott, Kan. — about two hours south of St. Joseph — may be in order. For a start, you may want to make reservations at the Lyons Twin Mansions. After two days, you will feel like a new person — and it’s a lot cheaper than a therapist.

A heart for service

Most days, Heartland Health cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Robert Zink is presiding over an operating table by 7 a.m. The next 10 hours are full of operations, with rounds in between to check on patients. And even when the clock strikes 5 p.m., his work isn’t done — not now that he spends most evenings presiding over a congregation as the ecclesiastical bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in St. Joseph. Dr. Zink stepped into the role, which is the Mormon church’s equivalent to a pastor, in July. But despite the added strain on his schedule, he doesn’t talk about his responsibilities in terms of difficulty.

Sylvia Says: Cuisinart CleanWater Countertop Filtration System makes tap water taste better

I like ice in my water, partly because I like it cold, but also to mask the taste. I tried bottled water for awhile, until I learned about how all those plastic bottles are clogging our landfills. But now there is another alternative — the Cuisinart CleanWater Countertop Filtration System. It’s a dispenser you set up in your home that they say reduces contaminants that can make water taste bad and be bad for you, such as lead (98.7 percent), chlorine (taste and odor; 97.5 percent), mercury (92.8 percent), benzene (84.1 percent), cadmium (96.6 percent), copper (85 percent), tetrachloroethylene (92.5 percent) and toluene (89.8 percent).

Religion in brief for Sept. 4, 2010

Top 5: What to do this weekend

What do an Irish festival, a gritty action flick and a top hat-wearing guitar legend have in common? We're not sure either, except that they're all entertainment options this weekend.

A hand in history

Those who have experienced the Kansas City Renaissance Festival in the last 33 years know the event has no shortage of characters, whether they’re swilling ale, clashing swords or reciting sonnets. But for its 34th year, event organizers are dead set on getting everyone involved in the act when the Kansas City Renaissance Festival kicks off starting Sept. 4 in Bonner Springs, Kan.

Super snacks

There’s no fun in eating healthy. Having to write things down, factor calories and try new foods all the time — some of which are terrible — can get so frustrating. Once, I got super excited about these double-chocolate-chip cookies I found for only 60 calories apiece. And from the picture on the package, which was $6.50 by the way, they looked amazing. Then I bit into one and realized that they tasted like a sprinkle of chocolate on dry sand.

A weight off her shoulders

Ask any woman: A haircut can be the quickest way to a new lease on life. It’s a means of reinvention that doesn’t require much effort, a change that’s simple to achieve but can make all the difference in the world in improving self-image.

Health care notes, Aug. 31, 2010

Small bugs, big bite

“Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” You may think this cute nighttime ditty is all make believe, but there definitely are such things as bedbugs. And they do bite, leaving victims with itchy, red welts.

Seeing things differently

Tina Pike loves taking pictures. She’s taken thousands of shots of grinning kids, incredible scenery and wild animals. But she doesn’t see these photos the same way you might. She has an eye for the details like a little girl’s electric blue eyes or the art of the old metal mailbox alongside the road.

Help for the itchy dog

We may laugh at names like Itchy Itchiford (the big dachshund in “All Dogs Go to Heaven”), but itching is not a laughing matter or a normal condition for dogs. “Some people think dogs itch out of habit,” says Dr. Kevin Welch, veterinarian with the Twin Pines Veterinary Clinic, “but there usually is an underlying cause.”

An abbot turned artist

Abbot Barnabas Senecal didn’t aim to have an art exhibit. When he first picked up the hobby, the only purpose of his photography was to capture the trip he took to Rome during a sabbatical from his career as a teacher and school administrator. Then he showed his photos to a woman on a train who happened to be an artist and who told him he had an eye for photography and should keep at it.

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