Local writers and stories
By: Mark Holtsberry Harry Harrison Kerns was born in Antwerp, Ohio July 30, 1888, the son of Mathew Allison born July 1844 in Ohio and Margaret (Groscost) Kerns born February 1850 in Ohio. Thomas was a Civil War Veteran who served with Company A. 66th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served October 25, 1861 to July…
“Serving overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!” —Matt Misplaced Mishaps It is an unspoken pride that we small-town Americans are pretty good at practical and well thought through placement. Placement of things is a big deal. Whether…
By: James Neuhouser Christmas is gone. The candy has been eaten, the Chex Mix, and only two Lebkuchen cookies left. Three of our four were home and many grandkids. Our daughter came from Atlanta and stayed nearly a week. It was capped off the day after Christmas by a package on the porch. It was…
By: Ron Burt I want to thank all of you that follow The Left Turn here in the West Bend News and my daily sports blog on Facebook, Ohio Sports Blitz. I want to wish you and yours a great New Year. My sources tell me 2024 will be a breakout year for Midwest short…
Oliver Oren Kemerer, an Antwerp fella, was born April 6, 1893, the son of Albert J., born in Ohio 1865 and Cloa L, (Rogers) Kemerer born in Ohio 1871. This couple was married in Paulding on November 6, 1890 and were the parents of Carl J. born 1891, Oliver O. born 1893, a daughter, Florence…
Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker If you lived any time during the Great Depression, you may recall the shortage and the high cost of food. I have heard and read about Victory Gardens and the various methods and substitutions which people used in order to enjoy and cook sone of their favorite foods. …
“Serving overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!” —Matt Against US Army policy Our son had been through basic training and was in the final stages of training to be a US Army Cavalry Scout when his Christmas…
One of the greatest comeback stories I have ever heard. At age 24 Frank Winfield’s life was over. A failure in his chosen field, and now he was dying. A neighbor girl was hired to take care of him. She had faith in him and fed him when he was too weak to feed himself.…
By: Ron Burt Indoor Racing Kicks Off 2024 These next few weeks are big for indoor racing. The Tulsa Shootout set records for two new car entries in the 38th annual event. The Shootout in Tulsa, Oklahoma is the largest event for micro sprint racing in the world. Imagine sitting in the stands of a…
By: Mark Holtsberry Frederick F. Johnson was born in Antwerp, Ohio in 1883. The son of James L. born December 31, 1858 in Ohio and Carrie S. (Goshorn) Johnson born in 1864 in Ohio. Her father, Andrew Jackson Goshorn, was a Civil War Veteran who served with 147 Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Anyway, I went down…
“Sparky” was a klutz. Even he would admit that he was a klutz. In fact Sparky kind of owned the fact that he would forever be a klutz. However sparky was an eternal optimist, and believed things would work out in the end. Sparky had been given his nickname, after a cartoon character, a horse…
By: Ron Burt Race fans that made the trip to the Dome in St Louis to watch the 7th Annual Gateway DIRT Nationals weren’t disappointed with the action during the Super Late Model and Modified events. The 1/5-mile dirt oval inside the former home of the NFL Rams was a challenge for drivers in both…
By: Mark Holtsberry William Vilas Keckley was born April 28, 1894 in Jackson Township Paulding County, the son of William Sherman, born December 15, 1858 in Union County Ohio and Alice (Bowdre) Keckley, born April 15, 1861 in Ohio. William and Alice were married March 15, 1885 in Union County, Ohio. In 1888, a daughter,…
