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Founded 1901

Royal Purple

Founded 1901

Royal Purple

Founded 1901

Royal Purple

A deer crash caused more than $6,000 in damage to Chris Hardie’s car. The insurance company says it’s not worth that much, so it’s a total wreck.

Deer crash brings collateral damage

Chris Hardie, Journalist January 22, 2023

I don’t play the lottery and don’t frequent casinos, but if I were a betting man, I’d lay odds that sometime in the next few years I will be involved in a deer-vehicle collision. A deer crash...

Attacked by a tree terrorist

Attacked by a tree terrorist

Chris Hardie, Contributor December 11, 2022

A lot of time and money has been spent in our country coming up with increased security and contingency plans for the possibility of a terrorist or cyber-attack on our electrical grid. With winter weather...

Chris Hardie

Turn thankfulness into gratitude

Chris Hardie, Journalist December 4, 2022

Thanksgiving has come and gone but perhaps this can be the year that we turn a day of thankfulness into a holiday season of gratitude. I can see, smell and hear the ghosts of Thanksgiving’s past when...

Chris Hardie takes a sip from the top of his grandfather’s Thermos during the opening day of the 2021 gun deer hunt.

Learning lessons from hunting

November 20, 2022

Life is measured by the passage of time and the season of deer hunting gives me plenty of moments to reflect on past memories. This is my 47th year of gun deer hunting and there is no place I’d rather...

This 8-pointer was walking down a town road toward Chris Hardie’s pickup truck.

Observing the rhythms of nature

Chris Hardie, Journalist November 13, 2022

The end of October and early November brings the fall breeding season for deer, also known as the rut. It’s a time of physiological, behavior and chemical changes for deer as well as for bow hunters...

The gravestones at the Jackson County Poor Farm Cemetery.

Remembering the poor farm

November 7, 2022

It was a quiet afternoon with gray skies that threatened rain when I stepped into the Jackson County Poor Farm Cemetery. The gravestones at the Jackson County Poor Farm Cemetery. Located just outside...

Beetles come into contact with spray and then die in the window sill.

Ladies and gentlemen…the beetles

Chris Hardie, Journalist October 30, 2022

It’s as certain as the trees changing colors and the inevitable decline towards winter – the annual invasion of the Asian lady beetles. A warm day after the first hard frost is usually when the...

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Seasons are just a guideline

Chris Hardie, State Journalist October 24, 2022

I learned a long time ago that we don’t live in a black-and-white world and the choices between right and wrong or good and evil are often veiled in shades of gray – no matter what the political ads...

Hickory tree tells story

Hickory tree tells story

Chris Hardie, Contributor October 10, 2022

In the middle of one of my ridgetop clearings stands a large shagbark hickory tree that’s nearly 100 feet tall. Those in the know are no longer with us, but I believe the tree was left there for a...

Corn moving to maturity

Corn moving to maturity

Chris Hardie, Contributor September 25, 2022

Back Home by Chris Hardie Download this column as a Word document Download the photos that accompany this story Chris Hardie’s headshot Fall is officially here and farmers will soon be...

Saying goodbye to Nessie

Saying goodbye to Nessie

Chris Hardie, Contributor September 18, 2022

In spring of 2009, my wife Sherry noticed a classified ad in the paper. For sale: An 11-month-old yellow Labrador. I went to meet her. She was a sweet, energetic puppy. I told the owner we’d be happy...

Goldenrod and more bridges

Goldenrod and more bridges

Chris Hardie, Contributor September 11, 2022

It’s tempting to proclaim the lawn and garden season over as we creep closer to fall, but the work remains even after the growing season ends. Certain chores have already been suspended – like weeding...

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