Hometown Matters

I normally don’t read love stories. I prefer the grittier tales in biographies and histories. That’s what I thought I would be reading twelve years ago when the late Tom Cronin gave me copies of the letters his father wrote home from this tour in the Merchant Marines during WWII. I thought it was going to be a war story, seen through the eyes of a young man at sea. If I’d known ahead of time that it was a … Continue reading “75 Years Later, a WWII Love Story Told Through a Sailor’s Letters Home”

Mayor Herb Adams says he will begin a nine-month exercise in ‘government by the people,’ as he looks ahead to next April. I’m guessing that most people are familiar with the phrase, government of the people, by the people and for the people. And they take confidence in its intent. A friend and fellow Pacific resident once quoted the phrase to me saying it was the law of the land. Actually, you won’t find it in the Declaration of Independence … Continue reading “Citizen Input Wanted to Help Design City Entrance Complex on Route 66 / Government by the People”

Open House September 25 In 1974 when Bob Chandler bought a new F-250 pickup truck it never entered his mind that his truck might one day be up there in the realm of American pop culture icons along with with baseball, cowboys, Route 66 and apple pie. He just liked to drive. It was a hobby.But like all hobbies, to keep pursuing it the first rule was to keep the thing running and that led to a business that would … Continue reading “BIGFOOT Places Pacific At the Center of Pop Culture – as American as Apple Pie”

Pacific aldermen say there will be no assigned parking spaces on St. Louis Street. They say any motorist hoping to park in front of a residence or business and finding all the spaces filled will just have to drive on and look for the next empty space. They say it is the only reasonable and fair thing to do. At their Tuesday September 7 board meeting, Pacific aldermen declined to act on requests for parking spaces assigned to residents on … Continue reading “No Assigned Parking on St. Louis Street / Motorists Must Look for Next Empty Space”

There are no words to describe the growing body of work that a mixed media artist has created. You have to see it to experience it. And that is what Rex Batson, Pacific’s newest self-styled artist in residence is hoping for. When it comes to words, Batson is a master. He has taught college English and literature for more than thirty years in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Des Moines. He has edited books for academic authors, big scholastic tomes approaching … Continue reading “Former Wordsmith Switches to Art: Creates Mixed Media Pictures In a Pacific Studio”

Everybody worth their salt loves their grandmother. Right?  Maybe so, but there was a lot more on his mind than parental love when Prentice Cawley came home to Pacific this week to help his family celebrate the life and legacy of his grandmother Marie Adams.  September 1, the day of her funeral was his 51st birthday. And he was asked to give the tribute to Marie, who died August 26, at age 98. Pacific High School alumni of 1985-88 would … Continue reading “Grandson Comes Home to Give the Speech of a Lifetime: Tribute to His Grandmother”

The Safety Net program for students whose families are displaced can’t give kids a room of their own, but it has done the next best thing. The Indian Closet, which is located in Pacific High School, is where students who may not have the haven of their own room, can find items such as food, hygiene products, school supplies, backpacks, shoes, hair products, hats, gloves, scarfs, cleaning products, and Pre-K through 12th grade coats and clothes. Overseeing this unique kids … Continue reading “Displaced Kids With No Room of Their Own, Have Special Nook in Pacific High School Where They Can Find All Manner of Treasurers”

Historic O’Connell House to be Razed The black net fence around the building at 222 North First Street means that one of the surviving 1890s mansions will soon be razed. Once the building is removed, the vacant lot will make room for an extra traffic lane on North First Street to aid large trucks heading for the industrial park on Denton Road. The two and a half story structure with its intricate gabled roof and wrap-around front porch has been … Continue reading “Historic Landmark to Come Down / Make Way for Extra Turn Lane”

By Jim Schwinkendorf – As you are probably aware, Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam locomotive, UP #4014, has a planned short stop in Pacific on the morning of August 30.  Pacific always turns out for these infrequent visits, and as time has passed, UP is basically the only one still running any main line steam engines.  But before 1950, steam was king, and Pacific had a lot more interaction with its two railroads.  And a railroad history that dates back … Continue reading “When Steam was King”

Pacific’s Royal Theater got its start in the infancy of the moving picture industry. In 1913 St. Louis Street was a din of activity. Shoppers visiting 50 or more stores, where they could find every daily need, were treated to a cacophony of train whistles and the horns of automobiles that more and more residents were buying.  Adding to the hubbub Lorenz Leber and Henry Hirth bought a hand-cranked movie projector and a few dozen folding chairs and began showing … Continue reading “Pacific’s Royal Theater / Reminder of 1920s Art Deco Movie Palaces / Star of Downtown Pacific History”