The End

After 14 months and 238 stories, I’ve come to the difficult decision to bring Small Town News in a Nutshell to an end. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I’ve spent digging through newspapers and news services to find offbeat, fun, and feel-good small town stories to share with you. And I’m tickled to say that according to my online stats, nearly 12,000 have visited my blog and stuck around to read a story or two. For that I say “thank you!”

But my husband and I have sold our little farm in Iowa and are moving across country to Arizona to be closer to his family. When this adventure began, I thought I’d be able to keep up with my blog, but I’m finding that the packing, and planning, and working my day job leave me with precious little time to do much else. So instead of sputtering along with a story now and then, I’ve decided the time has come to do what all authors must eventually do and say:

The End

Boring and Dull

“ . . . Boring is not a condition, it’s a name.”

Bob Boring, Grandson of homesteader William Boring

Photo by Basti Hirsch (Creative Commons)

It’s Monday morning. What a perfect time to talk about a couple of towns that are boring and dull, and proud of it: Boring, Oregon (population 7,720) and Dull, Scotland (population 84).

But we’re not boring, insists Jim Hart, resident of Boring, Oregon. It’s just that the town was named after an 1850s homesteader, William Boring. Explains Bob Boring, grandson of the town’s namesake: it’s a name, not a condition.

Folks in Dull, Scotland agree with Mr. Boring’s sentiment, but they can’t agree on how their tiny village got its name. Some say it came from the Gaelic word “dull,” which means meadow, and others hearken back to an ancient story about a funeral procession and the “dull” straps used to carry the coffin.

Either way, it’s not surprising that the two towns with the misunderstood monikers are reaching out to one another. Thanks to a women’s book club in Dull, they’re working on becoming “sister communities.” They plan to exchange goodwill and a good chuckle but maybe not visits just yet.

Dull book clubber Emma Burtles says she has no immediate plans to travel to Boring. She’s content with her Dull life in Scotland and doesn’t feel the need to go globetrotting to find a Boring time in Oregon.

Read more:

■  Nicole, Dungca, Dull woman pushes for Boring partnership: Oregon town teams up with Scottish village, The Oregonian, April 25, 2012.

■  Dull, Boring set to become sister cities, PRI.org, April 27, 2012.

Kitty Kaboom

“And when it was opened, there were three kittens inside.”

Ben Matthews, Wellston Assistant Fire Chief

Photo by Thetejon (Creative Commons)

Under the cover of night a lone figure crept up to a darkened house in Wellston, Ohio (population 5,663), slid a suspiciously duct-taped box onto the front porch and ran. Neighbor Ruby Miller saw it all. “Could it be a terrorist?” she wondered, and called police.

The police, pondering their options from afar, decided to evacuate the block, call for backup—more than two dozen police, sheriff, fire and EMT—and solicit the help of the bomb squad and its bomb-extracting robot.

With nerves on edge, the bomb squad watched its robot peel back the tape and open the box. The bomb squad peered inside. What they found wasn’t a bomb but three mewing kittens. It’s not clear who was more surprised, the kittens or the bomb squad, but it was a kitten who made a mad dash for safety under the house. What had started out as a bomb removal turned into a kitty retrieval and didn’t end until 3 am.

The police don’t regret their reaction to the suspicious package and say they’d do it again. Besides, says neighbor Donna Smith who took in the kittens, this episode points to another big problem facing the city: no cat shelter.

Yes, and just look at what that’s costing the taxpayers.

Read more → Randy Yohe, Wellston bomb scare ends up with box full of kittens, WSAZ News, May 4, 2012.

Lucky Stars

“It was sitting there at my toes like an Easter egg.”

Brenda Salveson, Resident of Lotus, California

Photo by Kenneth Lu (Creative Commons)

Falling stars and wishful thinking have made Lotus, California (population 330) a hot spot for treasure hunters these days.

After a meteor shower rained down on the small town last month, thousands have come seeking their fortune, hoping to scoop up a bit of celestial bounty. But not Brenda Salveson, local resident and mom. She’s been happy to stick to her old routine, like walking the family dog in the park.

That’s where Ms. Salveson stumbled upon an odd-looking rock. Stooping down to take a closer look, she wondered, “Could this be . . . ?”

It was. Scientists confirmed that Ms. Salveson’s odd rock is actually a 17-gram piece of meteorite 4 to 6 billion years old—that’s “billion” with a B, older than our sun. They say the rock could be worth $20,000.

Ms. Salveson is pleased with her new find and thanking her lucky stars she stuck to her old routine and walked the dog in the park that day.

Read more → Neda Iranpour, Mom stumbles onto meteorite worth about $20,000, CBS13, May 1, 2012.

The Other Cheek

“I don’t know what fun they get out of that.”

Ruth Bender, Lives on beach in Mazomanie, Wisconsin

Photo by Amandicacom (Creative Commons)

Quick. When I say “nude beach,” what’s the first place that pops into your mind? South of France? Caribbean island? California? Betcha it wasn’t Wisconsin.

But it could’ve been. There’s a nude beach near Mazomanie, Wisconsin (population 1,715), and that has local residents up in arms.

Public nudity is against the law in Wisconsin and so it begs the question: what’s a nude beach doing in the state? The answer: prosecutors near Mazomanie are a liberal bunch. They have a real “live and let live” attitude. If swimsuitless sunbathers aren’t doing anything illegal—apart from being naked, that is—prosecutors are willing to look the other way. And that’s made Mazomanie a natural attraction for the au naturel.

But residents say the nudists are breaking several laws. Not only are they lounging around the sand naked, they’re sneaking off into the woods to do what naked people do. And they’re doing it with drugs. Locals want it to stop.

So the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has closed the woods near the beach, hoping that’ll put a halt to elicit activities. If it doesn’t, locals will continue to protest. If they voice their concerns loudly and long enough, prosecutors may find it too hard to turn the other cheek.

Read more → Todd Richmond, Wisconsin cracks down on sex, drugs at nude beach, Chicago Tribune, April 17, 2012.