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Dolly Parton was more than a musical idol – for some fans, she was a spiritual icon

Columns

As soon as news broke about the death of beloved songwriter Dolly Parton, I began receiving condolence messages from across the country, and around the world. They came from friends, family and colleagues who knew I’d been working on a biography of the country legend — everyone from a conservative Catholic monk to advocates for queer and trans rights. The list reflects the even more diverse array of fans, people from countless backgrounds, who are mourning her loss. The main focus of my project is Parton’s own spirituality, starting with her Appalachian upbringing. But it also ...

Dear Annie: Time to check out of this Friendship?

Columns

Dear Annie: Seven years ago, I retired and moved to a different state. A friend of mine who lives in my old town has continuously used my new house like her personal hotel. She has family and friends in my area and will text, “Are you open to company?” when she wants to come visit. When she does, she only sleeps at my house while she does business or sees her other friends. This last visit, she gave me a day and a half notice and then stayed for nine nights. She never says when she’s leaving, and I had to tell her on night nine that it was time for her to go. She seemed ...

Applause, Applause!

Columns

Each Saturday, The Express community newspaper highlights people, groups and activities our readers deem worthy of applause. A big THANK YOU to Mike Neff and his friend Carl for helping two damsels in distress last week when we locked ourselves out of our car at Calico Creek in Mill Hall. Thinking Mike would be able to recommend a local locksmith, we placed a call to Mike’s wife Lori, who relayed our situation to her husband. Not only did Mike and Carl drop everything and come to our rescue, but they wouldn’t take a dime for their efforts. Thank you Mike and Carl! You saved ...

Find your purpose, then work your gift

Columns

During the opening week of the fall semester, I had the honor of giving the convocation remarks for The Ohio State University’s Lima campus incoming freshman class. It was a perfect autumn morning, even though I still find northwest Ohio a little nippy during this time of year. The students were engaged, appearing eager to get college underway. I began by telling them to reflect on their key life milestone of graduating from high school as they start the next chapter with their beginning courses and eventually declare a major to prepare for their future careers. I then shifted my ...

Teachers’ desks combine many functions into one piece of useful furniture

Columns

For as long as we have had classrooms, teachers have played many roles in them. This is especially true in the one-room schoolhouses that American students attended from the late 18th century up to, in some areas, the mid-20th century. Teaching in a one-room schoolhouse meant running an entire school, from lighting the stove in the morning to cleaning and closing down the classroom after school. And just like today, the teacher’s day didn’t necessarily end with the school day. The schoolhouse often doubled as a community center, hosting events and performances that the teacher ...

Decades later, betrayal comes to light

Columns

Dear Annie: I’m going through a difficult divorce after 58 years of marriage to an alcoholic. Recently he told me two things I never knew: that he slept with my sister the night before our wedding and, years later, when they were both in the military, with a friend of mine. I always knew my sister flirted with him. She’d tried the same with two other sisters’ boyfriends, and she and my husband spent years publicly claiming to dislike each other while accusing one another of “trying something.” I always thought it was weird but harmless. I never imagined it went that far on ...