Innehållsförteckning för July 2016 från Country Extra

For more than 125 years, Mississippi’s Giant House Party has taken place in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Known as the Neshoba County Fair, it began in 1889 as an agricultural picnic for farmers and their wives to show off livestock, crops and handiwork. After two successful years, the event was organized as the Stock and Agricultural Fair with a board of directors and officers. Thousands of brave souls travel across the county, state and nation every July to spend up to eight days baking in the sweltering Mississippi heat and to bunk up in the cramped confines of a cabin. Family tradition is big at the fair. Cabins are prime real estate and are passed down from generation to generation. It’s as if a little town gets populated overnight. There are about…

One summer I placed a bet on the Rockies and won. Over six days and 1,400 miles I was sure my two young boys, Finn and Zevin, then 7 and 5, would love this ambitious road trip chock full of grand adventures through the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. The drive along one of the country’s most scenic highways promised gorgeous views of gemstone lakes and towering mountains. This region is home to three of Canada’s most beautiful national parks—Banff, the first and most visited; Jasper, the most northern of the parks with glaciers and diverse wildlife; and Elk Island, where endangered plains bison and wood bison roam. An hour out of Calgary, we found ourselves among beautiful foothills that serve as the Rockies’ scenic entryway: the Kananaskis region. For…

Duct, Duct, Goose My 4-year-old son Isaac tried to put too large a rock in his toy bucket, and the bucket cracked. I promised I would duct tape it when we got home. It slipped my mind, but he reminded me: “Dad, you still need to fix my bucket with goose tape.” Kevin Spears SYCAMORE, ILLINOIS An Old Joke When our daughter Terri was about 4 years old her grandfather loved teasing her. He asked her why the chicken crossed the road. When she said she didn’t know, he told her it was to get to the other side. Grandpa tried again: “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” Terri told him the egg. “Then where did the chicken come from?” he asked, teasing. She gave him a look…

I know I’m not alone. Most fathers must feel sentimental when walking their daughters down the aisle. When it was my turn to walk with my Abby, I couldn’t help but remember the best moments of her childhood. As I stood at the edge of the barn waiting for her, I noticed how very different this beautiful sunny day was from the dark and stormy night that we welcomed her to the world only 22 years earlier. With her mother in full-blown labor, I raced through a rainstorm to get her to the hospital. But we made it in time, and our baby girl arrived happy, healthy and as beautiful as the woman who walked toward me in her flowing white wedding dress. Abby took my arm, and then we…

Our Cabbage Patch Doll “Karson, our great-grandson, got the giggles looking at this 28-pound cabbage my husband grew” says Judy Lantgen of Watertown, South Dakota. Now That’s a Radish “My granddaughter, Nova, struggled to lift this April Cross hybrid,” writes Robert Gustafson of Powers, Michigan. How You’ve Grown! “My mom, June, loves gardening,” says Penny Rix of Palm Harbor, Florida. “And judging from this 21-pound-plus kohlrabi, gardening loves her right back!”…

Two summers ago, I first attempted some “dry kayaking” at a family reunion. Everybody else was going; most would then swim. But I could stay in the kayak and stay dry, right? When we made it to the waterfall, everyone got out of their kayaks and dived in. I grew tired of standing on shore, so I decided to get back into one of the empty crafts and paddle around. I imagined myself gliding along like a Native American woman of a past era, paddling regally, her canoe skimming the surface of the glassy water with grace. Naturally, such an outdoorswoman would board her craft with a floating leap and smoothly sink into a sitting position. That’s pretty much exactly what I had in mind when I jumped. I landed…

1 Heritage Park Historical Village On the way to the Rockies, stop at this museum for a look at Canada’s pioneer past. heritagepark.ca 2 Boundary Ranch Jenn’s boys loved the ranch’s old-fashioned trail ride, which led to some stunning views of the Rockies and the Kananaskis Valley. boundaryranch.com 3 Sundance Lodges After a day of hiking or riding, relax inside a heated tipi in the middle of the forest. sundancelodges.com 4 Icefields Parkway This scenic drive stretching 144 miles from Banff to Jasper is considered a national treasure of Canada. icefieldsparkway.ca 5 Glacier Skywalk Take a walk in the clouds over Jasper National Park on this skywalk. Brewster.ca 6 Maligne Lake The largest natural lake in Jasper National Park is known for the color of its water, the surrounding snow-covered…

Filing into the auditorium each morning, we sang this lovely verse: “Come to Bible school, be on time each day, here we learn to shine for Jesus, in our work and play.” Back in the 1950s, Bible school at Tangent Mennonite Church in Tangent, Oregon, was something we looked forward to each year with anticipation. Classes were held every summer from 9 a.m. to noon, five days a week for two weeks. Children came from all over the community. It was fun to be together. I was too young to realize or to appreciate the sacrifices our parents made to send us to Bible school. For my mother, it involved rising early to run our dirty clothes through the wringer washer and hang them on an outdoor line, picking produce…

When spring came, my young daughters were almost as eager as I was to be working in the garden. We had spent hours looking through seed catalogs, and I had promised them that I would till up a bigger spot this year so they could each have a plot. Even before the snow totally melted, long before the frost was out of the ground, the three girls, then ages 8, 7 and 5, were asking me when I was going to get the gardens ready. Finally, the day arrived when the soil was thawed and dry enough to be worked. I pulled my big tiller out of the garage and soon had it churning through the soil. After smoothing everything out, it was time to plant. The girls joined me…

My dog, Remmy, and I found so much to love when we moved to our new apartment. It was next door to my parents, and that also meant I was renting from our beloved longtime neighbor, Pam Persick. If that weren’t terrific enough, our huge backyard gave my pup lots of room to run. Best of all, a pretty half-acre pond made a beautiful spot to sit and soak in the setting. We quickly learned that Pam had a routine of taking bread to the pond to feed the bluegill, bass, catfish and a single painted turtle. As I watched, the fish devoured the pieces as fast as they hit the water, knocking the poor turtle around. Although she never got so much as a crumb, the turtle never gave…

“I’m afraid of horses!” I protested. “I don’t understand them. I don’t know anything about them.” Was there no mercy? But my 14-year-old, Jennifer, refused to forget my promise to go horseback riding. What was I thinking? Mother-daughter bonding time? That’s how, one Saturday morning, I found myself face-to-face with a horse far larger than any I’d seen in TV westerns. Frosty had gray in his mane—a sign, I hoped, that he was mature and took life at a slow mosey. Our horsewoman, Sandy, showed me how to put one foot in a stirrup and swing up into the saddle. When she asked if I needed the stirrups adjusted, I confessed that I didn’t know. I had no idea what I was doing. “Hold the reins in your left hand.…

Christmas Towns Do you live in a town where Christmas angels do good deeds, sing carols and decorate every corner with cheer? Or have you traveled to one that does? Tell us about it. Send your stories and photos. We may publish them in a future issue. Rural Travel America’s countryside has so much to offer, and our readers love exploring the back roads. We want to hear about your travels, whether it’s a scenic drive or a visit to a state park or a small town with charm and character. Remember to include photos! Photographs We appreciate a good picture around here. Our readers take fantastic photos of country life. If you’re a shutterbug with images to share, send them to us. We might print yours, so please tell…

Out here at the remote Cottonwood Ranch in northeastern Nevada, cowboys, guests, friends and neighbors celebrate the Fourth of July with hearts as big as the vast blue skies and with patriotism as steadfast and unshakable as the mighty Jarbidge Mountains. Considering the nearest paved road is 30 miles away and the closest town of Wells is a distant 70 miles, ranch owner Irene “Renie” Smith and her late husband, Horace, launched a genuine star-spangled tradition in 2005. They started an hour-long parade and patriotic program at their fifth-generation cattle, horse and guest ranch in the scenic O’Neil Basin. “Our only rule is no one is a bystander. Everyone has to join in and participate somehow,” says Renie, 86, who estimates that between 20 and 80 people have been in…

I can’t remember a time as a kid when I did not want a horse. I thought our cattle were just odd-shaped horses so I sat on their backs, saddled them with rugs and rope, and braided their short manes. One morning, Dad was rototilling the garden and I was walking behind him picking up worms so we could go fishing later. When I asked if I could have a pony, he said, “Maybe someday.” I ran into the house and told Mom, “Dad’s getting me a pony on Sunday!” I quickly learned my first lesson in disappointment: There is a big difference between “someday” and “Sunday.” Dad was known for his workingman’s handshake and always kept his word. If he said he was going to do something, he did…

“Most tourists don’t get to see Mount Rushmore from a helicopter. Even from above, the monument’s majesty inspires deep feelings of patriotism.”    “The sun shining behind a Colonial flag made the past very present to me.” “A farmer outside town showed his patriotism by draping a flag on a weathered work cart.” COUNTRY WISDOM: The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.…

MYSTERY OBJECT Can anyone tell me what this thing is (above)? The glass is about 4 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Each end cap is metal and screws onto an end of the glass piece. The caps are open on both sides and also have a fine wire mesh inside. FERN THOMPSON 1425 Whitlock Road Paris TN 38242 rthompsonefk@charter.net What Was That Thing? That’s the question reader DeeAnn Nejdl of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, asked in our May 2016 issue. And Country readers had some ideas. It might be…a butcher’s tool! This was a tough one. Guesses ranged from hot to cold, literally! One person thought it resembled a tool used to remove a burner or top from an old wood stove. Another believed it could be an ice…

It Groans on You How do you know when a regular joke becomes a dad joke? It just becomes apparent. John Mosey Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Not Even Remotely Close My husband, Kent, was catching up on some phone calls. After a few, we began chatting about some old friends until Kent noticed it was nearing lunch. He grabbed the phone to make one more call before we ate. He dialed the number and… nothing. No ringing, no dial tone, no sound at all. Vexed, he tried again. Again, nothing. He was losing it, so I asked him what the problem was. “I can’t get this phone to work. Nothing happens when I punch in the numbers,” he said. Suddenly, he laughed out loud. He had picked up the TV remote, thinking…