February 4, 2024 Moor or Less: Of 18-wheelers, crazy names and giant saguaros Some observations on our 1,900-mile drive to Tucson, Arizona: On I-70 in the heart of Illinois, it seemed that I was passing (and sometimes…
February 3, 2024 Mark and Wendy’s Excellent Adventure: Even a hint of danger in the north Georgia hills Editor’s note: Mark Bradford is contributing occasional posts from his diary on traveling the country with his wife Wendy while they rent out their…
February 3, 2024 I wish I had served alongside those who did Like many people from my generation, I did not serve in the armed forces of our great country. The draft was eliminated before I…
February 2, 2024 A love story that needed a second chapter “Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you,” actress Loretta Young said. Sometimes that finding is shot like a straight arrow….
January 31, 2024 Michiana’s Uncle Sam: The namesake of Ireland Road Let’s get this out of the way. The name of Ireland Road has nothing to do with the Emerald Isle. It has nothing to…
January 28, 2024 Some bad candidates and some good people For us political junkies, the election in November is depressing. We have one party whose leader may be weeks away from living at the…
January 28, 2024 Mulligan Stew: 1986 unsolved murder case seems even colder Timothy Griewank, a Plymouth native, died this month at his home in Noblesville, Ind. As a former newspaper reporter, I sometimes feel an obligation, or…
January 25, 2024 Basketball crazy in Swayzee 60 years ago “In 49 other states it’s just basketball…” is a quote that has slowly become more prominent as the years pass, used by Hoosiers to…
January 24, 2024 Mark and Wendy’s Excellent Adventure: Starting the journey home Editor’s note: Mark Bradford is contributing occasional posts from his diary on traveling the country with his wife Wendy while they rent out their…
January 24, 2024 The curious Wilber name of Wilber Street fame The May 10, 1927 issue of the South Bend Tribune recounted the curious story of the naming of Wilber Street as one of the…
January 23, 2024 Moor or Less: Entire Sports Illustrated staff is gone, but my SI bulletin board survives (for now) I guess it was my effort at being artistic. In a 9-by-11 bedroom I shared with my brother, I filled up a bulletin board…
January 19, 2024 Samuel Sample: South Bend’s first political hero My great-grandfather was very famously not a fan of the quality of the pavements on Sample Street in the 1970s. You can imagine his…
January 18, 2024 ReCap: Former Irish gridder Ed Peil was an oater regular Cappy Gagnon is the leading authority on the first 30 years (1887-1917) of Notre Dame football, he said immodestly, in the third person. Having…
January 15, 2024 When you’re really sure what you want in life, try a dab of beets from the salad bar I was feeding a heap of old credit card bills into my paper shredder, doing my best to make sure I wasn’t chewing up…
January 15, 2024 Moor or Less: An old friend’s olive toss, a yardstick’s use and becoming a fair-weather fan Bob Goodrich, the longtime recreation director for the South Bend Parks Department, died in late November at the age of 94. He was a…
January 15, 2024 Almost everything I never learned about South Bend Every school bus I ever rode to every school I ever attended barreled down Portage Road between Cleveland Road and Lathrop Street. Every morning…
January 13, 2024 An old coat and car may be inanimate but also intimate I recently said goodbye to two old “friends” — our family’s 2007 maroon Honda CRV and my 11-year-old blue and gray Columbia Sportswear winter…
January 11, 2024 A heroic whisper on Auten Road Abram Auten came from Ohio to farm a field and find a fortune at a plot of land on South Bend’s southside, sandwiched between…
January 9, 2024 Mark and Wendy’s Excellent Adventure: The real Florida often down a single-lane road Editor’s note: Mark Bradford is contributing occasional posts from his diary on traveling the country with his wife Wendy while they rent out their…
January 9, 2024 My ‘tangentitis’ takes me to Pasadena C.C. and its diverse alums What do you get when you combine an interest in research, writing, and story-telling, with a lot of time on your hands? You get…