Fifty-ish tried-and-true locals gathered at the Carbondale Library on Thursday, Oct. 29, to reminisce about the “quirky” and “fun” days of The Valley Journal, two words Becky Young, the co-founder of the Journal along with Pat Noel, chose to describe the ragtag paper of humble origins that grew up to be bought out, and eventually […]
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The Ghost Pirate By Tom MercerCarbondale-ish Jeremiah lived in a stately old house on the edge of town. The house was built in the mid-nineteenth century, and it was undoubtedly the grandest in town in those early years. But, as the years passed, the house inevitably began to show its age. It was sorely in […]
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Phantom Radio By Chicago O’hareCarbondale The opening hook of “Maggot Brain” dragged me from my slumber and I cursed the clock. Joe’s show usually got me in the zone for my own late-night pilgrimage to the KDNK studio. Though still technically a volunteer like myself, he’d been slinging records longer than any of the paid […]
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The oldest tradition The 117th annual Potato Days went off on Saturday, Oct. 3, with plenty of steaming spuds, unearthed corn, marinated meats and a downtown full of smiling Carbondale community members enjoying the fall sunshine. Flags waved down Carbondale’s thoroughfare as residents lined the sides of Main Street to watch the Potato Days parade, […]
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objects appear closer By Eric Matthew Olander Paintballs pounding the house with rainbow hail, for all he cares, with his viewpoint constrained in flashbacks and the shed, watching the roof destroyed for the tenth time in five times as many years, the Alumni of MKUltra who did not ride a psychedelic bus across white bread […]
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Black Canyon’s gift to the traveler By Adam SarlanMassachusetts I never know what my fingers will touch as I emerge from whitelights of sleep every morning. Today, an old friend, a burn victim, one of many lining the canyon’s gray, windy rim, gave me a hairlock after I rubbed a manila sheet across his ribs, creating that slow riser, a […]
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Twin troubleBy Tom MercerCarbondale-ish Alan Baxter was a confirmed bachelor. He lived on a quiet street in a quiet Midwestern town, and largely kept to himself. He did not belong to any clubs or organizations in town, and very few town residents even knew his name. He led a quiet life, and his outings were […]
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May we learn from history?By Nancy Bo Flood The many critical battles fought in the Pacific Arena are not as well known as those fought in Europe. But these battles in the Pacific were critical to ending the war, at a high cost of lives, military and civilian. The battles on Saipan and Tinian were […]
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Linda’s QuiltsBy Kay ClarkeCarbondale These photos are of but a few panels of Linda Criswell’s beautiful and thought-provoking quilts. For years, I have gazed upon, read and ruminated about Linda Criswell’s quilts. I did not know until she was gone that she considered them her legacy. I can see that now. Made almost entirely of […]