This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for July 29, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           I learned to do the Herr Schmidt as soon as I learned to walk! The Herr Schmidt was to polka fans in the 1940’s what the Chicken Dance is to many polka dance fans today. […]

This article by Ray Spitzenberger appeared first in IMAGES for July 22, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           One of the striking features about school pictures of my brother and me when we attended Dime Box Rural School was that we were wearing bib overalls. Usually made of blue or blue-striped denim, “bib

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for July 15, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           This past weekend, my wife made her annual visit to the Wallis Arts and Craft Show, sponsored by the Wallis American Legion Post 200. It’s their 18th Annual Show, so she has been to quite

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for July 8, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.  “Whap! Whap! Whap-whap!” The sound of dominoes slapped on the table echoed throughout the room! These “42” players took their game very seriously, and it showed in the passionate way they played the game. The game

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for July 1, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           Although 74 million Americans celebrate the Fourth of July with a backyard barbecue, my wife and I have usually followed what we consider a long held American tradition of having hot dogs on Independence Day.

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for June 24, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           Although the old saying, “Clothes make the man,” has some truth to it, clothing trends change rather frequently, and, every decade or so, rather drastically. A case in point is the T-shirt, which in my

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for June 17, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           Cow’s milk was a really important commodity in the 1940’s in the small Lee County town where I grew up, and elsewhere in Texas. My parents owned two milk cows which provided us with enough

As American As Pickled Onions? This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for June 10, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas. Sunday I pickled two more jars of onions, making a total of seven or eight jars since I began “pickling” about a month ago. I couldn’t find my mother’s recipe box,

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for June 3, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas. Ever since I’ve had a little arthritis in my left knee, I have had a tendency to discuss and share home remedies with other folks my age having similar problems. Although most of the “remedies” don’t

This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for May 20, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, Texas.           The good old days weren’t always as good as some of us older folks like to say they were. I certainly wouldn’t enjoy going back to an un-air-conditioned house and car. Perhaps the reason we