I sometimes wonder where the world of computers is headed. In high school in my day for math and physics, we had to learn to master the slide rule. We had to be able to multiply, divide, find square roots, and many other functions on either that straight stick or […]
Jim Cumming – From the Publisher Emeritus’ Pen
Jim is the former publisher of the Fort Frances Times Ltd. He writes a weekly column and can be contacted at jcumming@fortfrances.com
This past week, I was called upon to drive into Winnipeg for medical tests. We left early Friday morning and travelled along Highway 11 to Rainy River, then across northern Minnesota from Baudette to Warroad, and then north on Highway 12 to the Trans-Canada. The area was under a severe […]
2014 is on the horizon, only a few hours away. New Years is always the appropriate time to commit to make changes in one’s life. We like to make resolutions focusing on health issues. Our most common resolutions include losing weight, exercising more and complaining less. I have in the […]
In this edition of the Fort Frances Times, we will publish the “Message of Glad Tidings” taken from the New Testament Book of Luke, Chapter 2 verses 8-11. Published for the 80th time with this Christmas edition, it is a tradition that was begun by my grandfather and his partner […]
Sometimes success creates failure. Here in Fort Frances, as more people have turned to filling blue boxes, the volume of garbage at the landfill site declined. Revenue, in turn, declined. In order to maintain the site, Fort Frances has had to increase tipping fees. The success of the blue box […]
The blue-white cold of Saturday and Sunday mornings heralded that winter was in its full delightful white dress. Hoar frost clung to the trees. Ice crystals hanging in the air created giant rainbows. The sidewalk snow squealed under the crunch of footsteps. Winter cold was penetrating everywhere. Winter has come […]
Those grey things running around neighborhoods, and using the power and telephone lines to cross streets, are a nuisance. There are always three in my yard and the mother kicks the young out of her nest in the early fall. Her nest is in a hollow of a tree near […]
Do you fist bump or shake someone’s hand when you meet them. In sports, you often see players bumping each other’s hands with a closed fist on a successful play or goal. They are not getting ready to fight. Michelle and Barack Obama bumped fists in Minneapolis and now regularly […]
There are times when I really enjoy snow. In the darkness of night, fat snowflakes drifting through the streetlights and covering the ground with a blanket of soft white wool is a beautiful sight. Wet snow falling through the black branches and clinging to the naked trees also is really […]
The snow sits firmly frozen to the ground. The temperature did not even reach the melting point yesterday. Stores have begun the changeover to the Christmas season, with local retailers planning special Christmas promotions across Rainy River District. My neighbours down the street, the Carlsons, already have their white lights […]
My uncle Ron posted a picture of Private Ronard Kleven of the 78th Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers, taken in November, 1918 on Facebook this past week. Ronard was my mother’s father. My grandfather, James Alexander, whose family had immigrated to Canada at the turn of the 20th century, was a medic […]
What do we know about ourselves? Even before we are born, medical records are being created about our well-being. Our earliest pictures are ultrasounds, which excited moms and dads post on Facebook. From scrapes and fractures to colds, sniffles, and tonsils, everything goes into our files. As adults, pregnancies, weight, […]
