Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology/Medicine, Literature, and Economic Science are awarded annually in Stockholm by the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. The more famous Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually in Oslo, Norway on December 10, the anniversary … Continue reading →

Continuing our journey from the Scheckel farm near Seneca to La Crosse, a trip we took twice a year when I was a boy, in the early 1950s. There was a small plot of land near intersection of Highways 82 … Continue reading →

The third president of the United States was a busy and creative genius. Jefferson was an esteemed politician, statesman, farmer, writer, educator, and architect. He loved making things. “Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them … Continue reading →

Several times a year our family would go to La Crosse. That was a big adventure for me when I was a little kid. We would pile into the car, head out past the Oak Grove Ridge school, and drop … Continue reading →

Glucose is a type of sugar that is in the blood. Glucose comes from carbohydrate foods and is the main source of energy used by the body. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps the body’s cells use the … Continue reading →

For six days of the week the Scheckel family worked the Oak Grove farm outside of Seneca in the heart of Crawford County. But Sundays were reserved for church and rest. Except for doing the farm chores, we never worked … Continue reading →

If you eat a pound of food, do you gain a pound of weight? Yes and No. Yes, if a 180-pound person ate one pound of “Death By Cheesecake” or “Better than Sex” chocolate, that person would weigh 181 pounds … Continue reading →

We had an electric fence unit that used a six-volt dry cell battery. It put out high-voltage pulses to discourage cattle from crossing the fence. We sometimes took a blade of grass and lay it on the fence wire, enough … Continue reading →

Tales from the Seneca farm circa 1953. This time of the year, mid-August, we were done with first crop hay, shocking and threshing oats, and well into second crop hay. Mending fences was a never-ending job. We seemed to have … Continue reading →

 A plant response that involves a specific movement  is  called tropism from the Greek word  “to turn”. And any factor that brings forth such a response is called a stimulus. Tests done way back in 1806 confirmed that gravity was … Continue reading →