The
April 24, 2013
Countryy Editor
Volume 1 Number 2
North
Just good reading
Horseshoe business still red-hot for Flagstaff man ~ Page 10
Giganticus’ sculpture helps Route 66
NASA sees distant planets that seem ideal for life
~ Page 4
~ Page 15
John’s Kayak by Emily Enger he first time I learned that my husband built boats, I hadn’t yet met him. I was in high school and had just finished reading a fantastic novel. In my curiosity to learn
T
more about the author — I was an aspiring writer myself — I dug up some old interviews where this author chatted with a reporter about his life in rural Minnesota and his current acitivites — including building a rowboat with his youngest son,
The kayak is made from Red Oak. It is 17 feet long by 21 inches wide. Shortly after this step, John stretched 12 oz nylon over the skeleton, adding several light coats of varnish to create the skin.
John. Like the sentimental female I am, I gave a brief “Awww, so sweet. That’s adorable!” But that was the end of it. I certainly never imagined that in a couple years I’d meet this boy in a packed college classroom nor did I anticipate the romantic paddle he’d take me on in that very brown-and-cream boat along Lake Superior in Bayfield, WI. Today, my husband and I live in Amsterdam, NY. Apartment living in the midst of a city 1500 miles from where we grew up instilled in John a restlessness that back in Minnesota had been much more tempered. John has wanted to do more building for years. The plans for his dream boat traveled with us to New York, snug safely in his “man box” — a location I bequeathed him after he fussed every time I tried to throw away odds, ends and other pieces of junk that apparently held sentimental — or “cool” — value.
See Kayak page 3
The window is two feet wide. The kayak 21 inches wide. Exit strategy may have been a close gamble, but it was successful!
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Never too young to give back by Kelly Gates Alanna Wall is only 12 years old, but she has already made a big impact in this world. Alanna is the founder and CEO of Polished Girlz, a Dayton, Ohiobased nonprofit organization that boasts teams throughout the United States and beyond. According to the young philanthropist, she first had the idea to serve others when she was eight. But it took some tweaking to come up with just the right concept. “I originally wanted to make head scarves for young girls who have cancer, with glitter and rhinestones and all sorts of cute decorations on them, but my mother is a nurse and
she was worried that the pieces could come off and be hazardous to the kids,” she recounted. “Then, when I was 10, my Nana sent me a bunch of nail polish and I immediately came up with the idea for Polished Girlz.” With mom and dad by her side, Alanna purchased all the necessary supplies to prepare for her first polish party. When she was stocked and ready, she made her first trip to a local Down’s Syndrome Association. Then, she visited a rehabilitation service. Both places were ecstatic when the Polished Girlz girl was finished and offered open invitations for her to come back anytime.
Soon, Alanna’s friends joined in and formed the first Polished Girlz team, traveling to patient
treatment centers and hospitals throughout the Dayton area. Then, as word spread of the girl’s generosity, the
small service blossomed into a fullfledged charitable operation.
See Give back page 4
Organizations like Mended Little Hearts benefit from the attention the Polished Girlz can give.