Obits
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Doty Land Podcast: Nine Memorable People Worth Knowing
With humor and honesty, Gregory Humphrey gives short presentations about nine people who will leave you smiling and feeling a bit better about life. Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, Doug Fieger, James Howard “Jim” Bartelt, Dennis Peebles, Geneva Rode and Ruth Schohl, Bill Kraus, Fran Tate, and Eva Nell Brooks. With a professional, studio-quality production, this podcast… Continue reading
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We Were All Girlfriends: Judy Markey, Much-Loved WGN Radio Personality, Dies At Age 82
In May of 2009, I wrote the following. Last week, on our way to Klein Flowers in Madison, the first thing we did when we got in the car was tune in to “Kathy and Judy” as we went shopping for flower plants. This week, on the way to my parents’ home 90 minutes north,… Continue reading
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Nancy Kassebaum Not Forgotten By Politicos And Readers Of Newspapers
Nancy Kassebaum died last Friday, and unless you’re one of the dwindling Americans who still read newspapers, you might have missed it. Television news, with its breathless devotion to storms with rain or planes that blew a tire, largely shrugged. A former U.S. senator with an amazing history passed away, and the national broadcast networks… Continue reading
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Senator Lindsey Graham, Over The Years, Was Always Column-Worthy
The news of Senator Lindsey Graham’s shocking death arrived very early Sunday morning as James and I were still up after a nice evening with a close friend. It was a jarring flash of a news alert that landed with absolute surprise. I recall rereading the initial bulletins after the networks were pushing them out… Continue reading
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“Orion Samuelson, The Elvis Presley Of Agricultural Radio”
At the time of his death, I wrote an article about Orion Samuelson, the famed radio broadcaster who worked at WGN radio and reported on agricultural news. This weekend, The New York Times reported the news in its obituaries, and the headline certainly caught my eye. Raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm without electricity or… Continue reading
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Wisconsin-Born Legendary “Voice Of Agriculture”, Orion Samuelson, Dies At 91
Legendary WGN Radio farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson passed away Monday at the age of 91. Known as the “Voice of Agriculture,” his life is most worthy of recalling. Samuelson was born on a dairy farm in Ontario, Wisconsin, where a leg disease left him for a time nearly crippled as a teenager. He would take classes for six… Continue reading
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Alexander Butterfield: The Quiet Man Who Changed The Course Of American History
I was not your typical kid growing up. That is a very understated way to write it. I was in a rural environment where my grandparents, along with an aunt, were my neighbors, with not another boy my age for miles around. There was no television in our home until I was in the 6th… Continue reading
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Rev. Jesse Jackson Used State Representative Lary Swoboda’s Office For Coat Drop During 1988 Statehouse Campaign Rally
“ (George) Bush and I have one thing in common, and that is that we both came in second.” The laughter that filled the large room at the Monona Terrace in Madison in December 2007, following that comment by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, had a bittersweet sound as many in the crowd knew in their hearts that… Continue reading
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A Bittersweet Farewell To George Meyer, Dies In Madison, 78
Mother Nature offered a poignant farewell to George Meyer on Wednesday. The highly respected former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and a steadfast friend to environmental causes across the state, passed away at his home after a courageous battle with cancer. In the final hours of Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, a… Continue reading
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