Jordan Independent - Blog entry - Comments

Elkes4, thanks for a very

Thom Boncher — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:13:36 -0500

Elkes4, thanks for a very thoughtful post.

Now, assuming money is no issue, who's gonna do the work? People do like - love, really, to share their history. But who will lock and unlock the museum door? Who will tend the exhibits? Who will clean the floor, and restock the toiletpaper? Who will give up his or her holidays so that visitors can see Jordan's history? Who will record all the stories people want to tell? Who will make the labels?

Mind you, I'm not opposed to a museum. I simply wonder who will carry the burden of running it?

A couple of weeks ago, a fellow at a ballgame was telling the people in the Concessions Stand that they could make thousands of dollars by selling grilled cheese sandwiches, soup, and salads. The (volunteer) concessionaires were scurrying around trying to satisfy customers who wanted pop and candy. When I asked the fellow if he was willing to make the sandwiches, soup and salad, he said no. When I asked who he thought would do it, he said "volunteers". Do I need to point out the disconnect between his words, and his actions?

Elkes4, if a Jordan museum is a cause you champion, it would be a worthwhile addition to the town. Maybe you should start rounding up like-minded people who are willing to make it happen.

By the way, anybody living under a bridge and fishing in Sand Creek probably WOULD starve. Even the cranes seem to have given up on getting lunch there.

I have not seen anyone in

elkes4 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:59:22 -0500

I have not seen anyone in Jordan living under the bridge downtown as of yet. Yes, there are people who live here who would benefit from a food shelf and I do not mean to lessen the benefits, however, it kind of ties into the fish story… if you give a man a fish, he won’t starve, if you teach him to fish he won’t go hungry.

One of the largest problems of society is our ability to move to the instant fix method of life, which only exacerbates the situations in the end run.

There is a far more diverse history to Jordan than some may think. I have actually spoken with many of the people who have lived here, or moved through and listened to their stories. You know if you stop and talk with people they actually do not mind sharing their stories. But first we all have to get off of the “What’s in it for me?” way of thinking.

Through out history there have been many lost arts and much lost knowledge that if they were not discarded by the tendency for instant fix, may have brought us all to the point of living in a Utopia of sorts.

So yes, we can give a can of food to make us feel as a participant and ignore knowledge or we attempt to move to a positive future.

Just saying, I have no money is not a way to research possibilities.

Money is indeed the major

Thom Boncher — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:03:40 -0500

Money is indeed the major hang-up. A donation of space (which equals money to a building owner) is needed for a food shelf. Money is needed to spur Downtown redevelopment. Money is needed to draw new businesses - and not just Downtown.

Great ideas are like navels - everyone's got one. Money and effort are much harder to come by. If someone asks me for a donation to a food shelf, and someone else asks for a donation to a museum, which should I give to?

Should some generous soul actually step forward and offer to fund a museum, I think one of the empty or junk filled buildings on Water, Broadway or First would be a better choice than the building that houses the current library. Jordan's a small town, and it has a tightly defined history. Spreading exhibits through too much space is usually not a good display tactic - as any retailer knows.

I think the big question here is, how much time, effort and money are people willing to donate to a museum? I'm guessing the answer is, not enough to make it happen.

We need more in the

dapa2 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:48:59 -0500

We need more in the Legislature and in Congress with the Common Sense of Rep. Buesgens. Until that happens he is right there will be nothing more than a continual assault on our freedoms, liberties, and checkbooks all in the name of bigger government and tax and spend. Wake up taxpayers and families before its too late! Good email Mark and right on!

Is it any surpeize that

dapa2 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:44:05 -0500

Is it any surpeize that Minnesota2020 a DFL front group of former minority Matt Entenzza to come out with some ludicrous report that Minnesota is tens of billions in need of funding. If this was truly non-partisan then maybe they should have looked at the road funding that is getting siphoned off for transit projects. Remember the MVST fiasco? How about the ten/hundreds of millions wasted on transit boondoggles?

I can take any single issue and claim the state needs billions and then what is next? Of course you know what is next...... more and more taxes, and fees, and surcharges and ways for you the taxpayer to pay for their wishlist. Not the commonsense wishlist....their wishlist. Dont be fooled for a second that this worhtless think tank is nothing other than a research and policy set up for Entenzza and others to go and blackmail the general public with their nonsense.

We waste hundreds of millions of transportation dollas in Minnesota and billions nationwide. When it takes 8-10 MNDOT trucks with many workers sitting around while one boom truck changes lights on freeways tell me we are not wasting $$$$. Everyone of us probably has an example of the waste in funding or the shortcuts that we have seen that in the end actually cost more money.

Whats next from Entenzzas group????? Billions more for education, billions more for environment? Billions more for global warming???? Same old tax and spend, tax and spend just not it uses a think tank as the mouthpiece!

I don’t think the library

elkes4 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:55:11 -0500

I don’t think the library classifies as a historic building, but I do think anywhere would be a good place to start.

I once heard in passing a quote that I know to be quite truthful… “It takes money to make money”. If we who live in this town would like to expand our horizons, we will need to invest in our future. I think one good way of investing in the future is to reflect on the past both in learning from follies as well as success. We already have numerous antique shops that could only benefit from a museum’s influence and vice versa.

It also could not hurt to have a place that would bring in visitors who in turn spend in the area or see our town as a nice place to live.

Money is probably the major

Mathias Baden — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:29:45 -0500

Money is probably the major hangup. Could the library building serve as a museum if a new one was constructed? To be clear -- that is not a fact of a where it might go, just a question.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

Nothing beats the memories

roonstown — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:41:48 -0500

Nothing beats the memories of a yearbook. Forty years down the road, it'll be your yearbook, not your Facebook account, that will open the floodgates of your childhood. However, the biggest weakness of yearbooks is that certain students seem to appear on every page, while others are reduced to a single awkward portrait. I just discovered this great new yearbook company that includes personalization as part of its already low price. It's called TreeRing. Like a traditional yearbook, a school's yearbook staff produces most of the book, but with TreeRing, every student can personalize 10% of their own book. And the process could not be any easier - the web-based program is simple to use and sharing/borrowing photos from across the web is seamless (you don't even have to wait for your photos to upload from your favorite photo sites!). I urge you all to check out this site: treering.com - you won't be disappointed!

Hooray! I, for one, am going

Mathias Baden — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:38:00 -0500

Hooray! I, for one, am going to listen in.

http://www.nowthatsweird.co.uk/viewpage_2.php?page_id=26

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

I tend to talk with many

elkes4 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:45:13 -0500

I tend to talk with many people, not that I associate with them on a daily basis, however I offer them a friendship of sorts until they abuse my trust. This statement may seem out of place in this blog, however it is not, just bare with me.

I do not side with a ban on arms, nor am I for them; this may however give you some insights to reflect on. I have known people who have traveled through our little town, who many would not suspect of what I have personally witnessed.

I have seen sawed off guns and guns that were in the hands of people who should not be allowed to walk the streets, but have done so with guns on their person. I have never been too knowledgeable of guns other than I am quite a shot when it comes down to it. One day I was at an establishment (some time ago, but not too long) and had the experience of having a person take a gun and point it in my face… to this I took my finger and shoved it in the barrel and told the person to go ahead and pull the trigger. Not knowing that the gun would not misfire as I had suspected (from my knowledge gained from Saturday morning comics) the person must have thought me to be quite brave, odd or crazy and put the weapon away.

This kind of thing happens time and time again and remains unreported, until the unthinkable happens and everyone says something needs to be done.

I had spoken with what seemed to be a nice young man who was quite talented with a bass guitar. After speaking with him for some time, he just got up and left with no explanation. A while later I asked someone about him and was told that he was wanted for Murder and was a member of a Gang from CA. and yes, probably had a gun on him at the time I was talking to him.

All of this in our little J-town…. I won’t go into explanation of what I have seen in MPLS or St. Paul, there are just more people who undoubtedly have too much time on their hands.

I also know of (personally) people missing eyes or having permanent scars from the misuse of firearms, however for the record…. Guns don’t fire themselves and the only misfire is in the mind of the person holding the weapon.

Oh and for the record… someone has gone squirrel hunting with a 30/30, now does that sound intelligent?

To this I can only admit that forceful registration will not remove the threat, but may allow for your gun to be returned if stolen. It is unfortunate that the people who are good and law abiding that would probably be the only ones affected by regulation.

Ya, next thing you know, the

Thom Boncher — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:24:34 -0500

Ya, next thing you know, the jack boots will be after our (registered) cars, dogs, doctors and radio stations.

Registration leads to

Lilith — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:32:03 -0500

Registration leads to confiscation….period. A lesson the Nazi party taught us.

My high school yearbook had

Mathias Baden — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:23:53 -0500

My high school yearbook had a section like that, as well. At the time, the skeptical, grouchy high school kid in me said that it was dumb. Looking back on it now, though, is really cool. It puts my life in perspective, gives it some context: Here we are, tiny cogs in a big, big wheel we call the world, in a snap-of-the-fingers moment of the timeline of life.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

I use Craigslist often for

Twinsfan14 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:26:41 -0500

I use Craigslist often for selling and buying. You pretty much have to tell everyone that the first person here with the cash gets it. I had someone call and say they would give me more than I asked for. All I had to do was cash a check and send half the money back to them. At least I got a good laugh out of it.

Thanks for another heads up

Kyle Thill — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:42:59 -0500

Thanks for another heads up Mr. Elke, just another reminder that a lot of care is needed in these areas.