Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of 12 weekly stories focusing on America’s 250th birthday, as told through the lens of our communities and the role many of the places we call home played in shaping the nation before, during and after the Revolutionary War. This week we begin ...

Dear Annie: My husband retired eight months ago, and ever since then, our home has felt less like a place to relax and more like a company he has decided to manage. After years of leaving early, coming home late and barely noticing whether the bath towels matched, he is suddenly very interested ...

Dear Heloise: I read your column in the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Jim R., in Houston, wrote about people who are eating produce that they haven’t purchased. But there is another view on this issue. Purchas- ing grapes, for example, without tast- ing them, often leads to sour ...

ESCANABA — Escanaba Elks #354 received two grants from the Elks National Foundation to purchase food, hygiene and some basic necessities for area schools. The schools were contacted to see what their students' needs were before ten Elks volunteered to shop and deliver these items. Items ...

Dear Annie: My husband and I are invited to my co-worker's daughter's midweek black-tie wedding at 3 p.m. My husband and I would need to leave work early to attend, and I feel it's a burden to both take time off work and purchase or rent black-tie attire for a warm weather event in the summer. ...

Dear Heloise: I spent hours crocheting edges on my guest towels, but visitors never used them. They noticed the towels, hesitated, and dried their hands elsewhere. To solve this, I wrote a short poem and placed it in clear view: “You are a guest, and we’re happy you’re here. These towels ...