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Swedish ties shine bright in county

Earlier this month, I had the tremendous honor of welcoming His Excellency Urban Ahlin, the Swedish Ambassador to the United States, for an official visit to New York’s 23rd Congressional District. It was a powerful reminder that the cultural bonds, historical ties, and economic partnerships that connect our region to Sweden are not only alive—they are thriving. For generations, Swedish-Americans have helped shape the character of Western New York. Their work ethic, traditions, and values are deeply woven into the fabric of our communities, and hosting Ambassador Ahlin allowed ...

Innocence in the Mideast: Finding troubles in faces of children

From its inception in 1999, the Herkimer County Hunger Coalition had two goals: to help in the fight against hunger in Herkimer County and to put smiles on the faces of area children living at or below the poverty level. We’ve been fairly successful regarding the first. Through securing monetary donations and generating a lot of publicity, we’ve helped our county pantries’ shelves stay filled. They’ve become models of what rural pantries should be. And they don’t rest on their laurels, continuing to improve their quality of service as exemplified by the Kuyahoora Food ...

Maintaining great strides for Lake Erie

I, Michael Dee, have lived most of my life on Lake Erie. In 1955 my Dad escaped the city and bought a place on the lake, hoping to expand a boat livery there. But the devil fools with the best laid plans. Lake Erie nearly died in the 1960s, as did our boat livery. Today, while fishing five miles out, I ponder the magnificent fishery, the tranquility of a summer day, the impressive spring waterfowl migration, the majesty of winter ice, and the awesome storms of Lake Erie that rival the surges of hurricanes. 25,000 years ago the half-mile thick glacier that covered us for the ...

Ukraine invasion a waste of humanity

CHAUTAUQUA—Sometimes worship services are striking in ways that go unspoken. So it was with the Aug. 10 sacred-song service at Chautauqua Institution. The service focused on “the family of Abraham,” and thus on the religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—tracing their roots to Abraham and Sarah. Taking part in the service were three young people: One Jew, one Christian, and one Muslim, each a participant in an interfaith program at the institution. Let your imagination run regarding what went unspoken: Had these three young people been born in another place, been ...

Rounding Third: Lifelong blessings from early career

Barbara, my friend of 60 years, came to visit over the weekend. We keep in touch occasionally, but it was time to catch up on our lives and our families. We always fall easily into fond memories, laughter, and enjoyment. We met through her brother, John, a TWA captain who lived next door to me in the Big Apple back in the 60s. After college, Barbara also joined TWA as a tall, willowy flight hostess. She even met her husband at my wedding 58 years ago. Although I knew we would chitchat non-stop, I couldn’t allow her visit to pass without meeting Alice, a lovely local friend. ...

‘Empire’ strikes in upstate issues

Upstate struggles from It is said that New York is called the Empire State because of its historical significance, economic power, and cultural influence, particularly during the late 18th and 19th centuries.  The name is also attributed to a George Washington 1785 letter in which he referred to New York as “the Seat of the Empire”. I suppose that New York state was once the seat of the American empire, but the glories of the 18th and 19th centuries are nothing more than the glories of a past age and I suspect that if President Washington was afforded the opportunity to visit ...