Chuck's Chat-Welcome to July 2024!

July is fair time, and there are two right here in Montgomery County. The Cherryvale Youth Fair will be held the 10th through the 13th. The Montgomery County 4-H Fair will be held the 27th through the 31st in Independence’s Riverside Park. You can get more information about them either online or on Facebook. Please try to attend one or both to support tomorrow’s leaders.

July is also National Ice Cream Month, and you have Kentucky to thank! In 1984, Senator Walter Dee Huddleston of Kentucky introduced a resolution to proclaim the month of July 1984 National Ice Cream Month and the 15th of that month National Ice Cream Day. Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law the same year, and the rest is history! Even though the bill only specified that July 1984 was National Ice Cream Month, the tradition carries on—much to our pleasure.

We’ve been experiencing some hot weather lately, and there’s even more in the forecast as well. But it’s nothing new. It’s called summer. It happens every year, and has even before man began keeping temperature records. I remember many summers in my past spending quality time in the hay fields, lifting and tossing 70 pound or so square bales onto the truck or wagon beds. We used to stack 56 bales on a 1968 Dodge pickup. Even common core math will suggest that was quite a load, and was evidenced by the sagging bed, squawking springs and squishy recapped rear tires.

After the load had been transported and neatly stacked in the barn with no air circulation and the afternoon sun bearing down on the old tin roof, dad would lead us to the nearby water hydrant. He used to say just run some cool water on your wrists and you’ll feel better. Now, keep in mind my dad had to leave school during his sophomore year to help out on the family farm. He didn’t know anything about wrists having lots of pulse points where blood vessels are close to the skin, helping you to cool down more quickly. All he knew was it worked, and I still do it to this day.

Stay cool my friends.

Until next month,

Chuck Voelker