About: Margaret Vander Weerdt

Commencement really is a beginning. And I think it is one of many beginnings we get. By the end of the month, many of our acquaintances will have donned their caps and gowns to graduate from preschool, kindergarten, eighth grade, high school, college, and more. They’ve armed themselves with a big grin as they marched...

May is National Egg Month, and my email inbox is filled with egg promotions. One promotes easy-peel hard-boiled eggs: May is National Egg Month, and there's no better way to celebrate than going back to cooking and nutrition basics with the Incredible Edible Egg. Eggs are as popular as ever and at 19 cents apiece and...

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be newspaper reporters. Mamas, do let your babies grow up to be scientists. I’ve been getting a little flack about the worst of the 10 worst jobs of 2016, among 200 considered, according to a recent report from the website CareerCast.com. The annual assessment factors in: Environment...

Spring is here with all its beauty as buds burst and seeds sprout. Maybe it’s the many gray winter days we had, but isn’t this spring especially beautiful and bright? Cynthia Ocelli has it exactly right: For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, It must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand...

I have returned from a great vacation to Washington, D.C. Just like here, we sometimes have a Pella Tulip Time Stem Festival because the tulips bloomed early, the cherry blossoms peaked early on Easter weekend, and it was the cherry blossom bare branch festival. Many things have changed, and many things are the same as...

By the time your read this, I will have returned from a vacation to our nation’s capital, including the Cherry Blossom Festival. Thank you to all the staff who made it possible to put this issue together (including dozens of garage sale ads and the map) without me. My newspapering began in my hometown of...

According to chocoholic.com, chocolate is a passion. You don’t just nibble or eat chocolate … you savor, experience, live … and at times, reluctantly share chocolate. Chocolate possesses mystical powers. Want to make a friend? Offer chocolate. Want to make up? Send chocolate. Want to heal? Take chocolate. Want to be popular? Give chocolate. Want to...