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there’s no place like home

February 12, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

There’s no place like home, that’s for sure. And oh my goodness, so far my week back home in Mississippi County has been so much fun and a whirlwind of activity. I was invited to speak at the Osceola Rotary Club on Tuesday and they fed me very well. They made me promise to return each time I publish a book, so I best get busy with my next one. Books = Rotary Spaghetti with a side of homemade blackberry cobbler, and that’s a yummy thing.

Osceola Rotary

I met lots of people and saw a few folks I hadn’t seen in years, like my high school guidance counselor, Mr. Rogers Ford.

Rodgers Ford and me

And speaking of high school, I returned to mine (Rivercrest High School, go Colts!!!) to present a book to the library. That was very cool because I spent so much time in that library. The library hasn’t changed all that much but somehow it seemed larger and more open than I remember it. My book will be in the Arkansas Section ☺.

Rivercrest High School

book signing at Rivercrest

I saw these important men: Dr. Tom Bennett, Principal of Rivercrest (we went to high school together) and Superintendent, Mike Smith who was my civics teacher in junior high. Also, he’s the First Man of Keiser (married to Mayor Sandra Smith).

Tom Bennett, me, Mike Smith

Wednesday I had the good fortune of touring American Greetings Company in Osceola. American Greetings opened a few months before I was born and is a major employer in the area. I’ll be writing an article about the company soon (known as AG by the locals), but just so you know, the facility is another world inside. There are ten miles of conveyor belts and the place is large enough to hold 57 football fields!

American Greetings, Osceola, Ar

What a happy place! The world loves a greeting card, right? When you receive a Valentine’s Day card this weekend, there’s a good chance it was made right here.

This is how cards begin at American Greetings

sheet of greeting cards, American Greetings

Northeast Arkansas friends, I hope to see you TOMORROW at That Bookstore in Blytheville! It’ll be cold outside, but we’ll have a fire going and a pot of coffee on. If you can’t make it, I hope to see you around the world wide web:)

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]A trip back to #highschool and a tour of @AmGreetings = a whirlwind week in #Mississippi County. #home #northeastAr[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Newton Faulkner, Dream Catch Me

 

Filed Under: Home, Life, Reading & Books, Simple Pleasures Tagged With: American Greetings Corporation, Keiser, Mississippi County, Northeast Arkansas, Osceola, Rivercrest High School, That Bookstore in Blytheville

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Comments

  1. June Graham says

    February 12, 2016 at 8:27 am

    You have made MS Co. proud!!!! It was great seeing you last night and receiving my own “Gracie Lee” cups!!!!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 12, 2016 at 10:59 am

      Great to see you too!

  2. Bryan says

    February 12, 2016 at 9:27 am

    Remember, you’re always 17 in your hometown!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 12, 2016 at 10:59 am

      Feels like it sometimes, Bryan!

  3. Barbara Tate says

    February 12, 2016 at 9:42 am

    It has been so much fun this week touring Mississippi County with ” the author”. . I have seen a lot of people that I haven’t seen in years. Hope to see you on Saturday at 1:00 at TBIB. “I’m with Gracie Lee”

  4. Gary D. Henderson says

    February 12, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I can’t wait!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 13, 2016 at 7:17 am

      Woot!

  5. Dorothy Johnson says

    February 13, 2016 at 8:40 am

    Sounds like a wonderful week. I love the way your hometown has cheered you on. Fun, fun, fun. I’m going to try to buy American Greeting cards from now on.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 15, 2016 at 8:49 pm

      Thanks Dorothy, it truly was a great week. No place like home:)

  6. John (Stephen) Douglass IV says

    February 13, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    It was great seeing you and getting the book signed.Thank’s for your time spent with family and friend’s today at TBIB.God Bless

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 15, 2016 at 8:48 pm

      Thanks for coming out! It was great to see you too.

  7. Cindy says

    February 18, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Love all your writing but especially the ones about home. NoBUDDY can EVER say you forgot where you came from. There’s a certain kind of magic in MissCo. I’m so glad we grew up there.

    Cindy “Lu”

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 20, 2016 at 7:54 am

      Me too, Cindy Lu!

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: March 16, 2025

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