Columnist

    I don't have to tell you that the holidays are near - you have probably noticed the pumpkin spiced-everything. Others are also culpable, but Starbucks is largely responsible for the pumpkin spice mania that grips the entire country each fall.
    It all started in 2003 when the Seattle-based coffee company launched a series of seasonal menu items in select markets, one of which was the Pumpkin Spice Latte.  
    The “PSL” has tallied total sales of over 200 million drinks during its 15 year run and has almost singlehandedly created the pumpkin spice craze.

    Today we are looking at the social occasion known as the dance. I don't see a lot of them happening these days. But the dance in the 19th century was the primary way for guys and gals to meet, and if you were lucky you actually touched each other is a socially acceptable way. Strike up the band, the dance has begun.
    The first ethnic groups to come to Braidwood were from the British Isles. So it is no wonder that the first mention of the dance I have is the following from January 13, 1872: “Four dances in Braidwood on Robert Burns' birthday, the 25th of January.”  

    The Canadian Goose is no stranger to our neck of the woods. The river bank, the park, the golf course, the sky are all filled with them.
    But time was this waterfowl was found in another place that has all but disappeared - the marshes of Indiana and Kankakee.
    The Grand Marsh in Indiana was not that far away, just a day's ride along the trail that followed the Kankakee River along its northern side. Waterfowl were so abundant there that I cannot describe it in words. But I can give you an example of what I mean.

    In many ways the Early American tiki bars literally invented a new culture by blending elements of traditional Asian, Polynesian and Caribbean recipes and décor.
    Along with the invention of the new culture came some of the most iconic and enduring cocktails which may have been rooted in island tradition, but were invented in Southern California for the most part.
    Occasionally I stumble upon a tiki drink that has legitimate South Pacific roots. One such drink is the curiously delicious Dr. Funk.