By HOLLIE ROBERTS JEFFERSON, Iowa, Feb. 13, 2017 — A poem in honor of my friend Carla Offenburger, as she starts another round of cancer treatment. — Philippians, 4:13 My friend has cancer This is not the first time, sadly. Decisions have to be made: What kind of treatment is best? Should she enroll in a new…

By CARLA OFFENBURGER  DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 2, 2017 – My mother Sue Burt’s pumpkin bread has always been a family favorite.  We often pester her to make some.  But let me just tell you the story in this poem.  Cans of Pumpkin Laughter and giggles – galore. And cans of pumpkin. And my mom. …

By CARLA OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, March 11, 2014 — When the winter weather starts to break every year, I always think back to a poem I learned about 40 years ago from Lillian Hildreth, my English teacher at Lincoln High School in Des Moines.  She had the poem written on her blackboard.  I memorized it,…

JEFFERSON, Iowa, May 7, 2014 — Carla Offenburger is an elder at the Central Christian Church here.  At the Easter Sunday service in late April, she was one of the two elders who wrote and recited prayers just before communion.  We thought her prayer listened like a poem, and so we asked her for a copy of it…

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER SHENANDOAH, Iowa, Feb. 12, 2014 — Kathryn Ketcham, 96-year-old mother of my lifelong friend and high school classmate Bruce Ketcham, died in late January.  I’m really glad I was able to attend her funeral here in my ol’ hometown.  You know, I can hardly think of her as “Kathryn.” Even though she never would…