Children & Families

Fresh Ink & Hot Coffee — Tomorrow, It Begins

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A quiet word before Saturday morning arrives  . . . .

The press is warming, the quill has been freshly dipped, and in this neck of the woods the air smells faintly of biscuits and printer’s ink.

By lamplight, Little Red Bear is checking the final lines, pages stacked neat and waiting. Rusty and Percy are chasing down the last good headline, and somewhere nearby a kettle is whistling — the patient kind that knows its moment is almost here.

The very first issue of The Hearth & Holler Gazette is ready to roll — full of neighbourly news, small-town happenings, a little laughter, and a bit of country comfort to carry with you.

Tomorrow is the day.
The Gazette arrives.
Are you ready?

— Jim  (and Red!

A small note for new readers:
Receiving The Hearth & Holler Gazette is as simple as being registered for this blog. There is nothing more to do.

Porch Notes From Little Red Bear

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Hey, folks —

Jim is up to his ears with work on the Gazette right now, so asked me to fill in for him today. And I’ve got a few minutes so thought – “Sure. Why not?” Hope you don’t mind.

Farmer Turner dropped by earlier for no particular reason. That’s what folks do around these parts. Stopping by to visit. Just bein’ neighborly, is all.

As usual, we got to talkin’ about the weather. Lately it’s been like riding a seesaw. We seem to go from way above normal one day to way below normal the next. We set a record for both a record all-time high temperature and another record 62-degree temperature drop all in the same day last week. From 80F to 18F. I started the morning in my overalls and ended up wearing three different coats by the end of the day, each one heavier than the one before. I hear the birds down south are flyin’ in circles, not knowing whether to migrate back up north or stay put where they are. They can’t figure it out either, it seems.

Anyway, that’s what Farmer Turner and I were talking about — the weather. I will say, if ever you feel like talking about the weather with someone, just go find yourself a farmer. Farmers love talking about the weather. For them, it’s not just small talk, of course. It’s an important discussion about crop yields, planting schedules, and their very survival. Weather determines a farmer’s livelihood, after all.

Well, I see Aunt Ivy coming up the way, probably coming to trade some cookies for some of the fresh herbs we still have growin’ alongside the cabin. So, I’ll be going now. She may need my help gettin’ to some of the herbs. That, and I don’t want Jim spottin’ her coming and dashin’ out the door to beat me to any fresh cookies.

‘Til next time then.

— Little Red Bear (and Jim!)

If you’d like to spend a little more time in Little Red Bear’s world, Jim has gathered some of the stories and books together on his Author’s Page. You’re always welcome to stop by.

You’re Welcome Here

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Some Sundays end the way they should.

A good meal. Plates pushed back. Folks sitting around a little longer than planned. Nobody watching the clock. The talk wandering from one thing to the next, easy and unimportant in the best way. Somebody pours another cup of coffee or tea. Slices of pumpkin and pecan pies are served. Or maybe a slice of cake. Or two. And no one says much about it.

Those moments matter more than we sometimes realize at the time.

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Introducing “The Hearth & Holler Gazette”

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A Small-Town Paper from Little Red Bear’s Honey Hill Country

Before we get too far along, there is one small thing I would like to settle right from the start.

These days, the moment someone hears the words “weekly” and “email,” a little voice pipes up:

Oh no… not JAN.

Just Another Newsletter.

You know the kind.
Crowded inbox. Loud subject lines. Endless self-promotion.
More noise than nourishment.

And if that is what The Hearth & Holler Gazette were going to be — I would not blame you one bit for steering clear.

But here is the thing —
This is not JAN. Not even close.

The Gazette is not a newsletter.
There will be no book pitches.
No launch announcements.
No character reveals dropped like bait.
No “Pre-order Now!” or “Don’t forget to buy!” reminders elbowing their way into your morning.

Instead, think of it this way —

The Hearth & Holler Gazette is a fictional small-town paper, delivered once a week on Saturday mornings, the way such things used to be — its pages set in the early years of the twentieth century, beginning in January of 1904.

A place for:

  • Short Stories and Sketches
  • Bits of Humour
  • Kind News
  • Happenings and Events from Little Red Bear’s Honey Hill Country
  • Old-fashioned Advertisements that Exist Only for the Smile
  • And the sort of Gentle Company you might enjoy with a cup of coffee while the house is still quiet

It exists for one reason only —

To offer a pause.
A smile.
A little warmth.

That is the why.
Everything else grows from that.

One might think of The Hearth & Holler Gazette as something closer to Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion —
without the live music, and without needing to go buy a radio.

A familiar voice.
A small town and folks you come to know.
Stories and observations that take their time, and trust you to do the same.

Or perhaps it brings to mind Charles Osgood’s quiet pieces — the kind that never shouted for attention, yet somehow always earned it.

If you ever found comfort in evenings spent with The Andy Griffith Show, The Waltons, or Little House on the Prairie, then you already understand the spirit at work here.

Not because those stories ignored the wider world —
but because, for a little while, they set a different table.

That is the neighbourhood the Gazette hopes to live in.

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A Year’s Worth of Little Good Things

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As the year begins to slow down and we edge closer to Christmas, I have found myself thinking less about what was accomplished and more about what quietly mattered — the small moments, the kindnesses that did not make headlines but made days a little better.

A few evenings ago, Little Red Bear asked if he might stop by the Writing Pages for a few minutes to share some of the things that stayed with him this year. Not the grand events, but the everyday goodness he noticed along the way. I was glad to say yes — and this is his note.

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“Yes, Virginia — The Story Behind the Letter That Still Warms the World”

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A Black & White Holiday Feature

As Christmas draws near each year, I find myself returning to a handful of stories that never lose their warmth — stories that remind us of who we were, who we are, and who we still hope to be. One of those is the classic newspaper reply known today simply as “Yes, Virginia.”

If you’ve ever paused during the holiday bustle and wondered where the magic of Christmas hides itself these days — haven’t we all felt that? — the history of this little letter has a way of lighting the lantern again. And like all good stories, there’s more to it than most folks remember.

Here is the story behind the story — the people, the newspaper, the unlikely pairing, and the words that continue to shine like a window candle more than a century later.

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