Loose Leaf Notes

1. “Nobody is illegal on stolen land.” Billie Eilish during her Grammy acceptance speech for Song of the Year (“Wildflower”).

2. I told Joe to put on a big log in the woodstove before we went to bed, and then we played THIS song.

3. In the case of the Led Zeppelin song, Big Log is a trucker’s driving log book. I had to look that up.

4. I call my resident cardinal at the bird feeder Clark Gable. His partner Scarlet comes to the feeder too, but he is more scarlet than her (see to Clark’s left).

5. ICE is giving winter a bad name.

6. But while we wrestle with unrest / our eyes adjust to darkness / Our compass is a pendulum / that swings back to justice… Read my poem The Takedown in its entirety HERE. 

7. Thank you Bruce Springsteen! HIs Anti-ICE Song ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ is right up there with CSNY’s Four Dead in Ohio. It was the highest-selling song in the United States last week, even with it being available for just two days of the tracking period, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart

8. “Against smoke and rubber bullets / In the dawn’s early light / Citizens stood for justice / Their voices ringin’ through the night / And there were bloody footprints / Where mercy should have stood / And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets / Alex Pretti and Renée Good” Listen HERE. 

9. Maybe this (above) is partly why ICE taking 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from his home hit me so hard. The picture is of my 17-year-old grandson when he was Liam’s age.

10. We still believe that truth / rises to the surface / that we can take down perpetrators / and love our neighbors… More HERE. 

11. “We sleep, and at length awake to the still reality of a winter morning. The snow lies warm as cotton or down upon the window-sill; the broadened sash and frosted panes admit a dim and private light, which enhances the snug cheer within.” Thoreau

12. I call them frost fairies.

13. My friend Triona is an influencer and dancer. She makes me smile.  See HERE.

_____________Thirteen Thursday

-The following was first published in Floyd Times on 1/27/2026 

Floyd Chamber of Commerce’s executive director Kathy Fett introduced Dr. Angelica Perry of Full Spectrum Wellness Care to Chamber members at a Chamber Luncheon, held at the Town Offices Community Room on Oxford Street on Tuesday (1/20/26).

Perry, a Chamber member who sponsored the luncheon, prepared by Chef Luke Volosin of Deer Park Farm, practices Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine at Fett’s Therapeutic Massage and Wellness business in Floyd, as well as at clinics in Blacksburg and Salem.

She thanked members for supporting the Chamber and asked attendees to give a round of applause for Fett, “who has doubled the size of the Chamber,” before presenting a brief outline of her practice, which includes hands-on body treatments and creating personal wellness programs for her clients.

Fett also introduced the newly elected board and asked those in attendance to stand and be recognized. David Weeks, the new Chamber Chairman, told the group that he grew up in Floyd and came home after living in the wilderness of Texas and being tired of the flat landscape and the heat. “I became involved in the Chamber because wanted to help Floyd, and that’s what we’re all doing.” He spoke about the business resources and friendships that have been developed through activities with the Chamber.

Fett gave a business update, saying that excitement about the Chamber’s new management team and direction has attracted new members. “We’re up to 205 members and we’re growing,” she said. Recent new members noted were Communities in Schools of Appalachian Highlands, The Charcuterie Bar, The Spice Bar and The Floyd Mug Company.

Rocky Baker with Communities in Schools Appalachian Highlands spoke briefly, stating that the CIS-AH is a non-profit organization housed in Bristol. “We serve 115 schools in 17 school districts. We just started with Barry Hollingsworth at the high school this year. What we do is we case manage students that are in need and at risk,” he said.

Baker, who noted that he spent 33 years in education and retired as a high school principal 3 years ago, said the organization was excited about doing a sponsorship, getting to know everyone and developing partnerships in Floyd.

Tonya Urban, owner of the Spice Bar, reported that the bar will be opening in April in the Winter Sun building where Hey Helen, a clothing and home décor store, was previously located. Urban reported that they’ve been selling wholesale spices to restaurants, caterers, food trucks and facilities like nursing homes and treatment centers for the past 20 years. They are currently selling wholesale out of Dublin and will be offering wholesale and retail spices out of the Floyd shop.

“We have 250 different spices that we procure, everything from hard to find spices like saffron and cardamon to easy to find spices like salt and pepper,” she said.

Fett announced that the Chamber is selling platinum, gold and silver sponsorships. “They will help support the chamber and also promote your business,” she said. She reported that the Chamber will be hosting Chamber Talks and seeking Chamber Ambassadors and committee members. Upcoming fundraising events that are in the works include Shamrock Shenanigans, a March 14th fundraiser that will be held at the Floyd EcoVillage Event Center and will feature Irish music, Irish food, a cash bar and games. A Business Expo will also take place in March on the 18th.

Summer Chamber events and outreach include a Floyd’s Got Talent Show, a collaborative event with the June Bug Center to be held at Dogtown Roadhouse on June 20th; Small Town Summer vending booths at Lineberry Park and a Run for Freedom July 4th event to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary.

The next Chamber meeting is a Business After Hours and Young Professionals Networking Event.  It will be sponsored by El Charro Mexican Grill and be held in a recording studio and small event venue upstairs from Dogtown Roadhouse (302S Locust Steet)  on January 29th, 5:30 to 7:30.

The catered lunch meal was highly rated, and enthusiasm was high as members milled about and made connections at the close of the meeting. “It’s what I love about my job,” said Fett, “connecting the dots with people.” – Colleen Redman

Photos: 1. The recent Floyd County Chamber of Commerce Luncheon was well attended. 2. The lunch menu was catered by Chef Luke Volosin. 3. Dr. Angelica Perry, who sponsored the lunch, gave an outline of her business, Full Spectrum Wellness Care. 4. The Chamber’s executive director Kathy Fett gave a business update. 5. David Weeks, the newly elected Chamber Chairman, addressed the group. 6. Rocky Baker with Communities in Schools Appalachian Highlands is pictured with a colleague. 7. New members Tony Urban (right) and Devin Campbell will be opening The Spice Bar in April. 8. Members listen.

Did it start with Michael Jackson
saying bad is good
when hot became cool
and dope meant wonderful?

Now our good faith is corrupted
with alternative facts
Our language is twisted
Our historical record held hostage

Like an arm held down
we struggle with the weight
of a tyrannical thief
spewing doublespeak

But while we wrestle with unrest
our eyes adjust to darkness
Our compass is a pendulum
that swings back to justice

We still believe that truth
rises to the surface
that we can take down perpetrators
and love our neighbors

We can care for the vulnerable
and protect nature’s diversity
We can hold the greedy
and the powerful
accountable

_______Colleen Redman / dVerse Poets Pub / Poets and Storytellers United 

1. I’m blogging without a net, meaning I have no spellcheck on my WordPress post page.

2. My poetry books, Packing a Suitcase for the Afterlife, Objects are Closer Than They Appear, Poems From the Dark Room and Mining the Gold of the Inner Life, are sold locally at The Book House (pictured here), as well at The Floyd Country Store and the Harvest Moon Food Store (and on Amazon).

3. “Writing doesn’t just help you process your thoughts.  Neuroscientists have found it physically changes your brain in ways that build resilience and help you handle everyday stress and challenges… Writing allows you to, at once, name your pain and create distance from it. Brain imaging studies show that putting feelings into words helps regulate emotions. The simple act of naming your emotions can help you shift from reaction to response. Instead of identifying with your feelings and mistaking them for facts, writing can help you simply become aware of what’s arising and prepare for deliberate action.” More HERE. 

4. Words on the page get stored away / They lose their currency / and age like bodies / Pens disappear / in a conspiracy of mystery / Fingers slip on keyboards / leaving stranded stanzas / and unplanned changes – Read my poem When the Ink Dries in its entirety HERE.

5. On SNL Weekend Update this week, Colin Jost reported that Trump’s “Board of Peace” consists of countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia and joked, “that’s like if Law & Order: S.V.U. starred Diddy.”

6. “And everyone keeps pretending this is politics instead of what it is: State power learning it can kill in public and survive the news cycle.”- Michael Jochum

7. I’m currently reading Paper Girl, a memoir and journalistic chronicle on how we got here (so divided) by bestselling author who lives in Roanoke Beth Macy. I’ve met Macy, who is currently running for Congress and am shocked as I read to see how much we have in common. I was a paper girl who delivered newspapers (for one summer) in my small little town too. She was a reporter for The Roanoke Times and I covered events for The Floyd Press. She was in the marching band and I marched in the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) drill team. We both come from low-income backgrounds and had fathers with alcoholism. We both joined different Unity Churches with female ministers after having kids, have similar politics, like to play Scrabble and Boggle and more… And by the way, Wikipedia reports that “Former American president Barack Obama placed Paper Girl among the top three of his favorite books of 2025.”

8. SH is a playable Scrabble word.

9. “Neuroscience confirms what the psyche has always known: repression is metabolically expensive. When we suppress emotion, the prefrontal cortex must continually inhibit limbic signals, consuming enormous cognitive energy. Cortisol lingers in circulation, the immune system shifts toward inflammation, and interoceptive pathways, the ones that tell us what we feel, grow dull. Over time, this dullness becomes mistaken for peace. The body seems quiet because its alarms have burned out. What looks like composure is often exhaustion. The cost of silence is hidden, but it is never absent. When a person swallows words to keep a peace that is already broken, or when they choose stillness over speech in a room where something unjust has been said or done, the body pays.” – From “The Price of Silence: What Self-Betrayal Does to the Brain…” Vera Hart, MD, PhD

10. Play on words or play by the book?

11. I close my eyes to see / until the drum is silenced / until life’s puzzle is nearly finished / and I can add my piece to the whole / But don’t look too close / or you’ll miss the full picture / where everyone is a beautiful loner / where we all belong to each other / are the parts of the same single truth… Read Surprise Endings in its entirety HERE.  

12. Writing is talking on paper.

13. You add your own words / to the sum of parts / Distinct as fingerprints / A poet’s north star / You write it down / and read it out loud / Your thoughts are the medium / and voice is your art – Read my poem Voice in its entirety HERE.

______Thirteen Thursday

Words on the page get stored away
They lose their currency
and age like bodies

Pens disappear
in a conspiracy of mystery
Fingers slip on keyboards
leaving stranded stanzas
and unplanned changes

Words on pages
can’t stop wars
can’t feed the hungry
or imprison the guilty

Some poems are written
with words unspoken
Passwords are forgotten
Identity is shaken

A poet needs a pen
like a friend’s hand to hold
Time reveals the shine of truth
But a labor of love takes a toll

___________Colleen Redman /Poets and Storytellers United

1. She spoke at Bobby Weir’s Celebration of Life gathering in San Francisco on Saturday. She talked about her friendship with Bob and all the shows she has been to over the years.

2. After celebrating to Grateful Dead music at the Buffalo Mountain Brewery with friends and our hometown band Rosebud, Joe and I came home and watched the livestreamed Celebration event, a touching and joyful sharing between speakers and  Dead Heads. At one point, and to the amazement of everyone, a single hawk flew above the crowd when Weir’s wife was speaking on stage.

3. I had to laugh when one of Weir’s daughters told the crowd that Weir was a proud lifetime Democrat and that he referred to the other side without fail as “our friends the Repubs.”

4. Although Bob has been quoted as saying, “No politics, no religion. The stage is not a pulpit or a podium,” and I appreciate that. I also know the good humanitarian work the band did behind the scenes.

5. I pretty much stopped going to Grateful Dead shows after Jerry died in 1995, but I finally saw a show with one of the Dead incarnations in 2022. So it had been a couple of decades since I had seen Bob Weir on stage and, of course, he had changed. I joked that he looked like someone from Gilligan’s Island with his bushy white beard and clamdigger baggy pants.

6. Our hometown celebration was touching and joyful too.

7. The open-to-the-public tribute event was billed as “Let Your Words Be Yours,” taken from the Weir song Cassidy… Fare-thee-well now / Let your life / proceed by its own design / Nothing to tell now / Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine…

8. It’s one of my top favorite Grateful Dead songs, and it was the second one that Rosebud played. I only got this quick clip, which sadly doesn’t include the lyrics, because I was excited to dance to it, and I did.

9. After Rosebud’s set, the stage was open to other musicians. Barry LeNoir played Black Muddy River, a sweetly dark emotional Jerry song. It brought a tear to a few eyes, which was fitting and felt good…I will walk alone by the black muddy river / And sing me a song of my own / I will walk alone by the black muddy river / And listen to the ripples as they moan …

10. There was also this comfort… Sleep in the stars / don’t you cry / Dry your eyes on the wind, la, la, la, la… which was the encore song sung by The Greatful Dead before Jerry died in 1995.

11. It was a communal sing-along dance party.

12. The Grateful Dead has a strong following in Floyd and the surrounding towns and cities.

13. They came out in strong numbers and filled the Brewery and McDaniels Tavern with love, gratitude and celebration.

____________Thirteen Thursday

Floydian Prayer by Tom Ryan: Yeah, though I walk through the Valley of tie-dye and tofu I shall fear no evil for though I am in Floyd, I am not of Floyd. Thy art is with me. Thy grants & Thy tax subsidies comfort me. Mine is the kingdom & glory of slackers & Hatcher Burgers. I will two-step & high lonesome in green pastures. I will seek the stills next to spring waters & getteth me a table at Oddfellas without reservations. Shirley, or one of my ex-wives will haunt me all the days of my life & I will dwell in the Hotel Floyd forever.

-The following was first published at Floyd Times on December 17, 2025.

The late Tom Ryan may not have coined the term “Running on Floyd Time,” but he elevated its sentiment in his business and in the way he lived. Ryan was the original owner and the visionary behind the Republic of Floyd, the popular downtown Emporium that features craft beers, wines, gourmet snacks, gifts and brand merchandise with a humorous twist.

Designed by Ryan and drawn by commissioned artist Emily Williamson, Republic of Floyd hats, t-shirts and art posters were described by Ryan as takeoffs in the blended styles of Soviet Communist posters, San Francisco poster art of the 60’s, playing cards, Looney Tunes and more.

When Ryan passed away unexpectedly in the winter of 2013, his close friends banded together to buy the business and keep his legacy alive. More recently, the shop was purchased by Terry Tishman, who is skillfully carrying on the tradition. Tishman had previously worked at the Republic of Floyd and with Ryan at his Floydfest booth when she wasn’t fulfilling her duties as the festival’s Area Director of Administration.

“Floyd Time” has not only been a theme in Ryan’s designs, but the phrase also fits his self-effacing laidback attitude. His longish hair and signature Hawaiian shirts belied his business savvy and his college degree. Along with being a successful entrepreneur, Ryan was also a local bartender, a music event promoter, the founder of a long-time annual Mardi Gras fundraiser for Blue Mountain School, an art agent for under-celebrated local artists, a festival vendor, a one-time Chamber of Commerce Vice President, the author of Floyd Family Dysfunctional Cookbook and the founder of Floyd Family DysFUNctional Picnic.

Ryan was also a noted satirical writer of The Floyd Enquirer, a Floyd-centric online and email publication that featured his tongue-in-cheek stories, advice columns and mock scandals with titles like Curse of the Cute Puppy Syndrome, The Floyd Gene Pool, Ask a Hippy, The Floyd Rumor Mill, The Buddhism of Bartending: How May I Serve You? and A Visitors Guide to Floyd. No one was immune from being spoofed in Ryan’s stories, including himself. He frequently invented nicknames for friends and referred to well-known Floyd hang-outs and landmarks.

Inside jokes, tourist tips and other Tom Foolery kept his readers entertained. One of his Enquirer missives began: The ubiquitous “Floyd Wave,” performed when approaching another vehicle, has been a hallmark of local civility for generations.  However, due to the influx of new residents and the increasing number of tourists, the Floyd County Board of Supervisors will be publishing a handbook on the etiquette of the “Floyd Wave.”

Another entry concluded with advice to tourists, “During your Floyd wanderings remember… a little bit of tie-dye goes a long way!” He jokingly referred the mountains of Floyd as “Your End Times Destination” and created a high fantasy styled Republic of Floyd map based on the county.

“Floyd’s version of Will Rogers meets Robin Williams, someone who rarely bites his tongue and is more often known for getting it stuck in his own cheek,” is how one fellow writer described Ryan. Another referred to him as a “pillar in the Floyd community, an unapologetic writer, a jester and a good soul.”

In recognition of Ryan’s writing, his entrepreneurship, his fun-loving spirit and his engagement in the community, the group that recently formed Floyd Times – the independent community news source that was launched in July 2025 – had Tom Ryan in mind when the named the publication.

It’s not hard to imagine that if Ryan were still with us, he might be writing for Floyd Times, Running on Floyd Time, of course.  -Colleen Redman

Note: Above painting by Greg Ward, titled Elvis Has Left the Building

1. “The world comes to an end and the world keeps on going. Life is a series of sinking ships but still people go sailing as if it hadn’t happened. Disaster strikes and people wake up the next morning and have breakfast.” Garrison Keillor

2. Exist and Exit about sums up life.

3. Older or Elder?

4. Ladies to the rescue.

5. “I’ll say this: I look forward to dying. I tend to think of death as the last and best reward for a life well-lived and I’ll get around to it sometime”. Bob Weir, founding member of The Grateful Dead, 1947 – January 10, 2026

6. Wavelength: My life is a dream text / I cast and interpret / My mind is a magnet / that attracts alignments / With a field of awareness / beyond the body’s limits / My senses tune and transmit / signals of the universe

7. “Collective neuroscience is a rapidly growing field of research. An early, consistent finding is that when people converse or share an experience, their brain waves synchronize. Neurons in corresponding locations of the different brains fire at the same time, creating matching patterns, like dancers moving together. The experience of “being on the same wavelength” as another person is real, and it is visible in the activity of the brain.” -Scientific American

8. Still Grateful – The miracle was that Joe’s brother Mike got us 4 box seat passes. We had bought one extra ticket that we sold in the parking lot… We’ve come a long way since working in the parking lot and hoping for a miracle when we couldn’t afford a ticket, but those years were formative and magical and once a Dead Head always a Dead Head… More HERE.

9. Brown-eyed girl or Brown-eyed women and red grenadine?

10. “Wonder is where it starts, and though wonder is also where it ends, this is no futile path.” – Herman Hesse

11. When I look out my window, I think the red bow left over from Christmas on top on an the evergreen tree and behind the birdfeeder is a cardinal.

12. I had a dream that my car was parked in the  middle of our yard. I went to get out the passenger seat but saw two dogs who had come up to either side of the car. I called to Joe to come and get me. He came but started to play with the dogs who I saw were not violent at all. They didn’t even bark, so I got out of the car on my own.

13. Where’s the beef? It’s venison.

____________Thirteen Thursday

My life is a dream text
I cast and interpret

My mind is a magnet
that attracts alignments

With a field of awareness
beyond the body’s limits

My senses tune and transmit
signals of the universe

_______Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United/dVerse Poets Pub 

-The following was first published at Floyd Times on January 6, 2026.

The Plum House Ramen Noodle Bar welcomed patrons to a special preview of its offerings on Friday evening. The official opening of the new downtown eatery, located in the plum-colored house on 101 Old Hensley Road, is scheduled for January 9th from 5- 8pm.

Soft opening diners were presented with an Asian-inspired menu offering dishes from Japan, Korea and Thailand. They were nourished and warmed with spring rolls and noodle bowls featuring broths and sauces with add-on choices of pork, chicken of tofu. Some sipped hot tea and sake, a Japanese rice wine.

Several diners commented on the restaurant’s warm atmosphere, the lighting and décor, which is not surprising since the Plum Noodle House owner, Barbara Gillespie, has an artful sensibility and was the ambiance director at the original Floydfest site for many years.

“The ambiance here is artsy and comforting at the same time,” said Stephanie Weisman, who was enjoying a shared dish of kimchi (house-made salted and fermented vegetables seasoned with garlic, ginger and red chili powder) with friends.

“It’s very traditional,” Sudha Wilburn said about the Noodle House decor.  Wilburn, who has been to Japan on a walking pilgrimage and enjoyed the food there, spoke highly of the Noodle House cuisine and showed off her Bim Bop bowl of sautéed vegetables black rice, sesame seeds and soft eggs.  “I love it. I’m very impressed,” she said.

Gillespie was the baker/owner of Grateful Bread Bakery, adjacent to the Noodle House, for years and is currently the owner and operator of Outer Space, the popular and whimsical outdoor food court and music venue on Locust Street. Outer space, which closes during the winter months, is known for its healthy local food, and Gillespie, the menu creator and head chef, has extended that standard to the Noodle House.

“We make all our own broths and sauces in-house. We take pride in that,” Gillespie said. “We buy fresh noodles and will eventually make our own.” She also noted that they will eventually do take-out and that there is parking for the restaurant (including handicap parking) in front of the Grateful Bread Bakery house.

The idea for the Plum House came to Gillespie when she was making repairs to the rental house (before it was purple/plum) that her father and his wife owned. After all the scraping, caulking and priming she started painting and enjoyed using purple because she wanted something bold and fun. “You’re painting it purple?” someone questioned. “It’s Plum,” she answered, and the idea of a Plum House Ramen Noodle Bar came to her in a flash, Gillespie said.

Gillespie is joined by her skilled staff, Holly Mae, Meridith Tillery and Lindsey Gillespie, who work as hostesses, servers, assistant and back-up cooks. She reported that the Noodle House will be open year-round, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with winter hours from 5 to 8 pm. “We encourage reservations,” Gillespie said, which can be made by calling 540-745-PLUM or texting (540) 558-9395. ____Colleen Redman

1. My New Year motto: 2026 and so much to fix.

2. Or: In one year and out the other.

3. We went to a soft opening at the Plum House Noodle Bar this weekend. The official opening is this Friday. Call 745-Plum for a reservation… Full story and photos at Floyd Times.

4. Purple was some of the light show color effects at our local Dogtown New Year’s Eve bash. Full story HERE.

5. Joe and I got Christmas presents from eachother that we had no idea what they were. He got two things that looked like hooked boomerangs in a box that read ‘Focus on seat gap storage box.” It turned out to be ‘seat clearance plugs’ for a car’s space between the driver’s seat and the console where stuff falls through and is hard to retrieve. I got a vintage tea kettle with a hole on the bottom and a hole in the front above something that looked like a distiller spigot. It turned out to be a repurposed birdhouse.

6. Purple Rain or Purple  Haze?

7. We’ve been listening to the Telepathy Tapes, “a popular 2024 documentary podcast by Ky Dickens that explores claims of telepathy, particularly among non-speaking autistic individuals who communicate through facilitated spelling, raising questions about shared consciousness, hidden abilities and the limitations of science versus personal experience.

8. “The morphic field hypothesis proposes that minds are systems of fields that are located inside brains but also extend far beyond them, just as the fields of magnets are both within magnets and extend invisibly beyond them, and as the electromagnetic fields of mobile telephones are both within them and extend beyond them. Minds are extended beyond brains in every act of perception…”  From Can Morphic Fields Help to Explain Telepathy and the Sense of Being Stared At? by Rupert Sheldrake

9. “The Telepathy Tapes podcast investigates a controversial yet compelling area of inquiry: observational reports of nonspeaking individuals with autism who appear to demonstrate telepathic abilities. As part of the project team, my primary role was to collect and analyze EEG data during these demonstrations. In addition to this technical work, I have personally observed five nonspeaking autistic individuals consistently achieve near-perfect accuracy on telepathy-based tasks involving randomly selected words and numbers. In each case, responses were spelled out using letter boards—with no physical contact from facilitators—and, in many instances, under testing conditions specifically designed to significantly minimize the possibility of conscious or unconscious cueing. This situation is not without precedent in the history of science. Consider savant syndrome, in which individuals—often with autism or other neurological conditions—demonstrate extraordinary abilities in areas like math, memory, music, or art, often without formal training. These abilities once seemed impossible to explain but are now recognized as legitimate expressions of atypical brain function and are actively studied. Dr. Jeff Tarrant, Psychology Today 

10. “While wandering down the path of wonder, I briefly escape the world of separation and enter the world of unity.” -Herman Hesse

11. I’ve always liked purple. When I was 13, I paired this (left) blouse with a purple skirt and wore it a lot.  This was right before my left eyebrow and eyelashes and streak of hair went white (segmental vitiligo). The hairdo was called “the bubble.”

12. And the below one, taken some 40 years later is titled “I Call My Latest Halloween Get Up “The Real Me.”

13. On Dec. 10, Floyd Times released its first hardcopy — a Special Holiday Edition —for free to reach more county residents and make our mission clear: “To inform and connect the people of Floyd County and its surrounding region” and “to deliver local news to power civic engagement and highlight a wide range of community voices…” …Our goal for 2026 is to better what we’re already doing by increasing accessibility, adding more regular content, establishing a print schedule, and providing clear, comprehensive coverage of local government happenings, particularly throughout the budget season.

To do this — and to do it well — we need your help. Check out Floyd Times HERE and consider subscribing or donating to this local cause. ________Thirteen Thursday

-The following was first published at Floyd Times on December 23, 2025.

Attendees of the Celtic Christmas Concert, held at Springhouse Community School on December 17, were treated to a spirited selection of traditional songs and carols from Ireland, Scotland, England and Brittany in celebration of Christmas, Winter Solstice and the New Year. The talented concert ensemble of acclaimed musicians featured Katherine Wiley on fiddle, cello, rebec; Julie Kinn on vocals, bodhran, whistle; Josh Kinn on vocals, bouzouki, octave mandolin; David Scheim on Celtic harp, piano and Geoffrey Saur on pipes, whistle.

Springhouse’s co-founder and executive director Jenny Finn welcomed the crowd before introducing the musicians. “The concert is a fundraiser that we’re grateful for,” she said, reviewing the school’s foundational mission “to envision, practice and share ways of living that contribute to a world where all life thrives.”

“We have a K-12 school and adult programming. Our economic model is that we turn no one away. It’s important that we creatively raise funds for what we’re doing here, and this is part of what we do,” she added.

The two-hour program included Celtic lore, storytelling and poetry, along with a wide range of soulful airs, fiery dance tunes and a hot cider intermission.

Some tapped their feet and sang along to recognizable tunes, such as the 17th century English Christmas carol, I Saw Three Ships… “O they sailed into Bethlehem / On Christmas day / on Christmas day / And all the bells on earth shall ring / On Christmas day in the morning…”

Other program titles included A Christmas Jig, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, The Sheep Under the Snow, Over the Moor to Maggie reel, Gloucestershire Wassail and Don O’iche Úd I mBeithil (That Night in Bethlehem), which was sung in Gaelic.

Wiley gave some historical background before the performance of The Wren, which was included in a medley. The ancient Irish Wren tradition is still practiced today on St. Stephen’s Day (December 26th) in Ireland. It includes a costumed parade, singing and going door to door to collect money for charities.

The concert concluded with a moving rendition of The Parting Glass, which preceded Auld Lang Syne as the most popular parting song… “So, fill to me the parting glass / And drink a health what’er befalls / And gently rise and softly call / Good night and joy be to you all.”

The audience responded with rousing applause. – Colleen Redman