As I was standing at my kitchen sink, hand-washing and drying my dishes, I was thinking about my topic for this article. Kaity and I agreed that perhaps changes I have seen in my 84 years might be of interest or amusement to some of you West Salem residents. A sink full of soapy dishwater is one of those changes. I remember, as a teen, standing at the sink washing the dinner dishes with my brother beside me drying. Wonder of all wonders, we had a hand-held sprayer to do the r

This month, history came alive at Brunk Farmstead.  A guided tour over the weekend of December 6, led by volunteers clad in period costumes and armed with a wealth of knowledge about the century farm, transported participants back to the eighteen-hundreds, when the area was just getting on its feet as an established county. The Brunk House, owned by the Polk County Historical Society and located just off the Salem-Dallas Highway, was built for original owners Harrison and Emi

Drive down Wallace Road or Edgewater Street today, and you'll see a very different West Salem than even ten years ago. Where family-owned shops once stood for a generation or two, we now see empty storefronts, corporate chains, or completely new developments. Imagine Tom, who's owned an equipment repair shop near the bridge for 28 years. He's assuming he'll get $650,000 when he's ready to retire – that's what he needs for the retirement he and his wife have planned. But when