Held
Community Voices — Terry Held: It all began in Cassville: One poem, one voice, and the possibility of cultural change
It began with a poem. Not a grand announcement. Not a ribbon cutting, a strategic plan, or a committee charged with improving the cultural landscape of southwest Missouri. Just a…
Community Voices — Terry Held: We the People…
…are more than mere words to dress a festival of patriotism; they are a solemn charge that requires an informed citizenry, beginning with robust civic instruction in our educational institutions. Those three words, written in an unmistakable flourish across the top of the United States Constitution, may be among the most consequential words ever put to paper.
Community Voices — Terry Held: The people who taught us
It is back-to-school time. Clean slate. Sharpened pencils. Keen minds. Beating hearts.
Community Voices — Terry Held: The fight for reading; Literacy on the ropes
There are battles that announce themselves with headlines and protests, and there are also quiet battles.
Community Voices — Terry Held: Shhh…don’t tell anyone, but…
“The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” — Roald Dahl
Community Voices — Terry Held: Crossroads in rural educationl; Keeping opportunity close to home
“The Times Are A-Changin’.” Bob Dylan’s famous song of the 60’s became a cultural anthem with universal appeal. Today, it has become a phrase often heard in small towns when difficult decisions arrive quietly and without ceremony: Usually, those words are spoken with a shrug, a sigh, or a little disbelief. But behind them lies something larger, a recognition that institutions we once assumed would always remain steady are now being forced to adapt to realities few people fully see.
Creativity, inspiration craved on Poetry Day
Crowder College’s annual Poetry Day brought together students, faculty and guests for a celebration of creativity, expression and community.
Community Voices — Terry Held: The radical spirit of Cassville
The word radical has become a strange word in modern America. Turn on the television or scroll through social media, and it is usually used as an accusation. A radical is someone unreasonable. Someone extreme. Someone bent on tearing things down.
Community Voices — Terry Held: The new old age: When retirement becomes reinvention
For generations, retirement came with a familiar picture. You worked hard, you reached your mid-60s, and then you slowed down. Maybe you spent more time at Roaring River. Maybe you expanded your garden. Maybe those woodworking or sewing projects took on a new life.
Terry Held: The forgotten art of letter writing
In an age of instant replies and digital noise, it’s easy to forget that just a generation ago, communication came folded in an envelope — not fired off by a burst of thumbs.
