Before the craziness that is Frontenac Mining Days gets really going I'd like to take a moment to give credit where it's due.

Hello Frontenac is indeed my crazy passion project. No doubt that 95% of the time if you are interacting with this page, it's with me. I take FULL responsibility for whatever shenanigans go on here, and absolutely ALL of the bad grammar.

However, if you've ever watched the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, you'll know Jack was nothing without Mr. Gibbs to keep him on the right path and save him when it all goes wrong.

Summer Warren is my Mr. Gibbs.

Frontenac Friends,

If you have a freshman this year, please take their face in your hands, look them in the eye and tell them they did something incredibly kind today. Tell them you're proud of them. And please tell them thank you for me.

Frontenac, I love you all. I seriously do. Every day you remind me that there is kindness, there is decency, and there is compassion in this world.
Yesterday a member of our community called me. I've known her a long time and could hear the strain in her voice immediately. She told me about people she cared about whose lives had been turned upside down due to medical issues.

I rarely dislike parts of my hometown. In fact I can count on one hand the times I've hesitated to head for downtown. Lately though I've caught myself in full pirate grumble. The words often blue and not repeatable here.

I have always had the patience of a four year old in line for Santa. So…I admit I'm kinda tired of the construction. I'm tired of the torn up sidewalks, the big vehicles around our kids. It's hard to drive. Hard to park. I'm tired of the upheaval in a normally fairly peaceful place. I feel like we've gone from Mayberry to New York and it sets my teeth on edge sometimes.

Maybe it's because we've had so much construction lately. The water tower. The sidewalks. Closed roads, one ways. It's all… A lot for a very little town.

Usually, when a dog is named Teddy, you assume it's because he's cuddly. Unless he belongs to Ethan Spurling. Those of us who know Ethan would undoubtedly make the connection to the great Theodore Roosevelt. That's just Ethan. Of course, the dog is named after a political figure. 

Dear Frontenac Friends,

I have a very personal announcement folks. If you're an artist of any genre you know that your work is a part of who you are. Whether you are a painter or a photographer, what you make matters deeply to you. Sometimes, especially a long project, can become something more.

For the past ten years what I've been creating is a visual history of our town. Far from all inclusive, it still gives us a window into who we are, and what matters to us. Thousands of photos and dozens of features and small write ups about Frontenac and its people.

As our babies grow they know that their path has likely been walked by a Frontenac Friend before. A compass handed down from a prior generation, and a safety net built by decades and decades of love.

Heritage Hall does more than remind our children where they come from. It reminds them who they can be, and that no matter how much they grow, Frontenac will ALWAYS be there for them

Amanda Hill should hate Mining Days. She should resent it with every fiber of its being. If she bristled every time the event even came up in conversation, I'd understand. But of course… She doesn't.

When I started Hello Frontenac in 2017 I had no great plans for this page. So…. I never thought about having to explain the name. But now it's much bigger than expected and Heritage Hall just gave me a reason to. 

The name Hello Frontenac doesn't have any humble or historical background… Or so I thought. I came up with it while driving over Joe Saia overpass. I love Robin Williams and adored his performance in Good Morning, Vietnam. I was thinking ohhhh I could do Good Morning Frontenac, love that vibe but it felt too TV morning show. 

Today was cold. Damn cold, and had been for days. As we drove on 160 hwy back to our land outside of Frontenac I was more than ready for our warm living room and to ignore the weather. 

Yet, the snow did what it loves to do, and ruined someone's morning. As we passed Cayuga we noted a small car in the middle of the far right lane. The owner desperately tried to get it unstuck from the driveway onto the highway where it had become high centered. We immediately stopped, we've all been there after all, and tried to help push it out. 

The recent news about the CBS Morning Show’s upcoming visit to our little community has caused more than a little excitement. From McKay Street Coffeehouse to the school, the entire town is buzzing with the gossip, as it should be. It is always an honor to have a large media outlet notice the efforts put into a project, especially a project as amazing as our new library and museum.

There's so much I want to say about the new library, but for now just a quick story from the official opening.

The ribbon cutting tonight was amazing, but it was one of our youngest Frontenac Friends that stole the show, and reminded me yet again why I love this town.

Frontenac Friends, today by complete chance, I took one of those photos that unexpectedly means a lot to me.

Soon our new library will formally welcome the public. Like all Frontenac projects, the public have been sneaking quietly in for months when library director Seth Nutt waves them over the barricade to check it out every chance he gets.

I've known and respected Seth for many years, but it's his mother who I adored first. Lisa is such a treasure, even among Frontenac women. As strong as she is gentle, as no nonsense as she is forgiving, Lisa is the kind of person most people want to be. Frontenac has always had those kinds of women and I look up to many of them. Vicki Haden, Sunny Zafuta, Kay Gobl, Sally Neville, Linda Grilz, all come to mind, and many many more.

Frontenac Friends. I'm working on a column about a member of our community, and midway through I became deeply concerned I was combining quotes. They sounded so similar, so I went back over my notes. I wasn't.

Over and over again, when I interview Frontenac Friends, I see the same theme. Amazing people, highly educated and talented. The world at their feet. Yet, they choose Frontenac. They choose home. They give up money and sometimes even a little fame. They give up opportunities so joyfully it's a little shocking.

Small towns have one unifying problem: we have long memories. Whether it's “how things have always been done” or “oh, I know that family,” or "oh lawyers? Stuffy". We remember. Sometimes remembering is a good thing. It's what unites us. Our branches can reach for the sky because our roots remember the earth. Frontenac likes to remember. Yet, the apple? It’s nothing like the tree, even if it remembers where it came from.

That's the case with the new city attorney, Matt Bonner. I admit, I had a lot of ideas about who Matt Bonner would be. The son of an Army vet/cop (who gave me a ticket a lifetime ago), I expected the new city attorney in town to be like many young lawyers: gruff, direct, definitely smarter than me, and possibly a little arrogant.

Under the sea, in KC! Check out our first Away For the Day! column!

The very best part of my job is when a story leads somewhere completely different than the destination I imagined it would.

When I first called Kelley Terlip about photographing the new location for their restaurant, Bushel & a Peck, I had a very different story than the one you're reading in mind. A piece about the hardships of opening a restaurant. Then a glorious unveiling of their new location and menu. While, I hope that in some way I've captured those struggles, this is not that story.

Frontenac School District has a long history filled with amazing teachers. Sit down with any graduate from any year, and they’ll tell you about educators who touched their lives.

However, for one group of past Frontenac students, one name quietly comes up again and again: Lynn Hoover.

My tiny town in Kansas was doing what it always did in April—drip, drip, drop. The pretty little town I'm from never fails to remind me of the spring rain song in Bambi when winter finally heads out. The water had been intermittently downpouring for weeks now, not that the farmers were complaining. This Tuesday morning was no different, but even the drastically damp weather couldn't drench my mood. I was getting to do what I love best: photograph my hometown. And more importantly, I was on a secret mission. 

Frontenac Friends. I have a little update on the new library, but honestly I'm not quite sure how to put it into words. The library director Seth Nutt made me promise not to give too much away, and the last thing I want to do is ruin the surprise. 

What I can tell you is this, it's amazing. The entire library is outstanding. The level of quality that you would expect in a wealthy area of Chicago or New York. Between the coffee shop, reading areas, kitchens, and massive book room. It's classy, warm, inviting, and full of natural light. 

However, even unfinished it's clear those beautiful spaces will pale in comparison to Heritage Hall Museum.