After 22 years teaching and coaching in Nashville, Tennessee, I have retired. My wife, Kathleen, and I have recently taken the somewhat dramatic step of moving to a small town called River Falls in northwestern Wisconsin, just across the St Croix River from the Twin Cities of Minnesota. We were first attracted to River Falls for a number of reasons. First and foremost, our son, his wife, and our two grand-kids are here. Also, though, this town is unlike any that I have lived in before. I grew up in Chicago, lived in various college towns in Illinois, spent time in Austin, TX, Boulder, Colo, Los Angeles, Gainesville, FL, and Nashville. River Falls, with a population of about 15,000 people, is smaller than those places. That means that it is easier to reach everything without the long lines or traffic jams that have plagued Nashville in recent years. Moreover, there is an idyllic quality to the town—at least to the eyes of a newcomer such as myself. There are no dramatic socio-economic divisions in that there is no clear “poor section” or “rich section” of town. Most of the homes seem to be comfortably in the middle. There are few corporate-owned businesses. Most of the restaurants, bars, and shops along Main Street are mom-and-pop operations run by people who live in River Falls. There is a college here, a branch of the University of Wisconsin system. The presence of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF) and its 6,000 students gives the town an energy and access to cultural and sporting events that might otherwise be lacking in a town of this size. Finally, we were attracted to something a bit more intangible: River Falls has a quirky nature that makes it an interesting place to live. Think of television small towns such as Cicely, Alaska in Northern Exposure, Rome, Wisconsin in Picket Fences, or Stars Hollow, Connecticut in The Gilmore Girls. It is this quirkiness that I will probably focus on, at least at first, as I draw the inevitable comparisons to other places I have lived.
If you are interested in receiving updates or notifications of future entries, please send me your e-mail address at jackhenderson521@gmail.com. Also please forward this blog to anyone you think might be interested. When I retired, I lost my old e-mail address and all contacts, so I lost track of a lot of friends and former students.
Jack (&Kathleen),
I am so glad you arrived safely and are embracing small town life. It sounds charming and not that different from Pittsford. The winter is coming and I, for one, cannot wait!!! I love the green of summer, the amazing colors of fall, not so much the slush and mud of spring, but winter is wonderful! I can’t wait to hear more about your new digs!!!
Love,
Rita
Hi Jack, Adelaide forwarded this to me.Looking forward to following your blog! Your cross country updates were always a great treat!
Best- Molly
Love reading about your new venture!!
Jack,
Enjoyed your tales of the far north. Please put me on your list. girgus@harpethhall.org. Thanks, scottie
Dear Jack, this is such a great idea! I will enjoy keeping up with you. Sounds like the introduction to a great TV series.
Will you be tempted to share your gift for teaching and join the college faculty? Lucky them if you do.
Enjoy every minute with your family. I know they are thrilled to have you there.
Hi Jack,
I’m so excited that Marie forwarded this to me! Hi to Kathleen-
Margie
We miss you Jack!!!
It is Treasured news for me, Dr. Jack! Thank you!!!
Your loyal fan,
Jingli 🙂
So wonderful to hear about your journey, Jack! We miss you!
Jack,
As with so many here at HH, we want to keep in touch. I grew up in a small town: however, it has been discovered and is not so small these days.
Will love to hear of your adventures. Happy 5th!
JACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad to see you are not sitting around twiddling your thumbs!! It seems that the “quirkiness” of River Falls is a great match for you. We miss you here at the Hall! I am excited to keep up with your 5th round! No telling what it will lead to!
Warmly,
JFK
Would love to hear about your new adventure and your new town! Sounds ideal!
Jack, so happy that you are enjoying your new life. We miss you! please add me to your blog list.matthews@harpethhall.org.
Love,
Leslie
Please keep me on the list!
I love your blog! vest@harpethhall.org
You didn’t retire; you relocated and shifted resources. And I see there is snow on the way!
We will miss you and Kathleen for Trivia Night and I hope you got the invite! Know that you are missed and loved by all your HH fam.
Dear Jack,
I am loving the introduction to your Part Five. You need to start working for the Chamber of Commerce because I wanted to move there after reading your description. Say hello to Kitty. I anticipate reading more.
Barbara! Glad to have you aboard. We will have to visit your small town and compare notes.
Jack,
Lovely description. What an idyllic place. Readers can’t help but feel transported to a saner, more sensible slice of America. Keep serving it up: we need it!
Joe
Dr. Jack,
Oh I can’t describe how happy my heart was went I received the link to your blog! I hope you and your sweet family are doing well… sending all of my love and prayers y’all’s way during this new chapter.
I can’t wait to keep up with all of your adventures!
Much love,
Kate
Jack!
Yay! A website rife with your musings! You know, Johnny and I became so addicted to your Jeopardy updates, there was truly a letdown when that was over – besides being thrilled for Kristen, we loved your writing style. I’ve passed this on to Johnny, of course, and we’re anxious to keep in touch with you and Kathleen and any and ALL of your shenanigans! I’m still writing as well – not as often as I’d like but that’s going to change in the new year, hopefully. So glad Joy reached out and passed this information on – please let’s keep in touch! (p.s. we both appreciated the Take 5 name as well, based on the jeopardy story as well!) We love this!
Good to hear from you Jack!! It will be nice to follow your blog!
Great stories! Looking forward to more!
Great to hear from you! Say hi to Mort.
So glad that our friend found your blog. A blast from the past! We used to work together years ago and followed you when you performed at places like Someplace Else. Still have cassette of your performance at our house party in Hazel Crest, IL. My brother-in-law still quotes some of your lyrics “drinks before dinner, wine with dinner, after dinner drinks” and who could forget “truck that got stuck under a viaduct” plus many others. Remember drinking a hair of the dog at Shaffer Lake in the morning (Bloody Mary that a neighbor provided so strong they were pink rather than red). Happy to read that you had a very good life and looking forward to reading your blog.
John! Blast from the past indeed. I remember well the house party on Wood Street, being hungover at Shaffer Lake while Brian Harvey battled the shingles to a draw, and you and your wife at so many of my shows. I distinctly recall my last show, and Jean lamenting that you two would have no social life without my performances to attend. I also have hazy memories of a wild Halloween party with someone who looked suspiciously like you, complete with lumberjack costume and a freshly sharpened ax. That particular maniac had to be restrained as he attempted to fell an evergreen tree in the neighbor’s yard. I think that was the first time I met you, Jean, Herc, Maureen, and an array of other reprobates. Good times. Feel free to share this blog with any and all people who might remember me and encourage them to sign up for updates. The last I heard, you had a catering business of some sort. I’d love to hear what you are up to these days. You can e-mail me at jackhenderson521@gmail.com
Take care,
Jack
I love and miss you Dr. Jack!!!! You and your wife’s votes must have just pushed Biden over the edge – go Wisconsin!!! In all seriousness, I know the class of 2016 absolutely loved you and thinks of you as one of our favorite teachers from HH.
Best,
Phoebe