Two popular columns in the Exchange are appearing for the final time in this week's paper.
This issue marks the end of two long runs for "The Bible Speaks," written most recently by Lawrence Althouse, and "Plowboy Poetry," written by Clayton Rye.
"The Bible Speaks" has been a fixture on the Exchange's "church" page for over six decades, and was written by two authors, Kenneth J. Foreman and Althouse. At one time, the syndicated column ran in nearly 300 newspapers across the United States, but that number has dwindled in recent years to just 11.
According to the Exchange's earliest records, the column has appeared continuously in this paper for at least 67 years. Due to a 1981 fire that destroyed our records, it is uncertain if the Exchange published the initial "Bible Speaks" commentary when it was first distributed in 1948.
Althouse wrote his first column for The Bible Speaks in 1965, and it was published by the Exchange in the July 1, 1966 issue. It has been published every week since.
During his 52 years as a religion writer, Althouse, who is 87 and lives in Texas, produced 2,704 columns for syndication by the National Council of Churches, then, later, Community and Suburban Press Service. In the past few years, the retired Methodist minister distributed the column directly to 11 newspapers, including the Exchange. His final column appears on page 8.
Clayton Rye of Hanlontown, Iowa has authored the "Plowboy Poetry" column in the Exchange for the past 14 years, beginning with the March 28, 2003 issue. A retired farmer, Rye wrote over 700 columns for this paper. A little-known fact is that he never charged a fee for his work. Not a single penny. For Rye, writing the column was a labor of love. He explains this in more detail in his final column, which appears on page 5.
Over the years, the Exchange has been privileged to feature weekly comments from these two outstanding individuals. The staff sincerely thanks them for their dedicated work and wishes them all the best in their retirement.