Iola not too soggy

I received an e-mail of concern this morning from a reader asking how we were doing in light of the news he was hearing about floods in Wisconsin.

I appreciate the concern, though I could not resist answering humorously. I responded that we here in Iola are so far north that the rain couldn’t find us.

It is no joking matter for the people in the southern part of the state. Areas from La Crosse on the west to Milwaukee on the east were affected, including major damage to the tourist area known as the Wisconsin Dells.

With gas around $4 a gallon, there is concern about the summer tourist season. Now with the flooding, further misery has been added.

Speaking of tourists, I have written about Iola’s annual Old Car Show before. It is coming up July 10-13. This topic arises again because in the weekly Numismatic News poll question, it was asked if high gasoline prices are causing readers to reduce show attendance.

I received one response from a reader in Arkansas who said it would mean he couldn’t come to the car show. While that wasn’t the question asked, it certainly is a relevant topic. Arkansas is a long drive from here. I have done it myself when driving to the Memphis paper money show.

I still hope he can scrape up the time and money to come visit. There is still a month to figure out how.