• The Highland County Press - Staff Photo - Create Article
    Opinions Steve Roush 20 August 2024

    Birthdays for Mom

    After that phone call I received five days after Mom’s birthday, I made the drive I made every day for a while, and when I got there, Mom looked so peaceful. I sat down beside her just as I did countless times before. As I quietly sat there, I noticed a window was open and a breeze and the "Happy Birthday" balloons were gently swaying. The cards were still lined up and the flowers were still in bloom. I saw her Bible beside her bed. I opened it right to where there was a card, and she had written on that card, “Heavenly Father, I thank you for the victory I have in you. You are my refuge, my strength and my reward. All I need is in you.” Amen. The best birthday gift anyone could have.
  • Opinions Steve Roush 30 July 2024
    Steve Faris: A magical career
    Steve Faris is a professional magician whose credits include state fairs and trade shows throughout the United States, seven seasons at theme parks, including King’s Island, luxury cruise ships, and an opening act for a vast variety of performers including comedians Steve Martin and Martin Mull, and musicians Earl Scruggs, Ramsey Lewis, Santana and Ricky Nelson.
  • Opinions 19 April 2024
    The real impact of Biden's direct-flight parole on our city
    The Biden administration’s direct-flight parole-and-release program was created to mitigate the challenges of illegal border crossings by facilitating an alternative entry of ineligible individuals directly into the U.S. However, this initiative has effectively led to an open border policy, unleashing numerous challenges and hardships on communities throughout Florida.
  • Opinions Steve Roush 19 February 2024
    History and education in those Highland County hills of yore, Part 17    
    Ladies and gentlemen, for nearly four decades, the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews was a pioneer of Highland County education. From beginning a school for boys in the late 1820s, to founding the Oakland Female Seminary in the 1830s, to being the head of the Hillsboro Female College, he was a well-known educator in Highland County despite being struggling with ill health for much of his life.
  • Opinions Steve Roush 27 January 2024
    History and education in those Highland County hills of yore, Part 15       
    Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve been discussing the family of the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews, a pioneer of Highland County education. 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 23 December 2023
    A letter to Santa Claus: An 1870 Christmas Story, the conclusion 
    Well, there you have it, folks, “A letter to Santa Claus: An 1870 Christmas Story.” The ladies and gentlemen of Hillsborough and Highland County read that story when the newspaper came off the press more than a century and a half ago, and now we may read those festive words once again. Merry Christmas, everyone, and may God bless you all. 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 14 December 2023
    A letter to Santa Claus: An 1870 Christmas Story 
    The star of this tale is little Maggie Dudley, and the story begins with a group of schoolgirls chatting about the upcoming holiday. So, without further eloquence, let’s go back to 1870. 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 20 November 2023
    Thanksgiving Day in Highland County in 1913 
    It is our hope that today will be a day of real Thanksgiving for every one, that it will contain much joy and gladness and that no one will overlook an opportunity to cause some less fortunate brother to have real cause to give thanks. 
  • Opinions 8 October 2023
    Choose strength, choose unity, choose Scalise for House speaker
    We’re at a crossroads, and the decisions we make today will impact not just this Congress but the very trajectory of our country. That’s why I’m not just endorsing Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) for speaker of the House; I’m urgently calling for all hands on deck to make this vision a reality.
  • Opinions Steve Roush 18 September 2023
    History and education in those Highland County hills of yore, Part 12 
    Ladies and gentlemen, in December of 1860, the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews resigned his post as president of the Hillsborough Female College. He came to Hillsborough in 1827 to teach at a log school and later founded the Oakland Female Seminary in 1839.
  • Opinions Steve Roush 3 August 2023
    Ted and Eileen Salter: Talented artists and performers 
    Ladies and gentlemen, Ted and Eileen Salter performed variety act shows of puppetry, music and British pantomime for audiences, paying or not. The Salters appeared on “Truth of Consequences,” “To Tell the Truth” and “The Steve Allen Show,” as well as several short films. The Salters made Highland County their home, and Ted even wrote a song for Hillsboro entitled “Hillsboro, O-HI-O.” 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 12 July 2023
    John J. Ballentine: Hillsboro native, early Naval aviator and highly decorated admiral 
    Ladies and gentlemen, Admiral John Jennings Ballentine (1896-1970) was Highland County’s highest ranking Naval officer. Admiral Ballentine was best known for his contribution to the U.S. Naval carrier activities during World War II. 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 24 June 2023
    Independence Day in Highland County in 1863 
    If you haven’t checked your calendars, the Fourth is on a Tuesday this year, so the annual Festival of the Bells in Hillsboro will be held July 6-8. While you’re enjoying the festival, be sure to check out Pioneer Day, sponsored by the Highland County Historical Society, at the Scott House on Saturday, July 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You’ll be glad you did. 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 23 May 2023
    Our sweet, spunky Dailey 
    Ladies and gentlemen, a famous doctor once wrote, “How did it get so late so soon?” I didn’t expect to pen this one this year, or the next, or the next. Certainly not today. But here we are.  
  • Opinions Steve Roush 10 May 2023
    History and education in those Highland County hills of yore, Part 10 
    Ladies and gentlemen, more than 162 years ago, the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews, a pioneer of education in Highland County in the 1800s, announced he was resigning as president of the Hillsborough Female College in December of 1860. 
  • Opinions Steve Roush 3 May 2023
    History and education in those Highland County hills of yore, Part 9 
    Ladies and gentlemen, after operating the Oakland Female Seminary in Hillsboro from 1839 until 1856, the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews, a pioneer of education in Highland County in the 1800s, was appointed president of the new Hillsborough Female College that was constructed between West Main and West Walnut at Oak Street.  
Subscribe to Steve