Tyna Writes For The Bedford Gazette

10/13/2025

So much going on at the Bedford Fall Foliage Festival that’s now in the books of history. Did you get gobs? These women from Bedford’s Professional Women in Business said they sold at least 1500 in one “slower” day! There were also the plates going around of a towering “cactus” of potato chip ringlets! There were all kinds of food, one-of-kind crafts, music & of course, much more—lots of out-of-towners, & old familiar faces! What did you think of this year’s event? Favorite food? Special purchase? Exceptional experience? Fun memory?

10/06/2025

Everything from costumed rockers to whimsical quirky turkeys showed up at the 61st annual Bedford Fall Foliage Festival weekend. How did things go? What were the weekend hits? What’s up for next weekend for Round Two? I interviewed organizers & participants post-weekend #1 to get the scoop. Read all about it in print & online this week. We’re all seasoned professionals around here —we all know what’s coming next weekend! Family, friends, fellowship, food, & fun….with thousands of people lined up to be entertained, and to shop unique vendors, merchants & establishments. Bring it on, baby! Let’s rock it out! 💃🕺

09/16/2025

We “met at the pavilion Tuesday on a perfect autumn day. Leaves fell through the air like the hand gestures of an orchestra’s conductor, and acorns bounced off the picnic tables situated outside of the memorial grove at the park. The American flag flew atop the dedication plaque as the group explained how the park came to be and what its relevance to the community is now.”
Do you have memories of time spent at Egolf Park? Would you like to make new ones there with your family & friends? Are you aware of the fascinating trail of history of how, what, when, & where the park began? Read all about it in print & online this week in the Bedford Gazette, & then head out to the “Park For The People.”

09/12/2025

Noah Beidle, a local tenor, sang last Sunday to a teary-eyed congregation at the downtown Bedford Presbyterian Church, according to Penny McIntyre, the director of musical group In Tune. Noah has been added to the Music with Meaning concert to be held there on September 28th at 3 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the church’s handicapped-accessibility projects that are currently underway. Listen now to Noah’s emotional performance, & this weekend, read the whole story in print & online in the Gazette.

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08/28/2025

There are a few words in the English language that we need only to speak to convey all the senses at once: toast, quilts, copper kettles, a spot of tea. I had a little of all of the above this lovely morning.
I got a text today from a local Bedford resident & friend that does beautiful quilting work. I follow her on Instagram & marvel at her intricate work. Our story goes way back to 2017 & is one for another day. It too involves long chats & freshly-baked bread. 😎
She does “real” quilting unlike what my Granny & I sewed together. We made comforters but she called them “quilts.” They were part of the Appalachian culture where buttons were salvaged off of old clothes, shirts were cut up into squares to save the fabric, & absolutely nothing was ever wasted. There wouldn’t have been time, space or equipment for quilting on her old homestead, but comforters could use up all those extra fabric bits to keep family (in the house with no indoor water or heat) warm in the winter.
Now I don’t mean to say we sewed together. My grandfather would cut the desired size square out of rough sandpaper to help me hold the fabric as I cut the pieces & stacked them for my grandmother to stitch into larger squares. It was often my job too, to tie the squares in the center with a tuft of yarn. She did the rest.
My Granny had the patience of a saint, but she’d often tell me that the Good Lord would never ask why I wasn’t a ballerina or a seamstress because He already knew the kind of cloth from which I was cut. 😎 She was also an excellent cook—-the best I’ve ever known—she gardened & she was a writer. Those apples fell to my little orchard, thankfully, since I still can’t dance or sew but I can hold my own in the kitchen, grow stuff to eat, & I can write.
The Bedford Gazette is publishing a year-long series on Americana to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. Doesn’t get more Americana than quilts, kettles, & a loaf of crunchy bread with butter.
Look for the next Americana story this week & read all about it—in print & online. You won’t want to miss a thing.

08/21/2025

I’m working on a “hard news” story that’s not easy. We must write about government & politics & all that entails. Sure, I’d rather write about prize produce, or newly published books, or stories about cool people & places. But then there’s the other kind of news that’s bittersweet to write about too—-the many non-profit groups who fundraise to support crucial causes within the county—domestic violence, breast cancer, pets in need, community clean-up, a vast array of worthy projects. These groups carry heavy loads to lighten the need that’s all around us. Everything, everywhere all at once—stories that deserve to be shared. There’s joy in the telling, and there’s hope in the outcome. I write about town’s happy things even when I’m sad or mad or tired. And you show up too when you’d rather not, & we all give back in whatever way we can—even if it’s a simple kind word, a smiling face on a gloomy day, or a high-five on our walks of life. Everything makes a difference.

08/16/2025

This is a really good example why as a writer I’m not worried about AI yet. I’ve often wished I had an extra set of hands or a third arm & now I know how that would look. 😂 AI can say they know what smoldering burnt wood smells like or describe a high school marching band practicing in my neighborhood ahead of games scheduled, but they can’t sit outside on a summer morning & hear the drums & horns & an occasional sour note. AI can tell us how the moon shimmers when one is out making wishes on stars, but it’ll never have the experience of that glimmer on their summer skin. AI can replicate the sound of a baby’s cry but will never hold those tiny toes in their “hands” even if there’s three of them. 😎 Whimsical writers are safe—they know the difference in textures of satins & suedes & stingers & splinters in ways AI can never know. To feel the emotion of sitting with a dying friend, or the anguish of losing a beloved pet, or the thrill of the way a car ride with the windows down takes your breath away & blows the skin of your jaws into blubbery angles. How could they know the eager anticipation of a child the night before the new school year begins? On second thought, three arms & hands might be a bother, although when I had twins I would have appreciated this more. Human nature though—if I had three, I’d wonder if four would work or if five would be better. Let me go ask AI how octopus creatures feel about this. Oh, that’s right—they can’t. Yet anyway. In the meantime, Tyna—flawed, faulty, occasionally fabulous and sometimes frazzled writes for The Bedford Gazette. Follow along with me in print & online, & here, of course.

08/14/2025

According to this survey I made up & that never happened, The Bedford Gazette has come up with a community-wide cure for Mubble-Fubbles, or MF. Pick up a paper copy or subscribe to the online newspaper version & watch the enlightenment & excitement return to your life. 😎 You can sit in the morning before you start your day, ☕️ catch up a little at lunchtime, & go over the news in the cool of the evening at your own pace. You can read all about it—the people, places, parties, plans, the perpetrators, the personalities, the petunia-bed plannings, pets, political positions, the posturing, the programs, & the projects. There’s puzzles & photos & points of view. There’s a proven path for the past, present & future of Bedford—join in! Just say no to MF & say yes to your small-town with a mighty mission daily newspaper. 📰

08/05/2025

What does a funeral home, a French & Indian War plaque, a Rotary Club, & birdwatchers have in common? They’re all in Slippery Rock, PA. I’ve been on a 2-day road trip there representing Bedford & The Bedford Gazette after being invited to speak at the town’s Rotary Club. What a wonderful experience to visit their town, to share about our town, & to talk about writing for a small town newspaper. It was an uplifting privilege & honor to be invited, to be treated with such kindness & with such a warm welcome. You’re going to want to read all about this trip in print or online! A definite “All In: Americana 250” story in layers of ways! My heartfelt thanks to the Slippery Rock Rotary Club & to Brad Smith for being awesome in every way! And thanks to the Gazette for making the trip possible! I was a Bedford ambassador today!

08/03/2025

Bedford blooms! A simple walk through town provides a greeting of gorgeous flowers! 🌺 Celebrate the summer season! 🌼 Add your own flower photos in the comments!

07/31/2025

The Bedford Gazette debuts their new year-long series “All In: Americana 250” today as we celebrate the birthday of the United States. We’ll be covering historical people, places, & projects in Bedford from over the years, with familiar stories shared in new ways. We’ll write catchy, colorful & contained articles that aren’t the dry & stuffy entries in an old Encyclopedia—what we have planned will enlighten & entertain while we reflect on the extraordinary journey of our county & country. Think picnics & ice cream socials, produce & parades, quills & quilts, historical houses, cemeteries of patriots, the valor of veterans, museums & monuments, civic groups & gatherings. Contact us with feature ideas, stories to tell, old photographs & letters. Read our first story on early foods & cooking in America in print & online Saturday. Get your subscriptions ready for an epic year of birthday celebration stories! Black & white & read all over!

07/30/2025

When twin friends Phillip & David from Australia come to Bedford on their way to Twinsburg, Ohio & they stop in town for a quick cuppa coffee after hanging out with me for awhile. And they see The Bedford Gazette there & they see my story & the Peppercorn Market ad further in, & they send me photos of the whole thing…there’s pride in our small town newspaper, & smiles all around. And then the other twin says, “But don’t you want to write for the New York Times?” And I say, “Why would I want to do that? Tyna writes for the Bedford Gazette.” 😎🙋‍♀️🥰