By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Arlene Pankratz of Hillsboro has been writing country correspondence for 25 years.

When she began collecting Durham news for the Marion County Record and Hillsboro Star-Journal in 1985, she and her husband, Paul, owned and operated a farm six miles northwest of Durham. Their three children were still at home.

They moved to Hillsboro 16 years ago, and their son, Ken, took over the farm.

Pankratz said she assisted at the Hillsboro Star-Journal office every week, helping to get the paper in the mail. She also collected local news for the newspaper.

She had a long list of people to call but she said a lot of those people have died or moved away.

The 85-year-old woman stays active. She cleans the Durham Baptist Church and has a garden every year. She has done a lot of quilting for her family in the past and still spends time piecing quilts.

Pankratz said writing family news for Hillsboro Star-Journal is another way she stays busy.

“I will report it as long as people give it to me,” she said.

She welcomes calls from residents. Her phone number is (620) 947-2701.