My Dog Buster

We had a dog named Buster. He was a beautiful dog of questionable breed, but we loved him. Isn’t that the way it usually is? I remember him well. He didn’t start out being my dog. When Patty and Don Irwin moved in our middle house, Patty got a puppy and named him Buster. He was supposed to be a little dog, not the monster he grew into. Again, isn’t that the way it usually is?

Reminders of What Once Was at a Place Called Mossy Springs

On the last day of May in 2015, as a gentle off and on rain fell upon the tin roof of an open air shelter, a window into times past opened at a place called Mossy Springs. While seated in the picturesque setting, overlooking the clearing near the spring from which the sacred place takes its name, time seemed to come to halt and at times flow backwards-to the time before “the move”- to the time before the “water came up”.

Hush Puppies

It has been said that the name for this favorite food of mine came about when some fishermen, surrounded by their hungry dogs, told them to wait. “Hush you puppies. We will have something for you in a little while.” They supposedly fried up some cornmeal in the grease the fish has been fried in and fed it to the dogs. Makes a good story.

Snake Folklore

Snakes have fascinated and frightened people for centuries, which has led to some pretty interesting stories about some of them. I did some research on some sayings about snakes I heard as a kid to see how they held up under scientific scrutiny and animal behavior. Here’s a rundown of what I found.

Martin Luther Miller Historical Society to meet here July 21 - 22

The formal name of the Martin Reunion is Martin Luther Miller Historical Society, which is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. The program consists of an evening meeting that convenes at 6 pm at the Golden Corral Buffet on Clinton Highway at Knoxville. The Saturday, July 21, 2018 annual meeting and luncheon takes place at the Sharps Chapel Senior Center beginning at 11 am. Local attendees are asked to bring a covered dish. Plates, cups, napkins, flatware and drinks will be provided.

4-H Shows Beef and Sheep

4-H is a Learn By Doing club, and there are many 4-Hers doing just that over the summer. Proudly, Union County kicked off the beef and sheep showing season at the County and Region Beef and Sheep Expo on June 25th with great participation. The shows were held at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, June 25-27. Several beef classes were shown including weigh steers, commercial heifers, and registered heifers. For sheep there were registered and commercial ewes and market lambs. There were contests such as skillathons and county-group-of five.

Thank You for Your Sacrifice

The Fourth of July, 2018 is less than approximately twenty-six hours away as I write this article. It is fitting at this time to reflect on the sacrifices of innumerable veterans and active military that have provided me the freedom to write and you to read these words.
Servicemen and women embody a type of love, the fifth of five endangered characteristics of true character suggested by Bill Hybels in his book Who You Are When No One’s Looking: Choosing Consistency, Resisting Compromise. The previous two weeks have focused on tender and tough love in lives of compassionate and hardhearted people. This week I share with you a third type of love, sacrificial love.

Diapers

In looking through the Wednesday grocery ads. I came across one for diapers. “So what!” you probably will say. Let me tell you what. Without the store coupon, the price was $24.99 for a super pack.

Ensuring Public Safety and Paving the Way for Economic Development in Union County

The Union County Legislative body meeting in regular session at Maynardville, Tennessee, on the 11th Day of June, 2018, adopted a resolution drafted and presented by 1st District Commissioner Stan Dail “Ensuring Public Safety and Paving the Way for Economic Development in Union County.”