Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a common tree in our area, normally found growing in low areas where the soil is moist, such as near streams or drains. The name comes from the taste of its hardened sap that bleeds from wounds on the trunk.

The tree is easy to identify, with leaves distinctly star-shaped and with a small-toothed edge. The bark is gray and furrowed with flat ridges that form a diamond pattern. The twigs are showy in the winter with corky wing-like protrusions. The fruit is a spiny ping pong sized ball that hangs on well into winter.

When a man and wife have a disagreement and the man fares less well than his spouse, it is sometimes comically said that the husband “is in the doghouse”. I once unexpectedly found myself in the cat house, though it certainly had nothing to do with my wife.

So far, you might think I was in a somewhat disreputable place, and I admit I both gave and received a lot of loving that afternoon. Gentle reader, don’t get excited! Though confession is good for the soul, I’m a little too vain to tell on myself in writing.

There is really something to be said for the instruction, “Do it yourself.” It’s the best way to learn, and it’s the best way to excel at whatever you do. This is the title of the cook book Evelyn Monroe Johnson wrote for her family–her children and grandchildren. Evelyn was employed many years at the Registration Office of The University of Tennessee; but, like many of the rest of us, learned that if you will cook, “they” will come. Eventually, I’m sure she got so many requests for recipes and how to do this or that it was just easier to sit down and write them a book.

Why write about screws and nails, you ask? Why not? They are a necessary part of life. I remember growing up during the Great Depression and during WW ll when good ones were hard to find.

Let's look back at screws, first. Phillips screws were unheard of. If they were around, we never saw any. All we had were the slotted ones and it seemed we seldom had new ones. A box full of assorted screws, nails and small fittings was a joy to sort through.

Oleomargarine. My, that is a long word. We call it margarine, nowadays. Back before WW ll, we called it oleo. You will find that name in old cook books.

I think most everybody likes pineapple. There's Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Pineapple Casserole and last but not least, Pineapple Pie. I like pineapple any way you fix it. Of course, fresh pineapple is the best, but that is only available part of the year.

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

Above is the beginning line of the 1914 poem by Joyce Kilmer about trees. Those of you following these articles about "rightly dividing the word of truth", might ask: What in the world could a poem about trees have to do with interpreting the Bible. Well the short answer is, EVERYTHING!

Two Union County self-storage facilities have a new owner, Jay Gulledge, and he’s delighted to be doing business in Union County.

“I’ve found that the people here in Union County are responsible, hard-working, nice people,” he said. “It’s rewarding to serve a population that is mostly hard-working folks that are doing their best to take care of their families every day. Union County is a friendly, straightforward place do to business.”

In just a little more than a month, years of volunteer work and planning will bear fruit as the Sharps Chapel Book Station opens in its new location, the restored Historic Oak Grove School at 412 Oak Grove Road, Sharps Chapel. The school has been painstakingly restored by Preservation Union County volunteers. The book station will move into half the space, with the remaining space available for event rental through the Union County Mayor's Office.

Not too long ago, I was honored to get to serve as hostess at the first Big Ridge Park Welcome Center. Many people stopped in during the Big Ridge Park Annual Blue Grass Festival. Some people stopped in just to see inside the building or to talk Union County history. One of the things I learned, or was reminded of, is that this little building was the first building in Union County to have electric lights switched on as a result of establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the construction of Norris Dam. I did say “lights”–the building has two overhead lights.