Several years ago a memoir writing class was offered at the Senior Citizen Center at Halls Crossroads. I had been trying to write about my past and needed someone to critique my efforts. I figured this would be a good place to start. I had no idea how much it would help. The classes met the first and third Tuesday of the month. Bob Farmer was the moderator. They ended when the class reduced in size because of deaths, relocations and other interests.

Today is January 8, 2018. The first week of the New Year has ended, and the second has begun with a small icing that has closed schools throughout East Tennessee and caused several wrecks. The New Year began with a week of bone chilling cold felt throughout most of the United States, particularly in the East and South.
I began my New Year with some reading. One thing I found was a reference to the location of beds in homes. This caused me to do some pondering and reminiscing.

Have you ever heard of Scorched Gravy? It doesn't sound like much, but it's tasty. I fix it now, even when there are meat drippings for flavor. Scorched Gravy is another recipe from my childhood. Mother made it often during the Great Depression. We always had potatoes to build a meal around. Meat was another thing. With no refrigeration, fresh meat was a delicacy, not often on our table. Potatoes and gravy were.

This is the third article in a series, about rightly dividing the word of truth. We are following Jesus’ own example, in which He begins at Moses…, to expound all the scriptures concerning himself. Last time, we began looking into one of the reasons why Moses is the important place to start if we want to “rightly divide the word of truth.” Bible scriptures show that Moses is synonymous with the Law, (i.e. the Ten Commandments). Further examination of God’s Law illustrates that the Ten Commandments are more than just rules, but, in fact, are the basis for God’s Covenant with mankind.

Year One, Week One A Short Introduction It is true that when God closes one door another opens. If you are reading this article, you are seeing evidence.
I was privileged for three years to write a weekly article for the Union County Shopper. That paper’s last issue was on April 26, 2017.

Happy New Year! New Year’s Day is a day of new beginnings and reflections on the past year. We, at Historic Union County, would like to take this time to thank all of our contributors, advertisers, and readers. We have enjoyed sharing all of the good Union County had to offer in 2017 and we look forward to continuing to provide the stories that make Union County great in the new year!

A brand new year is upon us; a blank slate fresh with no mistakes (yet). For many people, New Year’s Day is a time for resolutions, turning over new leaves, numerous weight loss and exercise commercials, etc. The new year is also a time to analyze the previous year to decide what can be improved upon, forgotten about or remembered. While many take a look at his/her future year, it is also a great opportunity to propose some New Year’s resolutions for the media, Hollywood, and the NFL through the lenses of improving, forgetting or remembering.

Every Thursday, a cross-denominational group of Union County church leaders meet in Bible study and prayer. Their titles are Pastor, Reverend, Father, and Brother, but all have one thing in common: an abiding love for Union County and a desire to share God's word.

They meet privately for three weeks of the month, and the last Thursday they take their meeting to Hardee's in Maynardville, and they're always ready to accept more church leaders, whether they're pastors, music ministers, lay ministers, youth pastors or any other calling, into their group.

Since 2009, the Union County Lions Club has sponsored and conducted eye screenings for Head Start children. Usually with this testing, four or five children will be identified to have vision problems–problems that are not found in your pediatrician’s office testing. If these problems are identified and treated before the child is six years old, 70 percent of blindness can be prevented. Although Union County Lions Club is still a young club, several projects have been completed. Just before school began, Pre-Kindergarten children were tested.

Here it is New Year's Eve. I have experienced a lot of them. The earliest ones I remember were during World War ll. Being a teenager during wartime was no fun. Celebrations had changed, were cut back or eliminated. My folks tried to keep some in place to give us a normal home life. Dad, in his forties, hadn't been drafted since he worked in a defense plant. Our family was intact, but not much else was.