“Shaconage—Place of the Blue Smoke—the Cherokees called it, the long range of forested pinnacles and plunging valleys crowning the boundary between North Carolina and Tennessee. Eden was the description bestowed by early botanists on this virgin wilderness. But thickets of intertwined laurel and tough rhododendron were known to hunters and settlers as hells.”
Very few writers have captured the essence of the Great Smoky Mountains as accurately as these words written by Wilma Dykeman in her book Explorations, published in 1984.

“Guess what I just did,” my husband Tim asked as he bounded into the kitchen. As my Mamaw Jo would say: “He’s smilin’ from ear to ear.” It was obvious that he was happy about something.
But I went with what would make me happy: “You bought a large box of chocolates?” Hey, a girl can dream.

I went with my nephew to Subway for lunch yesterday. Subways have a distinctive smell that gets into my nostrils while I eat and seems to stay with me the rest of the day. I have been told this is the smell of the yeast in the bread.

A can of salmon on your pantry shelf is always a good beginning for a tasty meal. Drain salmon. Remove skin and bones. Flake salmon with a fork. Add softened cream cheese, lemon juice, onion, salt and liquid smoke. Stir well. chill mixture, covered, several hours or overnight. Then shape salmon mixture into a log. Combine pecans and parsley. Stir well. Roll salmon log in pecan mixture. Place on serving plate and chill for several hours. Makes a 10 inch log. Serve with assorted crackers.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap Historical Park

Summer tends to up activity levels with most folks, such as hiking or working in a garden. Sometimes these activities lead to a blister, which is your body's way of telling you to ease off on what you're doing. They are of course the result of too much friction, possibly from poor-fitting shoes or not wearing work gloves. There are several opinions on how to treat them.

If you weren’t able to attend Sharps Chapel’s Fall Festival last September with the rest of the 3,000 visitors, rest assured that fun plans are already in the making for Saturday, September 28. We interviewed the festival’s co-presidents, Kelly Clarke and Miranda Sharp.

What can the community expect to see this year?

On June 29, the Joggin' for Jaelyn for MADD 5K will be held at Wilson Park in Maynardville. This annual event honors the memory of Jaelyn Collins and critically injured Ashton Bailey, two young women tragically struck by a drunk and distracted driver on June 27, 2021. The purpose of this 5K is to bring awareness to the devastating consequences of drunk and distracted driving. All proceeds from the event will go to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to support their efforts in awareness and prevention.

It was a brilliant day. The sun was shining, the wind gently blowing the flags. Darrell White, Commander of the Union County American Legion New Liberty Post 212, opened this year’s somber Memorial Day Ceremony with a list of names of local veterans who passed on this year and last: William Acuff, US Army; Darrell Ailor, US Marine Corps; Jim Collins, US Army; Jack Myers, US Army; Lloyd Railey, US Army; Hershell Sharp, US Air Force; Junior Smith, US Army; Bob White, US Army; Ivon White, US Marine Corps; and my former neighbor Marshal Wolfenbarger, US Army.

Budget concerns plagued the Union County Board of Education during most of the spring meetings from March through May. But after many discussions in workshops and meetings the board approved a budget for FY 25 with no tax increase in a special called meeting on May 22.

Sidney Jessee Jr. presided over the May Union County Commission meeting because Mayor Bailey was on vacation. The meeting got a late start due to the lengthy budget committee meeting. The budget committee approved and recommended all budgets to the commission except the County FY25 General Fund 101. A vote to recommend Fund 101 failed 2 to 6 with Chairperson Cheryl Walker and Commissioner Gerald Simmons supplying the only affirmative votes.