The date is Monday, March 16, 2020. As I write this article, the county, state, nation and world is in a state of unrest due to Coronavirus. Today the U. S. Stock Market took its sharpest dive since 1987, when Ronald Reagan was president. Amazing to me, especially as it was just a few days ago that it showed a dramatic one day increase! This is just evidence of how fast things change in an uncertain and fearful world.

I have a love/hate relationship with plants. Don’t get me wrong, I love plants, flowers, trees, and bushes. Flora beautifies the earth all seasons of the year.

When my dad was stationed in Germany for two years, we always made a trip to the Netherlands in the spring. We visited fields of tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils. They were absolutely gorgeous. When we returned to the states and Dad retired, he had multiple orders of bulbs waiting for him in Utah.

I first sampled this treat at a party long ago. Mozzarella cheese doesn't have a whole lot of flavor unless you gussy it up. This recipe does. Add it to your hors d'oeurves tray for your next get-together. Even if you don't use sun-dried tomatoes very often, they will keep in your fridge for quite a while. They are great in pasta or potato salads.

In years past, buying refrigerated shredded potatoes would have been an unacceptable luxury for this cash-strapped housewife. I don't even think they were available back in the day. Heck, refrigerators were still in the “gosh, what a luxury” category. Frozen french fries were unheard of and who would consider buying individual baking potatoes? My, how times have changed. You might already have a favorite hashbrown recipe, but if you don't, here is mine.

Uniquely Union host Dr. Ronnie Mincey interviews Commissioner Danny Cooke.

Horace Maynard Middle School (HMMS) received a grant of $2,500 from the Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated for a STEM (science, technology, education, and math) education project.

Maynardville is a community that is strong in pulling together its resources for the overall benefit of one another. Children come first and most anyone will reach out to help when there is a child in need.

Throughout the county, there are clothes closets, backpack programs, food pantries and so many more resources for the times when they are needed. Many students rely on these alternative assets as their supply source for the month.

As we all probably know, Union County, and the rest of Appalachia for that matter, has a long history with moonshining. In fact, Maynardville's own main street and Highway 33 is called Thunder Road in recognition of its bootlegging past- the moonshine "pipeline" between Middlesboro and Knoxville. I was born on Thunder Road in the back of my grandfather's car, but that's another story. If we look back at our history, even to colonial times and the earliest habitation by European settlers, distilled spirits have been produced by mountain people, both legal and illicit.

I knew better than to try it, but I did anyway. My husband Tim even said, “I knew you should’ve stayed outside.”

Where in the world were we? Standing inside the Saint Augustine lighthouse.

We were on their ghost tour. As you all know, I don’t go on ghost tours to see ghosts. I go because I love stories and history. And with Saint Augustine being the oldest European settlement in North America, it is full of rich and even tragic stories.

I still have the first dictionary I ever owned. Ms. Wanza Sharp gave it to me in fourth grade. It was missing both front and back covers, and the first and last few pages were missing. I still have it safely tucked away in my home library archives. The dictionary is precious because it was one of the first books I ever owned, and Ms. Wanza, one of my all-time heroes both in and out of the classroom, gave it to me. Also, I spent many a day playing school with that wonderful volume.