Sitting on my front porch on this beautiful late April day with the shadows growing long, the temperature is at 80 degrees with a bluebird sky and white azaleas and dogwoods in bloom—life’s treasures given by the Creator.
My thoughts wander over to two very nice and gentle brothers that have deep roots from Union County to Knox County’s Corryton and Gibbs areas.

Sitting here and thinking about how some people start from humble beginnings and achieve great success in their path through life. I have found that most successful people come from rural parts of the country, grew up poor, but rich in family and friends.
The people that I have met who were successful were honest, straightforward in their dealings and had perseverance. They didn’t just give up at their first disappointment.

Tullis Brown sat in his rocking chair in his and Sarah Brown’s bedroom watching the flames in his fireplace on this February 13, Valentine’s Eve.
It was a cold, windy night with heavy snow coming down. Tullis was a proud man nearing 80 years of age who married the prettiest girl from Redbud Hollow almost sixty years ago. Her maiden name was Sarah Loudon who came from a good family: Her father owned a good farm and a blacksmith shop in Redbud Hollow.

Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born July 1, 1899, to a religious and gospel music family in Vila Rica, Georgia. At the age of 17 he moved to Chicago and attended the College of Composition and Arranging. This set him on his life’s course as a gospel singer and songwriter.
During his life, Thomas wrote 3,000 songs with 1,000 being gospel songs. Two songs you may remember are his 1932 song, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” and in 1937 he wrote “Peace in the Valley.”

Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry
It being a couple of weeks ’til Christmas in 1952, Daddy said on Saturday morning, “Boys (to the four of us boys) it’s time to go up on the hill and look for a Christmas tree.”

Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry
Sitting on the porch this mid-October afternoon the leaves turning to their glorious fall colors, the afternoon sun throwing dark shadows from the hickories, oaks, black gums and dogwoods in my yard brings back memories of this time of the year in the early 1950s.
The fall and winter wish book had arrived a few days earlier from Sears and Roebuck. We all took turns slowly looking through the wish book making mental notes as to what we would tell our mother and dad as to what we wanted to order for our winter clothing and footwear.

Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry
It’s early autumn now, nights getting cooler, days getting shorter with cool mornings and warm afternoons. Some trees are showing color and goldenrods are bright yellow with flowers.
Goldenrods are the last honey flow for the bees before winter sets in. The reptiles are searching for underground places to overwinter in. Black bears and groundhogs are hunting food to build fat reserves for their upcoming hibernation.

It’s a balmy afternoon with the temperatures hitting the 90s, but I’m comfortable on my porch as the afternoon shadows get long. The birds and squirrels are searching for their supper in my yard and trees.
While watching this late afternoon daily happenings I am hit with an old memory that almost ruins my afternoon reverie.
My thoughts go back to my earlier and more naïve life. As a younger man, I wanted to live my life on the ocean in a southern region.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
As I sit here on my porch in the late evening shadows, I am thinking of men’s necessities in life.
They are: at least one good dog, one good old pick-up truck during your life, an understanding wife who never complains and only thinks of you when you are away, bluebird sky days after a soft rain, a fish on the line every cast, grandchildren who sit on your lap and don’t squirm and are very quiet, a good baseball game on TV, a Sunday afternoon nap and sardines for a snack.
Also, a good barber who tells you jokes.

Dan was always the sergeant, fully in command with the rest of us boys his privates. This summer day we were fighting the Japanese on some Pacific Island.
We crawled, jumped over oak tree stumps, eased through briars and bushes on the Perry farm overlooking Norris Lake in 1954. We knew that our Sergeant Dan was about to have us attack the Japs, win another victory and march home later that day being patriotic soldiers in this boys’ army.