It was the summer of 1983. I had just graduated from Union County High School and was waiting to begin attending Lincoln Memorial University in the fall. I knew that I would be living on campus and that I would have a roommate. The college sent me his name, but nothing else. Of course I was somewhat apprehensive about having to live in such close quarters with a total stranger. My concern was greatly alleviated when my future roommate wrote me a letter more or less introducing himself to me. What a difference a letter can make!

By: Steve Roark
Volunteer Interpreter, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Spiders have been stereotyped as being dangerous and the natural tendency is to squash them before taking time to consider how beneficial and interesting they are. Their most unique talent is producing silk and spinning it into webs to catch prey.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and State Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins recognize Administrators of Elections from Clay, Union and Washington counties for recently passing the state Certification Exam for Administrators of Elections.

The newly certified election administrators are:

There are certain days from your childhood that you never forget. For me, it was a Saturday morning when I was five years old. Every ten minutes, I ran to the backdoor and stood on the top step. From there, I could see all the way down to the bridge that spanned Bull Run Creek.
What was I so anxious about? The piano my parents had bought was to be delivered that morning. My mother has always loved music and she knew of its importance, so she made sure we had one. For years, my parents made a payment on it every month.

On Friday, September 24, District Attorney General Jared Effler and staff, in partnership with the Children’s Centers of the 8th Judicial District, hosted the Sixth Annual Clays for Children Sporting Clays Tournament at Chilhowee Sportsman’s Club in Maryville. The purpose of this event was to raise money to support the children’s centers of the 8th Judicial District, comprised of Campbell, Claiborne, Fentress, Scott, and Union counties.

I prefer recipes for anything chocolate to be made with cocoa. I always have a box of cocoa on hand, chocolate not so much. This recipe makes 2 1/2 cups. Enough for the gang.

As Dena Oakes walked her children through a field of bright orange pumpkins in 1999, she realized that she may be able to put her own twist on a pumpkin patch.
Three generations of Oakes have made a living in the Corryton community, while operating two agribusiness endeavors . One being Oakes Pumpkin Patch and farm, one of the largest agritourism spots in our area. This destination is filled with a corn maze, pick your own pumpkin patch, an animal exhibit and much more.

Nominations are now open for Union County Business & Professional Association Man & Woman of 2021. Anyone in Union County may make a nomination. Nominees shall be residents of Union County or gainfully employed in Union County or a current member of UCBPA. Nominees may perform service as a result of their job or as volunteers and demonstrate good citizenship for others to emulate.

Heritage Festival happens every year the first Saturday of October. Great music, great food, learning about heritage skills, and the pride of supporting our local community are just a few of the reasons that this festival is such a treasure here in Union County. However, there is a lot happening leading up to festival weekend. UT Extension Union County holds a haybale decorating contest, pie baking contest, and judging of festival exhibits each year the week before the festival.

We made this trip with our good friends Mark and Leslie. They once lived in the area and agreed to be our travel guides. The two knew all the best out-of-the-way places we should see and made this a fantastic trip for me and Hubby.

I had never seen an episode of Leave It to Beaver until just a few years ago. One thing in the show that I found interesting was Wally’s use of the phrase, “Aw, you’re giving me the business” whenever someone said something that to him was unbelievable.
Now let’s turn our thoughts to the movie version of A Christmas Carol that featured George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. At one point, Scrooge tells the ghost of his seven-year deceased partner Jacob Marley that he was always a good man of business. “Business! Mankind was my business,” the ghost replied.

Fall coloration of trees in our area is always looked forward to. The presence of a large number of trees having brilliant fall foliage is more unusual than you think, as the only other places in the world with a similar abundance of foliage colorations are northern China, Korea, and Japan. A common question this time of year is: will the colors be good or not? The answer is meteorological.

When the Union County Heritage Festival (UCHF) committee announced the theme for the 2021 Heritage Festival to be "Take A Country Road," my mind immediately went to what a one might have seen as he or she traveled down a country road in Union County some fifty-plus years ago. For sure, one would have seen a tobacco patch, or 'bakker patch' as it might have been called back then.

When a five-year-old boy trotted through the patch of bright orange pumpkins, his future in agriculture was just beginning.
Jacob Heiskell, son of Jason Heiskell and a junior at Union County High School, can be found at his dad and grandfather James' service station, Heiskell’s, at the corner of Hwy. 33 and Heiskell Road in the heart of Maynardville, selling his pumpkins directly across from where they were planted.
What started out as Jacob helping his father grow pumpkins at the young age of five has now led to a young entrepreneur taking on the family tradition.

Big bags — hobos, totes, messengers, the names change over years — are always in style. They’re functional, too, because they can hold a lot of, well, stuff. But that’s precisely where the risk can come in. Slung over one shoulder, they can eventually cause neck and shoulder pain similar to the kind of problem chiropractors see in kids who carry ill-fitting heavy backpacks. Women — and men — carrying such bags are contorting their posture to counterbalance a heavy bag that is pulling on one side. This can wreak havoc with muscles and with the spine.

In August, four Union County 4-H members participated in Tennessee 4-H Congress: Rheagan Collins, Kaleb Hanna, Jacie Hawkins, Jeremiah Tindell and Jonathan Tindell. They served as a delegates and competitors at the 2021 Tennessee 4-H Congress in Nashville.
This will be the 74th anniversary of this event. Since its beginning in 1948, 4-H Congress has given some 32,400 4-H-ers and volunteer leaders firsthand experience in state government.

Kaleb Hanna of Union County was one of 83 4-H members recently recognized with the Vol State award at the University of Tennessee at Martin during State 4-H Roundup.
The Vol State award is the highest level of recognition a Tennessee 4-H member may achieve. The award is presented to high school juniors and seniors in recognition of excellence in all phases of 4-H work, as well as service and leadership rendered in their communities.

A frequent question I hear is “Can I use an electric multi-cooker, such as the Instant Pot®, for canning?” Well, the answer is simple. No. Why? Below are some of the reasons:

The state of Tennessee is the greatest place on earth. I have not lived anywhere else so I might be a little partial but most that live here, or visit will agree it’s a pretty great place.
Tennessee has a list of things that are symbolic to the state. One of the most recognizable symbols is our state flag. The flag has the iconic three stars that represents the three parts of the state that have their own qualities due to geographical and cultural differences. Those differences come together to make a state like no other.

I started school eighty-six years ago. I was four years old. We lived in a tenant house on the farm owner’s land. Dad earned forty dollars a month milking cows and working in the fields. The Great Depression was well under way. Farm work was the only job Dad could find. He had worked previously as a lineman, setting poles and stringing telephone wire. Most country people didn’t have phones until them.

With autumn comes the nostalgia of the apple harvest, a fruit whose history goes back a long way. Legend and art have made the Tree of Knowledge that led to the downfall of Adam and Eve an apple, but the Bible only refers to a fruit. What follows is more apple knowledge of this famous fruit than you probably care to know.
Apples were first brought to America from England in 1629 by Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop. The first apples probably came from the trees Winthrop planted in Boston, from which “ten fair pippins” (apples) were picked in 1639.

After helping my mother put up our humble, four-foot artificial Christmas for a few years, the responsibility was turned over to me. I’m not sure Mother was ever really fond of putting up a Christmas tree. I had an unspoken rule that the tree was to be put up two weeks before Christmas and taken down the day after.

It was 1972 and Bill Nickle was walking the steep mountainside of Hogskin Valley when he realized that his dream was becoming reality.
A dream born in the late 1960’s was starting to come to fruition as his vision of Narrow Ridge was laying before his eyes.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The annual Northeast Tennessee Beef Expo is scheduled for October 7 at the Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. A day of programs will educate beef producers on the latest research and practices.