Here is a different way to prepare sweet potatoes. Cook and serve vanilla pudding mix is the mystery ingredient. Just add the dry mix to the hot mashed sweet potatoes. Top with the marshmallows. Your family will think this is the usual sweet potato casserole. That is until they take their first bite. Surprise 'em. Try it.

I’ve commented before that mountain people tend to hang onto old traditions, many deeply rooted in European (especially Scots-Irish), African, and even Native American ancestry. With the Halloween season approaching I thought I’d cover some paranormal-ish superstitions that I learned through my family or heard locally. I’m betting you’ve heard at least one or two yourself.

Trunk or treat comes to Union County this Halloween! For many of us living in rural areas, the neighborhood trick or treating shown in movies isn’t an option. We lack the neighbors, the sidewalks, and sometimes even paved streets. So... what is there to do on a crisp Halloween night when there’s no cookie cutter neighborhoods in sight, but the little ones are all dressed up and ready for a fright? Head to the Union County Farmer’s Market Pavillion for a trunk or treat!

On October 13th, Covey at Hinds Creek Hunting Preserve officially opened to the public. After a slight delay pushed them back a couple weeks, causing them to miss the opening of hunting season by a few days, their grand opening was officiated with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. The Covey at Hinds Creek Hunting Preserve is a family run 15-acre hunting field for upland birds, located in Maynardville on a 90-acre plot of land that has been in the Langley family since 1931.

Southern Appalachia has long been known for a culture that is ingrained with music that invokes heart-felt longing, love, and inspiration. There is perhaps no area of these great mountains and valleys more immersed in this musical heritage than Union County Tennessee.
Union County natives have always had a heart for music. Theirs is a heritage that has been passed down through the generations, and that legacy continues today.

On Friday, September 30, District Attorney General Jared Effler and staff, in partnership with the Children’s Centers of the 8th Judicial District, hosted the Seventh Annual Clays for Children Sporting Clays Tournament at Iron Mountain Sporting Clays in Kodak, Tennessee. The purpose of the 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. With 114 teams and 447 individual shooters participating, this year’s event was the largest to date.

The Union County Board of Education will be employing a new Director of Schools. A key part of this process is to provide everyone an opportunity to be heard. Dr. Tammy Grissom, Executive Director of the Tennessee School Boards Association, will lead a forum designed to determine views about the issues and challenges facing our school system and Director of Schools.

Have you ever had a close friend that was very different from you? I do and I have known her most of my life. So, how different are we? While she loves westerns, I love science fiction. Her dream was to go out west or to be in a real wagon train. Mine was to be on the bridge of the USS Enterprise or riding on a dinosaur with Holly in the “Land of the Lost.” Yep, that’s pretty different, but it worked.

Automatic dishwashers now do the work we used to do by hand. With some models you don’t even have to rinse the dishes. Everything comes out clean as a whistle. That’s not the way it used to be.
I remember as a small child growing up on that tenant farm during the Great Depression. I watched my mother do the dishes every day. Our old cook stove was kept hot all day from morning breakfast to evening dish washing. The stove’s reservoir held a good supply of hot water. There was also a pail of cold water, with a dipper, nearby as well.

I wonder where this recipe got its name? Calling it ham, rice and bean casserole doesn't have the charm that the name "Hopping John" has. It tastes good. That is all that matters.