Their family is our family: 33 Diner turns 33

On August 5, 1989, my absolute favorite eatery in the world came into existence. A quick Google search will tell you that the 33 Diner, 3024 Maynardville Highway, Maynardville, Tennessee, is rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and is ranked number two of 14 restaurants in Maynardville.
One review states: “Great food. Love down home casual approach. Nice portions, home cooked goodness. You will leave happy.”
I totally agree with this review. 33 Diner is definitely a happy place for me. If you leave the 33 Diner still hungry, it will be your own fault.

Sweet Treats by Emily whips up a Buttercup

Cooke standing outside of her new storefront on opening day!

As Emily Cooke walked into her storefront for the first time she was overjoyed as she had been waiting for this day for over a year. She was excited to fill the Buttercup Bakery with the sweet smells of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and pies.
“Opening day was very surreal and like a dream come true,” said Cooke. “The anticipation for the first couple of customers to walk through the door was so great! I could barely sleep more than an hour the night before the grand opening.”

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…for Corn

August, an exciting time for all. Back-to-school shopping is well underway and school buses are not the only yellow thing on the community’s mind as the annual Youth and Corn Festival is right around the corner.
On August 6 from 10 o’clock to 1 o’clock, families can swing by the farmer’s market for a special treat. Everything from, farmer’s market vendors, a cooking demonstration, fair entries and history of corn exhibits there is a little bit for everyone.

The farmer's market welcomes a plentiful summer harvest

As friends, family, and neighbors joined together to enjoy a summer harvest, the new farmer’s market pavilion was truly a place “Where Our Community Meets.”
The previously held Summer Harvest Dinner was the first farm-to-table dinner hosted by the Union County Farmer’s Market, but certainly not the last.

Excitement at the UC Opry

Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers (Photo used by permission)

Internationally known and award-winning Bluegrass group Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers are heading to Union County. The group will perform for the Union County Opry August 20 at Patriot Auditorium in Union County High School.
Named Entertainers of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) in 2019, Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers have consistently delivered chart-topping radio hits and energetic performances for nearly 15 years.

Plainview seats aldermen

Alderman Josh Collins receives the oath of office from Mayor Gary Chandler of Plainview.

Mayor Gary Chandler administered the oath of office and seated two aldermen at the Plainview Board of Aldermen meeting in July. Josh Collins and Richard Phillips were re-elected to four-year terms. Collins is the owner of Collins Insurance and Phillips is retired and serves as the vice mayor of Plainview.
During the business session, the board approved the purchase of a new 90 hp John Deere Tractor with four wheel drive, an air conditioned cab, and a five-foot side mowing deck. The new tractor will make mowing the roadsides much easier according to Phillips.

LUC class explores local businesses, mine on Industry Day

Leadership Union County on Industry Day: Marilyn Toppins, wife of President Wayne Toppins, class members Rebecca Lock, Sheila Varner and Jody Smith, past LUC graduate Gail Corum, and LUC Board Member Robbie Corum. Class member Donna Riddle could not attend. Photo by Wayne Toppins

The Leadership Union County Class of 2022 enjoyed Industry Day on July 21. The day began with coffee and a quick breakfast at the Union County Museum. From the museum, facilitators Robbie and Gail Corum chauffeured the group to Clayton Homes in Maynardville. Bill Monroe and other Clayton employees summarized the history of manufactured home building and then provided a tour of the completely climate-controlled manufacturing facility.

BOE meets new HMMS Principal

Dr. Jimmy Carter, Union County Director of Schools, introduced Dr. Tobi Kilgore as the new HMMS Principal at the July Board of Education meeting. Kilgore related that he has a wide array of experience in administration at the middle and high school level in Knox County.

Practitioners: Education and Licensure

Chiropractic colleges accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) offer Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree programs. (CCE is the agency certified by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit chiropractic colleges in the United States.) Admission to a chiropractic college requires a minimum of 90 semester hour credits of undergraduate study, mostly in the sciences.

Inaugural TN Smart Yard Gardening series offered in Union County

Photo by Shannon DeWitt

A daylilly in bloom by Shannon DeWitt

UT Extension Union County will be offering a series of gardening workshops in August and September on Wednesday mornings in Maynardville.
Topics will include planning, soils, mulch, water efficiency, fertilizers, pests, reducing waste, pollinators, reducing pollutants and wildlife. The curriculum will come from the Tennessee Yard Smart program.

Fruits of the summer

The Union County Farmers Market is in full swing and celebrating the fruits of the summer. Fruit is seasonal and best eaten when it is freshly harvested, not shipped hundreds or thousands of miles. Join us at the market as we gather and bring people together to celebrate our harvests and our community.
Our market has been blessed this year as we saw strawberries and rhubarb earlier in the season, but now the fruits of the summer have arrived!

It's fair time in Tennessee

Fair season is upon us so make sure your 4-H members are getting their entries registered and submitted!
The Union County Farmers Market Annual Youth and Corn Festival will be returning to the Farmers Market Pavilion Saturday, August 6.
UT Extension is sponsoring the fair entries this year and they are open to all youth in grades K-12. It’s time to show off our youths’ accomplishments!
Did your child garden this year? Raise laying hens? Do they do needlework? Perhaps they like to cook? There are fair entries that cover all these areas.

Heritage festival call for quilts

The 18th Union County Heritage Festival encourages all area quilters to enter the Union County Heritage Festival Quilt Show on October 1 at the Union County Museum and is sponsored by the Union County Historical Society.
Intricately crafted ribbons are given in a variety of categories. A special recognition is awarded for the Best Heritage Quilt, the quilt that best exemplifies the festival theme or the general heritage of Union County. The 2022 theme is “Follow your Heart” and is a tribute to Carl Smith and the many love songs he recorded.

The lost crows revisited

By James and Ellen Perry
While sitting on my porch this late July afternoon I’ve noticed that the daylight hours have shortened by 23 minutes since late June.
The days getting shorter means we are slowly moving toward fall and then winter. Although the daylight hours are changing, our hottest and driest month is usually August.

Fast Food Christianity

Being a natural-born card-carrying smart aleck, I simply love one-liners, especially catchphrases. Catchphrases are the basis for most advertising and the purpose is to quickly grab our attention.
The best one-liners stick in people’s minds and when heard we will associate the phrase with a particular product, brand or even an idea. The end goal of branding is to create consumer loyalty to a particular product or concept.

The Forest Primeval

Most people envision that when Europeans first came to America there was a vast, unbroken expanse of trees stretching from the coast to the western plains. This is our vision of a wilderness, forests untouched and unchanging. Research however indicates that the history of our forests has been one of constant change

Life before electricity

Some believe that internet access is a necessity of life. Especially since the pandemic, the internet was used for kids’ education and many people worked from home by using the internet.
Some day when our kids are grown up, they will not believe or understand how we could have possibly lived without the internet.
Just less than a hundred years ago people lived without electricity. Just like the internet, some people felt like they didn’t need electricity and would live without.

Whomp!

Do you ever consider things about yourself? For instance, I have always considered myself to be creative and funny. I like to think I am correct about the both of them. But there was one thing that I had wrong about myself. I thought I had strong upper arms. I was wrong.
Not too long after Tim and I were married, we bought a ceiling fan for our bedroom. I agreed to help him install it.
No big deal, right?

Vote on August 4

August 4 is Election Day in Union County. Polls will be open from 9:00AM to 8:00PM. Anyone in line by 8:00PM will get to vote. This election has candidates in the Democrat and Republican Primary for the US Congress, Governor, Tennessee House of Representatives, and State Executive Committee Men and Women of the Democrat or Republican Party. The General Election Ballot will cover candidates in the 8th Judicial District, County Offices and local District Offices. The last part of the ballot is a vote on retaining judges for the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Appelate Court.

Pages