Friends and neighbors gathered at Wilson Park in Union County TN, many driving their antique cars for the cruise in and the lighting of the Christmas tree. I drove my 1929 Ford replica and parked next to the Veterans Wall to be part of this event. The tree at the top of the hill stands approximately 20 feet tall and shaped nearly perfect. It is not just an ordinary tree, it is special, placed in that particular spot and folks gathered to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas holidays.

Students walking to and from Luttrell Elementary School will soon be a bit safer with a grant from Safe Routes to School.

The federally funded program, which promotes the health benefits of walking and biking to school, will fund the paving and lighting of an existing path that residents at Lafollette Housing Authority apartments in Luttrell use to get to school, Luttrell City Park, and Luttrell Library. The $98,000 grant includes funding for the path, along with an education component, including traffic safety classes for kids and educational materials.

As the rain rolled off the skylights and wind beat the window panes, Cruz Contreras and Sam Quinn of the Black Lillies tempered the crowd with the somber emotional sounds of “Whiskey Angel”. The enthusiastic audience whistled and clapped their appreciation at last Saturday night's house concert hosted by Knox Heritage at Westwood on Kingston Pike. The concert was one of many fundraisers to pay off the note for Westwood. Knox Heritage and the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance contributed various resources and materials to help restore Oak Grove School in Sharps Chapel.

Several people have called me after the stories about tattooing houses. One call was from Robert Lee “Bobby” Fields, whom I have not seen since school days and had not spoken with in over 60 years. It seems that Edgebert Lee and Melba Lovell had stopped by to see him and brought a copy of the Union County Shopper. Bobby and his wife now live at Strawberry Plains. Bobby retired from Bell South with 37 years of service.

Bread pudding is an old fashioned dessert. Back in the day you made do with what you had. Going to the grocers more than once a week was unheard of. Bread pudding was my first attempt at making a fancy dessert. It was at my second job. I made ten dollars a week plus room and board.

A very prominent educator suggested we use this slogan for www.HistoricUnionCounty.com, "Today's Events are Tomorrow's History”. We all know we can’t change history, but we can improve our future by knowing the successes and failures of our past. Our goal for www.HistoricUnionCounty.com is to promote businesses and bring jobs to our community.

The miracles found in snow stems back to when I was a little girl, about 6 or 7. The Christmas forecast was for sunny and warm temperatures, in the 60s, but I prayed for a white Christmas. I had the childlike faith that it would snow. My grandfather, Roscoe, was teasing me by saying, "It's not going to snow. It's going to be too warm." I replied, "Don't you believe in the Bible?

December 15 is the deadline for ACA 2018 health insurance enrollment. If you have health insurance for 2018, great! If not, you may want to check on ACA Marketplace Health Insurance for security and to avoid tax penalty. In 2015 Union County had a 18.8% uninsured rate among working age adults, much higher than the state average.

The winner of the Gip's Mill contest is Deana Rutherford. Deana you have won a $20 gift certificate to Gip's Mill Country Store and Deli. You can pick up your prize at the Union County Vendor Mall during their normal business hours located at 155-A Durham Drive Maynardville, TN. We hope you enjoy your time at Gip's Mill.

For nearly 20 years now, Union County High School has taken time each Veterans Day to welcome and honor Union County's veterans with a program prepared, produced and performed by the students themselves with coordination from Union County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Clerk Barbara Williams.

Williams is slow to take credit for the program, but guest speaker retired U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Dooley Buckner recognized her from the podium, saying, "She has worked tirelessly for almost 20 years to coordinate this event for the students, the veterans and the community."