Historic Union County

Spreading the good news of Union County

On April 11, 4th and 5th graders from Maynardville, Paulette, Big Ridge, Sharps Chapel and Luttrell elementary schools gathered at Horace Maynard Middle School to compete in the Union County 4-H Clover Bowl. Each team previously won their in-school contest to qualify to represent their school in the county contest.

I have three adopted children: Rick, Tom and Anne. This story is not about them. It is about my husband’s Aunt Orpha, his Uncle Bill’s wife. She was from northern Ohio and has been dead since the early eighties. I met her soon after I married.
Aunt Orpha was a sweetheart. She put up with Uncle Bill. I don’t remember if she had been married before, but I think she had. She was a favorite of mine. Uncle Bill and Aunt Orpha would come from Hillsdale, Michigan, to our house to watch TV.

Interviews are a lot of fun for me since I enjoy meeting and getting to know other people. But this one is very special to me. You see, I had the honor of interviewing Sara Cox; the sole proprietor of “Sara’s Waggy Tails.”
Did you notice her last name is the same as mine? That is because she is my daughter.
While she was growing up, we couldn’t help but notice her love of animals. Actually, it went way past that. She seemed to also have a way with them as well. I used to joke that dogs would bite me, but they loved her. She could get them to behave and do things whereas I would receive a menacing growl. No exaggeration there.

We know that honey mustard chicken wings are good. The same can be said for chicken leg quarters. They often come in ten-pound bags at the meat counter at a reduced price. Try this recipe and watch your family dig in.

Last week I attended the monthly senior citizen luncheon at the Baptist church where I am a member. The pastor announced that next month that we would be doing something different—playing BINGO.
I leaned over and told one of the gentlemen sitting at the table with me, “We’re turning Catholic! Next thing you know we’ll be using real wine at the Lord’s Supper.”

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.

I just want to take a moment to write down some random thoughts that come into my mind as I meditate upon Psalm 23. I have pasted the text below and will comment after each verse.
Psalm 23:1-6 KJV; A Psalm of David. David knew a lot about sheep and shepherding. In 2 Samuel 7, as David sits in his palace admiring its splendor, Nathan the prophet reminded David where God has brought him from. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:”

Violets are very abundant this time of year and are probably the most common and the easiest to identify family of spring wildflowers in our area. You can find them about anywhere, especially even in your yard right now unless you’re a grass purist who uses herbicides.

The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics has hired eight undergraduate researchers during the 2022 spring semester. The students and their mentors are, as follows:

Heather Mannis and Gray Erwin are working with Drs. Jada Thompson and Carlos Trejo-Pech by reviewing financial documents and creating a dataset for an event study on agribusiness firms relating to large animal health outbreaks, which provides an opportunity for these students to learn more about agricultural financial and food markets.

The real estate market continues to bring in high prices. Several homes are selling at or above asking price. Here are some quick stats for Union County.

Isn’t it funny how you can look back on things and see them differently after you are grown?
Back in the ancient times of the 1970s, there were no SUVS. When we went on family trips, we rode in one of Papaw’s station wagons. At least once a year, we all piled in one and headed south and east to Cades Coves in the Smokey Mountains. We always packed a picnic. Sometimes Papaw would stop at the KFC in Maryville and pick up a bucket of chicken to have with it.
But one trip was totally different.

The word “addiction” almost always has a negative connotation. I have a theory that everyone is addicted to something. While I believe that not all addictions are bad, I believe that any addiction can be both good and bad.
Take me, for example. I love to collect books. I also love to read them, but I find as much or more joy in the collecting. I learned on Jeopardy! there is a Japanese term for this—“tsundoku”.

Years ago when i worked as a telephone operator in Angola, Indiana, i learned how to cook rice the South American way. A fellow operator had been married to a man from Venezuela. The main difference is how the rice is prepared. Her Spanish Rice had no meat. She just browned raw rice in a little oil and sauteed it a few minutes. Then she added canned tomatoes, onion and green pepper, cooking until the rice was tender. I understood this was the mainstay of poor folks' diet down there. Do i have you confused as to what is really Spanish Rice? It is whatever you want it to be. Try mine.

It’s time to be on the lookout for Pink Lady’s-slippers, which normally bloom from late April to mid-May. They are one of the most striking flowers of the woods, but for all its beauty, has a bit of a sinister side, especially if you’re a Bumblebee.
Pink Lady’s-slipper, also called Moccasin Flower, does indeed look like a roundish shoe with its large, pink, bowl shaped flower, making it hard to miss on a hike in the woods. The flower has a slit opening in the front for pollinators to access, and always has two large, twin-like leaves with deep, parallel veins growing at the base of the plant. It prefers to grow in dry woods under a mix of oak and pine trees. Pink Lady’s-slipper is in the orchid family and is one of two shoe-like wildflowers, the other being Yellow Lady’s-Slipper, which prefers moist sites found in hollows and near streams.

Union County Farm Bureau leaders recently joined with other county Farm Bureau members from all corners of the 2nd Congressional District to show appreciation to Congressman Tim Burchett for his dedicated service to the 2nd district of Tennessee and to the agriculture community, listen to an update from Washington and share concerns and issues with him from an agricultural perspective.

Lew Strickland, DVM, DACT
Extension Veterinarian and Assistant Professor
Department of Animal Science and
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
W789

Spring with its green pastures is the time of year that cattle long for at the end of a long winter. These grasses will be lush and your cows will tear a fence down to get on these pastures, but these grasses also will be full of moisture and potentially diluted of minerals. This can lead to a condition known as grass tetany.

‘Frozen shoulder’ is a term sometimes used loosely in connection with any type of persistent shoulder pain. But specifically it is the loss of arm movement at the shoulder joint. The shoulder is the part of the body that is the third most common subject for chiropractic treatment, the lower back and the neck being the two most common. Frozen shoulder can be brought on by the trauma of a fall or car accident, or it may come on gradually as a result of muscle imbalance, overuse and irritation.

Growing up, I loved to watch super heroes. There were the old “Batman” reruns, “The Justic League” cartoon on Saturday mornings, and “Wonder Woman” starring Lynda Carter. But out of all of these, the only superhero I considered to be totally indestructible was Superman. Why am I telling you this? Because of our dog, Roxy.

At the time I am writing this article, it is the Tuesday afternoon of Easter Week. For Christians worldwide, Easter is the epitome of the Gospel story, as the resurrection of Christ from the dead makes it possible to inherit eternal life in Heaven.

Tuna is one of those "go-to" foods when you don't know what to fix for company. We usually have a tin of tuna on the pantry shelf. You probably do, too. The mashed potatoes makes it go further and softens the tuna flavor.