A day trip to 'The Star City of the South'

Roanoke’s location 140 miles north of the Tennessee/Virginia line at Bristol makes “The Star City” an easy day trip or weekend getaway, and it has lots of attractions to make the trip worthwhile.

Kingsport man was front and center for the Battle of Shiloh

Front and center is normally the most expensive ticket with the best view at a concert or ball game. But for a Kingsport man, front and center was his view for one of the great battles of the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh.

Milestones are with us throughout our lives

A few weeks ago my last living aunt, Gracie Tankersley Wallen, celebrated her 90th birthday.

Did your family prefer 'The Lawrence Welk Show' or 'Hee Haw'?

“Wunnerful, wunnerful” or “Gloom, despair, and agony on me,” did your household watch either show, which competed on local television stations in the 1970s?

Under the stress and loneliness of war, even the strong can cry

The mere act of putting your finger on a map can send a thousand men to their graves, robbing a thousand families of their sons, fathers and husbands. In the cases of Lee and Grant, not only did they have the lives of their men in their hands, but they had the weight, and future, of their countries on their back

Is there such a thing as "too long gone" to reconnect with old friends?

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander Time; for that’s the Stuff Life is made of.”

— attributed to Benjamin Franklin writing in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746

Author’s Corner: Kingsport resident releases 'Woody’s World: The Diary of a Dog'

The book is a humorous, yet emotional tale of a dog’s life, told completely in the dog’s voice. It delves into complex issues such as addiction, while also conveying the simplicity and enthusiasm of seeing the world through a dog’s eyes.

Garnet Allen: Four decades at Surgoinsville Elementary

Garnet Allen, 95, died March 15 at Holston Valley Medical Center after an extended illness. The obituary said she retired as a teacher at Surgoinsville Elementary School in Hawkins County after a 40-year career as a teacher. I was one of her students.

Try quinoa on Whole Grains Sampling Day

Today, March 27, is Whole Grains Sampling Day! Whole grains are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber to help keep you fuller longer and promote a healthy digestive tract.

Sickness of destroying historical monuments strikes locally

Earlier this month, someone toppled the obelisk part of the Jesse Duncan monument in Boones Creek. Duncan was one of the early settlers to come into the region. But his claim to fame, according to the monument, was that he was the “First white man that died in Tennessee. Killed by the Indians about 1765.”

All things geek - Time to 'play well' with LEGOs

My boundless enthusiasm for these little interlocking plastic bricks is again reaching a crescendo after hearing about a convention taking place in Nashville later this month. It’s the BrickUniverse LEGO Convention taking place at the Wilson County Exposition Center on March 30 and 31.

Forget the equinox — for me, forsythia blossoms herald spring's arrival

Since I was a child I’ve always associated the arrival of spring with one flower: the forsythia. 

Learning your hay-foot from your straw-foot

Events such as the Siege of the Blockhouse at Natural Tunnel, the Battle of Blountville and the Siege of Fort Watauga in Elizabethton don’t just happen. It takes practice to bring the historical accuracy you expect to see to these events.

‘Parson’ Brownlow fought for the rights of blacks in Tennessee

After delivering his state version of the Emancipation Proclamation, Andrew Johnson left his position as military governor of Tennessee to become Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president. He was replaced by another East Tennessean — William Gannaway Brownlow.

I have no idea what it would be like to serve, do you?

“When a police officer is killed, it's not an agency that loses an officer, it's an entire nation.” — Chris Cosgriff, founder, Officer Down Memorial Page