Well, I planted my potatoes on Good Friday. That’s when you are supposed to plant them, right? Old timers will give you all kinds of advice on when to plant what. There are the signs to follow – we really need to explore those, don’t we? Then, there are the hints from other plants – I understand that when the Service Berry trees bloom, some will tell you to plant your potatoes. And then there’s the Good Friday rule. My mother’s grandmother always wanted to plant her potatoes on Good Friday. In fact, she also wanted to plant corn then. However, March 31st is just too early for me to chance a c ..read more

A few months ago an accident at the Clarkrange Post Office rendered the building unusable until very recently. Now, I’ve talked here before about the post offices in Tennessee and especially Fentress County.  Our dear mail carriers and the local postal staff relocated to Grimsley and hardly missed a beat in serving their customers.  It was only a distance of 8 ½ miles, but we sure missed our post office! As I prepared last week’s article about our disappearing local communities, I began to wonder what factors define a community, and the local post office seems like one of the bigges ..read more

This week, I had the distinct pleasure to speak to the Fentress County Historical Society.  We talked about losing community identity and I thought I would share my thoughts with you good blog readers. In researching and writing Tennessee Mountain Stories, I have realized how different the focus on local community was in years past. I love getting book reviews and feedback on stories.  My favorite reviews indicate that the reader “felt like I was there”.  Some readers have spent time on the Plateau and I love it when you tell me you remember the places I’ve written about.  ..read more

“No one eats until we say ‘Amen’ y’all”. I saw this cute sign in a local gift shop and it got me to thinking… My 79 year old daddy often comments when he sits down to eat, ‘Mama would tell me to take my hat off at the table.’ This mountain, farm family didn’t stress a whole lot of etiquette. There was never more than one fork at a place setting and cornbread was passed on a round dinner plate for all hands to pull out a chunk. Still, everyone knew they must wait for “Grace” before they dug-in. And pull of your cap! Today, it seems like we run 90-to-nothing with a million things on our mind. W ..read more

Chapter 1 of Lottie’s Legacy: “Mama! Maaamaaa!” Delcie cried as she ran toward the crumpled figure lying midway from the garden to the house.  As she continued to move she hollered over her shoulder, “Ruth, come quick!”  As Delcie reached her mother, she heard the screen door squeak but ignored it, completely focused on the strong woman who guided her whole life. She fell to her knees at her mother’s head, “Mama, answer me.  Whatever is the matter with you?  Did you fall?”  The questions spilled out so quickly Lottie Ingle could never have answered them, even if she w ..read more

If you’ve been reading the trilogy of Mararet’s Faith, Gracie’s Babies and now Lottie’s Legacy, you will know that family is a key element throughout the stories. In fact, it is family that links these three women as Margaret is the mother of Gracie and Lottie. We walk with these ladies as they start and raise families. We see them in all the troubles and trials we face in our own lives. While there were flesh-and-blood women who inspired these books, ultimately the characters are just that – fictional characters. Yet the daily struggles are as true as any history book. In Gracie’s Babies, w ..read more

I had a great time last Saturday talking to friends, old and new, about Tennessee Mountian Stories, and Lottie’s Legacy. I was asked many times, “What’s it about?” Well, that’s a good question, and I’d love to tell you. Lottie’s Legacy is a story unlike my other books. It completes a Trilogy with Margaret’s Faith and Gracie’s Babies, following the lives and spiritual walks of a mother and her two daughters. Lottie Berai Ingle is Margaret’s younger daughter, but the book opens later in Lottie’s life. In fact, we immediately learn that Lottie will contend with a life-altering disability. We tal ..read more

Well, friends, it’s been a long time since I told you there was a new novel available. I am now thrilled to announce that Lottie’s Legacy is now complete. In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some dates and locations where you can get copies. This weekend, I’ll be at the Homestead Tower’s Apple Festival with hardback copies. The paperbacks will be along shortly. Please come back to the blog over the next couple of weeks and I will tell you more about Lottie and the story and her legacy ..read more

I lifted my face to the cool  breeze as it tossed a loose paper across the platform. Heat settled around this place and the scent of coal smoke permeated the air. A whistle sounded in the distance and I began to bounce my knee in anticipation. In the distance, the rumble of steel against steel promised the pending arrival of the iron beast we all awaited. As the rumble grew louder, a piercing whistle joined in. All eyes unconsciously followed the clamor. It was hard to say what I saw first, the black of the smoke or of the steel. As the engine rolled to a stop, near the platform, the wh ..read more

Corn has popped up green in fields everywhere around the Plateau.  It reminds me that my Grandpa used to say, ‘We planted half the mountain in corn and grew enough to feed an old mule and a milk cow.’ While it may have been a slight exaggeration, corn has been a staple crop on the mountain since the first settlers arrived. As a Future Farmer of America, I learned that the cross section of an ear of corn frames the organization’s logo because it is grown in every state in the union. In 2022, the USDA reported Tennessee alone produced 163 million bushels of corn. A man and a mule could ma ..read more