A favorite fall attraction in East Tennessee is located just over the hill in Corryton. Oakes Farm is a successful family business, entertaining families for 19 years.
The farm has been in Corryton for three generations of the Oakes family, beginning with the growing of tobacco and raising of beef cattle. In the 1970s the family branched out into growing daylilies as a hobby. That business began to thrive and is now an extremely popular nationwide mail order nursery business.

November is one of the best times to fish in East Tennessee. The water temperatures are heading towards a magic range, which is 58° to 62° F, and the fish can sense this decrease in water temperature.
Typically this temperature range is reached in the low- to mid-sections of Norris no later than Thanksgiving. In the upper Powell and Clinch Rivers this magic water temperature can be reached much earlier in the month.

I haven't met a vegetable I didn't like, from asparagus to zucchini and everyone in between. It is hard to choose a favorite. Of course, potatoes are a special category all by themselves.
For this recipe, let's look at the lowly green bean. It is easy to only consider 'em boiled with onions or combined with a cheese sauce. This recipe is a little different. Try it and see what you think.

When I was small, the closest I came to a body of water was when we drove across the bridge over Bull Run Creek.
My mother was terrified of water, so I was surprised when one day she agreed to go to the Norris pool with our neighbor. I was 12 years old at that time. To this day, I remember clinging on to the side of the pool with one hand while peering into to the clear water. I wanted to overcome my own fear of the water so I could learn how to swim and join my friends playing in the pool. Who wants to stay on the sidelines and watch the world go by? Not me.

As a child I loved Halloween.
What a fantastic fall celebration for a kid. Dress up like any kind of thing you want, real or imaginary.
Go around the neighborhood, knock on your neighbor’s door and get free candy.
Parents let kids eat all the candy they can hold, plus you get to trade candy with your siblings or friends for days on end.
Every kid is like a Willy Wonka on steroids!
Well, in a perfect world, that is the way it should be, that is the way it “almost” was when I was a kid.

Folks who would like a taste of some wild food ought to get out and hunt persimmons this time of year. They are abundant in our area and easy to find in fencerows and woodland edges.
There are many varieties of persimmon trees in tropical areas of the world, but only two in the United States. The one growing in our area is called "common persimmon" (Diospyros Virginiana), or "possum tree" by some.

“Antibiotic Free” “No Antibiotics Ever” and “No Added Antibiotics” are commonly seen phrases in the meat department of any grocery store in America. You will often find meats with this label sold at twice the price of other options.
Which one is really better?
The answer is simple: either one. Chances are they are exactly the same. It is against federal law to sell meat with unsafe levels of antibiotics.
There are several measures in place to prevent antibiotics from reaching the public through their food.

"GMOs are perfectly healthy" was the last sentence on the opinion on GMOs in the October 2019 Historic Union County.
Really? Where is the data? Where are the independent, peer-reviewed, long-term studies that support this statement? There are none, that is why you can't find them!

Not so long ago I had a conversation with Union County Mayor Dr. Jason Bailey.
His Honor and I were discussing his late grandfather Elmer Bailey, who was the son of a good friend of my father, Jim Bailey. I was aware that Elmer lived in the old Rose Hill School.
Jason offered me the opportunity to visit the old school—a thrilling venture for me—as there are very few of the old one- and two-room schoolhouses left.

When you work in public school systems, you get used to numerous in-service and professional development sessions. If you are a teacher of specific subjects, they are very useful, but if you are a librarian, some of the sessions might seem irrelevant. (Sorry, but math teaching methods was not relevant to me.)