The Union County Youth Talent Show is an event of the Union County Heritge Festival on Saturday, October 4, 2025. The show is not a contest. There is no entry fee. There are two shows and participants need to choose only one show. Show times are 11 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2 p.m. at Woods Music Heritage Theater, 1768 Maynardville Hwy.

To register, visit Woods Music Heritage Theater, 1768 Maynardville Hwy., or download a form at unioncountyheritagefestival.com. Spaces are limited so register soon.

The Union County Heritage Festival Quilt Show is Saturday, October 4, at the Union County Museum. All quilters are invited to bring their quilts to the museum on Thursday, October 2, between 1:30 and 6 p.m. Ellen Perry and Patricia Campbell will be at the museum to accept entries. Quilts will be judged, ribbons placed and displayed for viewing during museum festival hours of 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Get your paintbrush, camera, carving tools, lathes, potters’ wheel, stitching needles or any other artistic tool ready to create a piece to enter the Union County Heritage Art Show on October 4.

A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to Nineveh

The book of Jonah is the sixth shortest book found in the Old Testament, which makes it a quick read. The literary style of Jonah’s story is a satire. Literary satire aims to make fun of a person, idea, or institution. An author’s motive for using satire is typically deeper than mere entertainment. The book of Jonah is different from all the other Old Testament prophetic books bearing a prophet’s name, because it is not by Jonah but about Jonah. The Jonah narrative uses irony to expose some deep character flaws in this reluctant prophet.

Wild Blue Yonder headlines the Union County Heritage Festival on the Emily Link Gazebo Main Stage on October 4 at Wilson Park behind the high school. Acoustic mountain gospel, old-time, and bluegrass songs in Appalachian style are heart and soul of Wild Blue Yonder. With a home base practically in spittin’ distance of Union County, WBY honors the rich musical traditions that have echoed from our ridges for centuries. The trio includes classical cellist/fiddler/vocalist Kristiana McCombs Arnwine, 2022 winner of the Mountain Soul vocal competition in Sevier County.

It began with a barely noticeable hairline crack in the dam that was easy to overlook. The man who owned the land saw it, but convinced himself it wasn’t urgent. Repairs would be expensive, and besides, the dam had held for years. So, he decided to ignore it. Year after year, the pressure slowly built behind the wall until one night, long after the man had passed, the dam gave way. His son, who was now living on the land, woke to a roar of water sweeping through the valley, destroying crops, homes, and everything in its path.

By Alice Hamilton, HCA board secretary

A 2nd “Gathering of the Generations” sponsored by the Hamilton Cemetery Association is set for Sept., 13, 11:00 a.m., at the Union County Museum and Genealogical Library, 3824 Maynardville Hwy., Maynardville, Tn. The first Gathering was last held in Sept. ’23. Ancestry displays and updates about the Hamilton Cemetery will be shared.

Occasionally you pay a price for being in the woods, especially if you go off trail as I often do. I recently got hammered with chigger bites, especially around my ankles and feet. They are almost microscopic yet pack a wallop of misery.

Chiggers are a species of mite in the larval stage. They are too small to see with the naked eye, and under a microscope look sort of like tiny ticks. The adults, which can be seen, feed only on plants and are not a problem for us, except for their laying eggs that make more baby chiggers.

There are many reasons for needing a shower trailer in Maynardville to help those who are living rough, do not have running water or need a hand up. The TN Valley Coalition for the Homeless (TVCH) has been taking this trailer to 12 rural counties, and this month has started a relationship with Union County. Their trained staff does an intake for each client – a chat to see what needs they can meet. Director of Outreach, Macrea Love, said that the intake “helps us better cater to each person’s individual needs.

When I was a little girl, I so wanted one of my own. Did you automatically think of a dinosaur or spaceship? While that was and still is very true, what I really wanted an American flag.