Senator Frank Niceley visited the Union County Museum to address the Union County Historical Society at its meeting in July. He donated a new United States Flag to replace the one that was frayed. He also donated a 2023-2024 Tennessee Blue Book.
But the major reason for his visit was to address the Union County Historical Society regarding a rare homemade banjo that he acquired as a teenager on a visit to Union County. The banjo is made of wood and the head is octagonal in shape rather than round.
The peghead has the date “1864” and is similar to the Kentucky Mountain Banjo made in Southern Appalachia. The neck has the initials V.W.B. The Historical Society would really like to know more about the banjo.
Volunteers have searched old records and think that the banjo may have been made by Valentine (Voluntine) Boruff who was a German pioneer who moved to the area, possibly around 1800. The Boruff family lived in the area that later became Sharps Chapel in the Blue Springs Community.
Please call the Union County Museum (865-992-2136) if you have any information on this banjo or the Boruff family. Please leave your name and phone number so we can return the call.
Senator Niceley related stories about the early distilleries and moonshine runnin' in Union County. Some of the volunteers intend to interview a person who ran moonshine on Thunder Road and share the interview in this newspaper and Pathways, the group's journal.
The Union County Historical Society meets on the third Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Union County Museum.
Membership is $20 annually and members receive the journal, Pathways, published quarterly. The public is welcome at the meetings free of charge.