The Union County Farmers Market got "corny" last Saturday with the second annual Youth and Corn Festival. The festival celebrates...you guessed it...Union County's youth and that special time of year when the corn comes in. Huff Farm was on hand with corn for sale, and there were corn-related activities aplenty.

Winning the Corniest Joke Contest was a young man identified only as "Tim." Winning the Corn Shucking Contest for age 6 and older was John March Schwarzen. Michelle Phillips won the day's door prize.

As a part of the “New Deal” programs of the mid to late 1930s, mattress-making workshops were organized and conducted at local churches and elementary schools across Union County. Each family could make enough mattresses for all the beds in their household. This was a federal government program through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The particular mattress-making I attended with my sister, Johnnie Heiskell Merritt, and our mother, Elsie Seymour Heiskell, was at Raccoon Valley School. This school had been built by the Works Progress Administration and opened about 1938.

I like greens. especially in the spring. After a winter of potatoes, carrots and such, I am ready for a change. Of course, the first greens to be had are dandelion greens. I remember looking for dandelions in the tall grass along sides of the fields on our farm. They were the best. There was no road salt on them from the winter. They grew tall competing for sunlight with the grass. Armed with a sharp knife and a half bushel basket, I would cut a basket full. Then back to the house to clean and rinse and cook and eat.

Hello Union County 4-H Members, Friends, and Family, Welcome back to school and a new year with Union County 4-H! Decorating a hay bale at the TN Valley Fair has become a long-standing tradition with Union County 4-H Members. This year, we have one opportunity to decorate ONE hay bale for our county. Therefore, we will have a contest among different Union County 4-H Groups to win the County Idea Contest. In many years past, we have had Honor Club, Hog Club, Horse Club, Smoky Mtn Club all want to decorate a hay bale.

If you, like most of Union County, have an "I remember when" story about the Valley Boys gospel group, it probably involves seeing three kids who could be triplets, singing a cappella gospel music with the gusto of guys twice their size. My own involves seeing the boys at the Union County Historical Society back in 2008 and taking their picture for the weekly newspaper.

In my more than twenty years working on Union County history I’ve heard lots of stories. The following is one that is new to me. First, notice the note that this information was received by “long distance telephone” to the Knoxville Journal and Tribune on July 26, 1902.

I like fresh sweet corn. I remember eating sweet corn in the summertime back when my kids were in grade school. There would be a big kettle of salted water boiling on the stove. The ears would be dumped in and the water brought to a boil again. Taken out and piled on a platter, it was ready to eat. We had fun eating corn. Remember the old manual typewriters? My kids and I would play "typewriter" and chomp our way across a row of kernels. No, we didn't go "ding!" at the end of the row. Now, that was good eating.

The county received a grant (RAHHABE GRANT: Rural Access to Health and Healthy Active Build Environments) from the Department of Health of Tennessee. MPA Director Charles Turner presented the grant opportunity to County Mayor Williams. The county applied and we received the grant. The walking trail was in need of repair so the county contracted the County Hwy Department and B & C Paving to do the job. The paving was completed on August 3. We hope this will inspire more people to come out to the park to enjoy family time together.

The Union County Chamber of Commerce is seeking to fill the position of President of our Chamber of Commerce. Overall responsibilities include serving as Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, overseeing daily operations, serving as ex-officio of all committees. A bachelor’s degree in economic and community development, and experience in grant writing and marketing is preferred but not required. Background checks and fingerprinting may be required for certain grants.

Out Highway 61 between Maynardville and Luttrell, there's a small farm winery founded on a big dream. That dream belongs to Nicole "Nikki" Riddle, owner of The Winery at Seven Springs Farm. She leased 44 acres for a vineyard and winery from her parents, Donna and Rick Riddle, and opened the winery in 2015. Her fiance, Michael Coombs, is part of the winery as well.