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Hartsville Cemetery

Observed on the third Monday in February, Presidents Day, to some, may be a welcomed three-day weekend to break up the routine of a typically chilly month and a time to hit some major retail sales. Because nothing says 鈥渉ey, let鈥檚 celebrate our nation鈥檚 presidents鈥� like a sale on mattresses, right?

I was 11 years old when the 1776-1976 Bicentennial quarter was minted to celebrate the nation鈥檚 200th anniversary. My mom purchased a set of coins also minted in 1976 for my brother and I to save to commemorate the occasion and 鈥渂ecause one day they might be worth something.鈥�

I suppose Jan. 9 and 15 will come and go without much fanfare this year. Of course, that depends on one鈥檚 perspective. Jan. 9 marks the birthday of my late father, Frank Thomas McCall, SR. Born in 1922, my father was the eldest of nine children born to D.T (David Thomas) and Amy Manning McCall.

For me Christmas Day came faster and passed more quickly this year than in years past. I think Thanksgiving Day showing up later on the calendar had something to do with it. I also blame the time change for throwing off my mental clock. Seems I heard more people complaining about traffic thi…

It is a story of vast extremes鈥f a star and a stable鈥f angels and shepherds鈥f the most expensive gifts and the most inexpensive cloth鈥f time and eternity鈥f a holy God and sinful man.

I was cleaning out a fence row over the weekend. I say I was 鈥渃leaning,鈥� when I was just beginning.

Last fall, while on a hike in the Brim Hollow, I picked up a bucket-full of green walnuts. My first thought was to dump them on my concrete driveway and run over them with the car for a few days. That鈥檚 the way we de-hulled them back in my boyhood days, but we had gravel driveways back then.

Every year as Thanksgiving Day rolls around I spend quite a bit of time in reflection. And I mostly think about the people I have known throughout the years. In real estate they say the three most important things are location, location, location. In life I think the three most important thi…

Another Veterans Day in the books. I had the good pleasure of participating in two Veteran鈥檚 Day celebrations this year 鈥� one in Macon County, the other in Trousdale. Both had all the elements of the best of Americana 鈥� children singing patriotic songs and reading poems and reciting lines to…

Well, the first frost of the fall showed itself last week. To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed breathing in the air on that first frosty morning. As I observed a few farmers huddled in the warmth of their pickup truck cabs, I was reminded of some of the cold mornings of my youth. When cold spe…

Thanksgiving Day is almost here (and will be here before you know it) 鈥� a time to stop and reflect on the past year, and years 鈥� a time once again to recount our blessings. I鈥檓 writing this column a bit early so the 鈥淒ay鈥� doesn鈥檛 take you by surprise. (Personally, I wish things would slow do…

Trousdale County is once again negotiating its contract with CoreCivic, the private prison company that operates the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center. These negotiations are not just about numbers on a page 鈥� they directly affect our community鈥檚 finances, safety, and reputation.

When I was a growing boy Halloween was just not that big of a deal. I mean, there was trick-or-treating and a few minor pranks pulled, but that was about it.

I visited the University of Tennessee campus for the first time in a long time a couple of weeks back. That鈥檚 not to say I haven鈥檛 been back to attend football games many times over the years. But this time I had time to actually make a campus visit. I was in Knoxville for one of those meeti…

I love the month of October. When it arrives, I think of October beans, October skies, October harvest, Oktoberfest, the 3rd Saturday in October (Go Vols!) 鈥� well, everything October. For me, October ushers in the Holidays. I have a dear friend, Kim Winfree, who starts playing Christmas musi…

Webster鈥檚 defines 鈥渋gnorant鈥� adj. or 鈥渋gnorance,鈥� n. as having little or no knowledge, unlearned; unaware, uninformed.

Seems the biggest news lately in our little corner of the world has been the implosion of the nuclear cooling tower once located at what came to be known as the Hartsville Nuclear site. Although the tower was located across the county line in Smith County, it was given the name 鈥淗artsville鈥� …

There is stretch of highway which is most familiar to me. It reaches from the front of any abandoned store building in the Watervale Community in Smith County to the south end of the Cordell Hull Bridge. A part of U.S. Highway 70, it covers 3.1 miles.

I鈥檝e seen some beautiful sights in my time. Many of them take me back to my formative years 鈥� a set of mama cows with their calves out in lush spring pasture, rows of square bales of hay lined up across a hay field, dark green corn fields in full tassel and a patch of tobacco, yellow as a pu…

Marian McQuade, an elder rights activist from West Virginia, is credited with the founding of Grandparents Day. Having a heart for the elderly, she wanted a family day set aside to bring honor to grandparents and to raise awareness of the strength, information and guidance that older adults …

Well, it was an interesting summer. It was, for me, a summer that came and was gone as fast as any I can remember. Maybe my age is telling on me. Sometimes I wish things would slow down a bit.

鈥淏uilt to Last鈥� was a popular slogan used by the Ford Motor Corporation beginning in 1998. You have to admit it is catchy. 鈥淏uilt to Last鈥� has a nice ring to it.

Occasionally, I am asked to reprint a column. I my eighteen years of writing this has been one of my most requested.

The story goes that, many years ago, the great American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, was attending a convening of forward thinkers in a major city. Henry Ford, who would become America鈥檚 foremost car maker, was in attendance.

I found myself dropping sticks in a tobacco patch one day last week. Well, in a way. I was caught up in a trip down memory lane.