Legends of gold, silver linger

Stories about lost gold and silver mines continue today in Graham County, with some dating as far back as the 1800s.  There seems to be more evidence that they existed than not, but yet no one has ever found them.

Awake America

The First Great Awakening was a time of revivals that swept the American colonies around 1720 and continued through the 1740s.  The Rev. George Whitfield and others preached for people to “Flee the wrath to come.

God's gift of children

Life in this world is a place where we experience love and heartbreak; it’s a world full of joy and trials.   We tend to live our lives as though we deserve all the joys; hence, we get angry when adversity comes our way – just note how many people reject God because of suffering they’ve endured.

History of locomotive lights

One fact has always stood out to me while doing research on logging and railroads in Graham County: Little Snowbird temporarily had electricity before the city of Asheville. Kanawha Lumber Company came to Graham County in 1899.

We have a Pope!

After the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican firefighters placed a smokestack on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in preparation for the election of a new pope.  After each vote for the Pope, if there is not an election the ballots are burned and the smoke billows black.

Reflecting on a mother's love

I appreciate Mother’s Day more as time passes, especially since it inspires nostalgic memories of a day when men couldn’t have babies and everyone could define a woman – and honor her.

Pope Francis: for the people

We have lost a good friend and the world has lost a great spiritual leader.  Pope Francis was the head of the Roman Catholic Church, overseeing over 1.4 billion members from his election in 2013 until his death April 21 – the day after Easter.

Visiting the Conley home place

Hoot Gibbs and I recently visited another old home place back in the woods. Gary Jones and his 5-year-old grandson Cutler Allen took us to the site of the Girdine “Gird” Conley home place, which is on the upper reaches of Jack Branch in the Bear Creek area of Graham County.

Tip of the cap to firefighters

The last two weeks of our local news cycle has been dominated by the Haoe Lead Fire, which was ignited by a lightning strike inside the dense wilderness of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest on April 12.

The solace of Christ's resurrection

* Final in a 3-part series A well-loved Easter song in my household proclaims: “Buddha is dead, Mohammed is dead, Ghandi and Haile Selassie are dead; Elijah Mohammed is dead – however, Jesus is alive!