Holy Week begins Sunday

Palm/Passion Sunday is April 10. The “Palm” reminds us of the day the Christian faith celebrates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. The crowd placed palm branches on the road as they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

One word of truth outweighs the world

The Ketanji Brown Jackson Senate confirmation hearings have been interesting. I’d like to hone in on one of the snippets that went viral. Asked by Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to define a woman, Judge Jackson responded, “I can’t.

More settlers arrive; county is founded

* Part 5 in a series From 1848-62 – while Colonel William H. Thomas represented Macon County in the state legislature – many old roads in western North Carolina were improved and new roads built. In this period of time and shortly thereafter, quite a few settlers entered what is now Graham County.

My time with Madeleine Albright

Last week, the heavens lost a bright star: Madeleine Korbel Albright passed away at age 84. She was the 64th Secretary of State and the first woman to hold the position.

Jewish holiday might be overlooked

Last week, we were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, but there was another important holiday. People sang, “When the month of Adar begins, joy increases!” Have you ever heard of the Jewish holiday of Purim? It is the 16th and 17th of March. The tradition comes from the Book of Esther in the Bible.

Pitch and yawn on Daylight Savings

There is a popular myth that Daylight Savings Time (DST) was pushed by farmers to have more daylight to work their crops during the growing season. Not true. The legislation was approved in 1918 as part of the World War I effort to conserve energy.

Explorers carved early Graham roads

* Part 4 in a series It is believed that John and Robert Stratton followed a trail in the 1830s, which ran from what is now Calderwood in Tennessee into the Slickrock, Bear Creek and Rock Creek areas of what is now Graham County.

Happy trails to leader of ‘The ‘Ville’

In this industry, you develop a sort of subconscious “filter” on who – and who is not – your genuine friend.

Right in Ukraine, right in U.S.

Ukraine is all over the news and social media these days. We should certainly be in prayer for those in Ukraine, but we should also be paying attention.

My Ukrainian roots

Adolph Cushman was born in 1868 in a small town near Kyiv, Ukraine. He married Ida Elgart in an arranged marriage in 1888, when she was 15 years old. Adolph migrated to Montreal, Canada in 1892 to escape conscription into the Russian army.