Straight arrows in a crooked world

“Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, are the children of one’s youth.”   This biblical metaphor is likely a foreign thought to the modern world. It seems odd – possibly – to consider your children as a weapon.  In a decadent world, it seems like the battles are over.

Railroads once common in Graham County

Although Graham County has been without a railroad for a number of years now, thanks to the logging industry, there were once a number of them to be found here. Porterfield and Grandlin built the Porterfield Gap Railroad on Little Snowbird in 1897 and operated a sawmill at Long Bottoms.

President Biden’s proposals for the future

President Biden’s first 100 days are done.  The world has not come to an end and there have been some improvements.  More than 100 million people are fully vaccinated as promised. Science and expertise seem to be back in favor for making policy.

Membership is down, no matter which religion you believe in

In the New Testament, the Greek word for church is “ecclesia,” which means a called out assembly or gathering of people.  Most churches have membership vows, which include common beliefs and a covenant to join with others to worship and support.

Common Sense Authoritarians

The clearest path to a tyrannical government is restricting the ownership of weapons by the populace.  Background checks, red flag laws and the other “common sense” gun laws are bad laws. They all serve the purpose of disarming the people and taking away their power.

History of Graham County roads

Prior to 1838, there is no record of any roads in Graham County: only old Cherokee Indian trading paths that were only narrow trails at best.   The first wagon road was the road built from Andrews to Robbinsville around 1838 for the removal of the Cherokees. It was built by the U.S.

“Bronze serpent” can be inoculated

On Easter Monday, my family had a trip to visit the North Carolina Zoo. It was a beautiful day and a great experience.  On the way out of one of the parks, to my right, was a bronze snake on the hand rail. I didn’t notice it was bronze until I had put some distance between me and the sculpture.

Charlie 1, COVID 0

Well, I guess I’m part of history now.  Some of you readers may have noticed the absence of my byline in the April 8 edition of the Star. During that week – and for half of the prior one – I was in isolation, after testing positive for COVID-19.

Twenty years later, where are we in the "War on Terrorism?"

President Biden announced last week that we would withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021.  Twenty years ago, this date was seared into our memories with four hijacked planes.  Two toppled the World Trade Towers. One crashed into the Pentagon.

Tales from years in timber camps

During the early logging days in Graham County, logging camps were located in several areas, including Big Santeetlah, Big Snowbird and Slickrock.  As would be expected – any time a group of men are together for a period of time – there are bound to be some stories come from it.