One-room schools once a staple

The early school system in Graham County was made up of a series of one-room schools, with most communities having a school located in it.   The schools were usually simple log structures, with one teacher for all ages of children who attended.

The history of The Peace Prayer

Many were shocked and concerned when 75-year-old Martin Gugino – a Catholic Peace activist – was pushed and injured during a peaceful protest against systemic racism.

Wear your face mask properly

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the use of face masks for the general public.

You definitely can’t unring a bell

This wonderful phrase was first used in a 1912 Oregon Supreme Court case State v. Rader.  Mr. Rader was accused and convicted of arson when he burned two of his neighbor’s haystacks.

Another shutdown order will fail

While announcing a cumbersome set of guidelines for schools to reopen in August, Gov. Roy Cooper pointedly made no promises about whether he will, in fact, allow North Carolina’s schools to open at all.

The summer of our discontent

The great American author John Steinbeck wrote novels that captured the angst and suffering of disadvantaged people.  The Grapes of Wrath was about the extreme poverty of farmers leaving the Dust Bowl and being held in camps at the California border.

Worldwide leader in news

These last four months have been brutal to the local news cycle. Government meetings were reduced to either Zoom or teleconference, sports were canceled and community events were put on the back-burner, as almost everyone rightly opted to practice social distancing and isolation protocols.

TP shortage … from TP’s perspective

My name is Rolla Teepee.  My life began in Brazil, where melaleuca trees grow in abundance, in an area formerly known as the Amazon Rain Forest. Pulpwood made from the trees is abundant, because my parents grow nearly 100 feet in seven years.

Don’t worry; it always cools down

It’s the heat that defines us this month.  It greets us at daybreak with its promise, but in an hour or so, it bears down on our shoulders, and makes us dream of shade and something cold to drink.

‘I wanna be forever young’

Most of us want to be forever young, no matter what.  We do several ways to keep our youthful looks as much as we can. So let’s start beating the clock right now by doing the natural ways of keeping everyone young.