Opinion

Latresa Phillips, Barbie Adams, Pricella Andrews-Maury and Kim Waldroup (from left) pose with Beatles statutes during the writer's overseas trip earlier this month.

Traveling the British Isles with Friends

Latresa Phillips

Thursday, August 28, 2025

Even though the distance between the United Kingdom and Robbinsville is 3,915 miles, it feels like home. I have been blessed to travel the world. Seeing the iconic sights of countries and observing their culture gives me such a feeling of wonder and kinship.

Members of the Graham County 4-H Club recently completed a hike near I.U. Gap. All names are listed from left in each row. Standing in front is Marley Carpenter. Middle row is Abel Buchanan, Nikki Stewart, Raelee Phillips and Kenlyn Powell. Back row is Ben Frederick, Heather Frederick and Hoot Gibbs. Photo by Randy Collins/Graham County Cooperative Extension

4-H walks through history

Marshall McClung

Thursday, August 21, 2025

A few years ago, the Graham County 4-H Club decided to start a program to get young children off the couch where they spent much time texting on their phones and into the woods. A hiking club was started with guided hikes by 4-H leaders, extension service and volunteers.

Put your trust in the Lord

Eric Reece

Thursday, August 21, 2025

I was always taught it could take a new minister a good 10 years before they earned people’s trust. That is a long time in the life of a minister, when the average church stay is 3-7 years. In any profession, you can work hard to build trust and are always trying to earn it.

Corena's watch

Maeburl Tincher

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Corena’s watch once disappeared and gave the writer of this column quite the scare. Big families were a way of life and the main social hub of the builder generation. Shaped by The Great Depression and World War II, they took life very seriously and took very good care of what they had.

Livestreams blacked out

Kevin Hensley

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Not allowing home sporting events to be televised is an archaic philosophy, directly linked to harming live attendance around the initial rise of televisions hitting homes in the 1950s and 1960s.

Questions pertaining to EcoKing solutions

Scott Kamps

Thursday, August 14, 2025

EcoKing Solutions reopening the old Stanley plant and investing $80.5 million locally (“EcoKing coming to Town,” July 24, 2025) seems promising for Graham County. It also raises questions that are worth asking.

How else are they to hear?

Eric Reece

Thursday, August 7, 2025

My hometown is near Morganton, where one of the two N.C. Schools for the Deaf is located. It was built in 1894, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Western North Carolina. A number of families moved there, so their children could attend the school.

Summers spent in the field

Marshall McClung

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Randall Standridge wrote a song titled “When Summer’s in the Meadow,” which reminded me of my childhood days. In my case, when it was summer in the meadow, I was in the field – either tobacco or hay – and both before the summer ended.

Can you freeze a soul?

Scott Kamps

Thursday, July 31, 2025

* Conclusion of a 2-part column My last column ("The Frenches and Snowflake Adoption," July 17) briefly introduced Stuart and Maggie French, as well as their children. The column focused on the couple's 2024 snowflake adoption.

Moonshine and meteorites

Maeburl Tincher

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Daddy and I were headed to Gibson’s Grocery in my brand new car. It was a beautiful 1965, burgundy-and-pearl white Ford Fair Lane 500, loaded with leather bucket seats, a 289 HP engine and cruise-o-matic transmission.