High and Dry in Wrangell
Duane Bell was thirteen years old when his dad decided to leave his wife and five kids to fend for themselves in Modesto, California. The mother took a job waitressing while Duane’s uncle, Bill Bell, went about finding his older brother’s whereabouts. Eventually, Bill discovered that his brother Gilbert had moved to the southeastern tip of Alaska, to the commercial fishing community of Wrangell. So, in the summer of 1972, Bill (then...
Crocker Ridge, Bound and Determined
This is a story told me by Wayne Baskins — In 1961, a fella couldn’t start deer hunting legally until he was twelve years old. That’s why Jim Renfroe was all-fired delighted when his dad told him that come opening day, he (having recently celebrated his momentous twelfth birthday) could indeed carry his very own rifle into the woods, and accompany his father up on Crocker Ridge. Crocker Ridge, one of 34 high ridges...
A Most Worthwhile Cause — The Rescue Team at Henry Horton State Park
Located on more than 1,000 acres of beautiful Tennessee woodlands and golden, native grass pastures, Henry Horton State Park is a beloved destination for campers, hikers, golfers, competitive skeet shooters, and boating enthusiasts. Bounded by the State’s longest and most biologcally-diverse waterway, the Duck River, the park attracts its share of the 150,000 anglers, paddlers, and boaters who use the river annually. A PRESENT...
The Scribners of Scribner’s Mill
Usually, this time of year, around Decoration Day, I write an article about families connected to Haynes Cemetery. This year I’m featuring an article written by someone else – an anonymous writer for the long-defunct Columbia, Tennessee newspaper, The Herald and Mail. Haynes Cemetery is located on Scribner’s Mill Road and, this year, I’m sharing a story about a member of the family for which the road is named. The Lewis Scribner...
The Hollywood Playboy Who Came to Town
Anyone who has seen the 1933 film King Kong may remember the actor Bruce Cabot who played rival to a giant gorilla for the romantic affections of Fay Wray. The role was his big break, made only two years and seven pictures into a Hollywood career that lasted 40 years. Yet, before stardom, he struggled a bit to find his place in life — which must have been a disappointment to his father, a most capable and ambitious man....
Do Bee or Not Do Bee
My brother Jackie and I were born at King’s Daughters Hospital September 27, 1953 in a building located on West 9th Street in Columbia. We were among the last babies born at King’s Daughters, established in 1913, as the present Maury County Hospital opened less than two months later. The first house in which I lived was located on Scribner Avenue, a hotbed for blossoming Baby Boomers such as my brother and me. We literally were...