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...
Mr. Jimmy Bryant
One of the finest men I’ve ever known was Mr. Jimmy Bryant who was a board member of Haynes Cemetery and a very active caretaker of the property during his years of service. One of my most cherished memories of him was of one Saturday afternoon before Decoration Day. I pulled into the cemetery driveway to find Mr. Jimmy and one of his sons landscaping and placing flowers on his parents’ and grandparents’ graves. At...
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 Andrews of Bryant Station
Ancient red cedars at Haynes Cemetery Decoration Day is coming up at Hayne’s Cemetery, and my old friend Joe Hedrick has a family connection to the place, as do I. About this time of year, we generally have a conversation about Haynes and our ancestors who are buried there. He told me today that, when he was a kid, he’d heard his grandmother Ada Mai Roberts speak often and glowingly of my grandparents Bob and Hattie White. “Are we...