My first real job involved my being away from home for seven weeks, spending most of the summer with an unruly collection of teenage boys, most of them about my …
Revisiting the Nearly Forgotten ‘Lolly Madonna War,’ Shot in Union County, Tenn.
In the 1970s, before Burt Reynolds became a movie bandit, before his recent Knoxville presence generated daily media over-coverage, an earlier generation of aging male actors were in East Tennessee …
Carp Surprise: The Ladies of Society Receive a Fishy Story
The “Society” section of the Knoxville Journal was produced by three women, all of whom were “of” the milieu. Their work domain was a separate office, befitting their status and, …
Tommy-toes: Recalling an Era When Heirloom Tomatoes Were Just Tomatoes
The locally sourced salad that accompanied most of the entrées boasted “heirloom” tomatoes, the waitress said. They were, she added, “exquisite, better than any that you have ever tasted.” Several …
Touring East Tennessee’s Dive Bars With Jim Dykes
The first bar that Jim Dykes introduced me to was a dark, dusty dive on Gay Street, about a block away from the newspaper building. It was called Lockett’s, and …