All in Columns
According to the North Carolina Apple Growers Association, there are over 200 commercial operations of 9,000 bearing acres of apple orchards producing yearly 4 million bushels, ranking our state regularly in the top 10 producers of apples in the United States, currently ranking seventh.
The first year of Hickory Grove's transition to a new denominational home in 1885 was not without interruption. Fewer than thirty days after the Church voted to align with the Methodist Protestant Church (M.P.C.) Conference, former Baptist pastor Rev. Bushrod Washington (B. W.) Nash, no doubt unhappy, was reportedly back in the pulpit by the end of April 1885. Whether he was invited to preach or requested the meeting is unknown:
If you have read my columns through the years, you know I am a retired high school English teacher. I spent 37 ½ years in the classroom at the secondary level and another 30 years part-time at the collegiate level. I consider myself somewhat of an authority on what parents need to do to help their children succeed in school.
As I watched the NFL opener one chilly night, I bundled up and grabbed my remote to turn on the Patriots and Seahawks game. During the first three quarters, the Patriots led, so I observed my bedtime and turned off the tv.
Everything about butternut squash says fall, the color orange, the creamy coziness of its texture in recipes, and the ability to be used in savory and sweet dishes. Butternut squash is in season in the fall and winter months.
Artificial intelligence is not coming. It is here, and most of us are still thinking too small about what that means or are so afraid of its potentially negative consequences that we fail to move at all.
As the new school year opens, I have already heard some accounts of disrespectful and even violent behavior toward teachers and staff in some schools. For the life of me, I cannot understand why students are allowed to spit on staff or curse staff with little to no consequences. That schools and parents tolerate such behavior does not reflect well on student conduct in our schools.
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Because my father didn't show any symptoms of being sick before his PSA blood test returned results too high to not address, I encourage men to ask their physicians to do their screenings.
A significant turning point in the life of Hickory Grove Church was the December 1884 pastoral call to Rev. William Ellis Swain of the Methodist Protestant Church (M.P.C.) Conference. In his 1929 book that traced the history of the M.P.C. Conference, Dr. Olin B. Michael, Th.D. affirmed, "The Hickory Grove people had come to us [the M.P.C. Conference], under W. E. Swain's pastorate."
Although students increasingly rely on AI for schoolwork, an old-fashioned American History Essay Contest encourages young people to think creatively about our nation’s history and see it in a new light.
The Kinston Toastmasters Club will celebrate its 75th Anniversary on September 19, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. in the Kinston-Lenoir County Library.
Twenty-five years ago, adults watched the world change on live television. Our children watched us watching it.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, North Carolina experienced no net job growth in July. Indeed, employers as a whole reported 3,000 fewer people on the payroll in July than in May.
On Thursday, September 17, the Moseley-Bright Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution will host a public bell ringing event to commemorate the signing of the United States Constitution.
The great singer and actor Dolly Parton died at age 80 after being hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Hospital Cancer Center. It was reported that she had kidney problems too. Miss Dolly brought a bright light into all the places she graced. She was petite in stature but had a giant personality and heart. She was the ultimate philanthropist with her millions.
If you missed “The Art of the Pallette” Event at the Community Council for the Arts, you missed a great event filled with art showings from familiar and new artists, but you also missed many culinary delights. Lucky for you, I am sharing some of the recipes that were served at the event, and some of the art pieces are still hanging, but maybe not for long. Hurry, do not wait to catch them before they are sold!!!
After separating from the Union Baptist Association (U.B.A.) in October 1884, Hickory Grove operated as an independent Baptist church. No longer a purely Baptist work, preachers from different denominations were invited to conduct worship services. Possibly by design, this was an opportunity for the Church to consider theological perspectives and doctrines other than Baptist.
When I asked about the recent service at Emmanuel Hill Church where Rev. Veronica Jackson is pastor, it was described as having been phenomenal.
Late summer and early Fall are season for welcoming juicy, sweet pears to your farm markets. Turn the crispy fruit into hot crisps, flakey pies, jams, and hearty salads. Generally, pears are in season in Eastern North Carolina from about August to October.
The nine-year-old boy sat in my office. He’d made an appointment to ask a few questions. His mom and little brother were with him. I tried to make them all as comfortable as possible, joked about a few things, and said, “well, hit me with it, man!”
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