Feature Stories

This year's theme for the Read to be Ready program, which continues through June 20 at East Side Elementary, is "Building a Community of Thinkers." Books recently purchased for this three-week program allow rising third graders to ponder such thinking topics as, "What if you woke up one morning and your eyes weren't yours? That was a question recently explored when students were read the book by Sandra Markle called, "What If You Had Animal Eyes?"...

Beta Iota Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha sorority held a "Taste and Tell" event recently, and are sharing their recipes with Times-Gazette readers. Makes 2 large loaves or 4 small loabes 3 cups flour 2 ½ cups sugar 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder...

Principal's List Fifth Grade Ella R. Allen, Laura J. Bennett, Christina M. Bilbro, Kaydence B. Bynum, Caroline L. Cook, Robert A. Cook, Matthew K. Crosslin, Alayna H. Cruse, Allison G. Farris, Georgia R. Frazier, Trenton A. Giel, Jayden R. Hathcock, Daniela L. Jara, James D. Jennings, Tanner W. Johnson, Tucker G. Johnson, Adelyn E. Jones, Anthony H. Mercer, Wyatt J. Petelle, Chere' N. Potts, Caleb M. Smith, Henry G. Stone, Taylor C. Swain, Tristan L. Whitley, Dixie A. Wright, Kaegan L. Young...

The Webb School in Bell Buckle recently announced its A and B honor rolls for the fourth quarter of the 2018-2019 school year. An independent college preparatory day/boarding school for grades 6-12, The Webb School is the oldest continuously operating school of its kind in the South. The school has a dual emphasis on academic excellence and character development...

​Cherries in the south are just, well, unpredictable. I think it's been three years since my last southern, local cherries. The frost gets the blooms or the birds eat the ripening fruit before we can harvest. Just as daisies are the friendliest flower, I think cherries are the friendliest fruit. ...

A new generation -- some who exhibited at the Halls Mill Triangle Club horse shows as youth -- have taken over the reins there on a new memorial horse show slated for 6 p.m. Saturday, June 22. "I initially became involved with spotted saddle horses as a young child with my father, John W. Cabe," said Erin Cabe Webb. "He was a farrier, so horses were a part of our daily life."...

Bedford Builds Habitat For Humanity needs land. "We are out of land and have not been able to acquire land lately," said executive director Pam Birtcil. "The builders here are buying the lots usually left for Habitat, the ones in the lower income areas. They are putting nice homes in the mix now."...

Shelby Chapter DAR heard a program on historic preservation during its recent meeting at River Bend Country Club. Bedford County archivist Anna Frazier was the speaker, assisted by DAR member Melissa Edwards, who is a T-G columnist and the granddaughter of former county historians the late Tim and Helen Marsh...

Normandy's aesthetic beauty will be highlighted during the June 1 "Treasured Gardens and Creative Landscapes" tour, sponsored by Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee, according to organizer Sara Wood. Tickets for this event are $15 each and can be obtained by calling 580-2090 or emailing lwhulan@gmail.com...

Jessica Osterhaus has been named the 2019 June Dairy Month Chairman for Bedford County. Osterhaus will be honored Thursday at the Tennessee June Dairy Month Kickoff Event at Battle Mountain Farm in College Grove. The event includes recognition from Celeste Blackburn, president of the American Dairy Association of Tennessee...

In 2017, M.J. Miller of Normandy released “Life Lessons From The Hive,” an inspirational book broken up into short, devotional-like chapters, each one inspired by the experiences of Miller and her friend Suki Brannan in keeping bees. “I was very pleased with the response,” said Miller. “The book has sold very well.”...

“Snow flurries are expected and temperatures will drop well below zero tonight,” warned the TV weatherman. In Tennessee that’s code for “Hightail it to the grocery store and buy all the milk, bread and toilet paper you can carry.” All it takes is the rumor of snow to persuade us to close our schools, stay home from work and stock up on the necessities of life! We pull out the blankets, check the batteries in the flashlights, locate every candle in the house, pop the popcorn, heat up the cocoa, put on our favorite movie and make plans to settle in for a week.. ...

The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) has awarded grant funding to the Caregiver Relief Program of Bedford County to help fund free monthly nurse visits to individuals and families affected by Alzheimer's disease. "This is vital generous support for our families," said Caregiver Relief P Joyce Adams, RN, Program Director of the Caregiver Relief Program of Bedford County, said, When we receive this support it validates the caregiver's efforts and extends the life of the caregiver and their loved one suffering with Alzheimer's disease. ...

For the next issue of Bedford Life magazine, we're looking for your favorite homemade ice cream recipes (and any tips or tricks you'd like to share). Drop editor John I. Carney a line at jcarney@t-g.com or John Carney, Shelbyville Times-Gazette, PO Box 380, Shelbyville TN 37160. Thanks!...

​Last week our regional Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agents toured the Tanimura and Antle hydroponic greenhouses in Livingston, where they grow butterhead lettuce. It was fascinating to see all of those beautiful heads of lettuce developing from a seed to the clamshell package ready for the grocery store. I am thankful for this type of agriculture that provides clean, tasty, nutritious produce year round...

Eakin Elementary and Learning Way Elementary are presenting Disney-themed musicals this spring as the first outside of Nashville to benefit from Tennessee Performing Arts Center's "Disney Musicals In Schools" program. The program allows each of the two local schools to produce a 30-minute Disney musical without having to pay a royalty or fee, and with the support of TPAC teaching specialists and educational materials...

The Bedford County 4-H Dog Project hosted a Central Region seven county invitational dog workshop on March 23. The Bedford County's dog project's goal is to educate youth in Bedford County who are interested in canines. The workshop was held at the Bedford County fairgrounds and instructed by Joshua Wade, president of the Bedford County dog club. ...

Community High School drama department's Smokestack Theatre has closed the curtain on year 25. Anthony "Tony" Davis, director over all those years, says the department just finished a three-show season. He couldn't be more pleased, he says...

The Tennessee State Museum's current exhibition, "Between the Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts" -- its first new show since its grand opening last fall -- features close to 40 quilts selected from the Museum's vast collection that highlight Tennessee's quilt artistry across more than two centuries and all three grand divisions of the state. Among those quilts is an Apple Blossoms Quilt connected to Mildred Locke of Quilter's Haven in Bell Buckle dated to the 1980s...

James Harrison “Harry” Craddock, a Shelbyville native now living in Georgetown, Texas, has self-published a new book, “According To Harry: My 22 Proofs That God Exists.” The first half of the book is dedicated to Craddock’s years in Shelbyville, including his time as a paper boy for the Times-Gazette, and various local sports teams for which he played. The book is available online from Amazon and from Barnes & Noble.

A memorable Shelbyville renovation for John Stefanski of Global Homes Inc. will likely be the historic "yellow house on Belmont." Sadly, time was not kind to the 501 Belmont Avenue antiquity, which is located near East Side School. Stefanski and crew, however, took the challenge in spring 2016 to turn the dilapidated home into an award-winning designer showcase...

There's a catch phrase: "Bloom where you're planted." Shelbyville Central High School substitute educator Carolyn Buckingham has strong convictions that is what she's doing in her life. "I'm glad God put something in me to blossom out," said the 65-year-old. "God has opened avenues ... allows me to come to this school every morning."...

Second graders at Liberty School recently participated in Duck River Electric Membership Corp.’s Louie the Lightning Bug safety presentation and coloring contest. Eighty students learned how electricity is made, how it travels and how to use it safely via a 10-minute video and presentation by DREMC’s Gina Warren, communications and community relations coordinator. All second grade students received special Louie the Lightning Bug prizes for participating in the coloring contest; first place winners in each classroom were received a collectible Louie stuffed toy and certificated signed by the cooperative’s Interim President and CEO Charles McDonald. First place winners were, from left, Zander Smith, Jackson Pyrdum and Layklyn McKin. Not pictured is Gabby Price. (Submitted photo)

Chloe DeLease and Connor Prim represented Cascade High School at the 2019 All-State Music Ensemble at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville. This is the second year both have earned this honor, DeLease for the clarinet and Prim for the trumpet. (Submitted photo)

Learning Way Elementary teachers had a pep rally April 12 to encourage students to do well on the TN Ready test. There were games, a spirit stick competition, and a musical performance by fifth grade students and principal Kathy Reed.

Hazel Gordon, 102, enjoyed another birthday celebration Wednesday with family and friends at Celebration Way Senior Living Center. The Lynchburg native married her sweetheart, Richard J. “Cracker” Gordon, who served on Bedford County Commission and passed away in 2010. They were together 69 years, she says, living a good life filled with church activities, farming and rearing two daughters. (T-G Photo by Dawn Hankins)

Bedford County native Mary Jo Graham considers herself a Christian artist and author -- titles which she admits came about rather unexpectedly while sharing her faith. Since moving to Murfreesboro, Graham has spent time in her fine art studio, where she paints what she calls "messages of hidden crosses." It wasn't until 10 years ago when she explored abstract painting...

One of the current trends in cooking vegetables is steaks. No, not beef steaks with vegetables on the side. Instead, the vegetables are cut into thick, steak like slabs and then roasted until tender and served with a sauce drizzled over the top. No, they don't taste like beef steaks but they make an easy, flavorful side dish or even a vegetarian main dish. Cauliflower and cabbage are two vegetables that work well for steaks...

Bedford County Family and Community Education Clubs celebrated their achievements for the 2018 club year with the theme "A Night for Southern Women." Audra Spence, owner of Redeemed Home, gave a very interesting program on home decorating and how she started her business. President Louise Armstrong of the Four Corners Club presided over the evening with Mary Ann Davis giving the devotional. Members and guests enjoyed favorite southern refreshments served by the committee...

Local extension agent Whitney Danhof has become part of the Master Craftsman program, a certification with the Embroiderers' Guild of America. Danhof, who works with the University of Tennessee/Tennessee State University Extension on Midland Road, said the program is designed to promote excellence in embroidery. In addition, it provides the accomplished needleworker the opportunity to demonstrate skills and become certified as a master in an area of expertise...

"First Baptist Church of Ivy Gap," a sentimental southern comedy by Ron Osborne, will be presented by the Shelbyville Woman's Club at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at The Fly Arts Center on South Main Street. The play, directed by Kay Rose, is the story of six women who gather at the church to roll bandages as part of the World War II effort and plan the church's 75th anniversary...

Fawn Weaver calls herself the most recent of four storytellers helping to keep alive the memory of Nathan "Nearest" Green. When a very young Jack Daniel hired on as a "chore boy" on Dan Call's farm, it was Call's slave Nathan "Nearest" Green who taught Daniel the art of distilling whiskey. Call told Daniel that Nearest Green was the best whiskey-maker Call knew...

Community Middle School Band is having an eventful spring semester. In January, members auditioned for, and then were selected to perform with, the 45th annual Tri-Lakes Honor Band. On March 1, the Concert Band performed at the second annual Tri-Lakes Concert Festival and received a superior rating (they were one of two middle schools in attendance to receive the highest ranking)...

Wayne Dillingham, retired from a long career in the military and then in education, made his first solo flight as a pilot fifty years ago, at age 16, in 1969. He celebrated the official anniversary -- March 15 -- with a flight, courtesy of his friend, corporate pilot David Robinson of Murfreesboro...