Battle of Ramsour’s Mill: Neighbor vs. Neighbor in 1780
The Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, which pitted farmer against farmer, may seem a twisted story for an upbeat celebration of the United States Semiquincentennial, but it is worth retelling
Burns Stanley: The unlikely boxing manager in my family tree
I’ve found a family link to two heavyweight boxers entwined in the career and legacy of Muhammad Ali.
Bethlehem … to Seagrove published: Yearlong project crosses goal line
My Dad began writing his memoir in February of last year and over the weekend the published book went live on Amazon.
‘Crime of the Century’ loot remains a mystery after 92 years
Just over 92 years ago a gang of robbers, at least one armed with a tommy gun, held up a mail truck in broad daylight in downtown Charlotte and made off with over $100,000 in $5 bills, over $2.5 million in today’s dollars.
New year, new CMS
After years of hosting my own site on Wordpress I have moved it to Jekyll.
What I’ve seen in five years of owning a Tesla Model Y
I’ve just hit five years owning a Tesla Model Y Long Range, one of the earliest owners to hit that mark with a Y because the first ones were only delivered in mid-March 2020, just as COVID was beginning to shut down much of the economy.
A mostly forgotten medical first on June 14, 1965
June 14th of 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of a little-known medical miracle involving one of my cousins.
Ella V. Costner: Poet, nurse, veteran, storyteller, bootlegger
In the spring of 2015 I participated in a GoSmokies group hike near the Cosby Campground that included a stop at a cemetery that includes the grave of Ella V. Costner, known as the “Poet Laureate of the Smokies.”
Tennessee schools have a book ban cheat sheet of nearly 400 titles
A list of some 390 books banned earlier this school year by school officials in one Tennessee county is being used as a “cheat sheet” by other school districts to vet their assessment of which books to ban.
Exiting the freak show X
I’m joining the crowd rushing out the door at X. I will no longer post at the freak show, but I plan to keep my seat to lurk until the sports accounts I follow find the exit sign.