Scribe July 2022

Early voting for the Aug. 4 election starts today

Tennessee’s generous early voting period for the Aug. 4 State and Federal Primary & State and Coun ty General Election begins this Friday, July 15, and runs Monday to Saturday until Saturday, July 30.

“More Tennessee voters take advantage of the con venience and flexibility of our state’s generous early voting period every year,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “There is a longer ballot for the Aug. 4 elec tion, so I encourage Ten nessee voters to cast their ballot early.”

On the August ballot, Ten nessee voters will see pri mary races for Governor, U.S. House, State Senate, State House and the State Executive Committee members for each political party and retention or gen eral elections for judicial offices and other state and local positions.

Early voting allows Ten nesseans to avoid Election Day crowds and shorten their wait time. Early vot ing also offers the flexibil ity of evening and Saturday hours and multiple polling locations in many counties.

Tennesseans can find early voting and Election Day polling locations, view sample ballots and more with the GoVoteTN app or online at GoVoteTN.gov. The GoVoteTN app is free in the App Store or Google Play.

Voters are encouraged to review their sample ballot on the GoVoteTN app or

GoVoteTN.gov before they head to the polls. Review ing your ballot and decid ing how you will vote will also reduce your time at the polls.

“There are several judi cial retention questions on the ballot this year. I want voters to be aware that the August ballot is longer than normally and will take ad ditional time to complete,” said Coordinator of Elec tions Mark Goins. “When you vote early, you can help reduce wait times for your self and other voters.”

Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day need to bring valid photo iden tification to the polls. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Ten nessee state government or the federal government is acceptable even if it’s expired. Student IDs are not acceptable. Out of state driver’s license are not ac ceptable. More information about what types of IDs are permitted is available on GoVoteTN.gov.

For the latest accurate information about the up coming election, follow the Secretary of State’s social media channels Twitter: @SecTreHargett, Face book: Tennessee Secretary of State and Instagram: @ tnsecofstate.

For more information about early voting, visit GoVoteTN.gov or call the Division of Elections tollfree at 1-877-850-4959.

Happy birthday, America!

Oh,

for

land of

TDRT is recognized by state

by Rebekah Beeler

On behalf of the state of Tennes see, TEMA and Volunteer Ten nessee, Ken Hall and the Tennes see Disaster Response Team is recognized by Don Sowers, Man ager of Disaster Services for the state of Tennessee, at Monterey First Baptist Church on June 12. “They go out and help their neighbors and share their love,” Sowers said. Sowers lauded TDRT members and its leader, Ken Hall, for the over 100 an swered calls to respond to di sasters, as well as being the only active Community Emergency Response Team qualified disaster response team in the state. Sow ers presented Hall with a CERT pack with equipment to assist with future calls to respond, and spoke of the potential to expand the footprint of the team and opportunities for CERT train ing and preparedness training in Monterey.

Photo by Rebekah Beeler

beautiful,

spacious skies. America celebrated her 246th birthday and patriots along with her, thankful to be in the

plenty and for those who sacrificed to make it so. To the land of the free and home of the brave,

Photo

Our Town

Sandwich Board

Monterey Pool to host Celebratory Swim Party

July is National Parks and Recreations month, and Putnam County Parks and Recreations is celebrating by hosting a Celebratory Pool Party at Monterey Pool with extended public swim hours and half-off admis sion. There will also be lim ited Parks and Recreation Month items for sale. The event will be 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20.

Tax Free Holiday coming up

For 2022, there are three sales tax holidays. The Ten nessee General Assembly approved two more sales tax holidays in addition to the traditional sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers, which begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 29, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 31. For more informa tion on tax free holidays and eligible items, visit www.tn.gov.

Burks Back to School Bash set for Aug. 11

Attention all Burks students and families: please join in for a Back to School Bash at Burks Elementary School on Thursday, Aug. 11, from 4:30-6 p.m.

Enjoy ‘Movies in the Park’

Come and enjoy Monterey Movies in the Park with “Lady and the Tramp (2019, rated PG) on Saturday, July 16. Watch a movie under

the stars in Monterey. Bring friends and family, lawn chairs and blankets to the free event at Whitaker Park. The movie starts at dark (about 8:15 p.m.). Admis sion is free. Concessions of popcorn and shaved ice will be available for purchase. A second movies in the park for July is scheduled for July 30. For more informa tion contact the Monterey Depot at 839-2111.

Monterey Community Pool open, classes avail able

On Tuesday’s at 9:15 a.m., Poolside Morning Stretch Classes will be held at Monterey Community Pool. The cost is $2 per person.

Monterey Community Pool hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. The pool is closed on Mondays. Ad mission is $6 per person.

Pool parties are also avail able from 6-9 p.m. on open days. For more information, call Putnam County Parks and Recreation at 931-5268015.

Monterey Pickers tune up for community Summer is here and that mean the Monterey Pick ers are tuned in for warm Tuesday evenings at the Monterey Farmers Market at about 6 p.m. So, come listen or bring your instru ment and play.

Monterey Farmers Mar ket open Monterey Farmers Market

Standing Stone Scribe

Rebekah Beeler, Publisher

Standing Stone Scribe is a monthly Berliner publi cation covering news and features in Monterey and surrounding communities from Mayland to Rick man, Calfkiller to Crawford.

Editorial Policy: Standing Stone Scribe encourages event and news submissions and letters to the editor. Submissions should not be libelous and must bear the author’s name, complete address and telephone number. Anonymous submissions will not be accept ed. The Standing Stone Scribe newspaper reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any and all submis sions and advertisements intended for publication.

Copy deadline: All submissions must be received by the Friday before the first Monday of the month.

Standing Stone Scribe publications are set to be printed generally on the Thursday following the first Monday of the month with the exception of Monday holidays in which the Scribe will be printed the fol lowing Thursday.

The Scribe welcomes electronic submissions at edi torstandingstonescribe@gmail.com.

Advertising: Get the word out about your business, service or organization, increase traffic, expand your customer base, and communicate directly with the community you serve. Let everyone around know your business by advertisting with Standing Stone Scribe. For more information, specs and price sheet, email editorstandingstonescribe@gmail.com or call 931-265-9489.

is now open on Saturdays from 7 a.m.- 2 p.m. The Monterey Farmers Market seeks vendors to sell pro duce, eggs, meats, baked goods, and handmade crafts during the 2022 season. Registration for vendors to participate at the Monterey Farmers Market this year are open at the Monterey Depot Museum. For more information, contact Raf ferty Cleary, Monterey Cul tural Administrator, at 8392111.

Garden Club meets sec ond Tuesdays

The Monterey Garden Club meets the second Tuesday of each month. Come and listen to guest speakers, watch demonstrations and get tips for successful gar dening. The clubs is active in the Monterey commu nity and offer scholarships to Monterey High School graduates. They would love to have you join them. For more information, please contact Monterey Garden Club President, Jan Stansell at (214) 208-5243 or email montereytngardenclub@ yahoo.com. They look for ward to seeing you there!

Take the school calendar survey

Calling all Putnam County School System students, parents/caregivers, com munity members and PCSS employees! Take the PCSS school year calendar sur vey!

Your feedback helps guide the next three-year calendar for the school system.

Visit http://ow.ly/oPSU50 Jm6Kv to view the pro posed calendar.

Monterey Hilltop Chorale reconvenes in August Monterey Hilltop Chorale, an all volunteer choir un der the direction of Francis Eldridge will start the new season’s reshersals in Au gust. The Chorale meets at Monterey United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. on Mon

days. They always welcome new members. The Chorale performs free concerts for the community and sup ports local causes with love offerings collected at the door. They are also seeking sponsorships to help with the cost of sheet music, supplies and professional pianist. Sponsorships are yearly and sponsor logos will be featured on the con cert programs. For more in formation about becoming a sponsor, contact Kathy at kradel1010@gmail.com or Joy at cedesigners@out look.com.

Monterey Board meets on first Mondays

The Town of Monterey holds monthly board meet ings open to the public every first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Monterey Municiple Build ing. It is important for resi dents to see how the city is being managed and to take advantage of the opportu nity use their voices. Every one who has a vested inter est in the town, its direction and prospects, as well as the necessity to understand city processes, programs and issues is encouraged to attend. The town hall meet ing will have a sign-in sheet for those who wish to speak and give time for them to bring up important issues for discussion.

Monterey Senior Center plans programs

Make plans to check out the Monterey Senior Cen ter.

• Exercise– Chair exer cises Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.

• Bridge– Monday and Thursday at 1 p.m.

• Bingo- Thursday at 10 a.m.

• Wednesday Socials: 10:30 a.m. 30-attendee maximum for special guest presentations. Make reser vations to attend.

• Thursday Extras: 10 a.m.

BINGO

• Friday Art: 10 a.m. If schools are closed due to inclement weather, the Monterey Senior Center will also be closed.The Center is located at 105 N. Elmore, Monterey, TN. Contact the Senior Center by calling 839-8053. Membership is free for those 60 and over. Come and see what we are all about. Please stop by the center to see what new ad ventures have been added. Regular center hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Monterey VFW meet first

Thursdays

VFW Post 6277 meet ing time has changed. Post meeting will remain on the first Thursday of every month but will now begin at 7 p.m. VFW Post 6277 is located at 101 South Pop lar St., Monterey, TN, and is open to all veterans who have served in a war or con flict.

SCV active in community

The Champ FergusonStanding Stone Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) Post 2014 Help pre serve Southern Heritage and join in the Capt. Champ Ferguson-Standing Stone #2014 Sons of Confeder ate Veterans (SCV). For more information, contact Jack Looper at 445-2050 or Rooster Barnes at 5102211.

SSHS/Monterey

Hometown Project meets The Standing Stone His torical Society/Monterey Hometown Project meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Monterey Lions Club. The Society plans the an nual Standing Stone Day celebration, a local holiday that is observed annually on the second Saturday in Oc tober. Monterey Hometown Project meets directly fol lowing the Standing Stone Historical Society meet

ing. Monterey Hometown Project is a group orga nized under the Standing Stone Historical Society to raise funds to make im provements to the Town of Monterey. Email standing stoneday@gmail.com.

FCE Club meets fourth Monday

The Monterey Family and Consumer Education Club meets on the fourth Thurs day of the month at the Monterey Senior Center at 6:30 p.m.

Civitan Club meets third Tuesdays

The Monterey Civitan holds monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Monterey Methodist Church fellowship hall. Anyone interested in joining the Monterey Civitan Club is welcomed and encouraged to come to the meetings.

Check out Monterey Branch Library

A monthly quilting class is held on the third Tuesday of the month at 2 p.m. Bring your quilting project, learn from experienced quilters and enjoy the company.

Free violin lessons began at the library on March 3, open to students 8 to 80 years old. Classes are on Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. There are limited seats in class and limited instru ments for lease. To reserve, call 839-2103.

Download the Libby app and use your library card number to download ebooks, audiobooks and magazines to use at home. Using personal computer? Go to https://reads.over drive.com/.

Friends of the Monterey Library Book Sale is set for the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Used book donations are accepted during normal

Hello Market Blessings celebrates Founder’s Day Sandwich Board

library hours. Please come and support the library and join Friends of the Monterey Library.

The library is located at 401 E. Commercial Ave, Monterey. 839-2103.

Suicide prevention resources available

The National Suicide Pre vention Lifeline (1-800273-8255) is one such free resource that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for anyone who is in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

Lions Building for event rental

hunt, Native presentation, craft vendors, car show and food trucks. The event will also feature live music by crowd favorite Caleb and Leann. The Miss Standing Stone Beauty Pageant date is set for Saturday, Sept. 17.

Note: if there is a spike in local COVID-19 cases, The Cottage will remain closed.

Join Tennessee Disaster Response Team

The

UCHRA announces water bill assistance program

The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA) has announced the rollout of a new temporary emergency program aimed at helping low-income families pay overdue water and wastewater bills.

The Low-Income Home Wa ter Assistance Program, or LI HWAP, is a grant that families do not have to repay. Families do not need to have a past due water bill, do not have to be on public assistance, and can rent or own their own home in order to qualify for assis tance.

LIHWAP helps families pay the cost of water and sewer services including water, wastewater, sewer, and septic waste. The one-time payment is sent directly to the water

and wastewater utility company and will be credited to the applicant’s bill.

Assistance is based on house hold size and income. Priority assistance will be made avail able to households who have had their water services dis connected or are in jeapardy of water services being disconnected.

To apply, the applicant must provide a copy of their gov ernment issued ID, Social Security number and verifica tion for all eligible household members or birth certificate for children under 12 months of age, proof of gross income for the past 30 days for all household members 18 years or older or completion of the Zero In come Form if no income, one

month history of home water/ wastewater bill, and a copy of the most recent water utility bill or termination notice if applicable.

Households that are within 60% of the state median in come guidelines can receive assistance.

To inquire about assistance through LIHWAP, Upper Cumberland residents should contact their local UCHRA office. Contact information for each county office can be found at www.uchra.org or by calling (931) 528-1127.

Applications will be accepted through Sept. 30, 2023, pend ing available funding, and families can be served one time during the application period.

The Monterey Lions Club will be renting out the Club’s building for par ties, events and gatherings. The cost is $50 for a 3-hour slot and $100 for an all day event. For those who would like to rent the Monterey Lions Club building for their event, call 931-8392350. Contact Mike Calla han at 839-2350 for more information. Forms are available at 108 E. Com mercial Ave.

Standing Stone Day set for Oct. 8

The 43rd annual Stand ing Stone Day celebration of Monterey’s Cherokee heritage and the Standing Stone Monument will be observed on Saturday, Oct. 8. Festivities this year will include a parade, scavenger

Titus House wants to help Need clothes? We can help! Titus House, 306 W. Crawford Ave. in Monterey, provides free clothing to anyone in need. Titus House is open the second Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon, except for October when it will be open the third Saturday. Titus House accepts donations of clean, dry clothing in bags or box es. These may be dropped off at Titus House. Please put donations underneath the carport at the end of the Titus House driveway. Ti tus House appreciates your donations! Titus House is an outreach program of the Monterey Church of Christ. Questions regarding Titus House please call (931) 252-7676.

The Cottage Thrift Store open

The Cottage thrift store at the Monterey United Meth odist Church offers new inventory and new pric ing. They ask for everyone to exercise precautions, use gloves and masks and will have some available for their shoppers’ safety.

The Tennessee Disaster Response Team is a nonprofit organization meeting the needs of those faced with natural disasters. The team needs donations of water, canned goods and money to make trips to and from disaster areas and also welcomes volunteers to help in relief missions. Contact team leader Ken Hall at 239-3318 to become a team volunteer.

UCDD Offers Relative Caregiver, Housing As sistance

Are you raising a relative child or need housing as sistance?

For more information on assistance and support, please contact Melissa Al lison at the Upper Cumberland Development District toll-free at 1-877275-8233.

A support group meeting will be held for relatives that are caring for relative children during this month. Please contact Me lissa Allison at 931-4764127, if you are interested in attending this meeting.

For housing assistance, while caring for a minor child, contact Myra Walker at 931-432-4111.

A Founder’s Day celebration is held for Marilyn Schmidt of Cumberland Cove on July 6. Schmidt owned Hello Market Blessings from November 2020 to August 2021.

Qualls sisters, Charlotte McCowan, Janet Wilson, Sharon York, and Cindy Gar rett, took proprietorship Aug. 1, 2021. Hello Market Blessings, 201-D Elmore St. in Monterey, is Monterey’s best kept secret, with over 30 small businesses under one roof! The shop has been successful through hard work and the vision that a small business could provide the community with much needed goods. Hello Market Bless ings has been supportive of the community through Monterey High School Wildcats, Monterey Senior Center, and other small businesses.

If you have been watching television at all recently, I am sure you have seen that com mercial advertising Prime day for Amazon. If you have, you are likely sing ing the words to that jingle right now. Please accept my apology for placing that ear worm back in your head. Nevertheless Prime day does come with some pretty good deals for subscribers. I found it was a particularly good time to check out some new streaming channels since some of them were offered at a hefty discount for Prime day. I opted to use Prime’s 99-cent deal this month to try out Paramount + again, which gives you access to their catalog for $0.99 a month for two months, with the option to cancel at any time. Other channels were offered at this same price at the time as well, but I went with Paramount + because there was a movie I have wanted to watch since it was released in June.

“Jerry and Marge Go Large” is a gem of a movie and it was worth purchasing Paramount + for a few months just to see that. It is inspired by a true story, so while the story is basically true, some of the details have been changed for the movie. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Annette Bening (Death on the Nile) star as Jerry and Marge Sel bee, a retired couple living in

Livin’ large with ‘Larry and Marge’

By Paula Tudor, Scribe columnist

a small town. In the movie, Jerry has just reluctantly retired from his job at Kel logg’s and is searching for some sort of purpose in his life. On a typical day out at a local convenience store, he notices a new lottery game being advertised called Win fall. Upon further inspec tion of the game, Jerry real izes there is a loophole in the game. Being gifted at num bers, he begins to calculate his odds of winning. After playing the game a few times he starts to win. Each time he plays he wins more money than the time before. When he tells his wife, she wants in on the action, not for the money, but for the opportu nity to do something fun with her husband. Eventually they win so much money playing Winfall that they realize they can use that money to help out the people in their strug gling town. A veritable “winwin,” Jerry discovers that for the first time in his life, his love of numbers helps him connect with people in a way that he has never been able to do before.

I cannot say enough good things about this film. It is heart-warming and sweet, but not in a sappy way, which is usually a difficult bal ance for movies to find these days. At its core, “Jerry and Marge” is about making and renewing connections with other people. After all of the COVID lockdowns, I cannot

The inkling...

Famiily is what you make it

They say sharing DNA doesn’t make you family, love does.

And they are right.

I have a best friend, Sherrill, who’s like a sister, and her little sister, Sherrie, who’s like a best friend. Then there’s bestie’s husband who is like my brother-in-law. All three of them used to work for a man named Tama at his Japanese restaurant in col lege. He’s basically every body’s favorite Asian uncle who puts those TV chefs to shame as he cooks these amazing 5-star meals for us and always packs a snack bag the grandkids would envy.

Then there’s Daddy, the sis ters’ sweet padre who prac tically adopted me in the eighth grade.

Rebekah Beeler Scribe publisher

We’re not all related, but we’re family. Love does that.

The running joke is that they love my husband so much they continue to tolerate me. I laugh when they say as much, but really I don’t blame them a bit. I would, too, if I were them.

So, it’s Daddy’s birthday week and what does he want? He wants the family to go deep sea fishing with him in Panama City Beach. It’s tradition.

I overpacked and met up with bestie, little sis and

imagine a more appropriate film or message. The cast is stellar, and they genuinely seemed like they were enjoy ing working with each other. Annette Bening, in particu lar, shines in this film, mak ing you remember just how good of an actress she is. You will also love Rainn Wilson (Dwight, The Office), who plays a lovable convenience store clerk in the movie.

If you’re not currently sub scribed to Paramount + and want to see “Jerry and Marge Go Large,” Paramount is still offering free 7-day tri als. Unfortunately, the $0.99 Prime day deal will likely be over by the time this ar ticle is printed. Paramount + plans typically start at $4.99 a month though, if you’re in terested in subscribing to the channel long term.

If you want to read about the real Jerry and Marge Selbee, there is a great article about them on cbsnews.com.

• • •

Paula Tudor graduated cum laude from Tennessee Tech nological University with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies emphasizing English and Communication. She is a freelance writer and a distin guished blogger/online cor respondent, with more than three thousand followers on twitter. The bulk of her work can be found at paulassoapbox.blogspot.com and at paulatudor.com.

Dave Says

There’s a process here…and it works!

Dear Dave, My husband and I have a beginner emergency fund set aside, and we’re work ing on paying off $30,000 in credit card debt and two cars in Baby Step 2. He would also like us to start putting money aside for a couple of trips and a few other things we have al ways wanted. This makes me nervous, because we have made so much prog ress over the last year in getting control of our fi nances, paying off debt and living on a budget. I under stand wanting something to look forward to, but I would hate to see us slow down when we are doing so well. How do you feel about this?

Marie

Dear Marie, Okay, so you have two car payments hanging over your heads, plus a bunch of credit card debt, and your husband wants to throw saving for toys and vaca tions into the mix? I’m sure he’s a good guy, and he has obviously been on-board with your financial over haul so far, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this. The reason people are suc cessful following my plan is because I teach common sense methods, wrapped up in unbridled, scorchedearth intensity. There’s a process here. There’s an idea combined with pas sion. And when you plug

into it full force, you’re going to move in a positive direction so quickly it’ll make your head spin.

You know how I say per sonal finance is 80% be havior and only 20% head knowledge? It’s true. Be haviors have to change. The more dramatically they change, the better the results and the faster you progress. But if you don’t plug into it, you’ll fall back into the same old things.

It’s okay to save up for a trip or buy some fun stuff in the general philosophy of life. But getting out of debt, and having control of your finances should come first. Remember when you were a kid, and you had to finish your dinner or clean up your room before going out to play? That’s what I teach. Work first, play later.

Trust me. It’ll pay off in the long run!

— Dave

Dad already made the decision Dear Dave, My father-in-law passed

away earlier this year. Since then, my wife and I have faced a dilemma be cause of the inheritance. Her dad had several life insurance policies, and he left one to her and one to each of her siblings. The one he left my wife was bigger than the ones he left to the others, and now her sister who received the smallest settlement is an gry about the situation. She wants more, and it’s caus ing a real dilemma within the family. I told my wife I am okay with doing what she feels is best. What are your thoughts?

Daniel

Dear Daniel,

So, your wife’s sister feels like she’s entitled to something their dad didn’t want her to have? The arro gance of your sister-in-law is appalling. If their dad had wanted her sister to have a different policy, he would’ve put her name on the other policy. I mean, it was his decision, not hers. Giving someone money because you think it will enhance or save a relation ship is a really bad idea. A relationship that’s pur chased isn’t a real rela tionship—it’s prostitution. If giving this sister money is the only way she’ll act right or ever speak to you guys again, then she ain’t worth having. That’s no longer someone you should feel the need to impress,

brother-in-law, then we headed south in two weight ed vehicles where we met up with Asian uncle to go fish ing with Daddy.

I got to go with them four

years ago on an overnight charter. It was a big boat with a bunch of other people. This time, it was exceedingly more pleasant since we did a day-long private charter with

Capt. John Law.

Daddy was familiar with Capt. Law, having chartered several fishing trips with him throughout the summer over the last couple of years. They had become friends, and the captain always took extra care to make sure he had a good trip.

A little ways off the coast, the captain stopped to put us to work catching our live bait. Our fishing poles were readied like straight trap lines, four hooks with irides cent lures worn like pendants on a vertical necklace. It was exciting dropping the weight into the water and bobbing the pole before reel ing it back in to find all four hooks were occupied.

We reeled in enough bait for the live well and headed out well past the point where we could see land on the hori zon.

It was a beautiful day, per fect for fishing; hot but with a steady cooling breeze. When we could see nothing but the Gulf all around us, it

was just us and the fishes and the water, and it was time to wet our lines.

Our deckhand, Bubba, was very encouraging as he’d keep our hooks baited and attempted to keep us from tangling and catching each other, all while keep ing count of the fish we’d brought in to make sure we caught our limit.

When we’d pull in our catch, Capt. John Law would holler out what it was.

“Red snapper!” he’d yell.

“White snapper! Grouper!”

As the family reeled in some beauties, I felt this unexpect ed massive tug on my line and had to hold steady.

I tried to reel in but we were fishing at about 1,000 feet, and it felt like I was floss ing the water with a ton of bricks.

I pulled the pole up and reeled in, pulled the pole up and reeled in and kept on for what seemed like forever.

Dave Ramsey

Sisters from different misters, Rebekah Beeler and Sherrill Rhea are ready to add another adventure to their friendship.

Celebrating a golden anniversary

By Rebekah Beeler Scribe publisher

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Marvin and Carol Wacaser renewed their vows at Monterey First Baptist Church after the worship service on Sunday, June 12. Carol wore a white sundress and Marvin was in his Sun day best for the occasion.

The vow renewal ceremony was followed by a recep tion to which the entire congregation was invited.

Marvin was a 21-year seasoned skydiver and skydiving instructor in Zypherhills, FL, from 1970-’91.

In fact, skydiving is how he and Carol met.

On June 10, 1972, Carol and Marvin Wacaser were mar ried. But, on their wedding day, Carol waited for him at the alter while Marvin made a memorable entrance skydiving down to her, paying homage to what brought them together.

Congratulations to the sweet couple, in love now as much as they’ve ever been, on their golden anniversary.

I’m not going to lie — I fought and struggled with it.

It was just about to the point when I couldn’t hardly reel anymore because the line was so tight.

Finally, I saw sparkles of scales in the deep dark of the water. I saw hope (and din ner) at the end of my line. They were beginning to sur face and as I pulled up it just seemed to get heavier.

I reeled as much as I could and when I lifted the pole, the fish broke water and lo and behold, and much to my great surprise, there were two red snappers on my line along with a big, bug-eyed grouper bringing up the rear.

I couldn’t believe it. I could barely lift the pole to swing them in the boat, and Bubba came to help.

I was super grouper proud. It was my first-ever grou per, with the added bonus of the two snappers. I was just tickled silly, and somewhat exhausted.

Bubba helped me hold them up as the captain hollered for a family member to “snap per” a photo. (See what I did there?)

Everybody was busy reeling in their catch, and we all got some awesome fish.

Sherrie joked that she and Tama typically feed the fish with their bait on one side of the boat so that the family members on the other side can do the catching.

But that day they both reeled in some good looking fish.

Sherrie got a big ole grou per, too. We were all cheer ing for each other, when Sherrill pulled in a long fish that looked like an eel’s bet ter-looking cousin.

“Slippery dick!” Captain yelled.

Most of us had never seen or heard of that fish before.

Apparently, the “slippery dick” is a common name for the sand tilefish.

Several of us, including the captain, had their picture taken with it when we got back to the dock.

Daddy, the most seasoned fisherman of us all by far, caught some seriously good gets. What we didn’t catch, he surely did. He always brings in more than anyone.

I pulled in several vermilion snappers and three white snappers, also new to me.

I also pulled in a trigger fish but their fishing season ended when red snapper season began, so we threw him back.

Y’all, it was just the neat est.

I got in a few fights with some sharks, too.

That was very new for me.

The first time I thought I had got another big catch but by the time the hooks surfaced, the top hook was missing. I still had a vermilion snap per on the second hook so it wasn’t a total loss.

I baited and cast again and got another hit on my line.

I thought I was bringing in a big boy when something took my line and ran.

No matter how hard I reeled in, whatever had my line kept going. I tried my best to keep reeling to slow it down and maybe tire it out.

It was pulling me so hard I had an inkling I was going to be flung out of the boat to sleep with the fishes. I was fighting a losing battle.

I yelled for Bubba, “It just keeps going! What do I do?”

Busily helping the other an glers, he yelled back, “Just hang on to it!”

My guess is Bubba already knew it was a shark and would have to cut the line loose because there was no getting it back.

I leaned into my center of gravity and held onto the fishing pole with a death grip, reeling in what little I could.

I supposed standard practice is let the line and don’t lose the pole. It kind of makes

me wonder how many an glers did lose the captain’s fishing pole.

Eventually, the captain hol lered for Bubba to save me. “Bubba, go help her. She’s been hanging on for a while,” he instructed. Bubba grabbed the line and cut it. I was so relieved. Then the captain said to me, “Thank you for hanging on and not losing my pole.”

Well-played, sharky, but, you didn’t get the pole or pull me into the water. I will live to fish another day and you have a lip ring to re member me by.

We went out for Daddy’s birthday dinner a few days later at Dat Cajun Place, and bestie told me that Daddy

told Capt. Law I was his adopted daughter when he explained who we all were in relation to him.

It wasn’t a big secret or any thing. I’d always felt that way, and they always treated me like one of their own.

But, still, to hear that’s how he describes his extra gal — the one with the big mouth, isn’t shy, is always bounc ing off the walls and break ing the rules — it just reaf firmed they are my family and made me feel that much more loved.

I sat by Daddy grinning like a mule eating sawbriars and said, “I hear-tell you adopt ed me.”

He looked back at me and said, “Oh, I did that a long

time ago.”

Our family is this super group(er) of people who en joy being together.

We are a village. We have history, can laugh at our memories while mak ing new ones, sling around our inside jokes and just en joy time well spent, whether it be fishing, a campfire, a cookout, dinner, birthdays, milestones, a UT football game or floating down a river.

Together — that’s what makes us family. And whatever else it is that I can do with my time in this world, I know I have fam ily.

Rebekah Beeler holds up her first-ever grouper and deckhand, Bubba Lee, holds up the red snapper caught on the same cast.

Photo by Rebekah Beeler Carol and Marvin Wacaser celebrate their 50th wedding anniver sary by renewing their vows at Monterey First Baptist Church on June 12.

and story by Rebekah Beeler

The man

Nestled in the valley where Gam Hollow rests along the West Fork of the Obey Riv er, there lies a community of pickers, grinners, strum mers and hummers, danc ers, campers, lawn chair sit ters and campfire circlers.

It’s Jammin at Hippie Jack’s.

Some come for the con certs, some for the culture; others come for the camara derie, and still more for the camping, but all come for the cause.

Jammin at Hippie Jack’s is a nonprofit, live music event venue in which Jack and Lynn Stoddart, also known as Hippie Jack and Mrs. Hippie, host musical acts from all over the American South who fall under the vast umbrella of the unique Americana music genre at his farm in Crawford, TN.

The objective of Jammin at Hippie Jack’s is to preserve and promote the Ameri cana genre and collect for its Community Outreach program, offering support to the nearby population af fected by marginality.

The mission

Knowing his passion for helping others, the Com munity Outreach mission began after a good friend

and Hippie Jack’s chair man of the board suggested having a food drive at one of the festivals. Hippie Jack said the outpouring of gen erosity by attendees of the festival saddled them with two heaping trucks full to deliver to the food pantry up on Wilder Mountain.

“There’s people being missed,” he said of those whose opportunities to help themselves are limited. “If nothing else, their children deserve to eat.”

He continued to build the Outreach, including such offerings as food, clothing, necessities, supplies, bill assistance and even ricks of firewood. He began holding free music festivals, with free admission and camp ing, with a suggested dona tion of nonperishable items for the Outreach mission. Although the pandemic thwarted holding any events over the last few years, Hip pie Jack, with his team and volunteers shifted their en

ergy and focus toward the community outreach pro gram. They continued to raise awareness and collect and distribute food and sup plies to help alleviate the burdens of those in neigh boring communities strug gling to meet their daily needs; those who he endear ingly refers to as “mountain people.”

From 2018-2020, with the help of director of op erations Carter Muncy and operations assistant Micah

wood to those in need, as sisting about 25 families per week. They also collect ed much-needed seasonal items, like coats and socks, as well as toys to give the children of these families a special Christmas.

“But, hunger isn’t season al,” Muncy said. “People are always hungry.”

Muncy and Bilbrey first became acquainted with Hippie Jack’s by attending festivals. They began vol unteering with the organi zation and then were hired as directors of operations, organize the events, book the talent and keep it all

running for Hippie Jack. They are full-fledged be lievers in the mission and the music.

“It’s mainly the music, but it’s more than a music festi val,” Muncy said. “I fell in love with it.”

On April 22-23, Hippie Jack opened the grounds to his farm for their first Jam min at Hippie Jack’s event since the pandemic began and kicked off the 2023 season.

“We’re so excited to be back doing in-person events,” Muncy said.

Everyone associated with the organization contrib utes to its success. When describing how the orga nization operates, Muncy said that Hippie Jack and Mrs. Hippie are the soul, he and Bilbrey are the brains, and Judy Boles and Jamie Stultz are the backbone. Their hands and feet are un doubtedly their host of kind and caring volunteers who further champion Hippie Jack’s music on a mission. Their latest endeavor for the community outreach mission is to expand to include sending food and supplies to a Romanian orphanage in which many Ukrainian children have been displaced.

Hippie Jack also had The Pantry built on site to pro tect the donations until they are distributed. They hold Open Pantry Thurs days from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for anyone who has a need to

Photos

Jack “Hippie Jack” Stoddart gives back to his beloved Appalachia through the Jammin at Hippie Jack’s festivals.

come “shop” for extra food, clothes, toiletries, or even animal feed. What’s more is that they give it without qualification.

“The money comes in and the money goes out,” Hip pie Jack said. “If we have it, we give it.”

The music

As for the music, it is really the point at which everyone comes together, because that is a language everyone understands.

“I love live music,” Hippie Jack said, adding that no one else offered this kind of intimate music venue that allowed for an up-close and interactive exchange with the musicians; where the audience can literally hug the artists and enjoy the musical experience together with them.

Muncy said Hippie Jack made a notable career as a photographer, document ing the mountain people and capturing the images of their rich culture and history, some of which are displayed at the Smithso nian. Because the mountain people helped Hippie Jack during his career, he wanted to return the favor by being a resource to gently address their needs with respect, keeping their dignity intact.

“And he wanted to give them a stage to perform on and an audience to listen,” Muncy said.

Each concert session is recorded and mastered inhouse and live streamed di rectly from The Sanctuary on YouTube and on PBS stations across the U.S. with WCTE-TV in Cookeville, TN.

The Sanctuary itself is a beautiful natural wood structure, modeling a high, open-gabled church house. Hippie Jack sold his pris tine 1969 Chevy Camaro for $25,000 to fund the

materials for The Sanctu ary, built by volunteers and friends. At the alter, made of a slightly raised deck for a stage, musicians bring an offering of Americana mu sic. It is there that they are quiet touched by the spirit of the music, which reso nates throughout The Sanc tuary and to the audience sitting on the retired Church of Christ pews.

On April 22, Ricky and Micol Davis of Blue Moth er Tupelo, longtime friends of the festival, were the first musical act to grace The Sanctuary stage since the pandemic closures. The Da vises wooed the audience with their soulful roots mu sic. Using little more than their down home bluesy voices, guitar and tam bourine, they filled up The Sanctuary with their joyful and harmonic noise. And then, as if on cue with spon taneity, Micol was touched by the spirit of the music.

She began to hum a tune.

“Mmmmh… I feel,” she said as Ricky strummed the guitar between selections on the set list. “I’m feeling something like …”

And then she began to sing, “‘I wish I was in heav en sittin’ down,” as though she were in a tabernacle in Mississippi.

Her strong voice poured from her, vocalizing a song that she’d never heard nor ever performed.

She was writing it as she sang. Ricky put the guitar aside and accompanied with a soulful riff.

They didn’t know that they knew that song, but they sang it a capella liked they’d been practicing it all along.

Jammin at Hippie Jack’s held a second spring con cert event to build on the momentum where Cody Brooks and Bee Taylor took the stage on May 6.

Dressed to match his tired 1920s guitar, Brooks

looks like a page in a late edition dime novel; like a cuff link someone left on a train. He’s handsome like a slightly worn bowler hat; as inspired as a jalopy that has lived a lot of life and has a lot of life to live.

He is the singing drifter every mother warned their daughters about.

But, most of all, he’s ex tremely talented and goes off like a Tommy gun. He simply can’t contain all the music that is in him. When he performs, his unique and brassy sound encompass es the catacombs of your ears and the music literally wears his face.

“I love this room,” Brooks said. “I love these grounds. I love these mountains. I love you guys. You saved me in a lot of ways, and still do.”

His lyrics are personable and relatable, as though he were telling a story to you about you, as much as he is realizing the truth of his own. It makes you ache as you listen to the passion in his words and sound; some how, you feel as if you’ve found home but are home sick all the same. He is rem iniscent of Hank, Sr., writes as well as Hayes Carll, and sounds like you’ve met him before, in another lifetime, and thought you’d never see him again.

He tunes his guitar, midsong and without missing a beat, and you realize the self-taught musician is the embodiment of days-goneby right in the here-andnow.

His debut album comes out in June.

Bee Taylor (yes, like Aunt Bea Taylor, but not spelled the same) burns down May berry like a lady with her ‘Nawlins flavored fervor on vocals, keyboard and electric guitar. Her little fin gers are painted “performer pink” as she effortlessly works them into the ivories

and strings. Make no mistake, though she’ll soften you with that Southern belle accent and those soft Rs, Taylor’s rich ly rounded voice reaches up like she’s evoking the an cestors. Her sound is as dec adent as a Deep South bread pudding, and bites through your shell like an alligator. Keep your eye out for her. She’ll get you, too.

Taylor was accompanied by Brooks on the drums

(apparently, he can play anything), Chase Graham on bass and vocals and Ja son Threm on the clarinet and saxophone. Together, their music flowed, taking The Sanctuary on a river boat down the Mississippi River. Their folksy sound was misleading in its com plexity as they summoned influences of jazz, country, gospel, jazz funeral, zydeco and blues served in an up dated Big Band wrapper.

The audience, starving for her decadent music, de voured it. It was a glorious thing to bear witness.

Jammin at Hippie Jack’s hopes to add three more music festival events this year. Follow them on Fa cebook at Jammin at Hip pie Jack’s or visit www. jamminathippiejacks.com for updates and enjoy all the performance videos on YouTube.

Appalachia is a significant branch of the Americana genre of music. Much of Appa lachian storytelling was done through song and Hippie Jack’s intends to extend his stage to those who would have a story to tell.

Putnam County sample ballot for the Aug. 4 election

Putnam County sample ballot for the Aug. 4 election

12 Life on the Mountain

Foran first at ‘Forged in Fire’

By Rebekah Beeler Scribe publisher

Josh Foran was named the Season 9 Episode 11 cham pion of “Forged in Fire” on the History Channel, airing on June 22.

“I’m pretty excited about it myself,” he said. “It was fun.”

Foran began blacksmithing a mere four years ago.

Foran is the son of Monterey United Methodist Church and Monterey Hilltop Cho rale’s pianist, Jill Jones-La zuka of Algood. He grew up in Michigan, but with a lot of family in Tennessee, Foran said he and his sister also grew up immersed in their Tennessee roots, spending summers and visiting their family.

“We have a lot of family in Tennessee and that’s where my family is from,” he said. “They left Tennessee going up north to seek opportuni ties.”

He added that when the economy worsened, he and his family essentially left Michigan and moved back to Tennessee looking for op portunities.

Jones-Lazuka is the family researcher, a student of her family’s dynamic genealogy and history, a member of the Morgan County Genea logical Society and an avid member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. As a result, Foran said he grew up with an interest in the old ways.

He attended Tennessee Technological University and graduated with a manu

facturing engineering degree in 2012. Since then, he’s worked in aerospace and au tomotive engineering.

Right out of college, he took a position with Honda and relocated to Alabama, and also drove for the Honda Performance Development professional racing team for two years. As an engineer for Honda, he was on the fore front of reviewing designs for manufacturability.

However, it was also dur ing his six years working with Honda that he found the Alabama Forge Council. He joined and began learning the old ways of manufactur ing – by hand.

“To me, blacksmithing seemed like a dead thing that nobody did anymore,” he said. “The more I got in

volved, the more and more people were doing it.”

Starting out with hooks and key chains, he soon found he had a penchant for smithing.

“It’s one of those things like once I get interested in something, I kind of go all out,” he said. Then he laughed, “It was all downhill from there.”

After a friend suggested, he started making knives more seriously about three and a half years ago.

“I made one. Then I made another and another and an other,” he said. “It was a slip pery slope from there. Once you start on it, you want to keep going … try this and try that. One thing just kind of led to another.”

He mentioned that TTU had a longstanding black

smithing program, but he didn’t know about it while he was there. But, he always enjoyed taking the machin ing, fabricating, welding and metal casting classes he took as part of his engineering de gree.

He took a position in space, aerospace and defense in dustry with Shape Fidelity in Huntsville, AL, where he created 3D scans of parts from automotive to rocket assembly for reverse engi neering and inspection for space, military, and private industries.

He had done a knife mak ing demo at the Alabama Forge Council and his friend and fellow smithy, Josh Howard, who had also ap peared on “Forged in Fire,” encouraged him to apply for the show.

“At the time, I was very new to knife making and blacksmithing,” Foran said. After more encouragement from Howard and talking with his family, he applied and started the interview process, to which he was told they definitely wanted him to compete.

Then the pandemic hit. When he didn’t hear any thing for a year, he thought they changed their minds.

Then one day in May 2021, he had just made plans with Howard to forge a project with him and the very next day he received an unex pected phone call from the network while he was strapped to a rocket 30 feet in the air conducting an in spection. He had to ask if he could call back.

He laughed, “It was a pretty quick turnaround from going a year of waiting to, ‘Can you be here in 5 days?’”

He made his way to Stam ford, CN, to be one of four blacksmiths to compete in three rounds. Foran said that although he gets tunnel vision with his projects, he was very cognizant of the cameras. For the first two rounds in the special “Flip the Forge” episode, the com petitors got to choose the parameters and how they wanted to build their knives.

Foran forged a billet of Da mascus.

“At one point, they didn’t show it on the show, but I completely lost my knife,” Foran said. He had etched his knife, making it dark and sat it down on his black workbench and was easily overlooked.

In round two, the blade smiths form their handles and do their finishing work and have to pass a series of tests for strength, endurance, sharpness, and handling.

“After they try to break your knife, they see how well your edge held up,” he said.

In round three, the two re maining bladesmiths were sent to their home forge to create a historical blade. For this challenge, they had to make a Tibetan sword, with five hours the first day and 10 hours over the next three days.

He said, “The funny thing is, during the third round, everything that could go wrong did. And it was a whole bunch of stuff that

never happens.”

The first billet of Damascus he made broke apart and he started forging a second and third blade. The second one was Damascus and the third was non-Damascus. The second blade started hav ing some issues and he had to decide between trying to work with it and risk it not working out or running out of time, or go with the third blade. He went with the nonDamascus blade.

“I think I sharpened my sword with 14 minutes left,” he said.

After all the tests, Foran said the competition came down to balance. His com petitor had used wood for the pommel of the sword that was lightweight and made the blade top heavy.

Foran’s Tibetan sword won.

“I’m proud of the integrity, determination and sense of humor that he demonstrated on the show,” Jones-Lazuka, said, “which define him in life.”

He said eventually he’d like to make a living from black smithing and leatherwork ing. Currently, he works as an engineer for Fields Auto Works in Ohio, designing race cars, while he and his wife operate a small farm in at their home in Alabama. There he has a home forge and hones his blacksmithing skills and leatherworking as Josh of All Trades. Like him on Facebook at Josh of All Trades and visit www.jo shofalltradesblacksmithing. com.

Photos submitted

Josh Foran is Forged in Fire famous as he is named a Sea son 9 champion of the History Channel’s blacksmithing competition.

Josh Foran is a “Josh of All Trades” from engineering, car racing, farming to leatherworking and blacksmithing. At whatever he tries his capable hands, he will be a suc cess.

12 Life on the Mountain

Foran first at ‘Forged in Fire’

By Rebekah Beeler Scribe publisher

Josh Foran was named the Season 9 Episode 11 cham pion of “Forged in Fire” on the History Channel, airing on June 22.

“I’m pretty excited about it myself,” he said. “It was fun.”

Foran began blacksmithing a mere four years ago.

Foran is the son of Monterey United Methodist Church and Monterey Hilltop Cho rale’s pianist, Jill Jones-La zuka of Algood. He grew up in Michigan, but with a lot of family in Tennessee, Foran said he and his sister also grew up immersed in their Tennessee roots, spending summers and visiting their family.

“We have a lot of family in Tennessee and that’s where my family is from,” he said. “They left Tennessee going up north to seek opportuni ties.”

He added that when the economy worsened, he and his family essentially left Michigan and moved back to Tennessee looking for op portunities.

Jones-Lazuka is the family researcher, a student of her family’s dynamic genealogy and history, a member of the Morgan County Genea logical Society and an avid member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. As a result, Foran said he grew up with an interest in the old ways.

He attended Tennessee Technological University and graduated with a manu

facturing engineering degree in 2012. Since then, he’s worked in aerospace and au tomotive engineering.

Right out of college, he took a position with Honda and relocated to Alabama, and also drove for the Honda Performance Development professional racing team for two years. As an engineer for Honda, he was on the fore front of reviewing designs for manufacturability.

However, it was also dur ing his six years working with Honda that he found the Alabama Forge Council. He joined and began learning the old ways of manufactur ing – by hand.

“To me, blacksmithing seemed like a dead thing that nobody did anymore,” he said. “The more I got in

volved, the more and more people were doing it.”

Starting out with hooks and key chains, he soon found he had a penchant for smithing.

“It’s one of those things like once I get interested in something, I kind of go all out,” he said. Then he laughed, “It was all downhill from there.”

After a friend suggested, he started making knives more seriously about three and a half years ago.

“I made one. Then I made another and another and an other,” he said. “It was a slip pery slope from there. Once you start on it, you want to keep going … try this and try that. One thing just kind of led to another.”

He mentioned that TTU had a longstanding black

smithing program, but he didn’t know about it while he was there. But, he always enjoyed taking the machin ing, fabricating, welding and metal casting classes he took as part of his engineering de gree.

He took a position in space, aerospace and defense in dustry with Shape Fidelity in Huntsville, AL, where he created 3D scans of parts from automotive to rocket assembly for reverse engi neering and inspection for space, military, and private industries.

He had done a knife mak ing demo at the Alabama Forge Council and his friend and fellow smithy, Josh Howard, who had also ap peared on “Forged in Fire,” encouraged him to apply for the show.

“At the time, I was very new to knife making and blacksmithing,” Foran said. After more encouragement from Howard and talking with his family, he applied and started the interview process, to which he was told they definitely wanted him to compete.

Then the pandemic hit. When he didn’t hear any thing for a year, he thought they changed their minds.

Then one day in May 2021, he had just made plans with Howard to forge a project with him and the very next day he received an unex pected phone call from the network while he was strapped to a rocket 30 feet in the air conducting an in spection. He had to ask if he could call back.

He laughed, “It was a pretty quick turnaround from going a year of waiting to, ‘Can you be here in 5 days?’”

He made his way to Stam ford, CN, to be one of four blacksmiths to compete in three rounds. Foran said that although he gets tunnel vision with his projects, he was very cognizant of the cameras. For the first two rounds in the special “Flip the Forge” episode, the com petitors got to choose the parameters and how they wanted to build their knives.

Foran forged a billet of Da mascus.

“At one point, they didn’t show it on the show, but I completely lost my knife,” Foran said. He had etched his knife, making it dark and sat it down on his black workbench and was easily overlooked.

In round two, the blade smiths form their handles and do their finishing work and have to pass a series of tests for strength, endurance, sharpness, and handling.

“After they try to break your knife, they see how well your edge held up,” he said.

In round three, the two re maining bladesmiths were sent to their home forge to create a historical blade. For this challenge, they had to make a Tibetan sword, with five hours the first day and 10 hours over the next three days.

He said, “The funny thing is, during the third round, everything that could go wrong did. And it was a whole bunch of stuff that

never happens.”

The first billet of Damascus he made broke apart and he started forging a second and third blade. The second one was Damascus and the third was non-Damascus. The second blade started hav ing some issues and he had to decide between trying to work with it and risk it not working out or running out of time, or go with the third blade. He went with the nonDamascus blade.

“I think I sharpened my sword with 14 minutes left,” he said.

After all the tests, Foran said the competition came down to balance. His com petitor had used wood for the pommel of the sword that was lightweight and made the blade top heavy.

Foran’s Tibetan sword won.

“I’m proud of the integrity, determination and sense of humor that he demonstrated on the show,” Jones-Lazuka, said, “which define him in life.”

He said eventually he’d like to make a living from black smithing and leatherwork ing. Currently, he works as an engineer for Fields Auto Works in Ohio, designing race cars, while he and his wife operate a small farm in at their home in Alabama. There he has a home forge and hones his blacksmithing skills and leatherworking as Josh of All Trades. Like him on Facebook at Josh of All Trades and visit www.jo shofalltradesblacksmithing. com.

Photos submitted

Josh Foran is Forged in Fire famous as he is named a Sea son 9 champion of the History Channel’s blacksmithing competition.

Josh Foran is a “Josh of All Trades” from engineering, car racing, farming to leatherworking and blacksmithing. At whatever he tries his capable hands, he will be a suc cess.