Remembering Bob Dole

  By Ray Hill Bob Dole was the last presidential nominee who was a veteran of the Second World War. Few people who saw it will ever forget the moving moment when Bob Dole, then confined to a wheelchair asked to be raised to a standing position so he could salute...

Blessings Everywhere

By John J. Duncan Jr. duncanj@knoxfocus.com My maternal grandfather, Jacob Swisher, was born in 1885 in Watseka, Illinois. In 1910, while teaching in Bureau County, IL, he met and married another teacher, Nora Mae Anthony, in her hometown of Providence, IL. Papa...

Freedom from Fear

People do not voluntarily give up their freedoms unless they are afraid. –Dan Bongino By Dr. Jim Ferguson Becky and I have done many self-driving tours in our travels. We’ve driven around Spain, Ireland and Scotland to name just a few. Driving in foreign...

The Christmas Piano 

By Ralphine Major It was before the days of iPads, iPods, and smart phones.  Christmas 1964 was the Christmas before our dairy farmer father developed a life-changing heart condition.  I’m not sure exactly how it came about, but “piano” landed on my Christmas list. ...

Retirement challenges

  By Joe Rector Thanksgiving is finished, and we have run through what little bit of leftovers we had from the feast. Amy planned perfectly so that every meal doesn’t include something made with turkey. Lacey and her family are back in Nashville, and Dallas is...

‘Do something about the series with Vanderbilt’

By Tom Mattingly The “Robert R. Neyland Era” at Tennessee, one that began in 1926 and continued through 1952, with two interruptions for military service, almost didn’t happen, based on events occurring shortly after he took the job. It was in the spring that year, as...