Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

I am definitely a product of the great American melting pot, but on both sides of the family, a Scots-Irish ancestry is prominent (Some distant cousin with too much time on his hands traced my...

I’m heartbroken that cartoonist Scott Adams recently self-destructed -- but hold the presses! This big, beautiful world still has plenty of comic strips to tickle our funny bones. Don’t believe...

I just heard about a local business losing a major customer over a trivial misunderstanding. Most of us hate change and maintain loyalty to a brand or retailer through thick and thin. True, this...

I was saddened to hear of the death of Dr. Glenn Himebaugh, co-founder of the journalism department at my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University. Although I hadn’t kept in touch with Dr....

Who needs forensics and gunfire? My wife and I have been catching up on episodes of “The Mysteries of Laura,” the 2014-2016 NBC series starring Debra Messing. Forget murders and chases. The real...

Let’s face it: not everyone does Valentine’s Day well. A significant number of people are too unromantic, lazy, cheap or unimaginative to make the best of the occasion. Don’t despair if you...

Middle-class philanthropy may be dying. Citing a study released by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, “National Review” magazine says the share of American households...

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the demand for older models in the fashion and cosmetics industries is exploding. Sorry. Perhaps “exploding” is a trigger word. It might give...

It’s an amenity that most consumers take for granted. It’s an amenity that most retailers/professionals grudgingly accept as a cost of doing business. But I simply must salute those...

“Time Enough at Last.” The new year reminds me of that classic “Twilight Zone” episode starring Burgess Meredith as a put-upon bookworm. (No, he wasn’t reading on the wing of an airplane!...

I won’t hazard a guess as to whether it achieves immortality like “grassy knoll” or “hanging chads,” but surely the phrase “bomb cyclone storm” will remain in the public consciousness...

As I write this year-end essay about 2022 trends in food and dining, I must confess that I’m playing catch-up. I have obligations and hobbies, so I wasn’t TECHNICALLY paying attention (i.e.,...

When writing advertising copy, I sometimes find myself desperately searching for a zinger of a tag line --and settling for trite admonitions such as “Make this the best hunting season ever” or ...

Saint Nick wasn’t the only man in a red suit that magical Christmas season 50 years ago. On Saturday December 23, 1972, I walked from my house to Sharp’s Drive-In Market and splurged on four 20-ce...

It has been years since my family last dealt with the “pictures with Santa” pageantry, but Saint Nick impersonators remain an integral part of Christmas for Americans. Parents feel compelled to...

“Do you mind if we have leftovers?” When my wife poses that question, I always answer, “No, that’s fine,” because (a) I genuinely enjoy leftovers, (b) I don’t want to cause extra trouble...

Please pardon me, but I am always overcome by mawkish sentimentality at this time of year. I cannot contain my gratitude. I am thankful for a paycheck and sunsets and modern plumbing and mobility and...

My cousin’s husband owns a funeral home, so I’m anxious to hear his take on a front-page article from the November 4 “Wall Street Journal.” According to the article, morticians are innovating...

Murphy’s Law being what it is, whether you’re talking about a surprise party, a romantic getaway or visiting an acquaintance in the hospital, good intentions don’t always pan out. The same goes...

I’m proud of my son Gideon for doing his civic duty and casting a vote for the first time. (This comes mere months after he did his civic duty and signed up for Selective Service. And, would you bel...

Perhaps it’s partly because my mother owns a huge antique desk from Milky Way Farm (the former estate of Franklin C. Mars, founder of Mars Candies), but I pay keen attention to the annual flurry of...

“Were you raised in a barn?” I never had the legendary Mrs. Montgomery as a teacher; but she was a senior class adviser and I needed her input on a school program script, so I made the rookie...

Have you heard of the “quiet quitting” trend that is being breathlessly reported on social media? Quiet quitting refers to doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more...

At my day job, we recently underwent a major upgrade of our security cameras. Yes, shoplifting has gotten bad enough and technology has gotten good enough that we have made this major investment....

My brother and I rarely saw eye-to-eye about TV viewing choices in our teens and twenties, but we were both among the handful of people who imbibed the hilarity of a sitcom that NBC unleashed upon an...