I met Henry Walter “Hamper” McBee in 1965. He was a mid-thirty, fast talking, skinny guy wearing an out-of-place black vest and sporting a huge, oversized handlebar mustache. He was sitting on a table in Tubby’s Drive Inn singing a song he’d written about a local highway patrolman named Bill Malone. more

The year was 1979. My young wife and I decided we would recapture a memory from our dating years in the early 70’s and return to the bowling alley we’d frequented back then. more

Working in newspaper business and political area, you come across a huge assortment of folks. The longer you’re in the business you see multiple generations of folks have a tendency to follow in their forefather’s footsteps. In the April 25, 2023 edition of The Banner, local students bore witness to The Tennessee Civil Court of Appeals. One of the justices on the panel was Frank Clement, Jr. son of former Tennessee Governor Frank G. Clement. A few years back while I was a member of the McKenzie City Council, I had the privilege to welcome the former governor’s other son, Bob Clement, to town. more

With the onset of the Civil War and Tennessee’s secession, a group of pro-Union leaders in East Tennessee, which had rejected secession, petitioned Harris to allow the region to break away from the state and remain with the Union. Harris rejected this and sent troops under Felix K. Zollicoffer into East Tennessee. In the gubernatorial election later that year, William H. Polk, brother of former President James K. Polk, ran against Harris on a pro-Union ticket but was defeated 75,300 to 43,495. more

Although I was not in attendance at any of the events mentioned and described in Mr. Radford’s letter/opinion piece published in the September 12 issue of The Banner, I could just kiss “Gus” Radford. more

Brother L. H. Hatcher was a big man. When you were seven, he looked like a giant! He would stride purposefully across the church lawn, smiling and nodding to all the grownups, but he was walking straight towards me! more

No attempt at humor today. more

The story of Andrew Jackson’s life is inseparable from the passionate and tumultuous love affair that defined his early years. In 1788, Jackson met Rachel Donelson, while boarding at the family’s tavern in Nashville, Tennessee. Andrew was instantly smitten, and their connection was immediate. However, there was a significant obstacle to their love story - Rachel was already married to Lewis Robards, a marriage plagued by troubles. more

I figure by now most of our readers know that I have some of the most random recollects of history. more

I quit doing New Year Resolutions after I incorrectly predicted in 1958, 1959, and 1960 that the old rickety, run-down, falling in, dilapidated, ramshackle bridge across the Middle Fork of the Obion River just north of Gleason would fall into the muddy water before the first December snow. more

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Brenda Lee being #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and naturally, after I wrote it I got to thinking about her recording career. I Googled a few songs to see who wrote what and then noticed that Owen Bradley was her main producer once upon a time. That then led to another rabbit hole where I started reading about Bradley and the Nashville Sound. So for the next couple of weeks, and yes, that means I’m going to drag the readers down the rabbit hole on various tangents about country music. I hope you enjoy and fasten your seatbelts because it might get a little bumpy. more

Ask Rusty — Will My Husband’s Benefits Continue After He Dies? more

My journey continues in the news business, despite the speculation that I retired. Yes, it is true, I sold the newspaper and printing business to my daughter, Brittany and her husband, Jason R. Martin. That was October 1, 2023. They operate the only home-owned media company in Carroll County. I continue as the news editor and publisher emeritus. more

My first wife has left me….again. This time for a whole week! She was thoughtful enough to leave a pan of her world famous lasagna. She also cooked a passel of hamburgers so all I’ve got to do is heat them in the microwave. more

Last week, I started the trek through the 1970 archive book. As I went deeper and deeper, it was amazing to see so many faces that helped make McKenzie great. more

The recent series of earthquakes in Mexico got me thinking about the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812. For those unfamiliar with the New Madrid Earthquakes, these were a set of three earthquakes and aftershocks that led to the natural creation of Reelfoot Lake in Lake and Obion counties. more

We used to explore the mysteries of the universe from the back booth of Frank’s Dairy Bar. As budding teenagers, over a cheeseburger, fries and a cherry coke, we’d discuss relevant and eye-opening topics. Looking back, my favorite might have been the single shoe theory. more

In the September 13 issue of The McKenzie Banner, more

I was raised by my favorite WWII veteran, my father. His generation is often referred to as “The Greatest Generation”. Each of us, who is old enough, knows someone from that generation who made a significant impact on our lives. They were our teachers, our coaches, our pastors, our neighbors, friends, and our mentors. These men and women came home from war and started families and businesses and made this nation a great nation. more

The article of the school board meeting on June 15 caught my attention about nothing but money increases all across the system. Not a word was printed about what the new director wanted to do for teaching the children, just new money for so many things. more