Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Bristol Home

By Mike Steely Aside from Dolly Parton, there may be no better known Tennessean than a Bristol native. Even people who are not country music fans know of “Tennessee Ernie Ford.” If you’re up that way you should take a side trip into Bristol and visit one of our unique...

A Day Away: Looking for Chattanooga graves

By Mike Steely Last weekend my wife and I took a day trip to Chattanooga in search of two cemetery sites: one of Civil War soldiers who acted as spies in 1861 and the other of an almost forgotten national entertainment star. It took a while finding both as the city...

A Day in Monroe County

By Mike Steely Monroe County is known for many things. There’s Estes Kefauver’s home and grave, Fort Loudoun, Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, Tellico Blockhouse, Lake Tellico and Hiwassee College.  There’s also Bald River Falls, the Cherohala Skyway drive, Coker Creek,...

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS: All Things Sevier

By Mike Steely steelym@knoxfocus.com Why are Knox County and East Tennessee so “Sevier?” The region can boast  Sevier neighborhoods, Sevierville Highway, the Sevier Homestead, Sevier County, various Sevier Avenues and Streets, Sevier Heights, and Sevier Fuels, just to...

A Day Away: The Real ‘Walton’s Mountain’

By Mike Steely If you are a fan of The Waltons you may know that Ralph Waite, who played the father in the beloved series, died this past February at the age of 85. Before his long career in acting, Ralph Waite was a WWII Marine veteran, got a Master’s Degree from...