There is no doubt one of the best things about the changing of the seasons is the abundance of fresh local produce. Meals are much easier to prepare and tend to be much lighter and better for our nutritional health.
All in Columns
Veteran Column: A Long-Overdue Welcome Home
At G.I. Joel’s Living History Museum, Veterans, friends and families gather on Saturday morning March 28, 2026. The day before to observe National Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2026. G.I. Joe’ s had advertised Pizza with a Vietnam War Veteran, “It is a day specifically set aside to pay tribute to the more than 2.7 million Americans who served in this war, along with 9 million who served on active duty during that era.
Chris Humphrey: It’s Time to Deliver: My Priorities for the Upcoming Short Session
This week, I return to Raleigh to begin the legislative short session. For those unfamiliar, the short session is a period where lawmakers convene to shore up laws, bills, and spending priorities carried over from the long session. Historically, it’s a time for relatively routine work — fixing a grammatical error here, moving a comma there. This short session is a bit different.
Mike Parker: Halifax Resolves, the first call for independence
When residents of North Carolina purchase a new vehicle, they can choose among three standard license plates. The most common plate says: “First in Flight.” Two other choices are “In God We Trust” and “First in Freedom.”
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: The bright flavor of lemon
Bright, lemony sweets and desserts are the perfect way top off a Spring meal. I love all things flavored with lemon. Here is a collection of sweet, tangy recipes that is sure to please your family and friends! Warning, these recipes are not low calorie or diet approved, so enjoy in small but delicious amounts!
Veteran Column: G.I. Joe’s Vietnam War Veterans sat down at the LCCOA Senior Center
On March 19th, the G.I. Joe’s Vietnam War Veterans sat down at the LCCOA Senior Center as they provided them with the long-overdue "welcome home". These kinds of community gestures, gift bags, the salutes, and especially the hugs that the veterans received that day meant the world to those who didn't receive that kind of recognition decades ago.
Hickory Grove Church (11)
Hickory Grove's Methodist leanings in the mid to late 1860s ended by the close of the decade. Although the Church would eventually become a permanent Methodist work, the 1870s brought about a denominational interlude with the Baptists that lasted a dozen years.
Mike Parker: April 18 – A Busy Saturday
This Saturday, April 18, promises to be a busy day for those interested in food and music. The CSS Neuse Foundation is hosting this year’s first “Breakfast on the Boat” on April 18. The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the CSS Neuse II, the replica gunboat in dry dock at the corner of Herritage and Gordon streets.
Evelyn Dove Coleman: KickBall Event Promises Fun & Fitness
The Young Professionals of Lenoir County are sponsoring a KickBall Tournament on April 25, 2026 at Fairfield Park. It promises to be a lot of fun as well as an opportunity for networking.
Evelyn Dove Coleman: Easter Is A Reminder
The observance of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Good Friday to Easter Sunday is one of the largest of the year. Maundy Monday is the Monday of Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. It is the day following Palm Sunday. Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum meaning commandment, reflecting Jesus having given a new commandment.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Season Grand Opening of the Lenoir County Farmers Market
The Lenoir County Farmers Market will resume business beginning Saturday, April 11, at 8:00 a.m., and there is no doubt this is one of the most anticipated dates of the year. Nothing beats fresh, farm-grown local vegetables, and two favorites are always strawberries and asparagus.
Hickory Grove Church (10)
Historical records indicate that Hickory Grove Church of Bucklesberry began as a Free Will Baptist (F.W.B.) work. Organized by 1841, it remained F.W.B. until dismissal from the Original F.W.B. Conference in 1864 for reasons unknown. By 1867, evidence suggests it was leaning Methodist through a loose association with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (M.E.C.S.) Conference.
Kristy Kelly: The women who continue to mold me
As is the theme of my life, I am a day late and a dollar short on writing anything for Women’s History Month. The last column I wrote was about famous women who did good, but were terrible humans. This time, I thought I’d write about the women who are making history every day.
Mike Parker: Historic church and local people appear in online video
If you type “Ed Terry The Circuit Riding Preacher” into a Google or YouTube search, you will arrive at a link to a video that features a historic church in Lenoir County: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGn0l7ovnnc
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Carrots, a True Symbol of Spring
Finally, Spring is springing, daffodils are blooming Easter decorations are everywhere, and some yummy produce is in season. Carrots are such a symbol of spring and Easter and all things bunnies, so be sure to take advantage of them while they are fresh.
Evelyn Dove Coleman: Stand Up Straight
A prayer partner Minister Linda Greene of New Bern asked me to write about an experience with a flower. A neighbor rang my door bell one day and she and her daughter stood there with a flower to give to me as a a gift. First the flower was a bulb with long roots hanging down already, ready to plant in soil. But it was housed in a beautiful little glass vase to keep it in. So I set it on a table in a room by the window.
Mike Parker: ‘Life’s Little Instructions’ struck pedagogical pay dirt
Thinking back to the years I spent as a classroom teacher sometimes makes me proud. One of a teacher’s most gratifying experiences is giving students an assignment that seems to resonate with them – well, most of them.
Evelyn Dove Coleman: Focus On The Good
I was reminded the other day that some people were not taught to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Some people did not attend Sunday School or have parents who drilled the Golden Rule into them. They bully their way through life making up stories to fit what their goals are. They lie on people with no regard to what it does to the other person. As long as they get what they want, they steam-roll over and through others to get it.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Why Choose Protein for Lunch?
For a couple of years or more protein has been the buzz word for dieting, especially among the aging population. What are the benefits of increasing the amount of protein in your diet and what are some ways to do it safely?
Kristy Kelly: Heroes and villains are two sides of the same coin
Imagine going to school every day with statues of long-dead men lining the walkway. Their names are memorized through deliberate instruction in South Carolina classrooms. Wade Hampton III, Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion, Thomas Sumter and Andrew Pickens are known far and wide for their Revolutionary War prowess.