Columnists

By Andy Bedwell I just discovered a few days ago that a covered dish gathering is a whole different thing from potluck. A potluck get-together leaves the possibility of folks bringing store-bought food. Covered dish is something you make at home, pour into your casserole dish and stick a cover on top. The covered dish

By Danny Crownover One of the funniest and strangest things ever to hap-pen in Gadsden occurred in 1904 just after Broad Street had been paved with high-grade white chert, which yielded great clouds of gritty dust when any sort of wind blew up. The dust had a very cutting edge like that of broken glass.

By Toni Ford In my reading of the Word, I recently came across Psalm 93. I had never before noticed the beauty and boldness of this psalm. This hymn, perhaps written by a Levite, presents three truths or assurances about our Lord that are never changing. Based on all the current events going on in

By Vicki Scott Right after work last Friday, Alan and I drove toward Dadeville with a trampoline that Alan won at an auction. He just had to get it to the grandkids! When we reached our destination, we unloaded and started assembling the trampoline parts. After some deliberation, we decided where to put the trampoline.

By Robert Halsey Pine “Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith…But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under

By Rosie Preston My children are grown-up adults, and lately I wondered if they have gathered the family together and discussed all the things I am forgetting. “Mom, how could forget to mail those bills for me?” my daughter questioned. My son followed with, “She forget to make my bank deposit!” How could I explain

Southern Potato Salad 5 pounds red potatoes, chopped medium size, boiled and cooled, (salt potatoes really well while they are boiling) 1 large onion, chopped small, green onions also 5 eggs, boiled, chopped small 3/4 cup sweet salad cubes, (if you want them like a relish, use the food processor) 1 teaspoon mustard (just enough

By Craig Ford The education budget passed by lawmakers in the final days of the 2019 legislative session is the largest in terms of dollars that the state has ever spent (though, when factoring in inflation, we still are not spending as much as we did before the 2008 recession). For the most part, the

By Robert Halsey Pine “So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me

By Toni Ford Have you ever seen the letters “WWJD” on a frame of some sort or bracelet? Young people used to wear the bracelets with these letters on them which stand for “What Would Jesus Do?” The best place to find this answer is in the gospels, where we see numerous examples of Jesus

By Vicki Scott I suppose that loving to learn and having a good sense of humor are good characteristics when working at George Wallace Senior Center in Glencoe. The education I receive from our seniors is better than anything I ever learned in school. Our seniors keep my mind active and alert to what I

By Andy Bedwell Let’s do some recipes of the 1980s! My favorite recipes are from the 1980s and 1990s. They are oldies but goodies. Cheese Crisps 1 cup margarine, melted 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated 2 cups Rice Krispies 1/4 teaspoon red pepper 2 cups self-rising flour, sifted Combine all dry ingredients; mix well.

By Danny Crownover It was probably a dull day in May of 1882 when a reporter for a local newspaper wrote this item: “M.D. Lowe’s two-horse team pulled 5,446 pounds of salt-pork from the depot to S.W. Riddle’s store.” At first glance, that seems to be a trivial item and not worth printing. As a

By Craig Ford One of the positive things to come out of the 2019 Legislative Session is a piece of legislation that has finally brought pay equality to Alabama. Until last week, Alabama was one of only two states in the country that did not have any laws requiring equal pay for equal work (the

By Robert Halsey Pine “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, ‘Go to this people and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull…’” (Acts 28:17-31 NRSV). Paul then goes on to tell

By Vicki Scott Last Friday, I started back working at my old/new job as Center Manager at George Wallace Senior Center in Glencoe. I might have been a little excited, because I woke up at 1 a.m. The anticipation was excruciating. I was so nervous! About a year and a half had passed since I

By Toni Ford What do you think of when you think of summer? What brings you joy about this season? Better yet, what do you want your summer to look like? I love the creativity of God when He created the four seasons. We use seasons as a way of dividing up the year, but

By Rosie Preston It occurred to me the other night that I don’t get anywhere fast, so I knew that it was time to start re-thinking my plans. I may go two steps forward and one step back, which was happening quite often lately. The ability to live as I had in the past –

Andy’s Favorite Cheese Ball, Yummy Enchiladas and Lemon Dump Cake Anyone who entertains knows that the purpose of serving appetizers is to have your family and guests linger by the food, chatting, sharing stories and generally having some sort of human contact. When my sister Mary has us over for Christmas, she always has a

By Danny Crownover The Vagabond recently wrote about Will I. Martin’s story of Bud Easterwood. We now we get to read the colorful story of his sister Ella. The following article was clipped from the Jan. 1, 1893 issue of The Columbus Daily Enquirer of Columbus, Georgia: “Gadsden has had a holiday week of a

By Vicki Scott During this time of the year as grandparents, we’ve been burning up some highways this past week. It has been a joy and an honor to be able to do this. There have been several changes in the Scott house, and it has felt like a cyclone just passed through. Our son,

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 23:56b-24:11 NRSV). Our nature is to be negative, to look on the bad side of things. God keeps surprising us, yet we still don’t want to believe that all things are possible through Him. My good friend Thomas reminds me every now and then,

By Toni Ford Have you ever stopped to thank God for being a God of second chances? Personally, I know that I don’t thank Him enough for all the second, third and fourth chances He had given me in my lifetime and will continue to give me. When you think about it, we all have

Finding my friend in an unexpected situation at a nursing home where her sister-in-law resides became quite a learning experience. And because it could happen to you, I decided to share it.  Because my friend was involved in helping a patient other than her family rub a cramp out of her foot, she went through

Andy’s Favorite Popcorn, Peanut Butter Popcorn, Ice Box Nut Cookies and White Chocolate Party Mix By Andy Bedwell Let’s have a snack party! Popcorn is one of the oldest snacks in the world and is now the trendiest. Many of us remember shaking a pot full of kernels on top of the stove just waiting

By Danny Crownover Two mysterious men appeared in Gadsden in the mid-1890s, and for several months afterward, there was much speculation as to their origin and their purpose. During the first week of their stay, the men daily walked all over town. Many women and children began to call them the Wild Men, largely because

By Toni Ford As we celebrate Memorial Day this week, I hope everyone took time to remember those who lost their lives by serving in the U.S. military. These men and women paid a great price to protect our civil and religious freedoms and gave their lives for our country. Honestly, our gratitude, appreciation, respect,

By Robert Halsey Pine “We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.” (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, 17-20  

By Rosie Preston It’s been 11 years since my daddy passed after years of suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Afterward, my sister Mary and I brought our mother to my home to take care of her. We loved taking care of my mom, with our only heartache being that she could not remember when to take

By Vicki Scott The day finally happened – my first public speech because of my articles! The honor is real, and I still can’t believe it. I love to talk and make people laugh, and Northeast Etowah Community Center made it happen. Thank you, Mary Grissom, for giving me this chance. It gives me great