by Amanda West | Aug 7, 2025 | Feature
WHILE HIS mother earned a nursing degree from Motlow State Community College and worked full time to support her family, Chris Fritz watched with silent admiration. “I’ll never forget waking up at night when I was in elementary school and seeing her studying or doing...
by Amanda West | Aug 7, 2025 | Feature
AFTER DRU McCormick graduated from Louisiana State University with a psychology degree, she traded tantalizing French beignets, Cajun and Creole cuisine, and the cypress-lined bayous of “Fisherman’s Paradise” for Middle Tennessee. But her love for Shelbyville — the...
by Amanda West | Jul 10, 2025 | Feature
“Cooking With a Veteran” began with hunger — an ache that Dave Rogers knew too well. Before he enlisted in the U.S. Army and for a short time after his honorable discharge, Rogers faced homelessness. This permanent mark, left by Rogers’ temporary situation, stirred...
by Amanda West | Jul 10, 2025 | Feature
“Mrs. Heather, please don’t cry Because toys you didn’t have to buy Sometimes the shelves get kind of bare But because of love for Mandy and children, people did share Stuffed animals, blankets, cars, and Play-Doh With such good choices, children’s eyes will surely...
by Amanda West | Jun 12, 2025 | Feature
THE SUN dips behind the Shelbyville Recreation Center, casting shadows across the baseball field, dotted with soccer players at H.V. Griffin Park. Marc Betzelberger leans forward, elbows on his knees, as his youngest son, Jonathan, kicks the ball with relentless...
by Amanda West | Jun 12, 2025 | Feature
LYNDA JOHNSON settled into the wheelchair as the nurse swaddled 4-month-old Natasha before placing her in Lynda’s outstretched arms. Although Lynda and her husband, Alfred, already had four children, Natasha was the first — and last — they brought home from the...
