by Amanda E. West | Aug 13, 2026 | Feature, Shelbyville
Matt Insell grew up on the sidelines of the basketball court at the Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS) gym. As the son of Rick Insell — the “all-time winningest coach” in the history of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) — the thrill of the game pulses in...
by Amanda E. West | Aug 13, 2026 | Feature, Shelbyville
Even before they were known as the Golden Eaglettes, Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS) set and broke records in athletics. In fact, because SCHS allowed girls to play basketball as early as the 1920s, the school helped prove that girls were just as capable of...
by Amanda E. West | Jul 9, 2026 | Feature, Shelbyville
HER MOTHER had reluctantly signed the papers. Twenty-four days after Jennifer Clever turned 18, she was on her way to Fort Dix in Burlington County, New Jersey. As a native of Dunkirk on the southern shores of Lake Erie in Western New York, Fort Dix was over 400 miles...
by Amanda E. West | Jul 9, 2026 | Feature, Shelbyville
DUSTIN MASON looked up from his Game Boy. Bolts of lightning flashed across the square television screen, followed by rumbles of thunder. The timer was counting down on his Pokémon game, but he didn’t mind. This United States Marine Corps commercial was his favorite....
by Amanda E. West | Jun 11, 2026 | Feature, Shelbyville
TOWERING TREES hugged both sides of the narrow driveway as gravel crunched beneath the tires of my minivan. Each time I traveled Old Nashville Dirt Road, I had admired this two-story farmhouse with its wraparound porch and brick chimney poking through the center of...
by Amanda E. West | Jun 11, 2026 | Feature, Shelbyville
“When your pawpaw, Willie B. Davis, was younger, he used to make moonshine.” Michelle leaned closer, looking puzzled. “Are you serious, Nanny?” “Back in them days, ‘fore he worked at the highway department here in Bedford County, your pawpaw was what they used to call...
