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VOL. 6, NO. 46
NOVEMBER 12, 2011
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Bred hardy, raised right Bull talks farm work, retirement
Pumpkinpalooza! Peulette celebrates fall See page 2
Talking points 4-H’ers give speeches See Cindy’s story on page 6
FEATURED COLUMNIST JAKE MABE
Tragedy to blessing Inky Johnson remembers See page 4
By Cindy Taylor With all the modern technology available to us today, it may seem too old fashioned and time consuming to continue doing anything the way our ancestors did. To Union County resident Earl Bull, it just makes sense. He put his hand to the horse-drawn plow at an early age and never looked back. “This is the way I was raised,” said Bull. While many are using tractors and tillers to turn the soil, Bull hitches his plow to his 7- and 8-year-old draft Belgian horses Buck and Suede. The horses are bred to be workers but can be ridden, if you have legs that are 10 feet long. Bull says it’s like straddling a car hood because the horses are so broad. Zeke the mule will take his turn with the work on occasion, and Bull has plans to get the animal more involved on the farm in the near future. The Bulls raised the two horses from birth, even bottle feeding Buck when his mother didn’t have enough milk. Buck stands 18 hands tall now, and Suede easily weighs a ton. Though they are huge and may appear a bit scary because of their size, both horses are docile. Bull has worked for the Union County Farmers Co-op for more than 45 years, 30 of those as manager, but retirement is in the near future. He has voiced the word many times before but has promised wife and renowned artisan Aurora Bull that come Dec. 31, retirement will become a reality. “I’m starting my honey-do list,” said Aurora. The Bulls live on the 210 acre family farm where Earl grew up
Earl Bull harnesses Suede for the plow. Bull continues to plow his fields with horses instead of tractors. Photos by C. Taylor
with his parents and eight siblings. Though his parents have passed on, the old home place still stands and can be viewed in the distance from the Bull’s front porch, along with much of the acreage. Bull cultivates about 125 of those acres and runs beef cattle, six horses and one mule. He raises sugar cane, makes molasses in the fall and kills a hog in the winter, often inviting students over to view the process. He still uses a dry land sled that he and his father made 30 years before for some of the farm work.
Plowing the way it should be done, according to Earl Bull.
“Daddy had two mules and never drove a car,” said Bull. “Tractors are makeshift stuff. I use the horses to plow, cultivate, haul rock and for other farm work. This is the only
way to do it and do it right. You can’t beat this kind of life.” Looking around at the beauty that is the Bull farm, one would have to agree.
ONLINE
New names for historic roads The Maynardville Board of Commissioners met Nov. 8 and made the unanimous decision to designate new names for two of the city’s streets. Main Street will become “The Original Thunder Road,” and Highway 33 inside the Maynardville city limits will be known as “The Cradle of Country Music,
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news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Cindy Taylor brentcindyt@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES Brandi Davis davisb@ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 11,000 homes in Union County.
By Cindy Taylor
Two Union County residents attended the three-day workshop for the annual Tennessee Association of Community Leadership (TACL) conference in Cookeville on Oct. 19-21. County Commissioner Joyce Meltabarger and Melinda Wilson Sharpe of American First Financial Sharpe Meltabarger brought back ideas to inspire leadership and promote growth here in their part of the state. Both are past graduates and board members of ties attended, along with 200 registrants. Speakers were all graduates that Jimmy DeVault and Paris Mc- Leadership Union County. “We learned so much from net- of Leadership classes in their variBee spearhead the planning. Kay Jones announced the PlanET working with other leadership di- ous counties and many were regionmeeting that will be held at the Pla- rectors and board members,” said al Leadership graduates. “We plan to implement much of inview Community Center at 7 p.m. Sharpe. “The breakout sessions what we learned in next year’s leadThursday, Nov. 15. All residents are were extremely helpful.” Representatives from 85 coun- ership class,” said Sharpe. encouraged to attend. The board discussed buying a mowing tractor and will be looking into the cost and budget allowance Goforth firing meeting upcoming should they decide to make the purchase. The Union County Board of Education will hold a special called The Plainview Board of Aldermeeting 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, in the auditorium of Union County men meet at 7 p.m. the second TuesHigh School, to determine whether or not to terminate Director of day of each month at the Plainview Schools Wayne Goforth’s contract. The meeting will include an opCommunity Center. portunity for statement and presentation of evidence by Goforth and his attorney, and an opportunity for public comment. – Cindy Taylor
All’s quiet in Plainview
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Home of Roy Acuff, Lois Johnson and Carl Smith.” The resolution to rename the two roads will now go to the state Legislature for approval. The Maynardville Board of Commissioners meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at City Hall. – Cindy Taylor
Regional Leadership comes home
It was a quiet month once again in the city of Plainview, and the Board of Aldermen hope it will stay that way. Mayor Gary Chandler told residents at the November meeting that he isn’t sure that will happen. “We have the holidays coming up, so don’t expect it to stay this way,” said Chandler. Police Chief David Tripp and officers will be extra watchful for suspicious activity during the next few weeks. Dolly Merritt extended a special invitation to the city to participate in the Luttrell Christmas Parade on Dec. 3. The board agreed to place a float in the parade and requested
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