September 9th Edition

"1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." -  Romans 8:1-2

Birthdays this week include: Marshall Wilson and Jackson Perry - August 29. Buddy Parker and Don Pennington - Sept. 2, Mark Emerson Sept. 5, Floyd Brown and Jennifer Herring - Sept. 6, Rachel Beard and Donna Martindale - Sept. 7.
I hope everyone had an excellent Labor Day weekend.

New Edinburg Fire Department responded to a fire on the Farm to Market Road last Friday, and County Line Fire Department fought a fire on Hollis Special Loop early Labor Day morning.
The family of Lottie Hardaway met at the West Saline Community Center last Sunday for their annual reunion.
Someone asked me a few days ago about the legend of Union soldiers from the Battle of Marks' Mills being dumped in a well... specifically as to the location of the well.  I'm not necessarily a Civil War expert; there a couple of guys around here who are way ahead of me on that... my area of history is what's referred to as "modern American history" which is 1890-1950... but I do know a few things about Marks' Mills. Local legends build up and become "fact" but there are some false stories floating around.
First, the Union dead were not dumped in a well.  They were buried in a mass grave in the apple orchard behind the Marks houseplace.  After the war, the Union army came back through several battle sites such as this one and retrieved the bodies.  The Union dead were re-interred in what's now the National Cemetery in Little Rock.
Second, many people have claimed over the years to have found the buried gold that was on that wagon train. I can say they definitely did not find the Yankee gold because there was no gold on that train.  Even Yankees aren't dumb enough to drag gold through Rebel held territory.  The Union army paid its soldiers with greenbacks.


Thirdly, the granite marker at the battlesite, while beautiful, gets only two details right: who won and when.  Everything else is completely wrong.

Once upon a time, historians were revered elders in the villages because they held the history and lore of their people.  These days, we have to shout to be heard.
If you have stuff you want in this column, please get it to me before Monday for inclusion in that week's column.  Go Eagles.