One Man's Desperate Search for a Blue Bin

I grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, thirty minutes south of Nashville, where recycling is a part of the landscape. Most people there are careful to sort out their blue bags however they need to in order to make environmental sustainability a reality for their community. When I moved to Jackson in 2015, though, it seemed no one could give me information on where and how I could recycle, something that I imagine comes as a shock to many who move to the area. You can’t buy blue bins at Lowe’s, and even Home Depot’s selection is extremely small. There isn’t even public curbside pickup available in the city, and I haven’t seen any recycling dumpsters throughout the community.

EssaysClark HubbardJune 5, 2018Jackson TN, Tennessee, Our Jackson Home: The Magazine, Vol. 4 Issue 1, Clark Hubbard, recycling, environment, government, Franklin TN, trash, Westwood Gardens, Waste Management, Linnie Todd, Mayor Jerry Gist, All Fiber & Scrap Recycling, Kathleen Huneycutt, Green Earth Curbside Recyling

Becoming a Neighbor: An Ode to Midtown

Megan was a fact nut, the kind of girl who was interested in the details in everything she studied. She once committed a semester to checking out a certain number of design books at the library just to keep herself inspired in her trade and always learning. So it shouldn’t have surprised me when began research on her new historic duplex on Arlington and affectionately referred to it by the name the metal sign read outside: The Merriweather House.

EssaysKatie HowertonJune 22, 2016Jackson TN, Tennessee, Midtown Jackson, LANA, Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association, Katie Howerton, Megan Kersey, Arlington Avenue, history, home, house, architecture, neighbors, neighborhoods, Lambuth Boulevard, West Grand Avenue, Jordan Howerton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Aaron Brakhane, Emmy Brakhane, Westmoreland Avenue, Courtney Vandiver, Jacob Vandiver, Lisa Garner, Joe Garner, Alice Hardin, Aaron Hardin, Bethany Lutz, Kyle Lutz, Division Avenue, Heather Hornbeak, Jesse Hornbeak, Hether Pflasterer, Russ Pflasterer, Wisdom Street, Courtney Searcy, Whitney Williams, Rebecca Edgren, Anna Worley, Taylor Worley, Lee Wilson, Beth Wilson, Westwood Avenue, Westwood, Westwood Gardens, Highland Avenue, Tigrett Middle School, Danielle Glodjo, Tyler Glodjo, Diva Den, Amanda Bennett, Julia Marshall, Ally Currie, City House, City Fellowship Baptist Church, Kelsey, Melanie Taylor, Nar'Asha Randall, Natalie Pflasterer, Nyree Smith, Hillary Howse, Russell, Ellis Drive, Waverly Drive, Sunset Avenue, Forest Avenue, Campbell Street, memories

Stay 731: Seasons

There is nothing beautiful about a neighborhood razed and left for kudzu and vines to swallow trees whole, while grass begins forming veins in the cracks of the abandoned streets. There is nothing beautiful about a lot tended only enough to keep back tall grasses. So when I say I love the patch of abandoned land called Westwood Gardens, I get that it’s kind of weird.

EssaysCourtney SearcyMarch 7, 2016Jackson TN, Tennessee, Stay731, #stay731, Courtney Searcy, Katie Howerton, Westwood Gardens, beauty, light, Midtown Jackson, shadows, trees, nature, home, 45 Bypass, seasons, community, place, friendship, friends, family, pain, mourning, loss, college, hurt, brokenness, restoration, Women's History Month

Our Birthday, Your Gift

Merry Christmas, Jackson! For those of you who don't know, December 25 also marks our one-year anniversary from launching www.ourjacksonhome.com. In celebration of all the fun we've had this year, we present you with a little Christmas gift from us—an Our Jackson Home 2016 Desktop Calendar! Enjoy a little taste of Jackson each month while you work, featuring photography from stories we've run in 2015. Just save these photos to your computer and use them as you will.

On: Westwood Gardens

The events, places, people, and things that we remember in our lives can be extremely non-discriminant. In a singular moment, I sometimes think that whatever I’m doing or whoever I’m talking to in that moment is so important or emotional that it will be burned into my mind forever, only to realize a few weeks later that I can’t even remember the moment. I simply remember thinking that I would remember the moment.