Natalie Cravens: Ten Years of Fighting for Hope
Natalie Cravens: Ten Years of Fighting for Hope

“I want you to close your eyes and imagine waking up on Christmas morning with all of the gifts your family and Santa Claus has brought you under the Christmas tree,” third grade teacher and author Natalie Cravens tells her students at West Chester Elementary in Chester County. “Now, while keeping your eyes closed, imagine being very sick instead and waking up in a hospital room void of presents on Christmas morning.”

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StoriesMegan ShulmanJackson TN, Tennessee, Megan Shulman, Natalie Cravens, author, writing, West Chester Elementary School, Chester County, book, A Reason for Hope, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, cancer, health, family, chemotherapy, Women's History Month, St. Jude Children's Hospital, running, A Night of Storytelling Spring 2018, A Night of Storytelling
From the Inside Out
From the Inside Out

It’s the woman at the bus stop holding a toddler’s hand. It’s the woman using food stamps in front of you at the grocery store. It’s the woman at the soup kitchen who can sing like no one else. These women and their families eat, sleep, and live a few blocks away but their stories are too gruesome to share, and it makes us a little uncomfortable to talk about them, much less look at them, eat with them, or live with them.

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StoriesGuest ContributorJackson TN, Tennessee, The Care Center, Scarlet Rope Project, non-profit, women, Women's History Month, prostitution, drugs, homeless, Nathan Young, Susan Young, anniversary, downtown Jackson, donate, volunteer, Gary Deaton, Elizabeth Taylor, Christian, health, Woodland Baptist Church, Jackson Energy Authority, JEA, LIFT Wellness Center, Tennergy, rehabilitation, Best of 2018, Jeremy Rasnic
Gather: March 2018
Gather: March 2018

March means spring, and for Jackson, that means more races, concerts, shows, and overall fun for our community. Find out what special guests are heading to West Tennessee this month, what organizations you can support, and how your family can celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (It's on a Saturday this year!)

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Events, GuidesKatie HowertonJackson TN, Tennessee, event, Katie Howerton, Ballet Arts of Jackson, ballet, Carl Perkins Civic Center, race, 5k, running, University of Memphis Lambuth, cancer, fundraiser, Union University art department, Union University, art, the arts, Steve Halla, Zac Benson, The Augustine School, Andrew Peterson, Jackson Sound Concert Series, concert, music, local band, local music, The Ned, St. Patrick's Day, JAMS, Jackson Area Music Society, Smith E&E, Backroad Therapy, The Skeleton Krew, entertainment
Jackson Grown: An Introduction
Jackson Grown: An Introduction

In Norway it gets dark early. As we left for the arena around 4:00 P.M., the hazy glow of the daytime winter sky in Oslo had faded. I was on the bus headed to a concert honoring one of our own. Daniel was a member of our little band of misfits living in Geneva, Switzerland, who worked in and around the United Nations on issues ranging from poverty, hunger, and demining to human rights, health, and humanitarian relief. By all measurements, Daniel had “made it.”

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EssaysJon Mark WallsJackson TN, Tennessee, Jackson Grown, Jon Mark Walls, Geneva, Switzerland, international, Jackson native, United Nations, career, Nobel Peace Prize, hometown, childhood, Andrew Jackson Elementary School, Tigrett Middle School, Jackson Central-Merry High School, JCM, Union University, First Baptist Church, Englewood Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church, community, moving, Best of 2018
Stay 731: Embraced
Stay 731: Embraced

"How many miles away is Sonic?" I stared, dumbfounded, as they told me the nearest Sonic was ten miles out of town. Kevin patted my leg reassuringly. "Well, you'll learn to enjoy the drive." We were newlyweds and newly graduated, interviewing for a Residence Life Director position for Kevin in Middle-of-Nowhere-Close-to-Sonic, Kentucky. They chose another candidate, and our lives forever shifted, allowing us to keep the roots we had been cultivating in Jackson during our stay here as college students.

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EssaysRenae AdelsbergerJackson TN, Tennessee, Stay731, Renae Adelsberger, Adelsberger Marketing, Kevin Adelsberger, community, family, marriage, Union University, First Baptist Church, Sonic, foster care, entrepreneur, theCO, CASA, kids, children