Cameron Judd
VerifiedArticles by Cameron Judd
10 Dark Books Like Blood Meridian
Many readers will tell you that there’s no other writer quite like Cormac McCarthy, and few of his books are as infamous as Blood Meridian. Harold Bloom called it “not only the ultimate Western [but] the ultimate dark dramatization of violence,” while The New York Times wrote that the novel “comes at the reader like a slap in the face.” Filled with brutal violence and surreal lyricism, Blood Meridian is undeniably a tough act to follow.
Robert Trent Jones And Link Hills Club: A Historic Connection
When I first encountered the name of Link Hills Country Club after moving to Greene County four decades ago, I assumed the “Link” part of the name referenced the “links” of the golf course there. I’m sure many others have thought the same. It seemed reasonable. Everyone knows that, if someone declares an intention to head out to the “links” after lunch, an afternoon of golfing is ahead. Eventually I learned I was wrong about the Link Hills name.
JUDD: ’Things Change, Then They Change Again'
This “Clips to Keep” column series I’ve been writing for The Greeneville Sun for the past few years was born of an idea on the part of Michael Reneau, a former editor of this newspaper. Michael is a perceptive fellow, and could see that I was restless and increasingly out-of-place as a “straight news” reporter. Michael asked me one day if I’d like to write a column as a repeating feature of the newspaper. “A column about what?” I asked him. “Anything you think is interesting,” he replied.
JUDD: A Stranger Teaches A Lesson In 'Paying It Forward'
This column can be considered a thank-you on my part to a person who recently displayed example-setting kindness when it was not at all necessary. I don’t know her name, and don’t know if she knew mine, or simply was being nice to the random stranger in the next grocery checkout lane. Whatever her motivation, she taught me a lesson in how easy it can be to demonstrate unselfish kindness if we just step up and do it.
JUDD: An Indentured British Pauper's American Legacy
Thanks to a very recent unexpected gift from an individual I’ve never met, I’ve gained a new awareness of one of the avenues that brought to the United States the forebears of many modern American families, and a reminder that all of us here have deep roots, most of them spanning centuries, continents and oceans if you look back far enough. Ben B. Judd, Ph.D., a Texan now living in Connecticut, clearly is a scholarly, research-savvy kind of man.
JUDD: The Library Book Sale Brings A Surprise
The Greeneville/Greene County Public Library Spring Book Sale is back this year, and if you are reading this on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., it’s going on right now. There’s already been an advance version of the book sale a few weeks ago, one that happened to occur on the same weekend that we had that surprisingly heavy snow. People came out in droves anyway, buying boxes and bags full of books at bargain prices.
JUDD: The Plaintive Plea Of An Actress Surprises Houdini
One of the most remarkable men of the 20th century was the late illusionist and escape artist Erik Weisz, best known by his stage name of Harry Houdini. In his day he was one of the best-known men in the world, drawing crowds wherever he went and doing seemingly impossible things with tremendous showmanship. Most probably have heard of his sideline interest in exposing fake “mediums” and “spiritualists” who used trickery to exploit the public, particularly those grieving the deaths of loved ones.
JUDD: Scars On A New York Wall Bear Witness To A 1920 Tragedy
Some of the most interesting historical visuals to be found in New York City are seldom seen, and hardly noticed when they are. They are merely some pockmarks and scars on the side of a building in one of NYC’s most famous areas. What makes the marks significant is how they came to be there, and an officially unsolved mystery that lingers for more than a century now. It was a September day in the busy financial district of America’s largest city.
JUDD: Bad-Luck Badman Became A Real-Life Urban Legend
The state of Maine has given rise to many strange tales due to the creative imagination of its native son, prolific author Stephen King. The life and career of another man from Maine, however, led to a saga with a more bizarre plot twist than Stephen King ever dreamed up. And this fellow’s story is 100 percent true.
Charles Hutchins: ‘Forever In Ministry To Children And God'
Charles Hutchins, who died this week at 90, was a man who, despite decades of personal and community achievements, consistently directed the public spotlight away from himself and onto the Christian causes he championed. Hutchins, a licensed United Methodist minister since the 1950s, will be remembered for his decades of service at Holston United Methodist Home for Children, which began as and orphanage and grew to become a center for family ministry and services.
JUDD: Remembering Jeff: Athlete, Classmate, Journalist And Nice Guy
Ever wake up in the morning and think of someone, but you don’t have the slightest idea why? That happened for me Friday, when I began to wake up about 4:30 a.m. and found myself thinking of Jeff Jacoby, a guy known to Tennessee Volunteer fans as a part of the Vol Network and a well known professional in East Tennessee radio broadcasting.
JUDD: JFK & Robert Preston's Memorable Assault On 'Chicken Fat'
This is a column about something that should stir up a memory for at least some of my fellow baby boomers, perhaps depending on exactly when and where they attended elementary school. I have many memories of my earliest school days, some clearer than others.
JUDD: John Fox's Heroism Was Overlooked For Decades
As Black History Month nears its end for this year, this seems an appropriate time to spotlight an American hero who received the plaudits he deserved only long after his death, a death fated the moment the man uttered two particular words. I must admit I’d not even heard of this man until I stumbled across his story by accident while researching a different topic. His name was John R. Fox, and he died at the age of 29 on Dec. 26, 1944.
JUDD: Remembering Stewart Kilgore's Lifetime Of Service
In the years I’ve lived in Greene County, it seems like there’s been Stewart Kilgore. And now, suddenly, he’s not here. How can that be? It just doesn’t feel like something that can be true. Stewart is being laid to rest this afternoon at Gethsemane United Methodist Church in Afton. Life in Greene County will go on, but Stewart will no longer be with us physically.
JUDD: This Old West Outlaw Said Goodbye To Crime
He had the organizational and planning skills of a corporate business leader, a middle name fit for a pompous businessman or Ivy League fraternity boy, and an ability to make friends and be a team player. Unfortunately for William Ellsworth Lay, one of the friends he made was Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy, and the team of which W. Ellsworth became a member was Cassidy’s criminal gang, the Wild Bunch. The organizational and planning skills possessed by W.
Local Historian And Author’s 92nd Book Illuminates River War
The most recent book by one of Greene County’s most extensively published writers provides a detailed look at one of the lesser-explored chapters of the American Civil War. Tusculum University Professor Emeritus Myron J. “Jack” Smith Jr.’s newest work is a 327-page book, “After Vicksburg: The Civil War on Western Waters, 1863-1865.” This title is the 92nd volume from the prolific historian, and the ninth in a series of related works from McFarland & Company, of Jefferson, N. C.
JUDD: A Dozen Years To Build, 15 Minutes To Destroy
It was one of Tennessee’s strangest structures, one only 30 miles or so from my hometown of Cookeville. Its beginning was as unusual as it was, and its swift and dramatic ending taught what might be the best part of its legacy: a warning that fire marshal warnings should be taken seriously.
JUDD: An After-Christmas Carol Honors A 'Father Of The Wretched'
It’s a song universally perceived and treated as a Christmas carol, but it doesn’t mention the holiday at all, and in terms of our modern calendar with its single-day Christmas, actually concerns an after-Christmas event. The religious observance mentioned in the song “Good King Wenceslas” is one many of us Americans might never encounter at all if not for hearing that particular carol year after year.
JUDD: 15 Lingering 'Ghosts Of Christmas Past'
Christmas memories and thoughts follow, randomly presented in hope it will inspire you to think back on your own holiday recollections. Here are a few of my own “ghosts of Christmas past,” things, events and people I cannot forget: The tall, painted wooden Santa cutout that stood at Judd’s Hardware at Christmas time during the fleeting period my parents tried, with very little success, to be merchants in downtown Cookeville, Tennessee, where I was born and raised.
JUDD: A Christmas Prescription: Two Doses Of Dickens
Dickens Dose #1: “The Man Who Invented Christmas” In its broad cultural manifestations, Christmas would hardly seem like Christmas without Charles Dickens. As expressed in the title of a 2008 book and its 2017 movie adaptation (book and film both highly recommended), Dickens was “The Man Who Invented Christmas.” Well, at least Christmas as we know it in Western culture. Dickens of course did not actually “invent” the holiday itself.
JUDD: Gary Scruggs Left Us At 'Speed Of Life'
I usually am glad to see Facebook posts by musician John McEuen (nicest man in show business), but the one he put up Dec. 4 made me feel a little sad the moment I read it. John had posted this: “Gary Scruggs, 72, a friend since the first time we met 51 years ago, has passed away.” His post went on beyond that, but that first line alone made the impact. Gary Scruggs was the eldest son of the late Earl Scruggs of Flatt & Scruggs fame.
JUDD: An Outing Gone Wrong Turns Out Right
My late father loved books, and over his years collected enough of them to fill several bookcases. After his death in 1977, my mother kept most of them but allowed my sister and me to take possession of ones that interested us. Among those I claimed was one that had been published in 1976, the nation’s bicentennial year, by Westminster Press of Philadelphia. “The Way It Was: 1876,” written by Suzanne Hilton, looks at American daily life as it was when the United States was 100 years old.
A White House Christmas Party Interrupted
The White House long has been a showplace for Christmas decorations and themed events. Many Americans collect the official White House Christmas ornaments released each year, and the arrival and decoration of the Christmas tree there always makes news. On one particular Christmas Eve in the 20th century, an entirely different kind of news event happened. It was Christmas Eve, 1929, a bit after 8 p.m. White House Chief Usher Ike Hoover had a message to deliver, and fast.
JUDD: Remembering An Encourager As Retirement Arrives
My life situation is to change next week. At the close of the day Tuesday, I’ll transition from employee of The Greeneville Sun to retiree. It’s hard to believe I’m to that point in life. It seems like I was 35 just a couple of years ago rather than 30 years ago. The old-timers were right about time passing faster every year that goes by! The fact I am retiring does not mean I’ll not work. I’ll continue writing Clips to Keep columns for the paper, though at a reduced rate.
JUDD: A Thankful Church Left Jim Winfree 'Dumbfounded'
Jim Winfree is a man who is, by his own description, seldom at a loss for words. One exception to that occurred Nov. 7 when he walked into Greeneville’s St. James Episcopal Church parish hall and found himself at the midst of a reception in his honor. The surprise reception was in recognition of his three-and-a-half decades as the organist and choirmaster for that historic downtown place of worship.
It Makes You Thankful For Modern Medicine ...
A 2011 article by writer/novelist Robin Lee Hatcher remains eye-opening a decade later as it reveals how health and medicine were perceived and practiced by our forebears in the mid-1800s. When you were sick in those days, particularly in areas of the country still being settled and lacking educated physicians, you would have a much different experience visiting your physician than what we have today.
JUDD: Some Comforting Wisdom From Mr. Rogers
I’ve referenced some of what follows before, but with Thanksgiving almost upon us, it seems a fitting time to revisit the subject. No matter what kind of year you’ve had, there’s something every one of us can and should be thankful for as that year winds down toward its close. Here it is in one word: Helpers. That observation derives from something the gentle icon of children’s television, Fred Rogers, used to talk about in that soothing voice he had.
A History-Making Wedding Happened On This Date
Today, Nov. 20, is the anniversary of a history-making wedding that occurred in 1947: the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten. Elizabeth was at that time “heir presumptive” to the British throne. Now she is Queen Elizabeth II monarch of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, and probably the best-known monarch in the world (though public and popular media attention in recent years has largely shifted to other, younger members of the British royal family).
'Swap Shop' On Netflix Making An Impact Here
When he's out and about of late, Dale Kyker of Kyker's Extreme Automotive, 1201 Tusculum Blvd., is beginning to get occasional “Hey, aren't you the guy on that TV show?” kinds of reactions from people he encounters. “That TV show” is “Swap Shop: Dash for Cash,” which began airing worldwide on Netflix only days ago. The reality show follows six teams of East Tennesseans as they chase down items advertised for sale via the “Swap Shop” radio show out of Rogersville.
JUDD: Benny Glover Had Hoped To Be A Soldier
Today wraps up the week that includes Veterans Day, so the subject of veterans naturally has come up quite a lot. One of the week’s most interesting conversations was with a man who is not a veteran, but who wishes he could have been. Benny Glover, now 85, was one of five sons of Earl “Bud” Glover and Irene Glover, and the other four Glover brothers all entered military service. Not wanting to be the odd man out, Benny tried to enlist, too, only to be turned down due to bad vision in one eye.
JUDD: Grady Barefield: Honoring America's Veterans Daily
It seems appropriate that Grady Barefield was born near the Veterans Administration hospital in Johnson City. That newborn was to grow up to be a man for whom honoring and celebrating America’s veterans became the driving force of his life. I think it’s fair to say that veterans are Brady’s favorite kind of people. He sees them as uniquely special: the front-line preservers, promoters and protectors of the best aspects of this nation … our freedoms, our rights, our entire way of life. This is Nov.
JUDD: Edward Guarrant: Soldier, Minister, Author And More
Our fellow Northeast Tennessee town of Rogersville was not the place to be on this date, Nov. 6, in 1863. That was a day of battle, specifically the encounter now remembered both as the Battle of Rogersville and the Battle of Big Creek. By either name, it wasn’t one of those fights that go down in history as massive in scope or widespread significance – in other words, it was no Gettysburg or Shiloh. It did, though, put Rogersville under Confederate control for the remainder of the war.
JUDD: Netflix Opens A Window On Greeneville Next Week
The usual way to see Dale and Lisa Kyker is to drop by their well-known business, Kyker’s Extreme Automotive at 1201 Tusculum Blvd. As of Tuesday of next week, you’ll also be able to see them just by tuning into Netflix. Nov. 9 is the world premiere date of the show, “Swap Shop: Dash For Cash.” The name may sound like a game show name, but it isn’t. It’s a reality series that I find a little hard to describe.
JUDD: Bobby Blue Provides A Halloween Scare
This being Halloween weekend, it seemed appropriate to update and revisit a Halloween-themed column from a couple of years ago about an experience I had, along with another Greeneville Sun reporter, in the 1980s, involving the late Bobby Blue, a local policeman. What follows is an edited and somewhat expanded version of that 2019 column.
JUDD: A European Trek And A Surprising Restroom
This past Friday, Rhonda and I got back home after a wonderful two-week vacation in Europe. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit it, but that was the first time in my nearly 65 years of life that I’ve been outside of the United States. Rhonda has done better, her family having visited the United Kingdom years ago. Overdue as it was for me, our European trip was worth the wait.
JUDD: Tennessee Small Towns Love Their Festivals!
Just like big cities, small towns have their own special identities and unique tracks of heritage. Our own Greeneville is known for its associations with Andrew Johnson and Davy Crockett. Jonesborough gains notice as the oldest town in Tennessee, and also as the storytelling capital of the state, and Bulls Gap is known as the hometown of the late comic Archie Campbell. Lots of towns celebrate their distinctive qualities, heritages and identities through celebrations and festivals.
Planes, (No Trains) and Automobiles Bring Colorful Activity To Airport
Ann Kraeger was among the hundreds of people who visited the Greeneville Municipal Airport Saturday, looking for a “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” kind of weekend adventure. She and the others found one, though minus the trains. A Greene County resident for a little over a year, the upstate New Yorker-turned-Tennessean has flown many times in her life, but never before in the open-air manner offered by a biplane.
JUDD: Tennessee's Most Famous Ghost Story Lives On
Could a year go by any faster than this one has? Here we are, already in October, the month of Halloween. Because Halloween is coming up soon, it seems a good time to write about a Tennessee legend you’ve probably at least heard of: the so-called Bell Witch, a reputed haunting event that happened in Robertson County in what is now the town of Adams.
United Way Campaign Kicking Off Differently This Time
Wendy Peay’s job gives her, in the physical sense, an office providing one of the best views of downtown Greeneville to be found anywhere. In less tangible terms, that same job provides her a perspective on how effective the people of the town and its county can be when they unify to do things that need doing for the good of everyone.
‘A Christmas Gift Of Remembrance’ Wreath Program For AJ Cemetery Launched Here
A hillside in Greeneville is a place where the physical remains of more than 2,000 American veterans rest, and a local organization is inviting citizens here to make sure not one of those lost veterans fails to receive “A Christmas Gift of Remembrance” this year.
An Unexpected Hug Made Monday Memorable
It was just another typical Monday this week. You know what I mean … you drive into work, drop by Tipton’s Cafe to get coffee and something low-carb for breakfast, say hello to some folks, get hugged by a movie star … same old same old. Well, except for that last part.
Local Crowd Honors Afghanistan Fallen At VFW Event
Outside the Veterans of Foreign Wars building in Greeneville Monday evening, a bell chimed 13 times in memory of 13 military service members killed in Afghanistan in a suicide bombing last month. Immediately afterward during the VFW ceremony, dozens of local people, carrying small American flags, quietly walked to the tall stone memorial that bears the names of Greene County troops killed in wars and military actions as far back as World War I.
JUDD: Teachers Faced Dilemmas, Challenges On Sept. 11, 2001
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, brought stress and distraction to almost every American except those fully cut off from the news that day, or who were incapable of comprehension. In an especially challenging position on 9-11-2001 were America’s educators, particularly classroom teachers.
JUDD: Claudia Wells: 'Back To The Future' & Up To Baileyton
You never know what a day may bring. I was reminded of that fact Wednesday while heading toward home for lunch as I pulled over to a nearby parking lot to answer a phone call from Kent Bewley. Less than an hour later I was in Greeneville’s City Garage Car Museum, which Kent owns, interviewing an actress from a hit movie I saw many years ago and watched again recently.
John Hunt Morgan Dies One More Time In Greeneville
Shouting, shooting, chasing, gun smoke in the air and a body or two on the ground. It all happened quite noisily Saturday in downtown Greeneville, but no police showed up to restore the peace and quiet. It all had happened before, too, 157 years ago to the day. The difference Saturday is that it was all make-believe, except the noise and the gun smoke. And also the location: the Dickson-Williams Mansion, which is the actual house where Confederate Gen.
JUDD: Remembering Ralph Bowers, Greene's Friendly Farmer
The very recent death of Ralph Bowers caught me by surprise, and flashed me back to the 1980s and my early days as a Greene County resident. Sometime, somehow and somewhere during that period, I met Ralph and quickly came to like the man. In appearance, he reminded me somewhat of one of my mother’s brothers over in her native Washington County. That may have been one of the things that helped give me a positive impression of Ralph.
JUDD: Case Gives New Meaning To Phrase 'Son Of A Gun'
Sometimes a good column subject just walks in the door. That happened yesterday, when a visitor to The Greeneville Sun brought me a copy of an old column from a Mississippi newspaper. Written years back by the late Gordon A. Cotton, a Mississippi author, historian and museum curator, it concerned a Civil War incident that I’d never heard of, and which has to qualify as one of the most bizarre occurrences of that war.
Lionel N. Humphreys Jr. -- Family, Faith & Food City
Lionel N. Humphreys Jr. was a soft-spoken, understated kind of man. He’s gone from us now, but he left some big tracks behind him that won’t be erased. Nelson Humphreys, as he was usually called, passed away Aug. 13. If there are legends in the grocery business, Nelson Humphreys was one, especially in this region. Every time you drive past a Food City store, you’re seeing part of that legacy. I wish I had known him better than I did.
JUDD: A Mosheim Banker Takes A Machine Gun Bullet
While looking over old Greeneville Sun coverage of the big 1934 hailstorm that slammed Greene County (the subject of my column published Thursday), something else caught my eye on the June 5, 1934, front page. A headline stretching all the way across the top of that front page says: “Attempt To Rob Mosheim Bank Fails; Director Is Shot.” What? A banker was shot during an attempted bank robbery, and in quiet little Mosheim?
Saturday Is 2021 Fair's Final Day
The cattle barn at the Greene County Fairgrounds at midday Friday resembled a spa for cattle, as presenters in cattle shows upcoming that afternoon and Saturday primped and prepped their beasts to make the best impression on judges. Trimmers, blowers, water hoses, brushes, buckets and even a bit of baby talk to keep the cattle soothed were the order of the day.
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