Rep. Joe Pitts and State Senator Tim Barnes at Burt Cobb Community Center.

According to MCDP Chairman Gene Lewis, apart from rallying behind President Obama,  the evening’s roster includes State Senator Tim Barnes (State Senate – District 22), State Representative Joe Pitts (TN District 67/unopposed), State Representative John C. Tidwell, and Congressional District 7 Candidate Credo Amouzouvik.

Sen. Barnes is seeking another term at the State House and runs on his record of service  including bills “that support veterans and their families, protect our residents and neighbors from deadly poisons, and reduce government waste and spending, saving millions in taxpayer dollars.”

Rep. John C. Tidwell (D-District 74)

Rep. Tidwell has served Tennessee for over a decade but is new to the Clarksville area. He is a familiar and popular face in District 74 (Houston, Humphreys, Perry, and parts of Hickman and Maury Counties) and has now been redistricted to the western part of Montgomery County.

Rep. Pitts serves District 67 covers much of Clarksville,  including New Providence, Bel-Air, St. Bethlehem, Lincoln Homes, Brandon Hills, and several other areas.

The “Celebrate Labor” event includes a dinner, a chance to hear and meet with the candidates, and a raffle in which many items represent the work or history of Union labor.

Tickets to this event are $30.00 per person or $50 per couple.  For additional information contact Gene Lewis, MCDP Chairman, at wel750@yahoo.com or call (931) 801-6209.

“It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label”

Rep. John Tidwell

The Montgomery County Democratic Party will be “CELEBRATING LABOR” as they sponsor a buffet dinner on September 22 beginning at 5 p.m. This exciting event will be held at the IAM Local 1296 Union Hall building, located at 100 Union Hall Road in Clarksville.

State Senator Tim Barnes

This event is the Party’s annual fundraiser, and features party speakers, music, food, and Democratic fellowship.On hand will be State Senator Tim Barnes, State Representative Joe Pitts, State Representative John Tidwell, and 7th Congressional District Candidate Credo Amouzouvik.

The candidates are working hard to move Tennessee forward with common sense and integrity.Tickets are $30 each or 2 for $50; sponsorships are available. For additional information contact, MCDP Chairman Gene Lewis at wel750@yahoo.com or (931) 801-6209. Tickets available now!

Tracee beats the 100+ heat in style on her cross country run. Photo courtesy of 4feet2treat.

The public is invited to welcome Tracee  at Freedom Deli during this stop on her run.

An APSU student and former member of the track team,  Tracee has been running through the blistering midwestern 100+ heat with her team, and is scheduled to arrives on the doorstep of Freedom Deli in Clarksville on Monday, July 23 at 12 noon. She pauses here before finishing the last 1,000 mile leg of her coast-to-coast run.

What inspired Tracee to take on this challenge?

On October 10, 2011, Cole and his mother, Karen, were shot and killed at their home in Gulfport, Mississippi.  Karen, a loving wife and mother of four children, was just 49. Cole was 21 and confined to a wheelchair due to Cerebral Palsy.  Cole’s 5 year old brother witnessed the event but was able to escape as Karen fought the intruder.  The man who killed Cole and Karen was out of jail on bail after he had previously been arrested for abusing Cole.  After he killed them he drove to his home where he killed himself.

“4 Feet 2 Treat” is a non-profit program that will promote the use of therapy animals to help treat mental and physical disabilities.  The kickoff event for the program started May 8 when Tracee Gruskiewicz, a pre- veterinary medicine student at Austin Peay State University, took her first steps toward crossing the United States coast to coast.  The run ends in the Carolinas in approximately 3-4 weeks.

Tracee will be setting a new world record for the youngest woman to run across the country the fastest.  The purpose of the run is to raise awareness about disabilities and using therapy animals to help treat or manage the physical or mental illness while raising money for this cause.  The run  is called “Cole’s Run” in honor of Cole and his mother, who police say had a chance to get away but would not leave her son.

The first $10,000 of the money raised will go to Cole’s two younger brothers into an established college fund, and the rest will go toward implementing and maintaining the therapy program here in Clarksville.

The Imagine Media Solutions offices are closed through Monday, December 26 . We will re-open Tuesday, December 27.

Domenica Marchetti’s Rustic Italian proclaims “simple, authentic recipes for everyday cooking” in a lovely tabletop cookbook organized by courses: antipasti that includes a delicious saffron-infused rice, pickled cauliflower (purple never looked good) and crostini with broccoli rabe. If you love dates, cheeses, olives and sea salt, you’ll already have many of the key ingredients. One pricier ingredient in a number of recipes is saffron; cooks on budget may find themselves improvising on that one.

Domenica Marchetti, author of 'Rustic Italian'

The categories featured include soups and salads; pasta, risotto and pizza; fish and meats; side dishes; and the ultimate– desserts. In addition to these categories, Marchetti offers a collection of basic Italian recipes, a guide to wines, a refresher course on cheese and salumi, and a shopping list of Italian pantry staples.

“This collection reflects how I cook at home. My favorite dishes to make for friends and family are uncomplicated ones — recipes that honors ingredients and the season, with a nod to my Italian heritage,” Marchetti said.

This hardbound book has a dark but intriguing cover that invites aspiring cooks to delve deeper into its pages and explore.

This author tested the cambozola stuffed dates in proscuitto — rich tidbits of crisp meat encasing bubbling cheese.  Hard to believe that a few minutes under a broiler could create such a perfect appectizer.

Linguini with pistachio pesto was equally palate pleasing; The nutty flavor of the pistachios and a the bite of pecarino cheese please the taste buds; the ease of preparation and the wine recommendations bring that meal full circle.

In an Italian variation on classic surf and turf, Marchetti serves up clams with white wine, tomatoes and sausages. presentation comes in a striking stoneware bowl, and is accompanied by a slice of bruschetta.

Creative cooks will adapt her collection of “basic recipes” and add their own touches, creating new family favorites in the process, using the “Italian pantry” selections marchetti recommends to everyone who loves to cook Italian.

This Williams-Sonoma edition of Rustic Italian is a great holiday gift, or a gift for any season.

Each year, as my now-adult granddaughters and I unpack my collection of snowmen for the coming holidays, my carefully wrapped musical plush Snowman emerges, to the delight of all of us. Everything else is dropped as we sit in the living room, pulling the cord that triggers a music box version of the film’s hit song: “Walking in the Air.” As a Christmas gift idea for the child all of us, here is a reminder of just how good animation can be.  Enjoy.

I can’t recall how many copies of The Snowman I’ve bought over the years, but it’s been quite a few. I usually end up giving them away to children who watch and are captivated by its’ magic. And then I buy another copy.

To the uninitiated, The Snowman is a delightful, animated short film about a young boy, James, who builds a snowman that springs to life as midnight chimes. It has only a few lines of introduction at the beginning; the remainder of the film is a symphonic soundtrack that follows their adventures, first as Snowman explores James’ world, putting on pants with suspenders, trying on hats, discovering a music box and the dangerous warmth of a fire. James and his fantasy creation dance across the floor of the house before heading outside, where the he and Snowman, in his mossy green hat and scarf embark on a journey north, racing through the forest and flying through the sky to a magical gathering of snow people in the far, far north.

The artwork is a palette of soft colors, gentle curves and feathered edges. The movement is soft at times, buoyant and bright at others.

This Oscar winning short animated film (1982), created and written by Raymond Briggs, was directed by Diane Jackson, has that brief initial narration by David Bowie and includes the song Walking in the Air, sung in by Peter Autry. It runs a mere 26 minutes, sans dialogue, but its magic, its enchantment, are both captivating and timeless.

Watching The Snowman has become a Christmas tradition in my family. The production is available as a film (videotape or DVD), and also as a musical soundtrack. The Snowman has quietly grown into an industry, with Snowman paraphanelia of all kinds available in stores and online. I have it on videotape, on DVD, and audio track as well. And every winter, a special gift from a beloved friend — a softly stuffed snowman with its own pull cord — provides a few moments of enchanting music as he emerges from hibernation to rest on my pillow, or somewhere highly visible in my living room, where he resides until spring.

In the midst of the flash, splash, action and noise of modern toys and audio/visuals deemed fit for Christmas giving, and hyped in all the major markets, pause for a moment and consider the giving a child, or an entire family, the simple beauty of The Snowman. It really is a gift worth giving.

Originally published in Clarksville Online on Nov. 29, 2006.

The “Four Freedoms” gallery at Norman Rockwell Museum. Photo courtesy of Berkshire Visitors Bureau. All rights reserved.

In thinking of Americana and the art that captured a nation one life and one family at a time, Norman Rockwell is the name that comes to mind. In the first half of the 20th century, Rockwell’s images of small town life that captured the antics of children and and characterizations of everyday Americans graced the covers of dozens of the Saturday Evening Post magazine issues. In the 1950s and 60s, he turned his eye to issues of social justice and freedom, creating portraits of de-segregation and racism that mirrored the turbulent social and political climate.

The legacy of Norman Rockwell lives on  in a stunning museum tucked away in the Berkshire landscape of Western Massachusetts, a four-season destination resplendent in art and scenic beauty.

Having often visited the downtown Stockbridge Rockwell museum, on the quaint “Main Street” of his famous painting, I was curious as to how the “new” museum would capture the essence and charm of the older quarters. The designers juxtaposed traditional architectural forms with the spaciousness of a world class gallery, setting the whole on a hillside with spectacular four season views. On its opening day, I toured the galleries, moving from room to room and from one historical period to another.

Confronted by the otherwise stark  walls upon which The Four Freedoms are mounted, I joined other visitors standing in silent awe.

Inspired by President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1943 address to Congress, Rockwell created the Four Freedoms paintings, which appeared in four consecutive issues of The Saturday Evening Post in tandem with essays by contemporary writers. Rockwell’s quartet — Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear — captured the hearts of the American public even as America was entrenched in a world war on two fronts. The paintings captured the ideals America’s soldiers were fighting for.  The Four Freedoms toured the United States in an exhibition that was jointly sponsored by the Post and the U.S. Treasury Department and, through the sale of war bonds, raised more than $130 million for the war effort.

Located in the small town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, The Norman Rockwell Museum, holds the world’s largest and most significant collection of works by Norman Rockwell, including more than 570 paintings and drawings and an archive of more than 100,000 photographs, letters, and materials. The Museum’s campus includes the artist’s original Stockbridge studio, moved from the center of town, which stands today much as it did in Rockwell’s lifetime, complete with easel, brushes, books, and furnishings.

By popular demand…Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell Museum (exterior). Photo by Walt Engels. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is one of the few museums in the country to have grown, literally, out of popular demand. In 1967, an historic home on Main Street in Stockbridge was threatened with demolition. A group of local citizens, including Norman and Molly Rockwell, joined the effort to save the classic white-clapboard building by raising funds for its purchase. The Old Corner House became the Stockbridge Historical Society in 1969, and the historical collection from the town’s public library was exhibited there.

Norman Rockwell agreed to lend some of his paintings to add variety in drawing visitors to the site. Primarily through word of mouth, people learned about the original Rockwell paintings on display in Stockbridge and attendance began to swell. Soon, the Old Corner House was identified primarily as a center for the exhibition of Rockwell’s works.

Located on Stockbridge’s historic Main Street for its first 24 years, the Museum moved in 1993 to its present home, which was designed by the renowned architect Robert A. M. Stern and is situated on 36 picturesque acres overlooking the Housatonic River Valley. Since moving to its new location and greatly expanding its educational programming, exhibition schedule, and special events, the Museum has become the most popular year-round destination in the culturally rich Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (interior). ©Brownie Harris. Courtesy of GE

“The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge must be one of the most popular museums in the world,” wrote art critic Paul Johnson in London’s The Spectator (August 1, 1998), “crammed from dawn till dusk with delighted visitors crowding round the originals of much-loved paintings. And one of the further pleasures of this enchanting place is that in the nearby little towns you can recognize among the locals the children and grandchildren of the originals whom Rockwell painted with dedicated veracity.”

The Museum is devoted to education and new scholarship that illuminates Rockwell’s unique contributions to art, society, and popular culture. “Visual communication is the language and currency of contemporary culture – Norman Rockwell was among the most powerful and beloved communicators of the 20th century,” says Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt. “His paintings continue to touch people in a way that transcends age and culture. The goal of the Norman Rockwell Museum is to take a broad view of Rockwell, showing his endurance as an important artist and an American icon.”

About Norman Rockwell…

Born in New York City in 1894, Norman Rockwell always wanted to be an artist. At age 14, Rockwell enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art (formerly The Chase School of Art). Two years later, in 1910, he left high school to study art at The National Academy of  Design. He soon transferred to The Art Students League, where he
studied with Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. Fogarty’s instruction in illustration prepared Rockwell for his first commercial commissions.

From Bridgman, Rockwell learned the technical skills on which he relied throughout his long career. Rockwell found success early. He painted his first commission of four Christmas cards before his sixteenth birthday. While still in his teens, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a successful freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications.

At age 21, Rockwell’s family moved to New Rochelle, New York, a community whose residents included such famous illustrators as J.C. and Frank Leyendecker and Howard Chandler Christy. There, Rockwell set up a studio with the cartoonist Clyde Forsythe and produced work for such magazines as Life, Literary Digest, and Country Gentleman. In 1916, the 22-year-old Rockwell painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, the magazine considered by Rockwell to be the “greatest show window in America.” Over the next 47 years, another 321 Rockwell covers would appear on the cover of the Post. Also in 1916, Rockwell married Irene O’Connor; they divorced in 1930.

The 1930s and 1940s are generally considered to be the most fruitful decades of Rockwell’s career. In 1930 he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and the couple had three sons, Jarvis, Thomas, and Peter. The family moved to Arlington, Vermont, in 1939, and Rockwell’s work began to reflect small-town American life.

Although the WWII era creation of the Four Freedoms series was a great success, 1943 also brought Rockwell an enormous loss. A fire destroyed his Arlington studio as well as numerous paintings and his collection of historical costumes and props.

In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues, with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first.

Rockwell raises social conscience with images of reflective of national news. Norman Rockwell Museum (interior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues, with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first.

In 1961, Rockwell married Molly Punderson, a retired teacher. Two years later, he ended his 47-year association with The Saturday Evening Post and began to work for Look magazine. During his 10-year association with Look, Rockwell painted pictures illustrating some of his deepest concerns and interests, including civil rights, America’s war on poverty, and the exploration of space.In 1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society, later to become Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. The trust now forms the core of the Museum’s permanent collections. In 1976, in failing health, Rockwell became concerned about the future of his studio. He arranged to have his studio and its contents added to the trust. In 1977, Rockwell received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal.

The Museum and the field of illustration

“Our Babe Ruth is and always will be Norman Rockwell,” said illustrator C.F. Payne, speaking to the importance of Norman Rockwell as the standard of excellence for American illustrators.

“Rockwell’s paintings reflected American society and influenced generations of illustrators,” says Norton Moffatt. “He chronicled life in the United States during most of the 20th century and showed us America’s fundamental ideals of democracy, freedom, and human dignity. And he is fun! As the Museum dedicated to Rockwell’s legacy, we want to
show how his work fits into the greater scheme of modern culture and illustration.”

As a Museum devoted to the field of illustration, Norman Rockwell Museum is a rarity at a time when the visual communications field is becoming more dominant. As part of its mission, Norman Rockwell Museum is committed to exhibiting the work of such modern illustrators as David Macaulay and James Gurney, as well as such masters as Frederic Remington, Winslow Homer, Howard Pyle, J.C. Leyendecker, Maxfield Parrish, and Rockwell Kent.

Four seasons at the Norman Rockwell Museum

The Norman Rockwell Museum is required visiting on vacation on any Stockbridge/Berkshire (Western Massachusetts) vacation, with each season bringing its own splendor (and artistic/photographic opportunities).

Springtime: Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (exterior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Radiant Autumn: Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (exterior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Winter wonderland: Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (exterior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

While visiting this area, several other attractions might beckon as well:

Chesterwood (just down the road from the Rockwell museum, is the estate of sculptor Daniel Chester French, creator of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Visit his home, gardens (including  summer outdoor sculpture garden) and studio, where the stages of design and creation of the Lincoln piece can be examined.

Main Street in Stockbridge — yes, the street immortalized by Rockwell — replete with shops, boutiques, arts, jewelry, candles, and the resplendence of the regal Red Lion Inn (nothing beats spiced cider by the red Lion  fireplace, with an old fashioned Christmas tree, live music (piano or harp), ornate gingerbread houses (seasonal), and light early winter snowfall.

Synthetic drugs invlved in Greenwood Avenue crash.

Clarksville police  called to the scene of a vehicle crash at 425 Greenwood Avenue rescued two people from a crashed, locked vehicle on  November 12.

According to a police statement, police were called to 425 Greenwood Avenue around 9 p.m.; they found a  ’97 GMC Jimmy crashed into the front of the building.  When officers arrived on scene, the 17-year-old driver and 18-year-old passenger were inside of the vehicle and unresponsive.

The vehicle doors were locked, so the officers banged on the windows in an effort to gain a response from the occupants.  Officers did see the driver open his eyes, but then closed them and made no effort to open the vehicle door.  While the officers were trying to get into the locked vehicle, it caught on fire.

Officer Christina Harris used her baton to break out the driver side window, which woke the occupants up and enabled the officers to move them to safety.  Officers extinguished the fire with portable extinguishers.

When questioned about the crash, the 17-year- old driver told Officer Harris that he and the passenger purchased Pyara (Synthetic drug) from an Oak Grove, KY store and that he was “high” and “stoned”.   Both were transported to Gateway for minor injuries and the juvenile was cited for DUI.

Photos  by CPD Officer Tom Tranberg

Martindale, author of Such a Pretty Face and most recently, The Ladies of Trade Town, hails from Plano, Texas, but travels the country promoting books she’s written and edited under her own  label, HarpHaven Publishing.

Lee Martindale

My 45-minute interview with Martindale — in reality an unexpected three hour conversation — took place on a 116 degree day in Louisville, KY, at FandomFest. When the A/C failed over most of the convention space, we took refuge in a neighboring  convention center lounge, technically closed but one of the only places with working A/C. Sitting with Martindale and several other writers and fans, conversation exploded, taking a circuitous, almost interplanetary flight before nesting back to the sci-fi/fantasy literature at its core.

Martindale, a self-proclaimed woman of “size” as well as substance, sports closely cropped, flaming “Red Penny” hair, flashing eyes, an engaging grin, flamboyant jewelry and always, always, a small box of her latest book(s) tucked between her feet,  balanced on the step of her motorized wheelchair, a chair that brakes sharply for convention panels, books buyers and friendly conversation with new and old friends.

Martindale, one-stop editor/publisher and creator of HarpHaven Publishing, authors and edits fiction in the sci-fi/fantasy genres. As a size-rights activist,  she has also published a non-fiction work that reflects her commitment to “size rights.”

In Prejudice By The Pound: Collected Essays From The Size Rights Movement, Martindale collected stories and essays from ten years of Rump Parliament Magazine that will “inform, enrage, amuse and inspire” readers to to reflect on and fight for equal rights for people of “size.”

“Fat people” is how she defines that market,  candidly noting that a high level of discrimination and “attitude” are directed toward the overweight. She resents it. Martindale deliberately creates a legion of heroines  who can achieve whatever they want regardless of “size.” No

Martindale’s fascination and concern with issues of perception and image are also manifested in Such a Pretty Face, an anthology she edited. Collating works by Gene Wolfe, Elizabeth Anne Scarborough, Jane Yolen, Jody Lynn Nye, and Sharon Lee and  Steve Miller, and nineteen other authors, Martindale presents readers with non-traditional heroes who don’t look like and aren’t shaped like conventional heroes. No washboard abs and junior petite Barbie-doll nymphets here, just” funny, wild and sexy fat people” from earth and other planets (and galaxies).

Such a Pretty Face, Martindale said,  “redraws the picture of ‘the hero’ ” along the way with tales of power and abundance that prove that heroes and heroines come in all sizes.” Such a Pretty Face resulted in Martindale designation as a “force of nature.”

Author, editor and publisher Lee Martindale of HarpHaven Publishing, on the convention circuit.

Lee Martindale “slings short genre fiction” as a writer and editor. The recently-published The Ladies of Trade Town, an anthology of original stories about “the world’s oldest profession,” joins the groundbreaking Such a Pretty Face on her list of editorial credits, while the title story for Trade Town joins Sarah Bailey and the Texas Beauty Queen, in Esther Friesner’s Fangs for the Mammaries on a lengthy list of published short stories. That list includes stories in Turn the Other Chick, Catapolis, Witch Way to the Mall, and Warrior Wisewoman 2, as well as several volumes of the Sword & Sorceress anthology series and an audiochapbook CD (To Stand as Witness: three Arthurian Tales).

To say that Martindale is dynamic is an understatement. Force of nature, definitely. For the fans of vampires and unconventional heroes and heroines, Martindale’s writings are must haves. When she brings her ‘size rights’ energy to the table, she creates a new dimension in the realm of short story scripting and commentary.

Martindale is a frequent flier when it comes to genre (sci-fi, etc) conventions; she does 12-15 convention gigs a year, and finds fresh energy and inspiration from meeting fans  — and developing new ones — as well as from the panels she works with other writers and publishers.  “It’s always good to connect with (other writers),” Martindale notes. Keeping up-to-date with what others are writing or publishing helps keep her own directions fresh and not just on trend but ahead of it.

While Martindale’s tales of sorcery, vampirism,  sci-fi adventures and female warriors (who come in all shapes and sizes) may not suit everyone, they do have a strong following and definite niche market that expands with each new addition to her repertoire.