Margaret Evans, Editor

On my dad’s side: Thomas Jefferson Shinn of Cabarrus County, NC, had to drop out of school to work the farm when his father died young. Eventually, Thomas accumulated a large amount of property and, according to the genealogy, “a number of slaves.” (I don’t know what that means. Did he own 3, 30, 300? One hesitates to delve.)

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.

What’s not to like? The overwhelming swell of pride, the flags secured to porches, the cute little Jell-O molds made out of blue and red gelatin with Cool Whip lovingly smudged in between. It’s the time of year when everyone is reminded of what we all have in common, to preserve what we hold dear: those precious concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

By Margaret Evans, Editor

By the time you read this, at least two weeks will have passed since the massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. As I write, it’s been about 10 days, and my fingers tremble and hesitate over the keyboard.