2022: THE HUR HERALD CEASED PUBLISHING
DAILY NEWS AFTER A 25 YEAR RUN
THE ARCHIVES WILL REMAIN ON-LINE FOR A WHILE
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF READERS WHO HAVE READ THE HERALD
THE HERALD CONTINUES TO PUBLISH HISTORY STORIES
FIRST EDITION HUR HERALD: 1996
By Bob Weaver
Our village stands on the edge of memory, soon to be forgotten by most. Those of us with roots in its clay hold cautiously to the place like some cling to diamonds and pearls.
The village and the county, since the agricultural era, has dwindled in population, and many communities have returned to the forest.
Calhoun is among the most forested counties in the USA .
There are powerful memories of a time when people were full of gratitude for even the smallest of things, life was hard but simple and most every neighbor was treasured.
Our families thrust themselves deep into these steep mountains and craggy hollows to learn the toil of the soil, breathing life and learning survival.
Then there is the spiritual connection with the earth and creation - a seldom interrupted peace, safe and free.
Full of spirit, character and flaw, rising up and falling down, their lives are a special gift to us.
While old timers may treasure these stories, we really want to pass them on to newcomers who have chosen to live in Calhoun County, those yet to be born and the curious seekers who visit us on the Internet.
Maybe we will touch the spirit of a few as we launch into the new millennium, a shadowy image in a troublesome and distant world. - Bob Weaver, Editor (1996)
VIRTUE OF THE SMALL
Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town' reminds us that rural people think a lot about their families, the universe, the eternal.
They can see the starry sky, the milky way and beyond. They can see each other.
Calhoun is a great place to see the universal sky.
Urban people, so it seems, are forced to think more about themselves, living in faceless cities, geared to rapid transit lives. We don't hold that against them.
People in rural communities hold their way of life close to their bosoms.
We joy in the peace, silence and safety.
For the most part, with Appalachian culture, for better or worse, most people just want to be left alone.
Although vanishing People of Place, when most is said and done, what really matters is what life is about where we stand and live on the earth.
Henry David Thoreau wrote of his two-year experiment with living in a woodland cabin, "As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness."
Leonardo da Vinci said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
The Herald was first published in 1996 and has had about 2.5 million visitors annually.
