My grandpa, Claude Baker, used to love to tell jokes and stories.  He was good at it and got so tickled when he finished.  He used to tell a story about a dog named, “Love”, that went like this. “A frontiersman was out hunting with his dog, Love.  They...

While growing up, I heard my dad talk about “Lloyd Robinette, the Perry Mason of Blackwater”.  Perhaps this was due to his help in preventing my grandfather from going to the Western front during WWI.  Either way, I decided that I wanted to learn more about this man. Anyone...

State Route 604 begins at State Route 421 in Duffield, Virginia, and runs through Pattonsville, Blackwater and Jonesville on its way to the Tennessee state line.  On the Virginia side, it is named “Doctor Andrew Jackson Osborne Highway”.  Those familiar with the area will know that there are many...

With it being 100 years since the beginning of World War I, I’m reminded of the story my Dad told me about how Grandpa Roberts was saved at the last minute from having to go to Europe. The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.  It...

The area of the Cumberland Gap was very strategic during the Civil War.  It traded hands a few times in various engagements.  The 64th Mounted Virginia Infantry, of which Jesse Roberts was a member, fought in the last battle.  It was a disaster for the Confederate forces, who surrendered...

After discovering that my great, great, great grandfather, Jesse Roberts, was a Private in the 64th Mounted Infantry of Virginia, I wanted to find out what battles they fought.  Apparently, 130 men of the 64th fought in the battle of Jonesville and were key to a Confederate victory. Jonesville...