If you’ve attended a church service, wedding, funeral or special occasion in the Tri-State in the last 40 years, chances are at some point you’ve enjoyed the splendid music of keyboardist Sharon Bradshaw. Her passionate and soulful renditions of religious hymns, classical, contemporary and Broadway music have received acclaim throughout this region and beyond.
The Ironton native began playing piano at age four, and by 14 she was ready to tackle the intricacies of the pipe organ.
“When I was young, pipe organs were in many churches,” Bradshaw said, “and that’s exactly where I wanted to be – to feel that sound. I was really drawn to it.”
Pipe organs date back to medieval days. Pipes can vary in length from about one-inch to 32-feet, creating a nine-octave range in the largest instruments.Read More...

I am relieved to be a passenger as rain pounds my sister’s windshield and Mom attempts analysis of the sudden malfunction of our GPS on our inaugural road trip to Frankfort, Ky., and one of America’s and Kentucky’s best kept secrets weekends of fun – the world’s longest yard sale. Also known as the 127 Corridor Sale, stretching more than 690 miles from Addison, Mich., to Gadsden, Ala., for four days during the first weekend in August, it’s no wonder that this annual event attracts national and local interest while encouraging buyers and sellers to explore the beauty and back roads of its many host cities.

With three days, two generations, one world’s longest yard sale, and a shared love of the rusted, reused, and renewed, my sister and I are excited to surprise our mom with a post-Christmas in July girls’ weekend. Confident that our exploratory mission will not only end in the discovery...Read More...

On April 6, 2012, the longest running fugitive slave case in American history came to a close in a Wayne County, W.Va., courtroom – ironically, on Good Friday. Following the rap of Judge Darrell Pratt’s gavel, the finding of freedom for the plaintiffs caused the spectators in the courtroom to erupt in jubilation.
Members of the Polley family, descendants of the former slaves on trial, traveled across the United States to witness the proceedings, which utilized actual sworn depositions from the original, unfinished 1849 trial. Finally, the Polleys could say with legal certainty their loved ones died as free citizens.
A few moments following the verdict, a middle-aged white man began crying amidst his overjoyed black peers. His research had helped make this trial possible. Attempting to stifle his outward flow of emotion, he looked at his friend...Read More...

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