By Cassandra Castillo
Often sitting in the driver seat of her white step van, Miranda Atkins flips through the pages of her latest novel, waiting for a customer to walk onto her teal steps in search of a new read.
Atkins, the owner of A Little Bookish, thrives on selling books simply out of her love for reading.
Continue reading “Rolling Pages”By Hannah Blair Hurt
Walking through the door of Zarzour’s Cafe on Chattanooga’s Southside feels a bit like walking into a time capsule containing four generations of Zarzour family history, owners of the small brick building for over 100 years. The shelves and walls are adorned with an array of heirlooms and memorabilia, from family photos, celebrity autographs and newspaper clippings to Charles Zarzour’s naturalization papers from 1946, signed in Arabic.
Continue reading “A Family Thing”By Madelyn McCrary
Adorned with bright colors and spunky personality, local Chattanooga artist Alecia Vera Buckles has found a way to create functional and sustainable art from an uncommon medium: trash.
“I finally feel like I’m touching the toes of where I want to be in my career and that is truly one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve ever had,” Buckles said in a recent Instagram post.
Continue reading “Trashy Treasures”By Allie English
The most endangered canid in the world is making a return, protected deep within the woodlands of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Continue reading “Raising Wolves”By Kylee Boone
The average American throws out approximately 4.9 pounds of trash per day, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. For nearly half a decade, married couple Sadie and Zach McElrath have striven to defy this statistic through a journey toward producing zero waste within their family of five.
The journey began when the two were listening to the radio and heard of someone who was working toward that same goal.
“I heard this college student can fit all her trash for our whole year into a single jar,” Sadie McElrath said.
Continue reading “The Race to Zero Waste”By Haley Bayer
Alix Parks engages with Telly, a non-releasable Black vulture, in their usual handshake. Saturday, November 25, 2022. (Photo by Haley Bayer)
Past the bustling noise and city lights of Chattanooga lies a home on Signal Mountain for all types of birds of prey on their way to recovery.
That home belongs to Alix Parks, the owner of Happinest Wildlife Rehabilitation and Raptor Rescue, 501c3 non-profit That used to accept everything from squirrels to rabbits, raptors and even songbirds. But after training a few other rehabilitators on other species, Happinest has become strictly a raptor rehabilitation center.
Continue reading “Birds of Prey”By Anna Truss
While many people plan to retire fully by 65, that dream is not always a reality for everyone. Kathleen Stephens, a resident of Hamilton County, TN, is still a full time certified nursing assistant at the age of 79.
“I still work full time and I thank God for that because I can see what I’m doing, because before I wouldn’t have been able to see,” Stephens said.
Continue reading “Sight & Hope Restored”By Madison Van Horn
The world of ballet is more than just sugar plum fairies and pirouettes. With years of training and a deep passion for artistry, professional dancers like Pierceton Mazell revolve their lives around dance.
“A lot of people haven’t been exposed to this type of lifestyle,” Mazell said. “Dancers are professional athletes without the benefits of professional athletes. You know, it’s a passion project and it’s a lifestyle job.”
Continue reading “Dedicated to Dance”Written By Hannah Blair Hurt
If you happen to be rolling down Brainerd Road on a Saturday afternoon, you may find multiple generations of the Taylor family packed into their food truck, stirring up some authentic cajun cuisine.
Tacia Taylor, affectionately called ‘Miss Nola’ by some in the community, runs Nola Girls Gumbo while also working a nine-to-five and running a nonprofit organization. Taylor is no stranger to the food industry; her parents opened their restaurant in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans when she was just thirteen years old.
Continue reading “Miss Nola’s Gumbo”By Jules Jackson
The skeletal remains of the Standard-Coosa-Thatcher mill complex glow as if they were on fire. Inside, the Pop-up Project is going through the final rehearsal for If These Walls Could Talk, an immersive dance performance that seeks to tell the history of the mill before it is lost to the collective memory of Chattanooga.
“It’s just such a beautiful space,” says Jules Downum, director and co-founder of the Pop-up Project. “It didn’t take a lot of work on our part to make the space impactful. And the stories were already here.”
Continue reading “Movements Of The Mill”
Rising Rock 