Hometownstories.org

Which is More Dangerous, Umpiring Little League Games or Teaching at the Bristol Jail?

People sometimes ask me if my teaching at the Bristol Jail ever got dangerous.

May 10 • Ben Talley

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How to say "Appalachia"

It remains perhaps the most bonafide way by which I can immediately discern whether one is a true native of these hills or not; how someone prounounces…

May 3 • Ben Talley

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April 2026

Pretty is as pretty does

I didn’t fully understand the following words as a child.

Apr 26 • Ben Talley

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Reading People

While hiking one February day several years back, I happened upon a young lady by the trailside, perched on a rock outcrop, gazing out over the river…

Apr 19 • Ben Talley

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Righting a Wronged Reputation

(Bristol's greatest golfer)

Apr 12 • Ben Talley

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Resurrection

(out of the mouths of babes)

Apr 5 • Ben Talley

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March 2026

When Joy Defeats Despair; Jason Hearl

Some people will tell you that Jason Hearl died young.

Mar 29 • Ben Talley

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Bristol's John Tickle ... his simple secret to success

My friend, John Tickle, is one of Bristol’s brightest and best business minds ever.

Mar 22 • Ben Talley

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How to play all day

Dear reader, can you remember what is was like to be a child at play?

Mar 15 • Ben Talley

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When Our Children Are Murdered; Turning Darkness into Light

It was the moment I found out that one of the sweetest, kindest students I ever taught, Gabby Kennedy, was senselessly murdered (along with her precious…

Mar 8 • Ben Talley

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Bristol's greatest teacher family; the Whiteheads

Imagine being in a room with over one hundred of the brightest young minds in Virginia, all who are about to graduate college and become school…

Mar 1 • Ben Talley

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February 2026

Bristol's Shamas Dougherty; the pure in heart among us

A few summers back, I was sitting in the Bojangles restaurant on the Volunteer Parkway when none other than Shamas Dougherty walked in.

Feb 22 • Ben Talley

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