“Three or four years ago tryouts were being conducted for parts in the Nativity Play to be staged by the children of the Second Presbyterian Church.  There was brisk competition for all the roles except that of the innkeeper who told Mary and Joseph that he didn’t have room for them. For some reason the kids seemed to think the innkeeper was a sort of bad guy and no one wanted to be saddled with the part. ‘But he wasn’t really mean,’ one of the teachers explained to the four-year-old boy chosen for the role.  ‘All the rooms in the…

John Christmas McLemore, Christmasville, TN Well, his name anyway.  Our Marvin Downing is the historical consultant for a PBS segment on Christmasville, TN and John Christmas McLemore.  Marvin says that means “a person might catch my name when the credits are run”! The segment will air on Christmas Eve and again on the following Sunday morning after Christmas.  If you don’t have access to Nashville Public Television, after the segment airs, it will be on the website a few weeks via You Tube and you can check it out at  www.tennesseecrossroads.org. John Christmas McLemore was one of the founding fathers…