Neighbors

More than 200 people braved the 90-degrees-plus temperatures Monday to attend the Memorial Day service at Grove Hill Cemetery.

The crowd proved the spirit of patriotism is still alive and well as they gathered under tents, trees and even stood in the boiling sun to hear speakers, sing stirring songs and listen to the melancholy dirge of bagpipes and the solemn notes of “Taps.”

After a walking tour of the cemetery hosted by Friends of Grove Hill, led by historian Mike Harrod, the crowd gathered outside the chapel for the service.

The sun may have been fickle in Bagdad on Saturday, but the smiles on the faces of those who attended the town's 20th anniversary festival lit up the day all over the small community.

It’s difficult to catch Mary Spinks and Mae Bates in a stationary mode.

These two best friends have been exercising together ever since meeting in an exercise class in 2005.

“We met right here, at Body Recall,” Spinks said in a recent interview after a Shelby Shape Up class at the Shelby County Extension Office.

“We were Morning Glories then, the group, I mean,” Bates said, breaking into laughter at the look on her friend’s face.

After that introduction, the two decided to get serious about exercise.

Anyone who attended the Touched Twice Ministries’ free medical and hygienic clinic on Saturday would agree that the organizers thought of just about everything.

Spread throughout three floors and basement of First Baptist Church Shelbyville on Midland Trail,  36 local businesses pitched in to provide services in everything from hairdressing to a thrift shop to counseling to personal hygiene.

A wide range of medical services were provided as well, including chiropractic, dental, vision, and blood pressure and other screenings.