280 Living
January 2014 | Volume2014 7 | Issue 5 • A1 January
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neighborly news & entertainment
Women of 280
A rare find
One man’s museum in Greystone offers visitors a chance to make a memory By JEFF THOMPSON
Each January, 280 Living recognizes women who show their dedication to the community through businesses they own or services they provide through nonprofit organizations. Find a host of local heroines inside this issue.
Special page B1
Doors opening
This month, some Chelsea students will return to school in a brand-new facility. Take a tour of the new Forest Oaks Elementary with principal Dr. Resia Brooks inside this issue.
School House page B14
INSIDE 280 News ..... A4 Business ....... A5 Food .............. A11 Community.. A14
Sports .............. A18 Opinion ............ A23 School House ... B16 Calendar ........... B21
Greystone resident Steve Dichiara with a dehydrated piece of cinnamon bread that flew on NASA’s Apollo 13 mission. Dichiara said it’s one of his favorite pieces in his collection of more than 160 historical artifacts. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
Anna Marie Dichiara was making her way to the exit when her husband caught up. The couple was in a flea market out of state, and the particular piece of Old South paraphernalia draped across his arm made her pick up her pace. “We’re in Tennessee, and you bought a rebel flag? Really, Steve?” she asked him. “Do you know what this is?” Steve replied. “Yeah. It’s junk,” she said. Steve Dichiara is a firefighter by trade, but at home he is a self-defined collector. However, it’s what he collects that alters the definition. His hobby of finding rare pieces from the past has also made him a historian. Inside the couple’s home in Greystone, Steve has built a stunning scene. The glass cases around his basement room are teeming with items of significance — from Viking bracelets to pieces of the space shuttle — but it’s unlike any museum you’ve ever toured. No velvet ropes. No “Don’t smudge the glass” signs. No ticket prices. In fact, it’s completely the opposite. “All right, the first rule of coming down here is that nothing’s off limits,” he said. “Touch anything you want.” Down there, people who are privileged to see the collection don’t just simply marvel at the past. They become a part of it. Steve’s affection for the items in his cases pours out onto those who see them, and his only hope is that they move you as they have him. And sometimes that means moving them. He flips open one of his gun cases to reveal four pristine revolvers dated during the Civil War, three made by Colt and one by Remington. He goes on to say that the Union Army only ordered two of the models in the case,
See HISTORY | page A20
2014 Year in preview What 280 residents can anticipate along the corridor in 2014 See page A6
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Birmingham, AL Permit #656
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High-profile offices like U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus’ seat and current Sheriff Chris Curry’s office will be contested in 2014.
With the Dunnavant Valley Small Area Plan, residents hope to protect green spaces like the Dunnavant Valley Greenway.
Brookwood Medical Center’s freestanding ER at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Ala. 119 could be completed in 2014.