Advertisement High atop Lookout Mountain in Cherokee Rock Village near Leesburg
Text and photographs by Scott Baker
We called him “Deddy” – not Dad nor any other name. Perhaps in other regions, one would pronounce it ‘Daddy’ but not in rural Alabama. Some of my friends referred to their fathers as Dad. I tried but it never sounded right. It still doesn’t. Deddy was a gentle giant, worked construction all his life. He wasn’t college educated, but he sure was smart. Deddy didn’t say much, yet when he did, it was worth hearing. He lived by the rule, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Deddy enjoyed exploring; he’d exclaim, “Hop in the truck. Let’s go riding around.” That meant we were going cruising down two-lane country roads which often led to narrower and bumpier single-lane dirt roads. Eventually the dirt roads ended at an intersection where Deddy would question which way to go. Occasionally we had to turn around and go back the way we came, but we always found our way home. As a young boy, I didn’t understand the purpose of our excursions, but I was reminded of the treasure in these off-the-beaten-path memories last October when I was looking for out-ofthe-way places to photograph fall foliage. With www.northalabama.org as my guide, I spent a couple of days snooping around the Sipsey Wilderness in Bankhead National Forest. Following a visit to the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, I headed south to check out the three remaining original covered bridges in Alabama, located near Oneonta. My trip con18 SEPTEMBER 2021
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Holmes Chapel Falls in Bankhead National Forest near Double Springs, Alabama www.alabamaliving.coop
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