Discover The Essence of St. Clair April 2012

Margaret’s boom-town days • Art of crafting knives Flying Pig • Backyard airport • Local artists • Pro bass fishing

April - May 2012

Big Canoe Creek Friends protecting & preserving natural gem

Rebuilding

St. Clair one year after the tornados

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Features and Articles D iscover The Essence of St. Clair

April - May 2012

Big Canoe Creek

Friends helping protect one of St. Clair County’s natural gems

Page 32 Cover and Index photos by Jerry Martin

An Artist at Work

Linda Ellen Price uses painting to connect with people

The Flying Pig Page 8

Grapes, grains and gifts make patrons flock to Springville shop Page 24

Flying Pig Recipes

Page 29

Traveling the Backroads Remembering Margaret’s mining boom-town days

Page 42

Southwood

Couple makes antebellum dream home a reality

Automaton

Bud and Suzi Richards bring their carvings to life

American Chestnut Returns Page 14

Neighborhood Airport Garage becomes hangar for homemade airplane builder

Page 48

Tree making a comeback in St. Clair thanks to a little help

Bass Fishing Alabama

Sport bringing national attention to county and region Page 18

Page 54

Business Briefing Tornados: A year later

Page 60

Finding hope for future despite devastating loss

Page 62 Alpha Ranch, Shoal Creek continue long road to recovery Page 66 Pell City engineering firm in new building after direct hit Page 70

Quilts of Valor

Keeping veterans home covered Page 72

Giving them the world Traveling the world to help Pell City schools and more

Page 74

Men of Steel Page 56

Fincher family skilled bladesmiths Page 78

online @ www.discoverstclair.com

Writers AND Photographers Carol Pappas

Mike Bolton

Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine. A newspaper veteran, she retired as editor and publisher of The Daily Home, St. Clair Times and Lakeside Magazine to start her own multimedia company. She has been published in various newspapers and magazines, won dozens of writing awards in features, news and commentary and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University for 2011.

Mike Bolton was a senior reporter for the Birmingham News for 25 years covering mainly outdoors and NASCAR. He was an eight-time winner of the Associated Press Sweepstakes Award for best sports story of the year. He retired from the News in 2009 but still contributes stories. He has lived in St. Clair County for 22 years.

Jerry Martin Jerry Martin is chief freelance photographer for Partners by Design, a multimedia group based in Pell City. He is a veteran newspaper photographer, whose work earned numerous state awards. His photographs have appeared in many magazines, publications and online.

Jerry C. Smith Jerry C. Smith’s interest in photography and writing go back to his teen years. He has produced numerous articles, stories and photographs for local websites and regional newspapers and magazines, including the St. Clair County News, Sand Mountain Living, and Old Tennessee Valley. His photos have appeared in books, on national public television, in local art displays and have captured prizes in various contests. A retired business machine technician and Birmingham native, Jerry now lives near Pell City. He recently published two books: Uniquely St. Clair and Growing Up In The Magic City.

Loyd McIntosh Loyd McIntosh is a freelance writer and former news reporter and sports writer for several newspapers throughout the Southeast, including The Daily Home. In over 10 years as a freelance writer, he has published work in a variety of magazines. He is a native of Trussville and now lives in Pell City with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughters Emily Grace and Lily. Loyd is currently the marketing manager for the Birmingham YMCA.

6 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Samantha Corona Samantha Corona works as a communications coordinator for O2 Ideas, a public relations and marketing firm in Birmingham. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University, where she served as associate sports editor of The Auburn Plainsman and freelance contributor for the Opelika-Auburn News. She began her professional career with The Daily Home, covering community news, events and local government, as well as contributing to Lakeside Magazine.

Elaine Miller Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in Journalism from Samford University. She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. A former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine, she has written for a variety of local, regional and national publications, including American Profile, Woman’s World, The Dallas Morning News and The Birmingham News. She is the author of two non-fiction books, Myths, Mysteries & Legends of Alabama and Nat King Cole: Unforgettable Musician.

GiGi Hood GiGi Hood, a Samford University graduate, lives in Birmingham. A Nashville Tenn., native and avid sports enthusiast, she was the first woman sportswriter for The Nashville Tennessean. She has also written for The Birmingham News as well as contributed to numerous publications as a freelance writer.

Currently she is working on U-Turn, a non-fiction book.

Spring brings stories anew From the Editor

They call spring a rebirth. And it is easy to see why. What once was dormant comes alive again each year.

We see it in the colorful complement of flowers that accent homes and land across St. Clair County. We see it in the palettes of green that define the beauty of the county’s hillsides. And we see it in the beginnings of bounties that will harvest from backyard gardens and farmland alike.

Those are the happy examples of spring’s rebirth.

In places like Shoal Creek Valley, rebirth takes on a different meaning as rebuilding homes and lives continues one year after deadly tornadoes left their unforgettable mark.

People like Buford Sanders hope to look forward this spring. Looking back is much too painful. He lost his son and daughter-in-law to the milewide tornado that ripped through this once peaceful valley.

Through him and others, we tell the story of rebirth in this anniversary month, where tragedy is revisited, but rebuilding gives us hope for the future.

Similarly, we look forward as a magazine in discovering new places, telling new stories about interesting people doing incredible things that make St. Clair County such a special place.

We take a ride by canoe and kayak on Big Canoe Creek and learn how a dedicated group of volunteers works hard to preserve this natural gem. We discover artists of all kinds in our midst, we learn about the skillful craft of bladesmiths and how an Odenville man uses his garage as a hangar where he builds his own airplanes.

We rediscover the roots of the once-thriving mining town of Margaret, and we dine with self-described “foodies” at Springville’s whimsical wine and gift shop, The Flying Pig. And of course, there’s plenty more. Look inside and discover the essence of St. Clair County along with us.

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

April- May 2012 • Vol. 5 • www.discoverstclair.com

Carol Pappas • Editor and Publisher Graham Hadley • Managing Editor and Designer Brandon Wynn • Director of Online Services Jerry Martin • Photography Arthur Phillips • Advertising Trese Mashburn • Advertising

A product of Partners by Design www.partnersmultimedia.com 6204 Skippers Cove Pell City, AL 35128 205-335-0281

Printed at Russell Printing, Alexander City, AL. April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 7

An Artist at Work Linda Ellen Price uses painting to connect with people Story by Samantha Corona Photos by Jerry Martin “DaVinci” is a nickname that portrait artist and painter Linda Ellen Price earned at an early age.

Her first commissioned job was crayondrawn Santa Clauses for the classroom doors at her Florida elementary school. It was a privilege that she says gave her that initial desire to be an artist.

When her family moved to Montgomery, another teacher had the opposite effect.

The class was assigned to create individual winter box scenes. When Price presented her homemade vision next to the other students’ store-bought scenes, she was told to throw hers in the dumpster.

“I threw it away like she told me to, and I never told my family what happened because I was so ashamed. After that, I stayed away from art until college,” Price said.

While studying to become a registered nurse, she wandered into a shop owned by a local Birmingham artist. It didn’t take long for the owner to see Price’s talent.

“The first thing Barbara (Evans) said to me was, ‘You’ve painted before.’ She told me about Max Heldman, a Russian artist who was working and teaching in Birmingham. I started studying under him, and he became one of my biggest influences. He was the one who encouraged me to pursue art and to do what I always wanted to do.”

As Price stands at her easel, it’s clear to see she is where she belongs. A large picture window shines light into her upstairs home studio, guiding her use of color and offering her a serene setting to paint her visions.

“One lesson Max Heldman taught me was to never go off inspiration. Walk to the easel disciplined and with a purpose. When I come here to paint, I choose my brush, and I come in focused on what I’m doing,” she said.

Watching as she chooses from the multitude of brushes and colors lining the table, art does seem second nature.

Her time as an RN didn’t last long. Price wanted to continue working with people, but in a different, more colorful way.

Her portrait portfolio includes dozens of names of clients and friends, including one of

8 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Linda Ellen Price works on one of her pieces in her home studio.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 9

Price’s works line the walls next to her desk.

An Artist at Work

her two granddaughters. Also among the list is Johnny Stallings, the late son of former University of Alabama head coach Gene Stallings; former Miss Alabama Amy Beth Dickinson and her family; EWTN’s Mother Angelica; and two separate portraits of the Bruno family, which hang at St. Vincent’s Hospital in downtown Birmingham.

In her office, a classic 1940 photo of her mother is still attached to one small canvas that mirrors its image. Price says it’s one portrait that she just felt she had to paint.

Outside of personal portraits, Price’s bestsellers are loosely structured street scenes. Working from a photo or with a sitting model requires much more time and attention to detail. The broad style of street scenes offer her a chance to paint “outside the lines” and incorporate as many figures and features as she can imagine.

Depending on what her day allows, from the time she steps to the easel until the finished product, Price can complete a street scene piece in just one or two days.

“If you don’t produce, you’re done. You have to keep producing and putting your work out there,” she said. “That’s OK for me, though, because I like the pressure. I like the push it gives me every day.”

Personal pieces fill the walls of her and her husband, David’s, classic Springville home. Room by room, each piece has a story, a cute name, a face, and almost all include a furry friend.

“I love to paint happy paintings. The world has much of the depressing things, that I like to have happiness in my work,” Price said. “I like fun titles, and I always want to have figures

10 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

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An Artist at Work

A classic 1940 photo of Price’s mother is still attached to one small canvas that mirrors its image. in my painting – people, shapes, and I love to have dogs whenever I can.”

In 2009, Price was invited to exhibit at the annual “Handin-Paw” Gala, an event that raises money for the “Hand-inPaw” organization, which helps provide animal-assisted therapy in Birmingham. Her painting, simply titled “Greyhounds,” drew in the highest bid in the event’s history — $14,000.

“That was a great honor, and it made me so happy to see that go to such a good cause,” she said.

Price is also an annual contributor to a number of artfocused fundraisers and benefits, including UAB’s “ArtBLINK,” a gala event benefiting the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, where artists are challenged to create a piece on the spot, within an allotted time, and donate it to the silent auction.

In 2003, Price was honored as the feature artist of the Huntsville Museum of Art’s annual Spring Gala – a recognition she treasures.

“It was one of the greatest honors of my lifetime and an event that I was so proud to be a part of,” she said. “Being a featured artist and showcasing my work in that way is something I have always wanted to do.”

Her creative canvases hang in galleries across the country, as well as collections from South America to Europe and Canada. Here at home, she is the longest exhibiting artist at

12 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

For more information about Linda Ellen Price’s artwork and workshops, visit www.lindaellenprice.com the Loretta Goodwin Gallery.

With a number of shows under her belt, and a long list of prizes, publications, and recognitions attached to her name, Price has come a long way since the day she was asked to discard her homemade winter scene as trash.

Still, she uses that story as motivation and encouragement for the artists who attend her workshops and who now turn to her for the same advice she received from her greatest teacher – Heldman.

“In painting or any kind of art, you’ll hear a lot of negatives. Things like ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘you’ll never be able to make a living as an artist’,” Price said.

“With painting, or any other path you choose, you just don’t let the negatives stop you. I can’t imagine life without some negatives or criticism. That is when you have a chance to fix things or make it better. To me, that’s when you do your best work.” l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 13

AUTOMATON

Bud and Suzi Richards bring carvings to life 14 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Story by Samantha Corona Photos by Jerry Martin There are only two things Bud and Suzi Richards differ on.

One, is where their loyalties lie in the great statewide debate – Auburn or Alabama?

She’s a proud Crimson Tide graduate, while he spent his college days yelling, “War Eagle.”

And two – the Black Bear or the 1864 Flyer?

“The 1864 Flyer is my favorite. I remember making him, and I like what Suzi did to create that smoke,” said Bud Richards as he sets down the handcrafted automated stage on the coffee table.

As he turns the handle on the side of the wooden structure, the legs and arms of the flying man attached begin to move along with the propeller, as if he were taking off.

“She likes the Black Bear more, but this one has always been my favorite,” he smiles with each crank.

On everything else, the married couple of 27 years share almost identical interests and inspirations.

“We have many things that we’re both interested in, art and literature, history, flight.

We both love birds,” said Suzi. “We decided to incorporate all the things we enjoy into our folk art – or we like to call it contemporary folk art.”

Folk art typically lends itself to more homegrown art and creativity. Quilting, framing and works made of everyday items like clay, wood or metal can be classified as folk style, as opposed to the strict painting and sculpture style found in most art museums and galleries.

The Richards’ choice of folk art is automaton, or automata, which best defined is a self-operation machine. The craft dates back centuries to when toys and trinkets were first designed to move without electrical aid or capabilities. A series of gears and pulleys or simply a gust of wind can set the art in motion and bring it to life.

Suzi first got the idea to experiment with automata while looking for activities to fill their retirement days.

“I told Bud, ‘I think I have found something for us to do’,” Suzi laughed. “He’s always been fascinated with gears and motion and how things work. I thought this would be the perfect thing for us.”

A carver since he was 12, Bud was not at all new to woodwork. His downstairs workshop is filled with equipment, knick-knacks and projects in progress, everything from toy cars to figurines and model airplanes.

The room off to the side is reserved for his

This partially finished piece shows some of the mechanics behind the automaton.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 15

AUTOMATON

Suzi Richards shows off one of their automatons (top). Bud works to complete another carving (bottom left), and a rough sketch of plans for another piece (bottom right).

16 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

small cannon sculptures, an historical collection of cannonballs and his vintage chemistry sets.

The idea of creating automata was interesting and different, two main requirements Bud seems to have when it comes to his diverse list of interests. He taught Suzi how to carve, and together they put their ideas in motion.

One of the first creations was the Four Skimmers of St. Simon’s Island, modeled after birds the Richards’ admired on their regular visits to the Georgia coast retreat.

From there, the carvings continued to mirror the Richards’ wide range of interests.

The couple’s love for history inspired a larger Abraham Lincoln model. As a retired aeronautics engineer, Bud’s focus on flight and the many stages of its development led to a series of “Flyer” pieces.

And Suzi’s fascination with Leonardo DaVinci brought not one, but two creations – “Leonardo’s Flight” CD and a life-size Let Our Special head replica that opens to offer viewers a glimpse into the inner Work For You. workings of his mind.

“We thought, wouldn’t it be great to have the top of the head open up and show you the many things DaVinci thought about on a regular basis – painting, flight, the culture,” she said.

Mark Twain was also developed in a similar fashion. As a retired English teacher for Gifted and Talented students, Suzi says she’s always been a fan of Twain’s stories and how their messages seem to transcend times.

“His was fun, too, because we loved the idea of having Tom Sawyer in his mind painting a fence, and of course, giving you the feeling that it’s all leading up to trouble with his friend behind the fence,” she laughed.

Suzi’s favorite, “Black Bear,” brings a fun side to the classically intimidating animal. It took three months for the Richards to carve out each detail, from the textured fur and lifelike eyes.

With ears that wiggle, eyes that roll and a mouth that chomps on wild blueberries, the Richards say he has been one of their most engaging.

The Richards also have pulled from local characters. One of their most treasured creations was dedicated to Homer Ledford, a Kentucky musician, instrument maker and legend, who influenced both Bud and Suzi through music and his ability to craft beautiful wooden string instruments. It was the Richards’ entry for the “Makers and their Mentors Exhibition” in 2005.

After showing the piece, Bud and Suzi made a special delivery to Ledford and his family, bringing him the art he had inspired. Ledford passed away in late 2006.

“It was one of the greatest moments for us to give him his namesake piece because he was such an inspiration to us, and W o r kini nevery g F sense o r Yof o the u . word,” Bud he is a true Kentucky legend said.

Along with the Ledford piece, the Richards have had their automata on display in a number of exhibits and shows, including Folk Art galleries across North Carolina and Georgia.

The Mark Twain carving was the couple’s first piece to be featured in the annual Toys Designed by Artists Exhibition in Arkansas, and it was featured for a year at the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C. “Black Bear,” was a part of 37th Annual Toys Designed by Artists, where he stayed on display for almost three months.

A number of ideas are developing for the next stage and the next creation. With so many interests, the Richards have so much more to share.

“Every interest leads to something else and another project,” Suzi said. “It’s fun doing it all together.” l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 17

Your typical friendly neighborhood

Airport

18 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Story by Loyd McIntosh Photos by Jerry Martin

Garage becomes a hangar for homemade airplane builder There is a funny joke that gets told throughout the aviation community about pilots. It goes a little something like this: What is the difference between a pilot and God? God doesn’t think he’s a pilot.

The meaning of the joke, of course, is that pilots are a different breed, a gonzo blend of Evel Knievel and Steve Austin (The Million-Dollar Man, to all of you born after 1980), willing to cheat the laws of physics, nature and death itself for the ultimate thrill.

To put oneself in the cockpit and spit in the face of gravity certainly takes guts, but what personality traits must it take to build and fly a plane? If Odenville resident Louis “Rusty” Hood is any indication, the answer is a combination of humility, honesty, and decency, with a little spirit of adventure thrown in for good measure.

A retired flight engineer from the Army National Guard, Hood might possibly be one of the nicest and most humble people you’re likely to meet. He just happens to enjoy building and flying experimental aircraft so much that he lives next to his own airstrip. His garage does double duty as a hangar, currently housing a pair of

Louis “Rusty” Hood flies just above the airstrip next to his house in Odenville.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 19

Airport light, propeller-driven airplanes.

The first one is based on a 1930s design and in disrepair at the moment. Hood says he’s looking to part the thing out because “you know, they’ve improved airplane design since the ‘30s, both in construction techniques and design.”

The main attraction in Hood’s garage/ hangar is a Murphy Rebel, a small, shinysilver, two-seater airplane that looks more like a museum exhibit from a bygone era than an actual working plane. However, as Hood explains, this little baby tops out at around 90 miles per hour, can carry about 44 gallons of fuel (good for about six hours of flying), and is a highly popular aircraft in Canada, where it is primarily flown in wooded areas. It’s one of several airplanes Hood has built on his own in almost 40 years of flying.

“It comes in a box, and all the parts are there, and you apply your craftsmanship and 20,000 rivets. Then you add your engine, instruments and your radios, and you got an airplane,” Hood says. “Of course that’s about 10 seconds worth of talk and about two year’s worth of work.”

Somewhat shy and understated, Hood isn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, a gonzo, risk-taker in the air. “I’m no thrill seeker by any means,” says Hood. “I try to be very careful. I’ve been flying both personally and in the military since ‘75, I guess. I don’t take flying lightly.”

Thirty-plus years of military flying will do that to a guy.

Build them, and they will fly

Hood became interested in planes and flight while working at a motorcycle dealership in the afternoons while in high school. A tinker by nature, Hood first came upon the notion of building his own plane after noticing an ad in the back of Popular Mechanics magazine for a Benson Gyrocopter, a rotorcraft which looks like a cross between a helicopter and a go-cart.

It was in the middle of winter, the slow season at the dealership, so Hood decided to ride his motorcycle to the Benson factory in Raleigh, North Carolina, to look into buying his own gyrocopter. “I just wasn’t impressed, and I did a little research, and I found that most of those plans weren’t viable planes, so I decided against that. But, that did get me started on the idea of building my own plane,” Hood says.

20 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Hood stands next to his “experimental” airplane in his hangar.

Hood soon realized he didn’t have the funds to purchase his own plane, but began investigating planes he could build on his own. His search led him to an aircraft designed by a Burt Rutan, the experimental aircraft designer famous for designing the Model 86 Voyager, the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, among other accomplishments.

“He designed a little airplane called Quickie. It was a single-seat all fiberglass, composite, tandem wing. It had a wing out front and a wing in the middle, but no wing on the tail, which is a little unusual,” Hood explains. “If you know anything about Burt Rutan, unusual airplanes are his game.

“They offered the kit for $4,000, and I had $4,000 in my savings exactly, and I bought the kit which consisted of 12 gallons of glue, 144 yards of fiberglass, and two or three boxes of Styrofoam and urethane foam,” Hood adds. “I proceeded to in the course of the next couple of years, construct this airplane, and I flew it for 75 or 100 hours or so.”

Hood joined the Army National Guard in 1974, beginning his military career as a heli-

The cockpit of Hood’s plane April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 21

Airport

Hood’s friend convinced him to help build and eventually build the Murphy Rebel, his current plane.

copter mechanic and eventually becoming a flight engineer on various military aircrafts, such as Sky Cranes, Huey and some additional fixed-wings. Closing in on his 50th birthday, Hood was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004, spending the next year flying and supervising a maintenance crew of more than 30 soldiers, performing an impressive amount of work while serving his country.

“We flew 7,000 hours, which set a record for our size unit for the time we were there in 04 and 05,” says Hood. “It was a lot of missions and a lot of work to keep those helicopters going. I was the old guy in the bunch at about 50. Most of those guys are teenagers, and they’ve got stamina, and all they need is a little direction.”

Hood retired from the National Guard soon after returning home from Afghanistan, and initially spent his time strictly on land-based activities, primarily motorcycle riding and gardening. It wasn’t long before a friend contacted Hood with a project. He needed help building an airplane – the Murphy Rebel currently sitting in his massive garage.

“I told him I had just gotten back from Afghanistan, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to fly anymore,” Hood says. “I told him to come back and ask me in a year.”

Sure enough, he came back with the intention of enlisting Hood’s help. Not ready to think about taking to the air once again, Hood jumped at the chance, helping complete the build and buying halfownership of the plane. Eventually, Hood bought the plane outright and is back where he belongs – in the air.

“I’m just a fun flyer. I did enough hazardous flying in the military to get that out of my system,” Hood says. “When the weather is perfect, there’s no wind, and I feel good, I go for a ride.” l

22 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 23

The Flying Pig Story by Elaine Hobson Miller • Photos by Jerry Martin

Grapes, grains and gifts make patrons flock to Springville shop Dené Huff loves drinking good wine and craft beers, and smoking a good cigar. By opening The Flying Pig in Springville, she was able to bring all her vices together under one roof.

“I got tired of driving to Atlanta for good beer, good wine and my wine kits,” she says.

She opened October 28, 2011, in the little house behind and between PNC (formerly RBC) Bank and the Springville Antique Mall.

She specializes in imported and domestic craft beers and wine from small, family-owned wineries, has on-premise and off-premise licenses, and sells wine openers and aerators, Red Neck wine glasses (small mason jars on stems), and other adult-beverage-related gifts. Upstairs, she has grains, yeast, hops, wine kits and equipment for hobbyists to make their own wine. Hence her shop description, “grapes, grains and gifts.”

The name for her business came from her frustration in dealing with the Alabama Beverage Control Board. She couldn’t get them to return her phone calls, they messed up her paperwork five times, had her driving back and forth between Ashville, Pell City and Lincoln to get a good set of fingerprints. “I must have logged 1,500 miles trying to get everything resolved,” she says. “One day I announced, ‘We’ll get this resolved when pigs fly. …’ My kids heard, ‘when pigs fly,’” and said that’s what I should name my shop.”

Originally from Texas, Dené’s military background (she was a Marine corpsman) and her husband’s job have taken them all over the United States. “Just throw a dart at a map, and I’ve lived there,” she says. She and husband, Joe, and daughters Lily, 13, and Aria,11, came to Springville two and a half years ago when Valspar made Joe manager of its Birmingham

24 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Dené Huff and KoKo McTyeire

The Flying Pig does not carry your normal “grocery store” beer brands.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 25

The Flying Pig

Customers Bill McTyeire, Duane Berger and Phillip Dabney, all of Springville, compare notes on a possible wine purchase.

Springville singer and songwriter Steve Lucas entertained customers on a recent Friday night at The Flying Pig. 26 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

plant. While in Trussville looking at houses, the family took a wrong turn, found the Drive-In at Argo, and fell in love. They stumbled onto Springville right after Memorial Day, when the flags were still up. “I knew it was home,” she says.

She doesn’t carry “grocery-store beer” brands, seeking more imagination in the line she sells. Craft beers, on the other hand, have hundreds of years of thought, ingenuity and, well, craftsmanship behind them. They aren’t mass produced, and some have six or seven hops in them. “I get women in here saying, ‘I hate beer,’ but before they leave here, I’ve usually found a beer they like,” Dené claims.

Within three months of opening, she had a regular clientele. Friday and Saturday nights seem to be their favorite times to meet, but you’ll run into at least one of them almost any night.

“We’ve been friends with the Davises for 20 years,” says Laura Sparks, as she sips her favorite Banana Nut Bread Beer. “We used to meet at each others’ houses, now we come here. We like the hospitality, and that our favorite beers are kept cold. A lot of beer here you won’t find at local bars, convenience stores or Walmart.”

The atmosphere at The Flying Pig is such that even her 15-year-old daughter feels comfortable.

“She can’t drink the alcohol, but she’s looking forward to the designer sodas that are coming,” Laura says.

“You can sample several beers and wine from all over the world,” says her husband, Ray. “You can’t sit here and drink to oblivion, though. This is not a bar.”

Rob Brantley drops by two to four times per week for the beer and cigars he can’t find anywhere else. “You can have a good meal at a local restaurant and top it off here with a good wine or beer.

And it’s walking distance from my house,” he says.

Gary Davis is a local blacksmith who, along with wife, Susan, frequents The Flying Pig for two reasons: Dené and the beer. “We like the atmosphere,” Susan says. “It’s not a smoky bar. There are no obnoxious people. You could bring your family. Dené knows her customers, knows when to cut off their beer.”

Dené is experimenting with live bands on weekends, and has decided acoustic instruments work best in such a small setting, so people can talk over them. A self-described foodie, she loves to experiment with recipes and has made friends with customers who share her interests. Describing herself and her girlfriends as “adventuresome,” she has been known to have buffalo or elk flown in for a dinner party. “My girlfriends will try anything,” she says.

One such gal pal is KoKo McTyeire, who subscribes to Cook’s Illustrated, and tries many of the upscale food publication’s recipes. The two frequently gather at one or the other’s house to

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The Flying Pig

experiment with food, and have been known to invite whoever is in the shop at closing time.

Asked to come up with a scrumptious menu and to pair it with good wines, Dené and KoKo prepared a meal for two Discover contributors that nearly knocked them off their bar stools.

The menu started with an appetizer of Roasted Red Peppers and garlic hummus topped with chopped tomatoes and served with torn pieces of naan, a Middle Eastern flat bread. She also had a tray of Kalamata olives and bleu cheese-stuffed olives. The entrée was pot-roasted pork loin with blueberry and Marsala wine reduction sauce, and dessert was fresh berry gratins with Zabaglione topping.

“We selected two quick-and-easy recipes along with two that are a little more involved,” Dené says. “We used ingredients that are readily available, either from local vendors or grocery stores. We bought the pork roast at the Chopping Block in Springville, for example, and KoKo grew the blueberries.”

The hummus is easy, costs about $3 and took Dené five minutes to make. A versatile appetizer, it can be served with pita or tortilla chips. Her recipe serves four to six people, and leftovers will keep several days when stored in a tight container in the refrigerator.

Dené paired the hummus with a $9 bottle of Vista Point Pinot Grigio from California and, for those who prefer grains to grapes, Unibroue La Findu Monde, a French beer from Quebec.

She used the Vista Point to show that you don’t have to spend $45 to have a good-tasting wine. “The Pinot Grigio is light and crisp and makes a nice complement for the garlic in the hummus,” she says. “Lots of my customers swear it has a vegetable undertone.”

She chose the beer because she wanted to show that beer can go with everything, from starters through entrées and on to desserts. “I think the undertones of this beer make it a wonderful addition to the flavors of the roasted peppers and garlic,” she

28 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Customers keep bringing Dené replicas of flying pigs, which she obligingly displays behind the bar.

adds.

The first time KoKo prepared the roast pork, she couldn’t find the herbes de Provence. So she looked it up online, and found what herbs were in the mix. “I had most of them on my shelves, so I made my own mix,” she says. “Now, you can buy it at Walmart.”

For the entrée, Dené chose a buttery Chardonnay called Creme dy Lis, and a beer called Boulevard Smokestack Series Sixth Glass Quadruple Ale. She picked the buttery (oaked) Chardonnay for the pork “just to add another layer and texture to the tongue,” she says.

“I enjoy the oak flavors of the wine with pork, chicken and delicate fish,” she says. “I didn’t want something to overpower the roasted pork. I believe a red would have done that. I like the quad beer for that exact same reason. It has a gentle flavor of spice that complemented the herbs on the pork, without overpowering the taste.”

The dessert pairings of Pimo Amoré Moscato wine and Lindemans Kriek Lambic beer were no-brainers. She says the Moscato is always a safe bet. The beer is just something fun she thought would complement the berries. “It doesn’t take a sommelier to be able to pair wines and beer with your food,” Dené believes. “It just takes a little understanding of what you are drinking, Google and simply knowing what you like. If you don’t particularly care for a Cab (Cabernet Sauvignon) by itself, pair it with a wonderful steak or roasted lamb. It will change your opinion of that particular grape. You must be willing to be adventurous if you want your pallet to expand.”

The dessert was prepared with KoKo’s homegrown blueberries, and Dené felt that the Kriek Lambic, a Belgium malt beverage with black cherries added, would pair well with it. “I call Lambic the original wine cooler,” she says of the fruity-tasting, sweet beer. “I sell what I like. That way, if I go belly up, all this beer and wine are mine!”

Flying Pig

Recipes Pot-Roasted Pork Loin with Blueberry and Marsala Wine Reduction Sauce Serves 4 to 6.

Note: Brine roast in ½ cup table salt dissolved in 1 gallon water for up to 24 hours if enhanced pork is not being used for this recipe. (Enhanced pork has been injected with brine and will say so on its packaging.)

2 tablespoons butter 6 garlic cloves, sliced thin 1 (2 &1/2-pound) boneless center-cut pork loin roast, trimmed Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/3 cup dry white wine 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 8-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl and refrigerate.

2. Butterfly the roast: Position roast fat side up on cutting board. Insert sharp knife into roast 1/2 inch horizontally from the bottom of the roast and along the long side. Make a cut along the bottom of the roast, stopping 1/2 inch before the edge of the roast. Open up the resulting flap and continue to cut through the thicker half of the roast, again keeping 1/2 inch from the bottom. Stop 1/2 inch before the edge of the roast.

Roast should be an even 1/2-inch block of meat when flaps are opened. If uneven, cover with plastic wrap and use meat pounder to even out. (If butterflying instructions aren’t clear, go to Google and type in “double-butterflied pork roast.” Some instructions are illustrated, some are not.)

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt over both sides of loin (½ tablespoon per side) and rub into pork until slightly tacky. Sprinkle sugar over inside of loin, then spread with cooled toasted garlic mixture. Starting from short side, fold roast back together like

a business letter (keeping fat on outside) and tie with twine at 1-inch intervals. Sprinkle tied roast evenly with herbes de Provence and pepper.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add roast, fat side down, and brown on three sides, 5 to 8 minutes. With fat side up, place large sheet of aluminum foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until pork registers 140 degrees, 50 to 90 minutes (short, thick roasts will take longer than long, thin ones).

4. Transfer roast to carving board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Slice pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices, adding any accumulated juices to jus in Dutch oven.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 29

Flying Pig Recipes

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus 2 large, roasted red peppers (Dené uses the ones in a jar) 1 teaspoon fresh garlic (minced) 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped) 1 can of chickpeas 2 tablespoons of tahini (ground sesame) Put everything in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with fresh naan or pita chips.

Rice with Parsley 2 cups Jasmine rice 3 cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons fresh parsley Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and start. Or follow cooking directions on box of rice.

Blueberry-and-Marsala-Wine Reduction Sauce 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, pureed ½ cup Marsala wine 1 tablespoon agave nectar

30 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Combine blueberries and wine in small saucepan; bring to boil and continue to boil until thickened and reduced in volume by one third. Sweeten to taste with agave nectar. Serve warm over roast.

Fresh Berry Gratins Serves 4 to 6.

Berry Mixture: 3 cups mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries; strawberries stemmed and halved lengthwise if small, quartered if large), at room temperature 2 teaspoons granulated sugar Pinch of table salt Zabaglione Topping: 3 large egg yolks 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 tablespoons dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc 2 teaspoons light brown sugar 3 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled 1. FOR THE BERRY MIXTURE: Toss berries, sugar and salt together in medium non-reactive bowl. Divide berry mixture evenly in shallow gratin dish set on rimmed baking sheet. Set berries aside to release juices while preparing zabaglione.

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2. FOR THE ZABAGLIONE: Whisk egg yolks, 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and wine in medium glass bowl until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (water should not touch bottom of bowl) and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is frothy. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened, creamy and glossy, 5 to 10 minutes (mixture will resemble hollandaise and form loose mounds when dripped from whisk). Remove bowl from saucepan and whisk constantly for 30 seconds to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack 6 to 7 inches from heating element and heat broiler. Combine light brown sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar in small bowl.

4. In large bowl, whisk heavy cream until it holds soft peaks, 30 to 90 seconds. Using rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into egg mixture. Spoon zabaglione over berries and sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over zabaglione; let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, until sugar dissolves into zabaglione.

5. Broil until sugar is bubbly and caramelized, 1 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Big Canoe

32 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Creek

Friends helping to protect natural gem Story by Mike Bolton Photos by Jerry Martin Fish photos submitted

Doug Morrison, Ronnie Fugett, Larry Willingham, and Frank Chitwood and his dog, Youk, paddle down Big Canoe Creek.

Anyone who might stumble upon the unobtrusive hogback ridge buried deeply in the woods off Old Springville Road near Clay probably wouldn’t give it a second glance. The ridge’s mundane appearance gives no hint as to its incredibly important role in Alabama’s history and this state’s remarkable topography.

Raindrops that fall a few inches southwest of the raised spot of Alabama earth trickle their way down through the leaves and black dirt and begin an incredible journey. The raindrops eventually gather to become a small stream that passes through Clay, and that stream becomes the Little Cahaba River as it nears Trussville.

It soon becomes the Cahaba River and meanders through several Birmingham suburbs before its 180-mile excursion through the heartland of Alabama. The odyssey finally ends at the community of Old Cahawba, Alabama’s first capital, located at the confluence of the Cahaba and Alabama rivers below Selma.

Back in Clay – oddly enough – raindrops that fall just a few inches northeast of the ridge begin an interesting journey of their own in an entirely different direction.

Raindrops there trickle down to eventually form Big Canoe Creek, a beautiful, almost pristine tributary that makes a serpentine run through Springville. From there it meanders for almost 50 miles through rural St. Clair County before finally reaching Lake Neely Henry.

While Big Canoe Creek and the Cahaba River share origination points and numerous similarities, one thing dramatically sets the two apart.

The Cahaba is a river constantly in peril because of the huge population that has grown in its watershed. Big Canoe Creek, meanwhile, sits almost unnoticed by most St. Clair residents, a jewel barely affected by an ever-growing encroachment by man.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 33

Big Canoe Creek

Alex Varner, a former Springville resident who often canoes on Big Canoe Creek, says it is a hidden oasis where someone can literally paddle for days and never see another human being.

“People just don’t understand what they have right in their back door,” said Varner who now fights the daily grind of life on U.S. 280. “It is a creek that is full of fish and surrounded by wildlife. A lot of people would die to have a place like that.”

Big Canoe Creek is both blessed and cursed by that remote nature, those who love it claim.

It is protected from much harm by the fact that most St. Clair County residents’ only contact comes as they drive across one of its many bridges during their daily commute. That out-of-sight, out-of-mind existence does have consequences, its proponents say. When the call does come that it needs protection, so very few understand the importance.

Fortunately, there are a number who fathom the creek’s cosmetic, biological and recreational value. The Friends of Big Canoe Creek is an organization not made up of bespectacled tree huggers, as many might suspect, but rather an eclectic group of members who value the waterway for different reasons. The membership of about 50 people ranges from farmers who have

34 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

The creek from the air

Frank Chitwood, the Coosa Riverkeeper, paddles with pal, Youk.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 35

Biological Bounty

Rainbow Shiner

Longear Sunfish

Southern Studfish 36 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Big Canoe Creek lived on the creek all their lives to new residents who escaped Birmingham and fell in love with the creek flowing through their backyards.

Doug Morrison, the group’s president, is one of the latter whose attraction to the creek was by happenstance. Like many hoping to escape the Birmingham suburbs, the Center Point resident was turned off by the heavily congested U.S. 280 corridor and instead looked in the opposite direction to St. Clair County. When he and his wife, Joannie, stumbled upon a home for sale on Oak Grove Road in Springville, they were awestruck in two very different ways.

“My wife loved the house, and I loved the creek behind it,” Morrison says with a laugh.

He was no stranger to creeks. He grew up behind Eastwood Mall and had fond memories of turning over rocks and looking for crawfish in Shades Creek. At first, he was only attracted by having a creek as a neighbor. He said at the time he could have never imagined how a creek could have cast such a spell in his life.

“I began to see people in canoes and kayaks pass by my house, and I was fascinated,” he said. “One neighbor let me try his kayak, and I loved it. He eventually bought another kayak, and we began to go kayaking. Then I saw a neighbor wade fishing and catching fish. I tried that and loved that.”

On his short kayak jaunts, Morrison was astonished to see deer, otters, minks, wood ducks and a seemingly endless list of wildlife. He was equally astounded by the number of fish species in the creek, including 5-pound bass, crappie, bream, alligator gar and redhorse suckers. Only then did he realize what he was becoming a part of.

“I’m thinking what a gem this place is,” he said.

“There are so many people here that just don’t seem to know it exists. They drive across it and take it for granted. They just don’t know how lucky they are to have something like this.”

Morrison admits he succumbed to a basic instinct of mankind. If you love something, you want to protect it. You first, however, have to develop that kinship with the creek to really appreciate it and to yearn for its protection.

As his kayaking expeditions increased, he began expanding his trips to differing locations on Big Canoe Creek. His concerns for the creek began to broaden past the litter that was occasionally dumped at the many bridges in St. Clair County that cross the creek. He became thirsty for knowledge of what makes creeks work and what can be found in them.

He was surprised to learn that Big Canoe Creek has more than 50 fish species, including some that can be found few other places in the world. He was shocked to discover that the many mussels he was seeing actually played an important role in filtering the water and keeping it pure. He was surprised to find that some of the mussels were probably of

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Big Canoe Creek the eight listed federally as threatened.

Shoot, he might have even seen the Canoe Creek Club Shell mussel that can be found nowhere else in the world but Big Canoe Creek.

While he didn’t consider himself some nerd that could explain the value of what he was seeing to a panel of scholars, he did have his own take on why he wanted to see them protected: “I do know God put them on this earth,” he says matter-offactly.

His quest for knowledge continued. He figured the creek didn’t face many pollution threats but found that pollution can be found in many forms. He learned that the runoff from farms often contains animal wastes and fertilizers that increase the nutrient load in creeks.

And there were threats he had never thought of. He learned that pavement and concrete force fast-water runoff into waterways instead of allowing the rains to slowly filter through the earth before being released into creeks. He learned that cigarette butts thumped into some parking lots can eventually wash into storm drains and can be directed to creeks. He learned that those who change their own oil in vehicles and lawnmowers sometimes dump the used oil into storm drains. That oil is directed to creeks and rivers. He learned that buffers are needed to protect creeks from residential and commercial construction.

Because of its mainly rural path, Big Canoe Creek currently doesn’t face many of those issues, but Morrison knows that with St. Clair County’s rapid growth, those problems may be in the creek’s future. He was relieved to find that many of the potential problems can easily be stopped before they begin by simply educating the public.

He knew that a group, the Friends of Big Canoe Creek, had formed about 15 years ago but had become dormant. His next-door-neighbor Vickey Wheeler, had been a founding member, and he urged her to help him revive the group. He had plenty of support along the way from his wife, Joannie, who has worked tirelessly in the effort ever since.

Early on, he began looking for guidance by calling Liz Brooke at the Alabama Rivers Alliance and suddenly found help at every turn. Brooke introduced him to Varner.

Varner, the former Springville resident now on the Alabama Rivers Alliance board, had grown up playing in Big Canoe Creek. He fully understood the creek’s

Doug Morrison leads Friends of Big Canoe Creek as president.

38 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 39

Bill McTyeire travels the rapids.

See online video at discoverstclair.com

40 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Big Canoe Creek beauty and its importance. “He said to count him in on getting the group started,” Morrison said. “He played an important role in us getting started. He eventually became a board member and is still a board member.”

Varner canoes and fishes all across Alabama but says Big Canoe Creek will always have a special place in his heart. He had gotten away from the creek as he grew older and discovered other locations to play, like the Sipsey River, but when he became involved with Friends of Big Canoe Creek, “I got hooked all over again.”

House painter Robert “Beau” Jordan and wife Trish are both members. They moved to Oak Grove Road from Center Point in 1995 looking for a little acreage and a little solitude. The fact that a creek flowed through it wasn’t that big of a draw at the time, he remembers.

“We just wanted to get out in the country,” he said. “I was surprised when I started paying attention to the creek that it had so many fish in it. I started wade fishing and doing a little kayaking and fell in love with it.

“I’ve caught three species of bream, largemouth bass, spotted bass, rock bass, redeye bass and catfish.

“You really have to spend some time in the creek to appreciate it. I had no idea when I moved here that I would get into it like I have.”

Member Gerald Tucker, a farmer from Springville, has a lot more invested in Big Canoe Creek than most members. In 1873 his great-grandfather settled the land next to the creek near U.S. 11 and farmed there. Today, almost 140 years later, the 76-year-old is still raising cattle there. He says Big Canoe Creek has been a big part of his life and his family’s tradition. He says through the years, he has learned more and more about protecting it.

“A little education goes a long way,” he says with a laugh.

Tucker says he once thought nothing about allowing his cattle to roam and drink from the creek.

Once he learned about damage to the creek from sediment washing from the bare banks where livestock trampled, he was quick to react. He erected fencing to keep his cows out of the creek. A seemingly small step, he admits, but the creek needs only a little help to protect it, the group is quick to point out.

“When most people think about problems facing a waterway they immediately think of industry, but the problems are not always from industry,” Morrison said. “You have nutrient loading from livestock and septic tanks and sedimentation from clearing land.

“Many times all that is needed is to leave a little land buffer between whatever you are doing and the creek. People aren’t purposely causing harm. You let them learn about things, and they understand.

They want to protect the creek, too.” l

Robert “Beau” Jordan wade fishes in creek.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 41

Traveling the

BACKROADS

Boom Town Days

Company band at No. 2 Mine

Margaret’s rich past lies in mining 42 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Story and photos

by Jerry C. Smith Contributed photos courtesy of Marie Butler and Margaret Town Hall Motorists passing through Margaret, Alabama, on County Road 12 are usually unaware that it was once the busiest, most densely populated community in St Clair County. Today it’s no longer that bustling industry town of the early 1900s, but rather a quiet little settlement whose vibrant history must be learned from books and old-timers.

In History of St. Clair County (Alabama), Mattie Lou Teague Crow speaks of the town’s birth in 1908. Founded by mineral magnate Charles DeBardeleben, a Welshman, it was named for his wife, Margaret.

The new town eventually had it all.

Alabama Fuel & Iron Company provided employee housing, churches, parks, company stores, a movie theater, schools, community recreation venues, medical facilities; in short, almost everything a working man needed for his family.

In a 1974 St. Clair News-Aegis story, Jenna Whitehead relates that houses were rented to miners for $6.90 per month including water and electricity, which was deducted from their pay along with 75 cents for miners’ use of the bath house.

During the Depression, most employees only worked a day or two per week. To help make ends meet, the company provided utensils, supplies and mules for making home gardens. Small livestock and seed were furnished at cost. If a man chose not make a garden, he was laid off from work.

In The Daily Home, June 1990 issue, Marie Cromer relates that AF&I hired C.C. Garrison, a Clemson-trained agronomist, to landscape company properties and teach the miners how to make a proper garden and tend their yards. Garrison later became the superintendent of education.

Miners were paid in cash. However, most were indebted for their entire paychecks, and often more, to the company store (shades of Tennessee Ernie’s song, “Sixteen Tons”). These stores, called commissaries, extended credit as well as token money stamped with the company’s logo, called “scrip.”

Also known as clackers because of the noise they made when clicked together, scrip was good only at the commissary, but could be borrowed on demand or exchanged for regular currency at the rate of 75 to 80 cents on the dollar.

Marie Butler, a Margaret native, former town clerk and wife of Mayor Billy Butler, reminisces in her book, Margaret, Al — And

This structure was used to transport coal and workers to and from the mine.

Charles DeBardeleben April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 43

Traveling the

BACKROADS

Now There’s Gold: “Ah, the company store! Imagine yourself in a one-stop shopping store and then envision yourself inside the company’s commissary, which was operated by Charlie Boteler. A glance down the aisles reveals shelf after shelf of only top quality products. Name-brand clothing was all that could be found here. ... Practically everything a family might need could be bought at the company store and, of course, purchases could be made with clacker.

“The high steps that led to the entrance of this huge rock building were the setting for many games, as children waited outside for parents to gather up the family’s necessities. Many times, some of the youngsters would wait around to see the old steam engine chug into town with several carloads of dry goods, etc, for the company store.”

Next door to the commissary, which has since burned down, was a large icehouse that also served as a post office. It can be seen, now vacant and boarded up, on County Road 12 across from the present US Post Office. Margaret had a number of rooming homes for single men and visitors, among them actor Pat Buttram, who later played Gene Autry’s movie sidekick, Pat, and Mr. Haney on TV’s “Green Acres.”

AF&I was always supportive of its employees’ cultural and leisure activity needs. Margaret boasted a man-made lake, bandstands complete with company band, social occasions like plays, carnivals, square dances, wrestling matches, road shows, musicals, etc, all provided by the company to inspire contentment, loyalty and productivity.

Nor was faith neglected. According to Butler, practically every family attended church. The company erected places of worship for all their people, including a community church with an upstairs grammar school for the St. Phillip Methodist

44 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Mine crew at Margaret Mine No. 9, from the 1930s.

and Beulah Baptist black congregations, with electric lights on wooded paths leading to the church. The two factions shared this facility on alternate Sundays, and held a combined service with dinner on the grounds in every month with a fifth Sunday.

It’s said these gatherings were the high points of their social lives.

The company-built Methodist church became today’s Margaret Church of Christ, a neat little white chapel on County Road 12 near the town park. A pianist at this old church, Lou Betts, later married U.S. Congressman Tom Bevill.

By 1935, Margaret was the largest coal-producing area in the state of Alabama, and the only one that generated its own electric power. More than 4,000 acres of company land was under cultivation as family gardens. Butler remembers Margaret as a town of flowers, particularly buttercups and ornamental hedges.

DeBardeleben sponsored a Quarter-Century Club to honor longtime workers, its 81 charter members each receiving a gold pin and $5 a month extra pay, which almost covered the rent on their homes.

Butler tells that, during the Depression, the company mined and gave away some 4,000 tons of coal to people in several states who could not afford it for home use. When Birmingham had no coal on a Christmas Eve because all the union mines were on strike, DeBardeleben again put his people to work, assuring them the coal they dug would only be used to heat homes. A turkey was offered as a prize for the man who dug the most coal; it was won by “Smokey” Turner, who had loaded 26 mine cars.

Since they provided so well for their workers, the company insisted that all their operations remain non-union. While most AF&I workers readily accepted this policy, the unions never stopped trying to insert themselves into St. Clair’s labor

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 45

Traveling the

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A gazebo in the town park, built on an old concrete platform

Margaret Church of Christ, the former company-built Methodist church

A typical company home

46 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

structure. News accounts from 1935 and 1936 say union forces more than a thousand strong began harassing St. Clair’s various mining camps, resulting in a multitude of injuries, acts of destruction and, eventually, one death.

The company and workers resisted this intrusion, but the disputes finally culminated in what’s been called The Battle Of White’s Chapel.

A union-funded, 75-car motor caravan was confronted by a tiny cadre of 15 armed company men and deputies entrenched on a hilltop in White’s Chapel. Things came to a boil, and a union man was killed in the ensuing gun battle. Some 50 AF&I and union men were indicted on murder and conspiracy charges, including Charles DeBardeleben himself, but all were eventually acquitted in a series of very expensive trials.

Margaret and the Alabama Fuel & Iron Company had lived a vigorous, useful life of nearly five decades before its mines finally closed in the early 1950s. From the beginning, Margaret had embraced anyone who wanted to work. Among its earliest citizens were Italian, black and various Slavic people, many of whom did not speak English.

The town officially incorporated 840 acres in 1959, and held its first municipal election in 1960. Many original residents, mostly at rest now, had chosen to live their entire lives there. Margaret had proven to be a bounteous, embracing home over the years, so they saw no reason to leave.

One of Margaret’s greatest events was a visit by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, who had a popular weekly 1950s TV show called “Life Is Worth Living.” He’d been invited by a highly optimistic local lady, and surprised everyone by actually coming to Margaret, where he delivered a fine homily to a huge crowd in the town park.

According to A.B. Crane, in a talk given to the St. Clair Historical Society in 1994, “... He spoke with the same interest, same detail, the same thoughtfulness, the same expression that he would have used if there had been five or ten thousand people there.”

Margaret was all about its people, the mines, and Mr. DeBardeleben’s Golden Rule. Today it’s perhaps best visited in the mind’s eye. Visualize the lifestyles of thousands of hard-working people who once lived and toiled there, their weekend activities in the town’s park, picture show, churches, company store and the mines with their back-breaking labor and high mortality rate, which everyone simply took for granted in those days.

Beulah Baptist now stands forlorn, abandoned and in severe disrepair, surrounded by a high fence and foliage so dense you can’t see the church except in winter. An occasional company home with its characteristic pyramidal roof can be seen along the road to Macedonia Baptist Church. The town park has a nice little gazebo built atop an old concrete platform from decades past. Little mementos are everywhere, but you have to look for them.

A look back at the rich history reveals that when St. Clair and America’s needs were greatest, Margaret did her share. l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 47

Southwood

Couple makes antebellum dream a reality His little piece of heaven sits several hundred feet Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Jerry Martin and Pam Foote off the road, at the end of a tree-lined gravel drive.

Chip Jones grew up playing in the stately antebellum homes of Talladega. He always knew that some day he’d have his own modern version of Gone With the Wind’s Tara or Dallas’ Southfork. In 1990 he found his dream home in an architect’s plans book, bought the plans, and carried them around in his car for five years looking for a place to build. He finally found the perfect spot on Mays Bend Road in Pell City.

“I love the lay of the property, and I love the solitude,” says Jones, a retired builder and real estate developer. “It’s very quiet here.”

48 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Jones planted 18 water oaks along that drive, hoping that one day they’ll be tall and full enough to touch at the top, creating a leafy-green canopy.

“We visited a lot of the old plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi, and when I saw Oak Alley in New Orleans, I wanted to come home and build a mini version of it,” Chip says. As with the old plantations in Louisiana, he’s had to replace several of the water oaks due to lightening and hurricanes.

Built in 1995 by Pell City contractor Gary Mozingo, the two-story white house is named Southwood because its front faces due south while the other three sides face a hardwood forest behind expansive lawns.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 49

Southwood Beth and Chip Jones relax on Southwood’s spacious porch.

“The plantations we visited all had names, so we wanted to name ours, too,” says Chip’s wife, Beth.

Southwood’s front porch spans the width of the house, creating a relaxing seating area for warm spring evenings.

The six white columns across the front were all made locally. Originally, the outside of the house was faced with Dryvit, but that had to be replaced a few years ago due to hungry termites. It’s now covered in hard-coat stucco.

Chip planted all of the ornamental greenery on the lawns, using shrubs and flowers native to the United States, such as American boxwoods, jonquils, magnolias, crepe myrtles, gardenias, camellias, azaleas and monkey grass.

Touring the inside of the house is like visiting old relatives, because many of their furnishings were inherited.

Many pieces, like the silver epurn in their formal dining room, come with stories that are just as interesting as the pieces themselves.

“My uncle, James R. Riddle, was a U.S. Consul to several countries, including England,” says Chip. “He bought boxes and boxes of stuff when the British government opened their silver vaults in the 1950s and sold the contents

50 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

to diplomats. Those vaults were filled with the silver that people stored during World War II when London was being bombed.” Several other silver pieces throughout the house came from those British silver vaults, too.

Most of the antiques are American Country, according to Chip. A notable exception is the 19th-century highboy and the painted leather chest lined in copper that came from England. Both are in the master bedroom. Others, such as the solid cherry hutch in the dining room, were purchased from Pell City antiques dealer David Tims during the early days of the Joneses’ 46-year marriage. “We paid $60 for that hutch, and it dates back to the 1800s,” Beth says. “I refinished that hutch, which my mom called a country cupboard,” says Chip. “It was in bad shape, covered in chocolate paint and wallpaper.”

Chip learned how to refinish furniture as a youth, because his mom often raided the old houses and barns of friends and relatives to retrieve unwanted pieces that needed new homes.

The antique sewing table and game table in the foyer are from the Empire period (1815-1840). The sewing table

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 51

Southwood

The sunroom gives a view of the natural beauty surrounding Southwood. belonged to Chip’s mother, while Beth purchased the game table from David Tims. A marble-topped chest stores seasonal dinnerware in what Beth calls the dinette area. An old solid wood chopping block in the kitchen came from the Coleman store that once stood where the Riverside post office is now.

“I was a Coleman, and my father was mayor of Riverside for 25 years,” Beth says. “He also had a little store, and chopped meat on that chopping block.

It’s at least a foot thick.”

Behind the high-ceilinged great room, a former screened porch was turned into a window-lined sunroom in 2010. Beth uses an old trunk from the Coleman house as a coffee table here, and Chip’s grandmother’s clock rests on the mantel. The woodburning fireplace was added during the conversion. A nook at one rear corner has a bar and refrigerator, and is stocked with both adult- and kid-friendly drinks

52 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

and snacks.

Chip has two favorite chairs in the sunroom, sitting back-to-back and serving different purposes.

From the leather chair facing the fireplace, he can enjoy the warmth of the room and watch his grandchildren play. From the white rocking chair behind it, he can survey his outdoor domain, including the “four and a half (one is a miniature) horses” that Beth calls their pasture ornaments. “He wouldn’t let me get rid of that rocker,” Beth says. “He has coffee in it every morning.”

A wide, curved staircase leads from the great room to the second floor, where a crow’s nest juts out over the room below. While it could easily become a pulpit, Beth says the grandchildren pretended its spindles created a jail cell when they were small.

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ties like a computer, the study has framed documents signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower and King George VI commending the service of Chip’s uncle as an American consul to England. The bedrooms consist of the Balcony Room, the Blue Room and what the Joneses call an “extra” bedroom.

The Balcony Room is so named because it opens onto a small balcony over the front porch. An oak secretary against one wall was Chip’s grandmother’s, and there’s a small wooden bookcase that Chip’s dad built. In the Blue Room, a portrait of Beth’s mother hangs over the bed, which is accented with a blue coverlet. The small blanket chest came from the Coleman house, which is still occupied and still in the Coleman family. A 19th-century Jenny Lind spindle bed dominates the extra bedroom, along with an ash chest that belonged to Chip’s grandmother.

Surrounded by family furnishings on the inside and 80 acres of trees, shrubs and woods on the outside, Chip and Beth see beauty from every angle of Southwood. “Every day I come home and it’s like I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Chip says. l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 53

Return of the

American Chestnut With a little help, tree making a comeback in St. Clair County

Photos by Jerry Martin Submitted photo A blustery, frigid day atop Chandler Mountain seemed more like a chance to head inside for a warm winter fire than a day spent outside planting trees.

But on this February day, landowners Jerry and Joyce Lanning joined staff of the Alabama Freshwater Land Trust and The Alabama Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation to plant 173 chestnut saplings as a first step in establishing a new orchard that will help breed blight-resistant American chestnuts that are adapted to Alabama’s climate.

The Lannings are donating a portion of their land for the orchard to support TACF’s efforts to breed an American chestnut that will withstand the chestnut blight, a fungus that was accidentally introduced from China in the late 1800s. In just a few decades, the blight spread through the eastern United States, wiping out these stately trees. “The blight spread like wildfire, and by the 1940s, the American chestnut was effectively extinct in America’s forests,”

From left, David Morris, TACF board member; Dr. Jimmy Maddox, research coordinator; Brian Rushing, land conservation director, FWLT

54 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

said FWLT Land Conservation Director Brian Rushing.

Growing mostly on well-drained slopes and hilltops, the American chestnut was once one of the most common trees in the eastern United States. It was very fast growing and produced a lot of high-quality wood used to build everything from furniture to house construction. The tree was also a major food source for many forest animals.

The Chinese blight translated into a “tremendous loss of food supply and many other woodland animal species,” Rushing said. “Alabama’s forests were never the same after the blight hit.”

But efforts are under way to bring the American chestnut back.

TACF has an active breeding program that cross-breeds the few remaining wild American chestnuts with the Chinese chestnut to capture the Chinese tree’s blight resistance. Then, TACF crosses successive generations with American trees to develop true American characteristics.

TACF’s home breeding orchard is in Meadowview, Va., where they have been breeding chestnuts for more than 30 years and are now finally producing blight resistant seed from the sixth generation.

Each state chapter of TACF has its own breeding program.

The Alabama Orchard is in Muscle Shoals at the TVA Reservation, where TACF has been breeding trees for about 15 years.

“The Alabama breeding program is in its third generation, so we are about half way toward achieving a blight-resistant chestnut for our region,” Rushing said.

In addition to FWLT, TACF’s Alabama Chapter is also partnering with the Westervelt Company, which is lending its expertise in tree propagation and root grafting to aid the chestnut breeding efforts in the state.

The breeding program is a laborious and time consuming process. “Every tree has a pedigree,” Rushing explained.

“We know who each tree’s parents and grandparents were, and detailed records are kept on how each tree performs in the orchard.”

At five years, the trees are hit with the blight to see if they will survive. If they are weak and vulnerable to blight, they are culled. In year six or seven, the surviving trees become mature and flower. The TACF program then carefully controls which trees breed in order to produce the best possible blight resistance and best American characteristics in the next generation.

TACF has been looking for a second anchor orchard to support the chestnut breeding program in Alabama, and the Lannings stepped in to help. Jerry Lanning is a retired Birmingham lawyer and happens to be vice president and legal counsel for FWLT as well. “He and his wife have owned land on Chandler Mountain for many years and were kind enough to agree to donate a portion of their property to us as we pursue this project with TACF,” Rushing said.

The initial orchard size is three acres, and there is additional acreage for possible future expansion.

The saplings planted there in February are mostly third generation trees from the Muscle Shoals orchard. “Under the leadership of TACF, the Joyce and Jerry Lanning Chestnut Breeding Orchard should begin producing blight-resistant chestnut trees in about 15 to 20 years,” Rushing said.

“We hope this orchard will become a major player in the effort to reintroduce this wonderful and important tree back into Alabama forests in the decades to come, and we thank the Lannings for dedicating this site on Chandler Mountain to this important work.” l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 55

More than just football ...

Bass big in Alabma Story by Mike Bolton Photos by Jerry Martin Contributed Photos

When Kotaro Kiriyama left his native Japan to come to America to seek his fortune as a professional bass fisherman, he says Alabama was the logical place to land.

The Bassmaster Elite Series star says Alabama is hallowed ground to the bass fishing crazy men in his country. Bass fishing magazines and television fishing shows there portray Alabama as a Holy Land with bass fishing to die for. Besides, many of the world’s top bass fishermen were born in the state or have relocated to Alabama to be closer to the professional bass fishing action.

The fact that Alabamians recently captured the top three spots in the Bassmaster Classic, the World Series of bass fishing, did nothing to tarnish the state’s reputation as the bass capital of the world.

While it may seem a little odd to many that Kiriyama and his wife Sayuri came from halfway around the world and ended up in Moody, it’s not really as odd as you might think.

St. Clair County calls itself home to four of the world’s top professional bass fishermen. Bassmaster star Randy Howell, a transplant from North Carolina, lives in Springville. Scott Canterbury, a former rookie-of-the-year on the FLW Tour, is a St. Clair County native who is now a full-fledged star on the FLW circuit. Alan Glasgow, another St. Clair County native, lives in Ashville. He is a rising star on the Bassmaster circuit who posted a major victory last year and recently competed in his first Bassmaster Classic.

To the uninformed, professional bass fishing these days is a big-money sport, complete with television exposure on major networks like ESPN. Many of the top professional fishermen do television commercials and have lucrative endorsement contracts.

Kiriyama, who has posted more than $830,000 in career winnings on the Bass-

Alan Glasgow, Ashville

Scott Canterbury, Odenville

56 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Kotaro Kiriyama, Moody April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 57

Alabama Bass master circuit, says he and his wife have fallen in love with Moody and have been most amazed by their acceptance even though they are outsiders.

“I know that since I am a fisherman it has helped me blend in because fishing is part of the culture here,” he said. “How big is the fish you caught and the size of the one that got away is a universal language.

“We shopped around for a place to live, and we are happy that we found here. We are not far from anything. Everything is convenient.

“It is a beautiful place with mountains nearby and Lake Logan Martin is not far away.

Kiriyama’s big boost came when he received $114,000 by winning his first Bassmaster event on Lake Eerie in 2008. He probably could have chosen about anywhere to live, but his wife Sayuri is glad they chose St. Clair County. She says there is a lot to the Southern hospitality that she has heard about.

“The people here are so friendly,” the native of Kobe, Japan, says.

She has learned to love Southern food, especially sweet tea and barbecue.

Her husband agrees. “I like sweet tea and Milos,” he says with a laugh. “The only thing I really miss is real Japanese food.

You can’t find any of it around here.”

The couple says they have found one thing in Alabama and St. Clair County they definitely don’t like: tornadoes.

The April 27, 2011, tornado that struck Moody early that morning ripped the roof from their home and blew out the windows while they were inside. It was quite a shock to someone more accustomed to earthquakes.

“I was in the basement working on fishing tackle when things started hitting the windows,” he said. “I had no idea what it was.

When I looked out the window, the roof started flying away. I was running up the steps screaming for my wife to wake up and get in the basement.”

Howell and his wife Robin moved to Alabama in 1998 to be in more of a central location to the fishing action. They eventually settled in Springville and are a vital part of that community.

They are devout Christians, and Howell is a popular speaker at churches in St. Clair County and across the state.

“There are a number of reasons we chose Springville,” said Howell, who is now just $30,000 shy of surpassing the $1 million mark in career earnings on the Bassmaster circuit. “We got to know the areas and some of the people here before we made our choice.

“It’s also a good central location, no matter if we have tournaments to the north, south east or west. And there are so many good lakes in easy driving distance.

“You take a great small-town environment with a great cost of living near an interstate, and that’s what we were looking for.

It’s the kind of place we wanted to raise our kids.”

Howell, who recently fished in his 10th Bassmaster Classic, lives in MacDonald Farm with his wife and boys, Laker and Oakley.

Canterbury fishes on the FLW Tour and last year passed the $500,000 mark in career earnings. He agrees with Kiriyama and Howell that St. Clair County is a perfect central location for a professional fisherman, but he also says it’s a pretty good loca-

58 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Randy Howell, Springville

tion to learn how to fish and to prepare yourself for the professional circuit.

“Any of the challenges you are going to face fishing professionally you can learn about fishing the many lakes around here,” said the Moody native who now lives in Odenville. “You can learn how to fish shallow, fish deep and how to fish current.

You have the Coosa River that is so close by and about two hours away, you have the Tennessee River.

“You can fish in so many lakes and fish in so many ways, it’s perfect for someone learning how to fish.”

Canterbury lives just off Alabama 174 with wife Dixie and daughter Taylor.

Glasgow burst onto the professional fishing scene when he surprised the world’s best bass fishermen by winning the Bassmaster Open in 2009 on Santee Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina. The $32,000 he won that day jump-started his career.

His biggest win came last year when he captured the Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship. With that win, he pocketed more than $180,000 and more importantly, it earned him a berth in the Bassmaster Classic.

He fulfilled a lifetime dream by fishing in his first Classic in February. He finished 38th in his initial outing. l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 59

Business Briefing St. Vincent’s St. Clair in the foreground and the Col. Robert Howard Veterans Home complex in the background

St. clair EDC crafting three-year plan The St. Clair County Economic Development Council has come to the end of its initial Partnership for Tomorrow plan, hailing the five-year run a tremendous success.

Through the numbers and benchmarks set five years ago as goals, officials seem to be on target with their expectations. In a gathering of CEOs, company presidents and key executives in Moody, EDC Chairman Tommy Bowers said the organization is developing a new plan to keep the momentum going. “We are looking at a threeyear plan to move us forward. We think it is a good fit for the future.”

Looking back over the first five years, EDC Executive Director Don Smith has plenty of success stories to tout.

During that time, the EDC, St. Clair County Commission and Jefferson State Community College launched iCADEMY, which gives students in the county’s two school systems and Leeds the opportunity to earn post secondary certification in manufacturing, welding and nursing while still in high school. The emphasis on workforce development continues through this program.

When the EDC set its plan in motion five years ago, the goal was to reap $150 million in new capital investment in St. Clair County. Today, that figure has topped the $320 million mark.

Payroll was predicted to be $40 million. It’s at $50 million now. Local schools have seen $1.5 million in new tax revenue, and 1,800 new jobs have been created.

St. Vincent’s St. Clair, the Col. Robert Howard Veterans Home, Bass Pro Shops, Shops of Grand River, new industry coming in, and existing business and industry expansions have all played roles in the upswing.

Retail growth opportunities look strong, he said.

Smith credited the cooperation of leadership around the county as reason for so many success stories. “We stuck together,” he said.

“The success we have had is because we have been able to do that.

“We get along. We may have different ideas, but we work together, and that will always be the basis of what we do moving forward.”

60 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | February - March 2012

By Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin

Jubilee development

Jubilee homes project on schedule

A 72-unit townhome development just off Interstate 20 in Pell City is expected to be completed by Oct. 1. Construction on Jubilee began in November and represents an investment of $11 million on the 14-acre tract.

The development features 48 three-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhouses with 1,440 square feet of living space and attached garages. Twenty four flat units offer 1,516 square feet of living space and attached garages.

A community building will house a leasing office, tentatively scheduled for completion Aug. 1, where prospective residents may obtain applications.

It also features a laundry, computer center and fitness center.

Funding for the project is provided by Low Income Housing Tax Credits through the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, equity from Enterprise Community Investment Services of Columbia, MD, and construction and permanent financing from Troy Bank & Trust in Troy.

Architect is Barrett-Simpson Inc. of Opelika, and the nonprofit partner on the project is Organized Community Action Program Inc., also of Troy.

Van Dyke & Company, LLC is co-general partner and developer. Carter & Carter Construction Inc. of Auburn is general contractor.

Hollyhand Companies Inc. of Northport will manage the units and will handle inquiries about applications if the Aug. 1 target date for opening the leasing office is not met. Contact number is 205-366-3667.

ArtScape creates coordinator post

ArtScape Gallery, an artist cooperative and the product of Council of the Arts, has named Dave Bise its coordinator, a newly created position.

As coordinator, Bise is working with the Council of Arts and the Gallery to build on and expand its programs.

An artist himself, Bise has been involved in pen-and-ink illustrations for children’s books.

In his career, he was operations manager for a fire protection company, and he said he hopes to put that experience to work for the organization.

Future plans include expansion of programs, more Gallery Nights, which feature artists’ works, and expanding the physical space of the Gallery.

More emphasis on young people getting involved in art programs is part of the plan as well, and partnerships are being forged in the arts and business community to strengthen the Gallery’s programs and offerings.

Dave Bise

Huggy’s II opens in April

Huggy’s Lakeside Restaurant and Wood’s Surfside Marina on Logan Martin Lake have announced that Huggy’s II will open for operation at the marina on Saturdays and Sundays beginning in late April.

The outdoor cooking will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring a lakeside dining opportunity for boaters and water enthusiasts.

On the menu are hamburgers, hotdogs, grilled sausage with peppers and onions, grilled chicken sandwiches and other items.

Kickers Sports GrillE now open

A new restaurant has opened in Pell City, featuring a variety of Italian and American dishes.

Owned by Dr. Galen and Ginger Sims, Kickers Sports Grille is located at 80 Cropwell Drive. Chef is Peter Papastiros, and he offers pasta dishes, steaks, grilled chicken, seafood, shrimp, blackened or pan seared Tilapia, 9-oz. sirloin and 14-oz. ribeye steaks.

Manager is Terry Turner, and assistant manager is Linda Doar.

February - March 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 61

April 27 tornado outbreak: One year later

Tragedy, triumphs mark life in the valley Remains of houses blown away found throughout valley

Stand Through the Storm sign erected outside storm’s command center — a gift from Ft. Rucker warrant officer school.

New home rebuilt at Neely Henry point 62 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Despite loss of loved ones, Buford Sanders finds strength in faith and kind support Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin Folks around Shoal Creek Valley have said it often enough over the past 12 months — “getting back to normal.”

But in this St. Clair County valley, normal has a new meaning since a tornado’s fury swept all the way through it, shattering homes and destroying lives in its path.

Tears find their own trail down Buford Sanders’ weathered face. With a determined gaze, he raises a single finger and vows this will be the last time he tells his own story of loss. “It’s time to look forward, not back.”

As he recounts the details of April 27, 2011, it is with the freshness of a memory made — not a year — but a moment ago. “It was 6:30 p.m. We saw it was coming. We lived at the top of the hill. My wife and I had no place safe to go, so we simply hunkered down in the middle of the house.”

The storm first hit the west end of his house overlooking Shoal Creek Road, blowing away a room, a porch and the roof. “It came back and blew off the east end,” he said. All that was left was a sturdy piece of wall where the couple crouched.

“We were thinking everything was OK,” Sanders said. The house had been lost, but they were safe. Just then, two of their grandchildren were “coming up the hill, hollering and crying that they needed help.”

The flow of tears comes in waves from this point as he tells what happened next.

His son and daughter-in-law and one of their daughters had been blown 75 yards from their home into a blueberry patch.

The death of his daughter-in-law, Angie, came quickly. His son, Albert, lasted three or four hours. “He told me he thought he was going to die. I told him, ‘No, son, I love you too much.’

Buford Sanders tells painful story of loss.

Buford Sanders’ new home April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 63

April 27 tornado outbreak: One year later “ ‘I love you, too, Daddy,’ he told me, and those were his last words. It was just a matter of time, and he was gone.”

During Albert’s final hours, all Sanders could do was keep his son comfortable. No medical help was able to get there because the tornado so devastated the valley that it was virtually blocked from one end to the other. “We could hear the chainsaws running in both directions,” he said.

The Sanders family were like many in Shoal Creek Valley.

They lived near one another; their generational ties strong. “We worked on things together,” he said of his son, Albert. “He was my buddy. It was sad his life came to an end.”

Buford Sanders and his sons raised their families on the same property, a single driveway leading to all three homes. In an instant, all three homes were swept away.

His other son had been thrown from his home by the winds, but he recovered and is doing well, his father said. His granddaughter, Cassie, spent five weeks in the hospital undergoing 12 to 15 surgeries and has little memory of what happened in the hours and weeks that followed the storm.

She used to be a runner. “She loved to run,” Sanders said.

“She ran track. We had a track for her around the hay field.”

Her recovery since April 27 has been painful and slow, but she is beginning to run again, entering 5K races, a proud grandfather noted, underscoring her resiliency.

He, too, is beginning to return to some semblance of routine.

He and his wife have been back in their new home for about six months, he said. “If I just lost the house, I could feel good.

“But every step I take, I see the tragedy.” Just outside his back door still lay hundreds of acres of downed trees across the mountainside, a constant reminder of a storm so mighty and strong it could wipe out a forest and kill a dozen people in a matter of moments. “If it had just left all my family intact, I’d be the happiest man on earth.”

Just before the storm hit, he said he called both of his sons and told them to go to their safe places. “They did what I asked them to, but it wasn’t good enough.”

Sanders’ conversation vacillates between past and future.

“The hurt of losing some of your blood is bad,” he said. “But the community and I are looking forward and looking ahead, not back. You have to suck it up and say this is the way it is.

Keep going,” he said.

“So many people befriended us. They helped cleaning up. It was dangerous even to walk around. You lean on one another in times like that. So many people were so good to us.

“A fella I had never known built those kitchen cabinets,” he said, pointing across the room to what could only be described as the intricate work of a master craftsman. “When I went to pay him, he didn’t charge me. Things like that. A lot of people I had never seen before came and helped. I made lifelong friends. I’m grateful for that.”

Looking to the future, he said, “I guess from now on it will get somewhat better. It will be a long time. I have a strong little wife. We’re Christian people. We believe the Lord will take care of us through the battle and there will be a reward at the end.”

He shares a special kinship with the community that has suffered so much. The community came together “in mind and spirit” through the storm and the months of a painful aftermath, he said.

But the lesson from all of this, he said, lies not in the homes

64 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

‘We have to look forward. You know, onward, Christian soldiers.’

— Buford Sanders

A somber reminder destroyed nor does it dwell in the material possessions snatched away by a greedy gust of wind. “The tragedy of all this is the lives that were lost in the twinkling of an eye.

“I would have loved to have swapped places.” Albert was 44.

Angie was 43, and they had three daughters. “They had a lot to look forward to.”

Now it is up to Sanders to look forward, he said. “The important thing is the lives that were lost in this valley. The devastation of property is bad, but the other things are a lot worse.

“We have to look forward. You know, onward, Christian soldiers.”

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 65

April 27 tornado outbreak: One year later

Building for the future amid remembrances of past Alpha Ranch, other parts of Shoal Creek rising from the rubble

Spring 2011

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin

Gary Liverett looks out across the land of Alpha Ranch, and he sees a brighter future than the one he saw just days after the April 27 tornado destroyed the once-thriving ranch for young men looking for a place to rebuild their lives.

There’s a rebuilding of a different sort these days, as Liverett and volunteers work to build houses, a sawmill and restore the ranch Liverett, his family and the young men called home.

Where others see devastation, Liverett and countless volunteers over the past 12 months have seen an opportunity to turn tragedy into triumph.

A sawmill built by volunteer hands turns out lumber and crossties to be used as a source of income to put the ranch back together again. The house is nearing completion, looking like a sparkling gem in the midst of devastation. Just outside the window of the new two-story home lies the constant reminder of the destruction left behind — thousands of felled trees across the mountainside.

Those downed trees are turning into firewood thanks to scores of volunteers who have loaned a helping hand, a chain saw or an axe. The firewood is being stored. “It can heat the house and shop for years to come,” Liverett said.

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66 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

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This summer and winter, they cut 40,000 board feet of wood.

“We haven’t done a lot cosmetically, just the real necessities — the shop and house and getting the timber up,” Liverett said.

Fencing and landscaping are future plans.

Liverett can’t say enough about the volunteers and their dedication to helping the ranch rebuild. A group from California is helping build a 40-by-60-foot horse barn and stable.

A trio of volunteers — Sandy and Terry Gamble and Robert Hood — still show up for work most days, just as they have for nearly a year now.

Liverett has shed more than 30 pounds since the tornado, beginning his days of work before daylight and going strong until dark six days a week. “It makes you appreciate life. I’m really just thankful, not that it happened, but that there was a mindset to move forward. I pray I live long enough to see it back together. We have been blessed with a lot of help.”

Meanwhile, down the road at the Shoal Creek Valley Fire Department, Chief Vernon White pulls out the new fire and rescue truck that insurance and donations brought to fruition for

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 67

April 27 tornado outbreak: One year later Alpha Ranch devastated but rebuilding

A reminder of all the destruction just out the window of a new Alpha Ranch home

68 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Sheetrocker working inside new Alpha Ranch house

Chief Vernon White with new truck the small volunteer fire department. It’s a 2012 Ford F550 mini-pumper with 400-gallon tank, foam, 4-wheel drive and a utility body to carry equipment.

The smile he wears today is in sharp contrast to April 27, when the tornado picked up the old rescue truck he was driving and tossed it upside down in a slough of Neely Henry Lake hundreds of yards away. He walked away with only a scratch under his eye.

“We got a new truck. We got the building fixed back the way we want. It’s a whole lot better than it was,” White said.

“Right now, we’ve come a long way since the tornado. By the grace of God and His goodness, we will get back where we were before. I’m hoping we’ll be a little bit better than we were before the tornado. A good many donations have poured in” to help the department recover, and plans are under way for a 5K run-walk and motorcycle ride on April 28.

Elsewhere in the valley, signs of progress and pain dot the landscape. New houses are growing up from the pastureland that defines this valley, but the unmistakable signs of tragedy linger.

Towering trees bowed to the ground as if in prayer still line the sides of County Road 22. Piles of rubble lie where houses once stood. Rows of trees line the ridge, looking like thousands of matchsticks lying side by side.

A handmade cross and wreath dangle from a telephone pole, a poignant reminder of 13 people who perished in the valley that day.

Destruction, new, untouched — all in same Shoal Creek area

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 69

April 27 tornado outbreak: One year later

Return to business as usual Pell City engineering firm rebuilds after direct hit

Bob Barnett (left) and John Jones hold the sign about to go up on new building.

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin Some almost forget that Pell City has been rebuilding for a year now as a pre-dawn tornado ripped through the downtown area, destroying homes and buildings and killing one woman in a nearby trailer park.

But when Barnett-Jones-Wilson, a structural engineering firm, moved back into its 18th Street North office — newly rebuilt — the reminder of what happened that day inevitably comes back.

The engineering firm moved into new quarters in late February, after spending nearly a year in temporary space in the city’s industrial park, provided to them the day of the storm by

70 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Goodgame Company.

John Jones remembers that day all too well. He was working on a project in the early morning hours long before everyone else was to arrive at the office.

“I came in real early. I had a lot going on that day. I knew it was going to be a stormy day, and I heard Cahaba Heights had been hit. I thought it was supposed to be an afternoon storm, and I wondered why it had already hit.“ At 5:30 in the morning, he said he tends to turn his music up while he works, knowing that there is no one else there to disturb.

But noise outside the building grew loud enough for him to turn the music down and take a look outside. “I remember seeing that it was totally pitch black and rain was going sideways.

The lights went out.”

Describing it as “instantaneous,” he ran to an inner conference room and ducked under a conference-room table. He saw through a glass door that “everything was horizontal outside, and I got in and under this table,” he said, motioning to the old conference table that survived the storm. “It went from loud to really loud and just like that, it was quiet again. It probably was about 10 seconds, but I don’t have any perception of the time.”

When he emerged from the conference room, he saw duct work hanging down in his office, and a light fixture was in his chair. When he looked up, he saw gray skies.

“The decking and roofing, I guess, are in Six Flags,” he joked.

Meanwhile, his partner Bob Barnett was on his way to the office before heading to an early morning meeting in Birmingham. When the storm hit, he was just a few blocks away near the First Baptist Church. “When I turned the corner, I saw the roof and thought, ‘John’s dead.’ ” At the same moment, Jones said he was thinking, “ ‘I need to call Bob.’ I walked out, and there was Bob.” In the hours that followed, gears shifted from shock to a real-life disaster drill. “By 7:30, (contractor) Jason Goodgame rented the last U-Haul in town and had a crew of four to five people” to facilitate the move, Barnett said.

Jones had put photos of the damage on Facebook, people saw it, and more help wasn’t far behind. Bill Pruett, a lawyer; Scott Knepper, an accountant; Lee James; Jeff and Chris Jones; architect Russ Realmuto; Nathan Carden, an associate minister at First Methodist; and computer company owner Mike Ash were all there. “Jason, Chris and Jeff all offered us free office space,” Jones said. CTSM Architects of Birmingham did, too. Ash retrieved all the computers and cleaned them. “While we lost most of the monitors, keyboards, mice, etc., we didn’t lose any data,” Barnett said. “If we had lost our data, it would have been an entirely different story to tell. It’s amazing how much friends helped us.”

He noted that his wife Carole’s mother had lost her home in another storm weeks before in Tuscaloosa, so he had experience in what to do next when a storm hit his own property. He said he knew time was critical. “I knew we had to get moving to secure the building with plywood and tarps right now before everybody else in town gets them.”

By afternoon, computer equipment was moved into the Goodgame building in the industrial park while a crew was finishing securing the old office with a tarp just before the tornado that hit Shoal Creek Valley was about to arrive. “Jason really came through for us,” Barnett said.

They moved into the temporary office that Saturday, April 30.

For the past year, it has been different, trying to work from a warehouse-turned-office and still maintain a normal routine.

Jones said his challenge was as a structural engineer to go look at damage caused elsewhere while dealing with the firm’s own damage.

He had a frame of reference of the magnitude of the storms because of his profession, having been on sites after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Ivan in years past.

“Looking at the tornado damage on various buildings in the area, I saw some buildings broken in worse ways than the damage I saw in Katrina and Ivan.” l

Eyewitness

These images were taken right after the storm hit

John Jones’ desk covered with debris.

The storm ripped most of the roof off of Barnett • Jones • Wilson.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 71

Quilts of Valor

Keeping veterans home covered Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin When Alabama veterans move into new and impressive quarters this summer at the Veterans Home being built in Pell City, a quilt presented to them will be a reminder of a debt of thanks for their service.

It is all part of the Quilts of Valor program designed to honor veterans who sacrificed so much to serve their country.

The heart of this particular project had its roots in Cullman, traveled to Trussville and then on to Odenville, where dozens of women sewed and pieced together nearly 100 quilts in three days.

Next stop? Col. Robert Howard Veterans Home, a state-of-the-art veterans community near St. Vincent’s St. Clair and Interstate 20.

Hosted at Magnolia Park Retreat and coordinated by Heart to Heart Quilt Shop, this modernday quilting bee attracted quilters from all over the region. They came from Boaz, Springville, Chattanooga, Trussville, Pinson, Alabaster, Helena, Pell City and Odenville. Working with precision skill, they pieced together fabric from cut kits furnished by Heart to Heart, a shop owned

by Cindy Wilson and Linda McElroy.

Becky Hanks had donated the fabric — 425 yards of it — to Heart to Heart, and Wilson said they wanted to put it to good use. Quilts of Valor was a logical and easy choice.

At Heart to Heart, they assembled cut kits to make the process easier and quicker. She and business partner McElroy issued a “veterans challenge,” and they soon had customers quilting, donating and working on patterns.

Elizabeth Mathews, whose husband owns Magnolia Park Retirement Community in Odenville, operates the retreat on the campus, and she provided the place, meals and overnight quarters for the quilters’ aptly named, Sew Days.

“I imagine since we are going to have close to 100 quilts, we are going to do a lot of quilting,” Wilson said midway through the weekend.

And quilt they did. Sewing machines whirred, and fabric in varying stages of becoming a quilt draped tables, sofas and chairs throughout the retreat facility.

“It was a joint effort — all for a common goal,” said Mathews, who began quilting herself

72 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair

Debbie Seabrook Cheryl Fowler

From left, Margaret Rose, Cindy Wilson, Elizabeth Mathews and Linda McElroy

Carol Collins

Martha Wall

Cindy Saint

out of necessity. “I started quilting because of all the groups we hosted here. I knew if I wanted a quilt, I better learn to sew myself.”

And in between serving meals and running the retreat, she, too, helped in the effort en route to eventually becoming the coordinator of the Alabama Quilts of Valor program, along with her daughter, Kristy.

“We hope to be up to speed on this challenge soon and look forward to hosting a number of events here related to the Quilts of Valor on a statewide level in an effort to help meet the National Quilts of Valor goals,” Mathews said.

In keeping with the group’s mission, “Covering all our warriors and combat veterans who have been touched by war with healing and comforting Quilts of Valor,” Mathews is making it her mission to provide “a special touch and simple thank you” to Alabama veterans.

She wants them to know, “We really do care about you.” One hundred quilts and growing certainly looks like mission accomplished. l

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 73

Giving them the world

Funding education through travel program goes beyond helping students Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin and Carol Pappas Submitted photos

They headed to Scotland this year. It was Ireland the year before. Next year, it might be Panama.

But to this group of world travelers, it is more than a chance to see the world, it’s an opportunity to open up the world for students.

Actually, it’s a fundraiser first designed for the Pell City Schools Educational Foundation under the leadership of Deanna Lawley. Rather than raise money in traditional ways, the Foundation is behind an effort to provide funding for teacher grants by using commission earned from group travel tours.

This year, it was expanded to benefit the Pell City Library as well.

“Our motto is ‘Life learners lifting young learners,’ ” Lawley said. “We want to be able to continue to learn and experience new things and at the same time do something to benefit teachers in the classroom.”

Lawley is a retired teacher who knows the vital role grants can play in providing extras for students to expand their knowledge and how they view the world. As a recipient of grants that helped students learn about the Holocaust, for example, or interviewing veterans as part of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation” project, she understands their importance in an education that goes deeper than a lecture. “The favorites of students are the ones that went beyond the textbook.”

On the other side, Lawley knows the disappointment when your grant proposal does not get funded. “It bothered me that funding was dropping so much,” and after she retired, she spearheaded a move to make the annual trips she had been taking adult groups on for years into a moneymaker for teacher grants.

At Duran Junior High, Rhonda Nolin can literally show her students the world through a huge wall map she was able to buy through the grant program. As an eighth grade World History teacher, she saw the need for a visual aid that “puts the world in perspective for our students.”

They can’t get that from a book map or a roll down map.

But with an 8-foot-by-13-foot map stretching the length of a classroom wall and reaching from floor to ceiling, they can “see the world — all of it.” And it helps them understand where countries and continents are in relation to one another.

In Kristin McLendon’s special education classroom at Coosa Valley Elementary, students flip through the colorful

74 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

Riding on cobblestone streets in Dublin

A double decker bus in Edinburgh

Where in the world?

If anyone is interested in the next trip for these world travelers and wants to join them, the group is considering Valentines at Great Rainforest Resort in Panama, which includes going through locks on the canal.

For teachers and friends, there may be an Italian itinerary in late May when school is out.

For more information, contact Deanna Lawley, dnlawley@centurytel.net or Danny Stewart at the Pell City Library, 205-884-1015.

Deanna Lawley addresses a planning meeting.

pages of a “visual dictionary.” It goes beyond the traditional dictionary of words, definitions and an occasional illustration.

Filled with photos, it brings whatever the students are studying to life, giving them a better frame of reference. “I use it to expand what they might be able to see or get a mental picture of, like what a space shuttle looks like.

“It helps incorporate all the senses for learning, giving them an opportunity to see it,” McLendon said. “Real-life pictures add more visual files to what I call their filing cabinets.”

Meanwhile, the 38-member group on tour through Scotland is adding to their own visual files as lifelong learners. They began their Scottish trek in Edinburgh with cultural excursions to the Royal Mile, a castle, Grey Friar’s Bobbie. “Edinburgh is one of the prettiest cities in Europe,” Lawley said.

From there, it was on to the sea, where they toured the Britannica, ate at a seaside restaurant and were entertained by Scottish dancing.

St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf, was on the itinerary as were small villages and towns as they worked their way up to the highlands, staying at a mountain ski resort, touring the distillery region and visiting several castles.

They saw shepherding dogs on a farm, ascended to the highest point, traveled to the Orkneys Islands, where British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had bunkers during World War II because he thought the invasion would come from the north.

“Beauty of the landscapes and majestic views” were the aim of the second part of the trip, where travelers were treated to more natural settings. There they would see otters, seals, whales, puffins, a falconry display and take walks along nature trails.

They spent a day on Isle of Skye, staying in a hotel “with character,” apparently a euphemism for a historic and old.

At the group’s farewell banquet before heading home from Glasgow, it was only fitting that bagpipes would play and they would dine on traditional Scottish fare.

World-traveler Vicki Smith, a retired Pell City school teacher after 30 years, talked of the $6,000 raised last year for the grants. “I realize how appreciated all the funds for the Educational Foundation are, and I’m so glad to support the Foundation. In addition, Deanna covers every detail for these trips, and she is a great planner.”

Library Director Danny Stewart referred to the joint effort, saying it had dual meaning for him. “I’m a product of the Pell City School System, and I am honored and grateful for the education I received.” Support of the library only enhances the potential benefits from these trips.

Their return to Pell City should be met as hometown heroes, giving young people through their travels the opportunity to see more of the world right from their very own classroom. l

Breanna Harris pinpoints a locale on map to teacher Rhonda Nolin.

Teacher Kristin McLendon and fourthgrader Katelyn Thomas look through visual dictionary.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 75

Ashville native aspiring author Andi Neal completed her first novel the week she finished college

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Jerry Martin When Andi Neal was a child, she made up stories in her head to entertain herself. All grown up and about to graduate from college three years ago, she put the finishing touches on paper and completed her first manuscript.

At age 25, she is now a published author of an action thriller called, Unraveled, holding book signings throughout the region.

In February, she held a special one at her hometown library in Ashville, surrounded by friends, family, former teachers and those who just wanted to meet the new author who grew up nearby, thinking she wanted to be an animation artist instead.

Art is a hobby now, just like writing once was. But “my career choice became my hobby, and my hobby became my career,” she said.

It came as no surprise to her first-grade teacher in Ashville, Beth Jones, who had come to reconnect with her former student and get her very own copy of Unraveled signed.

“She was very, very smart, a good worker and had lots of natural common sense.”

It didn’t surprise her mother either. Jana Neal, who along with Andi’s father, Rick, were at the library sporting Unraveled T-shirts to promote the book, said, “This child read everything she could get her hands on. She was reading my books in the seventh grade.”

“I have always been fond of action movies — good mysteries,” Andi said, so she moved from the imaginary stories of childhood to the adult step of “jotting it down and seeing how it is.”

She wrote down her idea, which was 40 pages long, and mailed it to a critic she trusted — her mother.

76 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

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Neal signs book for her former principal, Marie Manning.

Her mother’s reply was simple: “You have to make this into a book.”

Andi did as she was told and wrote Unraveled while she was still in college in Berea, Kentucky. She finished it the week she graduated.

The book centers on a kidnapping and her original idea of a specialized team sent to rescue the victim. She decided to let the words take the reader back to the very beginning, before the key characters were a team. “It is how they became a team instead.” Unraveled evolves into a conspiracy that goes all the way to the White House.

“It wrote itself,” she said. Of course, even a cursory look at the details and the flow of the writing reveal otherwise. Andi’s passion for prose is evident, her attention to the finest of points apparent.

“Research was a huge part of the writing,” requiring her to delve deeply into operations, rankings and divisions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency. “I had to know my character,” she said.

Taking the story on a surprising trek from Colombian jungles to the streets of the nation’s capital, “Unraveled forces this team of unlikely partners to face the deadliest and the most shocking of enemies,” the synopsis reads.

“Unraveling the threads of the tangled web of lies and deception will become a matter of life or death. Together they must find the strength to face their fears and survive their fate.”

It is a story with the unmistakable twists and turns that define a good mystery, and she knew she had to convince a publisher to just take a chance. She spent three years querying agents for a publisher — “anybody who would listen.” Even the publishing company that eventually turned manuscript into book rejected it the first time around. Then, Tate Publishing in Oklahoma, a small, family-run Christian publishing company, decided to reconsider and asked her to resubmit it.

She did, and it is now being marketed through Tate Publishing, Borders Books at borders.com, parable.com and a series of book signings in Alabama and Georgia.

She is now at work on her second book, a murder mystery that takes place in Chicago. l

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Walter M. Kennedy PTO Invites you to celebrate our

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PRING FLING Saturday, April 28, 2012 - 9am until 3pm at

Walter M. Kennedy Elementary School

* Antique Car & Tractor Show * Fun & Games for Kids * Craft & Vendor Show * Food

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250 Otis Perry Drive Pell City, AL 35128

FREE ADMISSION! Tickets for Food and Activities will be available for purchase at the KPTO Booth.

Proceeds will go towards the purchase of new playground equipment and classroom supplies for Walter M. Kennedy.

For questions or vendor application, Please email kpto@pellcityschools.net

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 77

Jack, Ray and Jon Fincher

MEN OF STEEL Fincher family sharpen skills as bladesmiths Story by GiGi Hood Photos by Jerry Martin In today’s ever-changing and fast-paced world, where one technological wonder is all too quickly followed and then bested by yet another, the Fincher men of St. Clair County might best be defined as an anachronism.

Ray, his brother Jack and his nephew Jon are creators, designers, craftsmen, fabricators. But their works are light years removed from the technological wonders of our time. The passion of their work reverts to a much slower and simplistic time where ideas were born in the brain and created by the hand.

The Finchers have discovered a little known world — the universe of bladesmiths (or more commonly known as knife makers). Each and every blade is unlike any other; one of a kind. Metal is the common thread that

78 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

links their trade. Placed in a coal, charcoal or propane fire, it is heated to temperatures sometimes in excess of 1,800 degrees, where its physical properties become softened to the point it can be hammered out until it fits the puzzle that exists within the mind of the maker.

Ray was the first to become interested in knife making. “About 12 years ago, I was attending a gun show and bought a handmade knife from a blade master named Chuck Patrick,” he said. “There was just something about that creation that captured my interest. I think it was the simplicity, the creativity, the idea that something so simple, yet so special, could be made by hand.”

He then started buying knife parts and assembling them. Not long after, his brother Jack and his son, Jon, also became interested in his newfound project. While assembling knives was fun, the more involved they became, the desire to create their own knives grew. As a result, all three enrolled in classes at Texarkana College

Jon displays his handiwork.

April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 79

MEN OF STEEL

in Texarkana, Arkansas, to study and begin their certification in The American Bladesmith Society, which is the national organization for bladesmiths.

Certification is a multi-level process that begins with apprenticeship, progresses through a journeyman program and ends with the title of Master Bladesmith. Jon and Jack say they are not into their craft for the certification, just the pure enjoyment of creating one-of-a-kind knives from beginning to end. Ray is more active in it and has the goal of attaining journeyman status.

Jon, who was only 15 when he began, had to have permission from his principal to be absent from high school while attending the two-week classes in Texarkana. Swapping one type of education for another, he quickly fell in love with his newfound hobby. His first class, blacksmithing, culminated with the making of his first test knife. The test knife was required as one of the steps in completing his apprenticeship.

“It was fun; it allowed for individual creativity and it was also physical,” Jon explained. “There’s just something exciting about taking a flat piece of steel, heating it and then pounding on it until you’ve made your very own creation.

It is very physical and very challenging. I loved it from the beginning, and I probably always will.”

Jon, a Marine who is in school at the University of South Alabama, makes a bee-line to the forge anytime he returns to St. Clair County. When observed as he works and explains the importance of each step, his passion for his art is clearly apparent.

Jack, Jon’s dad, enjoyed the knife assembly portion. But

80 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

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when the forging began, both father and son were truly hooked.

“Jack, who earned his engineering degree from Auburn University, is both a seasoned professional with a great mind for detail and an eye for craftsmanship,” Ray explained. “He was immediately interested in knife making, but when Jon fell hard for it, that further cemented Jack’s passion. Anything Jon loves, Jack loves, so it was a match made in heaven for father and son — actually for all of us. Our mother instilled in us the importance of family togetherness, and she would be proud to know that we have carried that with us in all of our endeavors.”

Describing himself as a problem child who definitely marched to the beat of a different drummer, Ray was sent to Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, during the regular school year. His summers were spent at another military school in Hollywood, Florida, where his love for deep-water diving was born. During his high-school years, he worked in a pipe shop. After graduating high school, he worked as a pipe fitter before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. After his time of service, he worked as a field pipe worker.

Following in the footsteps of his father, and having had the opportunity to become experienced in every aspect of pipe fitting, fabrication and design, he decided to embark on running his own business. “I had a pick-up truck, a barrel of tools, very little money but lots of desire, tenacity and determination,” he remembers. As his business, Fincher Fire Protection Systems, began to grow, family once again became intertwined when Jack, with his education, expertise and strong work ethic, went to work with Ray. Years later, after building the business, Ray decided it was time to retire and participate in his many other interests and his new love of bladesmithing.

Today, Ray, Jack and Jon all work out of the shop that Ray has built on his St. Clair County property that he shares with his wife, Nancy, and their Tennessee Walking Horses. Simply put, Ray loves knives, and Nancy loves horses. From the road, the property doesn’t speak of or give hints related to the diversity that exists within the confines of the fences that enclose the beautiful pastureland, barns and horses.

However, after driving through the property to the back shops, Jack, Jon and Ray’s world most certainly exists in tandem with Nancy’s. The huge shop, filled with high-priced and fine equipment doesn’t look like a hobby shop. It has all the accoutrements of a serious business: a forge, kiln, presses, lathes, table saws, trim saws, finishing equipment and multitudinous other high-tech tools.

It also houses a large supply of exotic materials, worthy of being used to make the handles for the finest of their creations.

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A SINCERE THANK YOU FROM CHARLES ISBELL “Thanks so much for your support in the Republican Primary. I would greatly appreciate your support in the runoff as I seek to work with my fellow commissioners to continue to move St. Clair County forward.”

AS YOUR COMMISSIONER, I WILL: • Serve the entire county fairly • Spend public monies conservatively • Maintain ethical standards and oppose nepotism • Communicate with citizens to learn their needs and opinions • Follow all laws regarding county operations

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 81

MEN OF STEEL Exotic handles

Sharp enough to slice cans ...

... And still cut paper 82 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair | April - May 2012

The supply is seemingly limitless. Tiger maple; desert iron wood; mesquite; giraffe bones (harvested from the carcasses of giraffes that have been killed by lions); Zircoti, a fine wood from Central America; and even petrified wooly mammoth tusk or walrus oossic are just a few of the exotic materials they use to create the beautiful handles for their metal masterpieces.

The Fincher guys love their hobby and have plenty to show for it. Ray said that, even though they sell their creations, it is still a hobby and not a business. “We turn everything we make back into our tools, our equipment, the stock we need, and our training,” he said. “Quite often, we travel to other parts of the country to attend schools, seminars and work with other bladesmiths to learn more about our trade. In conjunction with the Alabama Forging Council, we also travel around the country and help in the presentation and teaching the youths of today about the practices of another era.”

One of their greatest goals is learning how to produce Damascus Steel. A tedious and multi-stepped process, it is pattern welded and created by the layering of steel. The bladesmith starts with alternating layers of steel, forges, draws out and folds it over and over to create unique patterns.

Finally, as the blade is etched with acid, beautiful patterns can be seen within the layers of the Damascus Steel blade.

As Jack pointed out, “There are no limits here. An infinite number of variations are possible. It’s incredible. They even have ways of putting your name or image in the steel. It’s called Mosaic Damascus. The possibilities are endless.”

The Finchers are getting ready for the Batson Blade Symposium, which will be held April 14, at Tannehill State Park, just south of Bessemer. In June, Atlanta will host the Atlanta Blade Masters Show, where literally thousands of people from all over the world are expected to attend.

They hope others share their enthusiasm. Forging opportunities are available for newcomers, and youths are particularly encouraged to get involved. The State Blacksmith Association and the Alabama Forge Council maintain topnotch forging facilities within the park. It hosts the Batson Symposium and an annual conference in September promoting smithing, in general.

At the present, the Finchers’ passion is still considered a hobby that will hopefully be passed to other generations.

Ray best sums it up when he say he loves achieving in a field where learning is constant. “It slows us down, it makes us think, it gives us time to appreciate the intricacies of life, and it gives our family time and opportunity to dream, to create and enjoy the meaningful time that we are able to spend together because of our shared interests.”

Ray has one final dream. “Jon is so very talented. He loves this (and so does his dad). Given his foresight, his drive, his desire, his commitment to being a bladesmith, I think it will be quite sad if he doesn’t take the step to move from the arena of an enjoyable hobby to creating a viable business doing what he loves and what he is best at. Currently, he is the Fincher legacy, and I hope he will make the most out of his talent and the passion he possesses and that he will not only share it with our younger family members, but with the world as well.” l

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April - May 2012 | DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • 83

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