Discover St. Clair August & September 2014

Outdoor Classroom • Competition Fishing • Martin Reunion Department Store Days • Docks Open • Vulcan Industries Expands

August & September 2014

Barbecue King

Huckleberry Pond Where every view is a wonder

Expertise on the grill leads to spot on TV

Celebrating CEPA Cooperative effort paying off for Pell City

Left to Right Chad Camp Micshelle DeWitt Terry DeWitt Teresa Lovejoy Lyman Lovejoy Debra Pike Brian Camp Joyce Logan

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Features and Articles Discover

The Essence of St. Clair

Tales from Huckleberry Pond Beautiful water a place of memories for residents

Page 46 Traveling the Backroads

Barbecue king gets TV spot

Innovative Learning

Page 8

Up in the Air

Page 16

Pell City Works Opens

Page 24

Outdoor Classroom

Page 32 Page 36

Luring in the ‘Big Ones’

CEPA paying off for Pell City Page 26 Growing a family business Page 74

Page 38

Martin Family Reunion

Page 56

Business Review Docks Restaurant

Page 62 Docks Broccoli Salad Recipe Page 65 Crazy Horse Page 70 Commons Fills Up Page 78 Vulcan Expands in Moody Page 80 Business News Page 82

August & September 2014

www.discoverstclair.com

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Writers AND Photographers Carol Pappas Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover St. Clair Magazine. A retired newspaper executive, she served as editor and publisher of several newspapers and magazines during her career. She won dozens of writing awards in features, news and commentary and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University. After retiring, she launched her own multimedia company, Partners by Design Inc. In addition to marketing, design and web services for companies and nonprofits, Partners publishes Discover, various community magazines for chambers of commerce and Mosaic Magazine, a biannual publication of Alabama Humanities Foundation.

Graham Hadley is the managing editor and designer for Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine and also manages the magazine website. He has won more than 20 awards for reporting, editorial writing and graphic design. Along with Carol Pappas, he left The Daily Home as managing editor to become vice president of the Creative Division of Partners by Design multimedia company. An Auburn journalism graduate, Hadley also served as the news editor for The Rome News Tribune in Rome,Ga., and has worked as an adjunct professor of journalism at Talladega College. He currently serves on the Auburn University Journalism Advisory Council.

Jim Smothers

Leigh Pritchett

For almost 30 years, Leigh Pritchett has been involved in the publishing industry.

She was employed for 11 years by The Gadsden Times, ultimately becoming Lifestyle editor. Since 1994, she has been a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in online and print venues. She holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Montevallo.

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.

6

Graham Hadley

Jim Smothers had his first work published in The Gadsden Times in the late 1960s when his father, sports editor Jimmy Smothers, had him take games called in from youth sports coaches and put a camera in his hands at Jacksonville State basketball games. For more than 40 years he has been a writer, photographer, graphic artist and editor at publications in central Alabama for which he has won dozens of Associated Press awards. He has degrees from Jacksonville State University and the University of Montevallo and also studied at the Winona School of Professional Photography.

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.

Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Mike Callahan

Wally was born in Birmingham. He graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 1973, and went on to Auburn University where he graduated in 1976 with his BA in History and minors in German and Education. Wally’s skills in photography blossomed during college. Upon graduation, he entered his father’s business, National Woodworks, Inc. After a 30-year career, he decided to dust off his camera skills and pursue photography full time.

Mike Callahan is a freelance photographer who resides on Logan Martin Lake in Pell City. He specializes in commercial, nature and family photography. Mike’s work has been published in Outdoor Alabama Magazine, Alabama Trucking Association and Alabama Concrete Industries magazines. Publishing his work to the internet frequently, he has won many honors for pictures of the day and week.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

From the Editor

Food, fish and ‘remember when’ ...

You might call this the food issue. And rightly so. There is an bounty of it this month.

It seems restaurants are opening, expanding or moving to a new location in points all over St. Clair County. We’ll even share a recipe from one of our favorite restaurateurs, Keith “Huggy” Hughes, who just opened a new restaurant near Logan Martin Lake appropriately called Docks.

We will highlight our very own St. Clair County barbecue king, John Coon and his House of Q, whose reputation has grown into prominence as a competitor on reality TV’s BBQ Pitmasters.

But of course, we have other staples that stray from the breakfast, lunch and dinner table. We will reminisce with the Martin family in Springville, whose St. Clair roots date back to the 1820s.

We will ‘remember when’ at Mays and Jones Store, a landmark on Pell City’s Cogswell Avenue, when it was THE place to shop.

And while you’re in the mood to travel down memory lane, we will take you to a destination point for generations – Huckleberry Pond – where youngsters grew up and still tell the tales they experienced in this mystical, magical place.

Fast forward a bit and you’ll find yourself on Logan Martin’s bass trail, quickly making a national name for itself. Logan Martin has landed some whoppers of late – BASSMaster Weekend Series, Mark’s Outdoor Sports and the newly christened Alabama Bass Trail tournament.

It’s all here and more in this edition of Discover. In the pages that follow, discover it all along with us.

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

August & September 2014 • Vol. 19 • www.discoverstclair.com

Carol Pappas • Editor and Publisher Graham Hadley • Managing Editor and Designer Brandon Wynn • Director of Online Services Mike Callahan • Photography Wallace Bromberg Jr. • Photography Arthur Phillips • Advertising Dale Halpin • 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 7

barbecue Rising star of

Story by Loyd McIntosh Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. In the crazy, competitive world of competition barbecue, a new star is on the rise, and he just happens to call St. Clair County home. John Coon with his Kansas City Barbecue Society team, House of Q, is one of the hottest masters of meat on the circuit, regularly walking the stage and gathering hardware for his barbecue creations. His celebrity status soared even higher after his recent appearance on the hit barbecue competition television show BBQ Pitmasters.

The Springville resident now finds himself in the strange position of being recognized in public. Blessed with an equal measure of almost Biblical work ethic and a good old boy’s sense of humor, Coon has a way of putting his newfound fame into perspective. “That and a $1.39 will get you a McDonald’s cheeseburger,” he says with a booming laugh while hanging out at his shop on the outskirts of Steele. “I guess this is the closest we’ll ever be to being a rock star. It was a good feeling to get a lot of local publicity and things like that. Can’t complain.”

Coon, his partner Russ Lannom, and the rest of the House of Q gang auditioned for the show along with more than 400 barbecue teams from around the country. The team was selected to appear on the fifth season of the show and compete for the grand prize of $50,000. Coon and his crew filmed their episodes in Tampa, Florida, back in February, performing admirably in a competition that puts the skills of even the best pitmasters to the test. “It was all secretive, so nobody knew who we were competing against, and the way it’s set up you don’t know what you’re going to cook until the day of,” he says. “You open the cooler, and it’s a surprise,

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

barbecue

Coon prepares a special rub. so you pretty much have to be prepared to cook any kind of mystery meat.”

Coon and his team won the first episode after turning heads with their versions of the secret ingredients, turkey and rack of lamb. House of Q then moved on to the next phase in the competition, losing in the semifinal round after turning in some beef ribs that failed to impress the judges. Coon mostly smokes pork ribs in competition and catering jobs and admits the beef ribs threw him a little bit. Still, he believed he had a solid plan, but in the end, the issue was with his ribs’ tenderness, and Coon knows exactly where he went wrong. “That’s actually what cost us the win. We had five slabs of ribs, so we staggered them in increments of time so we would know exactly where we would need to be for tenderness,” Coon says.

“Long story short, we tasted the first three racks when we pulled them off, and they were perfect. So, the last two were actually my best looking slabs of ribs, but I didn’t taste them. I used the same time increments as what we did on the first three. We were disappointed we didn’t taste that, because it cost us the show in reality.”

Despite the loss, Coon says the experience was well worth the effort, and the exposure has been great for his business. A second generation contractor, Coon’s ultimate goal is to make smoking barbecue his full-time career.

He believes the appearance on BBQ Pitmasters may just be the next step toward trading his hammer and nails for tongs and a basting brush. “We really did it for our sponsors more than for us. I don’t really care anything about being on TV, but we got picked, and we went ahead and went through the final selection process and all that, so we were able to go down there,” he says. “It was really neat.

We had a ball doing it.”

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Finished product is a taste-tempting delight

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Coon entertains with his prowess at the grill.

And they like tasting it even better.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

The barbecue trail

Coon’s journey to the top of the barbecue mountain began when Coon was a child, learning smoking skills from his father while living on their small farm in Pinson. Coon’s father was always smoking meats on the weekends and for special occasions. “We cooked for all our church events when I was a kid, on Labor Day, the fourth of July, things like that. It was on a pit outside, all night long, just craziness, but we had a blast doing it,” he says.

Over the years Coon competed in a handful of small barbecue cook-offs, and 10 years ago, he entered his first major competition. He took his chances in the first Stokin’ The Fire cook-off, a sanctioned KCBS event held at Sloss Furnace in downtown Birmingham, on a dare. Coon admits he didn’t exactly know what he was doing. “Three of my buddies and me went down there and stayed all night. We were underneath the viaduct, and we had smoke going up. We thought that it was always supposed to smoke,” Coon says. “We about choked everybody to death underneath the viaduct all night long.”

Coon took advantage of the opportunity to learn the ropes of how KCBS competitions work. Unlike other competitions where the cooks can schmooze the judges, KCBS utilizes blind judging. The judges never see the competitors and vice-versa.

In other words, personality can’t buy you an extra point or two.

It’s all about the food, a fact Coon discovered at his very first competition. “I got a call the first event I ever did, which is unheard of. I was hooked,” Coon says. “That was the adrenaline rush I’ve always wanted. I’ve fished and hunted and everything else under the moon, and nothing has ever been like this right here. I mean it consumed me.”

These days Coon and House of Q are on the road 40 weekends out of the year, competing in 34-36 KCBS events and appearing at a handful of private events. Coon credits his patient family, wife Kristin and son Mason, for giving him the chance to pursue his obsession for the perfect barbecue. “I have the best wife in the world,” he says.

House of Q is earning prize money, winning competitions, and is sought after as an instructor as well regularly holding Barbecue 101 classes for barbecue newbies. He’s not terribly private about his methods, for instance, he uses cherry and

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barbecue applewood to smoke his meat, staying away from hickory unless he’s working with a slab of ribs unusually thick.

He makes his own rub, a concoction of, among other ingredients, garlic, cumin, and chili powder. The team’s sauce, Granny’s BBQ Sauce, is a huge seller.

It’s even used by a couple of dozen teams on the KCBS circuit.

The work Coon has put into House of Q has paid off tremendously. In 97 KCBS events he has finished in the Top Ten 46 times, and he finished 18th in the world in the Barbecue category at the World Food Championships in Las Vegas in August 2013. Coons has achieved all of this success while holding down his day job running the other family business, J. Coon Contracting. Since he spends many a Friday afternoon trimming ribs and seasoning butts for a weekend catering gig, the conversation inevitably turns to ‘cue.’ “I love it. It’s my passion,” Coon says.

“I don’t want to do anything else.” l

On the set of BBQ Pitmasters

Photos courtesy of John Coon

To see more images from House of Q check out the story online at discoverstclair.com

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Remember your local

Department Store Story by Jerry C. Smith Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. • Submitted photos

Mays & Jones Staff, Mr. Jones seated left, late 1940s

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Its motto might well have been MOUNTAIN BROOK GOODS AT PELL CITY PRICES. The owners of Mays & Jones Department Store spared no effort to bring the finest merchandise to their establishment.

From 1923 until its closing in the mid 1970s, Mays & Jones was the premier clothing and linens emporium in Pell City, and according to many who worked and traded there, the store’s business personality mirrored the quality of its goods.

Originally built in 1905 as Pell City Bank & Trust by the town’s founder, Sumter Cogswell, the building was remodeled in 1923 as Mays & Jones Department Store. Its construction was of brick made at Ragland Brick Company. Although solely owned by local retailer Blair Jones, he added his wife’s maiden name to the store’s façade to show that it was indeed a family business.

Pell City resident Florence Compton, now 89 years of age but looking 60, relates that she loved every minute of her 31 years as their bookkeeper. Her career began in 1943, just after she graduated from Pell City High School. “It was a wonderful place to work,” she says. “Mr. Jones had a heart of gold and would bend over backward to see that every customer was able to find exactly what they wanted.”

Mays & Jones was not without competition. Downtown Pell City hosted other stores that carried similar inventory, such as Mitnick’s, Cohen’s and Roberson’s.

Lorene Smith, who started her long career in Ladies’ and Childrens’ Shoes in 1946, often accompanied Mr. Jones on buying expeditions to ensure the store carried only the best medium-range goods. Jones also had buyers who went to dealerships in New York and elsewhere. He wanted his store to be the destination of choice for local folks who wanted uptown quality at an affordable price.

Garland Davis of Mineral Springs Road tells that he and twin brother, Harland, often picked blackberries at 50 cents per gallon to pay for their school clothes and would never think of buying them anywhere other than Mays & Jones.

Former store manager Mack Taylor, who served from 1968 until 1971, advanced their trade even further by arranging for advertising fliers, originally printed for Bob Cornett’s local newspaper, St. Clair Observer, to also be inserted in the Birmingham News.

Soon customers were coming in from all over. Taylor says there were often 40-50 people waiting for the doors to open on sale days, many of them from Birmingham, Ragland and Ashville.

Most store employees had long tenure and displayed a strong loyalty to Mr. Jones. Florence and coworker Lorene recall working with Jones’ wife Dixie Ann; Virginia Nelson; Linda & Etha May Haynes; Carolyn Robertson; June Tillery; twin sisters Clara & Mary Mays; Warner Hammett; Tommy Davis; Mildred Hardwick; Thurman Henninger; Nettie & Mary Cornett; Dixie Ann’s brother “Buddy” Mays; Peggy Pruett; Louella Starnes; Helen Hutton; Florence’s sister Clara May Compton; and Thurman Burnham.

They also recall Tom and Essie Lovell, who worked together. He was in floor sales, and she handled clothing alterations.

Florence Compton today

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Florence Compton at her bookkeeping machine

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Mays & Jones site today Thurman “Red” Henninger created eye-catching window displays. He later set up his own Red’s Menswear store on Martin Street, next to the old Jack’s location. “Bunny” Beavers was janitor and also managed the stock room, which stayed very busy due to their ample stocks and liberal layaway plan.

Pell City Bank vault

Customers first The store’s normal complement was eight to 10 workers, mostly in floor sales. As with many firms in those days, there were few of the benefits people take for granted today. Workers were paid a flat monthly salary. They worked six full days a week, except Wednesdays, when everything in town closed at noon. All hands were expected to be there promptly at opening time, formally dressed and ready to work. Everyone stayed until the last customer had been served.

This policy sometimes became irksome as last-minute customers dropped in, particularly on Fridays, shopped at great leisure, then left without buying anything. Employees were not allowed to clean up or shut down any department as long as a customer was in the store.

Many part-time extras, usually teenagers, were hired during big sales and the holiday season. Their layaway system saw heavy use during these times. Large numbers of paychecks were cashed on Fridays, some from the ordnance works at Bynum, but mostly from Avondale Mills. And you did not have to be a regular customer. Mr. Jones felt that, if he cashed enough checks, you would soon shop there because of their thoughtful service.

Among Mays & Jones’ product offerings were shoes for the whole family; women’s coats, dresses, stockings, lingerie and sportswear; men’s suits and haberdashery items; some house linens; and other soft goods.

They also ordered custom uniforms for local banks and

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Traveling the

BACKROADS 1975 tornado damage

other firms with staff who served the public.

At one time the store sold toys and other home items, but its inventory eventually centered around clothing and personal items. Brands included Jarman, Sewell, Connie and Red Goose shoes, and Arrow and Van Heusen shirts.

Levi jeans were a best seller. Made from local Avondale Mills denim, these were not pre-shrunk. Many fashion-conscious buyers would put them on wet, then let them shrink-dry to conform to their body shape.

The shoe department sported an X-Ray machine, common in those days before we became aware of the dangers of radiation.

Most often used on growing children, these devices displayed a live image of the bones of both feet inside a shadow image of the shoes. Youngsters gleefully wiggled their toes while Mom and the sales clerk studied a green screen inside the darkened cabinet to determine toe-room for growth. Thankfully, these well-intentioned hazards went away in the middle 1950s.

Lorene adds, “You wouldn’t believe how many people tried on shoes on the wrong feet. And one lady said she needed a larger size because her feet “expired real bad.”

Gerald Ensley related a story about buying shoes during World War II. In those days, leather was a strategic material needed for the war effort, so purchases were made using ration stamps, with only one pair a year allowed. Gerald’s mother had given him a stamp, and told him to buy some school shoes for the coming term on their charge account.

Gerald was told to buy brogans, a simple, inexpensive, rug-

20

ged shoe whose un-cured war-time leather often wrinkled and discolored when wet. Upon reaching the store, however, Gerald first did a little window shopping, and noticed a fine-looking pair of patent leather shoes on a mannequin. Mom or not, he decided that’s what he wanted.

Mr. Jones told Gerald that he knew his mother had not sent him there to buy those, as such shoes often came apart from the rigors of being on a young boy’s feet. But Gerald insisted, and left the store sporting snazzy, shiny patent leather shoes.

Unfortunately, it had been raining that day, and the way back was sodden with mud holes and puddles. By the time Gerald got home, his fine new shoes had loose, flapping soles and had long since lost their glassy sheen.

A helping hand Mays & Jones had a long-standing reputation for helping those in need. Florence relates that they had more than a thousand credit customers. Taylor tells of an unemployed truck driver who came there looking for work clothes but had no money. He was given clothes on credit, and as soon as the man got his first paycheck, returned with a payment. Further, he brought Taylor 5 pounds of shrimp from his new job of transporting seafood from Florida, and thence used the store for all his family’s clothing needs.

Taylor says that Mr. Jones customarily spoke to everyone, even people walking by on the sidewalk. Lorene adds, “He didn’t spend his day sitting back there in his office; he was out

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Traveling the

BACKROADS Mays & Jones employees and store

front greeting customers.” He was known for commiserating with townsfolk in needy circumstances, offering kindly advice as well as goods. A dedicated community man who never refused to make a charitable donation, Jones served as an officer in the Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club and was a devout Methodist.

The building’s second floor was reserved for rentals to business clients, among them the Pell City DHR office. Current building trustee, attorney Ted Van Dall, says that during the building’s hundred-year-plus history there has always been at least one lawyer upstairs. Attorney/judge Edwin Holladay was once a tenant. Dr. R.A. Martin’s brother, Claude, had a dental office there.

Another one-time tenant, Bill Hereford, was a former attorney, judge and mayor of Pell City. He says the front windows were helpful to lawyers because they could see who was walking with whom from the courthouse to Rexall for lunch and who visited other law firms on the square.

Hereford purchased the Jones’ family home on 3rd Avenue North in 1987 and still lives there today. It’s a magnificent old dwelling, faithfully preserved except the old steam radiators and attic fan have been upgraded to central heat and air.

He tells that the Jones family had the first television set in Pell City in the early 1950s and that Jones delighted in inviting neighborhood kids in to watch the Saturday shows. Jones’ daughter, Dixie Ann Newman, was a former legal client of Hereford’s.

After Jones’ passing in 1968, the business was owned for a few years by Dixie Ann’s family, the Newmans, before the main store was shut down in the early 1970s. Some remaining inventory was moved to another short-lived location in the present Ben M. Jacobs Masonic Lodge building. Established

by Mack Taylor, this new store was called Mays & Jones Home Goods.

In 1975, the original building suffered major damage in a tornado that struck downtown. Various other firms have since

22

Mays & Jones Fabric Store

occupied its repaired premises, which now hosts Farmer’s Insurance Company. The old bank safe and vault still exist, far back in a rear corner. It’s always left open and unused because the combination is long-forgotten. It’s only been robbed once, by someone who chiseled a hole through the second floor, then blasted the safe with dynamite. The yegg was never caught.

Both Florence and Lorene speak highly of their days at Mays & Jones, naming it an ideal place to work and shop. Most anyone over age 60 in Pell City will attest to its quality, fairness, and genuine concern for customers that brought them back year after year. l

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Alabama Humanities Foundation Board Chairman Guin Robinson, Mayor Joe Funderburg, Project Director Pam Foote, Councilman Jay Jenkins

OPENING Events A woman recognizes someone in historic photo.

Crowd filters in on opening day.

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By day’s end for the July 19 opening of The Way We Worked exhibition, more than 300 people had toured the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit and Pell City’s own local exhibits.

“It was a fantastic turnout for our first day,” said Project Director Pam Foote. “And we are so proud of how our community has come together around this exhibit.”

Opening day featured a ribbon cutting with Alabama Humanities Foundation Board Chairman Guin Robinson, Superintendent Michael Barber and Pell City Mayor Joe Funderburg joining Foote at the ceremony.

The exhibit, made possible through a partnership of the Smithsonian and Alabama Humanities Foundation, is open through Aug. 23. It details how America worked over the past 150 years in interactive displays.

The local portion of the exhibit explores how Pell City and southern St. Clair worked from its founding in 1901 to present day. “This has been an incredible venture for us, virtually creating a museum to recreate Pell City’s history,” Foote said. It has generated plenty of ‘remember-when’ memories and a sense of pride in the region’s heritage through old photographs, panoramic displays, artifacts, historic narratives and memorabilia.

The exhibit is free and open to the public through Aug. 23. Exhibit hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be open for special Saturday hours on closing day, Aug. 23, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Special group tours can be scheduled by calling 205-338-1974. “Group tours are ideal for youth groups, senior citizen groups, Sunday school classes, reunion groups, civic and other organizations,” Foote said. “Pell City is honored to be one of only six cities in Alabama chosen for this yearlong tour, and we cannot thank Alabama Humanities Foundation enough for making this possible. It is a rare opportunity for our citizens, and it has been a wonderful experience in helping preserve our past.”

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Pell City Players assume roles of key figures in town’s history for opening day.

Pell City Player Nicole Walters as Gertrude Tilton, wife of early bank president

Docents Rosetta Swann and Amy Burttram get ready to guide tours.

Browsing through flip books of more photographs popular at exhibit.

Former Mayor Bill Hereford with Alabama Department of Tourism Director Lee Sentell

Education & Performing Arts ‘What if’ plays leading role in CEPA My Way

Dearly Departed

26

Story by Leigh Pritchett Photography by Wallace Bromberg Submitted photos Once there was a city that needed an auditorium.

Once there was a school that needed a better gymnasium.

The city and the school system decided to join together to do what neither could do alone.

When even the combined efforts were not quite enough, the citizens, businesses, industries and other government entities pooled their resources to make it happen.

And thus, our tale comes to its happy beginning eight years ago with the opening of the Center for Education and Performing Arts (CEPA).

Since then, CEPA has been the site of community theater productions, recitals, conferences, symposiums, private events, a host of school functions, concerts and performances by nationally known artists, basketball games, high school wrestling matches, archery tournaments, JROTC competitions, graduations, church services, and – right now – a Smithsonian exhibit with local flavor.

“CEPA has brought a whole new dimension to Pell City,” said Kathy McCoy, who was executive director for seven years and is the current artistic director. “We are the gathering place for Pell City.”

Also called Pell City Center, CEPA features a 399-seat theaterconcert hall and a 2,100-seat sports arena.

Plus, it boasts the only movie theater in the area, McCoy said.

CEPA, however, does not sit silently, waiting for a concert here and a theatrical performance there. Rather, activity at the building is nearly constant.

During the school year, for example, the theater is used daily for drama classes, said Kelly Wilkerson, CEPA’s executive director.

Much of the time, especially during December, the center is in use every day of the week, Wilkerson said. Sometimes, two events are happening simultaneously.

“It definitely gets a lot of use,” he said.

That is part of the beauty of a performing arts center, said Barbara Reed, public information officer of Alabama State Council on the Arts in Montgomery.

“Community arts centers provide access to a wide range of art and performance opportunities, which bring many people together,” Reed said. “These centers are often the heartbeat of smaller cities. Its programming inspires children, adults and families alike, creating a vibrant and connected community.”

Reed said any community is blessed to have a performing arts center.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Prince Charming Jake Junkins, Snow White Hannah Boone and Evil Queen Stacy Ross get instructions from director.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

27

Education & Performing Arts Drama camp

Movies are now playing on the theater’s big screen.

It’s a Wonderful Life

“It put us on the cultural map of Alabama,” said Bill Hereford, who was mayor from 2008 to 2012.

Dr. Michael Barber, superintendent of Pell City Schools, said the center has had a significant impact on the school system.

“It has transformed our school system in several ways,” Barber said.

Having the center has helped to revive the high school drama department; provided a venue to bring shows to the students instead of having to transport them elsewhere to see productions; has given students stage performance opportunities; has accommodated the entire high school student body for assemblies, and has offered space for teacher training during in-service meetings, Barber said.

The school system, he continued, even got to host a State Board of Education meeting at CEPA, “which was a great honor.”

Besides benefiting the students and residents, programs and functions at the center stand to boost the local economy, said McCoy. A significant percentage of audience members come from outside Pell City, she said. While in Pell City, those patrons dine, refuel and maybe even stay in a hotel.

The chance to seek out and promote local talent is yet another advantage of the center, McCoy said. A group of 30 or so actors and actresses have been brought together to form the community theater group, Pell City Players.

“I can’t say enough about Pell City Players. We have some really good actors here. I’ve kind of been amazed,” McCoy said of the award-winning group. McCoy came to CEPA from Monroeville, where she led the Mockingbird Players, who performed both nationally and internationally.

In 2007, Pell City Players presented their first production, which was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Since then, they have done two or three productions a year – some comedy, some drama, some musicals. Among the group’s list of presentations in the past seven years are Dearly Departed, To Kill a Mockingbird, Crimes of the Heart and It’s a Wonderful Life.

At the opening of the Smithsonian exhibit, The Way We Worked, the players used performing arts to augment visual arts. The thespians dressed as figures in Pell City’s history to tell their stories, said McCoy. Having a community theater has naturally led to summer drama camps for children, preening them to take a future place in Pell City Players, said McCoy. Ginger McCurry of Pell City is the instructor. During the camps, students learn the crafts of acting and staging a production. A show at the end of the two weeks allows them to demonstrate what they have learned.

This summer, their production was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, said Wilkerson.

McCurry has staged shows at the center since it opened. She presented students in concerts when she was music teacher at Coosa Valley Elementary and choir teacher at Duran Junior High North and Duran Junior High South and has staged productions as theater teacher at Pell City High School.

“I’m very pleased with this theater,” she said. “It was designed for everyone to be able to hear and to see. The setup is excellent, in my opinion.”

Wilkerson said the “flying system” of stage rigging lets scenes be lowered into place or lifted out of sight when not needed. He noted there is also an orchestra pit for live accompaniment.

When the orchestra pit is not in use, a safety covering makes it part of the stage, Hereford added.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

29

Education & Performing Arts Professional acts like The Platters have also graced the theater’s stage.

McCurry is just as complimentary of the potential of the area’s residents.

“Pell City is covered up with talent,” McCurry continued. There is more of it represented in the schools and in the community “than I can imagine.”

She would like to see the formation of a civic chorale to showcase some of those abilities.

This summer, the center also worked to groom another kind of artist – those gifted in visual arts. The center hosted an art camp for the first time.

Act I, Scene I The center’s beginning dates back more than 14 years.

Former Mayor Guin Robinson said that after he moved to Pell City in 1989, he heard time and again about the need for an arts center. After he was elected mayor some 10 years later, the city government conducted a needs assessment and found the desire for such a facility.

In May 2000, the mayor and Council

30

Groundbreaking just the opening act

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

appointed an “auditorium feasibility committee.” The group consisted of Elizabeth Parsons, Ronnie White, Harold Williams, Jason Goodgame, Terry Wilson, Brenda Fields, Gaston Williamson, Suellen Brown, Carol Pappas and Bob Barnett, who would serve as chairman.

Along the way, Dr. Bobby Hathcock, then-superintendent of Pell City Schools, expressed the need for a new gymnasium for Pell City High School, Robinson said.

By March 2003, the City Council and school system were considering combining efforts to build an auditorium and gymnasium, Council records show.

In November of that year, Robinson’s state-of-the-city address referenced the venture as being a $4.5 million project, with the city’s portion coming from a multipurpose bond issue. The State of Alabama and the St. Clair County Commission also provided some funding. Yet, still more was needed.

Robinson asked Hereford, who was presiding circuit judge at the time, to head a committee to raise funds from local individuals, businesses and industry.

Hereford said approximately $350,000 was given through that fundraising campaign.

“That’s a lot of money to come in from a community our size,” Hereford said. “(The center) wasn’t that hard to sell. People were ready for it. If you’ve got a good project and a real need, the people of this city will step up.”

Groundbreaking for the center occurred in 2004 before Robinson’s administration ended. The center opened in 2006.

By 2008 when Hereford became mayor, the center was taking on a larger and larger role in the life of the community, and Pell City Players had come into existence. The community theater and the high school drama department were “doing absolutely amazing things,” Hereford said.

During Hereford’s tenure as mayor, a governing board for the center was created.

Charter members were Ed Gardner, the late Carole Barnett, Don Perry, Carol Pappas and Judge Charles Robinson, president. Matthew Pope and Henry Fisher replaced Perry and Robinson on the board, and Pappas is president. New members are expected to replace Gardner and Barnett in the next few weeks.

Managing the facility and programming events is now done by CEPA Management Corp., which operates independently of the city and school system, McCoy and Wilkerson said. It is a 501(c)3 entity.

Recently, the center added a movie screen and projector system, giving the community another outlet for entertainment. The theater-concert hall easily transforms into a movie theater as the movie screen is lowered into place by the “flying” stage rigging.

The movie theater comes courtesy of allocations in the amount of $6,200 from the city for the projector and electronics upgrades at the building; $7,500 from the Arthur Smith Estate for the movie screen and sound reinforcement upgrades and $1,000 from Congressman Mike Rogers for a new popcorn popper and concession supplies, Wilkerson said.

Already, the center has presented the movies Frozen and Steel Magnolias.

Wilkerson noted that special showings are possible for people with particular needs, such as sensory challenges. Private screenings are available, too.

The goal for the movies is the same as it is with the other presentations at the center – to provide quality entertainment at an affordable price, said McCoy and Wilkerson.

The center continues to receive funds through “Support the Arts” specialty vehicle tags; from businesses, industry and state arts council grants to bring certain groups or performances to Pell City, to decrease the price of student tickets for schoolrelated productions or to provide tickets for students who cannot afford to pay, said Wilkerson.

Robinson said the story of Pell City Center is that “some things just come together at the right time. I think that project was worth waiting on.”

A lot of work and dedication from all involved and much support from the citizens went into this project, said Robinson, who now lives in Birmingham.

“It was definitely a labor of love,” he said. l Additional assistance with this story was provided by Penny Isbell and Anna Hardy of the City of Pell City.

For more CEPA and Drama Camp photos, check out the full photo gallery online at www.discoverstclair.com

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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EARNING

Innovative

Classroom in the Forest a powerful lesson Story by Carol Pappas Photography by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

The one that didn’t get away becomes a lesson.

It’s not your typical classroom – no desks, no books, no windows to gaze out of and daydream. And that’s precisely the point.

After all, this classroom is outdoors in the middle of nature, where students are schooled by seeing, touching and learning about all that surrounds them. It’s called Classroom in the Forest, and the St. Clair County Soil and Water Conservation District partnered with the Forestry Service and 4-H to create it.

In the fall, students were in real classrooms in Springville, Ashville and Steele learning about wildlife, trees and the other treasures of the forest. By late spring, they were able to see it for themselves in a classroom of a different sort.

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EARNING

Innovative

Lyman Lovejoy opened his 360-acre property in Ashville to the project, hoping to encourage youngsters to develop an appreciation for the great outdoors.

About 250 students rotated ‘stations,’ learning essentials about wildlife and tree identification and “what you find in the forest,” said Charity Mitcham, district administrative and project coordinator. “Our purpose was to get them out on the land and teach them about trees, wildlife, soil and water.”

She credited Lovejoy with giving students the ability to reach that goal. “It would not have been possible without Lyman. It is gorgeous property with acres of trees and wildlife.”

“I grew up working at Camp Cosby where my father was caretaker,” said Lovejoy. “Kids today have their thumbs on a keyboard. We want to get kids in the middle of the woods, out on the grass or in a field. It is so invigorating to see them in the woods, enjoying the outdoors and being active.”

Without this kind of program, “we are losing a generation,” he said. “Fishing and hunting are a lost art.” He wants to reverse that trend with Classroom in the Forest. “I get so excited to see their eyes light up when they ask, ‘What kind of tree is this? What kind of fish is this? Where does food come from?’ ” With children spending so much time indoors with computers, video games and television, they tend to miss out on the allure of the outdoors. With this program, they are able to appreciate the scenery around them. They learn the value in it. And, Mitcham noted, they are really impressed when they see an Extension Service agent actually catch a fish in Lovejoy’s nearby pond.

It’s those memorable lessons that Mitcham and Lovejoy hope will stick with them the rest of their lives. And it’s why they’ll do it again next year – bigger and better than ever.

For more photos, check out the full photo gallery online at discoverstclair.com

Learning about the forest

Animal skins intrigue students.

Lyman Lovejoy captures the moment on camera.

Wide-open space makes a good classroom.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

35

Lessons found

EARNING

Innovative

up in the air Ready for takeoff

ReMax Hometown team

Story by Carol Pappas Photography by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Always looking for innovative ways to reach and teach, Pell City’s Coosa Valley Elementary School took advantage of an offer from the business sector, and they found what they were looking for high in the sky.

ReMax Hometown Properties offered the company’s nationally branded hot air balloon to use as a teaching tool at the school. The balloon arrived, much to the excitement of the children. But more importantly, they were treated to a history lesson in early flight and gained knowledge about meteorology and wind speeds and their effect on flight.

“We challenge all Pell City businesses to get involved with the school system and help create mentoring opportunities to grow Pell City’s youths as they are our business leaders of tomorrow,” said Dr. Michael Barber, superintendent of Pell City Schools.

“The ReMax Hometown Properties Team was so touched by the faces of the children when they saw this huge balloon! You can’t imagine the excitement and wonder they must have felt. I want to continue to sponsor opportunities to mentor our youths,” Sharon Thomas, broker and owner of ReMax Hometown Properties, said.

“It could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some of the children, and ReMax Hometown Properties wants to continue to grow strong ties with our local schools. We want to mentor our children and encourage them to finish their education and follow their dreams,” said Rebel Negley, broker and director of business strategies and marketing.

“It was so cool! My head got hot when he turned on the burners, but I would do it again and again,” said Emily Duck, granddaughter of Sharon Thomas and passenger in the gondola of the ReMax balloon. l

Luring in the ‘big ones’ Anglers pause for National Anthem just before daylight launch

Fishing for sport in St. Clair 38

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Story by Jim Smothers Photography by Michael Callahan Submitted Photos Ever since the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) put Lake Logan Martin on the map as a great place for sport fishing, its popularity has soared.

The 1992 Bassmaster Classic wasn’t the first fishing tournament to be held on the lake, but the B.A.S.S. imprimatur bestowed on the lake by that event certified what local fishermen already knew — it’s a great place to go fishing. It didn’t hurt that the winning angler that year, Robert Hamilton, Jr., caught 21 bass weighing a total of 59 pounds, 6 ounces — the third highest creel ever in a Classic tournament.

B.A.S.S. returned to Logan Martin after 1992 for two more Classics, the 1998 Alabama Bassmaster Top 150, the 2007 junior tournament and the 2013 Bass Pro Shops Southern Open. The lake continues to be the site of tournaments hosted by a number of other organizations.

Among the Pell City-based tournaments held or planned for this year are those organized by Mark’s Outdoor Sports Open, American Bass Anglers Weekend Bass Series, Birmingham Engineers, Bremen Marine, U.S. Steel, Buck’s Marine, Joseph Harrison, Alabama Bass Trail, the McSweeney Foundation and Casting for the Cure.

“They just like coming here,” said Nancy Crow, Civic Center Coordinator for the Pell City Parks and Recreation Department. Most of the tournaments operate out of Lakeside Park, and Crow helps work out the details with organizers to make sure they have what they need.

“Our lake is beautiful, and it’s a great place for them to launch. We have a 65-acre park there. They like our boat ramp, and they have interstate access nearby. They (tournament organizers) call from everywhere, and it’s increasing.”

Crow said she has 30 tournaments on the schedule this year, including one group that will host a tournament every Wednesday until the water goes down to winter pool.

So far this year, the McSweeney Foundation had about 200 boats; the Bass Weekend Series about 300; the Alabama Bass Trail about 400; and Mark’s Outdoors weighed in with more than 500 boats, including about 200 in the parent-and-child division.

After hosting its annual tournament on Lay Lake for 19 years, Mark’s Outdoor Sports moved it to Logan Martin this summer.

“They wanted to come try it here,” Crow said. “They can have the whole park, and we already have them down for next year.”

Pell City Mayor Joe Funderburg said he was “tickled to death” the city was able to host the tournament, the biggest one on the lake. The ability to host these tournaments is an asset to the community, bringing in plenty of people connected with the tournaments. That means increased business for area motels, restaurants and other businesses.

“We feel really good about it. We strive to bring them in, and they just keep increasing the reputation of

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Custom boats are one of the fishermen’s key tools.

The big catch

Launching from Lakeside Park

39

Luring in the ‘big ones’ Readying at first light

Logan Martin as a great lake to fish in,” he said.

Pell City Chamber of Commerce Director Erica Grieve said Lakeside Park is a beautiful place and commended the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for all it does in helping organizers with the tournaments.

“They love to fish on Logan Martin Lake,” she said. “It has a lot to do with the people involved getting things set up and the openness in the community.”

Grieve said the Chamber works to make sure organizers get the information and maps they need to plan their events.

“We try to get them whatever they need,” she said.

“I believe the tournaments have a huge impact. They fill up our hotels, they have to eat somewhere and get gas. ... There’s a definite impact. They have been great to work with, and it just makes you want to do more.”

Mark’s tourney a big catch

The move of Mark’s Outdoors’ tournament to Pell City appears to be permanent.

“It was a great success and seemed to be very well received by the city, the homeowners, and we were pleased with the exposure it got,” said Blake Harlow, tournament director and fishing manager at the Vestavia Hills sporting goods store.

Involved in fishing tournaments since he was 10 years old, Harlow was also a founding member of the University of Alabama’s fishing team. He is proud to see the tournament continue, and the

40

The weigh in

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Luring in the ‘big ones’ vision of tournament founder Mark Whitlock keep going. Whitlock lost his battle with cancer two years ago. Whitlock insisted the tournament have a division for parent/child teams, with their participation underwritten by sponsors. This year there were 200 parent/child teams among the more than 500 in the tournament.

“People from all over the Southeast came, and we see Pell City as the permanent home for it now,” Harlow said.

With two main launches at Lakeside Park and two others near the baseball and softball fields, organizers had an easier time getting all those boats in the water. He said the park also gave participants and spectators plenty of room.

“There was enough room for everybody not to be bunched-up at the weigh-in and a lot more family fun in the park for kids. We were apprehensive about moving — we were afraid the lake would fish small and everyone would be bunched up and on top of each other, but it was just the opposite. And people caught fish all day.”

He said he has also noticed a growing trend of girls joining in the fun.

“We’re seeing more people getting active in fishing. There are more kids now, more parents, more moms and daughters, and more girls fishing now than I’ve ever seen.”

He thinks the growth of fishing as a team sport at high schools and colleges is helping to get more people involved.

“Fishing is a full-fledged sport at Auburn, Alabama, AUM, Montevallo, South Alabama, Troy and UNA. Some of them are actually giving scholarships.”

Organizers for most tournaments observe a

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Hundreds await launch

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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43

Luring in the ‘big ones’ strict catch-and-release policy to help minimize pressure on fisheries, and Mark’s takes conservation a step further at its annual tournament. Each team is given a bag of bass fingerlings before they launch, with instructions to release them when they stop to fish. Harlow estimates there are 75 fingerlings in each bag, a total of more than 37,000 fish released to help make fishing in the future even better than it was before.

Harlow also expressed appreciation to B.A.S.S. for helping with the weigh-in and release and for the organization’s work in establishing procedures for catchand-release to keep fish populations strong.

But bass weren’t the only attraction at this year’s tournament. The 2014 Bassmaster Classic Champion Randy Howell of Springville appeared at the competition. He has made his mark as a top competitor on the circuit, and he won his first Classic earlier this year.

He has spent a lot of time on Logan Martin, and has written Pro Tips articles for the Alabama Bass Trail website with advice for both summer and winter fishing on the lake.

Prizes lure them in, too.

Randy Howell,

Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

B.A.S.S likes Logan Martin

Beachside at Lakeside Park

B.A.S.S. Director of Event and Tourism Partnership Michael Mulone said catch-and-release fishing was instituted in the early ‘70s. The organization worked with state agencies on water quality and fish-care measures and cleanup efforts.

“It’s kind of a 360 approach, making sure fisheries are healthy,” he said. “Bass fishing is not about tournaments, it’s about lifestyle. It does us no good if we have a tournament and don’t leave it in the same condition we found it.”

Mulone added that while B.A.S.S. did not have an event on Logan Martin this year, they will definitely be back.

“When we pick our venues, it has to be a body of water with a healthy bass fishery that can host 200 boats. They can be hard to find,” he said. “Thankfully, there’s a whole lot of lakes in Alabama that can host. Logan Martin is one of them, with ramp facilities and hotels nearby, and it helps being close to the interstate. Pell City is a great town as well, and that’s part of why we like going there.”

B.A.S.S. organized its first fishing tournament in 1967 in Arkansas, an event that spawned a revolution in the sport. Pro fishermen have become as well known as movie stars to those who follow the sport, and when B.A.S.S. chooses a lake as a tournament site, it’s a seal of approval that carries a lot of weight.

“Any lake we suggest that’s tournament quality is a fantastic fishery. Though we have a top 100 list we put out every year, any lake we choose is one of the best of the best,” Mulone said. “In every destination, you take it for granted how good it is. These are fantastic destinations for families and anglers to visit. I definitely would put Logan Martin in the top tier. As far as the quality of the fishery and the people around there, it’s top notch.” l

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Huckleberry Pond A place deep with memories

Story by Leigh Pritchett Photography by Michael Callahan

Huckleberry Pond sits quietly between Sugar Farm Road and Riddle Road in Riverside.

Hardwoods and other trees knit a canopy as they stand in the shallow water near shore.

In the greater depths, tall and jagged trunks of dead trees jut toward the sky.

The chirp of frogs breaks the silence and some unseen creature ripples the water.

The pond has been described as spooky, eerie, mysterious and, at the same time, beautiful.

It has different personalities, depending on time of day and season.

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Huckleberry Pond

Lance Bell, his wife, Holly, and their sons, Holden (left) and Hudson enjoy the woods surrounding the pond.

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Daybreak is the favorite of Lance Bell, who owns 17 acres of the pond and 110 acres adjoining it. Wayne Spradley likes it best in early spring and late fall. Bobby Parker prefers winter.

One of its many moods is that “it looks like the Florida Everglades sometimes,” said Parker, who lives in Pell City.

“It’s a mystical-looking place with the dead trees,” added Greg Ensley of Pell City. “It’s a pretty place, a good place to go sit and watch animals.”

The stillness of the pond tends to shroud the fact that the place is actually teeming with memories.

“In high school, we’d sneak over there and fish, (go) frog-gigging and kill a snake here and there,” said Bell, who grew up in Cook Springs and now lives in Riverside. “I think generations and generations before me did the same thing.”

Frank Finch of Cropwell can attest to that.

“We used to hang out over there when I was young.”

He and his cousins would ride a muledrawn wagon to get there. That was in the early 1950s, when life was simpler.

“That was when kids knew how to use a weapon,” Finch said. “We killed things to eat; we’d fish on Huckleberry Pond. We knew how to take care of ourselves in the woods.”

The pond and the surrounding land just seemed to beckon those who wanted to explore, play, fish and hunt.

“It was a wild place. It was a place that was basically untouched,” Finch said. “It was a place to go back in time. We fought Indian battles. We fought World War II there, all the things that young boys do. Back then, it was a time of innocence. We didn’t have much. We enjoyed what we had.”

The memories of Wes Guthrie of Pell City go back more than 40 years. As a young boy, he went to the pond with his grandparents, Hob and Iantha Guthrie (both deceased). They would fish or his grandmother would pick huckleberries and blackberries.

“When we were young, we’d go there about once a month on a flat-bottom boat,” Guthrie said. “No trolling motor. Just a paddle and boat and your cane poles.”

Moss spanned much of the water’s surface, so it was necessary to put the fishing line down through a break in vegetation.

“It was good bream fishing and good bass fishing in the holes,” Guthrie said.

Huckleberry Pond held so much intrigue for Spradley when he was a boy that he would walk all the way from North Pell City to get to it.

“We went up there pretty often,” Spradley said. “We’d stay gone all day long.”

The fascination lasted right into adulthood,

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Huckleberry Pond

when Spradley – a renowned artist – chose Huckleberry Pond as the subject of his first wildlife print. “(The pond) brought a lot of inspiration to me to do paintings,” Spradley said.

Through the years, Spradley has captured the pond, its mystery and its wildlife in several pieces of artwork.

Earlier this summer, he worked on several pencil sketches in preparation for his next Huckleberry Pond piece. Two sketches feature the pond’s familiar treescape. Another is of bluebirds flitting and diving.

The bluebird idea came to him from a fly-fishing experience about 15 years ago. Spradley saw bluebirds at the pond behaving in a manner he had not seen previously.

The birds would take flight, then dive down like kingfishers, Spradley said. “I didn’t have any idea bluebirds would do that.

(They were) hitting the water, getting something to eat and carrying it back to the stump and eating it.”

For Dale Sullivan of Pell City, talking about Huckleberry Pond is somewhat of a sentimental journey.

“It’ll always hold a special place for me because I grew up there in its heyday. It was somewhere you wanted to go,” said Sullivan.

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Many were the times he and his dad, Ernest Sullivan (now deceased) fished or hunted on pond property.

On occasions when the pond was frozen, Sullivan — as a youth — skated or rode bicycles on it.

One time while a teen, Sullivan borrowed his dad’s truck — without permission – to haul a boat to the pond. Once there, he decided to back the truck to the water’s edge to unload the boat.

By accident, he backed the truck into the pond. In the process of trying to get the truck out of the water, he nearly burned up the clutch.

Realizing he was in trouble, Sullivan begged a neighbor to use his tractor to free the truck.

The neighbor obliged and came with his tractor, which subsequently got stuck.

With the predicament now doubled in size, Sullivan called in the cavalry — which in this case was Riverside service station owner Frank Riddle.

Riddle brought his wrecker and extracted both the tractor and the pickup.

Then, Sullivan had to go home to tell his dad all that had transpired, as well as explain why the truck’s clutch would not function exactly right anymore.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Huckleberry Pond

Artist Wayne Spradley uses old photos to capture the scenes on canvas.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

“That’s one of my most vivid memories” about the pond, Sullivan said.

Just as the pond has been a natural source of human adventure, it has also been a haven that attracted animal life.

Those who frequented the pond through the years have seen quite an array of creatures, including chain pickerel, frogs, beavers, muskrats, deer, loggerhead and soft shell turtles, blue herons, snipes, whippoorwills, woodpeckers, numerous species of ducks and so very many other winged creations.

“You’ve never seen the like of birds there in all your life,” Ensley said.

In recent months, Bell has caught images on his game cameras of coyotes, bobcats and wild turkeys.

People also say the pond is fed by a spring and that the water is rather chilly in spots.

“It’s a unique place,” said Sullivan.

Protecting that uniqueness is one of the many reasons Bell purchased some pond property when it became available.

Bell said it is nice to own property that holds such a legacy of memories for so many people. He wants to preserve it and pass the legacy and the love of nature to his sons, Hudson and Holden.

The pond, which encompasses about 40 acres, is divided into three sections of ownership. Sonny and Jane Kilgroe of Pell City own another portion of the pond and bordering land.

The third section belongs to Headwaters Investments Corp. of Atlanta, Ga. Standing along the shore in an area not visible from Sugar Farm Road, Bell watched as his sons chatted and tossed sticks into the water.

“I enjoy watching them play out here,” Bell said.

Gazing out toward the middle of the pond, he said, “It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”

His screensaver, he confessed, is an image of Huckleberry Pond.

Holly, his wife, said she wants to live on the expanse.

“I would like to build a house out here,” she said. “I like being out in nowhere, the slower pace.”

If it had been a snake …

Almost no tale of Huckleberry Pond, it seems, is complete without a snake story.

As a matter of fact, in enumerating some of the pond’s traits, Gordon Smith of Pell City listed snakes first.

“You would see them swim by,” Guthrie said.

Ensley said he has seen them, after dark, hanging from tree limbs close to the water, just waiting for a meal.

Sullivan has had several snakes in the boat with him, thanks to his dad. He said his dad would run the boat under a bush to make non-poisonous snakes fall into it, just to see the reaction of the occupants.

Spradley had the particular experience of falling out of a boat one time on Huckleberry Pond. “I don’t think I got wet getting back into the boat!”

Sometimes, Finch and his cousins camped overnight at the pond. But they were certain to sleep inside the wagon instead of on the ground to avoid any uninvited guests.

“There were some big snakes over there,” Finch said. “In the eyes of a child, every snake is pretty big.”

Then, there is the story of a teen-aged Dana Merrymon. He lived in the Center Star area at the time, and Sugar Farm Road was unpaved.

Merrymon and a buddy went fishing in a flat-bottom, aluminum boat. With them, they had a .410 shotgun, just in

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Huckleberry Pond

case of a serpent sighting.

The two guys had caught six or seven fish, which they put in the front of the boat. Merrymon sat in the middle of the boat, and his buddy was in the back.

It was growing dark as they rowed toward shore, but they stopped to fish one last time.

That is when Merrymon saw a head pop up out of the water. Then, the head and the rest of the body came right over into the boat to get the fish.

Merrymon yelled, “Snake!”

Almost instantaneously, he heard a deafening “boom” from behind him and realized that his buddy had shot at the snake.

The slithering visitor swam away unscathed.

But the boat was not so fortunate.

It started taking on water.

Although the water was only about thigh-deep where they were, neither fisherman wanted to be in it.

The two paddled with all their might to reach shore before the boat sank.

More than 40 years later, Merrymon, who lives in Pell City, tells that story with laughter and animation.

But at the time it happened, “it wasn’t funny,” Merrymon said. “I was scared to death!” l

Holden and Hudson go exploring.

54

Additional assistance with this article provided by Realtors Bill Gossett and Carl Howard; Riverside Mayor Rusty Jessup; Porter Bailey; Julia Skelton; Vicki Merrymon; Jesse Hooks; David Murphy; Glenn Evans; John Pritchett; Jerry Smith; Bill Hereford; and April Bagwell of the county mapping department.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

55

Revisiting History At the Martin Family Reunion

Martin Family reunion, Earl Martin, Sandra Sullivan DeBerry, Amanda Newton Kleiser, Mark Martin

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

Story and photos by Jerry C. Smith Submitted Photos Native-Americans are reputed to put earnest faith in dreams.

A Cherokee named Jeremiah Collins is said to have followed a recurring dream of great wealth when he set out for St. Clair County in the early 1820s.

Born in 1779, just three years after the American Revolution, Jeremiah loaded all his possessions onto a crude sledge for a long, arduous voyage from South Carolina to the future state of Alabama. His children and wife, “Patsy,” hitched rides with others as their wagon train trekked southwestward. His golden vision eventually came true.

The Collins family soon owned hundreds of acres of land bordering the Coosa, from which his ethnic brethren, the Creeks, had been ousted by Andrew Jackson a few years previously. According to Barbara Bonfield in Heritage of St. Clair County, AL, Collins was “…a shrewd business man, and soon owned a comfortable home with substantial land surrounding it.

“It is said that the only race track in that part of the state was on his property, and men would come from near and far to race their finest horses. A secondary attraction at the track was fine corn liquor made in Jeremiah’s still.”

Jeremiah prospered, and sired seven children with Patsy, many of whom helped settle several parts of St. Clair. One son, Jesse, became a highly recognized Baptist minister. Jeremiah’s daughter, Suzaney, married Elijah Martin, beginning the maternal side of a family that would eventually play important roles in St. Clair’s future.

The Martins recently held a grand reunion in Springville, attended by more than 200 kinfolks and kin-laws. Many had traveled from several states to enjoy the fellowship and, of course, all that delicious Baptist food.

Sadly, Jeremiah lost most of his holdings because of the Civil War, but his descendants were destined to enrich all of St. Clair County.

Mark Martin

If we should ever seek a modern-day phoenix, Mark Martin would surely qualify. His life is an amazing testament to his faith, inner strength, and the loyalty of his family and community. Cruelly shot down and left for dead while still a teenager, Mark beat all the odds and came through as an able businessman, living inspiration, and website guru from whose efforts hundreds of people have come together in lasting friendship.

In All Over But The Shoutin’, Alabama author Rick Bragg describes the infamous deed in Jacksonville that altered so many lives, “Germania Park had been an idyllic place before that night. ... Young people came to lie on blankets and plan lives or live for the moment. Donna Tucker and Mark Martin, sweethearts, spread their blanket beside the stream on the night of July 17, 1977. They had graduated from Springville High that May. (She was Miss Springville in her senior year.)

“Donna, a smart and pretty girl who wanted to work as a lab tech, was a freshman at Jacksonville State. Mark, a popular all-around athlete, planned to join her at Jax State in the fall.

They just assumed they would get married someday ... that everything, so perfect, would stay that way.

“A man, all but invisible in the dark ... approached them once to ask for a cigarette, and again later to ask for a match. The third time he walked up he held a gun.”

The Martin homestead in later years

Mark was shot twice, in the chin and neck. Donna was also shot twice in the head, and soon succumbed. Mark was left in a quadriplegic state due to spinal cord damage. One cannot imagine the unspeakable trauma this foul act wrought upon Mark, his and Donna’s family, and everyone who loved them.

But Mark was a Martin, surrounded by other Martins and supported by their entire community circle. His recovery was slow and fraught with many pivotal moments for both body and mind. Some of the hurts eventually healed while others merely became less unbearable, but Mark was on his way to becoming a St. Clair legend.

Among his earlier accomplishments, Mark called upon his own athletic experience to coach Little League baseball.

However, his big moment came with the advent of the Internet.

He got into website design.

Although able to move only his head due to permanent paralysis, Mark would not let such limitations shackle his ambition. Using a push button phone and rotary-ball mouse, he quickly learned to operate both devices by using a stick held in his mouth, with which he could type faster than most twofinger typists. Mark operated his Internet business with ease, designing elaborate websites for important clients.

He also became a one-man historical librarian with his popular personal site, stclaircountyal.com. Countless St. Clair school kids, and a few aspiring history writers like this writer, have made extensive use of his files and photos.

Mark’s site included a community forum whose guest list numbered in the hundreds. There were endless, oftencontroversial topics, opinions, serious debates and discussions, which local businessmen and politicians soon learned to respect. They often had lunch gatherings so they could get to know each other and place faces with screen names. Many St. Clair folks made personal acquaintances that persist until this day.

Now 55, Mark has retired from his web-design business in favor of enjoying every day and every moment, always

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Revisiting History professing the Faith of his Fathers, and his father’s. He loves tooling around town in his hi-tech electric chair, enjoying the great outdoors and the company of a multitude of friends in Springville. Mark also enjoys taking to St. Clair’s back roads in his specialized SUV. Of all the people I’ve known, Mark is near the top for sheer heroism and intelligence, but he’s always first to say that he owes it all to his family, especially his dad, Howard Martin.

Howard Taylor Martin

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When asked for a few words that describe Howard Martin, nephew Bill Newton quickly replied, “He was the moral compass of the family.” That is clearly a sentiment shared by many.

Young Howard’s family did share-cropping work during the Depression. Like most decent men of that era, Howard’s father, J.B. Martin Sr. would take any honest job to earn grocery money. They nearly froze to death the year they farmed in Crawford Cove. Hard work and scanty subsistence were familiar ways of life to children of that era. Howard started plowing at age 10, walking between the reins as his father gradually let him have more control over their mule team.

Mark still chuckles over his father’s story of running alongside the Presidential train at age 12, waving at President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the train passed slowly through Springville. That was in 1936, well before Air Force One. The three-car express train was carrying the president to Winter Park, Florida, to receive an honorary doctorate from Rollins College. Springville School’s fifth-graders were there, but few others were, as everyone else was too busy trying to scratch out a living.

Mark explains that his father was a bi-vocational pastor.

That is, he worked a regular job as a mold-core fabricator at Thomas and Caldwell foundries in Birmingham while serving as a minister during off-hours. More than 70 percent of St. Clair Baptist ministers were bi-vocational in those days. When the steel mills and foundries started shutting down, Howard took any job that paid a salary, from cutting firewood and painting houses to driving a school bus.

His first official pastorate was at Oak Grove Baptist near Homestead Hollow, thence to White’s Chapel Baptist, Riverside Baptist, Pine Forest Baptist, New Lebanon Baptist on Simmons Mountain, and finally Hopewell Baptist. New Lebanon had been founded long ago by his Simmons kin, with a congregation listing at least 12 families of that lineage. Rev. Howard Martin baptized hundreds of converts in local lakes and creeks. He also married scores of local couples, including Coal City’s Paul and Marie Manning.

Mark characterizes his father thusly: “He was one of the few truly great men I have ever known.” No doubt many Springville old-timers would nod in agreement, recalling the man’s unfailing spiritual influence and personal example, especially in the way he dealt with adversity.

When Howard’s first wife, Virginia, was gravely injured in a car-train accident near Leeds, he picked her up, carried her up a steep hill, and put her in an ambulance. He stayed with her until the doctors had begun their work before Howard finally passed out from shock and sheer exhaustion.

Other tragedies occurred in later years to test Howard’s mettle. For one, the loss of his and Virginia’s son, Jerry, to a traffic accident. But the most lasting test would come with Mark’s disability.

Rev. Howard Martin

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

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Revisiting History

Rather than commit his son to an institution, Howard decided to keep him at home. Mark’s mother (Howard’s second wife), Jimmie Lou Newton Martin, went the extra hundred miles in working for Mark’s recovery. The whole community joined in to show their support by building Mark’s present home on his grandfather’s property. It’s specially designed for paralysis care, a testament to the affection felt by Springville for one of their finest citizens and his stricken son.

A few years ago, Howard suffered a stroke that eventually took his life after a long period of decline. He spent his last months in a bedroom adjacent to Mark’s. No doubt they lent much support to each other, as was their custom.

Mark describes his father’s latter days: “As we sat outdoors, enjoying a beautiful day, Dad began singing an old family favorite, ‘Precious Memories,’ and I joined in. When the song was done, we talked. He pointed out that his stroke had seriously damaged his brain and also left him with the use of only one arm, while my paralysis had taken everything except my head. Putting it all together, he said as long as we’re both still alive, there is one complete Martin in this home.”

Mark attributes his own survival and success partly to the things his father taught him about never giving up and always focusing on what you can do, as opposed to what you cannot do. Quitting in midstream was not a Martin trait. That seems to be a common thread in all the Springville Martins, certainly shared by Howard’s brother, J.B. Martin Jr.

James Benjamin Martin Jr.

Bill Newton describes J.B. Martin Jr. as “Mister Springville.” Like his brother, Howard, J.B. was involved in most everything around town, but his influence soon reached all over St. Clair.

In Springville, J.B. served as fire chief, postmaster (appointed by letter from President Truman), operated the water works, coached little league, managed the Springville Civil Air Patrol, handled the purchase of the town’s fire trucks and other equipment, worked as announcer at local ball games using electronic equipment that he himself had installed in the press box, attended all Chamber of Commerce meetings, started a Boy Scout troop, and was an active ham radio operator.

A veteran of World War II, where he served in the South Pacific with Springville’s Leon McGinnis, these two men started the Springville unit of Alabama National Guard, where McGinnis was captain and J.B. was first sergeant. J.B. served the ANG until retiring as Command Sergeant Major.

As if all this weren’t enough to place him in local history, J.B. also started 911 service in St. Clair, eventually upgrading to E-911. He was highly instrumental in establishing St. Clair Regional Hospital in Pell City, serving for many years on its hospital board and as chairman of the St. Clair Health Care Authority. Like his brother, Howard, and his father, J.B. Sr., he wore many hats for a growing Springville. Bill Newton says, “ I don’t know how he found time to do it all. The man had amazing leadership qualities.”

The recently-renovated armory J.B. and McGinnis founded is still there, beside the railroad on Alabama 174.

James Benjamin Martin Sr.

Born just after Christmas in 1889, J.B. Martin Sr. lived almost a hundred years, bearing witness to the emergence of practically everything we know and use in today’s world. He

60

J.B. Martin Jr., 4th from left, with new Springville fire truck and wife Rose Zanna Simmons married in 1911 at her home on Simmons Mountain, eventually rearing no fewer than 13 descendants, among them Howard and J.B. Jr. Two of their children, Earl Martin and Louise Martin Sullivan, are still living.

Bill Newton says J.B. Sr. was a big man who could be very rough when needed, but otherwise always a gentleman who loved children, especially his grandchildren. All the Martins knew “Papaw” to be an industrious, hard-working, faithoriented man who seemed to have a way of solving most any problem, civic or domestic. His favorite dog, Baby, was always at his side or in his lap at home.

A highly skilled woodworker, J.B. Sr. made all kinds of household furniture, including four-poster beds, desks and, his real love, grandfather clocks, which he made for all his children. Much of his craftwork still exists. Mark reminisces about all those clocks in Papaw’s house, chiming together on every hour.

He made all the pews, platform and pulpit for New Lebanon Baptist’s first sanctuary. Bill says his grandfather always sat in the same place every Sunday and always chewed tobacco during services.

He worked in Springville as a law officer, performing various civic duties that Amanda compares to Sheriff Andy Taylor in Mayberry. He was adept at catching criminals, preferring to go to a scene of wrongdoing and work things out rather than make arrests. Springville had no permanent jail or police cars in those days, so he had to drive arrestees to Ashville in his own vehicle.

Granddaughter Amanda Newton Kleiser says, “Papaw attributed a lot of his ability to do his sheriff job to his Indian blood. He could walk up on someone and they never heard him.” She adds that, as general town officer, it was his job to go door to door and collect on water bills. He was also required to drive a garbage pickup truck Amanda says her grandfather really showed his kindly nature by the way he treated his employees. For instance, every time he drove a load of trash past Bud Pearson’s gas station, he would stop and buy a cold drink for his garbage loaders out of his own pocket.

During Prohibition, revenue agents often sought his help in

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2014

locating illegal stills. It’s said that J.B. Sr. enjoyed indulging them, as he felt completely at home in St. Clair’s forests, being an avid coon hunter with deep Cherokee heritage.

Scrupulously honest, he once spotted a bucket of buttermilk left on a stump while hunting stills with some revenuers.

Neither knowing nor caring who had left it or when, he took a big drink, then placed fifty cents on the stump beside it.

Amanda says that during the Depression nobody ever left their home hungry, family or not. Her Papaw would share their food with anyone who came to the door, even though the Martins often had scant portions for themselves.

Another memory shared by Amanda: “Every Sunday at Papaw’s house after lunch he would have us line up at his massive desk. He would open the big drawer and immediately you would smell the scent of peppermint. We were each given one stick of peppermint, and didn’t ask for more. That was such a treat for us. He was a very giving person.

“At Christmas every year Papaw ordered these big red apples and oranges. We each — kids, grandkids and all — chose an apple and orange from the big boxes. The house smelled wonderful. You knew you were loved by Papaw and Granny.”

The Martins’ old family home still stands — a huge twostory built by a Frenchman in 1899, just a few feet from Mark Martin’s present home. It’s mentioned in granddaughter Sandra Sullivan DeBerry’s book, A Genealogy of James Benjamin and Rose Zanna Simmons Martin. “What a special place my grandparents’ home was. It holds many of my favorite childhood memories.

“We would gather there for dinner every Sunday after church, and what a meal we always had! I can still see Granny in the kitchen, moving around so calm, as if she was preparing dinner for her and Papaw alone instead of the big crowd that always came.

“After lunch, or dinner as it was called back then, the men would retire to the living room or front porch for their smokes and talks of politics. The women cleaned the kitchen and the grandkids went outside to play.”

Sandra’s reverie continues: “Papaw had a unique gift of making each of his grandchildren feel as if they were his favorite. He had 36 grandchildren, and loved each of us dearly.

He had nicknames for us, and made each of us feel special.

My grandfather was a wonderful storyteller. I think he was the happiest when talking about old times.”

Sandra’s niece, Angela Patterson Sesin, wrote a poem about her own childhood memories of the Martin home:

We can handle it all.

“Our sitters didn’t just sit with my mother, they took care of business. ey went to the grocery store. ey cooked. ey even went to the doctor visits, then reported our physician’s response and advice back to me. I had that much trust in them.”

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PAWPAW’S HOUSE Sugared peppermint sticks rest on the cedar desk, While the great grandfather clock still ticks.

Stories of blue jay birds soaring high, and the Indian princess In her bright beaded gown lie in the crevices of dirt along the floor.

The black metal spit can waits alone Beside the dusty floral couch that held his head up.

The splintered mantel holds smiling, bright-eyed pictures Of distant generations, long since moved away.

The rocking chair on the porch creaks With the ticking on a dark, breezeless night.

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St. Clair Alabama

Business Review Louis

Docks has two distinct seating areas to serve a wide variety of customers.

62 • DISCOVER The EssenceDISCOVER Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2013 of St. Clair •The Business Review

DOCKS

Restaurant has something for everyone Story by Graham Hadley Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. Docks in Pell City’s Cropwell Commons is just the latest in a series of restaurant success stories for its owner — a success he fully expects to last until his retirement.

The brainchild of Keith “Huggy” Hughes and his fiancé Susan Humphreys, Docks aims to provide some of the best food and drinks in the area in an atmosphere that is friendly and inviting with something for everyone on the menu.

With seven years of experience in the restaurant business, Huggy thinks that formula will be the key to Docks’ ultimate success — something that is already proving itself to be true.

Though they have only been open for a short time and are still shaking out the kinks in the business, Docks already has developed something of a local following.

“I bought D’s Grill at Lucky’s Bait and Tackle in August 2009 and was there a year and a half. I had the opportunity to move to Lakeside Landing and was there three years,” Huggy said. When he saw the chance to open a restaurant in Cropwell Commons, he and Susan knew they could not pass it up, and Docks Bar and Grill was born.

And Huggy and Susan agree, they may very well have found the perfect location — conveniently near the Pell City’s business district and the residential areas around the lake.

“We wanted to be closer in… and we wanted to have a nice place, a smoke-free, safe, comfortable place where people can come with their families or sit and eat, have a drink and watch football,” Huggy said.

The layout of the restaurant is ideal for that, with two distinct dining areas — one with booths and tables best suited for families and special gatherings and the other with tables and the bar.

There is also outdoor dining available — something that Huggy and Susan expect to be more popular in the region’s comfortable fall and spring seasons.

“It is the friendly atmosphere. People from different generations come in here and mingle. It’s a great mingling crowd,” Susan said.

“Everybody knows everybody, and if they don’t know you, they will by the end of the night.”

“Kind of like ‘Cheers’,” Huggy said. “People have favorite seats, and we see them drive up and know what they want to eat and drink.”

Susan Humphreys and Keith “Huggy” Hughes As for the food, Huggy is already famous in this part of the state for his cooking from his previous restaurants and his catering — especially his meals for Pell City athletic teams, the Panthers football team in particular. He has been providing them with pre-game food on Friday nights.

Docks’ diverse menu will only enhance that fame. Huggy says they have covered a wide range of customers’ tastes, whether it is lite fare, like steak or grilled chicken salads and wraps; their over-the-top Boathouse Fries, which come covered with two cheeses, bacon and Cajun and Docks’ special spices served with homemade ranch dressing; choice-cut steaks; and fried pickle chips. Specialty desserts are a hit, like Butterfinger pie or Zango, which is cheesecake baked in Filo dough and covered with homemade raspberry and chocolate sauce.

Susan is especially proud of their homemade tilapia fish tacos that come with their fresh mango salsa.

And when they say homemade, they mean it. In fact, everything is made fresh from scratch in-house — their dressings and

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2013 The Essence of St. Clair • 63 Business Review • DISCOVER

Business Review From steak salad to Zangos, Docks’ menu has someting for everyone.

sauces, salads, desserts — everything, Susan stressed.

“The garlic parmesan wings are great. We have created our own Docks Sauce for the wings. Through much trial and error, we came up with a great recipe,” Huggy said. “And our chicken salad is made from scratch and is huge hit on Fridays for our cold-plate special.”

In fact, that freshness is one of the key components to the philosophy driving Huggy and Susan to make Docks one of the best restaurants around. The other is a focus on the local community.

Huggy says he buys everything he can locally. The community has supported him through the years in his other restaurants, and he feels it is fundamentally important to return the favor.

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Docks “Buying local is very important. … If we don’t support local businesses — the big franchises are coming here — we would not make it,” he said.

Beyond providing fine food at affordable prices in an atmosphere that is friendly and relaxed, Huggy and Susan are looking to do much more with Docks.

They have live music on certain Saturdays, and once a month or so, they do Wine-down Wednesdays when “we host free wine tastings. People have really enjoyed that,” Susan said.

Because the restaurant is partitioned into two separate dining areas, they can also cater to groups of all kinds, from business meetings and service clubs to wedding rehearsal dinners and birthdays.

“We actually have a birthday group coming in tonight,” Susan said. In fact, Huggy has been known to serenade customers with “Happy Birthday.”

“Happy Birthday in the style of Marilyn Monroe,” Huggy clarified with a smile.

“It’s free entertainment,” Susan added.

The bar can serve up pretty much any drink — beer, wine and mixed drinks — except frozen drinks, and even then, Docks has a signature margarita, though it is served on the rocks instead of over crushed ice.

And as with his past restaurants, Huggy will continue to cater events. He and Susan are particularly looking forward to catering once football season rolls around and people start asking for their specialty chicken wings.

“We cook them naked, then add our sauces and spices. The garlic-parmesan ones are very good,” Susan said.

The whole restaurant will be gearing up soon for football season.

“Starting football season, we are going to have specials all the time, for example wings, appetizers, dinner specials. Come in wearing your ‘colors’ — with five flat-screen TVs, we will have football games on all the time. Guaranteed fun will be had by all,” Huggy said.

With the varied menu, a focus on fresh food preparation and a split floor plan, Docks creates a challenging work environment — something Huggy says his staff is more than up to.

“In all my years running restaurants, this staff is the best I have ever worked with. I would put them up against any restaurant staff in Birmingham any day,” he said.

It’s a good thing, too, because Docks is already doing a brisk business, something Huggy and Susan only expect to increase.

“Business has really picked up. We have not really advertised. We wanted to make sure we have everything straightened out with food and the staff. But this past month, things have really kicked into gear,” Huggy said. “Sometimes, especially on Friday nights, it is standing room only.”

Though they are still working out the final business hours and adjusting their schedule around holidays and for seasonal changes, Docks currently is open Monday through Saturday at 11 a.m. until. Generally, the kitchen closes around 8:30 to 10 p.m., depending on customer demand. Likewise, the bar usually closes around 11 p.m. or so.

“This is not a late-night bar, but if people are still eating and drinking, we will stay open a little later,” Huggy said.

To keep up with Docks Bar and Grill, follow them on Facebook.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

Docks Fresh Broccoli Salad “This salad has bite and crunch and sweetness. Broccoli, crumbled bacon, raisins and nuts, with a smattering of red onion tossed in a mayonnaise-based dressing.”

INGREDIENTS: 2 heads fresh broccoli ¾ cup sliced almonds 1 red onion 1 cup mayonnaise ½ pound bacon ½ cup of white sugar ¾ cup of raisins 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar DIRECTIONS: Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces and cut the onion into thin bite-sized slices.

Combine with the bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix well. To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve. Makes 8 servings DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

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Crazy Horse

Stepping it up a notch

Chef Andre Peagler and owner Hunter Evans

Story by Graham Hadley Photos by Michael Callahan and Wallace Bromberg Jr. For the past few years, what started out as a hobby business in Argo has become a thriving restaurant.

Crazy Horse has become so popular, in fact, that the founder’s son came on board last year to help run the operation that has outgrown its current home and will be moving to a new building in late July or early August.

“Crazy Horse is moving to the old Town Hall and Fire Station, right there at Argo on Highway 11,” said owner Hunter Evans, who took over the restaurant for his father, Butch Evans.

The move from the current location on US 11 North in Argo is necessitated by the continually growing customer

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base Crazy Horse enjoys and a desire to step up the business a notch.

“I have always wanted to renovate an older building. I just walked into it because we were looking for a bigger building, and it just kind of came to me. I went back and started drawing it out on a piece of cardboard, and the ball started rolling.

“Every time I came and saw people standing out the door I kept thinking of that new location down the road,” Hunter said.

Crazy Horse would have been open at its present spot three years by this November, and the comfortable restaurant has been a success from the word go, breaking a long streak of bad luck for the building.

“Dad had always wanted to own a restaurant. I lived out of town at the time and this was not the location that I thought would make it — it was snake bit. … It had been

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

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Crazy Horse

Chef Andre Peagler works his magic in the kitchen.

Crazy Horse looks to have things on the menu that will draw customers from near and far.

The new Crazy Horse is almost ready. five different things in the last six or eight years, but nobody had made it,” Hunter said.

“He came in there, renovated the inside, gave it a much more clean and classy look and put up a few TVs to make it comfortable. He also brought in a good chef — our current chef and a chef from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. They got together and built the original dinner menu.”

Butch brought his own family’s experience with meats to the table, too, guaranteeing that Crazy Horse serves its customers some of the best cuts of meat around.

“His reputation in the meat business — my granddad started Southeastern Meats back in the 1960s, which he sold in 1998, and my dad then opened Evans Meats —that reputation just brought in a lot of new business,” he said.

He also kept the prices affordable — very affordable in the beginning, with an eye on drawing people not just from Argo, but from all over the region.

“The only way to draw people from the big chains is to cater to a wide variety, put something out there that people are willing to drive a ways to get.”

The restaurant quickly gained a reputation for its fine food, and not just dinner. Crazy Horse’s breakfasts also get high marks, with the Saturday breakfast crowd being

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

so large that they do not serve lunch that day.

“Most places that do the kind of dinner we do don’t do the kind of breakfast we do. It is amazing how fast we have people coming through here for breakfast. It is a slow Saturday morning if we have fewer than 200 people go through here,” Hunter said.

And the combination of high-quality food, relaxing atmosphere and good prices turned out to be the key to making the location a success. It has been so successful that Crazy Horse quickly became more than a simple hobby business for Butch.

“It got to where my dad was working — leave out of his office in Birmingham — Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and going straight to the restaurant, and then first thing every Saturday. If he was not at the meat house, he was at the restaurant. … It got to be more than he bargained for.”

So Hunter, who has also grown up in the meat business, came on board last year to help run Crazy Horse and take it to the next level.

“We are shooting for the new location to be open by the middle of August,” he said. “It is just going to be a whole different environment. We are stepping it up as far as atmosphere. There will be an upscale, western, stable feel to it.”

Hunter is a fan of the craftsmanship involved in brewing beer, especially those brewed locally in Alabama. They already use several of them in some of their recipes, and he wants to share that enthusiasm with their patrons.

“We will have locally brewed craft beers, mostly from Alabama, with a few specialty craft brewed beers from out of state.”

For anyone unfamiliar with craft beers, Hunter will have that covered, too.

“We are going to keep a gateway list. There are a lot of people who don’t understand craft beers, and that will help them learn their way around,” he said.

They also plan to serve wine with the food.

And for everyone who is accustomed to Crazy Horse’s outstanding food and familiar staff, expect to see them at the new restaurant, too. Hunter is quick to credit them with much of what makes Crazy Horse so special.

“It is our chef at night, Andre Peagler, who makes our dinner what is. I kind of throw ideas at him about meat cuts. … I will just throw an idea at him, something nobody else has heard of, and he will come back the next day and say sure, let’s put a sauce like honey bourbon glaze or smoked corn sauce on it. Those are just two he has come up with recently that are fantastic.

“He knows both ends of the business. He had been a sous chef. He works hard in the kitchen, but he also knows the finedining part of it,” Hunter said.

“And the breakfast and lunch is just as unique as dinner. I believe the quality of ingredients that goes into all of our menus is just something that’s hard to find. It’s Southern cuisine, but we put our own twist on things there, too.”

Crazy Horse is open for breakfast Tuesday through Saturday, lunch Tuesday through Friday, and dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

To find out more about Crazy Horse restaurant, follow it on Facebook.

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Business Review

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Crawford’s Nursery

Growing a family business 74

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

An early morning mist settled on the hues of green, red, pink and yellow, the sun peeking through up above to give each leaf or petal its own unmistakable sparkle. It’s business as usual for row upon row of foliage, flanked by a series of greenhouses. At 7:30, the gates open and so does Crawford’s Nursery, just as it has for three generations.

A line of traffic passes by on US 411 between Moody and Odenville, hardly noticing the scene on their speedy, daily trek. Will Crawford, the third in his family lineage to run this place, trims a plant while he tells the story.

His grandfather, Jack Crawford, bought the piece of property in 1978. Will is quick to add his grandmother’s name to the partnership, Norma Crawford. “He would agree she had a big part in this,” Will says. Jack, with the unwavering support of Norma, turned the little nursery into a thriving business.

He kept the day’s earnings in a box the present day Crawfords use as a first aid kit. Every evening he would carry his “cash drawer” home, and every night after a day’s work at the Irondale Library and supper with her husband, Norma would do the deposit.

Jack did landscaping, too, just like Will would in his own young life. But Jack eventually grew the nursery end of the business. “He loved growing plants more than any of us,” Will says. “He had a real passion for that.”

In 1990, the legacy would pass on to Jack’s son, Bill. Will’s father had been in the construction business and decided to get involved in the nursery.

Will describes his father as one who is committed, dedicating himself totally once he is involved. “He went to school at night and studied horticulture.”

He applied his construction experience to the business as well, expanding it to double its size. He used his background and contacts in the building industry to grow the contract landscaping part of the business. “It grew quite a bit” under his father’s leadership, he says.

The nursery continued its upward path over the next decade or so, and Will left his own landscape business behind and joined the effort. His sister, Ginger Hill, a talented landscape designer, did, too. These days she is focusing her efforts on motherhood, but Will thinks she may return to the family business.

For now, it’s Will carrying on the legacy with help from his father, who is retired. He applies the same principles of hard work and an eye toward the future, just like his father and his father’s father before him.

Together – one after the other – they have nurtured and grown a family business.

“Because of pricing wholesale to the public, we don’t have a big staff, but we try to offer all the services you get in a small garden store,” Will says.

“You can pick up a plant at a big-box store,” but they are not going to give you the same kind of help and advice about that plant. “We keep customers educated on what they are doing with their projects

Will Crawford

Acreage is full of a wide variety of plants.

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Business Review

Crawford Nursery

Rows of greenhouses hold landscape dreams

and try to give them good information.”

The nursery still sells to contract landscapers and builders. And it still encourages weekend projects around the house with design advice and tips on what to grow where.

“We’re not just a reseller.” Motioning around the 10-acre tract, he notes, “We grow a lot of plants here, which gives local customers a bit of an advantage.”

It’s not the only advantage. The relationships built over years with their customers who return again and again underscore that notion. It’s that familiar chord that seems to be struck when you drive in and see Mr. Tip, the mixed-breed dog who greets you. “He’s more of a staple around here than I am,” Will says. “He’s been around here his whole life. I’ve only been here since I was 14.”

And those family ties to the business strengthen with each year. He says he sees himself these days in a “fortunate position,” carrying on the family business. “But it’s a pretty big responsibility that comes along with it,” he adds. “You don’t want to be the person that dropped the ball.”

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Mr. Tip makes himself at home because he is home.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

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Business Review

Story and photos

by Graham Hadley

New businesses filling up

Cropwell Commons Magnolias has a bridal registry.

Sylacauga, and we hope to do the same thing here. We were lucky enough to have a bride come in and register our very first day,” she said.

They even sell specialty cakes from Sugaree’s Bakery, which are shipped in and kept in a special cooler.

“All you have to do is unwrap the cake and let it thaw. It makes you look like a great host with very little work,” Jordan said.

Jordan is also particularly proud of some of the fine jewelry they carry. “We try to be a one-stop shop where you can find your special gift and get it wrapped all in the same place,” she said.

You can follow the store on Facebook or online at magnoliasgiftshop.com

With the newly opened Docks Bar and Grill anchoring one end of Cropwell Commons in Pell City, two other businesses have opened at the other end of the shopping center in recent months.

Magnolias and The Pink Daisy Boutique are already drawing in customers, and the two new gift and clothing shops mean all the available stores in The Commons are full, something business owners say is good for everyone there because the diversity will attract more customers to the shopping center.

Magnolias

Magnolias, which opened Thursday, June 26, is the second store in the region for the company, said Jordan Hardy, who is managing this location.

The business, owned by her mother, Linda Hardy, opened its first store in Sylacauga in 1992. Following the success of that store, Magnolias was looking to expand.

“We looked at four different cities. Pell City looked like it was growing and would be a good fit for what we had in Sylacauga. Then everything fell into place for us,” Jordan said.

Magnolias’ moniker is “Gifts for all occasions,” with a wide variety of items, from picture frames, ceramics, candles, to jewelry and much more.

“We strive to have a variety of gifts — gifts for every occasion,” she said. “We are also known for our gift wrapping.

We do really elaborate wrapping of anything bought in the store.”

They also carry merchandise specifically tailored for bridal registries.

“Our bridal registry is a big part of our business in

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Pink Daisy owner has faith in new business

The Pink Daisy Boutique is the latest business venture for Teresa Springfield and one she quite literally has put lots of her faith in.

From the tags on the clothes and other merchandise, to the gospel music playing in the background to the Bible phrases on the walls, Teresa says the business is infused with the strength she says she and her husband find in Christianity.

“My husband and I know that God led us here to this. Our pastor preached on ‘With God, all things are possible’ the week before we opened,” she said. They had already picked out that phrase to go on the wall in the store, so it all fit.

Teresa previously owned Doodlebugs in downtown, but everyone thought they only carried children’s clothes. Looking to rebrand and a fresh start, she opened the Pink Daisy

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

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“We carry children’s and ladies clothes, gift ideas, jewelry and more,” she said. Palazzos are one of her more popular items right now.

Teresa is quick to point out much of her merchandise, including picture frames and candles, are locally or regionally made.

The Stack Candles they sell are made in Birmingham by another Christian-based business. “A friend thought those would be perfect in our store because we sell so many Christian-themed things,” she said.

The new location has been ideal for Teresa’s business, she said. “The community is very supportive. People are happy the Commons is filling up. Having everything full means more business for everyone. Ladies get their nails done, then go shopping,” she said. “It is also good being by the sports complex. Moms can go shopping while their kids practice and play ball there.

“It has been amazing to be doing business down here,” she said.

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Business Review

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Vulcan Industries expands in Moody When officials tossed the ceremonial shovelful of dirt in the air at Moody’s Vulcan Industries in June, it signaled a new era for the company and continued growth for the city.

Since locating in Moody in 1992, its employment roster has risen to more than 140 jobs. Officials broke ground on a $5.1 million expansion that will add seven more jobs plus 100,000 square feet to its Moody facility. The expansion will enable the company to consolidate its warehousing operation from other locations in another county.

“All of us at Vulcan Industries are very excited about expanding our facility here in Moody,” said Vice President and General Manager William Hutson. “The additional space will help our business continue to grow and to help create more jobs for the community.”

He credited the City of Moody, St. Clair County Economic Development Council and County Commission for facilitating the expansion through abatements and other assistance.

Moody Mayor Joe Lee sees “new possibilities” for his city because of Vulcan’s growth. “The development of the new facility brings several new jobs into the area along with the potential for additional growth.”

“The St. Clair County EDC is thrilled to have worked with Vulcan Industries on this project,” said EDC Chairman Tommy Bowers. “I am happy that they are one of our long-term existing employers and have chosen to continue to invest in Moody and St. Clair County.”

Vulcan was founded as a magazine rack designer and manufacturer in 1946 as a division of EBSCO Industries. Today, it is a leading producer in the country for fixtures, point-of-purchase and in-store merchandising displays.

You will find Vulcan’s handiwork in displays at 2,000 Home Depot stores across the country. Check out the display of Dunkin Donuts or peruse Golden Flake products displays and know that their origin is Moody, Alabama.

Walk into a Hard Rock Café these days in Florida and note Vulcan’s replica electric guitars used instead of nondescript poles in a rope line — all made in Moody.

Metal boxes for truck beds, audio-visual tables and book carts for schools and book returns for libraries are all made in Moody, too.

The company processes 400-500 tons of sheet metal per month to custom make its products that are sold in most of the eastern United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

“We are always eager to see our existing industries continue to expand in St. Clair County,” Commission Chairman Stan Batemon said. “Our county is proud to partner with our communities in supporting programs that provide our companies with the tools to compete domestically or internationally.”

F. Dickson Brooke Jr., president and CEO of EBSCO, thanked all involved in bringing the project to fruition, calling it a “cooperative spirit” that drove the company’s decision to spend its dollars in Moody.

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On the road to expansion

Employment is more than 140

An employee holds up a steel guitar replica that will be used in a Hard Rock Café as a post for a rope line.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

Dirt flies and growth isn’t far behind

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News one, just call us. You can spend as much or as little as you want and get a really nice gift,” he said. They even carry the spirit gear for supporting the community.

“I fell in love with helping people and being part of the community,” he said, noting that callers don’t get a recording. “We still answer the phone the old fashioned way.” There is also an emergency number to reach a pharmacist after hours if needed.

“We want to be a part of your family.

“This whole company was built on a handshake and family based values,” Eddy said. “It’s what I fell in love with — the feeling you get from helping someone in need. I want customers to know we’re here for you no matter what. It’s not just a slogan, it’s our way of life.”

Curt and Jennifer Eddy open their newest pharmacy.

Mainstreet Drugs & Gift Shop opens in Pell City When Curt Eddy thinks about the pharmacy business, he goes back to some of the philosophies he learned at his first job in a small hometown drugstore in Gadsden, Alabama — “take care of every patient just like you would take care of your own mother” and “treat every customer just as you would want to be treated.”

Today, as a pharmacist and owner of three drugstores in St. Clair County, he hasn’t strayed from those early lessons.

“We are your hometown drugstore,” he said. “We take pride in serving our community. We are involved with our schools, churches, senior centers, ball parks and various community events. We know our patients and their family members by name. That’s what has made us successful.”

Their stores feature state-of-the-art technology, like robotic prescription dispensing systems and Web-based smart phone refills, but it all has a hometown feel to it. Pharmacists take time with every customer to go over their medications and explain what they are taking, when to take it and why.

Eddy’s pharmacies offer free delivery service throughout St. Clair County, and surrounding areas. The Health Mart-affiliated pharmacy offers drive-thru service, cholesterol and diabetes screenings, blood pressure checks and vaccinations. State employees’ annual health screenings can also be conducted there.

In early July, Eddy and his wife, Jennifer, opened MainStreet Drugs & Gift Shop on Cogswell Avenue in downtown Pell City. It is their third venture, following Odenville Drugs and Ashville Drugs.

The gift shop is a new feature of the Eddys’ pharmacies. “If you need a baby gift or just something for that special some-

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HomeTown Lenders opens in Pell City Blending technology and traditional brick-and-mortar business, HomeTown Lenders has opened a new office in Pell City, offering mortgage financing with a complete range of programs and options.

Ryan Richardson is senior loan originator, and Jesse Ecker is a loan originator at the new location at 111 20th St. N. Richardson has been working in the mortgage business since 2002. He lives in Pell City and was given an opportunity to open this branch with stepson and business partner Ecker.

Ecker began his career in the mortgage business in 2007 and has been a top producer. He, too, lives in Pell City.

“We felt that having a local mortgage lender here in the community would allow us to reach out and give the people of Pell City that hometown business with a handshake feel,” Richardson said.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • August & September 2014

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