Discover The Essence of St. Clair December 2021 and January 2022

Artist Mary Ann Sampson • Epic Doll Collection • Huneycutt Family Carpenetti’s Pizza • Alliance K9 • Business Expansion 2021

December 2021 & January 2022

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Discover The Essence of St. Clair December 2021 & January 2022

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OUR SANTA

ART CREATIONS

ALL THE DOLLS

Making holiday season magic

Ragland’s Mary Ann Sampson

Moody collector’s amazing ‘finds’

Traveling the Backroads

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Huneycutt family history

Best of St. Clair Winners See the voting results

Page 16

Christmas in St. Clair Gifts for kids and teens

Page 40 Shopping for her this season Page 44 What to get the man in your life Page 48

Carpenetti’s

Best in St. Clair, best in state Page 52

About THE Cover

Page 58

St. Clair Business Looking back at 2021 a year of growth

Alliance K9 professional dog training opens

Page 68

Page 76 What’s Cooking?

Pell City food scene expands Page 80 Crawford Skinner honored Page 84 Top honors for Realtors Page 86

Sawyer Bain (left) and Emma Ellard spend a delightful day traveling out and about with Michael Gaither, better known as Santa. Photo by Kelsey Bain

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 and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University.

She serves as president/CEO of Partners by Design, which publishes Discover.

Joe Whitten Joe Whitten was born in Bryant on Sand Mountain. When he arrived in Odenville in 1961 to teach at St. Clair County High School, he found a place to call home. Joe was active in the Alabama Writers’ Conclave and the Alabama State Poetry Society. The society named him Poet of the Year in 2000. Joe has also published several local history books.

Loyd McIntosh Loyd McIntosh is a freelance writer and marketing professional originally from Trussville.

He has contributed to more than 30 online and print publications. Loyd is also a former reporter and sports writer for several newspapers throughout the Southeast, including The Daily Home, and was the managing editor for The Cahaba Times and Upper90 Magazine.

Linda Long Linda Long has worked in communications for more than 25 years in print, broadcast, nonprofit promotion and event planning and implementation. Her writing has appeared in publications across the state. She served as news and special projects producer for NBC13 News, where her work won national, regional and state honors, including two Emmy Award nominations.

Graham Hadley Graham Hadley is the managing editor and designer for Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine and also manages the magazine website. 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.

Elaine Hobson Miller

Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in journalism from Samford University.

She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. A former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine, she has written for a variety of local, regional and national publications.

Scottie Vickery Scottie Vickery is a writer with a degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and was a reporter for The Birmingham News.

Her first assignment was covering St. Clair and Blount counties. She has more than 30 years of writing and editing experience and her work has appeared in a variety of publications. She also has worked in the nonprofit industry.

Wallace Bromberg Jr. 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 B.A. 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.

Leigh Pritchett

Kelsey Bain

Leigh Pritchett is a wife and mother. She earned the Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Montevallo. In the late 1990s, she left a career with a New York Times Regional Newspaper to be a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer.

As the owner of Kelsey Bain Photography, Kelsey is a regular contributor of photos and editorials for our publications. An Alabama native and graduate of Auburn University, Kelsey now resides on Logan Martin lake with her husband Adam and their daughter, Sawyer.

Meghan Frondorf Meghan Frondorf is a professional photographer and co-founder of Mac+Meg Collective.

She has been doing photography for 12 years locally & across the country. She enjoys doing nature/freelance and lifestyle photography.

Eryn Ellard

Eryn Ellard is a freelance writer living in Pell City. She graduated with her B.A. in Journalism in 2010 from The University of Alabama. She has been published in The St. Clair News Aegis, Al.com and The Tuscaloosa News, which ultimately led to her securing an internship and becoming internationally published in Cosmopolitan Magazine in New York City.

From the Editor

It may be called ‘work,’ but it isn’t

It’s an old adage whose exact wording varies, but the meaning for me never wavers: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

It is a philosophy I have experienced throughout my careers, whether it was in the newspaper business or now, in magazines. Most days, I feel like I am one of the luckiest people around – doing what I love; loving what I do.

There’s not a mundane, monotonous day on the schedule. It seems there is always something new and different – new people to meet, captivating stories they share, out of the way places to discover.

That’s a day in the life of this life.

In putting together this issue of Discover, it brought that lesson home over and over again.

I got to meet a feisty 80-year-old artist who turned a 1910 bank building in Ragland into her working studio. Art in myriad forms adorn every wall, every nook, cranny and otherwise empty space.

An accomplished artist who makes books of art – from concept to artistic content to printing to binding using ancient techniques – she amazes not only with the art surrounding her, but the stories behind each piece and how she carefully preserves each of them.

You can tell by her eye’s twinkle she has many a story to tell from a life well lived – and loved, of course.

Much the same holds true for a paramedic by day and Santa Claus every time he gets the chance. He’s actually a professional Santa, and you can’t miss him – he’s the one in the red suit, white beard and an unending smile. That smile is more than a hint he loves what he does, too. His playful antics with kids and adults alike are guaranteed to make you smile right back.

How about a pizza maker of Italian descent in Moody who established an iconic eatery? Carpenetti’s – it’s what’s for

lunch … and dinner … and in between. Don’t miss how he tosses the dough high in the air, letting it settle on fingertips constantly in motion. Eventually, it’s baked to perfection, providing the foundation for what has now been named “Bama’s Best Pizza.”

It’s stories like these that we hunt like treasure, gifts to be shared, told and retold. It’s why I count myself so lucky, doing what I love, loving what I do and being able to share these finds with you.

There’s plenty more in this issue of Discover. Turn the page and discover them all with us.

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

December 2021 & January 2022 • Vol. 63 • www.discoverstclair.com

Carol Pappas • Editor and Publisher Graham Hadley • Managing Editor and Designer Dale Halpin • Advertising Toni Franklin • Graphic Designer Brandon Wynn • Director Online Services

A product of Partners by Design www.partnersmultimedia.com 1911 Cogswell Avenue Pell City, AL 35125 205-335-0281

Printed at Russell Printing, Alexander City, AL 7

The act of

Creation Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Meghan Frondorf

Mary Ann Sampson, artist extraordinaire 8

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Artist turns old Ragland bank building, own creations into works of art Ragland artist Mary Ann Sampson is perhaps best known as a book artist whose handmade creations “are a personal stage and a memory stick for a life lived.” Dig a little deeper, and you soon discover that her portfolio, much like her life, is diverse, rich and ever-changing.

In addition to creating hundreds of one-ofa-kind books that are featured in national and international collections, she counts sculptures, drawings, paintings, etchings and photographs among her work. A former nurse, Sampson changed course and followed her passion for art after she married and had a child.

Today, at 80 years old, Sampson is still finding new ways to express herself, whether through new art mediums, singing or most recently, tap dancing. “I’ll try almost anything,” she said. “I’ve been real fortunate to have lots of ways to self-express.”

Many of those forms of self-expression were on display this past spring at the Gadsden Museum of Art, which hosted a retrospective exhibit of Sampson’s work. “I put together a lot of things I’d never shown before – drawings, etchings, as well as books,” she said.

“My studio is filled with stuff now that I don’t know what to do with.”

Ray Wetzel, director of the art museum and curator of the collection, praised her unique works. “Her artwork is full of complicated simplicity in the way of the labor and craftsmanship of these delicate paper constructions that oftentimes look machine made,” he said. “It is the same passion that goes into her work that gives me a sense of calm that within the chaos hidden in her work she is also telling the viewer everything will be all right.”

Childhood influences Born in a small town in North Carolina, young Mary Ann spent a lot of time on her grandparents’ farm, which laid the foundation for her love for rural life. “I loved the freedom of barefoot days and playing until sunset with my cousins,” she said.

She also remembers creating masterpieces at the kitchen table with her two sisters. The

Wall-to-wall art, handmade books and other creations found throughout studio

Ragland Bank, built in 1910

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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The act of

Creation Samples of compelling work and photos of stories that inspire her to create more

Looking over part of book display shown at Gadsden Museum of Art

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young artists were inspired by their mother’s cousin, Ruth Faison Shaw, the originator of finger painting. A teacher in Rome during World War II, Shaw was inspired when she saw a child with a cut finger smearing iodine on the walls. She later developed finger paints and had them patented in 1931.

“We would just get in the kitchen and paint that way, and I loved playing in the paint,” Sampson said, adding that she enjoyed smearing the different colors together on the paper to see what took shape. She also loved drawing and making scrapbooks, and she remembers being encouraged by her firstgrade teacher, Mrs. Woodard. “I always loved my teachers who had artwork plastered all around the walls,” she said. “She was very instrumental in instilling a love of art in me.”

Sampson’s father worked at a hardware store, and her mother later became a seamstress to bring in some extra money. “She had a treadle sewing machine,” which was powered by a foot pedal, Sampson said. “Mom taught us to sew long before we took it in high school.”

Today, Sampson has two sewing machines, including her mother’s, and she uses the skills she learned as a child to bind many of the books she creates. “She was very methodical, and I think I get a lot of that pickiness and attention to detail from her,” Sampson said. “Of course, I can be very messy in my painting, too.”

Despite a lifelong love of art and the desire to pursue it in college, Sampson took the more practical route and went to nursing school at Wake Forest University. A nurse for 10 years, she fell in love with a medical student she met at the hospital.

She and Larry Sampson were married in 1964, just before he joined the Army and was stationed in Texas and Vietnam.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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The act of

Creation Front room gallery just the beginning of intriguing works

Upon his return in 1966, they moved to Birmingham where he did his residency at UAB, and she was a cardiac nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital. He later opened his dermatology practice in Birmingham’s eastern area and practiced medicine for more than 30 years.

Through it all, Sampson’s passion for art never wavered, and when daughter Anna was 2, she returned to school to study art.

She attended both Birmingham-Southern College and Samford University, eventually earning a double major in art and Spanish. “It took a long time because I was married and had a family, but I finally graduated in 1982,” she said.

After graduation, she rented studio space in Birmingham from an artist friend who owned a printing press, which intrigued Sampson. “I loved printmaking,” she said. “I love the surprises you get when you run something through the ink.

You’re never quite sure how the etching and scratching will turn out.”

A simpler life After a few years of renting a space, Sampson knew it was time to find a permanent home for her studio. “I had looked in Birmingham, but I couldn’t find anything I could afford,” she said. “Mostly lawyers could afford what I was looking at, and I knew my income wasn’t going to be anything like that.”

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One of her prized books

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Her very own printing press She and her husband owned a tract of land in St. Clair County, and she realized a return to the rural lifestyle she loved as a child was beckoning. She eventually bought the old twostory Ragland Bank, built in 1910, and renovated it for her studio.

“We were driving through Ragland one day, and I saw this turn-of-the-century building,” she said. “The roof had fallen in, it was boarded up in places, and there was a big faded ‘For Sale’ sign on it. It was just the kind of structure I was in the market for. I said, ‘Larry, stop! That’s it, that’s it!’”

Just as she does with her art, Sampson poured her heart into renovating the building. “It didn’t cost a lot of money to buy it, but it took a pile of it to get it up to snuff,” she said. After calling in a friend who had helped restore Sloss Furnaces, she replaced the roof – twice – during the renovation process. Since the mortar between the bricks had literally turned to sand, workers had to remove each brick by hand and rebuild and mortar the entire structure. “I was working in there throughout all of this,” Sampson said.

By the book After participating in a book arts workshop at the University of Alabama, Sampson’s interest was piqued. When she attended a show of artists’ books in Richmond, Va., her future path was set. “I fell in love with them,” she said, of the handmade books.

“I just loved the way you could express yourself in an artistic way through books.”

She began to experiment with using books as an art form and was intrigued by the possibilities. “If you’re a painter, you use a brush and paint. In book arts, you don’t have the canvas. You take the quality or essence of what a book is and make it into a place where you put your art,” she said.

She took workshops with some of the greats in the book arts world, including Keith Smith and Tim Ely, and she began creating and showing some of her own works of art. She bought a letterpress for her studio, and she also began experimenting with binding techniques. Inspired to learn all she could, she eventually earned a master’s in book arts at the University of Alabama.

“When I started doing books, I just stuck with it and kept going until I had enough to do a show. When the first piece sold, it just happened,” Sampson said, seemingly still amazed by the good fortune. “I just kept exploring, and it just happened.”

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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The act of

Creation

Sampson said she has always been interested in the human form, and much of her work reflects that. “My subject matter is usually puppets, string people and articulated figures,” she said.

“I have a real interest in how the human figure wiggles about.”

Many of Sampson’s books are letterpress, one of the oldest forms of printing, and she painstakingly creates them letterby-letter in her studio using a variety of beautiful papers.

Letterpress “has this beautiful history that dates back hundreds of years. I can get excited about different kinds of type, but I’m sure the world couldn’t care less,” she said with a laugh.

In addition to painting covers, printing the words – many of the books feature poetry – and illustrating with pencils or paints, Sampson uses a variety of materials, including cloth and leather. She binds her own books, sewing some and using paste, linen thread or wire for others. “I just love to explore new mediums.”

As one show led to another and then another, Sampson began making a name for herself. She met Bill and Vicky Stewart, owners of Vamp & Tramp, Booksellers, who traveled the country selling artwork and books. “They carried some of my first books with them and sold every book I had,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have someone take the time and their good, hardearned money to invest in what you’ve done.”

Sampson named her studio the One-Eye Opera Company, a nod to some of her early book creations that focused on music themes. She founded the OEOCO Press (using the initials of her studio’s name) with the mission of creating limited-edition, letterpress and one-of-a-kind books. In addition to creating her own, she has collaborated with other artists and poets on unique art pieces.

Although she has some individual book collectors who own her work, “the public doesn’t know what to do with artists’ books, by and large,” she said. Many of her pieces, which range from hundreds of dollars to thousands, are in library collections, and Vanderbilt University boasts one of the largest collections of her works. Her books have found homes and been exhibited all over the world – from Tennessee, North Carolina and New York City to Canada, Mexico City and Germany.

A quieter life Although she is still creating, Sampson, who has macular degeneration in one eye, is no longer setting the type for her books. Her artwork temporarily took a backseat for about six years after their Shoal Creek Valley home was destroyed by a tornado in 2011 and while her husband, who passed away in 2017, battled Parkinson’s disease. She now lives just next door to their original home in an old house made from lumber from the Moundville train depot. “Everyone calls it Railroad House,” she said. “It’s an interesting home. It’s small, but it’s all I need.”

She spends her days enjoying the quiet and visiting with friends and family, including her daughter, son-in-law and grandsons, who live nearby. She also enjoys gardening and discovering new talents. For the past year, she’s been taking voice lessons and learning to tap dance. “I sing in the choir, and I’d been wanting to take voice lessons to learn more about singing and projecting,” she said.

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Creativity shows throughout.

Inspired by the Mona Lisa, she has a wall filled with references to her – even a modern day obituary with Mona Lisa listed as a survivor.

After enrolling in a voice class at Shalita Clark’s studio in Springville, Sampson was persuaded to take a tap class, as well. “I’m learning a lot, and I got to dance onstage at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center,” Sampson said. “I’m having a lot of fun.”

She’s also enjoying being back in the studio and playing around with new techniques. Most recently, she experimented with a painting technique that uses oils and cold wax, relying on YouTube videos for instruction. “I don’t have much hope for this, but I still enjoy experimenting with new mediums,” she said.

That’s because, as an artist, she can’t stop creating. “It’s a passion,” she said. “You just love it and are so grateful that you can do it.” l

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Huneycutt Family History A story for the ages

The house as it looks today 16

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Story by Joe Whitten Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. Submitted Photos Many late-Victorian-style cottages remain in St. Clair County, and one of the loveliest is the c1891 home of 80-yearold Maurice Huneycutt, who has cherished and restored this ancestral home.

“My great-grandfather, William Henry McConnell, built the house. He was married to Salome Ash,” a descendant of the John Ash family and for whom Ashville was named. After William Henry died in 1930 and Salome in 1932, “grandmother and granddaddy bought out the other heirs for this place – house and about 38 acres.”

Maurice’s grandmother, Velma McConnell, grew up in this house. She married Arthur Huneycutt, who lived a short distance from them on today’s U.S. 174. They lived in Birmingham for a while, then on Blount Mountain. When the Great Depression swept the country, they moved to the homeplace around 1931 or ‘32.

Maurice was born in 1941 in this house. “Some of my first memories,” recalls Maurice, “was playing under the house using a tablespoon and a toy truck to build roads. There was no underpinning, so it was light under there.”

In the 1940s and ‘50s, families had gardens and raised beef and pork for food. “We had a garden and cows and pigs and beehives,” Maurice reminisced. “We had turkeys and chickens for eggs and meat. We had a salt box to store the pork in and a smokehouse to smoke bacon and hams. The fat was rendered into lard – nobody used Crisco or cooking oil in those days. My grandmother milked the cow every morning, and we had fresh milk, cream and butter all the time.”

Water for the family came from the front yard well still kept under a roofed shelter today. “The well water was cool and tasted wonderful. Our well was freestone, and the water was the best around. On Sunday, the church people would come here and draw a bucket.”

Pat and Maurice’s parents were Annis Redwine and Maurice “Boots” Huneycutt, Sr. The nickname “Boots” came from his love of wearing boots, and everyone in Beaver Valley knew him as Boots. He was a butcher working in Birmingham when he met Annis. “The Redwines were from Hampton, Ga., and had come to Birmingham. She worked at Pizitz’s candy counter, and that’s probably where she met Daddy,” Maurice recounted.

Boots and Annis married in 1932, and had two children, Patricia, born in 1934, and Maurice Edwin, Jr., born in 1941.

For a while, the family lived near Atlanta where Boots had a job. “We were way out in the country,” Pat laughed, “and it was lonesome. They said I would sit and carry my coat. I wanted to go back, so finally my granddaddy, Arthur, came and got me.

We came back to Odenville.

Boots worked hard, and in the early years of married life, he raised vegetables to sell to supplement his regular job. “I heard my mother tell about one year my father plowing two oxen,” Maurice chuckled. “They said people laughed at him about the oxen, (but) he made a good crop.” Boots took the vegetables in his buggy to the Margaret coal mines “and sold them to the miners for clacker,” Maurice said. “Clacker” was the term used for coins the mines paid the workers with. You could take the clacker to the company store and get food, shoes or whatever you needed.” With the clacker, Boots traded at the company store.

Arthur Huneycutt, Boots’ father-in-law, worked as a foreman

Boots and his dogs

at the Pullman Plant in Birmingham. He helped Boots and a number of Odenville men get jobs at Pullman. These men, Maurice said, “would ride Mize Bus Line on Sunday night and come back home on Friday night. Glen Stevenson drove the bus. It was white with blue stripes.” The men boarded in the city during the week, and on Friday night, some of the men had nipped the bottle before they bid Glen Stevenson goodnight.

And liquor almost killed Boots and changed the Huneycutt story. For all of Boots’ hard work providing for the family, when the craving took hold, it took over. It happened the evening of Christmas Day in the mid-1950s.

Boots and family had spent the day with daughter Pat and her husband, Henry Coshatt. Back home in Odenville, one of Boots’ drinking friends came by. “When they got together,” Maurice reflected, “they would get very drunk, and it would be bad for a day or two.” Annis and Maurice begged Boots not to go, but their pleas went unheeded. He left, and “the next day, no word from him, and the next day nothing. So, we started the ‘find Boots’ routine.” This included calling the jails, the drinking places and the hospitals.

It took three or four days, but they located him in an Anniston hospital. He and his friend had wrecked, and Maurice remembered that the ambulance driver said he thought Boots was dead, so he stopped for a soft drink. “Boots went through the windshield. Broke his leg above the knee and cut his throat, leaving a scar of about 6 or 7 inches and 1-inch wide.”

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Huneycutt family group at McConnellHuneycutt House Annis had Boots transferred to the VA hospital in Birmingham. A month later, he came home in a body cast, and lay in bed flat on his back for eight months. His leg never healed properly, and he limped when he walked again. In his early 40s, Boots never worked again.

From this tragedy, there came to be a café called Huneycutt’s Country Kitchen. Annis Huneycutt was a woman of indominable spirit – the “unsinkable Huneycutt matriarch” of Odenville. From the tragedy, a family and a community combined forces to build a café still fondly remembered by older folk today – Huneycutt’s Country Kitchen.

“We had to make a living.” Maurice remembered, “and we had no money,” So, with three related superb cooks – Annis, her mother-in-law, Velma McConnell Huneycutt, and Velma’s sister, Claire McConnell Scoggins – why not a snack bar or even a café established in Odenville?

Ed Fulmer owned nine small lots along Beaver Creek where MAPCO is today at the corner of Alabama Street and U.S. 411.

The Huneycutts bought them, but they required fill dirt to raise them above floodplain. Dwight Blocker, although crippled by arthritis, drove the dump truck and filled in the lots.

With the site ready, Maurice and his grandaddy tore down the homeplace barn to construct a building. “It had wide boards, and all that lumber was straight,” Maurice said. “We had three syrup buckets for different sized nails. The nails had a little bend, and you’d lay ’em down and hit ’em one time and they’d be straight. With a handsaw, a hammer, a hatchet, a level, a square, a plumb bob and chalk line, we built that snack bar out of old heart pine 12- to 15-inch-wide boards. My Uncle Bill Redwine wired it, and George Mize came by and gave us directions.”

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Pat and Henry Coshatt They bought finishing material at Sears and put it on their ‘Easy Payment’ charge account. Mr. Granger from Sears helped them with selecting the materials.

“We put the gas in through a hole in the wall,” Maurice laughed, “and built a frame out of 2x4s to set a grill on. Then we took the stove and refrigerator out of our house down there and started cooking – hotdogs, hamburgers and stuff like that.

“Grandma would cook vegetables up at her house, and Aunt Claire would cook the pies. My job was to get in the car – I was about 15 and didn’t have a driver’s license – but I’d get the vegetables at Grandma’s and then go to Aunt Claire’s and get the pies.”

Things progressed, and community folk pitched in to help make the business a success. Ben Vandegrift gave them his barber shop, which the Huneycutts “tore down and put the nails in a bucket” and built onto the snack bar. “We put a sink and the stove in there.” Then, Mr. Hoover, who had a farm in Odenville, “gave us a house in Ensley. So, we went down there and tore it down. Charlie Mordiccai let us borrow his dump truck, and we’d load the lumber on it and bring it home.” With this material, Lester and Burt Cash extended the kitchen and built a wing onto the snack bar, and the Huneycutt Country Kitchen came to be.

“Back in those days,” Pat commented, “nobody had any money, and we didn’t know the difference.” Maurice added, “You did whatever you had to, and you did it yourself.”

Maurice continued reminiscing. “Granddaddy found the windows on the railroad. So, we put hinges on top of them, and we put an eye on the bottom and had a coat hanger hanging down that we hooked the window to. None of ’em ever fell and hit anybody! That was in the snack bar. In the new part, we

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Traveling the

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used the windows out of the building we tore down in Ensley.”

The school recognized that Boots and Annis needed Maruice’s help during their lunch hours. They worked his schedule so he had study hall, lunch and PE, one right after the other, so Maurice could help during rush hour. After school, he worked until 9 p.m. “We’d clean after breakfast, after lunch and at night. On Monday night, we waxed the floors.”

Oldtimers remember the café as being immaculate.

The new wing provided more seating for regulars, so, Boots and Annis hired other local good cooks, Missouri Patmon and Ozella Smith. Word began to spread, “There’s a good little café in Odenville.” So, when someone passed though Odenville and stopped to eat, on Sunday, he’d bring his family for lunch after church. Claire’s son, Henry Scoggins, was in Atlanta and someone asked where he lived. When he told them, Odenville, Alabama, the person responded, “Oh, they’ve got the best restaurant there!”

Sundays became very busy. “Most of our trade was from Birmingham and Leeds,” Maurice recalled. “We had so many come they couldn’t all get in, so we built a cover where they could wait in line. We could seat 30 at a time” Of course, many Odenville citizens made Huneycutt’s their regular eating place. Maurice remembered Mable and William Forman, Garland and Sis Fortson, and Steve and Evelyn Mize dining there almost every day.

It was hard work. “When I went to work, I’d took a picture of the café and put it on the wall. No matter how bad it got, I’d look at the picture and say, ‘I’m better off now than I was then.’”

Boots became an iconic part of the café, and his memory brings a smile to those who remember him. One story involves a customer who had moved to Odenville “from up north,” who asked for “iced coffee.” Boots slammed a cup and saucer down, filled the cup with coffee, threw an ice cube in it and said, “There’s your iced coffee.” This customer is remembered as knowing how to “pull Boots’ chain.”

Pat recalled Boots’ encounter with the Alabama health inspector. “The health department would always come in at lunchtime – busiest time of the day. They came in one time, and it made Boots mad. He picked up a hammer and said, ‘You come in here at lunchtime! Don’t ever come in here at lunchtime again.’ They said, ‘Oh, no, no, we won’t come at lunchtime again.’’

Sales tax collection was another thorn in Boots’ side. “A long time ago,” Maurice laughed, “the sales tax man would come to your place to collect. He’d say you owe us so much, and that would be it. So, Daddy got a length of pipe and took a hatchet and clinched one end and nailed it next to the cash register. He said, ‘Every day when we close, figure out how much the sales tax is and put it in that pipe.’ So, every night we’d put in the quarters and dimes and nickels in that pipe. So, the next time he comes to collect the tax, he got out his calculator, but Daddy hops over and gets the pipe and empties it out. The money spilled all over the table, the floor and rolled against the walls.

Daddy said, ‘There it is.’”

In spite of his impatience, Boots was also a man of kindness and compassion. “He always looked out for the underdog” Maurice commented. For instance, if the sheriff, transporting prisoners, stopped for lunch at the café, Boots would take

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Clair McConnell Scoggins, Arthur and Velma McConnell Huneycutt hamburgers or hotdogs to the prisoners. He gave the food to them, but the sheriff had to pay. Boots and Annis also provided meals to folks who were shut-in or needy.

The most well-remembered act of kindness is their taking into their home Wayne Franklin. Maurice recalls the first time he met Wayne in the 1950s. “I heard this awful crying or screaming noise, so I went out to see what was happening. I see this kid, seven or eight years old, running down the road.”

Maurice couldn’t understand what the child tried to say, but knowing he was scared, he took him into the house. He calmed down and told him his name was Wayne and where he lived – quite a way from the Huneycutt home. When he’d got home from school, his grandmother wasn’t there, so he started out. The Huneycutts took him home and waited for his grandmother, Sal Betts, to arrive.

Later, Mrs. Betts and Wayne lived in a tar-paper cover building across the highway from the café, and that’s when the relationship with Wayne began. Wayne’s parents were dead, and Mrs. Betts was destitute. Boots and Annis both had tender hearts for the less fortunate folk. “Wayne started hanging around the café,” Maurice reminisced. “Boots always loved the underdog, and my mother just took Wayne under her wing.

He stayed with us most of the time. Tom, the Coca-Cola man, would pay Wayne to stack empty bottles in the cases, and he bought Wayne a blue and white coat.”

Wayne was a happy boy with the Huneycutts. However, school was another matter. He had a speech impediment, and he couldn’t read, so the school placed him in the Special Education class. He was smart in other ways and could learn.

He suffered from dyslexia before this was understood or help for these students was available in public schools.

Mrs. Betts died, and Wayne lived in the Huneycutt home.

One day an aunt and her husband from Florida, who had somehow heard about Wayne, showed up in Odenville and

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BACKROADS packed him off to live with them. “I do not think,” Maurice observed, “that they understood his reading problems. But these people were real and took Wayne with them.”

They didn’t hear anything from Wayne for a long time, until one Sunday afternoon, Wayne was back.

“We were glad to see him,” Maurice said. “The aunt said Wayne wanted to live with us, and Daddy said, ‘That’s just fine,’ and we moved him in. The aunt said that it hadn’t worked out as they had hoped it would.”

The Florida folk left, and then the Huneycutts learned what happened when it didn’t “work out.”

Wayne had a grandfather living in the woods of Montana. The aunt wrote a tag with Wayne’s name and where he was going, pinned it to the blue and white coat that Coca-Cola Tom had given him, put him on a Greyhound Bus and sent him to Montana.

At the Montana destination, nobody was there to meet him. A policeman took him home with him then got him to the grandfather.

A Montana newspaper wrote a story about his trip and mentioned he was hard to understand because of his Southern accent. Maurice recalled Wayne’s telling him his grandfather taught him to hunt and that they lived off the land. When his grandfather died, Montana sent him back to Florida and from Florida, he arrived back home with the Huneycutts in Odenville.

Boots and Annis sent him to Gadsden Trade School where he finished cabinet making and learned a trade.

He married and had children. His first son he named Paul after his friend, Paul Loren in Odenville. He owned and operated The Shelby County Woodworks and made a good living for his family until his death in a car wreck.

Maurice said of Boots, “Daddy was always in trouble. He didn’t conform. But at his funeral, there were people standing in the parking lot because they couldn’t get in the church.”

Of Annis, Pat commented, “Her background was Hampton, Ga. They had a big country place there.

She was more like a refined Southern lady.” Those who remember her would agree. In her speech, Annis retained the soft vowels of her Georgia years. She had a distinctive laugh that was joyful and contagious.

Reflecting on the difficult times, Pat said, “Mama just took everything in stride and kept working.”

Maurice agreed, adding, “That’s what she did. She had a pretty bad time with some of the things that went on.” He paused in memory, then said, “She always worked hard.”

This quotation by Leonard da Vinci applies to Annis: “People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life.”

But it was perhaps a granddaughter who described her best: “(She) showed us all how to be strong and resilient,” for Annis had held a family together by the strength of her character and spirit. l

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Huneycutt’s Country Kitchen

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Boots and Annis Huneycutt, and Jack Roberts

Kathy Haynes holds a rare, Black Chatty Cathy doll.

ALL THE DOLLS! Moody collector amazes with her ‘finds’

Story by Leigh Pritchett Photos by Kelsey Bain Kathy Haynes’ house is full of babies ... about a thousand of them actually.

She is not like the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe and “had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.” Quite the contrary, Mrs. Haynes knows exactly how to treat each one of hers. And there is always room for one more.

“I am one of those crazy doll ladies,” said Mrs. Haynes, who lives in Moody. “This is what I do. It is my hobby.”

Her collection of dolls encompasses more than 160 years. Every doll has a unique story, and Mrs. Haynes can easily recount the fine details of each.

One – an Effanbee Rosebud – spent much of its life in England, but somehow ended up in a Huffman antique shop where Mrs. Haynes bought her. She found some of her other dolls in thrift stores, garage sales, estate or doll sales and websites.

At a thrift store, she discovered a 1970s, red-haired Blythe doll that still worked and wore original clothes.

“She was perfect, missing a shoe. I paid 59 cents for her and turned around that night and sold her for $1,000,” Mrs. Haynes said.

She found a Madame Alexander portrait doll in an Irondale thrift store. “I got her for $12.”

A 1950s Miss Revlon came from yet another thrift store.

Miss Revlon cost Mrs. Haynes about $15. “Isn’t that unreal? But you have to know what you’re looking for,” Mrs. Haynes said.

The oldest of her brood is a flat-top, China-head doll Mrs. Haynes got for $15 at an antique store in Crestline.

That treasure, dating to the 1860s, required a week of work to get all the cat hair off the dress.

The next oldest would be from the late 1800s, a Martha Chase doll and a papier mache doll with original clothes and, from around 1915, an Armand Marseille doll and two Kestner 171 dolls. The papier mache doll was a $10, thrift-store find.

Her collection fills several curios in her living room and dining room. Additionally, hundreds of dolls are on display in a designated room. A select few grace a guest room.

Her treasure trove also includes an Armand Marseille Queen Louise (circa 1915); Bye-Lo dolls with bisque or composite heads; Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls (1930s and ‘40s); Skookum Indian doll with papoose (1940s); Betsy McCall and large Mary Jane Effanbee dolls (1950s); Annalee soft-sculpture dolls; Barbies and more Barbies (1950s and across the decades); Little Miss Echo (1960s), and modern American Girl dolls, among others.

“I have a wide variety,” Mrs. Haynes said.

Kathy Haynes’ doll collection is about 1,000 strong.

Vintage Barbies from the 1960s to the early 1970s

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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DOLLS! A LOVE OF TEACHING, HISTORY For 30 years, Mrs. Haynes taught language and history to preteens in Trussville. She used an interactive method of teaching that, for example, encouraged students to “be” Egyptians for a day as they learned about the country. Mrs. Haynes would dress that day as Cleopatra.

Her whole family, in fact, is dedicated to conveying and preserving history. Husband Bob taught advance placement history to 10th and 11th graders in Trussville. Their son, Josh, has assumed that helm, along with coaching scholars’ bowl.

Mrs. Haynes cherishes things reminiscent of her childhood and items with a story, such as antique pieces handed down in the family. She collects cookie jars, Hummels, green and pink Depression Era glass, Byers Carolers, Raggedy Ann and Andy and stuffed bears.

One of the bears was created by Trussville doll artist Jan Shackelford.

Even the family pets have their stories. Chance, for instance, is a rescue dog. Mrs. Haynes said her husband gave the dog that name because “we were giving him a chance, and he was giving us a chance.”

Because of her love for history, Mrs. Haynes said the intriguing background of Alabama Baby dolls would make them the dearest in her collection.

According to the Library of Congress and The American Folklife Center, Alabama Baby dolls were made in Roanoke, Ala., by Ella Gauntt Smith. In 1897, a neighborhood girl brought her broken bisque doll to Smith to repair. Smith was a seamstress, whose hymn-singing parrot would sit on her shoulder while she worked.

Smith experimented two years before finding the right method to repair the doll. From that, her doll-making business was born. In 1901, Smith received her first patent (albeit in her husband’s name). At the height of her business, about a dozen women worked with her, helping to create the plaster-headed dolls with fabric bodies. She was the first southern doll maker to produce Black dolls.

“These dolls are very special,” said Mrs. Haynes, who has four Alabama Baby dolls. One is a rare, barefoot Alabama Baby.

Though Alabama Baby dolls are Mrs. Haynes’ favorite, Chatty Cathy dolls would be a close second.

She has more than 100 Chatty Cathy dolls. She pulled the cord on one doll to demonstrate that its talk box still functions like new. “Tell me a story,” the doll proclaimed; with a subsequent pull, the doll asked, “Will you play with me?”

Smiling, Mrs. Haynes said, “I think she is a doll. Well, she is a doll!”

The different family groupings of Chatty Cathy dolls that Mrs. Haynes has assembled constitute a collection within a collection. She has Charmin’ Chatty, Chatty Baby, Tiny Chatty Baby, Chatty Brother and Singin’ Chatty dolls.

They feature varying styles and colors of hair, but almost all are wearing original outfits. Mrs. Haynes noted that Barbie and Chatty Cathy dolls shared the same fashion designer.

Holding a Black Tiny Chatty Baby doll, Mrs. Haynes remarked that very few of them were made. “Isn’t she cute?” Mrs. Haynes asked.

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An Armand Marseille Queen Louise doll dates to about 1915. An American Character Toodles with “follow me” eyes is in the background.

Ella Smith Alabama Baby, made in Roanoke, Ala., circa 1900

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

DOLLS! Mrs. Haynes also has rare Canadian Chatty Cathy dolls, which, unlike their American cousins, have glass eyes and pinker skin tones.

“I think I have about 10 Canadian ones in all,” she said.

When Mrs. Haynes was a child, her beloved Chatty Cathy doll was accidentally left in a park one day. She and her mother returned quickly to look for it, but the doll was gone.

Decades later, when Mrs. Haynes was in her 30s, her husband bought a blonde Chatty Cathy to replace the one she had lost.

“I just have a very sweet husband, ... a blessing from the Lord, ... a good Christian man,” Mrs. Haynes said.

Bob’s gift sparked 30 years of doll collecting, which has become an activity the couple enjoys together.

“He has always supported me,” Mrs. Haynes said. “...

Bob just got into (doll collecting) with me. He went to doll shows with me. Now, he can tell you as much about Chatty Cathy as I can.”

Sharon Kirby of Vestavia Hills, who is president of The Birmingham Doll Club of Alabama, noted Mrs. Haynes’ extensive knowledge about Chatty Cathy dolls.

She said Mrs. Haynes, who is first vice president, gave a presentation on Chatty Cathy to the club, which is the oldest United Federation of Doll Clubs (UDFC) group in the state. Kirby was so impressed with the presentation that she has encouraged Mrs. Haynes to give it at other UDFC groups.

“She just did a really wonderful job. ... You could tell she was a teacher. ... Everyone learned a lot,” Kirby said.

Kirby mentioned the interesting bit of trivia that Chatty Cathy and “Rocky” of the cartoon “Rocky and Bullwinkle” were voiced by the same person, June Foray.

Both Kirby and Mrs. Haynes said dolls not only offer a look into the past, but also preserve snippets of yesteryear.

“Dolls are a form of art,” Mrs. Haynes said. “They are also a part of our history.”

Kirby added, “Dolls kind of represent a snapshot of history at the moment – the fashion, the trends, I guess even the materials available.” They exemplify technology from their particular era, such as the mechanism that allowed Chatty Cathy to speak.

Through the generations, dolls have helped to teach children to use zippers and buttons, to nurture and “even to cut hair,” Kirby said, with a chuckle. “... If you like dolls, you see the beauty and value in them.”

Barbara Eiland of Trussville said she likes to see Mrs. Haynes’ “amazing” assortment of dolls. “They’re very interesting.”

Eiland, a long-time friend, described Mrs. Haynes as a caring person who diligently and lovingly attends to the needs of family, relatives, friends and neighbors. Mrs. Haynes is thoughtful, too, she said. After learning that Eiland, as a girl, loved Penny Brite dolls, Mrs. Haynes got her one.

“I thought that was so sweet of her to do that,” Eiland said. “... That meant a lot to me.” l

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Kathy is surrounded

by Chatty Cathy dolls.

Grace Putnam Bye-Lo babies from the 1920s and ‘30s and an Armand Marseille Dream Baby

Blythe dolls were made in 1972.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

A look at what the holiday season has in store this year

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Santa Has Come to Town A surprised Emma Ellard (left) and a curious Sawyer Bain chat with Santa at Lakeside Park

Story by Eryn Ellard Photos by Kelsey Bain Every year, millions of bright-eyed, mystified children are tucked into their beds on Christmas Eve, too excited to sleep, for it is the night that unites children across the globe.

It’s the night Santa Claus takes flight, his sleigh guided by nine reindeer who will be visiting their homes, bringing toys and treats, and on Christmas morning, children across the world rush to see what St. Nick has brought them.

Santa Claus is pure magic, and his visits create memories that last well into adulthood.

For St. Clair County native Michael Gaither, his heart for St. Nick never left him after childhood, and he finds passion, purpose and joy each year embodying Santa for St. Clair County and the region.

Gaither will put on his red suit, black boots, belt complete with intricate embellishments for the third year this Christmas season and will be quite busy visiting children and adults alike – making his list and checking it twice.

Gaither is not only jolly St. Nick during the holidays, but a registered nurse for over 26 years, a paramedic and firefighter starting with the Lincoln Fire Department, and his desire to

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

Santa goes ‘toonin’ serve others as a paramedic and firefighter has spanned many stops over 34 years, including the Talladega Paramedic Department. He was a pioneer in opening the first ambulance service in St. Clair County. He is still a volunteer firefighter the New London Fire Department today.

When asked how the idea to become Santa first crossed his mind, he said it was from an old friend from his fire department days who also had experienced playing Santa.

“Why do you look like Santa?” Gaither asked. The friend simply replied, “Because I am.” On that day, a spark ignited in Gaither’s heart. “The more and more I thought about it and after listening to how much (the friend) loved it, and all the joy it created, I was sold,” Gaither explained. “There was no turning back.”

The preparations that go into becoming Santa each year are no easy feat. “Growing a Santa beard happens during the hottest months of the year, and I have to add Santa pounds which is a perk I enjoy, putting on my Santa body,” Gather jokingly explained.

Gaither also expounded on the intricacies of creating and caring for his iconic Santa suit. He recalled that the benchmark Santa suit is the Coca-Cola Suit. The suit comes with an upwards of $4,000 price tag.

He explained that becoming Santa is an expensive endeavor if it is to be done correctly. A good, professional-grade suit costs in the neighborhood of $1,000. “That’s just the suit,” he explained. “When you

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Santa and his helpers reenact Beatles’ Abbey Road cover in downtown Pell City.

Santa stops to talk to passerby.

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add real boots, glasses, gloves and belt trim and accessories, the total cost is well over $2,000,” Gaither noted. He also said most people do not realize that it takes more than one suit to make it through a holiday season. In addition, the suits have to be specially dry-cleaned.

Reminiscing over fond memories of his own childhood and experiences with St. Nick, joy quickly took over his face as he recalled those emotions and fond memories of Christmases past.

“The excited feeling of rushing to bed on Christmas Eve is one that a child cherishes for a lifetime, and I vividly remember we always read Twas The Night Before Christmas, and the fun of setting up the cookies and milk,” Gaither recalled. “I also remember standing in line to see Santa and thinking hard about what I was going to say and what I wanted. Visiting Santa is serious business when you’re a kid,” Gaither said.

Gaither recalled some of the funniest and quirkiest requests he has received from children over the years. These range from stop signs, ice cream trucks, cheese fries and a bag of concrete and chicken wire. “Once I had a young boy ask me to get his Dad out of jail because all he was doing was growing plants in the backyard,” Gaither recalled, laughing. “That was a good one – definitely caught me off guard.”

Children are full of imagination and should be completely innocent to the bad things that go on in the world. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Gaither said he has also had some heart wrenching requests. “Once a little girl asked me if I could make her sister be able to see the presents I brought her because her eyes don’t work. I also have many, many requests to make a parent come home from a deployment.”

Santa also admitted that out of all nine reindeer, all of whom he loves dearly loves – he does, in fact, have a favorite.

“Rudolph takes the crown, hands down,” he said. “He is quite clearly the captain of the ship and the rest of the crew would be dysfunctional without his leadership. He loves traveling, he is a little shy, he loves to help others, and he is most definitely a natural born leader,” Gaither said.

Last year, Santa’s visits and getting to see children in hospital, nursing home and other settings looked quite different. “I did get to be Santa, of course, but it was hard last year,” Gaither said. “Santa had a mask just like you do, and I did visit a lot of healthcare facilities to say ‘Thank You.’” Over the course of his career, Gaither said it has been one of the greatest blessings of his life. He has delivered babies, held the hands of people as they took their last breath. “Sometimes it’s as simple as offering a smile to someone in their darkest hours,” Gaither said. “To do healthcare you must have a servant’s heart, and it is not for the faint of heart.”

When asked about working on the front lines during the age of COVID, Gaither took a moment before humbly stating, “COVID really took some of the personal touch out of healthcare. In some cases, families could not be together in their darkest and last moments. This is something I would have never would have dreamed of happening,” Gaither said.

He has served as the director of Emergency Services for Grandview Medical Center. “Not many people get to say they have opened and moved a hospital,” Gaither joked. The year Grandview opened, Gaither was awarded Clinical Manager of the Year for his role in opening the Emergency Department and along with moving all the patients from the hospital at Montclair to Grandview.

Today, Gaither works for Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, the Tenet Corporation, as a patient safety officer and risk manager. He also holds a juris doctor from the Birmingham School of Law.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Christmas Magic is Found When Shared with a Child Coosa Pines FCU employees have kicked off the annual Giving Tree campaign and are gathering the wishes of good boys and girls from the Department of Human Resource (DHR) offices in counties served by the credit union as well as the Sylacauga Boys’ Club.

The credit union matches cash and gift donations up to $5,000, and in 2020 a generous and record-breaking total of $18,891.24 was spent to make Christmas special for many local children.

Please visit your favorite branch to pick a tag from our Giving Trees.

Have a very merry Christmas and happy holiday season!

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

Santa and his newfound friends find some interesting reading.

From health care to Santa care

Stepping out of his scrubs and into his Santa suit is one of Gaither’s greatest joys. “You can empower kids to spread love, joy and peace – and the true meaning of Santa by simply telling them ‘Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness.’” Santa Claus, he explained, is a symbol of the true meaning of Christmas – the reason for the season. His names come from the source of Christmas – Christ himself.

Jesus Christ was a man who gave freely and represents the best that there is in mankind. “Santa is a symbol of the greatest gifts of Heaven and Earth,” Gaither said.

Although his schedule is quickly filling up, Santa is offering “new traditions” this year. These include in-home Christmas “tuck in” service – complete with story time, photos and cookie making.

He is also available for live video chats in addition to traditional holiday parties, photo sessions and retail events.

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Editor’s Note: To find out more about these services, Gaither may be reached at (205) 329-3570 or via email, SantaMG@mail.com.

Taking a stroll at Logan Martin Lake

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

What’s under the tree 2021 Gifts for kids and teens

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Story by Graham Hadley Contributed photos It’s truly something of a golden era when it comes to shopping for children’s gifts for Christmas.

Classic toys like LEGOs and Tinker Toys are always a good bet, but you have everything from animatronic dolls, hand-held video game systems and interactive learning toys, which are hot items this year.

Last year, Baby Yoda was a must have – and this year, he is still a top contender. At the high end of that will be the fully animated electronic version of The Child (the more or less official name of Baby Yoda from Disney’s Star Wars, The Mandalorian series). But you can also stuff stockings with small action figures or grab a plush toy and backpack for under the tree.

Barbie is also still a Christmas staple – and Mattel has really gone the extra mile with this product line, creating fancy sets like Barbie Extra to dolls that are designed to be more inclusive, specific to your child’s personal identity. Mattel also has signature lines with Barbie princesses, Barbie doctors, even a Barbie Elvis.

Learning toys

Schools are more and more focusing on STEM learning in the classroom, which concentrates on skills in science, technology, engineering and math. Keeping in line with that, learning toys that help develop children’s problem-solving skills while still entertaining are in high demand this year.

Classic building sets for all ages – from Brio train sets to Lincoln Logs, the choices are endless.

LEGO in particular maintains a standing as a front-runner with a huge selection of toys for all ages. Sets with large, choke-safe blocks targeted for children 1.5 years old and up are a great way to get your children interested in building sets.

From there, you can purchase sets that would challenge even an adult with an engineering degree.

Whether it is building a castle, a spaceship or a doll house, LEGO has something for everyone. And since the sets are interchangeable, you are building a collection of toys that will grow as your child does.

Sets range from the very small stocking stuffers to giant builds that can take days (and usually cost well over $100).

Other toys, like the GraviTrax marble ramp system, help spur creativity while teaching children about basic science and physics.

Crayola has a wide range of STEM and art-oriented products like their light-up activity board, which are great ways to teach children colors and shapes while letting them express their creativity.

For kids who want their cars with more glam, there are toys like the Rainbow High light-up, color-changing car. The car, part of the Rainbow High collection of toys, starts out as plain white, then changes colors with the push of a button.

As much fun as it is to push cars and truck around or run them on a small plastic track, it is always more fun to be in the driver seat. The 50th Anniversary Big Wheel promises plenty of outdoor fun. This is a recreation of the same Big Wheel that has been around for years, complete with the blue seat and yellow handlebars.

Want to step that up a notch? Two words: Green Machine.

The recumbent version of the Big Wheel is steered with a couple of joy sticks through two smaller wheels in the back.

Huffy designed the Green Machine to drift and spin in ways sure to delight.

For any wheeled toy that is designed to be ridden on, make sure to pair it with a good safety helmet and make sure the kids will have room to ride – these are outdoor toys best suited to large driveways and neighborhoods with sidewalks.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

With a nod to Richard Scarry’s famous children’s book, kids’ toys with wheels on them are always a win. Whether it is a Hot Wheels racetrack or a Tonka truck or a remote-controlled stunt car, children love things that roll.

Hot Wheels, like LEGO, covers all ages, with toys like their large plastic cars and trucks for younger children, their multitier garages complete with ramps for children a littler older all the way to advanced track sets that have interchangeable parts and can be added on to over the years. And they still maintain a large line of their classic die-cast metal cars to play with or collect.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

chance that your kids will know exactly what they want. Before you start tracking down that big present, we highly recommend finding out from your children exactly what they want.

A good alternative for older children and teens is a good laptop. For often the same amount of money, you can buy an entry-level gaming laptop that is a full-range computer that will both play most of the games the consoles will and do everything else, from meeting education needs to surfing the web.

The gift of music

Gaming systems

Topping many children’s wish lists every year since Atari introduced the 2600 in 1977 are some type of gaming system.

The big three – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft – are all in high demand. If you want one of these under the tree, it is a good time to start shopping now … this instant, a month ago.

What gaming system to get your children will depend largely on taste, but there is definitely an age curve to the systems.

Nintendo Switch, which is both portable and can plug into a monitor, has the widest variety of games for younger children.

Both the Sony PlayStation 5 and the Microsoft Xbox Series X (with an optical drive and more power) and the Series S (no optical drive) have some games for children, but, particularly the Microsoft consoles, are targeted at older children and adults.

One good thing with the new consoles – several of which actually launched in 2020 but because of high demand did not see wide releases until this year – is that much of the components like controllers from the previous generations work with the new consoles. The same is true for many of the games.

So, when looking to buy a new gaming console, it may be a good idea to purchase the new generation of whatever gaming system the recipient had before.

A must-have accessory for all the gaming systems are rechargeable setups – whether it is batteries for the controllers or headsets. Hours of playing will burn through traditional batteries quickly. Some of the setups have all the rechargeable gear built in, others, like the Xbox, require a separate rechargeable battery pack for the controllers.

Make sure your games are right for the age – video games are rated, just like movies, so parents should have no trouble making sure that what they are buying for their children is appropriate, both in content and playability.

These are expensive toys – and there is a better-than-even

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For those who live in St. Clair County looking for musical gifts for their children, St. Clair has a number of outlets across the region that can meet your every need.

Places like Ron Partain’s World of Music and Jamison Taylor’s School of Music in Pell City, Guitar Pro in Trussville and others provide not only instruments, but many of them also teach people to play the instruments they sell.

Guitars, keyboards, drums and more are all available for your young musician. If you are looking for a starter kit with a beginner guitar and amplifier or a top-of-the line keyboard, you can find it here.

All of the music shops have professionals on staff who can help you choose the right instrument for your child and can even help you pair it with some lessons to start them on their journey.

Looking for something musical but outside the box? In the age of digital music, manufacturers are stepping up to the plate with toys like the KidiStar DJ Mixer, which allows children to mix and match different sounds and tracks, just like a professional disc jockey.

For younger children, there are toys like the Tonibox, which lets kids listen to age-appropriate songs like the Wheels of the Bus and Baby Shark by placing a Tonie toy on top of the music player. The Toniebox comes with a charging station that is good for up to seven hours of playtime.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

Gifts for Her

Designer bags, jewelry and more

Bogg bag

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Story by Graham Hadley Submitted photos This Christmas has no shortage of gift options for that special woman in your life – whether you are looking for the perfect fashion or fitness accessory and everything in between, stores around St. Clair County have exactly what you are looking for.

Accessories

Hand bags and totes are in particular demand this year, with the Bogg Bag topping the list for many people. Bogg Bags, available at Magnolia’s in Cropwell Commons, are large tote bags inspired by beach and boat tote bags that are made of durable materials that are easily cleaned. The company makes a number of different bags, but the most popular ones have a washable, rubber-like texture with holes in them.

The bags come with a couple of inserts that snap into the holes on the bag for holding things like cell phones, car keys, books and such.

This version of the Bogg Bag comes in different sizes – from a wine tote all the way to large weekender-size bags, and in every bright color imaginable.

The company makes other accessories and products, but the bright beach bags are by far the most popular.

Jewelry

You can never go wrong with high-quality jewelry or watches. From local stores like Griffins, Mum and Me to the Fossil outlet at the Shoppes of Grand River, you should have no problem finding exactly what you are looking for locally.

Not only does Griffins carry popular lines from companies like Le Vian, they also carry a large line of decorative gifts.

They also often carry antique estate jewelry for that truly unique item.

Mum and Me also carries a large selection of decorative gifts and jewelry, much of which is made by local and regional artisans.

Fossil has rolled out new collections this year, including their Vintage Heritage collection.

The return of Ugg

For years, Ugg boots have been a fashion staple. This year, the brand is focusing on comfort with a huge line of slippers.

Ranging in style from large, fuzzy Sugar Slide slippers to more contemporary, suede-covered designs, the Ugg slippers are both fashionable and durable. The high-fashion slipper tops are attached to sturdy soles designed to be worn both inside and outside.

One of their most comfortable lines, more of a house shoe, are the Scuffett II slippers, with thinner soles but still sporting the classic Ugg fur lining.

Ugg slippers

For the fitness-minded

Over the past year and a half, with many gyms closed, people have been turning to finding home fitness alternatives more and more.

Just like for men, many women are using fitness trackers to keep track of everything from the number of steps they take to the calories burned and heart rate during a workout. They are inexpensive alternatives to smart watches and come in a variety of shapes and styles. Companies like Fitbit are leading the charge with these versatile smart devices.

Bala weighted workout bangles

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

Vitruvi Stone Diffuser

Whether you are doing yoga, walking or taking on more vigorous challenges, weighted wrist and ankle bands can help you get the most out of your workout. There are many basic brands out there, but some of the top-tier brands out there, like the Bala Weighted Banle Set, throw in an added touch of style.

The Bala sets are a convenient one-size-fits-all design in a variety of neutral and pastel colors.

Walking (or running) on Clouds

Whether you are looking for the perfect running shoe, or maybe just the perfect shoe, Cloud Shoes are the in thing in footwear this year.

The Swiss-designed Cloud Shoes are durable, lightweight and stylish. But what sets them apart is their one-of-a-kind cushioning soles designed to absorb impact while running, walking or exercising. The shoes come in a variety of styles and colors and have both slip-on and laced options.

The distinctive soles have spaced ridges with air gaps between them to act as shock absorbers for your feet.

Not only are they good for exercising, these shoes can help take a load off for anyone who spends a long time on their feet – whether you are at work or strolling around that perfect vacation spot.

Just a heads up, like many products, there are a number of copies out there that have similar look, but the On Cloud is the original brand out there – look for the OC logo if you want the real deal.

On Cloud also has shoes and boots for men, and a whole line of accessories – but the running and athletic shoes are the hot ticket in their product line this year.

Dyson – not the vacuum

Whether you have straight hair or are following a Curly Girl group on social media, the line of Dyson hair-care products is drawing rave reviews.

Designed by the same company that revolutionized everything from vacuums to fans, the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer is supposed to substantially cut down drying time without damaging your hair.

And alongside it are the Dyson Airwrap styler and Corrale straightener to complete your hair-care collection.

Each product comes with a host of attachments – with the hair dryer diffuser leading the pack.

And like all Dyson products, there are a number of specialedition designs so that your cool hair-care products look as cool as your hair.

Scent is essential And for those who want to take it to the next level, Dyson One of the most popular gifts over the past couple of years are also makes a line of professional-level versions of their essential oil diffusers. These can be targeted to spread specific scents throughout a room – or several. Some people use diffusers products. as a simple way to make your home smell nice, while others use them for things like aromatherapy.

The diffusers are taking up the role of scented candles and incense, but without an open flame or the mess that can come Dyson Hair from wax and candle smoke.

Dryer Different diffusers have different capacities and features – from a simple unit that plugs directly into a wall outlet and is designed to stay out of sight, while others are more decorative and are designed to be displayed on a table or shelf. There are different kinds of diffusers – some use a mixture of essential oil and water, while others just diffuse the oil.

Other options include lights and even soothing sounds. While most of the diffusers are designed to plug into an outlet – others, like the Serene House Ranger Travel Aromatherapy Diffuser, can be powered by a USB port and can be taken anywhere.

As for style, the are no limits. Modern diffusers come in every shape and size, with natural wood and stone designs, like the Vitruvi Stone Diffuser, topping the list. But other materials, even blown glass, are on the table (literally).

Regardless of the style and design, one feature – auto turn-off – is a must. Many diffusers can run for almost a day but should be turned off when nobody is around.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

Gifts for Him

Everything from technology to the outdoors

Pellet smoker and grill

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Story by Graham Hadley Contributed photos When it comes to shopping for that perfect Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for the man in your life, St. Clair County has no shortage of shopping opportunities.

You can find perfect gifts at stores like the St. Clair Farmer’s Co-op, Teague Mercantile, Griffin’s Jewelers, even Buc-ee’s – hunting and camping supplies, tools, watches – you name it, it can be found in St. Clair County.

Grilling and outdoor entertaining

More and more, people are moving their entertaining to outdoor spaces – patios, decks, poolside. The flexibility in outdoor entertaining accommodates large crowds or small, intimate dinner parties equally well.

A key component for that is your cooking space – with grills coming in all shapes and sizes still taking center stage.

The Big Green Egg line of grills is still a front-runner for outdoor cooking. These style grills heat quickly and maintain temperatures because of the large ceramic shells. That means great temperature control and an added bonus of safety because the exterior does not get as hot.

Hardwood pellet grills are also a popular item this year.

These grills use small wooden pellets fed into a heating element – almost like an old-style smelting furnace – to cook on.

They heat up quickly and give you absolute control over your cooking temperature while providing the perfect cooking fuel to flavor your food. The top-of-the-line versions of these grills continually feed the pellets from a hopper into the grill.

And the standard gas grills are also in high demand. These grills have been around for years, so they have been pretty much perfected. You can find high-quality grills for affordable prices with a wide range of options from electric starting to side burners to cook on.

Almost as important as grilling, especially as temperatures drop during the fall and winter months, are fire pits. Whether you are using a gas pit or wood burning, built-in or portable, there are designs and styles to meet every need and décor. Fire pits make great gathering spots, even in warmer weather.

Hunting, camping, tailgating and more

Keeping in line with the outdoors, you can never go wrong helping equip the guy in your life for adventure – whether it is in a national forest or parked next to a football stadium before the big game.

Coolers have become one of the biggest gifts out there – literally. Name brands like Yeti and Orca offer a wide range of coolers in all shapes and sizes, some capable of keeping your food cold for days even in the harshest environment. They range in size from huge – taking up a substantial pickup bed, to backpack coolers designed to be toted into a remote campsite.

They have options like wheels and carry handles to extra rugged construction for harsher environments.

Several companies even make electric coolers that not only chill your food but can be used as charging stations for things like cell phones and lanterns.

When it comes to the hunting or gun enthusiast – first rule is to ask what they need and be specific. Particularly when it comes to firearms, if you don’t know exactly what they want, it is probably a better bet to either get them a gift certificate at one of St. Clair’s many stores that cater to those items or choose another gift line.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Christmas IN ST. CLAIR

That said, there are certain items that are always in demand – things like gun safes and cases for securing firearms, spotting scopes for days at the range, and clothing and apparel for hunting season are always good choices.

Most of the places that cater to hunters and gun enthusiasts have people on staff who can help guide you on these purchases – gun cleaning kits, bench rests and more.

Many of the same stores that cater to the hunting crowd also have a huge selection of gifts for the fishing enthusiast. Rods, reels, tackle, you name it, they have it. With two lakes and hundreds of miles of creeks and streams that draw national fishing competitions to the region, you will have no trouble finding exactly what you need, whether it is a new rod and reel to top-of-the-line digital depth and fish finders for boats.

Personal grooming and attire

The beard is back, and in a big way. For the aspiring lumberjack in your life, consider beard care kits and products.

The door is wide open on this – premium razors and beard trimmers are a must. But there are also an infinite supply of products that cater to every aspect of producing the perfect beard – full kits with lotions and creams, combs and more.

Also hugely popular right now with the guy crowd are wallets – in particular, the slim wallets with hard metal or plastic sides held together with elastic bands. The classic leather wallets are still popular, but especially for men who are carrying their wallets in their front pockets, the hard-sided, expandable wallets are a must-have. They are smaller, more compact, and many are designed with materials that protect credit cards from being scanned by remote devices – giving you an added level of security against identity theft.

Gadgets

Smart watches still reign supreme when it comes to indemand guy gadgets. Samsung and Apple watches are the top placeholders here, with Android watches with designs from Fossil coming in a close second.

Most of the smart watches will work to a degree with all smart phones, but it is generally best to pair watch operating system with the user’s phone. Apple watches work best with

Ridge Wallett

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Apple watch

iPhones, Samsung Galaxy watches work best with Samsung phones (though Samsung has moved its watches from a proprietary operating system to Android, so they are more cross compatible with other Android phones like the Google Pixel). Android watches, like the Fossil, work best with Android phones.

There are many styles and designs to choose from – round face and square, sporty to formal – and everything in between.

Some of the watches are specifically tailored to fitness buffs, and can track things like heart rate, blood oxygen levels and workout metrics. Others have things like GPS and are designed for outdoor activities like running or hiking.

A close relative of the smart watch is the digital fitness tracker. These are often more affordable options than the smart watches. Fitbit and other brands make some very affordable fitness trackers that have every feature you need in the gym, on the track or even the pool (check for waterproofing levels for that). They often have inexpensive and interchangeable bands.

These, in particular, make great gifts for someone who already has a more formal watch and just needs something to workout with.

A close runner-up to watches and fitness trackers on the Christmas gift want list this year are audio ear buds and their larger headset counterparts. Like smart watches, some brands work with specific devices, but the trend is moving to more generic Bluetooth standards that will work with anything.

For anyone with an Apple iPhone, the AirPods are the gold standard. Like all things Apple, they are designed to specifically work with Apple products and come at somewhat of a premium price. But for the Apple fan, they are the way to go.

Outside Apple, other companies like Samsung, Bose, Sony and others make premium earbuds. Beyond premium earbuds, there are an endless number of good, mid-to-low price range earbuds from companies like Raycon and Jabra that are popular.

A few things to note – for people who are working out with earbuds, make sure they are sweat and water resistant. Also, even the mid-priced earbuds should come with a charging case that can charge the earbuds several times. Keep in mind – even with the AirPods – not all earbuds are great at being used for phone conversations – the buds are, on some people, too far from their mouths to pick up what you are saying. For people who are looking for more of a hands-free phone set, look for headsets with wires and a microphone that rests closer to the mouth like the LG Tone series or Samsung Level headsets.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Best of & Best of St. Clair Alabama The Little Pizza Joint That Could

Carpenetti’s named Bama’s best pizza

Frank Carpenetti

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Story by Loyd McIntosh Photos by Meghan Frondorf The parking lot of Carpenetti’s Pizzeria in Moody is packed! Cars are squeezed into any opening their drivers can find – around the back of the building, in the grass, in the dead zone between the restaurant and the Chevron station next door.

Inside, hungry diners jockey for attention from the hostess for one of only about a dozen tables as a steady stream of people queue in line for what seems like an endless run of take-out pies. The phone rings off the hook, the small staff constantly runs back and forth from the kitchen to the house, and pizzas fly in and out of the brick oven at a quicker pace than the ending sketch of an episode of the Benny Hill Show.

And the kicker is, it’s only Tuesday.

It’s abundantly clear the word leaked out that Carpenetti’s Pizzeria has been named the best pizza restaurant in Alabama. “Business has picked up a lot,” says owner Frank Carpenetti.

“As you see tonight, there’s a waiting list, and it’s pretty much like this every night. People have to sign in now. It’s organized chaos. Sometimes. It looks like everybody’s running in 10 different directions, but only up to a point.”

The competition for Bama’s Best Pizza, sponsored by the Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association and the Alabama Farmers Federation Dairy Division, asked for nominations from the general public in the early rounds to determine a final four. At that point, a group of judges would visit each of the four finalists to nosh on some pizza and award a champion.

Carpenetti’s beat out some restaurants with great reputations, including Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant in Sylacauga, Valentina’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Madison and Top-Notch Pizza & BBQ from Vernon.

Carpenetti said he had no idea the restaurant was under consideration for the competition until the very last day of public voting.

“We were real surprised,” says Carpenetti.

“Someone came in with an advertisement, and so we called a few people and they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll get in on that,’ and all the customers that were in here all voted for us.”

Once Carpenetti’s advanced to the final four, the judges visited each restaurant, sampling an array of pizzas. The only requirement was a pepperoni pizza.

Everything else was wide open. Carpenetti decided to give the judges a stuffed “all the way” pizza and a spinach alfredo pizza with chicken and bacon.

Carpenetti said while he didn’t know what to expect during the judging, it wasn’t long before he had a good feeling.

“We just gave them everything we could that we thought would wow the judges,” he says. “I got a good feeling from it. I thought I would have a chance if I could get them in here to eat. They seemed to really like everything, and when they got all done, they said everything was great.”

Winning this competition is a validation of almost a quarter-century of hard work.

Taste-tantalizing creations

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Best of ... A look inside Carpenetti’s kitchen

The Carpenettis at the helm of a ‘family affair’

The road to Moody and Bama’s Best Pizza Carpenetti grew up on a dairy farm in Watertown, N.Y., a working-class town of 30,000 just 30 miles from the Canadian border and 300 miles from New York City. He had 17 years under his belt as a machinist when he accepted a job offer in Moody. It wasn’t long before Carpenetti realized things weren’t working out with his new company but moving back north wasn’t an option. He and his family had already come to love Moody, and his brother had moved to the area as well.

Carpenetti asked himself, “What do I do now?”

What he did was open a pizza joint.

“I started this because I couldn’t find what I like. I don’t like conveyor belt pizza. I like New York-style pizza. So that’s what I did,” Carpenetti says. “I had already moved everything down here. My brother moved down here, so we just stayed. I love it here.”

In reality, the original Carpenetti’s Pizzeria aspired to be a joint. Opened on Aug. 7, 1997, Carpenetti’s Pizza occupied a tiny space affectionally called “the hole” hidden behind the old CVS Pharmacy on U.S. 411.

Those early days in the restaurant business were tough as he

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worked to establish his restaurant and perfect the recipes that would eventually be heralded as the best in the state. “It was hard because I actually had to go out and get other jobs doing some different things. I was doing anything from raking leaves to cutting grass, whatever it took,” he said. “But I had to do it because I wasn’t going to give up. There were a lot of a lot of days when I thought, ‘What did I get myself into?’ But it’s worth it.”

After two-and-a-half years, Carpenetti’s moved across the highway to a strip mall next to Fine Pools & Spas where they stayed for another seven years. For the past 15 years, Carpenetti’s has occupied the former location of Shaw’s Barbecue on Park Avenue across the street from Moody City Park. The old barbecue pit was just big enough to fit Carpenetti’s brick-fired pizza ovens. “We’ve only got about an inch-and-a-half clearance for these ovens,” Carpenetti says.

“They just happened to fit. They just happened to fit perfectly in there.”

Carpenetti’s day starts at 6 a.m., with the exception of Tuesday when he arrives at the restaurant at 5 a.m. Other staff

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

His signature, handtossed dough is foundation for a great pizza.

– mostly members of this close-knit family – arrive around 8 a.m. to prepare for the lunch rush at 11 a.m. One of the aspects that differentiates Carpenetti’s from others is the pizza dough, which is made fresh each day. Carpenetti also forgoes the use of equipment to stretch the dough, opting for the traditional method of tossing the dough in the air, a technique that not only makes for a better pizza but it also an entertaining crowdpleaser.

“All of our pizzas are hand-tossed. A lot of places use a press. We don’t do that. We do everything by hand. Maybe it’s because I’m old school,” Carpenetti says. “Sometimes when we’re not real busy, we’ll see a kid watching, and we’ll say, ‘Hey, come here. Do you want to make your pizza?’ It’s great to see the smiles on their faces.”

A family business, Carpenetti is surrounded by relatives who put the family name on the line each day. Carpenetti’s wife, son, daughter, brother, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter all work at the restaurant, as well as several long-time employees who have become honorary Carpenettis.

He credits their work ethic and dedication to the restaurant’s

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Best of ... A look inside Carpenetti’s kitchen Pepperoni pizza heads for oven

success.

“Everybody here works so hard. I mean, you don’t see any of my people just standing around. They’re always doing something,” Carpenetti says. “It ain’t it all glitz and glamour. There were some hard times, but right now, I’m just so proud of everybody here.”

More than 24 years since taking a chance on bringing New York-style pizza to St. Clair County, the recognition Carpenetti’s is getting is well-deserved. But none of it would be possible without the loyal customers – the early supporters from their days in “the hole” and the new fans alike – who have made this little pizza joint into an institution.

“Thank you for your support over all these years,” he says. “We couldn’t have done it without you. I think we have the best customer base anywhere.”

That customer base is about to grow. Big time.

An icon in Moody 56

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Best of St. Clair 2021

In August, Discover asked readers to choose their favorites in a wide variety of categories. In October, they picked the winners in our Discover the Best of St. Clair Awards.

Meet the Best of St. Clair Awards for 2021

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BBQ

Charlie’s Pie

Pell City Steak House Cake

Bowling’s BBQ Coffee

PC Coffee Restaurant

Charlie’s

Fast Food

Jack’s Odenville Lunch Spot

Charlie’s Pell City Steakhouse

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Onion Rings

Country Cooking

French Fries

Buffet

Charlie’s

Two Sisters

Bowling’s BBQ

City Market

Wings

Sandwiches

Dinner Spot

Salads

Charlie’s

Daily Bagel

Charlie’s

Heart of Dixie

Seafood

PC Steakhouse Triple T’s

The Ark Ribs

Meat n Three

Breakfast Spot

Charlie’s

Bowling’s BBQ

Pizza

Mexican Food

Carpenetti’s Steak

Heart of Dixie Louie’s Asian Food

Oishi

Blue Tequila and Cantina Historic Site

Inzer House Kayak Canoeing

Yak the Creek

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Best of St. Clair Scenic Spot

Ten Islands Park Gift Shop

Magnolias Park

Lakeside Park Splash Pad

Lakeside Park Nonprofit Group

DAR Broken Arrow Chapter Pell City Civic Club

Pell City Rotary Church Group

Calvary Baptist Odenville Eden Westside Mt. Pisgah Petros Youths Seddon Baptist 60

Library

Odenville Pell City Chamber of Commerce

Pell City Artist

4 Messie Monkies Cayce Johnson Photographer

Wallace Bromberg Jr. Woodworking

4 Messie Monkies Billy Johnson Potter

Nettie Bean Doctor

Dr. Rick Jotani

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

“Thank you again Discover St. Clair readers. I am humbled to have been chosen Best Automobile Executive for three consecutive years”.

Norman Wilder, Town & Country Ford

Your favorites Thank You for

for your business & VOTE!

Thanks To All Our Participants from DISCOVER MAGAZINE

Best of St. Clair Dentist

Dr. Al Aultman Pediatrician

Springville Pediatrics Orthodontist

PT Ortho

Chiropractor

Dr. Chris Webber Pharmacist

Lance Bell Laurie Henderson Jeweler

Griffins Florist

Jean’s Hair Salon

Style Bar Pell City

Mark Ross Margaret Pharmacy

Emma Rodman Style Bar

Pharmacy

Nail Salon

Hair Stylist

Margaret Pharmacy

V Nails Odenville

Antique Store

Manicurist

Springville Antique Mall Dock Builder

Tradesman

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Lawyer

Pam at V Nails Odenville Massage Therapist

Patience Bradford

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

Physical Therapist

Matt A at Moody Benchmark

Insurance Company

Cayce Wilson State Farm

Realty Company

Blue House Odenville Realty Pros Pell City Realtor

Theresa Harris Caran Wilbanks Dana Ellison Mortgage Company

Coosa Valley Mortgage Bank

Metro

Boat Dealership

Rodney’s Marine Boat Sales Executive

Mark Hilderbrand Rodney Humphries Boat Mechanic

Paul Davis Rodney Humphries Automobile Dealership

McSweeney Pell City Ford

Auto Sales Executive

Bronson Honeycutt Chris Cole Jamie Crump Logan Sweatt Norman Wilder Greg Buie

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Best of St. Clair Automotive Repair

Willie’s Garage Home Builder

A&W Construction Interior Designer

Renee Lilly Upholstery

Incredible Touch

Caterer

Charlie’s BBQ Polly Warren Grocery Store

Piggly Wiggly Odenville Best Veterinarian

Pell City Animal Hospital

Plumber

Joiner Plumbing Heating AC

Pell City Heating and Cooling Clothing Store Boutique

UG/Uptown Girls

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Thanks to everyone for participating

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

ST. CLAIR COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

SERVING THE RESIDENTS OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY SINCE 2009

IF YOU NEED A RIDE, GIVE US A CALL!

205-338-1352

St. Clair, Alabama

Business Review Architectural rendering of new industrial park

68 • DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • Business Review • December 2021 & January 2022

Story by Linda Long Photos by staff

Looking back at 2021 A boom year for business across St. Clair County

For St. Clair County, 2021 has been quite a good year – a boom year, in fact. It has experienced an economic upswing across the board, from housing to manufacturing; retail sales to tourism; new business to expansion of existing business. All that comes despite recovering from the unprecedented pandemic that struck in 2020, leaving many economic projects on the drawing board and spiked the unemployment rate to over 13%.

Nobody’s looking back, though. Optimism is high as county leaders look toward the future and interpret the numbers.

Don Smith, executive director St. Clair County Economic Development Council, cites a study ranking the top 10 counties in Alabama with the most incoming investments. St. Clair county ranks No. 7 on that list.

“The study measures growth in gross domestic product, number of businesses opened and number of new building permits per every 1,000 homes in each county,” said Smith. “St. Clair County saw 3.8% business growth, $118 million in GDP growth, and 10.7 new building permits per every 1,000 homes over the last three years.”

The study was conducted by technology financial technology firm Smart Asset.

Those numbers, on paper, are backed up by real brick-and-mortar projects springing up all over the county. The latest gem in St. Clair’s financial crown, Kelly Creek Commerce Park, is a $125-million industrial park to be situated on 172 acres in Moody.

Smith said about two years of preliminary engineering and planning have already gone into the project, and work was expected to begin in November. “We’ll be trying to get manufacturing and distribution-type companies in there with a focus on headquarters,” said Smith, adding that with this new facility, the county will be adding several hundred new jobs within the next five years.

According to Moody Mayor Joe Lee, the business park is following a master plan for construction.

“They’ve got a set of covenants outlining what they can build, how it’s to be constructed, and just exactly how they can do things out there, even to the color of the buildings,” which the mayor said will be “earthtone colored.”

Expansion next to Processor’s Choice and Exotic Foods

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Look back at 2021

There’s going to be 1.4 million square feet of space in those two earth-toned buildings,” he said. “Currently, site preparation is under way. “They’re clearing the land, putting in curbs and gutters. This is going to be a long project, probably about two years.”

The mayor says there’s no commitment yet from potential tenants, “but a lot of folks are interested in it. A possible fit could be a distribution business like Amazon. What is being created out there has many users.”

The property is located next to Red Diamond’s corporate headquarters off Kelly Creek Road. Lee says road improvements are planned to better access the nearby Interstate 20 and that turn lanes will be added to Kelly Creek Road.

Several new retail businesses are also set to open in Moody, including Dunlap and Kyle Tire Company, Walmart Warehousing and Landing Warehousing. And according to Lee, “the old Burger King building has been sold, and Dunkin’ Donuts has turned in a set of plans. “Plus,” he said, the old Krystal building “is close to having a contract signed on it.”

In somewhat of an understatement, Lee acknowledged, “Yeah, this past year has been pretty busy.”

As rosy as Moody’s business climate appears right now, the mayor says the housing market in Moody, now the county’s largest municipality, is “unbelievable. I’d say in the next year or two, we’ll see 300 new homes built here.”

The story in Moody is indicative of what’s happening all over St. Clair, according to Smith.

“Retail sales are up everywhere. New retail projects were put on hold because of the pandemic but not anymore. We did expect to announce about $35 million of retail projects by the end of 2021, and that’s throughout the county, not just one city or the other.

“So, everyone’s doing well,” Smith continued. “The things that are going to be announced are going to be names that are missing in our county, and everyone leaves our county to shop at. It’s great to see small businesses really coming back strong.

That’s one of the things we really focused on, making sure that folks we live next door to and spend time with are successful in their business.”

Tourism, a new industry in St. Clair County kicked off in 2020 at the very height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, while most industrial efforts struggled during this time, tourism did not. According to Smith, it was actually “great timing” to kick off the tourism campaign.

“We don’t have a lot of indoor tourism things,” he said.

“Everything is outdoors, and that was the only place you could go. So, everybody was wanting to get out, either hiking, camping, boating, rafting. People wanted to get outdoors where it was safe and fun. So, 2020 was an incredible year for people to discover St. Clair County’s outdoor activities.”

And the trend fit perfectly with St. Clair Tourism’s theme – “It’s in Our Nature.”

In 2021, tourists continue to flock to the county’s lakes, streams and rivers as well as outdoor festivals. Proof that the tourism initiative, headed by St. Clair Tourism Coordinator Blair Goodgame, continues to be viable can be seen in some examples of documented growth provided by event organizers.

At the Logan Martin LakeFest and Boat Show, 15,000 people attended in 2018 and 20,000 in 2019. The number jumped to

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LakeFest jumped to 35,000 visitors in 2021.

New Businesses and Expansions Ashville: New Family Dollar/Dollar Tree

Odenville: All American Ford to open the beginning of 2022

Moody: Processor’s Choice expansion J&M Exotic Foods expansion New companies: Dunlap and Kyle Tire Company, Walmart warehousing, and Landing warehousing.

Pell City: Ford Meter Box expansion Eissmann Automotive expansion Garrison Steel expansion New Starbucks shopping center Ragland: National Cement working to complete its $275-million expansion.

Springville: Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve to begin construction by year’s end Undisclosed Retailer to be announced by year’s end

35,000 in 2021.

Bulls on the Lake Rodeo was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, but in 2019, 1,700 attended the event. That number jumped to 3,000 in 2021.

The Rustik Bucket Vintage Market at the St. Clair Arena saw 1,300 attendees in 2020 and 1,800 in 2021.

Looking ahead, Smith is optimistic about the upward trend continuing. Because of St. Clair County’s central location between two major interstates, its abundance of natural resources and general livability “we don’t see any slowing down. I think we can expect growth all over the county for years to come.”

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

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Ranger follows Alex’s commands at Pell City’s athletic complex.

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ALLIANCE K9

Dog trainer left computer coding to start dream business Story and Photos by Graham Hadley Last year, as the COVID virus presented businesses with difficult challenges, some entrepreneurs took the opportunity to move their lives in new directions.

Alex Allen, who had been in the tech industry, did just that, moving out from behind a desk all day to training dogs in everything from basic household obedience to drug and bomb detection and other professional police and security work.

Allen took the leap of faith, founding Alliance K9, working with some of the top trainers to hone his skills and is now open for business in St. Clair.

“With the lockdown, things were slowing down.

I was working at a desk all day, and just wanted to do something new,” he said.

Allen did his training with Tarheel Canine school in Sanford, N.C., under trainer Jerry Bradshaw.

“It was kind of baptism by fire. They put you in there with the padded suit on. You came around a corner, and there was a dog. You could either handle it or not.”

Allen handled it, no problem, but admits the training can be intense.

“It’s on-the-job training and it’s fast-paced. They put you out there and see what you are made of.”

At one point, he was playing the “bad guy” during building search training, usually used by police and military.

“You are hiding in this dark room wearing the padded suit. And you can hear them going through the building, the dog’s feet on the floor. Then he scratches at your door, and you know this is it. The next second, uniformed officers storm the room, there are bright strobes, the whole thing.”

Since those first days, Allen has come a long way, continuing to fine tune his skills so he can be the very best trainer he can be – and that is no small task given the range of services he offers dog owners: pet obedience, personal protection, behavior modification, police and security, search and rescue, and much more.

Each skill takes a specific kind of training and tools – simple things like bright balls for teaching dogs to fetch and retrieve to special padded, biteproof suits he wears to train dogs to take down

Practice with the padded suit

Ranger returing the ball to Alex

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Alliance K9

suspects.

If that is not enough, Allen trains all breeds of dogs, and each of those has specific behavior characteristics that vary widely.

“Some of your smaller breeds (like terriers), I spend a lot of time just getting the dog to get involved in the training, getting them interested in the process. That can take a lot of time and patience,” he said. Other breeds, like his Dutch shepherd, Ranger, are very focused on their training and are well suited to police and security work.

Displaying his dog’s training at the soccer fields behind the Pell City Civic Center, Allen would throw an oversized tennis ball for Ranger, who would dash across the field, grab the ball and come barreling back to his trainer, who was now outfitted in the padded suit to practice take-down techniques.

For Ranger, Allen was his entire focus, even when a group of kids came out to an adjoining field to play football – an activity the year-old shepherd clearly thought would be great fun to take part in. But his training held. The kids were running all over the other end of the field, but the dog was all business, fetching, retrieving and practicing his takedowns and restraint moves on a suited-up Allen.

While most of the training is straight forward, some of the more complicated tasks, like drug and bomb searches, require more work and special equipment.

Some of the larger schools have special permitting that gives them access to real drugs and explosives to train the dogs with.

Allen says he is not there yet, but there are legal alternatives to both drugs and explosives he is using now.

Particularly with the drugs, though, the alternatives are not the best option, and he hopes to have those permits in hand in the future.

“The problem with the fake drug scents is, take meth, for instance. The synthetic scents are just of the methamphetamine chemical. But in real life, those drugs are mixed and cut with

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Some positive reinforcement and rest time after training

Alex lets Ranger pull the padded suit around during practice.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

all sorts of things like cleaning supplies. So, if the dog is looking for just the meth smell, they may miss the real thing because those other chemicals are not in the training scents,” he said.

For explosives, right now he and Ranger are just getting started, so he is using simple gunpowder.

“We have just started with that. I have him where he can find the explosive, but the trick is getting him to locate the gunpowder without digging for it. With explosives, you just want them to locate them, not actively start digging through stuff for them,” he said.

Allen prides himself in being able to work with all breeds and for all kinds of different training, whether he is helping a family obedience train a Chihuahua, someone who wants their dog trained for personal protection or working with lawenforcement agencies to make sure their K9 units are the best around.

That takes a lot of training for the dogs, but even more training for Allen, who continually works with schools and other trainers to sharpen his skills.

And he is quick to point out, a big part of the training, especially when it comes to professional K9 security dogs, picking out the right animal for the task and assessing their abilities and temperament are key. For those dogs, you want a steady, smart animal, preferably from a working breed that has the instincts.

“When we start working with a dog, that is one of the first things I look for,” he said. Since he has started, he has made a lot of progress in that regard, especially in spotting the “steady” dogs that have the ideal personalities for things like police work.

As is necessary for his new line of work, Allen is an avowed dog lover, and sees teaching and promoting responsible pet ownership as a responsibility he is more than willing to take on.

People need to research and learn about what kind of dog fits their lifestyle and schedule – working breeds need to be kept active and given “jobs” to do, or they don’t do well. Terrier breeds need to be given things to occupy their time, as well.

Those breeds are not well suited to being left in apartments for long hours while their owners work.

Other breeds, like English bulldogs, are more suited to owners who might have longer working days. Beagles and spaniels tend to need regular social interaction.

“People need to know what they are getting themselves into with different breeds,” he said, and be willing to meet the needs of whatever pet they bring home. “I consider that a core part of what I do when I am working with people and their dogs,” he said.

Allen said he has, on more than one occasion, had to help owners – some of whom hired him to help train their dogs – find their pets new homes better fitted to their needs.

“I have never turned away a dog for training” or to help with a rescue animal finding a new home, he said.

That is all part of the job, and one that Allen loves.

On walking away from a career in computer coding and tech, Allen said he has absolutely no regrets.

“Not one. I love this,” he said.

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Editor’s Note: You can learn more at AllianceK9.com

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What’s Cookin’?

Pell City food scene hopping with choices Story by Jackie Romine Walburn Submitted and staff photos Expect more comfort food, Southern sides, fresh seafood, chicken galore, specialty burgers, frozen custard and desserts served in Mason jars as the food scene in Pell City and St. Clair County continues to expand.

New restaurants are opening soon, and already, traditional local favorite restaurants are expanding and moving to new locations.

“Pell City is a growing market with a large demand for sitdown dining restaurants. As new restaurants succeed, others follow,” says Brian Muenger, city manager for Pell City. He noted that food and dining out are integral in drawing visitors and even those passing through into the city and county.

FISH MARKET EXPANDS TO SERVE PELL CITY

Popular restaurant, Highway 77 Fish Market and Oyster Bar in Lincoln, has opened a restaurant on Alabama 34 in Cropwell.

“Business has been good at the Cropwell location,” says co-owner Eric Cook. “We’re still adding things to the menu, and we are still short-handed,” he adds, noting that day that coowner and wife Valerie Cook was pitching in as cook to feed the lunch crowd.

Originally a seafood market in business for 10 years in Lincoln, Highway 77 Fish and Oyster Bar opened its restaurant at that location two years ago. Focusing on to-go orders helped Highway 77 stay in business through the worst of the pandemic, Eric says. “What we lost in restaurant sales, we doubled in sales at the seafood market,” as customers purchased fresh seafood and cooked at home.

The new Highway 77 Fish Market and Oyster Bar location in Cropwell, “is in great proximity to many of our neighborhoods in Pell City,” Muenger says, “and residents love the convenience of having a quality restaurant so nearby.”

JUMBO’S MOVES; CUSTOMERS FOLLOW

Starbucks nearing completion at US 231 and I-20 80

Jumbo’s Burger and Wings, on its way to being a Pell City comfort-food staple after opening in September 2020, moved to Old Coal City Road from its 5th Ave. location in September 2021.

“We opened in the middle of the pandemic, so it started out rough,” says Gabria Verges, co-owner of Jumbo’s with husband Karl Verges. “We already had a lot of carry-out and were able to have carhop delivery of food and had the equipment to take payments at the car.”

“We were ready for anything the pandemic threw at us,” Verges says. Moving to the larger location allowed Jumbo’s to add more options for dine-in or carry-out customers. “They found us,” she says, and business has been steady.

As the name implies, Jumbo’s most popular items are burgers

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and wings. Karl Verges makes specialty burgers that are in high demand, “and we sell a lot of wings, especially on Saturdays.”

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FREDDY’S UP NEXT

STARBUCKS AT NEW COOSA COMMONS

Next up in Pell City is Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, a Kansas-based franchise specializing in cookedto-order steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs, shoestring fries and freshly churned frozen custard. Freddy’s in Pell City opens in January of 2022 at 190 Vaughan Lane, says Rachael Arledge, general manager of Freddy’s Lee Branch location off Highway 280.

“We have several Birmingham area locations and want to broaden our service area to include Pell City, so more people can enjoy our food,” Arledge says.

Freddy’s was founded in 2002 by brothers Bill and Randy Simon and business partner Scott Redler, and the founders named the restaurant after Bill and Randy’s father, Freddy Simon, a World War II veteran. Now with restaurants coast to coast, Freddy’s serves a menu reminiscent of the all-American meals Freddy served to his family.

With some 400 locations nationwide, corporate owned and franchises, Freddy’s annual revenue topped $500 million in 2019, the same year it was named one of Forbes’ America’s Best Franchises, an honor also earned in 2018.

Pell City is Freddy’s ninth location in Alabama, joining Freddy’s in Birmingham at Lee Branch, Hoover at the Grove,

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A Starbucks location of the international coffee chain is set to open at the new Coosa Commons retail development off I-20 at Dr. John Haynes Drive. “Starbucks is currently building out their interior space at Coosa Commons,” Muenger says, with plans to open prior to the end of 2021. The coffee shop is expected to anchor the 10,000-square-foot development of small shops at the entrance to a new retail shopping center.

HOW ABOUT SOME SLIM CHICKENS?

Another national chain restaurant with plans for Pell City is Slim Chickens, an Arkansas-based company specializing in fresh chicken tenders and wings cooked to order served with house-made dipping sauces.

Heart of the South Foods Inc., which already has a Slim Chickens location in Tuscaloosa at 385 Skyland Blvd., is planning the Pell City location as part of plans to open several more locations of the chain that has more than 125 locations in 21 states.

The Pell City site is selected for the Slim Chickens, says Denise Mashburn, Heart of the South Foods vice president and chief financial officer. Current plans are for construction to begin at the location – on a Vaughan Lane outparcel in front

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • December 2021 & January 2022

of Walmart off Highway 231 North – in about six months with opening by the end of 2022.

In addition to chicken tenders and wings, and the 17 housemade sauces, Slim Chickens’ menu includes Southern sides, fresh sandwiches, salads, wraps and signature chicken and waffles and rotating selections of desserts served in Mason jars.

INSTITUTIONS LEAD THE WAY

As new and expanding restaurants make the headlines in local markets, long-time locally owned restaurants become valued institutions over time, Muenger says.

“We have a few of those in the area. The Pell City Steakhouse is one, and it feels like you see everyone in town when you stop in for lunch. The Kitchen on Highway 34 is another, as is The Shack BBQ, right across Stemley Bridge in Talladega County, that’s family owned and operated.

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News in Brief

Springville insurance agency retains top designation

From left, Brian Skinner, Ashley Green, Sid Nelson, Michelle Eddings and Alyssa Skinner

The Crawford Skinner Agency retains its Best Practices status, once again becoming a part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States. This status comes by participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Best Practice Study group.

More than 1,000 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated to take part in the annual study in 2020, but only 262 agencies qualified for the honor.

To be chosen, the agency had to be among the 35-45 top-performing agencies in one of six revenue categories.

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Logan Martin, Neely Henry Realtors honored for work

Nicole Anderson and Glenn S. Phillips

Amanda Parsons and Glenn S. Phillips

Logan Martin and Neely Henry lakes Realtor Nicole Anderson and Logan Martin Realtor Amanda Parsons were honored with awards for achievements in real estate at Lake Homes Realty’s 8th Annual National Agent Summit in October.

Anderson earned the Big Wave Award, which is given to agents with total transaction volume of $10 million or more between Sept. 1, 2020, and August 21, 2021. Headquartered in Birmingham, Lake Homes Realty is the nation’s largest, lake-focused real estate company.

“Nicole continues to impress with her hard work and dedication, year after year, and we are proud to present her with this major award,” said Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty. “The Big Wave Award is one of our company’s most prestigious honors,” Phillips said. “Agents like Nicole are why Lake Homes Realty is one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.”

Anderson was also recognized for her outstanding effort and performance by receiving a Premier Agent designation, which names her among the brokerage’s top producers.

Parsons, who specializes in selling lake homes and lots on Logan Martin, was honored with the Aqua Award.

The Aqua Award is given to agents with total transaction volume between $3.5 and $10 million between Sept. 1, 2020 and August 21, 2021.

Phillips lauded Parson’s work, noting that the award is one of the company’s highest honors. She also was recognized for her outstanding effort and performance by earning a Premier Agent designation, which names her among the brokerage’s top producers.

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