Discover The Essence of St. Clair October 2013

Sugarbush Farm & Antiques • Mustard Seed Society • Cane Makers Herring Inn • Closing the ‘Job Gap’ • Camp Winnataska Turns 95

October & November 2013

Phelps House A design of wonder in wood

Fifteen and FAST

With help from family and friends, Pell City teen setting racing records

Leverton Brothers

Musical group works its way to top of the charts

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Features and Articles Discover

The Essence of St. Clair COVER STORY

Fifteen and FAST Pell City’s ‘Coyote’ Cole Daffron a force to contend with on the race track

Page 44

Mustard Seed Society Page 28

Around the Next Bend

Sugarbush Farm & Antiques Page 8

The Cane Makers A stick and knife are tools of their trade

Page 16

Traveling the Backroads

Springville’s Herring Inn Page 24

Phelps House: A wonder in wood Page 64 Leverton Brothers topping charts Page 78

On a Mission

Christy Minor follows grandparents’ footsteps

Business Briefing Closing the ‘job gap’

Page 38 Page 52

Page 56 Pell City expanding menu Page 60

Taking a Pie for the Team

Doctors step up for charity Page 74

Camp Winnataska 95 years and counting

Page 76

October & November 2013

www.discoverstclair.com

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Writers AND Photographers Carol Pappas

Graham Hadley

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

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. An Auburn journalism graduate, Hadley also served as the news editor for The Rome News Tribune in Rome,Ga.

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

Tina Tidmore Tina Tidmore was the editor and publisher of the Clay News newspaper for more than seven years. In 2009, she started a freelance career writing news articles, managing websites, writing advocacy letters, designing and giving PowerPoint presentations, writing business plans and providing a variety of other communications services. She has won state writing awards for her news articles, website management and speech writing. She also has given presentations about social media management after natural disasters because of her work for the city of Clay after the Jan. 23, 2012 tornado. She is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and is serving her second term as the Alabama Media Professionals vice president of professional development.

Elaine Miller Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in Journalism from Samford University. She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. A former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine, she has written for a variety of local, regional and national publications.

Carolyn Stern Carolyn Stern is retired after a career in publishing. Her work has appeared in Progressive Farmer, Birmingham Home and Garden, Birmingham Parent, Birmingham Post-Herald and St. Clair News Aegis. She is author of Ponds: Building, Maintaining, Enjoying and has earned writing awards on a state and national scale. She lives in Beason Cove and is owner of Cove Cottage Bed and Breakfast.

Samantha Corona

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

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

From the Editor

Inspiring stories a gift Inspiration comes from many corners and from many people in our county, taking different forms and winding up with a finished product that’s really not a product at all — it’s an intangible gift given to one another.

It is like the story of the Mustard Seed Kids Society that takes a rescued horse, a troubled youth, puts them together and builds a better outcome for both. That’s precisely what Glenn Margargee is doing in Chula Vista with an equine therapy program now celebrating its 10th year of turning young lives around.

There’s the story of Marvin Little and Jackie Stevens, who fashion impressive walking canes with little more than a discarded piece of wood and a knife. Their pastime is turned into works of art to be admired, yet are useful tools in steadying the gait of those who need a little help and support.

Jo and Paul Harris gave a generation of children memories they haven’t forgotten as adults when they created the Wolf Creek Pony Club.

And then there’s Christy Minor, who follows in her missionary grandparents’ footsteps. She travels halfway around the world every summer to Africa to offer a helping hand in changing lives through mission work.

She doesn’t have to do it. She does because it’s a calling to a continent with which she says her heart has a special kinship — the same kinship her grandparents had there for 40 years.

We call ourselves lucky that these are only a handful of inspiring stories to be told in this edition of Discover. There are plenty more. And while they may not realize it, their stories are the gifts they give to us all.

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

October & November 2013 • Vol. 14 • www.discoverstclair.com

Carol Pappas • Editor and Publisher Graham Hadley • Managing Editor and Designer Brandon Wynn • Director of Online Services Mike Callahan • Photography Arthur Phillips • Advertising

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

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Around the Next Bend Step back in time to living room of 1850 cabin

Sugarbush Farm: Antiques and so much more Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Michael Callahan Submitted Photos: Sugarbush Farm

The stables that helped start new career

Antiques and collectibles found throughout antique shop 8

If you weren’t looking for it, you just might miss the small sign out front that says, Sugarbush Farm. But if you passed by what lies just beyond it, rest assured, you missed out on something mighty special.

Tucked snugly behind the home that is barely distinguishable from others along Pell City’s Wolf Creek Road South is an 1850 cabin restored on the property and connected to the existing house. A few feet away stands another relic, a motel room from the old Rose Hill Motel in Irondale, which thrived in the 1930s and 40s.

But just around a dirt bend above the home of Jo and Paul Harris are the stables that once boarded more than 20 horses at a time. The covered arena across the way was once alive with the sound of children, horse hooves, riding lessons, shows and the nationally sanctioned Wolf Creek Pony Club.

As she turns the pages of photo albums and books, the familiar look of remembrance is unmistakable. So is the smile that accompanies it.

Jo and Paul moved to Pell City in 1973. He was a familiar face around St. Clair County, having graded cattle herds for the Extension Service. He judged 4-H and Future Farmers of America steer shows as well.

Paul had been a partner in a cattle corporation, sold his partnership and bought his own herd of Polled Herefords for breeding, leasing land around the county to raise his cattle.

But during the Nixon administration, interest rates stood at 21 percent, and the president put a freeze on cattle prices. “It put us out of business,” Jo said.

But the couple was not to be deterred by the setback. Jo remembers telling Paul at the time, “You had your turn, let’s try horses.” Horses had been a passion of hers from an early age growing up in Oklahoma.

They secured their first boarder and “built from there,” she said. They developed a riding school with summer camps.

She became certified as an instructor in the American Riding Instruction Certification Program. “I was working with an accounting firm and spent summer vacations with riding camps.”

Paul built the covered arena, and they would hold adult riders dressage clinics with a United States Dressage Federation instructor.

In the late 1980s, the Pony Club was chartered by the U.S. Pony Clubs – no small feat for a tiny town 40 miles outside

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

Old motel cabin makes a unique antique shop

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Paul and Jo Harris on cabin’s porch

Around the Next Bend the big city. It drew members from Moody, Talladega, Anniston, Birmingham and of course, its home in Pell City. “On Sunday afternoon, I gave lessons, and we held weekend competitions. We had a lot of fun,” she said as she thumbed through dozens of old photographs.

Sugarbush Farm was on the map as a pony club. “I’d like to think I made a difference with the kids,” she said.

“I can’t say how many kids over the years, but my first student, Carrie Henderson, is now giving riding lessons in California.”

When health took its toll and she was unable to ride any longer, she acquired a Meadowbrook cart. In 2004, she traveled to Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia to take a driving course. “That was the only time I got to ride on the beach.” She drives it now on a trail behind her home.

Shop’s open.

Just ring.

The cabin that Paul built Jo and Paul’s homeplace is far from typical. They bought the 1850 cabin near the Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee. It was dismantled and moved to Pell City, where it took Paul two years to reassemble it. “You can still see the numbers on the logs,” she said.

There seems something familiar about the interior, perhaps because it was the setting for a handful of Southern Living Magazine photo shoots for various publications and occasions over the years. The coziness and the warmth envelops you as you enter, and the antiques Jo has col-

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Antiques and prized collections can be found inside cabin

Stables are empty, but memories abound 12

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

Around the Next Bend lected over the years are the picture-perfect complement. Century-old quilts, shaker boxes and a cavernous fireplace as the focal point cannot help but send any visitor back in time.

Not your typical antique store Step out back just across the gardens, and you’ll discover another remnant of days gone by – Jo’s antique shop. Sugarbush Farm Country Antiques and Folk Art is more than a sight to behold. It’s a treasure to savor.

Jo had passed by the vacant Rose Hill Motel many a time, seeing the motel cabins and wishing she had one. Her son discovered later they were for sale, and they bought two — one for her antique shop and the other serves as a guest house on her son’s land just across the way.

Its 192-square-foot frame encases rare collectibles Jo has just displayed for sale.

She has reopened the antique shop and is hoping to pique the interest of antique and collectibles enthusiasts. She figures, she said, “If I get rid of it, the kids won’t have to.”

The collection is far from anything to be ‘gotten rid of.’ Hand-woven coverlets from

More of Sugarbush’s antiques

Jo Harris with her horses

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Paul Harris with his cattle where Victory Christian School is now

Around the Next Bend

Wolf Creek Pony Club

Horses are all in the family.

The Harris’ grandson Sean McGough makes a jump at a horseshow.

Jo Harris atop her horse

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York, Pennsylvania, and a 19th century coverlet hang from a quilt rack. Rows of shelves display her prized Blue Willow china with the buffalo mark on the back, signifying its century of age.

A butter churn reminds her of the days growing up on a dairy farm. “We made our own butter” and cooked from the garden. “I don’t think we went to the store except to buy flour and sugar,” she says.

French flatware, a William Britain Soldiers collection from England and Blue and White enamelware are but a few of the “finds” in her shop. There are delftware made in Holland, Blue Onion kitchen utensils and vintage Spring Bok puzzles, similar to jigsaw. There is even a collection of harness brasses used to decorate tradesman horses in England, the harness brass branded with the trade just as a logo would be used today.

“I have been a collector all of my adult life,” she says. She bought “things my mama used to have. I like to think back to the days when she did her canning.”

And she quickly adds, “I don’t want to do it, I just want to remember it.”

Throughout the shop, the cabin and the 30 acres Jo and Paul call home these days, those memories of the past abound.

Jo sums it up in a simple, yet poignant thought that could be applied to antiques and memories alike: “I guess I’m just a collector at heart.” l

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

6/11/13 10:47 AM

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The Cane Makers

Story by Tina Tidmore Photos by Michael Callahan

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Jackie Stevens works on carving one of her signature pieces.

A stick and a knife are tools of their trade Walking stick, cane, hiking pole and pilgrim’s staff: just a few of the terms that refer to the humble weight-supporter often associated with disability, the elderly and ancient Biblical characters walking through a desert.

At least two St. Clair County woodworkers add creativity to the sticks they find in the woods, giving them eye-appeal in addition to a practical use.

Marvin Little, a retired insurance adjuster, takes a simple approach in his creations. His focus is on using a variety of woods and a variety of handles. He retains the bark and enhances the natural beauty of the stick.

Little’s interest in making canes started when he moved into a new home 15 years ago. While walking through the woods, he noticed some small trees and branches that would make good walking sticks. He has learned many of his techniques through online cane-making clubs where ideas are shared.

His own sharing sparked interest from another would-be cane maker. Cook Springs resident Jackie Stevens, who retired from the banking industry, remembers her interest starting when Little regularly brought his canes to the old St. Clair Federal Savings

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Tools of the Trade

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

The Cane Makers and Loan in Pell City to show the employees.

Little tried to get her involved in the Logan Martin Woodcarvers group, but she regularly declined. Finally in 2006, “I went to a meeting and became hooked,” Stevens said. Then, with a few unprepared, seasoned sticks Little gave her, she started creating her own canes.

Using a knife, Stevens actually carves shapes and figures into the sticks, including one she worked on of two snakes this summer.

Both Little and Stevens said a love for working with wood was passed down to them in their families. “I enjoy making something with my hands,” Little said. “It’s always a challenge to make something pretty and useful out of wood.”

“I even love the smell of wood,” Stevens said.

Little’s approach is not only to provide something attractive and unique, he likes knowing he is making something with practical use that is helpful to people.

But Stevens’ focus is on adding to her personal woodcarving collection or creating artistic pieces for decoration or display. She has given some as gifts or done commissioned pieces. They are strong enough to be useful, but that’s not her main focus.

Because their canes have different primary purposes, they have different price ranges. He sells his canes at local festivals and is careful not to invest too much time or supplies into them.

“You have to make something that will sell at the venue where you want to sell it,” Little said. So his price points are $18 to $28, which generally amounts to enough to cover his expenses.

He’s not making any profit or even paying for his time.

Similarly, Stevens isn’t in it for the money, even though she’s sold one at $60 and others up to $400. She started her cane-carving while seeking a stress-reliever. “My shop is the only place that I can completely lose myself with no worries or fears and lose all track of time,” said Stevens. “To me, the entire process from harvesting the wood to applying the final finish is rewarding.”

But she avoids turning it into a job. “I want it to be my idea, my style, no demands,” Stevens said. “I bowed out of the real world and come into my fantasy world.”

In 2006, when Stevens first attended the Logan Martin Woodcarvers, she was the only woman. But now others are involved, and they have taken up carving dolls. “The biggest thing is the friends I’ve gained in the group,” Stevens said.

Cane-making Process Making a walking cane starts, obviously, with the stick. Marvin Little, who lives just north of Pell City, has used sassafras, hickory, oak, bamboo, sourwood, cedar and many other species.

“A lot of it I don’t know what it is because I cut it in the winter when there aren’t any leaves,” Little said.

Some are branches, but most of the walking canes started as trunks of young trees. Little often turns the root ball into the cane handle. Broken limbs lying on the ground cannot be used because they are weakened by bugs. “It has to be something that feels good in your hand,” Little said.

Both Little and Jackie Stevens say “twisties” are highly favored. They are trees that have been twisted into a cork-screw form by vines. “If I find a good twisty in the woods, I’ve got to

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Marvin Little holds up a piece of wood that will, with work, become part of one of his canes.

The Cane Makers

Jackie works next to a plethora of carving and art supplies.

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have it,” Stevens said.

Both Little and Stevens have friends offering them sticks and other wood. “I hate to see wood discarded,” Little said.

The harvested stick must be allowed to season for a year.

Then, Little cleans off loose bark. It’s at that point that he decides what he will make with that stick. Some need to be straightened using water and a clamp. Sanding and painting are next. Then he puts on the handles and adds the protective clear coat.

In addition to the joy of creating something attractive, there is the challenge of doing so within the limitations and features each piece of wood has. “The wood has to talk to me,” Stevens said in reference to what she decides to do with it.

Much of the character of a walking cane is in the handle.

Little has used a variety of items to create decorative handles, including doorknobs, deer hoofs and elk horns. Even a golf ball has been turned into a cane handle.

The most unusual request Little received was to create a wood-carved human skull as a cane handle. He has been asked to do canes shaped like snakes. But he has refused.

Why? Simple. “I don’t like snakes,” he said.

To be functional and stable, the top of the cane must be in

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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The Cane Makers the same plane as the bottom, even if the middle is twisted. Also, the height of the cane needs to come up to the person’s wrist.

Shorter or longer and it will not provide the stable support needed.

A cane Stevens is most proud of is one that used material from the former Avondale Mills in St. Clair County. “I made this cane in the memory of my Big Daddy McCullough, who worked in the mill all his life,” Stevens said. As the Mill was being dismantled, she asked for some of the remnant material.

She got some wooden thread spools and a 1902 sprinkler head that she made into a cane that she treasures. “I took several of these old spools of various colors, stacked them on each other and ran a quarter–inch thread rod the length of the cane and then put the sprinkler head on top,” Stevens said.

She has agreed to have her canes included in an exhibit at Heritage Hall Museum.

Little plans to be selling his canes at this fall’s Homestead Hollow.

But beyond that, they do it just for the joy found in creating a work of art with a knife and a stick. l

If you are interested in wood carving, here’s more about the local club: Logan Martin Wood Carvers Meets at Pell City Recreation Center Third Saturdays at 9 a.m.

All welcome, Free 22

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Door to the Past

Remembering Springville’s Herring Inn Herring Hotel 1930s

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

Story by Jerry Smith Submitted photos When Martha Terry Roberts reaches to open her front door, she’s about to touch one of the few known relics of a grand old Springville institution, the Herring Inn. It was rescued from the hotel’s ruins after a fire had destroyed most of the building and, sadly, taken a human life. But to Martha, this massive old door represents a cherished part of her childhood.

It’s colossal and classically ornate in a simple way, easily befitting a classic church or retro-décor business office. Measuring 42 inches by 96 inches and about 2 inches thick, it was fashioned from fine, blemish-free pine hewn from trees of a size no longer found in most countries. It’s so heavy it takes two good men to carry it and requires robust hinges for support.

The wood has a deep, rich, reddish-blonde color from decades of seasoning.

First built as a fine residence for one of the town’s founding fathers, the Herring home was later converted to Springville’s finest hotel, past or present. As the little village grew and prospered, Herring Hotel/House/Inn became an integral part of its history.

Its builder, Lewis W. Herring, came to Alabama from South Carolina in the early 1800s. He and his new wife, Amanda (Bradford), settled on a vast tract of land in the Springville area, where he worked as an architect and surveyor. While living in a temporary house on present-day Main Street, he built a much finer home that would eventually become a legendary hostelry.

In History of Springville, Alabama, Margaret Forman Windham describes Herring as a strong believer in education.

He sent one of his sons, Lewis Manly Herring, to Germany to study medicine, and another, James Phileman Herring, studied law and set up a practice in Springville. Herring also allowed many Springville Academy students to board in his capacious home.

Two of these boys were probably the pair victimized by local pranksters who caught them swimming in the nude at Springville Lake. (Read their story in The Spring In Springville, April/ May 2013 edition of Discover, online at discoverstclair.com) Windham adds: “Mr. Herring was a very civic-minded man.

He sold and gave much of his land to organizations that could form a town out of wilderness … the cemetery, railroad stations and part of the right-of-way, the Baptist and Presbyterian churches and Spring Lake College. His ability as an architect was a great asset to the town in its formative years.”

She depicts the Herring home as “... quite spacious — a two-story structure with high ceilings, large rooms and winding porches. Many of the materials used in this home, possibly the door itself, were brought from England. It was definitely the finest house in town.”

Upon the death of his father in 1873, son A.B. “Gus” Herring took charge of his father’s various business interests and decided to convert their family home into a hotel, which was, according to Windham, “… located on the direct route from the east to New Orleans” (present day U.S. 11). It prospered from the very beginning. In the early days, the “drummers’ — traveling salesmen — came by horse and buggy or train.

“Mr. Herring would meet the train with a horse and carriage to transport his guests to the hotel. There (they) could be assured of delicious food, entertainment in the form of card games or exchange of jokes, a restful night’s sleep, and true Southern hospitality.

“With the spacious halls, dining room and beautiful rambling

Martha Roberts with her Herring Hotel door porches, the Herring Hotel was an ideal place for banquets, parties and dances for local citizens as well as guests from neighboring cities.” In short, the Herring became a prime social center during Springville’s early years, a perfect adjunct to Springville Lake.

As more people began to travel by automobile, the hotel expanded as well, with a larger dining hall, complete renovation, and a new name, the Herring Inn. The Herring was famous for its potato salad, fried chicken and excellent fare in general. In those days, a lady named Icy Miller was said to have ruled the kitchen.

Windham also speaks of a now-bygone way of life on Main Street in Springville: “… Many people from Birmingham and Gadsden enjoyed driving to the Herring Inn, where they rocked on the wide porch or strolled to Springville Lake to feed the fish, then enjoyed a leisurely lunch. The children liked to romp on the tailored lawn under the shade of the spreading elm trees.

The (hotel) register contained the names of many statesmen, dignitaries, European travelers, even movie stars.”

Martha, whose mother was a Herring, recalls from her own childhood that the Inn was much the same way in its latter years, as today’s hectic world had not yet materialized in smaller towns such as Springville. It was “...full of Gone-With-theWind stuff — plush Victorian furniture, wool carpets, velvet drapes and fine woodwork.” She recalls admiring the elegance of the Inn as she walked past it on her way to school, especially its huge front door.

Until well into the 20th century, the hotel was heated by fireplaces, and its drinking and sanitary needs were served by a

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Traveling the

BACKROADS

Herring Hotel burning well and an outhouse. Eventually, a bathroom was installed on the first floor, but there were no attached private baths for any of the guest rooms. These eight upstairs rooms were quite large, with high ceilings, double beds and impeccable décor.

Besides transient guests, there were a few regular boarders, including construction crew members while nearby Interstate 59 was being built. The hotel’s capacity is estimated at about 20 souls. Among its permanent residents were brothers James Cresap Herring and Louis Herring, neither of whom ever married. It is said of the former that he worked at painting and other odd jobs around town and helped around the hotel, whereas the latter spent most of his time loitering among the town’s elders on a “liar’s bench” in front of the drug store.

Some names had changed over the years. For instance, the kitchen was now under the watchful eye of the inn’s current owner, Miss Jessie Herring, who was always called by her maiden name around the hotel, even though she had married more than once. She’s described as a beautiful woman with long red hair who, like her predecessors, was very stern in the operation of her kitchen. Her specialty was candied sweet potatoes.

The dining room was about 50 feet long, on the west side of the building, and had a long dining table, covered with a fine white tablecloth. Even in later years, it was still a preferred destination for Sunday dinner. Besides regular weekday victuals, the Inn served special lunches to school children, as the local elementary school had no lunchroom until the early 50s. These were simple meals of soup and various other staples and cost the student about 20 cents.

That doesn’t seem like much, but in the 1940s it was still hard to come by in a small town, even though the Great Depression had ended years before. In fact, kitchen workers averaged

26

only about $7 per week. During the Great Depression, Martha’s Aunt Mildred and Uncle Charlie Herring had also lived there.

They told her of the generosity of Miss Jessie during those desperately difficult times. She never let anyone who knocked on her door leave hungry.

On Christmas Day 1960, the Inn caught fire, destroying its rear half and making the rest uninhabitable. Of even worse consequence was the loss of Cresap Herring, who had remained asleep until there was no escape. Everyone else was spared.

When she learned the ruins were going to be torn down, Martha asked her father to get the front door for her. “It’s the one thing I always wanted from the Inn,” she says. Refinishing this relic was a real task of love, as it had been re-painted numerous times over many decades of constant use, and was hard to handle due to its immense weight. Her father, Lawrence Terry, did the refinishing job himself, using a piece of broken glass as a scraper to avoid scratching the wood as he removed the final layers.

Much of the Inn’s salvaged lumber was recycled into new buildings, and some of its elegant furnishings were sold off. Of the Inn itself, nothing remains onsite. The property is now home to Springville First United Methodist Church, but a hint of its former life can be seen on the lot next door.

A short flight of concrete curb steps ends at a wall of overgrown wisteria vines and ancient trees. It’s all that’s left of the home of Aaron Woodall, who owned Woodall Hardware. These two dwellings and their owners played key roles in Springville’s early history, now vanished except in print and legend.

But whenever Martha Roberts wants to rekindle a few pleasant memories from her own past, she has only to lay hands upon her front door and let imagination do the rest. l

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Sowing seeds for the future Mustard Seed Society transforms troubled children into capable adults Story by Samantha Corona Photos by Michael Callahan When you ask Glenn Magargee to talk about the Mustard Seed Society she founded almost 10 years ago in Pell City, she talks more about the board members, volunteers and gracious donors who support its mission.

When you ask her about the programs she offers, she talks more about the 15 horses who lead the daily activities and the abuse that some of them had to endure from previous owners.

And when you ask Magargee to talk about the work she does and why it’s important to her, she would rather share stories about the children who have become a part of the society and the promise she sees in each of their lives.

These children are a countless amount of youths from the surrounding area, including St. Clair, Calhoun and Jefferson counties, who have visited the Mustard Seed Society and experienced the love and lesson it has to offer. They come from different backgrounds, areas, experiences and upbringings, but share a similar story – they are considered troubled or “at-risk” juveniles. They have either been incarcerated or shown a pattern of behavior that their parents, school or judicial officials believe can lead to a future of hardship.

“Many can’t make a plan for life because they don’t believe life will ever be different from what they have now,” Magargee said. “They have no hope that they can live and be and have strengths. They have no hope, and there is nothing worse than that. It is nice to watch life change and see that hope come.”

Magargee’s attention has always been focused on the younger generation. She has been a licensed professional

29

Sowing seeds Bryan Tweed, horse professional, and Glenn Margargee carry lead lines and halters for the day’s activities.

counselor for more than 20 years, and worked with several Department of Human Resources and Divisions of Youth Services throughout the state.

The idea to bring her passion for helping children together with her longtime love of horses came by accident. She gave her son a horse for his 21st birthday, and the rest is history.

“I heard about EAGALA – Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association – in Atlanta. We went to see what they do and I was hooked immediately. I saw this therapy and how powerful it was, and how these children and adults caught on so quickly to the values and lessons you can learn,” she said. “I’ve been there ever since.”

According to mustardseedkids.org, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is an innovative therapeutic process that uses horses as a tool for emotional growth and learning. It is experiential in nature, requiring the participants to interact with horses and others as they learn about themselves. It is not about learning to ride a horse, but more about learning how to live.

Activities are planned so that the child is required to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for the results.

Magargee leads the activities, along with fellow counselor Bryan Tweed. Tweed is a horse professional and has had more than 30 years in riding, training and teaching with horses.

30

Bryan Tweed gives Festus, the mule, a pat.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Sowing seeds Bryan Tweed shares a moment with Miya and a student.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

A non-compliant horse mirrors problems a student may have.

“Bryan is a very accomplished horse trainer and his horse knowledge, coupled with his wonderful observation skills and delightful wit, add tremendously to our program,” she said.

“He does a great job of keeping our kids safe in all the activities.”

The Mustard Seed Society doesn’t have many volunteers for daily activities, but they do collaborate with The Red Barn in Leeds through the Rescue Our Children (ROC) program.

The Red Barn provides help with the two high school groups that visit, and Magargee participates in training staff and hosting programs. The society has also partnered with MAPS, a resource organization for veterans in St. Clair County.

When school is in session, the stables usually host about 65 kids a week — six groups a day, every day. The groups include youths from the St. Clair County Day Program, Pell City High School, Strong Girls in Jefferson County, Coosa Valley Youth Services and juvenile boot camps.

Magargee said the St. Clair County School System is now interested in beginning a regular program as well, and she’s been asked to expand her reach to special-needs children dealing with Asperger’s syndrome and autism.

The therapy and related activities are free of charge for all participants and their families, but there is still cost for equipment and upkeep of the horses.

“I’m grateful for what we have, and we figure it out from day to day,” she said. “If they send them, we’ll find a way to do it.”

Bonds develop The Mustard Seed Society has 15 horses – eight adult horses, five miniatures, a 3-year-old and one baby mule. All but three are rescue horses, which means while Magargee dedicates her time to helping children in need, she also can’t turn away from an animal in need either.

Some come from abusive owners, broken homes and cruel circumstances. Magargee said often times that’s just another bond between the children and the horses – they both have to learn to trust each other.

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Sowing seeds

Margargee talks with student about young, rescue horse.

Magargee doesn’t tolerate disrespect and saying, “I’m not doing that,” she said. “I can’t” is not an option.

Activities cover a variety of topics, skills and lessons, including leading the horses around the grounds and through obstacles, setting boundaries for the horse and getting to know them, their likes and dislikes.

Confidence builds The children are required to solve problems, like how to get a horse to respond to their directions. They are asked to make goals and develop plans on how to accomplish a particular activity, and most importantly, they are challenged on how to resolve a conflict without yelling or fighting.

A regular camping activity focuses on being out of your comfort zone and having to rely on yourself and others for food. Magargee leads the group out and each person has to find wood for the fire and cook their own lunch.

“It’s the little things that can make the biggest difference. Many of these kids don’t think they are capable of making their own food because they’ve never had someone teach them how.

Some may think they’re too good to eat beans or whatever they can afford, so they steal food from somewhere else,” she said. “This teaches them that they can take care of themselves, they do have skills, and they can do the work they have to do in order to get what they need.”

Rescued mini horses are a source for learning about compassion.

Youths gather in arena to talk about what they’ve learned.

34

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Sowing seeds Catching a mini means learning about patience and trust.

Hanging out at the barn

Reaching goals Magargee encourages each child to talk about their background and what they might have done to get themselves in an “at-risk” program. There is no judgment, no criticism or singling out. The question is simply: “What made you make that decision and what could you have done better?”

For her, the answer to that question is what the mission of the Mustard Seed Society is all about and the end-goal for every child who walks through the stables.

“The most important thing is that they know they have skills and there is something good about them, because all of their life they’ve been told they are bad, stupid, alone or that they’re going to end up in prison,” Margaree said.

“To see the difference in theses kids is amazing. If they can understand that when they’re afraid, they can do the important things they need to do. They can conquer those fears and accomplish things in spite of it. … That’s when they know they can offer a lot to society” l

For more information on the Mustard Seed Society or how to donate, visit www.mustardseedkids.org 36

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On a Mission

Christy Minor follows in her grandparents’ footsteps

Working with children a passion

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Michael Callahan Submitted photos by Christy Minor It’s a legacy of mission work that has taken Christy Church Minor halfway around the world and back again — six times. But it’s a calling to a continent she seems to have been destined to fulfill.

Her grandparents Clyde and Anneli Dotson were missionaries in Africa for 40 years. Her mother, Margaret, grew up as the daughter of those missionary parents in Rhodesia. And

38

although Minor is a judge’s wife, a mother of two and an elementary school librarian in Pell City, Alabama, Africa has become a place that beckons her every summer.

Fresh from a mission trip to Swaziland, a tiny country in South Africa, Minor shares her experience from the comfort of Coosa Valley Elementary’s library, surrounded by Pell City children eager to hear her story about this faraway land.

A month earlier, she was wrapped nearly head to toe with the warmest clothes she could find. It’s winter there while Alabama children swelter in the heat of the summer sun. As a

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On a Mission Minor reads to children of Bulembu — just like back home.

member of the Pell City First Baptist Church mission team, her work at an orphanage in Bulembu was getting its library in order in a building with no heat.

By the end of the week, neat shelves packed with books in orderly fashion replaced the titanic piles of books strewn about the floor that Minor had encountered upon arrival. She went through them all, discarding what wasn’t needed or was out of date and then transformed it into a real, usable library. “They were very happy to have a librarian,” she notes.

And just like she does on a regular basis at Coosa Valley, she would read to the children of Bulembu.

Their favorite, just like back home, was “No, David!”

And as Minor recounts to the Coosa Valley children about sharing the children’s book with their counterparts a world away, the look of familiarity is evident in their faces.

40

First Baptist Mission Team, from left: Susie McClanahan, Minor, Keith Moore, Joan Deason, Rita Foster and Rhonda Adcock

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

Minor and her grandmother, Anneli Dotson, share mission memories.

While where she was in Bulembu was an orphanage, careful attention is given to avoid the stigma of children with no family. They live in individual homes with “aunties” caring for them. She lived in one of the nearby homes, visiting the children each afternoon after school and working with them. She , too, became known as “Auntie Christy,” she tells her students in the best South African accent she can muster.

But by the end of the week, when the Bulembu children would see her on the playground, they reminded her of the joy they found in what they learned from the book she had shared.

If imitation is the best form of flattery, they certainly discovered it. They would smile, hold up a single finger and say, “No, David!” to her as she passed.

Bulembu is actually a real-life lesson to be learned in and of itself. It was a deserted mining town bought by the not-forprofit Bulembu Ministries Swaziland just seven years ago.

Swaziland fell victim to the AIDS pandemic and has the highest incidence in the world of this deadly disease. As a result, thousands of children have been left orphaned.

Bulembu, in which Global Teen Challenge plays a major role, was created with a vision to make it self-sustaining to give those children a chance to rise above the abject poverty that has controlled their region for generations. And it’s working. It is now 30 percent self-sustainable through a dairy operation, bottling honey, a bakery, a water bottling plant and timber sales.

“It is very encouraging,” Minor says. Teachers come from all over the world. “They said, ‘We just came here for a few months’ ” and seven years later, they’re still there.” She is convinced in seeing firsthand what goes on there — a challenging curriculum, medical care, love and guidance — “they will be the future leaders of the country.”

Because of this ministry, the benefits and accommodations were not what she had come to expect from previous trips. “I am used to going to remote, really destitute areas” — places where Malaria reigns and swollen bellies from malnutrition are the norm. But in Bulembu, “It was truly a trip of hope to see what can happen when God’s people come together to help children.”

It also made her see that she is needed elsewhere, in places where the visitors aren’t as numerous nor the opportunities as plentiful.

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On a Mission

Minor helps Bulembu children with chores.

Sharing her stories at Coosa Valley Elementary 42

She wants to go back to those remote areas “where they need medical attention and where they have never heard the word of Jesus Christ.” That is her calling, she says, just like her grandparents before her.

Just after Minor returned to Alabama, her grandmother was to give a talk about missionary work at her Oxford church and asked her granddaughter to share her experience as well.

“She was able to share about what was happening 50 years ago, and I shared what was happening five days ago.”

To them, it is a legacy of love and compassion that lives on. “I have always felt called to the continent of Africa,” Minor says, her eyes reflecting an unmistakable longing to return.

For her, it is an obvious conclusion. “My heart is intertwined.” l

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Fifteen and FAST Pell City’s ‘Coyote’ Cole Daffron a force to contend with on the race track Story by Graham Hadley Photos by Michael Callahan Track photos courtesy of Kelly’s Racing Photography Though Pell City’s William Cole Daffron can’t legally drive on the road without an adult in the car with him, he already has one national championship under his belt on the track and has his sights set on ARCA and eventually NASCAR. With help from his family, friends, supporters and sponsors, “Coyote” Cole has been working his way up the racing ladder, starting out on the go-kart circuit and moving up to Pro Challenge 3/4-size trucks in the past year. They have a dirt track car ready and are putting together a pro late-model racecar — possibly the last step before moving on to ARCA and similar competitions.

“Cole has his eyes locked in to the ARCA series as the next step to NASCAR. He is currently running a dirt crate late-model on a limited basis to get that much-needed experience,” his father, Scott Daffron, said.

The Pell City High School student is only 15 years old — he has his learner’s permit thanks to his mother Tracy Partain mailing him the paperwork when he was at the beach. While he is learning to drive responsibly on public streets, Cole has hit speeds of well over 100 mph on the track.

Cole started racing go-karts in 2007 when he was 9 years old.

His father had been racing cars off and on for years and helping other racers, with Cole often following Scott to the track to watch.

Cole said he tried out baseball, but did not like it much — he knew he wanted to get behind the wheel. The decision to start racing was mutual. Cole wanted to race and Scott wanted him to do it too, but did not want to push him.

“It was his decision. He had to want to do it. I wanted to be sure he was living his dream and not mine,” Scott said.

For Cole, the choice was simple — he wanted to race. In fact,

44

Cole Daffron in racing gear behind the wheel of his Pro Challenge truck

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

45

ON TRACK TO WIN

Cole in his No. 7 Pro Challenge truck on the track, including his record-setting day at Sunny South Raceway in Grand Bay, Alabama.

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that is his core goal, to make a career on the track.

So Scott bought a racing go-kart. These are not your runthrough-the-yard domestic karts many children have. They are miniature racecars and are almost as complicated as the larger vehicles, costing in the thousands of dollars. Scott started out with a used one in case Cole decided he did not want to keep racing.

But he took to the sport like a natural — and has a room full of trophies and winner’s checks, not to mention a nationalchampionship ring, to prove it.

Cole started racing at the Talladega Short Track in 2007, pulling a respectable third place track championship that year.

The following year, he earned a track championship, and by 2009, he won both the Alabama-Mississippi Series championship, champ kart, and the Maxxis Tire national championship, flat kart.

“That first race, it was exciting, different from anything I had ever done. It was the best time I ever had,” Cole said, though he did note the national championship race was the most exciting time he has ever had.

Scott said it was during those early racing days Cole earned the nickname “Coyote” — based on the coyote character from the Roadrunner cartoons. He was racing more experienced drivers who had already made names for themselves, “and I told him if he beats those guys, he would be the Coyote. … and then he started beating them.”

As the wins kept coming, with success across the Southeast in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and other states, Cole stepped up to the next level with the 3/4-scale Pro Challenge trucks, graduating at the same time from dirt to asphalt, once again proving himself a natural behind the wheel.

To date, Scott said Cole has not had a Pro Challenge finish lower than fifth. Just this September, he set a new track record during qualifying at Sunny South Raceway in Grand Bay, Alabama, and went on to win the race there for the sixth time in a row.

Even before that race, the PCHS teen had already been tapped as the 2013 rookie of the year for that series and is in a “three-way battle” for second place in the national championship, he said.

Scott and Cole say they fully expect him to be in an ARCA race by 2015.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

47

Fifteen and FAST

Cole and his father, Scott, stand next to a table full of Cole’s trophies. The white car is the pro late-model they are putting together.

Dedication, hard work and more than a little help Though Cole is the one driving the car, there is a whole network of support behind him making his racing career possible.

“A lot of people don’t understand this is a full-fledged racing program,” Scott said. The go-karts cost thousands of dollars, the Pro Challenge car costs thousands more, and the dirt-track car and the pro late model cars cost in the tens of thousands — and that is just to purchase the vehicle and get it race ready. That does not include maintenance and parts — especially tires, and the transportation to and from the tracks and other expenses.

Luckily for Cole, help is in no short supply.

His grandparents, Bill and Patricia Daffron, “are probably Cole’s biggest sponsors and his biggest fans. They make sure we have what we need to race. They are very supportive,” Scott said.

In fact, it is partially because of Bill that the family got into the racing business. He left the car dealership he had been working at to start a salvage yard and body shop. It was that car-filled environment that Scott grew up in that he credits with getting him hooked on

48

The Pro Challenge cars are powered by inline four-cylinder motorcycle engines.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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racing (and restoring vintage vehicles, but that’s another story).

Though his father still runs the salvage yard, Scott handles the body shop.

It is this family-run business and its resources that form the backbone of Cole’s racing operation.

Because of his quick success at the track, Cole has already landed one sponsor — Amsoil D&S Lubrication through Dennis Crowe, which has brought in some much-needed financial support.

Then there is Carl Dieas, who helps out around the shop and can always be counted on to track down parts — sometimes from very far away and on very short notice.

“I just help out a little here and there,” Carl said, but Scott was quick to clarify exactly how important a role Carl really plays.

“He has done a round trip in 13 hours for parts that had been ordered but did not come in time. If he had not done that, we would not have been racing that weekend. It’s hard to do this without Carl,” Scott said.

Cole and his Dad also throw credit to Scott Honeycutt — Cole’s spotter during races and his “right-hand man.”

“He is the best spotter I have seen. He can talk Cole through any thing, a wreck, whatever, on the track. … But he does not try to tell Cole how to drive,” Scott said.

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Fifteen and FAST

Cole in his racing suit shows off his favorite ride — his dirt-track car.

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Cole earned the nickname ‘Coyote’ after beating more experienced racers on the track.

For all the help he receives, Cole does his part, too — aside from just driving.

Between training and maintaining his vehicles, Cole says he does not have much free time. “I come in from school and start working in the garage. We take a break around 5 and eat dinner, then come back out and work some more,” he said, adding that the races take up “just about all my weekends.”

And though he is only 15 and can’t legally drive on public streets without an adult, he is preparing for the day he gets his driver’s license, too, by building his own truck in one of the family’s garages. He has already made solid progress on putting his 2009 Chevrolet together.

The thrill of racing For Cole, all the hard work is more than worth it when he gets out on the track and it’s all about the racing.

“The first time I won a truck race, we had been working so hard. It was the last few laps and I was in front. The spotter was telling me where the other guy was behind me on the last lap. You pray you don’t mess up, and then you win,” Cole said, emphasizing that the excitement of those moments is almost beyond description.

Scott shares the thrill from afar, but gets equally excited. He remembers the national championship race in fine detail. “It was my most exciting moment. Watching him come around the corners in front. Cole was breathing so hard, his mask would fog up and he would fall back. The kids kept trading the lead, then we came out ahead.”

Along with the excitement of the race, Scott admits that, as a parent, there is also concern that something could go wrong.

“My heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest every time somebody gets close to Cole on the track or something happens,” he said.

Luckily, Cole has not had any serious accidents to date, though he did flip a go-kart off a berm one time.

“We were coming out of a turn three wide,” Cole said. The karts got tangled up, and “I hit a berm and flipped in the air, landed on all four tires. It was pretty intense.”

“Thank God he landed on all four — there is no roll cage on those,” Scott said.

“And no seat belts,” Cole added.

Given his track record and continued winning streak, Cole said he thinks he has a solid chance of one day racing NASCAR. His Dad agrees, but says they still have a ways to go, both as a team and Cole as a driver.

“I want to make sure he is mature enough. So far, everything has worked because we have been taking it in steps,” Scott said, pointing out that time behind the wheel is really the key to being a good driver. Right now, he wants Cole to race cars on the dirt track because, even though they can top 100 mph, the slick dirt will help prepare him for the day he races stock cars on asphalt and the tires heat up and become slick.

And, as Cole builds up his driving skills, Scott hopes to attract more attention to what they are doing, possibly even finding more sponsors and supporters.

“We are still in development. We are learning as we go along,” he said. l

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Business Briefing

Gov. Bentley (center) meets with business people at round table.

st. clair edc on the move The message is resonating throughout Alabama and beyond: Economic development in St. Clair County is on the move.

In just the past month, the St. Clair County Economic Development Council has appeared on NBC 13’s What’s Working and was featured in Business Alabama Magazine, and Gov. Robert Bentley toured the county to get a firsthand look at economic development efforts in the county.

In just the past 90 days, three new industries have announced plans to locate in St. Clair, bolstering employment numbers by 145, and a fourth manufacturer is in the midst of a $4.2 million expansion in Pell City that will add another 35 jobs.

All are welcome news as the EDC continues its capital campaign to raise $1 million to fund strategic initiatives over the next five years, building on an impressive five-year run leading up to it.

On the heels of creating 2,510 new jobs, increasing payrolls by $73 million and generating more than $1.5 million in taxes for education, EDC is rolling out a new plan over the next five years that calls for: • $150 million in new capital investments • $50 million in additional payroll from new jobs created • $3 million in additional tax revenue for schools • 1,500 new jobs throughout the county Newest on the economic development scene is Bag Supply Company, which will expand its footprint in St. Clair County

by investing $8 million in an additional location in Leeds, adding 50 additional workers and helping it to take advantage of current opportunities in the market.

Founded in 1990, Bag Supply Co. is a single-source, fullservice bag distributor in Moody.

It operates warehouse and production locations in Ft. Worth, Texas, and Puebla, Mexico. Its primary products include all polypropylene, polyethylene, multi-wall paper and burlap bags for commercial applications. Serving the Mineral, Chemical, Agriculture and Construction industries throughout North America. The new facility is to be located on Old Markeeta Spur Road.

Bag Supply joins two other industries that have announced plans of late to locate in St. Clair. Trinity Design Group, LLC, announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in Pell City.

SKF will expand its North American Solution Factory network in Moody.

Trinity’s operations in St. Clair County will support its continued work with nearby Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in Lincoln. The company provides reusable containers for Honda supplier parts.

SKF will provide service to its growing base of more than 400 original equipment manufacturers in the region including those in the metal, food and beverage, mining, and pulp and paper industries.

In addition, Eissmann Automotive, which makes leather products for the automobile industry, is expanding for the fourth time at its Pell City facility since locating in 2005.

52 • DISCOVER The EssenceDISCOVER of St. Clair The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2013

By Carol Pappas

Anglers get Lucky’s back

Economic trends are pointing upward as more businesses continue to open doors.

Lucky’s Bait and Tackle, an icon for many years on Logan Martin Lake, has reopened under new ownership on U.S. 231 South in Cropwell.

New owners are Aaron Roberts and Debbie Cearly.

The store features live bait, rods and fishing tackle. They kept the name for nostalgia.

“Everybody knew it as Lucky’s.

Why change it?,” said Roberts.

“It was the place to stop on the way to the lake.”

And owners hope to return to that status once again.

Gift shop, classic cars all under one roof

Bradford’s Classic Heaven Gift Shop and Classic Heaven Cars have opened on U.S. 231 North in the Coal City area.

All under one roof, Rebecca and Robert Bradford offer a unique operation. On one side are restored classic cars. On the other is a specialty shop offering a wide variety of gifts, like Auburn and Alabama purses, lamps and beach towels.

Shelves are stocked with unique gifts, and the inventory is growing.

Owners wanted to offer something unique and different, and they are filling that niche with Classic Heaven open Monday through Saturday.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • August & September 2013 The Essence of St. Clair • 53 DISCOVER

Business Directory

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Business News Employment

Closing the ‘job gap’

Story by Carol Pappas It’s been quoted often enough for generations: “To get a good job, you have to get a good education.”

But education doesn’t always mean a four-year, college degree. And that good job? Some can step into it right after high school — if they learn the right skills.

That’s where CEFA, the Construction Education Foundation of Alabama, aims to help, says St. Clair County’s John Garrison, owner of Pell City-based Garrison Steel. He serves as chairman of the board for CEFA, created through a partnership of Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama, Alabama Associated General Contractors and the Alabama Concrete Industries Association. And he is intent on spreading the message that “entering a trade is not the end of the game,” very often, it’s the beginning of a lucrative career.

He speaks from experience. “Most of the hundreds of construction managers I know are tradesmen, themselves, which proves that for the serious-minded individual, it is a career that can have many paths to prosperity. I for one entered the industry as a trainee, then a tradesman, superintendent, manager and business owner.”

Take a look around at big-name projects, and you’ll find Garrison Steel’s name right along with them for steel erection and fabrication. There’s Birmingham International Airport, Regions Park, Church of the Highlands, St. Vincent’s St. Clair, Col. Robert L. Howard Veterans Home, Smyrna Tennessee’s Nissan plant, Tuscaloosa’s Coleman Coliseum, Auburn Recreation Center, UAB School of Health, Retirement Systems of Alabama and Eglin Air Force Base. The list is longer, but Garrison hopes young people get the point: Opportunity awaits.

There is a looming gap where there is a shortage of skilled labor to fill all kinds of jobs associated with those types of projects. CEFA has the potential to help close that gap, Garrison said.

CEFA is a Registered Apprenticeship Program and operates under the supervision of the Office of Apprenticeship, U.S. Department of Labor. All students who are employed by contractors are “registered apprentices.”

Up to 2010, CEFA’s training efforts focused solely on the employees of contractors. In 2010 in response to the shortage of “trained” labor, CEFA opened the training classes to people who wanted to learn a trade and

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Business Directory

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Business News Employment

Building a career along with new addition to Birmingham International Airport use the training as an edge in starting a career in a construction trade.

It provides training in: • Electrical • HVAC • Carpentry • Plumbing • Sheet Metal • Welding In addition, CEFA’s first Pipefitting class began in 2012. In January 2014, it is expected to start training in ironworking.

CEFA and Garrison Steel are working together to launch this new ironworking program, recognizing “there is a tremendous shortage of qualified job applicants for positions of ironworking and welding,” said Byron McCain, president of CEFA. Industry statistics show the average age of a trained craft worker is 49 years old, “so the industry must step up the effort to bring new young people to the industry. The ‘Go Build Campaign’ that is funded by the commercial construction industry is helping raise awareness that good-paying careers exist in commercial construction. The Go Build message, echoed by CEFA, is find a career, not just a job in construction,” McCain said. “A college education is what some people need to succeed, but a good-paying career in construction is the road to success for many.”

“While there are returning veterans and unemployed citizens who are bumping around in the dark trying to find careers with a future, our industry needs to come together to light the way,” Garrison said.

Individuals interested in learning a trade should contact CEFA at 205-956-0146 or visit www.CEFAlabama.org. CEFA staff will work with applicants to find ways to cover the tuition

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John Garrison for training, McCain said. Some applicants are able to find employers who fund the training. Others pay the tuition on an individual basis, while some are able to qualify for Workforce Investment Act funding. CEFA has a limited scholarship fund that helps offset some of the cost of training for those who pay the tuition.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Business News Food Industry

Pell City broadens its menu

Story by Carol Pappas

Patrick and Suzanna Bischoff Gibson, owners of Café 34 and The Special Place Ice Cream Emporium

Daylight Donuts thriving on US 231

Got a sweet tooth that needs satisfying? How about a hankering for barbecue or a steak cut fresh for the grill?

Pell City’s edibles table just got a whole lot bigger.

In recent months, the city has added Daylight Donuts, Café 34, That Special Place Ice Cream Emporium, Lulu’s Barbecue and Trading Post. While their offerings are vastly different, there is a common thread among them — all are locally owned.

Ice cream shop, café open

Two of the eateries belong to Patrick and Suzanna Bischoff Gibson — Café 34 and The Special Place Ice Cream Emporium. They are located in Cropwell Commons.

The couple started with dessert first, opening the ice cream parlor. Suzanna said she always wanted to own her own business, and she started brainstorming. “Why don’t we open an ice cream store?,” she asked her husband one day. “Can we sell hotdogs?” he replied with another question. The answer to both was “yes.” And the ice-cream store was born.

The name comes from a story she tells about her late father, Jimmy Bischoff. He used to take his children to an ice cream shop in Riverside, and he would always call it their “that special place.”

They offer a full line of Blue Bell ice cream, floats, sundaes and all the rest in the “sweets” category, and Patrick got his wish. They serve Nathan’s Hotdogs.

A couple of doors down, they opened Café 34 in the former Lunch location. Patrick, had a background in the restaurant business, and this was a natural progression for the couple. Café 34 offers sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, quiche of the day and two favorites — Jimmy’s Four Layer Pie and Bonnie’s Caramel Cake, getting their name from her parents.

Her father taught her how to make the pie, and her mother is somewhat of a local celebrity with her caramel cake. “Mom’s been making caramel cakes for people as long as I can remember.”

In addition to lunch, Café 34 is open for breakfast on Saturday, dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays and lunch on Sundays.

Doughnuts and more

When Daylight Donuts’ owner was visiting Logan Martin Lake, he noticed there was no place to get a good, freshly made doughnut. So he opened Daylight Donuts on U.S. 231 South, less than a mile from Interstate 20 and on the main thoroughfare heading to the lake.

Manager Bryan Hour says the store specializes in fresh, baked doughnuts and personalized service.

Take a look inside the showcase, and you’ll see a full selection of traditional, glazed doughnuts, pastries and

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

yeast-raised cake doughnuts. If your mouth isn’t watering yet, try the apple fritters or a doughnut with strawberry, vanilla cream, chocolate or other filling. Want your filling half and half? Daylight delivers.

The specialty of the house is Kolache, originally a Czechoslovakian treat of special bread made from scratch in-house wrapped around smoked sausage with cheese, jalapeno with cheese, ham and cheese and boudain, a cajun sausage. “It’s a very good seller for breakfast, lunch or dinner,” Hour said.

Daylight also offers croissants, breakfast burritos, bagels and biscuits. Their products are made fresh daily, all day long.

Bruce Ervin has a variety of offerings at new store.

Trading Post all about fresh

Ask Trading Post owner Bruce Ervin about his latest venture, and he’ll quickly tell you it’s all about the freshness.

Starting as a deer-processing facility, he soon realized there was a need for processing all kinds of meats and offering a variety of meats for sale.

Trading Post is a processing facility, butcher shop, country store and smokehouse all in one. He hand-cuts fresh steaks to order as well as offering fresh roast, cube steak, ground beef and stew meat. “Made in our own smokehouse just like my granddaddy did” are cured bacon, fresh bacon, Canadian bacon, cured hams, sausage, smoked sausage, link sausage, pork chops, ribs and pork loins. There’s fresh chicken, too, as well as a country store offering a variety of Amish items.

Ervin, who says he’s been cooking since he was 12, has meals ready to go, like beef tips and rice and homemade chili and will be expanding that line soon. “My mom catered. I grew up catering weddings, man-of-the-year banquets, grand openings, political events.”

People are on the go, he said, and his ready-to-eat meals are growing in popularity.

On the processing end of the operation, Trading Post handles cows, hogs, deer, sheep and goats, and Ervin raises and sells free-range Berkshire Hogs.

Trading Post is located on the corner of Florida Road and Old Coal City Road, just outside Pell City limits.

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Business News Food Industry Lulu’s Barbecue

Owning her own restaurant is something Lulu Johnson always wanted to do. “I’ve had a passion for it for a long time.”

So in late July, she opened the doors to feature her signature barbecue and sauce and so much more. While barbecue and ribs are the specialty, the menu is chocked full of platters, fish, salads, hamburgers and hotdogs, and she just added made-from-scratch wings in a variety of flavors.

And soon, she will be bringing back her locally famous “meat ‘n three.”

She prides herself on made-fromscratch foods like her own special barbecue sauce and her potato salad.

When customers come in, her homemade potato salad is what they ask for.

“They know I make my own. It doesn’t come from a box.”

Lulu Johnson inside her new restaurant on Alabama 34 in the former Shields’ location.

Lulu’s Potato Salad While Lulu wisely keeps her barbecue sauce recipe to herself, she was willing to share her potato salad recipe with Discover readers:

5 lbs. potatoes 1 cup pickle relish 8 hard boiled eggs 1 sm. jar pimiento 1/3 cup diced celery 2 Tbs. diced onion 4 Tbs. mustard 2 cups of mayonnaise Salt, pepper to taste

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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WOOD WONDER

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Michael Callahan

When Lisa Phelps tells you she loves wood, you sense a gross understatement. She used four different hardwoods and a lot of pine in the new home she shares with husband, Kenny, in Odenville’s Aradon Farms. That doesn’t include the oak, cherry and maple in some of her antiques. Close your eyes, and you can almost smell the forest.

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WOOD WONDER

An antler chandelier pulls together the outdoor look of the antlers scattered about the great room.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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“I like woods of all kinds,” she says, reciting a materials list that includes cedar, alder, hickory and sweet gum.

Much of the wood in her house has a story behind it, from the cedar tree that provided a stair rail, towel racks, shelves and candleholders, to the heart-pine flooring that retained its natural knot holes.

The use of natural wood accents and textures in home decor is one of the hottest trends in home design. Lisa had no idea she was being trendy, however. She just knew what she liked. “I wanted a rustic look,” she says.

She got it, both inside and out.

Muted brown brick with weeping mortar, i.e., mortar that appears to be ever-so-slightly oozing, dominates the face of the house. Cedar posts top stacked-stone pillars to brace the roof of the porch, repeating the stone in the walkway and steps. On the concrete porch, a piece of driftwood picked up at a local flea market and a willow chair add to the rustic look.

Lisa spent a lot of time prowling antique shops and salvage stores while Benchmark Construction was building the house.

She found the antique panels that divide the small study from the great room and entryway at Hannah Antiques in Birmingham. She complemented their wrought-iron insets with wrought-iron handles from HGH Hardware, also of Birmingham. “The handles are one of a kind, because HGH orders them from a company that throws away the wax mold after each casting,” she says. The stained-glass window in the study, which has a starburst pattern, is more than 100 years old. It, too, came from Hannah Antiques.

From floor to ceiling, the great room blends Lisa’s love of wood with Kenny’s love of the outdoors. The floor is unusual because Lisa wouldn’t let the installer fill in its knot holes, the normal practice after laying heart-pine. She wanted them open to make the floor appear older and more rustic. An antler chandelier, made from white-tail deer and purchased from a sporting goods store in Florence, Alabama, hangs from the cathedralstyle, tongue-in-groove pine ceiling. Most of the other antlers scattered about the room are from deer that Kenny, his four brothers and their dad shot. Posts and corbels are made of cedar, while baseboards and door frames are made of pine. David and Scott Roy, of Roy Lumber, Bessemer, made the corbels.

Lisa designed several centerpieces based on the antler theme.

One, on the credenza behind her sofa, features antlers grouped

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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WOOD WONDER

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The stained-glass window in the Phelps study came from an old church.

around a small cedar candleholder that Kenny made. The centerpiece on the glasstopped breakfast table consists of a large hurricane glass filled with antlers, with a candle in the center, on a white charger plate. A floral arrangement in the entryway uses antlers, and the dining room table shows off her grandmother’s wooden dough bowl as a container for pebbles, peacock feathers, an old-fashioned milk jug and a piece of driftwood.

The rifle on the sweet gum mantel is a reproduction of a cap-and-ball musket and belonged to Kenny’s dad. An Ansel Adams print, a deer statue and more antlers round out the mantel’s adornments.

A maple deer-leg table adds a touch of whimsy. Picked up for $40 at Hoover Antiques, it is topped with a new lamp featuring, you guessed it, antlers. The lamp came from Inline Lighting in Pelham. Lisa commissioned Stray Cats Home Decor of Childersburg to make the small oak sofa table next to the glass doors leading to the screened porch. The table displays a little brown jug, a clock and a lamp on top, along with Lisa’s jar and bottle collection on the bottom shelf.

The 2,700-square-foot house has three bedrooms and 4.5 baths, plus a bonus room upstairs that’s as large as an efficiency apartment. It’s actually a scaled-down version of a 4,700-square-foot home the Phelps saw but couldn’t afford. “We tracked down the architect, Mark Tidwell of Trussville, and got him to draw it smaller for us,” Lisa explains.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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WOOD WONDER

Lisa used copper for her sink because the metal doesn’t allow bacteria go grow.

master bath, which is made of marble. In the kitchen, a hammered-copper farm sink rests in an island. “I chose copper because it doesn’t grow bacteria,” Lisa says. Kitchen cabinets are made of alder, which Lisa deems, “a poor man’s cherry.” Although pot-fillers normally are centered over range tops, Lisa had hers off-set to the left, because she had an accent tile she wanted in the center.

“I had never seen this done before until I built the Phelps house, but it’s becoming more popular,” says Dennis Smothers, owner of Benchmark Construction.

Her only regret in building the house is her choice of refrigerators. She bought a huge Thermador because of a sale. “I bought the fridge, and got a microwave and dishwasher free,” she says. “The fridge was too much money, which Kenny and Dennis tried to tell me, and it just isn’t worth it. I do love my Thermador gas range, though.”

Bathroom vanities are made of hickory, except for the one in the powder room off the kitchen. That one is an antique dresser from Denmark that a friend from church, Jack Col-

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Wood and stone come together in the master bath.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

Kenny’s shower is as large as a walk-in closet.

A rock sink and a water-pump style faucet give the powder room a farmhouse look.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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WOOD WONDER

Posts and corbels in the great room are made of cedar.

lins, turned into a vanity by removing the drawers. The rock sink on top came from Southeastern Salvage in Irondale.

The stairs to the bonus room are located between the kitchen and the guest bedroom. Lisa knew she wanted a cedar hand rail for those stairs, but couldn’t find one the length she needed. So Scott Roy cut down a cedar tree from his own property, Lisa’s son-in-law scraped off the bark, and Kenny fashioned a hand rail out of it. Not one to waste any leftovers, he made several coat and towel racks for hallways and bathrooms, a picture-frame shelf for the guest room, plus various candleholders and bookends.

The master bathroom measures 15 feet by 18 feet and features a fiberglass tub for Lisa and a 4-foot-by-10-foot, multi-colored slate shower for Kenny.

Lisa found a bamboo kiva-style ladder that she placed at the entrance-end of the shower for decoration, but with its vast

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Note the V-shaped cut-out to the left of Kenny’s deer heads, the brainchild of builder Dennis Smothers to show off the entryway ceiling from the great room (this view) and the great room ceiling from the entryway (opposite direction).

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Lisa found these panels at an antique shop and turned them into doors.

distance from the shower head, it could easily keep Kenny’s towels dry.

Most of the furnishings in the house came from the couple’s former home in St. Clair Springs. They did, however, purchase a few new items, such as the dining room table and its stuffed chairs, which came from Pier I imports in Hoover. Lisa wanted a blue wall in the dining room to pull out the blue in the chair-cover pattern. Kenny and Dennis tried to discourage this decision because they said it made the room look “beachy.” But Lisa prevailed, and the men now agree that it looks great.

Lisa praises Smothers as an artisan as well as a builder.

“He came up with many ideas to enhance the rustic look we wanted,” she says. “For example, instead of crown molding in the dining area, he used cedar planks. He fashioned a triangular-shaped cut-out at the top of the divider between the entryway and the great room, to give the entryway a little depth.”

Smothers can’t say enough about Lisa’s innate decorating abilities.

“I’d hire her as a decorator if she’d do it,” he says. l

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Taking a pie in the face for the team

Dr. Collins readies for action from Regina Ray, RN

Photography by Michael Callahan It’s not too often that a nurse gets to throw a pie in the face of a doctor. OK, let’s say rare.

All right, we admit it. Almost never.

But at St. Vincent’s St. Clair, a good cause trumped protocol, and five doctors ended up with pie on their face while raising nearly $5,000 for the American Heart Association.

St. Vincent’s St. Clair staff held the fundraiser for its Heart Walk team with physicians volunteering to participate. Through donations, individuals voted for their favorite doctor to get smacked with a pie in their face.

“The physician receiving the most donations in his honor would win the contest,” said Shelley Gallups, RN, and chairwoman of the walk team. But there was a twist. “Donors collaborated to assure that four physicians tied for first place,” she said. “A fifth physician volunteered to ‘take a pie’ for the hard work the team had put into beating our fundraising goal.”

In addition to the receiving end, there was a giving end. Tickets were sold for a drawing to determine who would get the “honor” of throwing a pie. l

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Doctors Rock Helms, Michael Dupre’ and Barry Collins await main event.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

Dr. Dupre’s aftermath

Nicki Goodwin, RN gives Dr. Frosina his due.

Sara Thompson, CRNP, and Deena Thomas, RN, team up on Dr. McClanahan.

Favorite physicians and their probably not-so-favorite pie throwers were: Dr. Barry Collins – Regina Ray, RN Dr. Michael Dupre – Justin Watkins, RN Dr. Carl Frosina – Nicki Goodwin, RN Dr. Rock Helms – Deena Thomas, RN Dr. William McClanahan – Sara Thompson, CRNP

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Camp Winnataska 95 years old and counting

Story by Carol Pappas Photography by Michael Callahan When generations of campers gathered at Camp Winnataska in late August, it was their opportunity to look back and forward all at the same time.

More than 300 gathered at the heralded camp where memories have been made for 95 years, and they celebrated each of those nine and a half decades of history.

The grandchildren of Dr. Elwyn and Florence Ballard, the camp’s founders, were there. So was Katherine Price Garmon, daughter of the camp’s first director, D.R. Price. And they joined hundreds of second-, third-, fourth- and even fifth-generation campers along with those who have just begun their Winnataska camping experience.

Its deep roots in St. Clair County date back to 1914 when Dr. Ballard drove his Model T Ford from Birmingham to meet friends at their favorite fishing spot on Kelly Creek. As the first commissioner of the Boy Scouts in Birmingham, Ballard had been looking for an isolated area outside the city for a retreat, and he came face to face with it before he ever cast a hook into the water surrounded by thick, rich forest.

In Garmon’s book, Winnataska Remembered, she gives the account of her aunt, Florence Ballard: “We fell in love with the place; the small pool, the falls and the big pool below with towering cliffs, … but its inaccessibility was one of its greatest charms.”

Boy Scouts bought the land and built a camp that comes alive each summer — just as it has for 95 years — with the sound of laughter and children playing and of course, those tumbling falls.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Garmon, known to most as simply, Kap, has been an active supporter of the camp, maintaining strong ties from childhood to present day. In a surprise ceremony at the 95th anniversary, those gathered dedicated a new overlook to be built over those waterfalls to Garmon for her “lifelong work in continuing the vision of her father.”

The day was full of other celebrations, videoed memories, reunions and an opportunity to kick off a five-year capital campaign that will end in 2018 with the century mark celebration.

It was a chance to celebrate 95 years of history and look toward the future of many more. Nancy Owen, Winnataska’s board chairwoman, credited countless volunteers who made the day a special one for this special place that means so much to so many.

“Lots of loving hearts prepared for this day.” l

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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Phil Harris on his Strat.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

LEVERTON Brothers topping the charts

Story by Carolyn Stern Photos by Michael Callahan The Leverton Brothers Band hardly had time to pack up their instruments between shows in the past few months. This local group is gaining recognition all over the county and beyond, and Benny (Benjammin) and Randy Leverton are realizing a lifetime dream.

More proof of “breaking out,” comes from the popularity of their single, “Polecat Holler.” It recently hit Number 1 on the Indie World Country Chart. The “holler” is an actual spot located between Gadsden and Guntersville. Bill Moon, who knows a lot about that area, wrote the lyrics, and band members came up with the music.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

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LEVERTON Brothers In addition to playing guitar and singing with the band, Phil Harris also does his own music.

This recognition builds on the popularity of last year’s hit, “Take Me Back to Alabam’” written by Randy and Letha Leverton.

Brothers Benny and Randy are the founders of the band. Both have been musicians most of their lives. “I started playing guitar when I was 10 years old,” Benny says, “and I’ve been playing and writing songs for more than 30 years.”

Randy, who mans the drums and sings, has taken very much the same course. “Each of us played with different groups for a while,” he says, “then we got together and picked up other members along the way.”

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LEVERTON Brothers

Benny (left) and Phil Harris “git down” in a duo.

jobs, the brothers grew their audience by performing as much as possible.

Randy has owned RTL Printing and Signs in Pell City for 20 years, coincidentally, the band’s direct source for its t-shirts and CD covers. Benny is retired from CenturyLink Telecommunications. They split the band’s business between Randy’s Studio 1 in Cropwell, where the recording is done on Benny’s Benjammin’ label.

The band’s song list covers blues, country, rock and soul. Much of the music they play is written by one or more of the band members.

Talent binds the present crew. Benny’s wife, Paula, says, “Sometimes we sit in the studio and toss stuff back and forth. Somebody comes up with 82

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LEVERTON Brothers Paula Leverton, who sings, plays percussion and writes songs, joined the band in 1990.

a tune, somebody else throws in some words.” She joined the band in 1990, plays percussion, sings and writes songs.

She also has a day job as Executive Assistant-Nursing Administration at St. Vincent’s St. Clair.

Barry McNair, a classically-trained pianist is on keyboard. He began playing piano when he was five. His day job is teaching electronics for the Etowah County Board of Education. Barry moves between electronics and music with the ease of a man who enjoys both.

J.J. Jackson says he “hit the road in his teen years and has been wandering ever since.” He’s played bass guitar in a num84

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2013

The mission of Civitan worldwide is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.

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In our own community, Pell City Civitans sponsor or support: Toys for Children Children's Place Special Needs Prom 2014 We Need a Little Christmas Talent Show Special Needs Basketball and Tether ball courts for the ARC of St. Clair Wheel Chair Ramps Deployed Troops Christmas Gift Packages Pell City High School Art Department Join us in the rewards of serving our community: Charlotte Arnold - President Matt Mitcham - Past President Lisa Phillips - Treasurer Carolyn Carroll - Secretary

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LEVERTON Brothers

Benny Leverton (fourth from left) and his brother, Randy (sixth), have had “music on their minds” since they were children. ber of bands. “My favorite was the Crimson Tide band in the ‘70s.” It had nothing to do with the University of Alabama, he adds.

Phil Harris, acoustic rhythm guitar, is a seasoned songwriter who’s been performing for 20 years.

Recently, he recorded “11 o’clock” and “Where Have All the Heroes Gone” at Studio 1.

Whether performing in front of a crowd or jammin’ together, there’s no stopping the music from flowing. As Benny puts it, “We just write about life, and we just love music.” l 86

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