Discover St. Clair October & November 2016

Red Hill Farm• Running Cross Country • Kayaking the Creek Bucket List Canada Trip • Joe Whitten • Red Barn • City of Ashville

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Features and Articles Discover

The Essence of St. Clair

Teddy

The Wonder Dog Amazing pets training to help others

Page 38

Cross Country running in St. Clair

Traveling the Backroads

Page 8

Koplon Dental

Red Hill Barn: A very good place

Ashville Alabama

Page 22 Canada trip benefits Pell City education Page 28

Joe Whitten

Page 12

Hand in Paw Page 42 Father and son work together Page 46

Yak Tha Creek

Operation Christmas Child

Page 48 Page 62

Page 66

Red Hill Farms Building relationships, reputation Page 70

Business Review

Town & Country Expanding Page 76

October & November 2016

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Writers AND Photographers Carol Pappas

Graham Hadley

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

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

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.

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.

Wallace Bromberg Jr. Wally graduated from Auburn University where he graduated in 1976 with his BA in History and minors in German and Education.

Wally’s skills in photography blossomed during college.After a 30-year career, he decided to dust off his camera skills and pursue photography full time.

Jane Newton Henry Jane Newton Henry is a freelance writer with an M.A. degree from The University of Alabama. She has retired from Alabama Power Co., where she worked as a writer and editor in the Public Relations Department.

She was an adjunct instructor at The University of Alabama and Samford University. Her work has appeared in publications and online. She co-authored Leeds, a pictorial history of the small Alabama city.

Leigh Pritchett

For almost 30 years, Leigh Pritchett has been involved in the publishing industry. She was employed for 11 years by The Gadsden Times, ultimately becoming Lifestyle editor. Since 1994, she has been a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in online and print venues. She holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Montevallo.

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.

Paul South

6

Paul South, a native of Fairfield, Ala., is an Auburn graduate with a degree in journalism and a double minor in history. He also has a Juris Doctorate degree from the Birmingham School of Law. Although sports writing was always his first love, South had a remarkably versatile career as a reporter, columnist and editor.

Before transitioning to newspapers, South was the first full-time sports information director at Samford University in Birmingham

From the Editor

Vision makes good things happen

For years, I have been writing about a Pell Citybased group that travels the world to raise money for its schools foundation, its library and the community. I think their story is a compelling one.

They learn about the world from their travels, and their travels raise funds so that others can learn – whether it’s in the classroom, the library or in life.

But this year was quite different. They let me tag along. And what I learned, what I saw and what I experienced will stay with me for a lifetime.

For me, moving the story from third person to first person was, I imagine, as rewarding as the Pell City student whose teacher engages him in new and innovative ways thanks to educational foundation fundraising.

In this issue of Discover, I invite you to tag along with us as we explore the Canadian Rockies with this group. And by the way, the rewards the trip reaped for the schools foundation, the library and YWCA’s Our Place shelter reached the $25,000 mark in 2016.

All three causes and the trip that offers support for them are all about vision and visionaries who make things happen.

It’s the same kind of vision we see in people like former St. Clair County High Principal Brian Terry. He envisioned a cross country course on his campus that would draw hundreds of students to build self-confidence, stamina and pride in their school and their ability to compete. He set out to build it, and they did indeed come.

What about Jessie Garrison? She saw a need for children at Christmas, and she filled it in a big way, creating Operation Christmas Child that provides toys and necessities each Christmas for children who need it most.

Then there’s Joe Whitten, who saw a need for an historian in Odenville and St. Clair County, and he became one. Or, Randall Vann, who imagined a way for everyone who likes the outdoors to enjoy the features on Canoe Creek in Ashville. He even developed a business out of it.

St. Clair has no shortage of visionaries, and we are thankful for it. You can read the stories about some of them in this edition of Discover along with plenty more. Come along and discover it all with us.

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

October and November 2016 • Vol. 32 • www.discoverstclair.com

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

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

Printed at Russell Printing, Alexander City, AL 7

RUNNING

CROSS COUNTRY IN ST. CLAIR

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. A methodical thud of a rubber sole hitting a dirt trail below – a dozen or more pair of them – emanate from the woods just beyond St. Clair County High School’s campus in Odenville.

It is almost like a cadence, interrupted and punctuated by the distinct inhales and exhales of determined runners. It’s a sound heard all summer long as the high school’s cross country team prepared for battle across the state.

At home, their arena is a 3.1-mile path cut through woods, up hills, around bends and under the canopy of towering hardwoods and pines.

“We’re proud of the hills,” said former Coach Mason Dye, who helped former Principal Brian Terry realize his dream of having a cross country track. “It’s a challenging course.”

“It’s unique in the county,” added Terry. “It’s almost unique in the state.”

The course twists and winds all around the campus. There’s even a pond runners make their way around, and its diverse landscape is perfect for non-competitors, too, who just want to take a walk in the woods. The trail is open to the public.

Terry has since retired from St. Clair County High School but is working in Georgia. “I run it when I’m home on weekends…for nostalgia,” said Terry, a track athlete himself in his younger days at Samford University.

On a hot, summer day, surrounded by young, aspiring cross country runners when Terry was still principal, he and Dye talked of the genesis of the course. The cross country program is now in its fourth year. “I started working on it six or seven years ago,” Terry said. He had a “vision” of what it should be, and he set out to make it happen.

Two miles were laid out courtesy of a Soil and Water Conservation grant to build a nature trail.

Scooter Dorsett helped in the project.

“Cross country to me is a sport that attracts a group of kids who don’t have another niche.

They’re loners. They’re bright. They’re not football players,” he said, noting that it gives them an outlet in which they excel.

“It brings in a group of kids who need to do their thing,” Terry added. “The kids tend to unify.” It becomes a team sport.

“They become like family running together,” Dye said, adding that it is co-ed.

When Dye, who also ran track in college, arrived on campus, the course was finished. “He put the vision into play,” Terry said of his young coach.

It has had a tremendous impact on athletics. Five students from St. Clair County High have already earned track scholarships. More than a dozen schools held a meet in the fall with more than 300 athletes participating.

And the Odenville course has been a catalyst for growth in other programs around the county.

“Every school in the county now has a cross country team except Ragland,” Terry said. “Cross

Terry talks of course’s vision, merits of track

CROSS COUNTRY IN ST. CLAIR

country is growing and evolving as a sport. It builds excitement.”

Parents and volunteers maintain the course, and the community is beginning to learn about its existence and about the sport itself. “The community as whole is unfamiliar with what cross country is,” Terry said.

But now, awareness is increasing and with it, there is heightened interest from middle school and high school students.

“We don’t cut,” Dye said. “It is not limited to a set roster.”

By its very nature, it encourages more and more to become involved. And, like Dye and Terry, these runners see they can grow personally and physically, and they can compete for scholarships.

“Track and field paid my way through Samford,” Terry said, and he wanted to see other young people provided with the same opportunities he had. “It’s a great sport to be a part of.” l

10

Dye observes runners

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Traveling the

BACKROADS

JOE WHITTEN

Historian, storyteller, teacher: A life well lived

12

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Story and photos by Jerry C. Smith Submitted photos The usual love triangles pale in comparison with Odenville educator and historian Joe Whitten’s quadrangle of passions. In no particular order, they are St. Clair County history, Gail Elaine McGeoch, hundreds of grateful students and the Lord, whom he credits for bringing it all together.

Joe was born in 1938 in Bryant, Alabama, a Jackson County town that dangles near the edge of Sand Mountain, almost in Georgia.

His father, Nathan Whitten, died that same year. Joe’s mother, Lorene Hawkins Whitten, remarried four years later to John Armstrong, a teacher and Cumberland Presbyterian minister.

Under his stepfather’s surname, Joe went to Glencoe High School in Etowah County until the 12th-grade, then was sent to Bob Jones Academy in Greenville, South Carolina, to complete high school prior to beginning college at Bob Jones University.

Graduating in 1960, his first degree at Bob Jones was a speech minor in English.

While at the Academy, Joe reverted to his birth name of Whitten, as he had never been officially adopted by his stepfather.

Joe’s involuntary exile to Bob Jones became a godsend, for many reasons. Not only did he have his old name back, but he had also escaped a strict household where he’d never been able to make any decisions of his own. “I had a new name, new friends, a new place and never looked back,” he says.

After graduation in 1960, he sought employment suited to his education and ambition, but only succeeded in finding work at a sauerkraut factory in Seattle, Washington, that he wryly defined as “the most miserable job ever.” Vowing to do better, he returned to Bob Jones in 1961 to continue his studies.

This time, he specialized in education courses. After graduation, his mother, who worked at Jacksonville State University, urged him to explore Calhoun and Etowah counties for an entry-level teaching position.

After months of fruitless search, Joe had almost made up his mind to join the Air Force when he got word of an opening in a school that was being built in a tiny burg called Odenville in St. Clair County. He’d heard of the place, but had never been there.

Maddox-Whitten Home

Gail’s high school senior picture 1956

Young teacher hired At his interview with Principal Dodd Cox, Joe was told that the job was in a new grades 7-12 school currently under construction. “I’ll take it,” he quickly replied. The principal reminded him that he

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

13

Traveling the

BACKROADS

didn’t know a thing about the position and should probably hear the rest of the offer before making up his mind.

Joe says their conversation went something like this: Principal: “You will be teaching eighth-grade English, ninthgrade English and seventh-grade Math.”

Joe: “I’ll take it.”

Principal: “But wait, the school isn’t even finished yet. ...”

Joe: “I’ll take it.”

Principal: “It only pays $350 a month for 10 months a year. ...”

Joe: “I’ll take it.”

And thus, on the day after Labor Day in 1961, at age 23, Joseph Whitten began a career that made him a living legend in Odenville education. In all, he taught more than three generations of St. Clair youngsters before retiring at the turn of the century and is a revered guest at every class year reunion.

“Mr. Whitten” was only 5 years older than some of his students, but Mr. Cox insisted his teachers control everything in their classrooms.

Joe relates, “The last thing you wanted to do was take a student out of class and march him to the principal’s office.

You took care of it yourself. All us teachers knew it and, more importantly, so did the kids.”

Among his students were those who would one day make a difference in St. Clair County: Sheriff Terry Surles; Coroner Dennis Russell; practically everyone on the Odenville Water Board; Pell City businessman Connie Myers, who would later become principal of St. Clair County High School; and retired teacher Mary Kelley, who taught physical education and health at Odenville before being assigned to the Board of Education, where she served until her retirement in 1999.

“Mr. Whitten was different from any teacher I had ever met,” Mary says. “He was very talented, witty, educated and respected by his students as well as the community of Odenville. As an English teacher, his objective was for students to learn the information and participate in class discussions. These skills worked well – in school and in later life – by providing us with the self-confidence and ability to communicate well with others.”

As the school counselor, Joe’s door was open to students, teachers and support personnel. His professional knowledge provided students with advice and encouragement in the resolution of school and personal issues.

Of his demeanor in class, several respondents agreed that, while Joe was outwardly easy going and gentle, he had ways of getting attention when needed, and everyone knew when to shut up and listen.

Odenville’s Scott Burton tells of his shouting out during an unruly moment in his library class, “Silence, you vile wretches!,” and remembers a sign posted on Mr. Whittten’s desk that fairly warned one and all: CAUTION: DISPOSITION SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. Both Mary and Scott said everyone wanted to be in his classes. They found his delivery quite entertaining as he acted out various passages from English literature. He always found ways to make education fun and still managed to help them learn and retain what they’d learned.

According to Scott, Mr. Whitten’s adherence to classroom decorum extended even to paperwork that students turned in.

14

Joe Whitten with Evensong mementos He would not accept sheets torn from a spiral-bound notebook because of their ragged edges, and was known to call kids to the front of the class, hand them scissors and demand they remove those “frizzy” borders. Scott also credits him with being the only English teacher who could make sentence diagramming understandable.

There are enough Mr. Whitten stories told by former students to fill a small book. A local favorite involves one of his Speech classes in which he asked various students to stand and speak on some subject with which they were most familiar.

One boy eagerly volunteered at the beginning of class and took his place at the front of the room. This boy was Odenville’s legendary Slow-Talking John, who was a master at taking forever to tell anything.

His chosen subject was “How To Build A House.” John began by drawing a rectangular set of lines on the blackboard, then said, “This … is … the … footing ...,” then proceeded to describe in agonizingly slow, ponderous detail exactly how to dig a foundation wall, pour concrete, etc.

Joe says that by the time John’s house had reached its interior walls, the bell had rung, and he was too numb to do anything but dismiss the class.

While they were sitting on Joe’s front porch some 14 years later, Joe mentioned that day to John, who laughed out loud and explained that the other kids in class had taken up a collection and paid John to speak first so they would not have to recite their own work.

Scott says the one thing that really sticks with him to this day as a result of having Mr. Whitten for a teacher is a deep appreciation for the works of Charles Dickens, Joe’s favorite author. Scott recalls the kids acting out speaking parts while reading Oliver Twist and David Copperfield aloud in class.

Scott adds that he would love to do A Christmas Carol today, with Mr. Whitten playing Ebeneezer Scrooge.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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very beginnings in 1864 as a one-room cabin at Hardin’s shop on Springville Road to today’s sprawling campus just east of town, its establishment was an uphill battle all the way.

The school’s history is far too complex to explore here, but the entire saga is neatly summarized in Whitten’s Odenville, Alabama, A History of Our Town 1821-1992.

Many local pioneers and other notables were heavily involved, including entrepreneur Watt T. Brown, Governor Comer and Judge John Inzer. They took special pride in the fact they had beaten Pell City for the honor of having one of the first county high schools in the state.

In 1960, the main building was razed, and a third-generation structure of impressive proportions and excellent design was built. Now grades 1-12 were all on the same campus, divided only by clever architecture. Over the years, he taught English, speech, mathematics, and also served as librarian and counselor for the grammar school. One might feel that Joe and the new school grew up together. As he once remarked, “I wasn’t born in Odenville, but I got here as fast as I could.”

Gail, a love story A beautiful young lady in Miss Mabe’s Bible class at Bob Jones raised her hand to answer a question. Joe, who was sitting behind her and had wanted to answer first, grabbed her arm to try to lower her hand. This incensed her, and she reminded him in no uncertain terms that this school had a rule against opposite sexes physically touching one another.

Like many relationships, theirs got off to an unusual start, but Joe Whitten and Gail McGeoch of Cambridge, New York, quickly became friends and remained so for the rest of their stay at Bob Jones. They went their separate ways after Gail’s graduation in 1961.

After eight years of being completely out of touch, Joe received a letter which Gail claimed God had told her to write.

She was in Pensacola, Florida, at the time. Joe phoned her, and they talked for nearly three hours. He said the long-distance phone bill was horrendous, but he never regretted paying a

16

penny of it.

They married in 1971, thus beginning a long, beneficent, storybook life together that would warm everyone they met.

Gail often defined their marriage as a “strange and wonderful relationship,” always adding, “You’re strange; I’m wonderful.”

Gail and Joe resided in a vintage house built by an Odenville newspaper editor named Luther Maddox. When Joe first came to Odenville, he lived at the Cahaba Hotel, which no longer stands. Later, he boarded with the Bartletts, who lived next door to Maddox. Joe said its restoration was a real challenge, but today it is of museum quality inside and out.

Gail taught school at Ragland for a while, then transferred to Odenville, where she taught in the elementary grades. Her classroom was next to the library where Joe worked at the time.

Every person I’ve interviewed admires the same things about Gail – her wonderfully warm smile, loving, benign personality and immaculate reputation. The Whittens were very popular with all the students. Together, they were a dream team.

Scott added that Mrs. Whitten loved the snow and always got all excited over the first flake that fell. He also tells a rather amusing story about her coffee habits.

Every day she would make fresh coffee, but first she would carry the pot to an open window on the second floor, holler YOO-HOO, then throw out the old coffee and grounds, never looking to see if anyone was standing below. Everyone quickly learned to avoid that area during morning hours.

Gail played piano and sang in the choir of several churches, as part of a musical family that included Joe on the church organ. Joe praises Gail for proofreading his historical works, and helping to make them the useful volumes they became.

She led an exemplary life, but her greatest moments were yet to come.

Joe, the historian As if taking scores of St. Clair’s kids under his wing wasn’t enough, Joe also became an educational outlet for the rest of us. If you’re seeking obscure information about almost any

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Joe’s students have fond memories of their teacher.

Joe’s sense of humor could be seen inside and outside the classroom.

historical aspect of St. Clair County, you will sooner or later work with Joe. Between Joe and recently-retired County Archivist Charlene Simpson, there’s practically nothing one can’t learn about our history. I’ve used both resources for many stories you read in this magazine, as well as my own published works.

Both Charlene and Joe will hasten to say they learned at the hands of veteran chroniclers such as Rubye Hall Edge Sisson (From Trout Creek To Ragland), Mattie Lou Teague Crow (History Of St. Clair County and Diary Of A Confederate Soldier) and Vivian Buffington Qualls (History Of Steele, Alabama).

Joe has published several books of his own, as well as scores of historical society periodicals, papers, meeting minutes and surveys. He worked extensively with the late Garland Minor, who located and annotated hundreds of Civil War burial sites in our area, obtaining markers and other memorials for them.

Joe joined the St. Clair Historical Society shortly after it was formed in the early 1990s by the legendary historian and writer, Mattie Lou Teague Crow, in order to save the historic Looney House from demolition. Joe’s contributions include a nicelydone periodical called Cherish, which is still archived in many local libraries and is an excellent source of research material.

Charlene recalls his frequent visits to her St. Clair County Archives when it was in the Ashville Library building as well as two later locations on the town square. She says Joe was always pleasant, never declined to pause in his own work to help others and added much to the usefulness of that department.

Charlene says his favorite thing was going through archival copies of old St. Clair newspapers, looking for interesting, poignant or just plain funny wedding announcements, epitaphs and other bits of Victorian-era news for his two books, By Murder, Accident & Natural Causes and Wedding Bells &Funeral Knells, both of which are still available.

His first published books were a genealogical study of his Hawkins family, a history of St. Clair High School called Where The Saints Have Trod, a compendium of 18 local church histories called In The Shadow of the Almighty, and the aforementioned Odenville, Alabama – A History of Our Town.

All these works still find heavy usage as research materials, especially from St. Clair youngsters working on yearly history projects for a statewide contest with finals in Montgomery.

All his reference works have proper indices, often a large proportion of the book itself. He considers a wasted effort any reference book that is not properly indexed, and totally useless if there’s no index at all.

Joe also serves as a board member for County Archive as well as Odenville’s Fortson Museum. Over the years, he’s donated countless display items and reference works to both places, including a wonderful old foot-pump organ that now graces the Fortson collections.

Joe, the poet One of Joe’s favorite pursuits is writing poetry, particularly oddly-punctuated verse that doesn’t rhyme. He’s an active member of the Alabama State Poetry Society, and his works have fared well in regional contests. He’s printed several chapbooks of his poems, and at one time was the official Poet of the Year of Alabama.

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Joe’s love of poetry goes all the way back to his high school days, when he often penned satirical works about his teachers, much to their chagrin and the delight of his fellow students.

One of his proudest possessions is a framed piece of sheet music with one of his poems, Evensong, as its lyrics. Written especially for Joe’s poem, the music got a lot of exposure as part of a Year 2000 millennium project sponsored by the White House Millennium Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Evensong can be found in Joe’s latest book of poetry, Learning To Tell Time.

Joe takes special pride in helping to connect an American family with a group in France working to erect a memorial to American flyers who had crashed there during World War II. One of those flyers was Richard Smith, whose family had contacted Joe for further information from an obituary he had collected. Smith’s family was invited to France for the dedication ceremony.

Joe with favorite photo of Gail and quilt made for her by Ragland students

Dark clouds gather A few years ago, Gail was stricken with cancer, marking the beginning of an epic struggle that gave courage to many others who were fighting their own battles. Her unflappable persona remained unchanged for the entire ordeal, always beaming that special smile that could not help but warm those around her.

Her passing in 2010 marked the end of 39 years of an idyllic marriage for Joe and Gail Whitten and brought hundreds into mourning.

Joe says she was cheerful until the very end. He recalls one of their last conversations on the day before her passing, when she was heavily infused with pain medicine and somewhat groggy.

He asked, “Do you know who I am?” She replied sweetly, “Of course I know who you are, Joe.” Some hours later, he leaned over close and whispered a final “I love you.”

Her answer: “I love you, too, whoever you are,” her eyes dancing as she spoke.

Finding peace Joe says that God moved into their home after Gail passed and has kept him company through his years of loss and resolution. He’s since become involved in mission work to Ecuador as well as extensive world travel and plans to write a few more books.

Perhaps the first stanza of his signature poem, Evensong, tells it best: The world is quieter now.

Mist rises to mist and a quietness comes to me like the quietness of an old house that whispers long-loved contentment to past and present. l

20

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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A Good

Place Finding faith, hope and love at the Red Barn Story by Jane Newton Henry Photos by Mike Callahan Located on the banks of the Little Cahaba River in Leeds, the Red Barn is a haven for children and adults with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities or special circumstances.

According Joy O’Neal, executive director, this equine-assisted therapy center is a place where children can have a good time, and veterans can reconnect with their families.

Before Randy came to the Red Barn, he had a difficult time talking, and other children at school made fun of him when he tried. He became embarrassed to speak, so he chose not to speak at all.

But as Randy began to ride horses, he learned to depend on his voice. He spoke commands to his horse, telling him to “Walk” and “Whoa.” Riding gave Randy the confidence he needed to speak more clearly.

“To me that’s the heart of what we’re trying to teach,” O’Neal said. “If learning to ride a horse makes your life better and gives you the skills that you need to get your words or your needs across, that’s what matters.

“When children with physical disabilities ride horses, their bodies become stronger. The movement of a horse improves muscular coordination and gives riders a fun activity they can talk about with friends.

When they’re up on a horse, you can’t tell that they might have a hard time walking.”

23

A Good

Place

The namesake

Programs breed success stories

The Red Barn offers three main programs: Saddle Up, Horse Play and Take the Reins.

Saddle Up consists of weekly individualized therapeutic horsebackriding lessons.

Horse Play camps are held yearround for children with disabilities and their typically developing peers. These traditional day camps incorporate art, music and outdoor education with horses.

The program also offers classes and other recreational and educational activities for individuals and groups from other nonprofit agencies and schools.

Birmingham-area artist She She Vaughn teaches art classes and lessons as a part of the Horse Play program.

“Art uses the creative process and allows children to communicate when they may be uncomfortable or less capable of expressing their thoughts aloud,” O’Neal said. “Art also aids the students in stress

24

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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About Red Barn Past participation

Saddle-Up Lessons: 9,413 individual horseback-riding lessons taught since the Red Barn was founded in 2012 Horse Play Camps: 4,575 day camps held since 2012 Take the Reins Program: 291 programs for veterans and their families held since 2012.

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The three programs listed above equal 100 hours of programming per week.

Training: 2,878 hours of training hours offered in 2015 and 2016 to individuals who want to know more about equine-assisted therapy.

Want to volunteer?

Volunteer opportunities: • Work directly in horseback-riding lessons as a side walker or horse handler • Help out around the barn on a regular or occasional basis.

• Help provide a day camp with horses and other activities, such as art and music.

• Work with veterans and their families.

• Help raise money or put on an event.

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25

A Good

Place

relief, social skills and developing a positive self-image.”

Take the Reins serves veterans, active and inactive military personnel and their families. It gives veterans time to reconnect with their families after deployment or just a place to be together.

All about the horses

The 11 horses at the Red Barn were given from the community.

“We get retired show horses, and we get horses from people who are looking to re-home their horse,” O’Neal said. “Sometimes it’s because they can no longer care for them, or they are looking for a place where the horse can still have a useful life.

“Every day is different at the barn, so it’s important that our horses are sound and tolerate a lot of people,” O’Neal said. “With 70 riding lessons and 30 campers a week, along with parents and volunteers, you need a horse that really likes people, is adaptable and doesn’t mind change.”

Making good things happen

“We have the best folks in the world working here,” O’Neal said.

“They are slobbered on and thrown up on. They put up with a lot, and it’s physically taxing work.”

In addition to employees and volunteers, the Red Barn hires about three interns a semester from local universities. Some interns have come from as far away as Missouri, Delaware and California.

The facility holds orientation and training programs for its staff, volunteers and interns, and trains others who want to work in a similar industry, Funds that pay for programs and expenses at the Red Barn come from individual contributions, programs and grants. And the Red Barn holds two major fundraising events annually.

The Take the Reins 10K race was held for the second time on June 11 in Birmingham. “The race is run in memory of Cpl. Anthony Clay Ward, who died after returning from military service. He was the brother of Abbie, one of our first students,” O’Neal said. “Last year was the sixth anniversary of Clay’s death. His friends run in the 10K, and I am thankful to the Ward family for sharing their story.”

The second major fundraiser is Bluegrass and Burgers. “It’s more of an open house. We invite people out to see the place. They come to see what we do and how we do it.”

‘That changes you’

O’Neal expressed surprise about one aspect of working at the Red Barn: “You think it’s about changing others, but what it does instead is change you,” she said. “You think you are coming to be a side walker in a kid’s lesson, and you see the bravery of what they face.

You see this kid who can’t speak, and other kids might make fun of him or maybe he doesn’t have friends. You watch the courage of that child every single day. And that changes you.

“You also see the goodness in the people who work here -- out in the sun, cold and wind. You see them give of themselves, and you think about how many good people there are in the world. You see people come together and cry, and it becomes a community, and you think, wow, this is what God intended us to do.” l Accredited by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship and the Certified Horsemanship Association, the Red Barn is located at 2700 Bailey Road, Leeds, AL 35094. It is a 501(c) (3) organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information about the Red Barn’s organization and services, go to: www.TheRedBarn.org.

26

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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O Canada Wonder of Canadian Rockies fulfills ‘bucket list’ for Pell City group I heard the phrase so often along the way, the name just stuck. It was indeed a “bucket list” trip, the descriptor made famous by the 2007 Rob Reiner film starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman – a list of things you need to do before you ‘kick the bucket.’

As we made our way through the Canadian Rockies, it was almost as if you could hear the sound of each member of our group – pencil in hand — crossing it off of their own list.

The trip was part of an annual trek

by Friends Bound for New Horizons, a group formed to travel the world while helping raise money for the Pell City Schools Educational Foundation and the Pell City Library. What an intriguing concept. Through travel, we learned our own lessons about the world, which in turn, will in myriad ways provide resources for children and adults alike to learn about the world.

View from Logan Pass

28

Story and photos by Carol Pappas Submitted photos from Friends Bound for New Horizons

29

O Canada

Group ready for Calgary Stampede Time for glacier walking

Mike Lowe above Peyto Lake 30

Peyto Lake

These ‘friends’ came from Pell City, Atlanta, Jasper, Trussville, Talladega, Calera, Charleston, S.C. and Centre. They were friends of friends and strangers who all became friends in the end, brought together by their bucket list bond.

Pell City’s Deanna Lawley, a member of the education foundation board, captained the trip.

A retired teacher, her passion for learning – and teaching – cannot be disguised. Her unmistakably well-researched anecdotes punctuated the narrative of our German-born guide, Karina. Together through the miles, they painted a story of this land, its mountains, glacier-fed lakes and its people that came to life for all of us at every stop along the way.

As Deanna puts it, Collette Travel, the company she partnered with to organize the trip, puts the “fun” in fundraising. In 2016, the trips had earned $25,000 for the community – teacher grants, enhanced library programs and support for the YWCA’s Our Place shelter for abused women.

We began our journey in Calgary, Alberta Province, Canada. Mounties stationed at the airport were our first hint that something special was about to unfold before our very eyes. Looking in virtually any direction from then on, and a sea of cowboy hats met your glance. It was the eve of the Calgary Stampede, the world famous rodeo billed as “The greatest outdoor show on earth.”

The Stampede had its beginnings in 1912, when Vaudeville performer and trick roper Guy Weadick pitched a six-day event to would-be investors called the “Frontier Day Celebration and Championship.”

According to the Stampede’s history, he envisioned “a world-class rodeo competition that would celebrate the romance and culture of the “disappearing” Old West.”

In July 2016, this world championship rodeo, extravaganza of events, entertainment, shows and a nightly explosion of fireworks, arguably second to none in the world, drew a cumulative 1,088,039 people over its 17 days.

We anticipated we were about to experience something special early on our first morning when the Calgary Stampede opening day parade marched through the immaculate streets of downtown Calgary. The pageantry, the impressive floats, the music and the pride of a country in its heritage were unmistakable as tens of thousands lined the sidewalks to get a closer look.

We were among them, wide-eyed as the rest.

Donning our own white cowboy hats, our group then headed to the Stampede, joining the opening day chorus of ‘oohs and ahhs’ from attendees, mesmerized by everything from world class bucking competitions to barrel racing to name brand musical entertainment under the stars. A fireworks show like no other shot across the Canadian sky that night, offering its own exclamation point to an unforgettable day.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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O Canada World class competition

Crowds gather for Calgary Stampede Parade

Lake Louise

Poutine, a national dish – French fries with cheese and gravy

Pam Foote, Donna and Randy Watkins 32

Barnett and Deanna Lawley on glacier

Movin’ on up Early the next morning, it was time to move on to higher ground, but not before a breakfast spread worthy of even the hungriest of cowboys and a shot size sampling of a Bloody Caesar, a Clamato juice cocktail concoction invented in 1969 at our very hotel, the Calgary Inn, now the Westin. It was originally created as the hotel’s signature drink in celebration of its new Italian restaurant at the time.

Aboard the motor coach with everyone accounted for, we were off on our adventure. Next stop: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, located where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains begin their rise from the prairie.

The name and the subject matter are none too palatable, but their historic value in how First Nations (akin to our Native Americans) hunted its game is nonetheless interesting. It involves the stampeding of a herd of buffalo to the edge of a cliff, but I don’t think I need to finish the story for you.

High atop, though, the scenery is spectacular and illustrates some modern day applications along with the storied history. A mule deer wanders nearby as you take in the panoramic view of prairie land, an iridescent blend of green and gold plants that will eventually become canola oil. A contraction of Canada and ola, meaning oil, it is the world’s only Made in Canada crop.

Wind turbines off in the distance tell the story of the push for clean energy.

According to the Canada Wind Energy Association, the country has 259 wind farms and 6,066 wind turbines. They produce 5 percent of Canada’s domestic electricity demand, which is equivalent to 3 million Canadian homes powered by wind.

Back down the mountainside and into the town of Fort McLeod for lunch, a noon time march of mounted police through its main street was an ideal dessert.

Scenic drive We headed toward Waterton Lakes National Park. Parks Canada describes it as the place where “the prairies of Alberta meet the peaks of the Rocky Mountains...

Clear lakes, thundering waterfalls, rainbow-coloured streams, colourful rocks and mountain vistas await hikers and sightseers. With an exceptional diversity of wildlife and wildflowers and a cozy little waterfront town to serve as a home base, Waterton packs a big natural punch into a relatively small and accessible area.”

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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O Canada

Ski lift gives bird’s eye view of Lake Louise in distance

Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton Lake 34

Postcard perfect views there and along the way were nothing short of awe inspiring. At Waterton, where we would spend the night at the Prince of Wales Hotel, snow-capped mountain peaks towered over deep blue water. The multistory glass windows overlooking it all from our lodge framed the entire scene perfectly.

Waterton Lakes is the Canadian side of Glacier National Park in Montana, and we ventured back to America the next day to see it. We made our way to Logan Pass, elevation 6,646 feet, along the Continental Divide and at the summit of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. It is the highest point at which you can drive a vehicle.

Our mode of transportation was in Red Jammers. These are specially designed vintage 1930s buses with four rows of seats. The fabric tops can be rolled back on pleasant days for passengers to gain a better vantage point of the views as they head up to the pass. That day was a pleasant day in more ways than just the weather as we climbed higher and higher in our Red Jammers with incredible views all around.

Actually, the buses are called reds, and the bus drivers are called jammers because of the sound the gears would make when shifted on the steep roads. The “jamming” sound came from double clutching. The drivers would pause now and then at scenic overlooks and other points of interest like glaciers, waterfalls and wildlife. You could actually stand with your head above the open roof to snap a photo or two. “Prairie dogs up!,” shouted by your driver, meant you could stand up in the vehicle, much like the prairie dog stands on his hind legs. “Prairie dogs down” warned you it was time to sit.

It became a running joke among our group when you wanted someone to stand up or sit down the rest of the trip.

On the way back as we talked over the majestic sights, we crossed the continental divide, thankful for what we had seen. It seemed the perfect spiritual moment for a blessing by fellow traveler Linda Prewitt and an inspiring acapella rendition of “Amazing Grace” by Donna Watkins. And it was.

On to Banff and Lake Louise Up and out of the Prince of Wales Hotel early the next morning, we headed to Banff. I had seen photos of the Banff Springs Hotel, where we would be staying for the next three days, and the beauty of Lake Louise. A photograph simply cannot do those sights justice, but we all tried just the same.

Banff is a mountain town, quaint but bustling. The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel sits high above, like a European castle carved into the mountainside. In fact, they call it “Castle in the Rockies.” From the window of our hotel room, we overlooked the picturesque Bow River flowing between two mountain ranges with a dusting of snow on scattered peaks in the center.

The Banff Springs Hotel is a magical place. Built more than 125 years ago, its architecture inside and out is grand, luxurious and stunning. The next morning we were on our way to Lake Louise, but not before a stop at Ski Louise Lodge, where we rode a gondola – an open or enclosed ski lift – to the top of a mountain to get a bird’s eye view of Lake Louise. The top was 6,850 feet above sea level. My sense of adventure kicked in unexpectedly, and I chose the open ski lift.

On the way up, we had a view of a different sort – a

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Waterton Lake view from hotel lawn

Up for closer look

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Nan Strickland, Bill and Judy Hardwick on way to Logan Pass 36

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

O Canada

grizzly bear who seemed unfazed by the pairs of legs dangling overhead from the lifts. He seemed a bit more interested in foraging. We had a contest to see who got the best photo of the grizzly. Mine, of course, was the wrong end of the bear, and Jackie Reinheimer and Carolyn Hall emerged with award winning, full-faced grizzlies.

The stop at Lake Louise was as promised – breathtaking.

Shimmering, turquoise water flanked by snow-covered mountains and a glacier that feeds into it, creating that precise color. It is hard to imagine a more impressive backdrop or a water’s hue more vivid.

But in that same day, we visited Peyto Lake, seeing it from a perch high above. The turquoise color was as unbelievable as Karina, our guide, had said. She described it as looking as though someone had created that distinctly beautiful color of paint and poured it right into the lake below.

Walking on a glacier Our final day of excursions was the perfect ending. Not much could top it. We walked on a glacier. There was no fear of falling through, though. It was 1,000 feet thick, the largest accumulation of ice south of the Arctic Circle.

We started our trip early that morning, traveling on the Icefields Parkway. Along the way was a kaleidoscope of cliffs, waterfalls, rushing rivers, glacial peaks and snow covered mountain ranges. In short, all were sights to behold in awe.

We boarded Ice Explorers, bus-like vehicles with tractor-type tires as tall as we are. We inched our way down a steep incline of ice and slush and then up again to the glacier.

The Ice Explorer stopped, the door opened, and we descended, precariously making our way across the ice.

Exhilarating, giddy, inspired…those are the first few feelings that come to mind as I recount the experience.

Karina waited at the top near a glacier stream, where you could fill a bottle with pure glacier water, the turquoise color its unmistakable signature. When we were on the motor coach, she had told us of her tradition – a shot of Crown Royal Canadian Rye on the glacier – “because I can’t think of any place cooler to drink rye on the rocks.”

A few of us, admittedly, found our way to Karina and had the most memorable toast in the most unforgettable place.

The next day we headed home, full of memories to last a lifetime and a bucket list wish fulfilled. l Editor’s note: To learn more about or join Friends Bound for New Horizons, contact Deanna Lawley or the Pell City Library.

Special thanks to fellow travelers: Steve and Judy Hager, Gayle Wood, Cherry Bass, Pam Foote, Barnett and Deanna Lawley, Lois Harris, Michal Hopson, Mike and Marion Lowe, Nan Strickland, Jackie Reinheimer, Carolyn Hall, Debbie Jordan, Billy and Kaye Cloud, Hilda Moon, Diane Ray, Randy and Donna Watkins, Bill and Judy Hardwick, Bill and Sandra Norton, Bill and Linda Prewitt, Steve and Donna Prewitt, Lewis and Ann Freedman, Dianne Cleveland, Barbara Money, Darlene Norris.

For more photos from our trip, visit us online at www. discoverstclair.com

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37

Teddy the Wonder Dog Four-legged friend learning to help others

Melinda and Teddy, a perfect pair

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. Teddy has the kind of face guaranteed to make you smile. Wavy chestnut-colored hair frames a pair of big brown eyes – if you can see them through the hair – that reveal the gentle spirit that resides within.

Around the St. Clair County School System, where he often visits, they call him “Teddy, the Wonder Dog.” To his owner, Melinda Splawn, director of personnel for the school system, he’s just plain lovable, huggable, affable Teddy whose personality is perfect for bringing comfort to those when they need it most.

Teddy is a Wire-Haired Pointing Griffon who will one day be a Hand in Paw therapy dog, offering that same lovable, huggable, affable personality to people who are in need of a sizable lift in spirits. They may be nursing home residents, Alzheimer’s patients, children in cancer treatment or a weary caregiver.

Teddy will be there to brighten the roughest of days.

Teddy’s story begins with a specific search for just the right puppy, according to Melinda. “I wanted one who doesn’t shed. He had to have the temperament for Hand in Paw.” And, because Melinda’s father was an avid bird hunter and she treasured those outings with him, she thought, “if the dog could be a bird hunter, that would really be cool. I didn’t think such a dog existed.”

But as fate usually intervenes in everyday life, Melinda spotted the object of her search or at least the idea of it.

One Saturday, she was at Birmingham’s Pepper Place, an outdoor market, buying fresh vegetables.

One of the vendors had a dog with him, and she remarked how “beautiful” the dog was and inquired about the breed.

She asked about his temperament, and the man replied, “He sleeps in the bed with us. He doesn’t shed.” Then, he added, “He loves to swim. He has webbed feet.”

That’s all it took. “Oh my gosh, that dog is wonderful!,” she recalled saying.

Then, she set out to find one just like him. She started looking for online breeders with a simple email message to each one: “Do you have any pups?”

Several answers were “no,” but then she received a reply from a breeder who said he had a puppy, but it was picked out to go to a family with special needs although he was rethinking that decision and would have to know more about her.

Melinda wrote back, pouring out emotions about “my dad’s love of bird hunting, my desire to continue work with Hand in Paw and the opportunity to continue enjoying special times with my dad and brother.”

The breeder said he and his wife spent the night talking about the letter and concluded, “ ‘Your home seems like the perfect place for the dog.’ ” When she picked him up he was 12 weeks old.

Melinda said the longer puppies are with their

Resting on the trail

Exploring on the run

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

39

Teddy the Wonder Dog Getting a workout on Odenville’s cross country course

mother the better it can be. “He bonded with me just that fast. It was amazing.”

But then it was time for a name. She had just watched the Ken Burns’ documentary on the Roosevelts, where his family called Teddy Roosevelt “Great Heart” because of his blend of strength, courage and gentleness.

When she looked at her new puppy, she saw the same attributes. “Although he loved to run and play, this puppy loved to be loved on. He was gentle. That’s the Hand in Paw side, gentle and sweet.”

And that was all it took. “I think we have a Teddy,” she said.

Teddy has already demonstrated his gentleness. He diffused a couple of emotional incidents at the school system, offering comfort merely with his presence.

As he progressed toward the Hand in Paw goal, Melinda took him to a trainer, who exposed him to other people – old, young, children. He was exposed to elevators and electric doors, anything that he might encounter on a Hand in Paw mission, to make sure his reaction was positive, even-tempered. Teddy, of course, passed.

An apparently gifted student, he passed bird training, too.

At 2, Teddy is a bundle of boundless energy, regularly galloping at a frenetic pace through the woods at his favorite exercise spot – the cross country course at St. Clair County High School. He disappears momentarily to take a swim in the marsh among the towering reeds. He emerges, soaked, his tongue swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

He’s unmistakably one happy fella. And judging by the looks of him, he is on the trail of making others who need a lift just as happy.

40

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Teddy the Wonder Dog

Hand in Paw

Four feet, two hands and a heart full of love

Story by Carol Pappas Submitted photos

Teddy isn’t Melinda Splawn’s first encounter with the mission of Hand in Paw, the animal assisted therapy program that sends teams to area hospitals, schools, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities.

Years ago, she met Beth Franklin, the founder of Hand in Paw, at a class to help people with end of life situations, and they became friends. As she learned about the program, she knew she wanted to become involved in it, but the two Dachsunds she had at the time were not candidates.

She had faith that she would follow through, but “the right dog has to show up,” she told herself at the time.

A friend of hers rescued a black Labrador Retriever/Great Dane mix, and Melinda fell in love with all 140 pounds of him. She proposed that she keep him during spring break to see how he fared with her other dogs. When she got home, Cash jumped out the window and landed right on top of one of the Dachsunds. To her surprise, Maggie just mumbled, ‘Ruff’ and didn’t seem to mind at all the beast who had landed on top of her.

“That was it,” Melinda said. She decided she would adopt him if he was OK for the program. She brought in different Hand in Paw people to see, and they thought he might be great because he was wheelchair height, making it easy for chair-bound patients to interact with him.

She took him through basic obedience classes with Mariela Piola, who was heavily involved with Hand in Paw. One of the exercises to be sure he had the right temperament was to give him a treat and then “go in and get it. He let me get it.

He was just perfect for it. He was very predictable, not bothered by sounds or people.”

He and other Hand in Paw teams

42

Cash

St. Clair Schools CFO Laura Nance gets some stress relief with Teddy

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Piola had told Melinda that “the dog will tell you where you will visit.” Melinda envisioned Cash visiting nursing home patients. But when it came to kids, “he was perfect.”

She remembers one December night when she and Cash were scheduled for a Children’s visit. It was cold and rainy, right before Christmas, and she really didn’t feel like going. But she did.

When they arrived, there were little red wagons with IV poles and bald headed children who had lost their hair to Chemotherapy, and Cash just stretched out on the floor in front of them.

A little 3-year-old boy was crying nearby and had been since their arrival. His parents brought him over and laid him over Cash, and the crying ceased. Melinda looked over and saw that the parents were now crying. “ ‘This was the first time in days he stopped crying,’” they told her. And wiping her own tears away as she recounts that winter night when she really didn’t want to go, she added, “and I almost missed it.”

Pet assisted therapy gets people’s minds off whatever negative may be happening in their lives.

“It’s amazing the connections that go on with people and pet partners,” she said.

Based in Birmingham, Hand in Paw was founded in 1996. Today, according to its website, Hand in Paw Therapy Teams are: • All volunteers. A Therapy Team consists of a trained handler and a trained animal, sometimes accompanied by a Therapy Visit Assistant.

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Funding is provided solely by donations, grants and special events. To donate or to learn more about Hand in Paw, go to: www.handinpaw.org. l

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Cash at Children’s of Alabama

Cash makes appearance at Picasso Pets, a Hand in Paw fundraiser

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Working Together

Son joins father’s historic dental practice in Leeds 46

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. At first glance, the long hallways with exam rooms on either side may look a bit like a typical dental office. But it’s anything but typical.

On closer observation, it reveals the look and feel of a hospital corridor because that is exactly what it is – an historic hospital building in downtown Leeds now home to Koplon Implant and Family Dentistry.

It’s historic in other ways than just brick and mortar. Dr. Scott Koplon’s son, Adam, has now joined the practice and together, they blend experience and today’s technology and techniques into an operation reminiscent of days gone by. Family doctors used to make house calls. These dentists bring to life the full meaning of “family dentist.”

“I like that,” said Scott. “I like that patients feel comfortable calling in the middle of the night. It’s about relationships – treating them like family. I always wanted to be that person they did not hesitate to call.”

It’s a deep passion for what he does that he learned while working under Dr. Harold Fendley years ago. And it’s a love of family dentistry that he has now handed down to son Adam.

The younger Koplon joined the practice in May after graduation from dental school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “I worked with my dad one and a half years before dental school, during dental school” and now, as his fully credentialed associate.

“It’s awesome,” Adam said. “We have such good relationships with patients. I have gotten to know the patients over the years. Now I get to work with them.”

He is quick to credit his father with being a “good mentor. I feel like my whole life I’ve been here. I knew my whole life I wanted to work for him.”

Scott echoed the sentiment. “It is so cool to have Adam here. It’s a dream come true.” It’s also a bit of a full circle journey. “When I first came to Leeds I thought it was charming and had character,” and it was where he wanted to practice. Dr. Fendley soon took him under his wing.

“He treated me like a son.”

Others may have worked with Fendley, but it was Scott whom he chose to turn over the practice. “When Adam came in, it was so like us.”

To Scott, “relationships mean the most. It’s a small community where you know everybody. It was always a dream of mine to practice in an area where you can build relationships and trust. I get to pass that down to Adam.”

So much has he treasured Leeds, its people and its roots, he restored the 1920s hospital building to house the dental clinic. It was perfect with its wide hall and individual rooms. He maintained as much of the old “character and charm” of the building as he could, like the oversized door frames. It is easy to imagine its former life as you walk down the corridor. “I’m the luckiest dentist in the world to practice in a building like this,” Scott said.

Surrounded by history, father and son have embarked on making new history together. “The patient benefits from both of our knowledge,” Scott noted. “He gets my experience and relationships, and I get his technology and business.”

And walking in each other’s footsteps apparently is a perfect fit. l

Historic office

Doctors Koplon and Koplon in corridor of old hospital

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

47

Storied past; promising future Story by Paul South Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. “Ashville, the county seat of St. Clair Co., Ala., is a dignified old town, seeming to possess the even tenor of its way at peace with all mankind.”

--Mary T. Whitson, The Southern Aegis, Feb. 9, 1910 When Mayor-Elect Derrick Mostella returned home to Ashville after six years in Memphis, he went to his father-in-law at Teague Hardware.

There, he’d talk politics with customers, who’d share their ideas and concerns about the town.

During slow spells at the store, he’d take walks and drink in all that made his hometown special.

And there, he made a decision.

“I knew I wanted to make my impact in Ashville,” he said. “I had a sense of responsibility to come back and be part of something of a renaissance. I think we’re at that point right now. There’s a new feeling that’s taken over the city. We’ve got people that are active, involved and engaged and ready to see good things happen in Ashville.”

It indeed seems that St. Clair’s original county seat is on the cusp of a renaissance. The town is emerging from the housing recession that began in 2007. St. Clair County government and

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Ashville

ALABAMA

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Ashville

Municipal building

private entities have made some $8 million in investment in its buildings downtown, including $1.5 million in the administrative annex, transforming cramped government offices and meeting rooms into welcoming spaces.

Phase I of the expansion added 4,725 square feet of space on the east side of the Administrative Building.

Cubicles were removed and nine new offices, along with a chairman’s office and a conference room, improved the functionality of the building. The St. Clair County Commission Chambers were also expanded, which allows major events, as well as Probate Court, to be conducted in more spacious surroundings.

A second-floor expansion provides more space for the Information Technology Department, the Revenue Commissioner and the Probate Office.

Two manufacturers, Valmont and Grooms Aluminum have also made multimillion dollar reinvestments in their plants, generating additional jobs. In total, the two firms invested more than $3 million.

Grooms – a family business -- began operation in Ashville in August of last year. A favorable location, as well as Ashville and St. Clair County’s business-friendly climate, drew the Grooms family to open in Ashville, said co-owner and spokesperson Tammy Grooms.

“We researched and looked for land. We found a few different spots. Cost influenced it, of course, but Ashville and St. Clair County were just really good to deal with.

They made the process easy. We found a location that worked for what we needed and what we do. It was great working with Ashville,” she said. “They’ve gone out of their way to try to help.”

Grooms receives and cleans scrap aluminum from

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Mayor-Elect Derrick Mostella

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Ashville Around the historic square

customers, then melts it into ingots called “sows.” The sows are returned to the customer, who then sells it to other clients to be made into a product.

Other private concerns have invested in the historic downtown, providing yet another shot in the arm.

“As far as job creation, this has been an incredible last couple of years for (Ashville),” said Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council.

Unlike other municipalities, Ashville has taken a more practical approach to economic growth. With a population of less than 3,000, practicality is key.

“It’s been more of a refocus on working on what you can control,” Smith said.

“Historically, Ashville has had some limitations as far as infrastructure and utilities to be able to handle large growth. That is being worked on now. I think there’s a renaissance of community pride and a focus on improving what can be improved, and do the things that can be done to help the community take that next step.”

Steeped in history There is something of an eternal elegance to Ashville, a town that has preserved many of its historic landmarks that go back to the state’s earliest days. And when John Ash and his family first explored the area in the early 19th century, a tragedy struck that would offer no clue as to the future. A tiny gravestone would be the symbolic cornerstone for the future county seat of St. Clair County.

In January 1817, John Ash, his wife Margaret and their three daughters and seven slaves were part of a party of a half dozen families on a wagon train en route to Shelby County when they decided to explore Beaver Valley.

According to legend, wrote the late historian Mattie Lou Teague Crow, John Ash shot a deer. Ash was near the team of horses when he fired, and little Betsy Ash was thrown from the wagon and suffered a fractured skull. She died of her injuries days later. Reluctant to leave their little girl, the Ash family settled nearby. The Ash home still stands today. John Ash would later serve as a judge, county commissioner and state legislator.

St. Clair County was created in the Alabama territory in 1818. In 1820, the governor appointed Ash and other men to a board of commissioners. The board purchased 30 acres of land from a man named Philip Coleman for $10,000. Sixty-four lots were created from the purchase, including land for the courthouse.

Like other towns in St. Clair County, changes in transportation – the railroad, US 231 and the interstate highway system transformed the town. But the town lots, laid out in the first map of the town in the early 19th century, remain unchanged, with its heart in the Courthouse Square. The first court hearings were conducted

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Ashville Historic courthouse

Courthouse Annex

54

at the home of Alexander Brown, according to Crow’s writings.

And the descendants of many of the families who first built Ashville – Ash, Box, Inzer, Newton, Byers and more, remain in modern-day Ashville.

Across the years, history has rolled through Ashville, bringing with it harmony and progress, disagreements and disputes. The town, like the rest of the county, was divided over the issue of secession on the eve of the Civil War. Col. John Inzer had opposed secession, but went on to fight for the Confederacy.

He would distinguish himself at the battles of Corinth, Shiloh and Chickamauga before being taken as a prisoner of war. After the war, he would go on to a distinguished career in public service in government and was also a trustee of Howard College (now Samford University). His home, the Dean-Inzer home is one of the town’s preserved treasures of antebellum architecture.

Asked how she would describe Ashville, Laura Lawley, clerk to the St. Clair County Commission called it a town “near to God’s heart.” And indeed faith has played a role in the town’s history.

Methodists have worshipped in Ashville since 1818, served by a circuit-riding minister in those days. The Masonic Lodge was shared by the Methodists and the Masons until 1892. Baptists constructed a new house of worship in 1859 and Presbyterians in 1879. The original Presbyterian church now serves as a Church of Christ congregation.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Historic homes are prominent

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

These days, churches are still growing in Ashville. Flow of the Spirit Church now worships in the former Burton Foods building, while First Baptist Church is developing plans to expand in anticipation of the anticipated growth in Ashville, according to local real estate executive and developer Lyman Lovejoy. He serves on the building committee of the Baptist church.

One of the gems of the town is Ashville High School. The first school in town was Ashville Academy, founded in 1831. It later became Ashville College and in 1910, Ashville High School.

Ashville has also had an impact in popular culture, both locally and on the world stage. The “Upping Block” is an important local landmark, marking where politicians and orators took to the stump. It’s also where ladies were helped up to their horses. World famous archer Howard Hill, married and buried in Ashville, made his mark in Hollywood, using his skills in a number of films, notably Errol Flynn’s 1938 classic, The Adventures of Robin Hood.

And, Ashville has been named one of Alabama’s coolest small towns by the online site onlyinyourstate.com, one of a dozen towns selected. Ashville was third on the list, behind Alabama’s seafood capital, Bayou La Batre and the Walker County town of Cordova.

Of Ashville, onlyinyourstate.com wrote: “Ashville, the county seat of St. Clair County, was established in 1822. This historic Alabama town offers a wonderful city park for family outings, in addition to Greensport Marina, the perfect place for boating and fishing.”

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Preserving past with eye to future But with all the changes, Ashville remains true to its history and traditions, preserving it as a family would hold dear to an heirloom quilt or pocket watch.

Lunch at Shaw’s Barbecue, greeting strangers and friends on the street and church on Sunday are deeply woven into the quality of life.

St. Clair County Commission Chairman Paul Manning and outgoing Ashville Mayor David Thompson are optimistic about the town’s future and believe economic growth is on the horizon, both downtown and on the Interstate 59 corridor, but that Ashville will never lose its hometown feel.

“Ashville is unique,” said Charlene Simpson, who succeeded Crow in the role as town historian before her own retirement at Ashville Museum and Archives.

“It still has one stop light. And the courthouse is still the center of town. It’s a place where people still speak to you on the street. It’s close to big cities, but it’s still a little country town.”

A number of historic homes – some nearly two centuries old -- still thrive as residential or business properties in Ashville. For example, the Alameth Byers home, built in the 1820s, is home to Kell Realty. The Byers family came to Ashville from South Carolina, where they were indigo farmers, Simpson said.

Alameth’s brother, Amzi Byers also owned one of the historic homes downtown. The home was built in 1835, constructed by Richard Crow. The house was eventually owned by Judge Leroy Franklin Box, who presented it to his daughter, Stella Box Hodges, as a wedding gift in 1889, Simpson said.

The Bothwell home, owned by Dr. James J. Bothwell, one of the town’s first physicians, is also still thriving today. It was also built by Richard Crow in 1835.

It was given as a wedding present by Judge Box to another daughter, Lula Box Embry.

“Ashville is a small, close-knit town,” Simpson said. “A lot of the houses were family-owned for a long time, and the families worked to preserve them,” Simpson said.

In the last several years, efforts have been made to preserve historic homes and buildings in Ashville, one of St. Clair’s two county seats.

“Hopefully, that’s going to continue,” Simpson said.

A strong foundation To a person, it seems a universal feeling that Ashville is poised for a revival of sorts. Josh Kell, the owner of Kell Realty, says his firm has enjoyed its best year since the 2007 recession. Low interest rates, affordability and quality of life have driven the recovery.

The founder of Kell Realty, his father, Paul Kell, passed away in 2011 after more than two decades as a respected real estate executive and developer. A former president of the St. Clair Association of Realtors, Paul Kell was also

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57

involved in a variety of charitable, civic and church activities, including Relay for Life and The Children’s Place.

The family business is located on the Courthouse Square in one of Ashville’s many historic homes, the Alameth Byers home built in the 1820s. Among the historic buildings are the Looney House – listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as are the John Inzer Museum and the Dr. James J. Bothwell House. The Dean-Inzer house now serves as the John Inzer Museum.

The Dean-Inzer House also serves as the headquarters for the local Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Inzer family also donated the land for the historic Masonic Lodge and Mattie Lou Teague Crow Museum next door.

One of Ashville’s landmark business families, the Fouts family, has operated gas stations, a car dealership and now a tractor business in downtown Ashville for some 80 years, across four generations.

“It’s been some sort of family business for over 80 years,” said Fouts Tractor President Pat Fouts. His grandfather, C.P. Fouts, and great-grandfather, W.O. Fouts, founded the business.

Downtown revitalization, as well as the shift in population north from Jefferson to St. Clair County has boosted Fouts’ business.

“I think the future should be good. The main thing that’s helped us is the population growth from people moving out of the Birmingham area. It continues to come this way.

The more people that come this way, the more customers you’ve got. So if you keep doing business the way you’re supposed to do it – the right way – you should be able to stay successful.”

Downtown revitalization of historic buildings and restoration of historic homes – like the Looney House and the Masonic building – also has had a positive effect, Fouts said.

“Anytime anything is redone, gets better or is improved, it’s got to be at the very least a positive impact because at least it doesn’t look like something that’s run down.

There are several towns... where the downtown gets torn down and run down. “(Revitalization) gives you a sense of ‘Hey, this looks pretty good. Maybe I’d want to do stuff here, live here, buy stuff here.’ So it’s definitely been a positive.”

One of those positives is the renovation of the historic Rexall Drug location in the heart of town. Once in disrepair like a badly-aging debutante, the tall structure with a front full of glass now shimmers, thanks to local dentist Dr. Joseph Labbe.

Labbe had practiced in an office on a dead end street for about two years when the Rexall building became empty.

He watched as years took its toll on the drugstore that once teemed with customers.

“I liked the building a lot and I wanted to build a new practice,” Labbe said. “I needed to remodel my building, but I really liked the (Rexall) building. I put in an offer and was able to buy it. I thought it would be great to be down in the town square. I thought the town square needed more businesses on it.”

When Labbe first came to Ashville a dozen years ago, the Rexall was the second building he noticed after the historic St. Clair County Courthouse.

“I thought it was really neat,” he said. The courthouse square and the drugstore sparked memories of his

58

Ashville Inzer Museum

Masonic Lodge

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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childhood in Selma.

“We had drugstores downtown when I was younger, and it kind of reminded me of that, Labbe said. “I hated to see a really nice building like that just fall in. At the time I was looking at building a new practice, looking at land down the highway,” he said. “When this building came open, I thought ‘That would be perfect.’”

Labbe was attracted by the possibility of more foot traffic to the downtown corner office, as well as the courthouse renovation.

He liked the shape of the front of it, a tall building right on the corner of a main intersection in town. “It had a lot of windows in the front and kind of took up the whole corner. It’s just a neat looking building.”

The move to the courthouse square in July has boosted his practice, Labbe said. “We actually have a lot more people walking in,” Labbe said. “Before we were on a dead-end street, and I don’t think too many people knew we were out there. It was mostly word of mouth and advertising.

“Once we started working on the building, people realized that we were here. And when we moved in, I think a lot of people wanted to see what the building looked like. We’ve picked up a lot. We have a lot more patients walking in who want to make an appointment.”

Bright future ahead Blending old with new has been a good growth strategy for Ashville. “It’s an attractive place for people to live,” said Josh Kell. “We’re 45 minutes from Birmingham and 20 minutes from Gadsden, so while you’re not in an urban area, you’re under an hour in both directions from anything you need. It’s convenient.

You can be to the Atlanta airport in less than two hours.”

And, along with homes in town, there are also larger lots outside town, as well as Neely Henry Lake, one of the county’s “best-kept secrets,” Lovejoy said. Ashville, he added, is a community on the move.

“It’s not where the rest of the county is, but for the first time since we went through the recession, things are looking better up there,” said Lovejoy, former chairman of the St. Clair EDC.” People are doing some renovation downtown that we haven’t seen in a long time. It was a little slower coming out of the recession than these other places were, but it’s definitely on the rise.”

Optimism is bubbling in Ashville, from county political and economic development leaders, to young attorneys like Meg Clements. She practices with the Robinson Law Firm, which has represented clients for generations in town.

“I really believe the sky’s the limit for Ashville,” Clements said.

“I believe Ashville will be able to keep its small-town feel. I think Ashville can (grow) the right way, working around the interstate and in the industrial park, while keeping its small-town feel.”

Many believe Ashville will be the next community to experience significant growth. Clements supports the idea of slow, steady growth. She remembers when U.S. 231 was four-laned in Pell City.

Growth occurred steadily over 25 years.

“I think that’s important,” Clements said. “I think there’s a lot of potential here.”

As a new administration takes office in November, preparation is critical.

There’s been a ton of money invested in our downtown. We’re seeing progress. It’s slow, but we’re getting there,” Mostella said.

“At the end of the day, we have to create the kind of environment that’s conducive to growth. That’s what we want to do.” Whatever comes our way—residential, industrial commercial, we want to be prepared for it.” l

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Lawyer Meg Clements

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Ashville High, a center of activity

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Yak Tha Creek Kayak business bolsters entrepreneurship, environment, economy

Story by Paul South Submitted photos from Yak Tha Creek Imagine a new economic engine for Ashville, fueled by life’s fundamental element – cool, clear water.

Randall Vann has imagined it on this picturesque creek that meanders northward through Ashville. And his imagination is now reality. It is Yak Tha Creek, a new business launched this summer, celebrating the placid joys of flatwater kayaking.

“I had been looking for something to open in this city since I’ve moved here as it relates to something that youth can do, that families can do,” Vann said. It’s a good combination, because I’m such an outdoorsman and love being outdoors. So I thought this was something I ought to try.”

Vann wasn’t alone in looking toward opening up green spaces in Ashville and the surrounding area. Earlier this year, Vann said, the Ashville City Council began to open up green spaces and work to make Little Canoe Creek usable.

Ashville also gained a valuable corporate partner when Honda employees ventured to Canoe Creek on Earth Day to clean up the entrance to the creek near the U.S. 231 bridges. Social media also picked up steam, Vann said. From a governmental perspective, Council members Marty Crews and Adam Abernathy led the charge.

“There was a lot of Facebook chatter. A Little Canoe Creek Project Team went in to map out ‘put-ins’ and ‘take-outs ‘and how long it would take.”

From those seeds, of corporate and municipal help and social media, Yak Tha Creek took hold. But Canoe Creek has always been open to the public, Vann said.

“But to open it up, and let people know that it’s open is the direction the city is going. (The creek) feeds into the Coosa River. You can kayak from here to Riddle’s Bend Creek and it feeds into the Coosa,”

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Ashville Vann said.

Discussions of other eco-friendly activities and new greenspaces in Ashville and the surrounding areas has been a hot topic of late, archery parks, gun ranges and other activities that take advantage of Ashville and St. Clair County’s natural beauty have also been on the table.

Mayor Elect Derrick Mostella supports an expansion of green space, building Ashville’s reputation as a town friendly to kayakers, anglers, cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts.

“I think the sky’s the limit for us on that front. We’ve got a lot of naturally beautiful areas, a lot of green space that we can take advantage of and use to sell ourselves,” he said.

Nearby Neely Henry Lake, an easy 15-minute drive from Ashville, is also a treasure. The state has invested in the lake, building a new public boat launch. Local real estate executive and developer Lyman Lovejoy praises the potential of Neely Henry.

“I think it’s one of the best-kept secrets in the Ashville area and in St. Clair County,” Lovejoy said.

As for Yak Tha Creek, Vann opened for weekends this summer and stayed full, with kayakers renting most of his fleet of 20 boats for morning and afternoon sessions.

“We’re staying pretty fully booked every weekend,” Vann said. “I’m staying booked every weekend, mainly because I’m getting a lot of groups,” he said. “I’m doing a lot of groups where people are renting 10 or more boats at a time. I put a group of 18 down the creek at one time.

I put a group of 17 down the creek at one time. This past weekend, I rented to a group of 15. A lot of people are renting in groups which is great.”

Right now, Yak Tha Creek is a weekends-only business, where kayakers can bring their own watercraft or rent from Vann’s stock. But in the future, Vann, who works full-time in facilities management for a major retailer, would like to see the kayak concern swell to a fleet of 250 boats and become a source of employment for area teens and college students. Right now, Vann and his two teenage children operate the business. The kayaks are wide and stable, safe for even novice kayakers on the calm waters of the creek.

“I hope this turns into something that people are proud of and that people are excited about, and that we’re able to produce jobs for young folks in the summertime,” Vann said. “With the weather like it is in Alabama, I don’t believe I’m ever going to close up shop here. There may be a couple of months that we don’t have a lot of rentals.

But I’ve even got people asking me how long I’m going to stay open. I’m going to try to keep the business open for nine months out of the 12, at least, and I hope it turns into something that makes Ashville a destination place.

That’s what I believe the forward- thinking people on the council want to see.”

Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Authority, praised the city’s work – and Vann’s spirit of entrepreneurship — on Little Canoe Creek.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is a great theme about doing what you can do to improve your community.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Paddleboarding on the creek

Paddling on a nice day

It’s one thing to say we need a second Honda plant, or an (information technology) firm to move here. But when you start talking as a community about a kayaking service, the creek needs to be cleaned up and from that a company starts, that’s a great thing.

Yak Tha Creek is more than an economic concern. It’s sparked a renewed interest in environmental stewardship, keeping the creek clean, Vann said.

“I’m having a lot of people – friends and people who just come who volunteer — to help keep the creek clean.

They’ve been down the creek before, but now they volunteer to come help us out to clean the creek. I have a lot of people stepping up just to help.”

Vann also embraces another aspect of Canoe Creek’s possibilities. The cool water teems with bass, crappie and bream. “It’s not just a paddling creek,” Vann said.

“There’s going to be a point where I start having creek fishing tournaments for teams fishing in kayaks, whether they rent from me or bring their own, Vann said. “We’re going to have some fishing tournaments to benefit schools and local food pantries. It’s wide open right now, and we should all be good stewards as far as how we present our business and use our business.

At its heart, Yak Tha Creek shares the Sunday school values that every concern in Ashville seems to hold dear – treating folks as they would want to be treated. In an increasingly mean-spirited world, those values are as refreshing as the cool waters of Little Canoe Creek on a sweltering 105-degree day.

“I don’t want this to be like we’re rushing cattle through somewhere. I have not turned this over to my teenage kids and let them run it. I’m with the rentals all the time. For me, for Yak Tha Creek, the thing that’s going to separate us is taking care of customers and being good customer servants.

He added, “We have a fantastic creek in Ashville, and its open for people to use.” l

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Operation Christmas Child Inspiring around the world

Story by Leigh Prtichett Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. When Jessie Garrison turned 75, it was a birthday celebration that would be felt around the world.

At a surprise party in March, the Pell City woman — often called “Mrs. Jessie” — received dolls, toy cars, school supplies, coloring books, crayons, flip flops, tennis shoes, plush toys, toothbrushes, jewelry, sunglasses and much more.

It was a birthday party with a twist, in that the honoree would give away her gifts. All the items would benefit one of Mrs. Jessie’s passions, which is Operation Christmas Child (OCC). The articles would be packed into shoeboxes to be sent all over the globe to children who perhaps have never known the joy of receiving a gift.

Because arthritis made it somewhat difficult for Mrs. Jessie to pack shoeboxes in 2015, her three children — Randy Garrison and Robin Dollar, both of Ashville, and Rick Garrison of Springfield, Va. — planned this party to help their mother do what is very dear to her heart.

Through word of mouth and social media, people one by one learned about the party that was to be at Friendship Baptist Church in Odenville.

Mrs. Jessie walked into the church’s fellowship hall that Saturday afternoon, thinking she was there to attend a birthday celebration for one of her five great-grandchildren.

“I had never been more surprised in my life,” Mrs. Jessie said about learning that the party was for her.

Randy, Robin and Rick had hoped to accumulate enough gift items to fill 75 shoeboxes, one for each year of Mrs. Jessie’s age.

The response was so great, “she ended up with 108 shoeboxes,” Robin said.

In addition, Mrs. Jessie was given $200 to go toward the recommended donation of $7 per shoebox that defrays the cost of transporting the gifts to the children.

Even after the party ended, birthday presents arrived. Some came from Jackie White of Odenville. For a number of years, White has made bags and little girls’ dresses to send with people going on mission trips.

White had 40 bags and 50 dresses ready when she heard about Mrs. Jessie’s birthday bash. She gave all 90 to Mrs. Jessie for the shoeboxes.

“She is a wonderful lady to think of the kids,” White said.

Coal miner’s daughter

She was born Jessie Venable, one of James Earl and Ovella Horsley Venable’s six children. Mrs. Jessie grew up in Margaret (then referred to as Odenville Route 2), and according to Robin, was “proud to be a coal miner’s daughter,” just like country singer Loretta Lynn.

Mrs. Jessie’s first job was at age 10. She was hired by neighbor Daisy Barker to hang the mailbag at the Sanie stop for the afternoon train to retrieve. For her summertime work, Mrs. Jessie received $3 a month and clothing items from the

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Jessie Garrison, left, cuddles a plush toy while granddaughters Ginger Garrison, center, and Jamie Dollar pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

Mays & Jones store in Pell City.

In high school, one of Mrs. Jessie’s friends was June Kent. (Kent married astronaut Dick Scobee. He was mission commander on Jan. 28, 1986, aboard the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after liftoff, killing him and the other six crew members.) Mrs. Jessie said June Kent Scobee Rodgers — who holds a doctorate and is an educator and author — tells about the girls’ friendship in one of her books.

As a teen, Mrs. Jessie worked in the cafeteria of Loveman’s department store on Third Avenue in Birmingham.

Just a few months shy of turning 18, Mrs. Jessie in 1958 married David Garrison, who was fresh out of the Army. In the next six years, the couple had three children.

While the family lived in South Carolina, Mrs. Jessie’s attitude and abilities at boning turkey earned her “employee of the month” at Campbell Soup Co. She also worked at an S&H Green Stamp store, which she said was “a fun job.”

When the Garrisons moved back to Odenville, Mrs. Jessie became assistant manager of St. Clair County High School’s lunchroom, ultimately serving 16 years. For another nine years until she retired, she was lunchroom manager at Moody High School. At the schools, she was known for her peanut butter fudge and dressing.

“Those were the good ole days,” she said, reminiscing.

During nine summers in the 1980s, Mrs. Jessie was a cook at Cook Springs Baptist Camp, which is now WorldSong Missions Place.

Before she was hired for the St. Clair County High School position, Mrs. Jessie told God that, if she got the job, she would

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

greatly increase her contributions to missions. Specifically, she meant the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, two emphases in Southern Baptist churches for supporting, respectively, missionaries serving abroad and missionaries serving North America.

“I stuck to it,” she said.

That commitment made her more mission-minded and has defined where her heart has been since then.

She first learned of OCC in 1998 while working part time at Springville Camp and Conference Center. Rodney Davis was camp director at that time and, with wife Darcy, had begun the OCC effort in Central Alabama; Buckner Barrels in Springville served as the regional collection site for the packed shoeboxes.

The Davises’ excitement for OCC stirred Mrs. Jessie to become involved, too. That year, she filled two shoeboxes.

The next year, she packed 30.

Her annual contribution of shoebox gifts took on new meaning in 2007 when one of hers went to Kehloon, a physically challenged teen in India. He wrote her a letter of thanks.

Having a name and a face to associate with a shoebox made packing OCC gifts much more personal for Mrs. Jessie.

“It became a mission, not a project,” she said.

More than ever, it was to her a means for sending “Jesus in a box” to children all over the world.

“This is my passion,” Mrs. Jessie said. “I think this is Jesus in a box. I can’t go, but I can send. That’s why I call it Jesus in a box. ... Jesus is in that shoebox when I pack it.”

The number of boxes she contributed continued to increase to the point that she now sets her personal goal at 84-100 each year. Plus, she pays the transportation costs for each of them.

She and her granddaughters — Jamie Dollar and Ginger Garrison, both of Ashville — carefully and prayerfully pack each shoebox.

All year, Mrs. Jessie is thinking about and gathering articles to put in boxes.

“I do it all the time. If I see a sale, I get it,” she said.

Longtime friend Joyce Higginbotham of Moody said Mrs. Jessie is not bashful about asking stores managers, dentists, hotels employees, etc. for items to put in OCC boxes.

She does not shy away from telling others about OCC either.

One day, Mrs. Jessie explained to a Walmart cashier why she was purchasing so many units of an item. The cashier suddenly asked a member of management to excuse her briefly from her station. When the cashier returned, she gave Mrs. Jessie $20 to buy more for OCC. As more letters arrived from Kehloon, Mrs. Jessie grew to regard him as one of her grandchildren.

In 2009, she purchased a new walker for him, and her Sunday school class at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Pell City helped to pay the $100-plus in shipping to get it to India.

Despite his mobility issues, Kehloon has distributed more than 2,000 Bibles to people in India, Mrs. Jessie said.

Another landmark in her OCC mission came in 2008. That year, a 4-year-old lad named Blesson received one of Mrs. Jessie’s boxes. Blesson’s father, Augustine, is a Christian pastor who travels to different areas to minister. Two of Augustine’s ministry points are leprosy colonies in India.

Upon learning about the colonies, Mrs. Jessie felt an urgency to help. Since then, she has provided school supplies and Christmas gifts to the colonies. With the assistance of her grandson, Josh Dollar, and Friendship Baptist Church in Odenville, Mrs. Jessie sent to the colonies 100 Bibles in the Telugu language.

Because the people who live in the colonies experience few special occasions, she makes certain they have a celebration with birthday cakes and catered food once a year. For the past six years, these celebrations have marked her birthday.

Mrs. Jessie has boxes of letters — many with colorful stickers or shimmering tassels — from India, Togo, Ghana, Sri Lanka, South Africa and other countries. She has photographs of young girls smiling with their school supplies in hand, of lepers enjoying a slice of decorated cake, of Hindu priests receiving Christian Bibles.

She also has the assurance of knowing that people on the other side of the world pray for her. On Aug. 10, 2009, when she had surgery to replace both knees at once, Augustine and a group of men were in prayer for “Mama Jessie.”

“They fasted and prayed for my surgery,” Mrs. Jessie said.

Giving begets giving

Mrs. Jessie’s enthusiasm for OCC has a record for being contagious.

At Mount Moriah Baptist and New Hope Baptist Church — the two local congregations she has attended since moving to Pell City — her leadership and passion for OCC has energized many others to take part. At Mount Moriah Baptist, Mrs. Jessie and Redena King led the church’s annual effort that sent hundreds of boxes overseas. So many people — some who have since passed — gave whatever was needed to fill shoeboxes and whatever was needed to fund the journey. Some individuals became yearlong OCC shoppers too.

“People have been very good to (help) me,” said Mrs. Jessie.

“It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus.”

She speaks of the glow she has seen on faces of people who were visibly thrilled and blessed by getting to contribute to OCC. At New Hope Baptist, she is now working alongside Kelli Whitten of Pell City to do the same. New Hope Baptist contributed 211 boxes in 2015, Mrs. Jessie said.

Whitten credits Mrs. Jessie with bringing a new level of joy and inspiration to New Hope’s OCC effort, especially among the children.

Mrs. Jessie’s excitement for OCC has passed as well to other generations of her family. Grandchildren Ginger and Jamie, as well as Joe, Josh and Jon Dollar, are all involved in OCC in some way. Like Mrs. Jessie, daughter Robin thinks about and shops for OCC all year, and Jamie leads her church’s OCC project.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Operation Christmas Child Bible drill a passion

Though OCC is a very significant mission for Mrs. Jessie, it is but one of her passions.

Bible drill is another.

Forty-one years ago at Macedonia No. 1 Baptist Church in Margaret, Mrs. Jessie became a Bible drill coach. Since then, she has taught many, many children and teens (including one of her children and three of her grandchildren) from a long list of churches.

Through her mentoring, the children memorized Scripture and learned to locate verses and doctrinal truths in the Bible within 10 seconds, while the teens had to find them in 8 seconds. Year after year, students under her tutelage have advanced through the church, county and district levels of Bible drill to compete in the State Bible Drill and Speakers Tournament of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

One of her high school Bible drillers placed second in the state in 2011, behind the person who went on to become national champion.

Several years have been Mrs. Jessie’s “last” to be a Bible drill coach. “How many times have I retired?” she joked. But she returns to it because it “keeps me going. ... I ‘ve studied and learned Scripture (along with the students). I love to memorize (Scripture).”

Another of her ministries is that of giving encouragement. Mrs. Jessie — who likes to travel and play dominoes with friends — uses a newfound hobby of adult coloring pages to minister to others. Every week, she completes as many as 17 coloring pages, each requiring hours of detailed work. She sends the pages as cards of encouragement to people who need it and as tokens of gratitude to those who have touched her life in a special way.

A third area of ministry for her is closely associated with OCC. Providing The Greatest Journey to children is as important to her as OCC is. The 12-lesson follow-up for children who have received OCC gifts helps them to learn more about Jesus Christ. The cost of materials for one child to participate in The Greatest Journey is $6.

Throughout the year, she gives to that effort, often contributing to it to mark important occasions in the lives of other people.

Mrs. Jessie — who became a widow after 43 years of marriage — said she obviously cannot go to all the places where her shoeboxes have ended up, but she can send them with prayer. And she can help supply The Greatest Journey to children so they can learn more about following Jesus Christ.

Speaking at an OCC project leaders workshop in July at First Baptist Church in Trussville, Mrs. Jessie said, “It has got to start here in the heart. ...

You can’t do too many boxes. I can promise you that.”

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World’s largest Christmas project encourages giving Story by Leigh Pritchett Operation Christmas Child, “the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind,” has the goal of distributing 12 million shoebox gifts around the world.

Last year, individuals in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Canada and Japan packed 11.2 million shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. US participants provided more than 8.7 million, reports parent organization, Samaritan’s Purse.

St. Clair County gave 4,065 shoeboxes. Of that total, 910 came from Sulfur Springs Baptist Church, Trussville. A member of St. Clair Baptist Association, the church averages 100 in Sunday worship, said Teena Holderfield, the church’s OCC coordinator, meaning the church provided 9.1 boxes for each attending congregant.

The church had budgeted $4,000, and the congregation gave an additional $2,370 to pay the $7 per box transportation cost.

This year, it plans to provide 1,000 shoebox gifts plus $7,000 to offset transportation expense.

During National Collection Week, Nov. 14-21, packed shoeboxes may be deposited at Victory Christian Center in Pell City or First Baptist Church in Moody.

Instructions for selecting appropriate items, packing a shoebox, ‘packing’ one online and tracking it, are available at samaritanspurse.org/occ and dropoff sites.

Since 1993: • More than 135 million shoeboxes were presented to children in 150 countries and territories.

• 7.4 million children receiving shoeboxes took part in The Greatest Journey, which helps children learn about being a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. $6 provides The Greatest Journey for one child.

Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian relief and evangelism organization in Boone, N.C., led by the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of noted evangelist Billy Graham.

For more, visit samaritanspurse.org.

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Life on the farm

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

Red Hill

Vaughan Bryant works the farm

Farms Building relationships and reputation Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Mike Callahan It’s downright comical, like a scene from the 1960s television series, Green Acres.

“Pigs, come on pigs, hey pigs,” yells Vaughan Bryant, as he tries to coax a bunch of three-month-old piglets out of hiding.

Any moment, you expect to hear, “Soo-ee, soo-ee,” as if he were in a hog-calling contest.

The cute little darlings come running from under and behind some brush in their portable, hot-wire compound. Bellying up to the trough, which is filled with a non-GMO corn-soy combo laced with nutrients, they grunt and push and start eating.

“These are from three different litters, from an Amish farm in Tennessee,” Bryant explains. Being Amish, the piglets don’t know anything about electricity, so he has to teach them about hot wires. “Every time I get a new batch I have to train them,” Bryant says.

Whether training piglets to respect hot wires, moving cattle from pasture to pasture or selling grass-fed meat directly to their customers, for Vaughan and Christa Bryant, Red Hill Farms is all about relationships.

“It’s a relationship that you build with customers that makes it enjoyable,” says Vaughan, a third-generation farmer. “People say, ‘I’ve been looking for somebody that’s raising this kind of meat.’ And when they find us as a supplier, and you see that

smile on their face, and they take the meat home and send you an email telling you how good it was, it makes you feel good inside to know you’ve done something for somebody, and they appreciate it.”

The Bryants raise grass-fed cattle, feeder pigs and goats.

They purchase the piglets when they’re weaned from their mothers and weigh about 40 pounds, bring them home and raise them up to harvest size of 275-325 pounds. They raise goats to around 150 pounds, then sell them to folks who take them home to slaughter and barbecue. They sell pasture-fed cows and free-range pigs by the half or whole, and set up shop in their garage Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to sell ground beef, sausage, pork roasts and chops, as well as various cuts of beef roasts, cubed steaks and stew meat. Sometimes, they’ll give away pork fat, along with a recipe for Crock-Pot Lard, and during the fall, they’ll have steaks and various other cuts of beef. People often call ahead to reserve their cache before it’s all sold.

“People come from all over to buy on Saturday mornings,” Christa says. “They follow us on Facebook, on our web site (www.redhillfarms.com), and we send out email blasts to let people know what we have.”

Vaughan’s grandfather bought the original 100-acre

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

71

Red Hill

Farms Vaughan and Christa Bryant

Cropwell farm in 1939, moving his family from Ohatchee after their land was taken by the federal government for Fort McClellan’s Pelham Range.

Later Vaughan’s dad added another 40 acres when he bought a small, adjacent farm. Logan Martin Lake took 20 acres when it backed up— the farm is now on Rabbit Branch — and Vaughan has added a few more acres himself.

“After I got married, another fellow offered me another tract of land behind where Daddy had bought,” he says. “What we still work here is about 150 acres between my mom and me.”

His mother still lives in their original farm house, and a sister has built a house on the property, too. His other four brothers and sisters are scattered across the South.

His father, David Bryant, was a bi-vocational preacher who taught school, pastored Baptist churches in Seddon, Cropwell, Dry Valley and Greensport, and farmed. “Dad row-cropped for a good while, and he also did some peddling,” Vaughan says. “He ground sausage and took that along with butter and eggs, and peddled it in town.”

Vaughan and Christa’s business card says their animals are “raised with the Creator’s design in mind.” That translates to moving their cows and pigs around the farm to preserve the land, using natural fertilizer and not injecting hormones or antibiotics.

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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Farms “We rotate the cows from pasture to pasture, so the land will bounce back, and we move the pigs around so their rooting won’t destroy an area and they will always have some fresh grass,” Vaughan explains. He uses portable hot-wire fencing to contain the porkers.

“Pigs are funny animals,” Christa says. “I used to love watching them from my kitchen window before he moved them again.”

He doesn’t fertilize his pastures much, using only a little chicken litter now and then. The goats stay in a woodsy compound that has a shelter. “Goats don’t like to stand out in the rain,” Vaughan says.

Knowing when the cow is ready for market has to do with its “finish,” according to Vaughan. ”You’re looking for that fat cap on the back of the calf,” he says. ”When the tail head is buried in the hip, that’s when it has the right amount of marbling and is ready for the market. We’re not as picky when producing ground beef, though.”

They sell half and whole cows by live weight at $1.75 per pound, and pigs by the hanging weight at $2.75 per pound.

They transport the live animals to a processing plant in Alexandria. The buyer tells the plant how he wants his meat processed, i.e., how much ground beef, roasts and steaks, then pays for that service when he picks up his meat. “It comes out in the range of $6 per pound,” Vaughan says of the finished product. He sells a few calves at the Ashville Stockyards, too, for a quicker return on his money. “That’s what most people do with theirs,” he says of other cattle farmers. “But I was looking for a way to make some extra income off the farm and to have a little bit of padding for retirement. That’s why we got into direct marketing.”

Although cattle have been raised on the farm since its inception, the Bryants’ direct-to-market program didn’t start until 2011. They bought a batch of chickens and raised them following the Salatin Model, named for Joel Salatin, a farmer in Virginia known for his holistic management methods of animal husbandry, and for selling directly to consumers and restaurants.

“We bought chicks and raised them up in a brooder,” Vaughan explains. “At three to four weeks, when the chicks were right and the weather was right, we would bring them outside and put them under a chicken tractor that could be moved through the pasture. Actually, it was nothing more than a coop with wheels under it that allows you to move them every day. So they were on fresh green grass every day and leaving their fertilizer, the nitrogen, behind.”

The chicken processing was put on hold last year when Christa had some health issues, but they’re hoping to start up that operation again next spring.

“There’s a place in Pell City now that is processing birds for small farmers, and he has gotten USDA approval to process poultry there,” Vaughan explains. “So we plan on letting him do the processing.”

Both Vaughan and Christa hold full-time jobs off the farm.

He mixes paint at the Benjamin Moore Paint plant in Pell City, while she oversees federal programs and personnel for the Pell City Board of Education. On Saturdays, they work together selling their own USDA-inspected packaged meat out of the freezers in their garage. Occasionally, when their son is home from Auburn (they also have a daughter there), he’ll help out.

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Otherwise, it’s just Vaughan and Christa doing the farm chores and keeping the books.

“People have made our Saturday sales a part of their weekly grocery bill,” Christa says. “They want to buy their ground beef especially, so we try to keep ground beef. They’ll bring their kids, sometimes spend 45 minutes here talking, taking their kids out to see the pigs, so it’s not just a day going to the grocery store.”

She likes meeting her customers and hearing them talk about their health issues that have cleared up and the medicines they no longer take because they are watching what they put into their mouths and stomachs.

“You not only make them feel good about what they’re eating, but they’re taking care of their bodies, too,” she says.

“So we’re helping to change the next generation, especially with children. Being in education for as long as I have, I believe that’s very, very important.”

The prices for their packaged pork range from $5 per pound for sausage and $7.50 per pound for bacon to $9 per pound for chops. Their beef prices range from $5.50 per pound for ground beef to $12 per pound for London broil and flank steak.

Although Vaughan says these prices are lower than comparable products found at other retail grocers, they are higher than meats produced by large-commodity farms. Shouldn’t it cost less, people often ask, since he doesn’t have to buy hormones, antibiotics, fertilizer or much feed?

“You have more time tied up into it, because normally you’re going to be selling your calves at about six to eight months maybe, but you’re holding on to the animal for about two years,” he says. “It takes about nine months to grow the pigs off, while a commodity pig takes about six months. So you have a lot of time tied up in it.”

He knows that people appreciate getting the great service that grocery stores provide, but likes to point out that you can’t go to the grocery store and meet the farmer.

“People like coming out here and seeing the folks that are producing their meat,” he says. l

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

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76 Essence of St. Clair •• August &&& September 2013 of St. Clair •The Business Review DISCOVER The Essence St. Clair • February &July March 2016 76• DISCOVER The EssenceDISCOVER DISCOVER The Essence of St.Clair Clair June &November July 2016 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair June 2015 76 DISCOVER The Essence St. •••April May DISCOVER The Essence ofof St.of Clair October 2016

Story and photos by Graham Hadley

Town & Country expansion Good staff, business practice help lay foundation for new dealership

For well more than a decade Town & Country Ford in Bessemer has had the map to success — hire good people and implement solid, customer-focused business practices.

And what worked in Bessemer, worked in Pell City when Town & Country took over the dealership on US 231 near Interstate 20 in 2009.

The Ford dealership has been so successful that it is having to construct a new main building on a 3-acre car lot with another 3 acres prepped for any future expansions, something General Manager Doug Bailey said they expect to happen in coming years.

The project has been on the drawing board for more than a year, but with business demands continuing to grow, it was time for Town & Country to start construction.

Their current building is full of office space for the staff of around 30 — office space that has taken over the inside showroom floor.

“We have been a victim of our own success. We kept adding cubicles and desks, and there is no room for vehicles in the showroom,” Bailey said.

“The new building will be 26,000 square feet, with plenty of room for offices, work stations for customers — and to show off vehicles inside.”

The project also calls for pedestal stands on the lot that will also be used to showcase their cars, trucks and SUVs. The project will not only solve space problems, it will expand the dealership to make it more efficient and customer friendly across the board. In addition to traditional work bays, a six quick-lane bay area will be added for fast jobs like doing scheduled service maintenance and oil changes.

“It keeps up a good work flow, cuts down on customer waiting time and improves efficiency,” Bailey said.

There will be a separate customer-waiting area for that section.

Both waiting areas will have charging stations and Internet access.

“We will be adding amenities for customers — and a play area for children. There will be charging stations and free wifi for folks who come in. They can sit down and get work done or relax with their mobile devices while they wait on their vehicle,” he said.

The property will also get new entrances and exits on both US 231 and Jeanne Pruett Drive, and there will be a new turn lane added to US 231, which is “desperately needed” because of increased traffic in the wake of local business and residential growth, Bailey said.

Always focusing on being a good corporate neighbor in the Pell City community, the new Town & Country Ford

DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair •• August &&& September 2013 Business Review •July DISCOVER DISCOVER The Essence St. Clair • February &July March 2016 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair June &November 2016 77 DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair June 2015 DISCOVER The Essence St. Clair •••April May 77 DISCOVER The Essence ofof St.of Clair October 2016 The Essence of St. Clair • 77

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Piers Keith

Seawalls

205-473-5750

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Town & Country

building will be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified green car dealership in Alabama, he said.

The dealership employs around 30 people, a number Bailey expects to see grow to 45 or 50 in the next two years or so.

“We have been drawing customers from the surrounding area, steadily growing our market standing in the Birmingham Metro area. You have to have the people and the process in place to make that happen,” he said. “… I was fortunate to have that in Bessemer.

We were able to bring that to Pell City, and it has worked for us.

“We can build all the buildings we want, but it is our people who are our success. It’s because we keep hiring good people.”

Anyone driving by the property in recent weeks has seen the large mountain of dirt being moved around with giant construction equipment to get the site ready for the building and lot.

Goodgame Company is handling the site preparation, and the bidding process for the building should be wrapping up in the next few weeks, Bailey said.

“We hope to start construction in November or December. …

We are shooting for opening in August or September of next year, maybe sooner, depending on the weather,” he said.

“We will be able to offer a whole lot more than we have ever been able to offer — quick lanes will help, there will be more room, more inventory, more of everything.

“All of this – it’s all about presenting a better customer experience. We do well with what we have now. I can’t wait to see what we can do with customer experience in the new facility. “… It has been a blessing from the people in Pell City and St. Clair County to have this kind of support and to be this successful," he said. l

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DISCOVER The Essence of St. Clair • October & November 2016

508 MARTIN STREET SOUTH PELL CITY, AL 35128

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