Discover The Essence of St. Clair December 2025 and January 2026

December 2025 & January 2026

Discover The Essence of St. Clair

December 2025 & January 2026

HOME RESTORATION

New life for historic Springville house

SEWING A STORY

Quilting is more than just art

Winery and event venue for all occasions

Traveling the Backroads

Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist

Quilting Exhibit Pell City Museum blends history and art Page 36

Christmas in St. Clair Parades and events from across the county Page 38

Economic Boost New businesses open this holiday season

Bella Vista Winery in Pell City is

Photo by Mackenzie Free

Writers AND Photographers

Carol Pappas

Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover St. Clair Magazine. A retired newspaper executive, she served as editor and publisher of several newspapers and magazines. She won dozens of writing awards and was a Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn. She serves as president/CEO of Partners by Design, which publishes Discover and LakeLife 24/7 Magazine®.

Graham Hadley

Graham Hadley is the managing editor and designer for Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine and also manages the magazine website. Along with Carol Pappas, he left The Daily Home as managing editor to become vice president of the Creative Division of Partners by Design multimedia company.

Roxann Edsall

Roxann Edsall is a freelance writer and former managing editor of Convene Magazine, a convention industry publication. She has a degree in (broadcast) journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, worked as a television news reporter in Biloxi and as a reporter and assignments editor in Birmingham.

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. She is a former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine.

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.

Paul South

Paul South, a native of Fairfield, 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, he had a versatile career as reporter, columnist and first full-time sports information director at Samford University.

Mackenzie Free

Mackenzie Free is an experienced and nationally published photographer with a bachelor of fine arts degree. She is a Birmingham native now cultivating life on a farm in Steele with her husband & 4 daughters.

Joe Whitten

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

Elaine Hobson Miller

rom the Editor

Seeing history as a guide

It is intriguing to me how history guides us in so much of what we do to be successful at what we do.

It may be a business handed down from generation to generation. It could be an art form that preserves the past or a house restoration that echoes it. It may even be a better way to build a mousetrap – history and innovation together.

That’s the common theme that runs through this issue of Discover, where one of Pell City’s oldest family-owned businesses celebrates 70 years as a company. From a simple metal fabrication shop to a leading design build contractor, Goodgame Company is thriving from a simple foundation – “We Build Relationships.”

The same holds true for Helms Healthcare, whose burgeoning clinic is set to open a second location in Pell City in March, which would mark only a year since its founding. How? By practicing cutting edge medicine but delivering it the old-fashioned way. No recorded lines, no buttons to push – real people taking care of their patients because they really care.

See the similarities in these success stories so far? There’s more. Take Gilreath Printing in Pell City for instance. A third generation has joined this family-owned, tight knit company that has just moved into a substantially expanded headquarters.

Twenty-six years ago, Eddie and Susie Gilreath had a dream of owning their own business. They didn’t even have a computer at the time. Now, they’re a leading printer and sign maker in the region with all the latest technology designed to serve their customers better, faster and more creatively than ever.

History can influence new businesses as well. A prime example is Bella Vista Winery, where Margie Sanford uses her event planning experience to create a welcome addition to the community – a place where friends can relax outdoors, sip

a wine or beer and take in an incredible view of a mountaintop or a vineyard.

Abbye Grimes and Tina Dailey, who are sisters-in-law, opened two new businesses under one roof – drawing from their experience and their family ties. Little Stitches & Company is Grimes’ answer to a young mother’s quest for outfitting her children. She founded an online children’s clothing store and has now taken it to brick and mortar status.

Dailey follows in her mother’s footsteps, who styled hair for four decades. Tina has invested 10 years on her own, now opening Heirloom Salon, a luxury color and extension salon.

History, no doubt, drove Deanna Lawley to develop an innovative fundraiser that has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Pell City Schools Education Foundation, Pell City Library and Museum of Pell City. Under her tutelage, groups have traveled the world with commissions earned from their trips and excursions going straight to those nonprofits.

The same held true for the St. Clair Schools Education Foundation, where supporters resurrected the foundation after some years of dormancy and created a gala to raise funds to enhance learning experiences in county classrooms.

In Springville, you’ll find a mother and daughter recognizing the need to preserve history in their community and rolling up their sleeves – literally – to make it happen. Nancy Tucker and Tammy Spires are restoring the home of Margaret Byers, a Broadway actress and a beloved first grade teacher. And they’re shouldering most of the work themselves.

If you ventured to the Museum of Pell City in November, history surrounded you – not just in the museum itself (although, there’s plenty) but all along its new gallery space. It was the Friendship Quilters Quilt Show, and it featured some of the most beautiful and historic quilts around, telling stories of days gone by and showcasing the talents of this dedicated group.

Of course, there’s plenty more in this issue of Discover. Turn the page and discover it all with us!

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Carol Pappas • Editor and Publisher

Graham Hadley • Managing Editor and Designer

Dale Halpin • Advertising

Patrick Stokesberry • Graphic Designer

New life Historicfor house

Home of Broadway actress, Springville teacher being restored with ‘love’

Story by Scottie Vickery

Photos by Mackenzie Free

After leaving a career on Broadway during the Great Depression, Margaret Byers took center stage in the hearts of Springville residents. She was a little person – not much bigger than the first-graders she taught for decades – but she made a tremendous impact on everyone she met.

That’s a big part of the reason why Nancy Tucker and her daughter, Tami Spires, have taken such care while renovating the home where “Miss Margaret,” as she was affectionately known, lived most of her life. “We just felt like we needed to honor her,” Tami said.

The home, which Miss Margaret’s parents built in 1891, has some unique features, including doorknobs that are much lower than typical to accommodate their daughter’s small stature. “She just quit growing as a child,” Tami said. “No one really knows why.”

One of Nancy’s favorite features of the home, which boasts 14-foot ceilings, is an old phone nook that’s built into a wall and is only about 2 feet off the ground. “She had a little chair that sat next to it,” Nancy said.

“It’s such a unique house, and we’re so happy to have it.”

Neither of the women was in the market for a new home when Nancy first saw the “For Sale” sign while walking with a friend one morning last summer. In fact, they both live right down the street from the Byers

Tami and Nancy take a break on Miss Margaret’s porch swing

home, with Nancy’s house directly behind Tami’s.

Still, Nancy had a feeling she just couldn’t shake. “When I saw it that morning, I thought, ‘That’s going to be ours,’” she said. “I wanted it the minute I found out it was for sale, before I even went in it.”

Nancy immediately called Tami, who contacted the real estate agent and scheduled a tour. A few hours after the walk-through, Nancy had a contract on the yellow house that stands directly across the street from Springville Middle School.

“We walked across the threshold, and she said, ‘I’m buying it,’” Tami said. Nancy wanted it so badly, in fact, that she didn’t even get an inspection on the house before signing the papers.

“I bought it like it was a loaf of bread,” Nancy said with a laugh. “I didn’t even think about the structure of the house or anything like that. I just loved it.”

Fortunately, they’ve since learned that, despite being more than 130 years old, the house is in pretty good condition. “There was no mold, no leaks, nothing wrong with the foundation,” Tami said. “We got lucky.”

They replaced the knob and tube wiring that is common in historic homes and can pose safety concerns, as well as some rotten porch boards. They covered up the fireplace in the dining room, one of four that were in the original house, and had the chimney removed because it was in bad shape. They also had new kitchen cabinets, which were not original to the home, and new countertops installed.

Everything else has been done by the mother/daughter duo. “Mom and I have singlehandedly done 95 percent of everything inside the house that’s been done,” Tami said. “Every weekend, we’re either here working on the house or

Margaret Byers with her class in front of old rock school in Springville

Historic marker in front of house

shopping for things to furnish it. The shopping is more fun.”

While they love the history of old houses – Tami’s home was built in 1885, and Nancy’s was built in 1926 –they are especially intrigued with this one just because it belonged to Miss Margaret.

She was a beloved first-grade teacher for decades, and Nancy, Tami and Tami’s daughter, Rebekah Wester, are all teachers, as well.

Nancy taught Business at Springville High School for 26 years before retiring in 2000. A former English teacher at Moody Middle School, Tami is currently the counselor at Springville Elementary School. And Rebekah, who will live in the home once renovations are complete, teaches English at Ragland High School.

“We kind of feel a kinship with Miss Margaret because she was a teacher, and we are three generations of teachers,” Tami said. A member of the Springville Preservation Society, she leads walking tours of Springville for the fourth-grade students each year and for the public each spring. “This has always been my favorite house to talk about,” she said. “I love telling everyone about Miss Margaret.”

Small stature, tremendous impact

As a young woman, Miss Margaret dreamed of a career on the stage. Born into one of Springville’s pioneer families, she went to Huntingdon College in Montgomery after graduating from high school. A singer and dancer, she also attended an arts school in Chicago, according to an article on the “Tiny Teacher” that appeared in The Birmingham News in 1953.

She moved to New York as a young woman and appeared in several Broadway productions in the late 1920s and early 1930s. “We’ve always been told she was a munchkin in the Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz, but we have not confirmed that to be true,” Tami said.

She did, however, play children’s roles in several productions. According to Broadway databases and other sources, she was cast in Merry-Go-Round, which played in 1927 at the Klaw Theatre, and in Her Unborn Child, which played in 1928 at the 48th Street Theatre. In 1929, 1930 and 1931, she played Bo-Peep in Babes in Toyland at the Imperial Theatre. She also was in a traveling theater troupe at some point, according to The Birmingham News article.

“She got to play a lot of the children’s roles on Broadway,” Tami said. Child labor laws were strictly enforced at the time, and at one theater, child welfare officials came after the director because they thought she was working too late at night. “She had to show them her ID to prove she was a grown woman,” Tami said.

A few years into the Depression, Miss Margaret returned home to Springville. “She was told to find another career because people just weren’t going to the theater anymore,” Tami explained.

Miss Margaret enrolled at Jacksonville State University and earned an education degree. She started teaching first grade at the Old Rock School, now an historic landmark. “If you got Miss Margaret, you were somebody,” said Nancy, whose son, Jamey, was in her last first-grade class. “I was so excited when I heard she would be his teacher. I thought I would absolutely die if

Tami made all the curtains for the house under Nancy’s watchful eye

The home, including the front sitting room, boasts 14-foot ceilings and lower doorknobs to accommodate Miss Margaret’s small stature

With the inside renovations complete, work will soon begin to restore the outside to its former glory

Hardwood floors and special built-in details throughout

A door to the bathroom was closed in at some point and now provides a beautiful backdrop for china

he didn’t get Miss Margaret.”

Sandra Jones, a Springville native who now lives in Pell City, was another one of the lucky students. In 1994, she wrote a column about her former teacher for the St. Clair News Aegis and included a memory of the first time she met the woman who “was practically a living legend in Springville.”

“Margaret Byers wasn’t much taller than I – even in her tiny high-heeled shoes,” she wrote. “I studied the pert, pixieish woman as she darted about, smiling and chatting. Her face reflected warmth and there was a pleasant lilt in her voice. As I watched her, my fears suddenly melted away. In an instant, I came under the spell of ‘Miss Margaret’ – a spell that still lingers even after all these years.”

Even though she left the stage, Miss Margaret still loved to perform. She had an upright piano in her classroom and would often sing songs for her students.

“She knew all the latest tunes: ‘Sugartime,’ ‘Catch a Falling Star,’ and ‘Mr. Sandman’ –and we sang them all,” Sandra wrote.

One of her fondest memories is of the

Work materials on the front porch

day Miss Margaret let Sandra wear her shoes. “I had a pair of those play high heeled shoes that I had carried to school for Show and Tell. She traded shoes with me and let me wear her tiny high heels all day,” Sandra said. “They fit perfectly.”

Although she was well-prepared for second-grade, Sandra said the life lessons she learned from Miss Margaret were as important as the curriculum.

“Though she was small in stature, she was big on life; a buoyant bundle of boundless energy,” she wrote in her column. “And though she taught me ‘reading, writing, and arithmetic,’ I think the most valuable lesson I learned from her was the importance of blending work and play. She taught me that life is held in balance with the right portion of each.”

It needs to be loved

Those are the kinds of stories Nancy and Tami love hearing now that they’ve bought the house, which has had several owners since Miss Margaret passed away in 1987. Since taking possession of the house on Aug. 1, they’ve spent all their free time renovating it together.

“We have probably spent more time together in the past few months than we have in the last year, and she lives right next door,” Tami said with a laugh. “We’re not afraid to tackle anything. We’ll try anything once, and we’ve learned a lot.”

They’ve painted every room in the house, which was no

child every takes center stage.

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Playbill from Babes in Toyland, and some of Miss Margaret’s notes for her classroom

small feat with the tall ceilings. “I was here by myself one day on top of a ladder, and I thought, ‘That’s kind of stupid, being 88 and being up on top of a 14-foot ladder,” Nancy said. “We decided after that neither of us would get on a ladder unless someone else was here,” Tami added.

They hung new wallpaper in the bathroom, which still has the original cast iron tub. When they pulled off the previous owner’s, some of the sheetrock came with it, so they decided to paint over the wallpaper hanging in the living room. “It’s not professionally done at all, but everything we’ve done has been done with love,” Tami said.

She replaced the kitchen backsplash, and she and Nancy have spent countless days painstakingly scraping linoleum off the kitchen floor and trying to save the hardwood floors in that room. When they needed a break, Tami set up her sewing machine in the sitting room and made all the curtains, which are 108 inches in length.

Through the years, previous owners made some changes to the house. The kitchen was originally located in the back of the house, with an attached butler’s pantry. A maid’s room was just across the back porch. Now, the kitchen is in the center of the home, and the back room has been turned into a bedroom. Tami and Nancy hope to eventually turn the pantry into a second full bath.

“The layout is not ideal for modern living, but it is what it is,” Tami said. “That’s kind of the charm.”

Now that the inside is nearing completion, the focus will soon turn to the outside. They want to clear the brush off the side lot and restore the yard to its former glory. They also plan to paint the outside of the house, and Nancy has decided that’s a job for someone else.

“We talked about doing it ourselves and just taking a section at a time,” Tami said. Nancy wasn’t convinced. “She talked about it, not me,” she said with a grin. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do, and you have to wait on one thing to finish another. We don’t want to get new gutters until we paint the house, and we don’t want to paint the house until we get some of these limbs cut.”

Once the renovations are finally complete, Nancy and Tami want to host an Open House for all of Miss Margaret’s former students. “Ever since we bought the house, people have been sharing so many wonderful stories about her, and we want to get everyone together and get those stories written down,” Tami said.

“Miss Margaret was loved by the whole community,” Nancy added. “She was loved by the other teachers, she was loved by the students, she was just loved by everyone.”

And that’s why they feel honored to be the next caretakers of the house that shaped the little woman with the big heart. “We were so afraid someone would come in and not love it the way we do and tear it down,” Tami said. “It doesn’t need to be torn down; it needs to be loved.” l

Margaret Byers teaching reading

e b b f l o o r i n g w e b b f l o o r i n g since 2006 since 2006

F r o m F r o m C r e a t i v e C r e a t i v e t o c o m p l e t i o n t o c o m p l e t i o n T i l e S h o w e r s , B a c k s p l

Traveling the BACKROADS

Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church

Celebrating 100 years of God’s faithfulness

Welcome banner for Mt. Moriah’s century celebration

Story by Joe Whitten

Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Submitted photos

For a church to arise from Saturday nights of music and dancing is – without a doubt – a unique beginning, but that is the case of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church.

“A dirt road, a smattering of houses, friends, guitars, banjos, music and dances –God had a plan.” So begins Redena King’s 1975 handwritten two-page history as told to her by Essie Vaughan, the daughter of George “Doc” and Ada Tollison.

With that sentence in mind, relax in your recliner and let your mind drift back a hundred years to a place in St. Clair County called Sage Hill. Think of a field of russet-gold sage (sedge) grass rippling in an autumn afternoon breeze. As you daydream, listen for music floating on the breeze – stringed instruments joyfully filling the cool of the day. It’s Saturday night, and a family is hosting the weekly hoedown at a home in Sage Hill.

These weekly events brought banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle into happy harmony that soon had couples dancing, while for other folk it was background music for visiting with friends not seen since last week or perhaps a month or so ago.

Known today as Mt. Moriah, Sage Hill was sparsely populated in 1925. The nearest school was probably Stewart’s Schoolhouse, a few miles away where Mineral Springs Baptist Church sits today, and the nearest church was Broken Arrow Baptist, about five miles away in Wattsville. So, we can surmise that most of the Saturday night merrymakers didn’t get up early Sunday morning and walk five miles to church. And it’s possible that one or two men may have partaken too much from the “little brown jug” and slept late.

But, indeed, God had a plan that included George “Doc” and Ada Tollison at whose home many of these Saturday night hoedowns occurred.

“Mr. Tollison had a nephew, Oscar Tollison, who was a preacher,” the history records. “He began coming here [to Sage Hill] and preaching on the weekends.” Mrs. King quoted Essie Vaughan, Doc Tollison’s daughter, who said, “The dancing soon stopped, but the preaching continued.”

This spiritual awakening saw different families welcoming weekend church services at their homes. At one of these services, Doc Tollison was saved. As the weekly preaching continued, others were converted.

Attendance at the home services grew so large that the men constructed a brush arbor on the Tollisons’ land as a place of worship. Bernice Sweatt Voss in her 1975 memories of Mt. Moriah described it. “The brush arbor had

Original congregation from 1925

Traveling the BACKROADS

posts of good size trees [at the corners] and [tree] limbs made a sort of frame on top. Then brush covered [the limbs] to make a shade.” Doc Tollison’s wife, Ada Tollison, was saved in one of the brush arbor meetings.”

Essie Vaughan recounted that soon the men constructed a church house “… alongside the road ... It was a long building with a door and windows facing the road and a door facing the road where the [dinner-on-the-ground] tables …” once stood. Those tables were located to the right of today’s fellowship hall as you face the double doors downstairs.

Hazel Layton Morgan in her written memories referred to the building as “shotgun style’ and that it was lit by kerosene lamps in cast iron wall brackets.

Essie Vaughan recalled that preaching was usually two times a month, and “the singing during services were acapella – no piano – to begin with.”

In her recollections, Hazel Layton Morgan mentioned the church pump organ, and this may have been the same one Bernice Sweatt Voss mentioned in her memories when she wrote, “We didn’t have any music instrument, so Mother and Dad loaned a small ‘piano’ organ for a while. Mother would play it, and Eunice and I would stand and pump the peddles for her.” (A “piano organ” was a small portable reed organ.) Eunice and Bernice often sang duets, and one of their favorites was In the Garden

Building a congregation

Bernice Sweatt Voss’ family started attending Mt. Moriah in 1937, and she described the sanctuary of that time. “The building was a small wooden one with [asphalt] ‘brick siding’ on it …” standing close to the road. She also recalled that attendance outgrew the building by the late 1930s so “… we’d put the benches outside by the side door … pull the piano close to the door inside, and we’d have service at night this way. The preacher would stand in the door, and we all heard well.” The outside worship service provided relief from the summer heat inside the building.

Around 1945, the congregation built the second sanctuary, a white-painted wooden building. Willie Ann May remembered that Summa Collette and Almos Sweatt collected $50 and gave it toward this new building.

In the early 1960s, the third church building was originally constructed of concrete blocks, then, some years later, faced with red bricks and crowned with a white steeple. From the parking lot, a sweep of steps led to a portico, protecting the double doors into the sanctuary.

This building was turned into Sunday school rooms when the fourth sanctuary was erected in 2002-2003 under the ministry of Rev. Ronnie Venable. This building extended over part of the parking lot and provided space for a downstairs Fellowship Hall.

The fellowship hall is named The Howard L. Savage Fellowship Hall. He and his wife, Juanita Savage, were faithful church members who were involved in the planning and building of the current sanctuary. Mr. and Mrs. Savage are remembered as always ready to participate in anything the church needed. And many other dedicated members of Mt. Moriah helped in all areas as well.

All four church buildings were constructed on land donated by Doc and Ada Tollison. Thus, their legacy lives on.

“Bro. Ronnie Venable was a faithful leader throughout the building process,” according to Redena King’s history. “Each of the churches were built by the help of the Lord and through the faithful dedication and service of men, women and youth who spent many hours working diligently to build a place of worship for all who would come and join in worship.”

Lifting up in song

In the “olden days,” to the right of today’s fellowship hall, there was a row of concrete “dinner on the grounds” tables where food was spread on special days, such as all-day singings and Homecoming celebrations.

Both Singing Schools and All-Day Sings were enjoyed by Mt. Moriah and the outlying communities. Willie Ann May recalled that Mr. and Mrs. Harden conducted Singing Schools every summer, which continued into the 1960s, teaching shapenote music, how to read it, sing it and play it. Then for several years, the yearly singing school was discontinued.

Former pastors Ted St. John, Vester ‘Buck’ Castleberry, Joe Isbell, and Ronnie Venable

Tollison family at Doc Tollison’s home

Traveling the BACKROADS

In 2021, Landon King, church pianist, reestablished the Singing School at Mt. Moriah. The school director, Tom Powell, is the grandson of G.T. “Dad” Speer, of The Speer Family gospel group. He is the director of the Alabama School of Gospel Music held the first two weeks of June each year at Snead State Community College in Boaz. His wife, Dr. Lisa Powell, also teaches in Mt. Moriah’s Singing School and at the Alabama School of Gospel Music.

Tracy Phillips, accompanist for the Mt. Moriah event, is an acclaimed pianist who has accompanied groups at Gaither Homecomings.

In her memories, Mrs. May recalled the joy of All-Day Singings: “…all we did was sing. Everybody was expected to get up and lead a song.”

Mrs. Voss has a vivid memory of an All-Day Singing in 1938. “We had an all- day singing and homecoming, and we had a great time. But after the singing was over, we kept talking and praying, and I found I was very much under conviction, and people began praying for me, and I was saved!”

Often, singings were announced in the local papers. In one church file are three announcements from undated and unidentified newspapers. One reads: “Singing at Mt. Moriah Saturday Night. There will be a benefit singing at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Saturday night, January 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Special singers will be the Sonata and the Gospel Four. The proceeds from this singing will be to help pay for a singing school to be held in the county this spring. Everyone is invited to attend. Pastor Rev. Amos Sweatt, Vester “Buck” Castleberry, chairman.”

The second clipping announced the Crusaders Quartet of Anniston as special guest, and the third one reported the Lloyd Chapel Quartet as special singers.

Revival Time

Yearly revivals were standard, and Mrs. Voss recalled one in 1938. “This was the year men cut down trees and made a brush arbor for the revival in August or July … I think there was sawdust to keep the dust down. We had services day and night. At this revival, I joined the church and was baptized in Jones’ swimming hole in Coal City about where the Wattsville Post

Office is now. Several others were also baptized. I think part or all of them were added to Broken Arrow [Baptist Church], including me.”

Mrs. Morgan recalled that evening revival services sometimes went on until 11 or 12 o’clock. She spoke of praying and shouting in these services. The shouting would be exclamations of “Hallelujah!” “Praise the Lord!” “Glory to God!” These joyful expressions were prevalent in both Baptist and Methodist revivals, back in the day.

Perhaps the best recollections of revival time from 50 plus years ago were those of Margie Smith Castleberry. She told of a prayer rock where the women of Mt. Moriah would meet to pray for the revival. Surely, as the women met at the prayer stone, they recalled God’s revival blessings of the past and prayed for God’s power in the current revival.

“The revivals would last two weeks sometimes,” Mrs. Castleberry wrote. “The women would fix lunch and dinner

Choir and song leader Redena King

Lunch in the Fellowship Hall

Dinner on the Ground tables at Mt. Moriah

Traveling the BACKROADS

for the evangelist and the pastor. The revivals were always in July, when we would be in the middle of canning time, but we managed to attend every service. When we sacrificed our time, God really blessed,” she concluded.

Mrs. May recorded memories that were special to her. One occurred when Billy Walker was the pastor shortly after the second church construction. “He told all the young people that if they would come for a year without missing a Sunday, he would give them a brand-new Bible. Back then, they had a roll chart on the wall, and every Sunday you were present they put a star beside your name. I remember going every Sunday for a year, and I got a new Bible. I was so proud of it.”

Another special childhood memory for Mrs. May was the Easter egg hunt the year “Mrs. Flora Sweatt made Easter baskets out of oatmeal boxes for my sister Linda, my brother, Enis, and me.” Bought baskets were a luxury in those days when money was hard earned.

Easter and Christmas usually found Mt. Moriah’s musicians and choirs preparing to present special programs such as cantatas and musical plays and programs involving adult, youth and children’s choirs. Many church members have assisted the choirs through the years, including Joan Golden, Nora McNutt, Vicki Newton, Wanda Kelley, Redena King, Vickie Smith and other volunteers.

In their memories, two of the ladies mentioned the ordinance of “foot washing.” This was based on Jesus washing the disciples’ feet as an act of humility. In the churches who practiced this, the men and women met separately for the ceremony.

Maggie Smith Castleberry mentioned that the church observed this “ever-so-often.” Willie Ann May recalled how her daddy, Will Rowe, would participate in foot washing, told how her brothers, Jack and Buck Rowe, doctored their dad’s socks. “One time before foot washing service, they filled daddy’s socks up with soot…When he pulled off his socks to wash feet, they were black with soot.” She did admit that her daddy, “didn’t think it was very funny.”

The foot washing services Mrs. May remembered, eventually ended, but another event she remembered from the “olden days” continues today: Vacation Bible School. “I remember one summer that for Vacation Bible School Mt. Moriah got a Southern Baptist Home Missionary to come and teach our Bible School,” she wrote.

“She would go home with different members of the church each day for dinner and to spend the night.” The missionary must have been young, for she mentioned that some of the high school age boys would come to the crafts session and participate.

Mrs. King remembered Vacation Bible School lasting two weeks in the 1960s. As an adult, she participated in various areas of preparation and teaching during this community event, which today occurs in June shortly after regular school ends for the summer.

Jessie Garrison, Bro. Ronnie Venable’s aunt, taught, led and hosted Bible Drills at the church for several years. She also planned special WMU programs. Community outreach ministries occurred throughout the year – Vacation Bible School, Breakfast on 1st Saturdays, 5th Sunday night singings, Man Church on Tuesday nights, fall festival, and Youth night.

Reaching Out

Mt. Moriah’s membership in the Southern Baptist Convention’s WMU (Women’s Missionary Union) began in 1975 and remains active today. Mrs. King recalls a particular WMU meeting in 1998. “On a Tuesday night [April 7] we had WMU, and in our meeting, I asked the question, ‘How could we reach out into our community?’” She paused reflectively, and added, “I told them later that I didn’t know if I’d ever ask that question again! Because the next night [April 8], the tornado came through, and we were in this community for eight, nine, 10 weeks, ministering to the community.”

That community outreach was headed up by Bro. Ronnie Venable and his wife, Joan. The church accepted monetary donations which were later divided among community families who suffered loss in the storm. The Sunday school rooms were filled with clothing and supplies for those in need, and FEMA made Mt. Moriah Church building their headquarters.

Heather Sharp, writing for the St. Clair News-Aegis, Thursday, April 23, 1998, reported Bro. Ronnie Venable offered the church as headquarters for FEMA, the Red Cross and the St. Clair County EMA.

The article reported that Ellen Bain, the local EMA assistant, said all the agencies “…praised Ronnie and Joan for all their contributions,” and that Bro. Ronnie was “…the emergency manager. He knows how to match resources with those who need them.”

The article reported Joan as stating, “We just delegated,” but she worked right alongside the church women who cooked for the volunteers and the victims. Not only did the women serve lunches at the church, but they also delivered “go boxes” to homes and to disaster relief workers onsite. Mrs. Venable is quoted as saying, “It’s been marvelous to see everybody pull together.”

This 1998 community outreach continued when the fourth building was completed in 2003. Florence Kerr tells how the church is used today when tornado warnings are announced.

Doc Tollison’s log house

START THE NEW YEAR STRONG

Traveling the BACKROADS

“The building has below the ground space, and we open it up for the people who live in mobile homes – and I’m one of them – so, we come here. And one night, I think we had over 40 people. Different church members had brought food and stuff, and we fed them and had beverages.” Florence was recalling a tornado warning in the spring of 2025.

Celebrating Centennial

Sunday, August 10, 2025, dawned with clear skies and soon, sunshine baptized Mt. Moriah’s church building in a gilded glow, a radiant welcome to attendees who began arriving about 9:15.

Bro. Danny Wyatt, interim pastor, welcomed the congregation after which Candi Jones gave a brief power point history of the church.

Enthusiastic congregational singing included Glory to His Name, Majesty, It’s a Grand and Glorious Feeling, Getting Ready to Leave This World, The Sweet Forever, and If We Never Meet Again. The only accompanying instrument was the piano played by church pianist King and former church pianist Jason Vaughan. Their fingers danced over the keys, Southern Gospel style, more joyfully than any Saturday night stringed instruments event at Doc Tollison’s in 1925.

Bro. Zane Smith, former pastor, spoke of the church’s progress while he served Mt. Moriah. During his almost 11year tenure, there were improvements to the sanctuary, and added outreach ministries encouraged the community. The oldest former pastor in attendance was 91-year-old Lloyd Golden, who commenedt, “I was saved in this church and was never lost again.” The church’s oldest member, 91-year-old Mona Scott, spoke about was a blessing Mt. Moriah had been to her.

The Doris Akers’ song, Sweet, Sweet Spirit, sung near the beginning of the service expressed the atmosphere in the church:

There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord; There are sweet expressions on each face, And I know that it’s the presence of the Lord. Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly dove, Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love; And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise Without a doubt we know that we’ll have been revived,

When we shall leave this place.

A ladies’ quartet, Nora McNutt, Vickie Smith, Redena King, and Linda Vaughan, sang I’m a Child of the King and I Claim the Blood. The church choir sang Mansion over the Hilltop and What a Great Savior Is He.

From Romans 12:1-2, Bro. Danny Wyatt preached: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Wyatt’s sobering point was that the forces of evil have a definite purpose to fill individuals’ minds with ungodly thoughts and desires – even the minds of professing Christians. There-

fore, believers should focus their minds on Scripture and things of God.

After the sermon, a young lady who had accepted Christ as Savior during Mt. Moriah’s summer Vacation Bible School was baptized.

Before the closing prayer, Bro. Wyatt asked pianists King and Vaughan to play a duet. And what a duet! No doubt all 88 keys were played and replayed with chords and runs, with flourishes and crescendos of the joy of the Lord. Hands were clapping, and toes were tapping when the duet ended.

Bro Wyatt closed in prayer and a blessing over the meal to follow in the Fellowship Hall.

One can hope that God allowed those who organized the church a hundred years ago to look over the battlements of Heaven and rejoice over what God has accomplished with what He allowed them to begin when he turned their dancing into a prayer meeting and the prayer meeting into a revival and from the revival a church.

To God be the Glory. Amen. l

Harvey Tollison, Essie Tollison Vaughan, Clyde Tollison

Fall Festival

Piecing Together a Story Quilting is art, storytelling, therapy

Story by Roxann Edsall

Photos by Mackenzie Free

It was 1863, and America was imploding, ravaged by the effects of the Civil War. Brother met brother in battle, homes were burned and cities destroyed.

In Bennington County, Vermont, 46-year-old Jane A. Stickle channeled her energy, creativity and wartime grief into creating what is now one of the most famous quilts in the world. She stitched into one corner of her masterpiece the simple, yet haunting words – “In War Time 1863.”

Stickle’s quilt, now called the “Dear Jane” quilt, is a sampler, meaning that each of the squares is unique. Unlike most sampler quilts which typically use blocks created by different quilters, Stickle created each of the elements herself. She created most of the patterns for the blocks herself, utilizing established patterns for less than a third of her quilt. She also did not repeat a patterned fabric in any of the blocks.

The Dear Jane quilt has been housed in the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont, for nearly seven decades. To protect the integrity of the fragile fabrics, the quilt is only displayed for one month each year, with thousands of quilters making the pilgrimage from as far away as Europe and Australia to view the piece.

Rhonda Humphries has not yet been to see Stickle’s Dear Jane quilt but has spent thousands of hours on her own replica. Humphries, a member of the Friendship

Quilters Guild of St. Clair County, was encouraged in the project by other guild members and her friend and mentor, Brenda Franklin.

Undaunted by the 5,602 individual pieces it takes to make the project, Humphries worked for two and a half years until the 169 five-inch blocks, 52 triangles, and four corner kites came together in her own finished masterpiece.

Humphries used Civil War era reproduction fabric and followed patterns created by Brenda Manges Papadakis, who viewed Jane’s original quilt in the museum in 1992 and meticulously traced each piece.

Papadakis so admired Stickle’s work that she was inspired to write a book published four years later called The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt, which included the patterns quilters could use to reproduce the quilt. Many quilters are inspired by the Dear Jane Quilt, and many bring their finished pieces when they make the trip to the Bennington Museum to view the original.

Like the Dear Jane Quilt, Humphries’ quilt is handpieced and hand-stitched, an effort that took incredible patience, perseverance and precision. “The most difficult part,” says Humphries, “was one block with a star inside. It’s made up of 30 pieces and, by itself, took three days to complete.” She has been quilting for eight years and has made 40-50 quilts but hadn’t done

many quilts at the time she took on this challenge.

“Most people who start this quilt do not finish. It’s pretty involved,” admits Humphries. The blue ribbon and people’s choice awards from her recent entry in a quilt show pinned to the top say the effort has been well appreciated.

Humphries’ quilt was on display recently in a special exhibit at the Museum of Pell City, along with dozens of other quilts made by members of the Friendship Quilters Guild. Looking at each quilt is like looking at fine art in a gallery. Each quilt tells a story, whether one of whimsey or of more important historical matters.

Naomi Kircus is the creator of The Underground Railroad quilt. Its blocks relate the story of the

freedom seekers during abolition.

Created with Civil War replica fabric, the quilt is made up of 16 blocks, each a reproduction of one that would hang in the windows of safe houses.

“When the slaves were running for their freedom, people would have safe places for them to stay,” explained Kircus. “They would display quilts [in the windows] where each of the squares was a message they were communicating to those they were helping.”

The personal narratives and messages communicated through quilting continue to be a source of pride and precious history for families and communities today. Quilts are handed down from generation to generation, becoming treasured heirlooms.

The Friendship Quilters Guild occasionally offers classes in quilting for those wanting to learn the skills and process. The guild has been together for more than 25 years and meets on the second Saturday of each month at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Pell City.

Rhonda Humphries and her Dear Jane Quilt

Organizer of the quilt exhibit and guild member Deb Cearley adds that the group has a passion for service. They make covers for cancer ports, fidget quilts, hospital bedrail bags and full-size quilts that they donate to area hospitals, cancer centers and hospice groups.

“Service is the main thing we do,” said Cearley. “I came to a program here for Veterans and saw many of them come in with their blankets on their laps in their wheelchairs, and that just inspired us to make more.” They also provide placemats for Meals on Wheels and pet beds for Pell City’s animal shelter.

Florence Kerr, one of the oldest standing members of the organization, adds one more benefit to quilting, beyond its artistic and storytelling value. “Quilting is therapy,” she says. “It’s therapy because you have to be in a quiet place and really focus on the process.”

Perhaps the process really is the heart of the matter for the quilt’s creator, though it is the product that inspires the rest of us.

Ken Kilgore talks about his grandmother, Roxie Moore’s quilt

Janet Jones stands in front of her mother’s quilt

Friendship Quilters members welcome visitors to the exhibit

Piecing Together a Story

Museum Exhibit Perfectly Blends History and Art

Story by Roxann Edsall

Photos by Mackenzie Free

The Museum of Pell City is well known for its emphasis on preserving the history of Pell City and that of its families and community. One of its most recent exhibits perfectly blended that history with the art of quilting. The museum, on the second floor of the Municipal Complex, typically contains its exhibits to the interior of the museum, but recently has been expanding outside its doors to showcase the work of the area’s talented citizens.

“Hosting exhibits like the quilt show allows us to celebrate the incredible talent in our own community,” said Museum Coordinator Erica Grieve. “It reminds us that art isn’t just found in galleries far away. It’s being created right here at home.”

The quilt exhibit ran from late October through November and featured roughly 40 quilts created by members of the Friendship Quilters Guild of St Clair County. The opening featured a presentation by historian Joe Whitten, a quilt collector himself, who shared stories about the history of quilts and shared some of his quilts. There were also demonstrations showing the making of a quilt from start to finish.

Part of the history of quilting included the quilting bee, a social gathering of ladies whose focus was on finishing a quilt together. Such was the case in the making of Janet’s Double Wedding

Ring quilt on display by her daughter Janet Jones.

A group at Pell City United Methodist Church got together to complete the quilt for a silent auction. When the silent auction did not meet the minimum bid to cover expenses, the ladies voted to give it to Janet’s mother, Janet Weldon.

Weldon had reportedly done much of the hand-stitching, including the stitching around each of the intertwined rings. Her daughter said quilting was so important to Weldon that when her mom passed, they elected to drape her casket in the Double Wedding Ring quilt, rather than having a funeral spray. “Because it was cold, we also took some of her other quilts to the graveside to cover our legs,” said Jones. “She would have liked that.”

Ken Kilgroe came to the exhibit to honor his now-deceased grandmother, Roxie Moore. One of her quilts, made more than 60 years ago, was on display. Moore, an Eden native, reportedly hosted quilting bees often in the 1950s.

The Museum of Pell City’s next special exhibit opens Dec. 4 and features the beautiful woodcarvings of local artisan Eric Knepper. A reception will be held on Dec. 5 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The museum is open to view other compelling pieces of the history of Pell City, St. Clair County and Alabama Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. l

County historian Joe Whitten talks history of quilts in special presentation

Christmas in St. Clair

Parades, light displays and a host of other events across county

Christmas is just around the corner, and you know what that means! All kinds of events to celebrate the season are in store for holiday revelers.

From holiday markets to tree lightings to Santa sightings to a holiday buffet of programs sure to get kids of all ages in the spirit. Here’s a sampling of what’s up ahead in the days leading to Christmas:

Whobilation

Pell City Public Library, Dec. 5, 5 p.m.

Giant snow globe, hot chocolate, Christmas crafts and cookies. Photos with Grinch, Elsa from Frozen and Santa.

7th Annual Holly

Jolly Market

Dec. 13, Moody Civic Center, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Free admission, but shoppers encouraged to bring canned or boxed goods for Shepherd’s Supply Food Distribution Center in Moody. Vendors, crafts, homemade goods. Santa 11-2.

Lights in the Park

Pell City Lakeside Park, daily now through Dec. 31 after sunset.

Businesses, churches and individuals light up the park with special Christmas displays visitors can drive through to see.

Tree Lighting Festival & Holiday Open House

St. Clair Courthouse parking lot, Pell City, Dec. 6, 6 p.m.

Candyland Christmas theme featuring live dance performances, musical entertainment, Santa, candy bags for kids, hot chocolate and apple cider. Downtown businesses have open house at 11 a.m. with special sales, treats and more!

Gingerbread house building

Pell City Public Library, Dec. 6-7

(Multiple Times, registration required)

Children build gingerbread houses in one of three free sessions.

Moody Christmas Parade

Pell City Lights in the Park

Springville Christmas Parade

Pell City Rotary Jingle Bell 5K, 10 K &

1-Mile Fun Run

Dec. 13, registration, 7 a.m., race, 8 a.m.

Run through beautiful Lakeside Park along the banks of Logan Martin Lake. Supports St. Clair Sheriff’s Boys Ranch, The Arc of St. Clair County, Ann’s New Life Center, The WellHouse. Santa, family fun, medals and cash prizes. Register: pellcityrotary.org/jingle-bells-5k-run/

Vintage Country Christmas

Dec. 19, 7 p.m., Pell City Center for Education and Performing Arts

Classic country Christmas songs from Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and more featuring Rose Colored Glasses. Tickets: pellcitycepa.com/vintage-christmas

Don’t let the parades pass you by!

Throughout the region, parades of all shapes and sizes take to the streets with all the fanfare, music and wide-eyed excitement that go with them. Here’s a glance at when and where:

• Odenville Christmas Parade – Dec. 2, 7 p.m.

• Pell City Christmas Parade – Dec. 12, 7 p.m.

• Leeds Christmas Parade – Dec. 12, 7 p.m.

• Margaret Christmas Parade – Dec. 12, 7 p.m.

• Trussville Christmas Parade – Dec. 12, 7 p.m.

• Argo Christmas Parade – Dec. 13, 10:30 a.m.

• Moody Christmas Parade – Dec. 13, 5 p.m.

• Ragland Christmas Parade – Dec. 13, 5:30 p.m.

• Springville Christmas Parade – Dec. 13, 6 p.m.

• Ashville Christmas Parade – Dec. 13, 6 p.m.

Jingle Bell Run/Walk

Pell City Tree Lighting Ragland Christmas Parade

New businesses boost holiday options for St. Clair

Story by Paul South Staff and submitted photos

As the number of rooftops, restaurants and retail shops continues to grow in Pell City, local entrepreneurs are expanding the options for residents looking to shop and find personal services close to home.

They are also a sure-fire way to draw more business to town from across the county and region.

Three relatively new businesses are part of that momentum. Stone House Antiques and Mercantile offers a mix of antique, vintage and new merchandise for customers updating their homes or looking for one-of-a-kind pieces.

Little Stitches & Co. specializes in children’s clothing for newborns, toddlers and children up to age 8, giving families a local option for boutique-style apparel.

Inside Little Stitches, customers will also find Heirloom Salon Studio, which provides hair services in the same convenient location.

Here’s a glance at each of these new holiday stops:

Stone HouSe AntiqueS & MercAntile

3340 Martin Street South, Suite 12, Cropwell

Becky Anderson has always loved to dabble in antiques and restoration, painting and refinishing furniture. The former nurse first indulged that love at an antique mall in Illinois. Now, she shares that passion at her Cropwell shop, Stone House Antiques & Mercantile, which opened in late August.

Her love of antiques and vintage items was born of necessity. “When I was young, we didn’t have a lot,” she said. “I knew I wanted the house to look nice, so… I refurbished and repainted and restored on my own. You remember that show, ‘Design on a Dime?’ I’ve been designing on a dime my whole life, even before the show was popular.”

At Stone House, shoppers can browse 2,100 square feet of antiques, vintage items and some new items. Two or three vendors also have spots in the store, offering more variety.

“I’m always proud of the furniture I bring in,” Anderson said. “I try to pick real quality. Whether it’s vintage or antique or some new or fairly new piece. I try to make sure that it’s quality and I’m

Holiday items on sale at Stone House

not passing along junk to somebody.”

There are times in her hunt for antiques that she finds an item that her post-purchase research reveals to be worth 10 times what she paid. It’s a moment straight out of PBS’ Antiques Roadshow. But the cornerstone of her pricing is fairness.

“I don’t try to put that kind of price on it,” she says. “I put a price on it that’s reasonable. But the piece is worth the price that I put on it.”

An example: She once found a pair of colorful Asian Foo dog bookends – symbols of good fortune – that she found that were worth $200 to $500. She sold them for $85.

“I still made money, and the customer got something that was really worth something,” she said.

Along with the larger items, Stone House also carries small gifts, perfect to give to teachers, classmates or friends. Watercolor print greeting cards are also available.

On Wednesdays, shoppers can purchase fresh loaves of homemade sourdough bread from Brittle Heaven, the wildly popular candy and baked goods shop.

“It’s usually gone by the weekend,” Anderson said. It began to look like Christmas even before the calendar turned to December. Stone House is set to host a Christmas open house in mid-December.

“Some people have theirs in October or November,” she said. “I’ll have Christmas inventory out then, but to me, a Christmas open house ought to be special. I’m not knocking anyone who does it early. But as far as food, or something to eat or drink, mine will probably be after hours.

The store may also stay open later during the holidays.

Stone House is not a giant antique mall, and that means personalized attention.

“We’re quaint. We’re not some big antique mall that takes all day to go through,” Anderson said. “We’re a store that people can just pop in and get a little gift, greeting card or a loaf of homemade bread. We won’t pressure then into buying something else while they’re there.”

She added, “We have people who come in all the time just to look, and that’s fine, too. People will come back if you treat ‘em nice.”

Becky Anderson at Stone House

little StitcHeS & coMpAny

cHildren’S Boutique

HeirlooM SAlon

1801 1St avenue South, pell City

Two of Pell City’s newest businesses have taken families to another level in a unique concept. Sisters-in-law Abbye Grimes and Tina Dailey operate two distinct shops under the same roof on First Avenue South.

Grimes owns Little Stitches & Company Children’s Boutique, and Dailey owns Heirloom Salon. Both shops had their grand opening in October. Little Stitches is an ideal spot for quality children’s fashions, and Heirloom can add its special styles for customers for holiday events or any time a woman wants to look her best.

While there’s an old adage warning against going into business with family, Grimes and Dailey make it work –joyfully.

“Honestly, we love being together every day,” Dailey said. “Most of my customers shop with (Abbye) anyway, so it just clicked.”

Grimes agreed.

“We’re living a girl dream, I guess you could say. We get to be together every day even though our jobs are completely opposite. It’s fun being together.”

At Little Stitches, after four years of selling kids’ clothing online from her home, Grimes decided to move to a brick-andmortar shop.

“We really just ran out of space in my home office,” she said. “I was looking for places to rent and found this place. The timing was perfect.”

She added, “When I was looking for places, I wanted to be open by Oct. 1 because of retail season. We’re in prime shopping season. … It really just worked out.

Grimes carries children’s clothing from newborns to size 5 and a small selection of children’s sizes 6 through 8. Grimes hopes to expand her inventory in 6 through 8 “as soon as we can.”

Among the brands Little Stitches & Company offers are Paty, TRVL, Noodle & Boo, Warmies and other top brands. Noodle & Boo offers skin and laundry care products for babies and new mothers with sensitive skin, including

shampoos, soaps and detergents.

Warmies are stuffed toys that bring comfort and joy not only to children, but to people of all ages. After being warmed in the microwave, the toys ease stress and anxiety.

“They’re really big,” Grimes said. “We completely sold out of them and had to restock.

Paty offers timeless baby clothing from onesies to gowns and dresses made for softness and comfort. TRVL Designs offer quality accessories for babies and the entire family.

Grimes wants to create a warm environment in the store. The same is true at Heirloom.

“We want everyone to feel welcome,” Grimes said. “I want people to come in here and feel happiness and joy. That’s the goal, also to feel loved and wanted.”

Among the many special items at Little Stitches are those “coming-home” outfits for newborns coming home for the first time. That outfit becomes a timeless keepsake.

“A lot of that is what we specialize in,” Grimes said. “It’s very sentimental to be a part of that.”

The store also features popular “gender reveal” festivities. “That’s really special,” Grimes said.

At this time of year, Little Stitches offers outfits for the holidays and beyond.

A former teacher, Grimes started the online clothing business as “something to do, and it just kind of took off,” she said. “It’s never too late to start something different, never too old to do something you want to do,”

Like her sister-in-law’s store, Tina Dailey’s Heirloom Salon wants to create an inviting environment. Her mom was a hair stylist for four decades, and Dailey has done hair for 10. She calls her shop, separated from Little Stitches by French doors, “a luxury color and extension salon.”

She specializes in hair extensions and coloring. In fact, she’s offering 50 percent off all extension hair.

Like any beauty salon or barber shop, Heirloom is where customers can hang out and visit with friends old and new while having their hair done.

What does Dailey like best about the work she does?

“That I get to make women feel beautiful every day,” she said. l

Jon and Abbye Grimes

Tina Dailey

Glorifying God, Making Disciples, and Blessing others in Jesus’ Name.

AN EVENT VENUE FOR EVERY OCCASION

Story by Paul South

Photos by Mackenzie Free

Submitted Photos

At James and Margie Sanford’s winery, nature’s bounty is on full display. While seven varieties of native bronze and black Alabama muscadines ripen on the vine as they ready in the rich soil for future harvests, eagles soar overhead.

Red foxes prowl the 21-acre property, where the breathtaking scenery, like a perpetual postcard, changes daily.

So, the name of their vineyard fits –Bella Vista Winery – Italian for “beautiful view.”

During the holiday season, indeed all year long, Bella Vista is open to serve an array of wines and to host celebrations of every kind, from small weddings and events to everyday visitors who want to raise a glass at one of St. Clair County’s most breathtaking spots.

As a way to realize return on investment until they were ready and approved by the state for the winery, the idea for an event space took root. A pavilion was built in early 2024.

“We knew (the winery) was a little bit down the road (timewise), so we invested our time and money into building this nice, covered pavilion,” she said.

So far, Bella Vista has hosted several weddings, with more on the calendar in the future. To be clear, the business markets itself as a winery that can also host small events – micro-weddings, baby showers, birthdays and the like.

“If it can be done with 50 people max, (the winery) is a good fit for that,” Margie said. “In the pavilion, we can handle 80 people or more. But if it’s rainy on the day of your event, we have to have a backup space to bring it inside and be comfortable.”

She added, “We’re not going to advertise ourselves as a venue going forward. We’re going to advertise as a winery with space for small events.”

For Margie, who spent more than 20 years as an event planner in the Birmingham area, and James, who worked in sales, the winery is a dream come true.

“Margie and I enjoy traveling, and we enjoy going to wineries,” James said. “(Opening a winery) is something we’ve talked about for a long time. It’s something we decided to dive into with both feet.”

In their winery wanderings, they learned lessons they now apply at Bella Vista. The laid-back vineyard vibe is different from the volume-driven restaurant business.

Serving up a fun experience

Sunset look at pavilion

Wine flight

“One of the things that we found when we were going to all these wineries was a synergy in the kind of people that come to these places,” Margie said. “And it’s people who are looking for a place to meet their friends and get away and enjoy an afternoon and not feel like they are having a meal and being rushed away so the table can be flipped for somebody else.”

Here, “we want people to come hang out with their friends,” she added. “We encourage people to bring a board game or something that they enjoy doing.”

The Sanfords are candid: This is not a kidfriendly place. “It’s a place for adults to come chill out, have a glass of wine and get things off their minds for a little while,” James said.

The Sanfords have obtained a license to sell wines obtained through distributors. Bella Vista sells wine from Georgia’s Chateau Elan Winery & Resort and from Childress Vineyards, a Lexington, N.C., winery owned by famed NASCAR team owner Richard Childress. But Bella Vista’s inventory also has a global perspective, carrying wines from all over the world.

Bella Vista Winery has an eye on the future. “We named it a winery for marketing purposes, with the hopes to have a local producer/ distributor that could sell us wine made with our own fruit under a private Bella Vista Winery label.”

Along with the Muscadines, the winery property is home to peach, pear and apple trees that are still maturing, awaiting harvest time a year or two down the road.

The Sanfords are also considering planting other varieties of grapes.

While wine, fruit and fauna are the stars of the picturesque property, vineyards are a human endeavor. What have the Sanfords learned about themselves? It seems they are perfectly paired, like a nice cabernet with gruyere cheese. Thirtythree years of marriage and 40 years together can build that kind of pairing. You could call it a classic vintage. They met in high school.

“I’ve learned that my wife is the backbone of this whole thing. As far as dealing with the bureaucracy and the paperwork and that kind of thing, she is the backbone,” James said. “She studies and makes sure all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.”

Margie agrees. But also trumpets her husband’s building skills. The pavilion is his handiwork.

“I’m the business end. But James has been in construction. He has the ability to take something that’s not working and figure out a workaround,” Margie said. “We’re very much doers ourselves, and I’ve always thought he can do anything. If I can dream it, he can do it.”

She added, “We’ve learned that where one doesn’t necessarily have a strength, the other can kind of lift up. We balance each other.”

The vineyard regularly hosts “Sip, Paint, &

Customers enjoy the atmosphere

A view of the vineyard

Pavilion

perfect for a crowd, stunning view

Toasting another fun experience

WANT TO GO?

Bella Vista Winery is located at 1155 Walkers Crossing, Pell City. Call 205-884-6000 or visit bellavistafarmspc.com.

The winery is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. Email: Bellavistawinerypc@gmail.com.

Repeat” nights that have been a big hit. The nights can involve painting on wine glasses or other media with the help of local artists.

The vineyard, in cooperation with the St. Clair County Health Department, serves flatbread pizzas and charcuterie.

The winery is also open for small groups and businesses to host holiday celebrations. A photographer was onsite in late November for Santa pictures or Christmas family portraits.

As winter closes in, the lowmaintenance native Muscadines bide their time. They seem to pair perfectly with Bella Vista’s chilled out atmosphere that Margie and James Sanford have created, perfect for small events and gatherings, all enjoying great wine.

“We’re not a party place,” Margie said. “It’s just more laid back.” l

Friends Bound for New Horizons Travel adventures support good causes

It’s not often you get to take a trip of a lifetime – those ‘bucket list’ trips you’ve dreamed about – and help a worthy cause all at the same time.

But that’s precisely what Friends Bound for New Horizons does every time they take off for another destination. On their itineraries over the years has been Greece, Italy, a cruise down the Rhine River, the Calgary Stampede and Canadian Rockies, Christmas Markets, Alaska, London, Ireland, Normandy, Finland and the Northern Lights, Costa Rica, and national parks.

Their latest adventure was Scotland in August and in addition to the precious memories they made, they raised nearly $40,000 for four nonprofits, strengthening their good works in the community.

On the receiving end were Pell City Schools Educational Foundation, Pell City Library, Museum of Pell City and St. Clair Sheriff’s Boys Ranch.

The effort started years ago when retired English teacher Deanna Lawley

Group poses in front of three bridges over the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh, Scotland

created a fundraiser for the education foundation. She joined forces with a travel company, Collette, who suggested she might be the ideal fit for leading group trips with the commissions earned going straight to the education foundation.

With her background in education for researching the sights they will see, coupled with her ability to tell a good story, she shares tidbits of history and anecdotes that enhance their memories of each place they visit.

She later expanded the trips’ beneficiaries to include the library and museum, both groups with which she is involved, and managed to add funds for the rebuilding effort at the Boys Ranch this year, too.

A celebration dinner held to present the checks drew quite a crowd with travelers reminiscing with old friends as well as the new friends they made on their trip to Scotland. A trio of travelers even wore kilts for the special occasion. Travelers tend to agree that beyond the stunning sights, rich experiences

Deanna Lawley presents check to Jason Goodgame, president of Pell City Schools Education Foundation

Inside St. Magnus Cathedral on Orkney Island begun by Vikings

and a host of good memories made, they cultivated new friendships – an added treasure they did not expect. While each group has familiar faces who routinely travel together, they welcome newcomers in what is becoming an expanding circle of good friends.

Ask the ‘regulars,’ and they’ll quickly tell you about the value in the investment. The excursions, the accommodations, the travel, the price – it’s an unrivaled buy, they say.

The end result has been welcome news for the nonprofits they help. Jason Goodgame, president of the education foundation, said his goal when he took the helm of the foundation 10 years ago was to build the endowment to $1 million. With help from Lawley and Friends, teachers received grants, and investments built from $10,000 chair donations reached that milestone this past year..

Library Guild President Pat DeMotte echoed Goodgame’s sentiments, saying that the library is able to expand its programs to better serve the community year after year.

“We could not have done what we have been able to do at the museum for the past three years without the help from this group,” said Museum President Carol Pappas. “We like to think big, offering special programs and expanded exhibits, but our funding could not match the lofty goals we have without Friends Bound for New Horizons’ help. We owe them a debt of thanks.”

Sheriff Billy Murray, whose wife had been one of the travelers, was surprised by the donation to the Boys Ranch. He expressed his heartfelt thanks, noting that being able to reach and teach these boys at risk will go a long way in changing lives and keeping them away from the judicial system later on.

Next up for this band of travelers are two excellent adventures – Portugal in May and Spain in late September. They offer recreational days along with history, art and architecture tours. Each has a tour manager whose knowledge enriches the sightseeing.

In Sunny Portugal, they will visit Lisbon, the historical capital of Sintra and the beaches of the Algarve. Several will do an extension to the Madeira Islands.

In September, travelers will experience Spain’s Costa del Sol in a beachfront hotel. There is an opportunity to take a ferry to North Africa for dinner and sightseeing.

One night, the Spanish Fado music and dance will be entertainment at a three-course dinner. Learning about Spain’s Number 1 wine, Port, will be included along with the opportunity to see Picasso’s works. The group will only change hotels one time as it moves to the capital city of Madrid. Luggage will be collected and transported while travelers get to experience the 200 miles per hour fast train, the Ave (bird).

Madrid is full of history and the incredible Prado Museum.

As Friends Bound for New Horizons will tell you: “The only trips you’ll ever regret are the ones you don’t go on.”

Want to Go?

Friends Bound for New Horizons welcomes one and all to join them on another adventure. Next stop? Spain. Want to know more? Jack Brinson of Collette has negotiated a $600 reduction in price for this group and will be at the Pell City Municipal Complex on Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. to present the trip and accept bookings. l

Traveler Dana Merrymon at the check presentation dinner, wearing his kilt for the occasion

Statue of Beloved Greyfriar’s Bobby near cemetery where he guarded his master’s grave in Edinburgh

Making a difference

Education Foundation picks up where budgets leave off

Mrs. Brasher’s class at SES showing off all the classroom materials from their grant

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller

Submitted Photos

Little girls dancing in butterfly costumes, their wings fluttering and their faces grinning. Children playing card games with their parents. High school students (boys and girls) using their new miter saw to cut lumber for a playhouse.

These are just some of the ways that grant money from the St. Clair County Education Foundation is helping school children, and in turn, their families. Established in 2003, it lay dormant for several years but has been revitalized by new management and new fundraising efforts. The Foundation tries to fill in the gaps when schools need more classroom money than their budgets provide.

“Our purpose is to make a difference for teachers so they can make a difference for their students,” says Foundation President Dr. Greg Cobb.

The Foundation was started by Marie Manning when she was superintendent of the St. Clair County School System. Manning now represents District Six on the Alabama Board of Education.

“We had a community education coordinator, Emily Davis, when I was superintendent,” recalls Manning, who also serves as president pro-tem of the state board. “When I hired her on, I asked her to get us an education foundation started, and she agreed, but it took a while.”

Manning retired in 2003 and believes the Foundation came to fruition in the fall of that year. “Emily called together a group of folks, including Joe Morton, past (state) superintendent, and Tom Sanders, who was (county) superintendent at the time. We chose a few officers and got incorporated.”

She says at that time funding for education was very low, the economy was not booming, and the group wanted to do something so classroom teachers could get much-needed materials in their classrooms.

After raising thousands of dollars and granting dozens of scholarships, the organization fizzled and lay dormant until 2024.

“It was stagnant for six or seven years, partially due to COVID and partially to people retiring or moving out of the county,” says Stephanie Deneke, vice president of the Foundation. “About two years ago, Superintendent (Justin) Burns wanted to get it going again.”

“I had a detailed list of things I wanted to accomplish as superintendent, and one was finding ways to help teachers in their classrooms and in being successful,” Dr. Burns says. “I noticed that the Foundation wasn’t active. When I started as a teacher in St. Clair County in 2005, it was flourishing. It provided an outlet for people who wanted to donate and know that their monies were going straight to the classrooms. So, I called Marie Manning and asked what’s going on with the Foundation. She said it had been dormant since 2017 or 2018.”

Manning gave Burns half a dozen names of people involved in the Foundation. She said Linda Crowe, a Moody City Council member and teacher at Moody High School at that time, was a Foundation officer. So, Burns called her, too, and she told him she was still treasurer and was listed on the bank accounts. “We had a couple of meetings to change the names on accounts to access money,” Burns says. “There was $100,000 or so sitting there, so it took off from there. We’re still taking in money, and the Foundation is flourishing. It’s really an awesome thing to see it pick back up.”

When Dr. Burns and Assistant Superintendent Rusty St. John called community leaders together for that first meeting, they had about 30 people attending. That group elected four members to the board of directors, and Cobb as head of the organization. “Greg taught school in St. Clair County and was a principal here for years,” says Stephanie Deneke.

“We decided we needed to reboot the Foundation because its original mission of supporting teachers was still important,” says Cobb, who now works for HMH, a textbook company. “We started on rebranding the Foundation, recruiting more people and making it active again.”

With the seed money in the CDs and checking account, the new Foundation board was able to begin giving out grants immediately.

That was in the spring of 2024. “We did whole school or department grants,” says Cobb. “We were able to give $15,000 out that first go-around.”

Jaime Ragsdale, math coach at Margaret Elementary School, was one of the recipients of the first cycle. She used the money to buy math games for the 700plus students in grades K-5 at her school. She bought zippered mesh bags and put math games in each one for the children to take home and play with their parents, then return to the school.

The bags contained decks of cards, six-sided and 10-sided dice, and foam “counters” or math manipulators. The latter are like bingo chips, flat, but made of foam. One side is yellow, the other red, and they can be tossed and counted according to how they fall.

“The whole purpose was for them to put away their

Ragland High School received one of 22 grants handed out

Eden Career Technical Center also benefits from Education Foundation grants

electronic devices and have family times, and to encourage parents to get involved,” Ragsdale says. “We see lots of device time and less family time these days. Children are playing less and less games such as Candyland or card games, but playing games helps them with math skills, as well as teaches them how to win, how to lose and how to share.”

Dr. Cobb spoke to a group of teachers in August of 2024, explaining the Foundation’s purpose and goals, how it was being revived, and how all the money raised would be going back to them. “There are no overhead costs,” he says. “We’re all volunteers.”

A few teachers started setting aside money to go to the Foundation each month, usually having it taken out of their paychecks. “That’s a little bit of a revenue stream, but not enough to count on,” Cobb says. “But we had enough from the original money raised to do a Fall 2024 grant cycle, too. We gave out $12,000 to 24 individual teachers that second round. Most of the teacher grants were for $500 each.”

A team of foundation members and educators from outside the foundation read all the 70 applications and scored them on a rubric, meaning they gave points from one to five according to need. “We call this team the readers,” Cobb says. “One teacher might ask for crayons, and that need might not be as great as a microscope for someone else, for example.”

In the Spring of 2024, officers of the Foundation presented members with the idea of an annual fundraiser. That’s how the Mardi Gras Gala, held at Mathews Manors in March of 2025, came about. Officers developed teams that put together the various parts of the Gala, such as a public relations team, a decorating team and a food team.

“We raised $30,000 at the Gala through ticket sales, sponsored tables and an auction, and we’re so proud of that,” Cobb says. “We still have some money from the original investments, too.

“We feel like our job is to make the Foundation solid enough that we can fund all the grants and not have to select certain ones,” Cobb continues. “We want to be able to grant what the teachers need.”

The Gala was such a success that the Foundation plans on holding one annually. Feedback from attendees indicated they were already excited about the next one. “We want them to put the date on their calendars,” Cobb says. “As I was selling tables for the Gala, I had several corporations say to get with them during the summer, when they are doing next year’s budget. So we learned a lot from the first Gala.”

According to Stephanie Deneke, the board hasn’t decided on the exact date for the 2026 Gala, but it will be in February. And yes, there will be another auction. “There were 45 items donated for the Gala auction this year, including Pandora jewelry, gift certificates, household items, a cooler, a tool set, Taste of St. Clair gift cards good at restaurants throughout the county, handmade knives and other jewelry,” she says.

Some 250 people attended that first Gala, and the Foundation is hoping for 325 next year. “They paid roughly $90 a ticket, a little less if it was for a couple,” says Cobb. “If someone bought a table, the bottom level was $1500. We had tables with enough seats to bring whomever they wanted. For example, I bought a President’s Table, filled it up with family and my folks. A few corporations bought tables, like Doster Construction, the company that’s working on Moody High School, and invited any employee from the school to sit there. There were eight-10 seats per table.”

Deneke says the Foundation used to “sell” chairs to raise money, wherein someone could sponsor a chair and get a

Fundraiser events are key to supporting the Foundation’s mission

plaque with his/her name on it for their business. But businesses seem to like the Gala idea better. “We may revive the chair donations anyway,” she says. “Teachers can contribute through payroll deductions, too.”

Cayla Brasher, a first-grade teacher at Springville Elementary School, received a $500 grant last Fall and used it to buy decodable readers for her class of 21 students. “A decodable reader is a phonics-based book that has words students are able to decode or sound out or figure out,” Brasher says. “It keeps them in what teachers call that ‘zone of proximal development,’ where they are having to work at reading, but don’t get so frustrated with it.”

She wanted a good variety of books that they could successfully read. “We want some times during the day when they’ll want to pick up a book and feel successful at reading it,” she says. “Decodable books follow that phonics progression. The student is able to figure out or decode words yet enjoy the reading.”

Marcus Graves, construction class instructor at Eden Career Technical Center, received a $599 grant, which he used to buy a new rigid slide miter saw with a stand. The tool is used to cut steep angles and wide boards for construction projects.

“Some of our unique projects are the oversized Adirondack chairs with multiple letters that we put on our hillside at our school,” Graves says. “The letters form words, like ‘love’ for February. We’ve turned a school bus into a camper, we’ve done a goat camper for a petting zoo at Greensport campground, tiny houses, small playhouses we’ll be selling in the Spring, and the floating duck island for Springville Park.”

Meg Lowry, of Odenville Elementary, used her Fall 2024 grant to purchase an insect unit for her pre-K class. “The unit included live caterpillars, dress-up clothes like butterfly and bug catchers’ outfits with nets, lots of little plastic bug sets, and games like Memory, all based around the insect theme,” she says. “We actually started the unit in March, when we turned the classroom into an insect theme. We could not have done it to this extent without the grant, which was close to $700. This gave the kids hands-on activities to learn, which was very, very developmentally appropriate in pre-K.”

Deneke says the Foundation is always looking for new members from each community, especially Ashville, Springville and Ragland. “It would be great to get some members from those areas,” she says. l

Editor’s Note: Anyone interested in joining the Foundation can contact them on its Facebook page. The Foundation generally meets once a month on Fridays at Odenville City Hall at 11:30 a.m. but is considering going to every other month.

Students in Meg Lowry’s class learn about science thanks to help from the Foundation

Koryn Garrett, Zackary Pettit and Henry Tibbs from Meg Lowry’s class at Odenville Elementary

St. Clair, Alabama Business Review

Welding in shop area of Goodgame Company’s headquarters

Story by Carol Pappas

Photos by Mackenzie Free

Goodgame Company

Celebrating seven decades of building relationships

It’s hard to miss a Goodgame Company truck crisscrossing Pell City and St. Clair County these days. Multiple projects across the community have those bright red trucks, emblazoned with the familiar, oval-shaped Goodgame logo, moving at as rapid a pace as the buildings they engineer going up.

It’s not an overnight success story by any means. It has been seven decades in the making. But in each of those seven decades, one principle has been the guide. Beyond the brick and mortar, it’s the relationships Goodgame Company has built that has more than 90 percent of its clients returning for more.

As the 70th birthday approached this year, President Jason Goodgame, his mother, Connie, and his sister, Janna Masters, wanted something special to commemorate the history of the company its patriarch, Adrick Goodgame, built.

Jason was looking online for some hunting clothes, and he came across the artwork of Dirk Walker, whose hunting and fishing series was featured. He was naturally drawn to the work, so he contacted him about commissioning a painting, not knowing Walker’s studio was only two blocks away.

They met. They talked. Walker created a hand sketch. And what evolved as the portrait was a compelling mosaic of scenes that tell the Goodgame story, reflections of 70 years.

It now hangs as a focal point in the company’s lobby, a reminder of Adrick’s legacy. “It turned out to be perfect,” Goodgame said. “It’s something we will cherish and keep forever. Dad would be proud of it.”

Parallel to the portrait, the company created a video series that “symbolizes us,” he said. It was an opportunity to celebrate 70 years of what relationship building means to the clients and employees alike. “Pell City has been good to us. There are not many contractors who don’t have to travel out of town to work. There are not too many opportunities like this in our business.”

It all goes back to the relationships. Right now, you’ll find those red trucks at sites virtually around every corner – First Baptist Church of Pell City, Pell City Police Department’s new

Dirk Walker’s painting

Headquarters near downtown Pell City

Business Review Goodgame Company

headquarters and Pell City Fire Department Station 2, to name a few.

Just completed was TC Customs at Town & Country Ford. Douglas Manufacturing Rulmeca Group, Ford Meter Box, Allied Mineral Products and Eissmann Automotive are among others completed in recent months.

On the drawing board for the future is Helms Healthcare and others. Those relationships just keep on building, and so does the Goodgame family legacy.

Before Adrick Goodgame died in 2023, his son said, “we talked about the transition and what it would look like. We talked about it, but we were not prepared” for the loss of the architect of their family business. His shadow still looms large over the company he built from a metal fabrication shop to a major player on the state stage in the construction industry.

“You have to understand, for 20 years, we spent six days a week together. We talked about goals and where we were headed,” but they daily discover the details Adrick simply “took care of.”

In the shop, the sign says it all: “Relationships are not the only thing we build, but they are the most important”

The Goodgame Company office team

BUILT ON RELATIONSHIPS.

Strengthened by Family.

From the job site to the family picnic—and even the annual boot truck day—every milestone we’ve reached has been made possible by relationships: the ones we build within our team and throughout our community. As we celebrate 70 years at Goodgame, we’re grateful for the trust, loyalty, and heart that continue to shape everything we build together.

Business Review Goodgame Company

An adjustment? Yes. But with a page from his playbook, they have adapted, changed to meet the needs, and they’ve grown even more because of it.

It was Adrick’s signature ability – adapting and changing to meet the market’s needs. Whenever there was a major shift in the market, Adrick Goodgame was there to meet it with a new business plan, whether it was the Great Recession in 2008 or the post COVID years in 2019.

“We’ve changed how we do business and who we do business for. The company does designbuild-negotiated work, which has brought their repeat business to well over 90 percent. One client called it “a one stop shop.”

“It’s that relationships piece,” Goodgame explained. “If we grow, we still maintain our relationships. Through the years, we have maintained our base” in addition to the new business.

He credits the business retention to a continuing philosophy of community focus. They grow their own workforce, providing educational opportunities that earn employees certifications and management and supervision roles.

They invest in their employees and continue to treat them as family, honoring their years of service and providing perks like the recent “Boot Day,” where every employee was given a new pair of boots, a steak lunch and the afternoon off.

The mindset Adrick handed down to the next generation has not changed. He taught them well.

It’s family. It’s adapting to change. It’s relationships. “The loss,” Goodgame said, “is the hardest part.”

A sampling of Goodgame’s projects now in progress –Pell City Fire Station, First Baptist Church addition, Pell City Police Department

Jana Goodgame Masters, Connie Goodgame and Jason Goodgame with beloved painting

Artist Dirk Walker

Business Cards

Business Cards

HELMS Healthcare HH Opening second location in Pell City

What patients says they treasure most is that Dr. Helms takes time to listen

At 90 days after opening Helms Healthcare in Vincent, Dr. Rock Helms could see his business plan was working. Be a good listener and deliver personal, quality healthcare like days gone by, and patients will follow.

One thousand patients three months later are testament to that.

It didn’t stop there. At the eight-month mark and approaching 2,000 patients, Helms announced that he will be opening a second location in his hometown of Pell City.

Targeting March 2026, Helms Healthcare plans to open the new location near the industrial park at Comer Avenue and John Haynes Drive. Helms is renovating an existing building to accommodate the medical offices, an imaging center and infusion suites.

The 7,500 square foot building is space he said is going to be developed into “really nice” stateof-the-art imaging center with a cutting-edge CT scan capable of a comprehensive range of diagnostics for coronary cardiovascular risk.

Cardiac imaging of this caliber will be able to serve certain patients for precision cardiovascular screening, which may not be covered by insurance. But, Helms predicts by 2030 in the healthcare industry, it will be standard and covered. “The fact that we’re going ahead now tells you just how good the technology is.”

The new clinic will offer extended hours for urgent care and a full-service lab. They are adding new staff – CT technician, laboratory technician, ultrasound technician and more office and support staff.

At present, the Vincent clinic is led by Helms with the assistance of three certified nurse practitioners.

Helms will divide his time between the Vincent and Pell City clinics, but plans call for the physician roster to increase to meet the needs. “We expect to quickly grow providers over the next 24 months,” he said.

The decision to return to Pell City with a significant presence was guided by his ties to his hometown. Pell City, he said, has “excellent healthcare with multiple services available. It is my community, and I want to maintain that level of care and build on it.”

While he acknowledges the tremendous strides made with Helms Healthcare since its inception only eight months ago, he stressed that it was not a solo effort. It came from “the Lord and good work of good people.”

As for returning the practice of medicine to days gone by, he said Helms Healthcare will continue this path of care. “When you call, a person answers the phone. They’re happy to see you. They care. All those things are really important.”

He expects Helms Healthcare to “continue to grow and be marked by excellence and doing it in a loving, old fashioned way. I don’t want that to go away.”

In 2001, Helms founded Northside Medical Associates in Pell City, beginning with only a handful of providers and staff. He grew it into an expansive campus of medical facilities, a pharmacy, urgent care and multiple specialties and locations in other communities with over 200 employees.

After selling the practice and fulfilling contract commitments, he founded Helms Healthcare in Vincent.

Jonathan Windham, CRNP, one of four providers now at Vincent clinic. More will be added.

State of the art technology, caring staff are hallmarks of Helms Healthcare

Story and photos by Carol Pappas

Gilreath expands to new location

From ink to digital presses, from invitations and business cards to signs, vehicle wraps and at bed printing, Eddie Gilreath and his family have seen it all. Just like the printing industry itself, Gilreath Printing & Signs has evolved over the past 32 years.

A new era has dawned for the family-owned company with the opening of their new facility a block from their old location in downtown Pell City.

The difference? A state-of-the-art, 10,000 square foot facility that is expected to grow to meet the current needs of the varied formats in the printing industry and well into the future.

Gilreath Printing began in an 800 square foot building behind where Pell City Coffee Company is now. At the five-year mark, they outgrew it. He eyed a piece of property on Cogswell Avenue at the corner of 20th Street, which had been vacant for 30 years. A friend was building custom log homes at the time, and he asked if he could build one for his office on that lot.

The lot’s owner, Johnny Turner, sold it to Gilreath, they built their office in that log home, “and we had plenty of room.”

“Or so we thought,” said son, Jeremiah, who has taken the lead in operations today.

In 2004, they started printing signs. Their first wrap – vinyl signage that conforms to the contours of a structure like a vehicle or a window – came in 2008. It was on their own vehicle – a Ford Explorer.

Now, the business is 50-50 printing and signs. They even do wall wraps and offer any type of advertising specialty.

New cutting-edge equipment giving them the ability to print directly on any substrate, has been added. Many more technological advances are on the way. “When we started, we didn’t even have a computer,” said Susie

The Gilreath team

RUNNING to Make a Difference

When runners crossed the finish line at our inaugural Jingle Bell Run in 2023, it marked the first chapter of an unfolding success story to put our motto into action – “Service Above Self.”

▶ Runner Medals & Cash Prizes ▶ Door Prizes

▶ Costume Awards ▶ Santa Claus

▶ Hot Drinks/Biscuits

In just two years, Pell City Rotary has raised well over $100,000 to boost the missions of worthy charitable organizations throughout our community. This year, we head to the next level with a 5K and 10K run on a nationally sanctioned course along with our traditional 1-mile fun run/walk.

PELL CITY

LAKESIDE PARK

December 13

Registration - 7:00 a.m.

Race - 8:00 a.m.

Business Review Gilreath Printing

Gilreath, Eddie’s wife and Jeremiah’s mother.

As they walk through the new, spacious facilities, they talk about their ability to do the job better, faster, and at competitive pricing. The newly installed equipment helps them meet demands of the future and grow their business in the right direction.

A suite of offices is just beyond the lobby with a glass window that lets visitors see the open bay area, where work is done. That vantage point allows them to observe the whole operation.

Through the window, a freshly wrapped service van is spotted, ready to be pressed into duty by Allen Service Company. A Mustang wrapped especially for Talladega Superspeedway sits nearby under a special lighting system that allows the Gilreath crew to do their work without reflections and shadow.

Digital printers of all shapes, sizes and capacities anchor the center of the floor, and a flurry of activity is ongoing throughout the day by family and longterm employees. There’s even a third generation, Jeremiah’s son, Brody.

The log cabin still stands at the corner of Cogswell Avenue and 20th Street, ready to lease, Gilreath said.

The Gilreaths still believe in doing the right thing, creating value and helping businesses get results.

As for the size and scope of the operation as it heads into the future from its new headquarters, it’s all in a day’s work at Gilreath Printing & Signs.

A window in the front office gives customers an expansive look at the operation

More cutting-edge equipment allows Gilreath to meet the needs of customers

Jeremiah Gilreath under special lighting system

•

•

• ESOL Classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages). Every Tuesday night on second floor of Pell City Municipal Complex (above the Pell City Library)

New OB/GYN services at St. Clair Hospital

Dr. Sarah Whitehead seeing patients in Pell City

UAB St. Vincent’s Women’s Health is expanding gynecologic services to UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair. Dr. Sarah Whitehead will now be holding gynecology appointments at the Pell City hospital located at 7063 Veterans Parkway.

Whitehead is accepting new patients, and appointments can be scheduled by calling the main office at 205-939-7800. Patients should specify UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair facility when making an appointment with Dr. Whitehead.

Whitehead is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and provides gynecologic care to girls and women of all ages.

She strives to provide compassionate service to her patients by listening to and understanding their needs.

She has a special interest in treating polycystic ovary syndrome and helping patients achieve their weight loss goals.

Blair and Parsons, PC Attorneys at Law

Blair and Parsons, PC Attorneys at Law

Serving St. Clair and Talladega Counties for over four decades

Blair and Parsons, PC Attorneys at Law

• Real Estate • Estate Planning

Serving St. Clair and Talladega Counties for over four decades

Serving St. Clair and Talladega Counties for over four decades

• Wills and Probate • Trusts and Estates

• Real Estate • Estate Planning

• Real Estate • Estate Planning

1711 Cogswell Avenue ∙ Pell City, Alabama 35125

• Wills and Probate • Trusts and Estates

• Wills and Probate • Trusts and Estates

Phone: 205-884-3440 ∙ Fax: 205-884-3440

Web: blairparsons.com ∙ Email: esp@blairparsons.com

1711 Cogswell Avenue ∙ Pell City, Alabama 35125

1711 Cogswell Avenue ∙ Pell City, Alabama 35125

No

Phone: 205-884-3440 ∙ Fax: 205-884-3440 Web: blairparsons.com ∙ Email: esp@blairparsons.com

by other lawyers.

Phone: 205-884-3440 ∙ Fax: 205-884-3440 Web: blairparsons.com ∙ Email: esp@blairparsons.com

No

of legal services performed by other lawyers.

of legal services performed by other lawyers.

No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the

Final F cus

Life through the lens of Mackenzie Free

Trying to be better ...

What if, instead of making lofty New Year’s resolutions, we all agreed to simply try a little harder to be a little better than we were the year before?

To be kinder – not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard and inconvenient. To be more honest, even when it’s uncomfortable, and to forgive more readily, knowing we’ve all fallen short at some point.

What if we gave a little more – of our money, our time and our patience? What if we extended a little more grace to the people who need it most, including ourselves?

What if instead of looking too long at what’s behind us or constantly chasing what’s next, we took more time to appreciate what’s here now?

What if we loved a little better the people we often take for granted? The people who stand beside us and see us clearly – flaws and all – and choose to love and support us, not just for who we will be … but for who we already are today.

What if we try a little harder to find joy in the present moment – and keep our feet firmly planted in appreciation for the beautiful gift of life right now?

- Mackenzie FreeWife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama

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