2012 Fall Franklin Living

AUTUMN 2012. VOL. 2 ISSUE NO. 3

County man enjoys ultimate ‘man cave’ Students share faith through services at schools

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W

e have now arrived at one of the most beautiful and most enjoyable times of the year.

The weather cools, leaves change, football season is in full swing and the holidays are just around the corner.

But with the arrival of fall comes one of the busiest times of the year as well.

While we would all like to kick back and just gaze at the changing scenery around us, there is just too much to do it seems.

With fall, we have the Spirit of Hodges Festival, Spruce Pine Day, events at school and soon to be Christmas parades.

With all the hustle and bustle, we hope you have a chance to sit down and enjoy this edition of Franklin Living, Alabama’s best niche publication according to the Alabama Press Association’s Better Newspapers Contest.

This edition features profiles on Russellville Police Lt. Mike Prince, who is an avid aviator, local horse farrier and entertainer Joseph Baldwin, a feature about Russellville attorney Shane James’ impressive “man cave” and an inspiring story about local students who unashamedly share their faith.

We hope you enjoy taking just a glimpse of what life is like in Franklin County, Ala., the best place in the world to call home.

What’s hot?

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View some of the latest falldecorations and fashions

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Spreading the message

Students gather at flag poles to pray together

Holiday health tips

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Don’t battle the holiday bulge

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Game day hideaway

James enjoys the ultimate “man cave”

FCNI Publisher Jonathan Willis with his wife, Mandi, and sons, Cade, 2, and Ty, 5.

Up, up and away

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Local policeman has passion for aviation

34 Bees wax Delicious honey-baesed recipes

Off the stage

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Baldwin carries on work as a horse ferrier

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On the map

Roxy concert series listed on Americana Music Triangle

Franklin

LIVING

Franklin Living is published four times per year by Franklin County Newspapers, Inc. Copyright 2011 by Franklin County Newspapers, Inc.

P.O. Box 1088 • Russellville, AL 35653 256-332-1881 • fax: 256-332-1883 www.franklincountytimes.com 6

Publisher Jonathan Willis Editorial J.R. Tidwell and Kellie Singleton Photography Heather Mouser, Nicole Burns, Elliott Gordon, Terri Lynn Underwood, Teresa Stough Sales Peggy Hyde and Nicole Pell Composition Karen McAfee Circulation Thomas Morris FRANKLIN LIVING

WHAT TO DO

Spirit of Hodges October 12-13 The Spirit of Hodges is celebrated each October in one of Franklin County’s most enduring communities. The event includes food, car show, kids’ games, train ride, horse shoe contest and door prizes.

Spruce Pine Day October 20 The proud community of Spruce Pine celebrates its past each year with a festival complete with vendors, games and opportunities to see the one-of-a-kind Spruce Pine Museum.

projects the team has been working on and the material they will be entering in the BEST Robotics competition on Nov. 3.

Fall Rummage Sale November 2 The United Methodist Women of First United Methodist Church in downtown Russellville will host a Super Fall Rummage Sale on Saturday, November 2, at the Ministry Center located behind the church.

October 29 RCS Engineering, Russellville’s engineering team, will host a community night on Monday, Oct. 29, from 6-9 p.m. in the Russellville Middle School Cafeteria to showcase the FRANKLIN LIVING

on Nov. 9.

Rockin’ at the Roxy October 13, November 10 and December 8 The Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council hosts the Rockin’ at the Roxy concert series the second Saturday night of each month featuring the popular KGB and special musical guests. Visit the historic Roxy Theater for a night filled with great live local music.

Opal’s Baby production November 8-11

RCS Engineering Community Night

The annual Veterans Day parade will take place in downtown Russellville

The Bay Tree Council for the Performing Arts will perform their first play of the 2012-2013 season, “Opal’s Baby,” from Nov. 8-11 at the Weatherford Centre in Red Bay.

Veterans Day parade November 9

Franklin County Christmas parades The dates for the Christmas parades in Russellville, Red Bay, Phil Campbell and Vina are as follows: Red Bay – Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.

Russellville – Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.

Vina – Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.

Phil Campbell – Dec. 13 at 6 p.m.

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OUT & ABOUT One of the highlights of the Franklin County year is high school football season. Local teams, cheerleaders and bands give fans plenty to cheer about as they support the Russellville Golden Tigers, Red Bay Tigers, Phil Campbell Bobcats, Vina Red Devils and Tharptown Wildcats.

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FRANKLIN LIVING

OUT & ABOUT

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OUT & ABOUT

One year-old Macy Dalrymple enjoyed her time at the Watermelon Festival.

Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett and Capt. Mike Prince pass out stickers to the children attending the Franklin County Watermelon Festival in August.

First Baptist Church-Russellville members Rick Hall, Kathy Hall, Jeff Bowling, Nancy Bowling, John Tyler Harding and Alma Bowling pose outside their booth.

Russellville Civitan member Mark DeArman mans their putt-putt golf booth 10

FRANKLIN LIVING

OUT & ABOUT

Probate Judge Barry Moore (center) poses with members of his family.

Ponda Gordon and her daughter, Katelynn, enjoy fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade.

The Strickland family enjoys a day at the Watermelon Festival. Pictured are Kevin, LeAnn, Ellyse, Addie, and Drew.

Rayburn Massey and Phil Campbell Mayor Jerry Mays pose for a picture.

Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey and his wife, Kristi, enjoy the festivities.

Janice Dady with Dady’s Roasted Corn serves up one of the festival goers’ favorite treats.

FRANKLIN LIVING

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OUT & ABOUT

Red Bay resident Lee Page poses at the Watermelon Festival Car Show by his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that he restored.

Kody Madden performs a song at the First United Methodist Church’s praise and worship service.

Nicole and Kevin Butler and their daughter, Natalie, enjoy the rides.

Russellville Civitan members Stratt Byars, Doug Hendon, Morris “Woody” Woodruff and Milt Sage pose in their trailer.

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Russellville Police Officer Reece Coan and Kassy Franks find some shade.

FRANKLIN LIVING

OUT & ABOUT

Addie Beth and Taylor Stockton enjoyed the Watermelon Festival with their grandparents, Tim and Lisa Stockton.

Jackson McAfee took a stroll through the festival with his grandmother, Karen McAfee, and aunt, Joanie.

Frog Pond’s Will Wingo won second place in the biggest melon contest. He is pictured with Watermelon Queen Brook Swinney.

101 year-old Omer Johnson enjoyed the festival. He is pictured with Watermelon Queen Brook Swinney.

Barry Pounders measures the winning melon in the largest melon contest, which was won by Decatur’s Clifton Knight.

Elijah Mashburn with entries in the best dressed contest. He entered the contest along with his siblings.

FRANKLIN LIVING

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WHAT’S HOT

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FRANKLIN LIVING

FAITH MATTERS

Spreading the message Students gather at school flag poles to pray for nation, fellow students and family

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s religious faith is slowly but surely vanishing from America’s public classrooms, the responsibility to keep religious beliefs and practices alive falls on the shoulders of faith-based student groups who schedule events for their faiths to be recognized.

Throughout Franklin County, students take part in organizations such as the Fellowship STORY BY of Christian Athletes.

KELLIE SINGLETON At Russellville High School, the PHOTOS BY Christian student population joins HEATHER MOUSER, ELLIOTT GORDON together under the name Christian AND NICOLE Students United (CSU).

BURNS The group has weekly Bible study meetings on Tuesday mornings that serve as spiritual encouragement, and they have club meetings throughout the school year, but no doubt their biggest event every year is the worldwide See You at the Pole event held each September.

According to Katelynn Gordon, a senior at RHS who serves as president of CSU, the purpose of See You at the Pole is to come together as a group of Christians to pray for their classmates, teachers, school, city, state and nation.

“The prayers start with yourself and go all the way up to President Obama,” Gordon said. “There are so many people in our lives who need prayer, and as Christians, we believe prayer is a powerful thing.

“If we can all come together across the nation and the world just for one day and lift up our countries and our leaders, just think of the change that could come from that.”

The idea for the first See You at the Pole event came about in 1990 when a group of teenagers from Burleson, Texas, felt burdened to pray for their friends.

The group drove to three different schools and prayed at the flagpoles for many issues and people.

After lots of organizing, the first See You at the Pole event was held in September of that same year, and more than 45,000 teenagers in four states participated.

The event now includes millions of participants in 20 countries.

According to Richard Parker, the youth minister at First Baptist Church in Russellville, this is the 20th year for Russellville schools to participate in the event.

“See You at the Pole is really one of the few times during the year all Christian students are involved in a single event,” Parker said, “so it allows students to see how big the body of Christ, not just their church, is in the area.”

Parker said as a youth minister, it’s good to see the younger generations taking initiative to pray for one another and the world around them.

“Students are able to take leadership roles through CSU and that’s great to see them standing up for their faith,” Parker said. “In my opinion, though, the greatest impact is probably the dialogue that opens up as a result of the event because of students wearing a

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Students at Russellville High School gathered to pray before school on Wednesday, Sept. 26 as part of the national See You at the Pole event.

FRANKLIN LIVING

Phil Campbell High School students met at the flag pole at the high school’s football stadium as part of See You at the Pole activities.

FRANKLIN LIVING

SYATP shirt.”

Gordon agreed.

“I’ve participated in See You at the Pole since the sixth grade and we always get people coming up to us who ask what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” she said. “It gives us a chance to witness to them and even opens up the door for us to invite them to church.”

Coming out to an event where students will be praying for many different groups and people may not seem appealing to some teens. Couple that with the fact that the event is held at 7 a.m. before school starts and most people would assume that no teenager would want to make that much of a sacrifice just to pray.

But each year, hundreds of teens continue to show up at the RHS flagpole to pray and take a stand.

“It is the one event each year where Christian students gather to pray for each other at our school. It is well worth getting up to share this experience with each other,” said Laurel Wade, a senior at RHS and member of the FBC-Russellville youth group.

Drew Malone, who is also a senior and member of FBC-Russellville, said the closeness experienced during the event among the believers is strong.

“It is a powerful thing when an entire school can join together and pray along with millions of others around the world,” Malone said. “I really like the small group prayer time where we pray for classmates who don’t know Christ and for God to watch over our school.”

Ryan Mouser, youth minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville, said he believes the event is important to bring the young Christians together as a community.

“This is a great opportunity for the different denominations to come together and work together as fellow Christians,” Mouser said.

“It shows that we are not divided and that we all pray to the same God.” FUMC-Russellville’s youth leader, Elliott Gordon, said he has been talking to his group for over a month about the importance of the event.

“School-sponsored prayer is out of the question these days and sometimes that makes a young Christian shy away from their faith and what they believe,” he said, “but this is a chance to boldly proclaim, ‘I’m not ashamed and this is what I believe in.’

“It’s a great thing for our young people and something they should be proud to participate in.”

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WELLNESS

The holiday season is a time to celebrate with family and friends.

Unfortunately, for many it also becomes a time for over-eating and weight gain.

According to the National Institutes of Health, holiday eating can result in an extra pound or two every year. Over a lifetime, holiday weight gain can really add up. The holidays don’t have to mean weight gain.

Focus on a healthy balance of food, activity, and fun. By implementing a few simple tips you can stay healthy through the holiday season.

1. Be realistic. Don’t try to lose pounds during the holidays, instead try to maintain your current weight.

2. Plan time for exercise. Exercise helps relieve holiday stress and prevent weight gain. A moderate and daily increase in exercise can help partially offset increased holiday eating. Try 10- or 15-minute brisk walks twice a day.

3. Don’t skip meals. Before leaving for a party, eat a light snack like raw vegetables or a piece of fruit to curb your appetite. You will be less tempted to over-indulge.

4. Survey party buffets before filling your plate. Choose your favorite foods and skip your least favorite. Include vegetables and fruits to keep your plate balanced.

5. Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. Savor your favorite holiday treats while eating small portions. Sit down, get comfortable, and enjoy.

6. Be careful with beverages. Alcohol can lessen inhibitions and induce overeating; non-alcoholic beverages can be full of calories and sugar.

7. If you overeat at one meal go light on the next. It takes 500 calories per day (or 3,500 calories per week) above your normal/maintenance consumption to gain one pound. It is impossible to gain weight from one piece of pie!

8. Take the focus off food. Turn candy and cookie making time into non-edible projects like making wreaths, dough art decorations or a

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gingerbread house. Plan group activities with family and friends that aren’t all about food. Try serving a holiday meal to the community, playing games or going on a walking tour of decorated homes.

9. Bring your own healthy dish to a holiday gathering.

10. Practice Healthy Holiday Cooking. Preparing favorite dishes lower in fat and calories will help promote healthy holiday eating. Incorporate some of these simple-cooking tips in traditional holiday recipes to make them healthier.

• Gravy — Refrigerate the gravy to harden fat. Skim the fat off. This will save a whopping 56 gm of fat per cup.

• Dressing — Use a little less bread and add more onions, garlic, celery, and vegetables. Add fruits such as cranberries or apples. Moisten or flavor with low fat low sodium chicken or vegetable broth and applesauce.

• Turkey – Enjoy delicious, roasted turkey breast without the skin and save 11 grams of saturated fat per 3 oz serving.

• Green Bean Casserole — Cook fresh green beans with chucks of potatoes instead of cream soup. Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings.

• Mashed Potato — Use skim milk, chicken broth, garlic or garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese instead of whole milk and butter.

• Quick Holiday Nog — Four bananas, 1-1/2 cups skim milk or soymilk, 1-1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon rum extract, and ground nutmeg. Blend all ingredients except nutmeg. Puree until smooth. Top with nutmeg.

• Desserts — Make a crustless pumpkin pie. Substitute two egg whites for each whole egg in baked recipes. Replace heavy cream with evaporated skim milk in cheesecakes and cream pies. Top cakes with fresh fruit, fruit sauce, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead of fattening frosting.

Enjoy the holidays, plan a time for activity, incorporate healthy recipes into your holiday meals, and don’t restrict yourself from enjoying your favorite holiday foods. In the long run, your mind and body will thank you.

FRANKLIN LIVING

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T

he fall season has officially begun, and here in the South the colorful leaves, trick-or-treating and turkey and dressing take a back seat when it comes to vying for the true Southerners attention, because in the South, football most definitely reigns supreme.

For many football fans, there’s more to just watching your favorite teams play than simply turning on the TV set and settling in with a good snack.

Where and how you watch the big game makes a great deal of difference, which has led to the emergence of the “man-cave,” which is a dedicated space where the man of the house can sit back, relax and enjoy the things that are near and dear to him.

And in the case of local attorney Shane James, that would be Alabama football.

As you start down the stairs that lead to the basement “man cave” in

FRANKLIN LIVING

Game day hideaway STORY BY KELLIE SINGLETON PHOTOS BY HEATHER MOUSER

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the home that belongs to Shane, his wife, Stephanie, and their three children, Drake, 8, Bryant, 6, and Kate, 3, you immediately know where the family’s allegiances lie.

Framed covers of Sports Illustrated magazine touting great games, players and championships associated with the University of Alabama line the stairwell.

On the landing, a shadowbox featuring commemorative pins from each bowl game Alabama has played in from 1925 until 1992 are proudly displayed.

And then you reach the bottom floor

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and are immediately met by a display of Alabama pride that is probably only rivaled by the Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa.

A game program and ticket stubs to the very first SEC championship game played in 1992 that belong to Shane and his father, Thomas James, have been framed for display.

Two footballs belonging to his sons bearing the autographs of beloved coach Nick Saban and former quarterback John Parker Wilson adorn shelving below the large-screen mounted TV that is perfect for

watching games.

A curio cabinet stands in a corner chockfull of autographed footballs, basketballs, game programs and other Crimson Tide memorabilia.

Beautiful houndstooth pillows made by Stephanie, who is a UA alum, sit on the couch and chairs for the comfort of all football fans that join them in the man cave.

Tailgating snacks often line the counter in the man cave’s kitchen, where the family of five and any guests they may have can

FRANKLIN LIVING

The James’ family is able to enjoy halftime snacks in the comfort of the kitchen located in the basement of their home. Pictured to the left is Shane, Stephanie, Bryant, Drake and Kate James.

Pictured in the middle are Thomas and Shane James with Daniel Moore’s legendary painting of the Goal Line Stand from the 1979 Sugar Bowl.

chow down during half-time.

The patio doors at the back of the room stand ajar so Drake and Bryant can dart outside in between plays and toss the football in the back yard.

But the crown jewel of the large, open-concept “man cave” is most definitely James collection of framed Daniel Moore prints – which are a favorite collectible for most any Alabama fan.

The collection of 23 prints line the entire room like a decorative border paying homage to some of the greatest plays and moments in Alabama football history.

But for Shane, his collection of Daniel Moore prints isn’t just a hobby or a way to decorate his man cave to reflect his football fanatic status – the prints are a way for him to reminisce about games past, memories he made with family and friends, and a way to share the passion he has for Alabama athletics with his own children.

“None of these prints are really arbitrary,” Shane said. “I can tell you exactly where I was, what I was doing and who I was with when a lot of these plays happened. So, in a way, it’s almost like a photo album – I can look at one certain print and a flood of memories will come back to me.”

One such print is the very first print Daniel Moore ever created.

The print, aptly titled “The Goal Line Stand,” depicts Alabama’s famous defensive stand against Penn State in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.

While Shane was only three years old when the famous play occurred and doesn’t remember it specifically, he does remember the game since it was the first one he went to with his whole family.

The James family is able to comfortably gather in their spacious basement to watch their favorite team, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

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“My mom, Patricia, my dad, Thomas, my brothers, Randy and Mark, my sister, Melisa, and I all went to New Orleans for this game, and even though I was young, I can still remember walking into the Super Dome,” he said.

“That year for Christmas, my mom bought my dad that Daniel Moore print since we all had gone to the game. She got it for just $35, and that’s what got the whole Daniel Moore collection started in our family.”

Shane said his father has a total of eight prints, six of which are ones he doesn’t have in his collection.

Shane’s collection actually started when he was a freshman in college. He received his very first set of prints as a Christmas present from his parents that year, which was the December following Alabama’s National Championship win for the 1992 season.

Just as “The Goal Line Stand” started the Daniel Moore collection for his father, “The Tradition Continues” started Shane’s collection along with “The Interception,” which Shane remembers personally because he and his father went to the inaugural SEC Championship game where it occurred, and the popular “Crimson Legacy.”

“Once I got those prints, I just decided I wanted to be a collector,” Shane said. “I don’t go to games all the time, but I’ve been able to personally be at nine games that resulted in prints. Those are special to me, but the ones where I was just watching them with family or friends are special, too.”

This past year, Shane continued the tradition his father started with the 1979 Sugar Bowl by taking his own boys to the National Championship game in New Orleans.

The Tide, of course, won the game and the Daniel Moore print

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depicting the win will be proudly placed alongside the others as a way to commemorate the event he shared with his sons and wife.

“I’m just proud I have a space now where I can display my collection and re-live some of these special times I had with my dad, my family, my wife when we were dating and she was a student there, and now with my own boys,” Shane said.

“It’s great to have a ‘man cave’ to get away and have my own place to relax, but it’s even greater to have a space where we can share special memories as a family.”

“It’s great to have a ‘man cave’ to get away and have my own place to relax, but it’s even greater to have a space where we can share special memories as a family.”

FRANKLIN LIVING

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Up, up and away W

hen you are young, you are full of ambitions and dreams.

You have a hundred ideas for what you will be “when you grow up” and they are usually ever changing.

Russellville Police Capt. Mike Prince was no different. He had difSTORY BY ferent ideas for what he would aspire to become one day.

KELLIE SINGLETON But he ended up being different than most because PHOTOS BY instead of settling for one dream career, Prince is aspiring MIKE PRINCE for three, and is well on his way to achieving that goal.

When Prince was a young boy, he knew he wanted to be a police officer and serve his community. As a captain in the Russellville Police Department and a 19-year law enforcement veteran, it’s safe to say he has been successful in making that dream a reality.

Prince also had dreams of serving his country through military service, and he achieved that goal when he joined the U.S. Army in 1989 and served until 1993.

The one career he hasn’t fully achieved, however, is a career in aviation, but like everything else he’s done, he’s working hard to make that a reality one

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“There’s no way to adequately describe how you feel when you’re up in the air.

It’s just relaxing, and the freedom you feel when you’re up there is just the best feeling. To be able to do that every day would definitely be a dream come true.”

— Mike Prince 31

The scenes have changed through the years for Capt. Mike Prince from his first flights in the 1980s to his time with the Air Force Civil Patrol to now.

day.

“I have been interested in flying ever since I could remember,” Prince said. “It was just a dream of mine.

“Some kids love trains or cars or big trucks, but I loved airplanes and the thought of flying through the air.”

Prince said the first time he ever flew in a plane was when he was 10 years old and his dad was in the army.

“He was stationed in Germany and we were going to see him,” he said. “We actually flew out of Muscle Shoals, and I knew right then it was something I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to be involved in aviation somehow.”

But wanting to be involved in aviation and actually doing it are two different things, which Prince soon found out.

“It’s very expensive to get into a career in aviation,” he said. “It was just money that I didn’t have at the time, and I loved police work,

32

too, so when it came time to get a job, I chose the police work, but flying was still on the back of my mind.”

Instead of jumping into aviation with two feet, Prince decided to ease his way in and soften the financial impact while still satisfying his need to be soaring through the skies.

“I started taking flight lessons in 1988,” he said. “At first it’s very scary. It’s something I had loved my whole life, but I’d never been the pilot. I’d never had everything resting on my shoulders, so that was a lot to take in.”

Prince said he started out learning the controls and what happens during pre-flight preparations.

“After all the book work, that first time up was what I’d call a ‘white-knuckle experience,’” he said. “I was nervous and excited at the same time and I just remember gripping the wheel so tightly that my knuckles were turning white.”

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Top: Mike Prince with his wife, Anitra, during her first flight with him.

Middle: Ceremonial cutting of the tee shirt from Prince’s first flight in 1989. Bottom: Prince’s children, Tiffany, Alex and Ashley.

Prince said during the flight lessons, he flew with an instructor present for many of his flights.

“Flying with the instructor there made it a little easier because you were flying the plane, but you knew the instructor was there and could take over if you messed up,” he said. “Flying completely on your own is a whole different story.”

More than a year after flying a plane for the first time with an instructor, Prince took his first solo flight in October of 1989.

“I think I was looking at that empty seat next to me the entire time,” Prince said. “It was scary but it was so exciting to finally be flying on my own. It was an amazing feeling.”

Prince continued flying, even while he was in the military, and he finally got his pilot’s license in 2001, which was a culmination of ground school, written tests, passing flight requirements with an instructor and solo, and a flight exam that includes many maneuvers.

“Until that time I was just considered a student pilot,” he said. “I could fly solo and I would rent planes out of Russellville’s airport or borrow a friend’s plane to fly, but I couldn’t take passengers with me.

“Getting my pilot’s license was just that next step.”

Since obtaining his pilot’s license, Prince has had many passengers share the skies with him, including his children, Tosha, Tiffany, Ashley and Alex; and his wife, Anitra.

“I would pick up different family members around the holidays who didn’t live here anymore and bring them home,” he said. “And I was able to take my 80-year-old grandmother who had never flown before to Metropolis, Ill., to visit family members.”

He also served as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, which is an Air Force auxiliary that assists in locating missing planes, from 2001 until 2003.

These days, Prince and his wife take advantage of his pilot’s license to shorten the travel time on their weekend getaways or vacations.

He also uses his license to assist in police work, such as searching for missing persons, which he helped with not too long ago for the town of Hackleburg, and doing aerial pictures and mapping.

And while he enjoys where he is for now, Prince said he still has more he wants to accomplish in the aviation field.

“I really want to pursue a career in aviation once I retire from the police department,” Prince said. “I’m starting to work on that now, and I hope to make it happen one of these days.

“Flying as a career is just a dream of mine. There’s no way to adequately describe how you feel when you’re up in the air.

“It’s just relaxing, and the freedom you feel when you’re up there is just the best feeling. To be able to do that every day would definitely be a dream come true.”

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FOOD

Patty Melts Ingredients 1 stick Butter 1 whole Large Onion, Halved And Sliced 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef Salt And Pepper, to taste 5 dashes Worcestershire Sauce 8 slices Swiss Cheese 8 slices Rye Bread Preparation Instructions In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over mediumlow heat. Throw in the sliced onions and cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown and soft.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, salt & pepper, and Worcestershire. Form into 4 patties.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a

Pepperoni Pizza Burgers

form it into four large/thick patties. Fry the burgers on one side for several minutes, then turn the burgers. Lay 2 slices of cheese on each patty, followed by several slices of pepperoni. Allow burger to cook all the way through while the cheese melts and the pepperoni warms.

Split the rolls and toast them in butter in a skillet until nice and golden and crisp. Spread both halves with marinara sauce and sprinkle the sauce with Parmesan.

Lay the patties on the bottom buns, then top with the top buns.

Ingredients 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef 1/2 pound Italian Sausage ( A Little More Is Fine!)

1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning 8 slices Mozzarella Or Provolone Cheese Pepperoni Slices 8 Tablespoons Jarred Marinara Sauce Grated Parmesan Cheese 4 whole Kaiser Rolls Or Good Hamburger Buns Preparation Instructions Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Knead it together and

separate skillet over medium heat.

Cook the patties on both sides until totally done in the middle.

Assemble patty melts this way: Slice of bread, slice of cheese, hamburger patty, 1/4 of the cooked onions, another slice of cheese, and another slice of bread.

On a clean griddle or in a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter and grill the sandwiches over medium heat until golden brown. Remove the sandwiches and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Turn the sandwiches to the skillet, ipping them to the other side. Cook until golden brown and crisp, and until cheese is melted.

Slice in half and serve immediately!

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Boilermaker tailgate chili

Quick and easy dip • 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans • 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream • 1 (8 ounce) jar medium salsa • 2 cups shredded Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer the sour cream, salsa and shredded cheese into the casserole dish.

Serve with corn chips.

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• 2 pounds ground beef chuck • 1 pound bulk Italian sausage • 3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained • 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce • 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste • 1 large yellow onion, chopped • 3 stalks celery, chopped • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped • 2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped • 1 tablespoon bacon bits • 4 cubes beef bouillon • 1/4 cup chili powder • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce • 1 tablespoon minced garlic • 1 tablespoon dried oregano • 2 teaspoons ground cumin • 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce • 1 teaspoon dried basil • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1 teaspoon paprika • 1 teaspoon white sugar • 1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat.

Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.

Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.

To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.

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THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Joseph Baldwin, of Hodges, carries on a century old tradition by working as a horse ferrier.

Off the stage STORY BY J.R. TIDWELL PHOTOS BY J.R. TIDWELL

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J

oseph Baldwin, a local man from Hodges who may be better know for his skills as a musician, actually has a much different career than some may know.

Baldwin is a farrier. For those who may not be familiar with the term, it means he is someone who shoes

horses.

“I’ve been doing this right at 21 years, and when I started horseshoes were 88 cents apiece,” he said. “Now you can find places where they are $2.88. Nails are 12 cents each, and it takes 32 nails per horse.”

While Baldwin may be found playing music at venues like the Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia, he may also be found out at farms and in pastures across Alabama and Mississippi putting shoes on the feet of horses.

“I absolutely love it,” he said. “What’s weird is, it is hard work, but you get to go to different places all the time and you get to see a lot of people and meet new friends. I don’t mind work of any kind, because this is probably harder than a lot of work I could be doing, but I don’t have to go and be under somebody’s thumb and have them tell me what to do all day long.”

Becoming a farrier is not a career path many choose to follow these days, but it was necessity more than desire that originally saw Baldwin pick up a hammer and nails.

“When I graduated high school I had something like 15 horses,” he said. “Through the summers all of the money I could make, either by mowing yards or hauling hay, anybody who had a horse for sale I would go buy it. My dad had told me I could put

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horses in the pasture he had fenced in. It cost too much to get somebody to come out and work on them, so I started doing it myself. My mom helped me buy my tools that many years ago. We’d be on a horse ride and somebody would say, ‘hey Joseph, I’ve lost a shoe. Can you put a new one on for me?’ And I would do it, and sometimes it would stay and sometimes it wouldn’t. I got to doing it so much for other people that I got better at it, and the next thing you know they’re paying me to do it, and here I am. That’s the kind of schooling that I took.”

Baldwin said that he shoes an average of 10 horses per week, but it may be more or less depending on the weather. The shoes will last for about two months and are a good investment for owners who want to go out on rides. It may take him 30 minutes or less to put shoes on a horse that is still and calm, or as much as an hour to shoe an unruly customer.

“There are several benefits to shoeing a horse,” Baldwin said.

“One, the only trails available to some people are rocky, and if the horse doesn’t have shoes on it can get what’s called a stone bruise on the bottom of their feet, so it protects their feet. Some horses need it because their hoof doesn’t grow right, and it helps correct it.”

The town of Hodges is working to build a world-class system of horse trails and has several miles completed already. There are many people in Franklin County and the surrounding area that own horses and enjoy riding them, so it is only natural that Baldwin’s business is picking up.

“My business has just blown up,” he said. The trails are a great thing for farriers. Actually farrier, because I’m the only one around here. Around where I live there’s no one else, really.

My wife put my services on Facebook, and when she did that I started having to go great distances, because there’s a lot of areas with nobody around to do it. The old-timers, I call them that but I’ll be one before long, but the one’s that did it through the years, when they quit nobody around them and none of their kinfolk took that up; it’s not something that everybody wants to do. I just happened to like it.”

Baldwin said the farthest he has travelled to perform his work is Gadsden, but that was to shoe the horses of Judge Roy Moore, famous for his refusal to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building.

With fewer and fewer farriers these days, there are do-it-yourself alternatives that exist, but such things have a way of being a worse product than the original.

“You can buy shoes that buckle on a horse like Velcro on a tennis shoe,” Baldwin said. “They can put those on, take a ride, take them back off and leave their horse barefoot until they’re ready to ride again. They don’t work as good, and if you lose one they’re very expensive. Steel shoes are the way to go.”

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T

he old theater sits quiet most nights.

As motorists pass through the heart of downtown Russellville, there is barely a reason to slow down long enough to take a glimpse of the old yellow brick building.

But on some nights, when the magical marquee is brightly lit, people do slow down, they do stop.

Many long for the memories they made in the historic Roxy Theater, watching American classic movies such as Gone With the Wind and other popular films of the mid 1900s.

Today though, when the marquee glows and the crowd files in, they are usually doing so to enjoy the building’s mystique and soundful acoustics from the action of a live band. The Roxy is now known for its monthly concert series, “Rockin’ at the Roxy,” featuring the KGB and special performers.

Over the past two and a half years, the concert series has grown in popularity and continues to attract guests to the monthly event.

The series’ growth, coupled with the magic and history of the Roxy, has led it to be named as part of the Americana Music Triangle. The “triangle” connects Nashville to Memphis to New Orleans and encompasses a region that has played a lasting role in the history of American music.

“If you look at the birthplace of blues, country, jazz, zydeco, rock-n-roll and rockabilly, they all came from this triangle,” said Aubrey Preston, a Leiper’s Fork, Tenn., native who developed the idea.

The vision came from his work to revitalize his own hometown. As he dug further into the landscape of American musical history he noticed that one area produced much of what Americans have grown to love.

“This is an area where the English, French, African Americans and Spanish all connected and all the types of music they had came together to form so many different types of music that we enjoy,” Preston said.

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On the map

STORY BY JONATHAN WILLIS

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Americana Music Triangle organizers met with Kerry Gilbert of the KGB and Susie Malone with the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council this summer. The monthly “Rockin’ at the Roxy” concert has been listed on the American Music Triangle.

“It’s a melting pot that affected music all over the world. It began here and migrated to the larger cities like Chicago and New York.”

The Americana Music Triangle promotes business, recreation and tourism in the five state area comprised of Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

It provides information in the fields of music, history and tourism.

Much of the triangle spotlights local venues such as the Roxy in small towns across the region.

“There is so much history in old theaters and concert halls like the Roxy,” said Kerry Gilbert of the KGB.

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“We love doing this show in this building. These are the types of settings that really help a musician and the audience come together and interact.”

Gilbert believes having the concert series listed and marketed with the Americana Music Triangle will only help it grow.

“That will not just help the show,” he said.

“It will help our entire community with more people coming to the area and eating and spending money. This is really going to help our local economy I believe.”

The Rockin’ at the Roxy concert series takes place the second Saturday night of each month.

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What is now known as the McIntosh-James house on Jackson Avenue in Russellville in the early 1900s.

LOOKING BACK

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LOOKING BACK

Do you know these faces?

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Do you know these faces?

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PARTING SHOTS

A big slice of Franklin County living can be seen each August when the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual Watermelon Festival. This year, thousands of visitors visited the city of Russellville for the car show, truck show, concerts and for the main attraction - watermelons.

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RODNEY LOGAN OWNER/R.PH