Mobile Bay Magazine - May 2017

Mobile Bay THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES

DREAM BOATS 6 AMAZING VESSELS, FROM ONE GRANDIOSE YACHT TO CHARMING WOODEN CRUISERS

FRUITYEASER -PL CROWDCKTAILS CO way! every Cool in . 46 pg

Park Dads These youth baseball volunteers are in a league of their own

SWASHBUCKLERS

OF DAUPHIN ISLAND Tales of the pirates who sailed and swindled along our coast

HOST A SIMPLE JAUNT AT SEA

Boat-friendly recipes to serve up on deck

May 2017

THE COASTAL ISSUE

2 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017

april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 3

4 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 5

6 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017

FEATURES MAY 2017

36

VOLUME XXXIII / ISSUE 5

28 Home Field Heroes Play ball! These coaches give their heart and soul for the game. From maintaining the baseball field to stocking concession stands, the work is never done for these dads who go above and beyond.

36 Dream Boats

For every type of seafarer, there’s a different style of boat. Take a gander at these gorgeous water vessels.

46 Summer Cocktails for a Crowd As longer days on the Bay heat up, stir up these delicious cocktails to cool down.

THE TASSE WOODEN BOAT / PHOTO BY TODD DOUGLAS

ON OUR COVER

The Tasse is a picturesque 1973 Dyer wooden boat. It spends its days on the backwaters of Perdido Key, while its passengers enjoy Lower Alabama’s million-dollar sunsets.

PHOTO BY TODD DOUGLAS

 Diamonds are many a dad’s best friend! Do you know another awesome little league coach who deserves a round of applause?

Skip the Gatorade drenching and give him or her a shoutout this month on our Facebook page.

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 7

DEPARTMENTS MAY 2017

VOLUME XXXIII / ISSUE 5

20

55

LEFT Beach season is in full swing. While you’re soaking in the rays down at the Gulf, grab a bite at the Flora-Bama Yacht Club. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU RIGHT Learn more about pirate pursuits and shipwrecks around the world at GulfQuest’s new exhibit. BY DON MAITZ / COURTESY OF ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION

11 11 12 14 16

Editor’s Note On the Web Reaction Odds & Ends Elemental

Fine Dune Mountains of sand over Alabama beaches.

18 Gumbo Ships & Sips

An illustrated guide to the coolest local vessels

20 Tastings Flora-Bama Yacht Club

Look no further for delicious upscale fare in a laid-back locale.

22 Bay Tables Sea Rations Simple bites to prepare on the boat

26 The Dish 52 History Pirate Attack!

Did you know a motley crew made a siege on Dauphin Island?

57 History Shanties on the Bay

Classic dockworker shanty songs got their start right here in Mobile.

66 Bay Boy Major’s Creek

A trip down memory lane (well, creek) turns terrifying.

68 Ask McGehee What was Fosko Soda?

The wine-flavored beverage was brewed and bottled right here in the Port City.

70 In Living Color Mobile Skyline, 1935 An unknown man peers across the Bay at the Mobile skyline, a view instantly recognizable 82 years later.

OUT & ABOUT 60 Highlights 62 On Stage & Exhibits 64 June Highlights

 Love MB’s illustrated boat guide on page 18? Visit mobilebaymag.com to grab your own print to frame and hang.

8 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 9

Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXIII

No5

MAY 2017

PUBLISHER T. J. Potts

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

STAFF WRITER

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

ART DIRECTOR

WEB PRODUCER

M ARKETING COORDINATOR

Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth Lawren Largue Breck Pappas Chelsea Adams Marie Katz Laurie Kilpatrick Abby Parrott Maggie Lacey

ADVERTISING

SALES MANAGER

Joseph A. Hyland

Adelaide Smith McAleer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Jody Chandler

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

David Bagwell, Mallory Boykin, Emmett Burnett, Watt Key, Tom McGehee, John Sledge CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Major Adam Colbert, Matthew Coughlin, Todd Douglas, Elizabeth Gelineau, Kathy Hicks, Jeff Nelson, Dave Vann ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES

3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription rate is $21.95 per year.

Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 923773 Norcross, GA 30010-3773 1-855-357-3137 MOVING? Please note: U.S. Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through their bulk mail unit.

Please send old label along with your new address four to six weeks prior to moving.

Mobile Bay is published 12 times per year for the Gulf Coast area. All contents © 2017 by PMT Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ownership or the management of Mobile Bay. This magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. All submissions will be edited for length, clarity and style.

PUBLISHED BY PMT PUBLISHING INC .

10 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE BEHIND THE STORIES

Hitting the High Seas

WHAT’S ONLINE

Get even more local coverage this month on mobilebaymag.com.

Here’s what’s new!

Lawren Largue EXECUTIVE EDITOR

lawren@pmtpublishing.com

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

W

hat is it about the Bay area that keeps so many families around here for generation after generation? Some may argue it’s the history, rich culture or big “small town” appeal. However, most would agree that there’s just something about living on the water that keeps us all loyal to home. This, our Coastal Issue, celebrates some of the ways we enjoy the water.

“Ships and Sips,” page 18, is a whimsical, illustrated commentary on the Bay area’s most beloved means of riding the waves. (Want a copy to keep? Purchase a print on mobilebaymag.com.) Then, in “Dream Boats,” beginning on page 36, you’ll take a leisurely tour aboard six standout vessels that sail around our waters. No matter your cruising style, you’ll agree they’re all beauties, to say the least. Martha and Kenny Muscat, owners of one of those amazing recreational watercraft, the /usr/friendly, also share their best recipes and tips for entertaining on board in this month’s Bay Tables. (Troll on over to “Sea Rations,” page 22.) One of the Muscats’ favorites ways to pass the time with their crew is sipping on sangria while partaking in a late-night game of dominoes. It’s a hull lot of fun all around! (Pardon the pun.)

As calm and serene as these waters seem today, it’s hard to believe that more than 200 years ago a ship full of vengeful pirates lurked along the coastline. On the seas surrounding what is modern-day Dauphin Island, these ruthless scallywags awaited their opportunity, then attacked the little seaside village, swiping any loot of their liking. Learn more about the ambush in John Sledge’s history column, page 52. It gives a whole new meaning to the colloquial term, pirate’s cove!

If you’re listening to the calls of seagulls and gently lapping waves as you’re perusing this Coastal Issue of Mobile Bay, send us a selfie with your copy of MB on our social media. Anchors aweigh!

On the Menu From Cinco De Mayo to the Kentucky Derby to Mother’s Day brunch, we’ve rounded up recipes for all of this month’s party-worthy occasions.

One-Day-Only Sale!

Visit us on the Web on Wednesday, May 3, for special deals on subscriptions, cookbooks and other local gifts for Mother’s Day.

Set your sails!

Party Pics

Don’t miss the sailing event of the season! The eighth annual Children’s Cup Regatta takes to the Bay on May 13. The event benefits patients from the Gulf Coast treated at Children’s of Alabama.

Share your event with us! Go online to fill out the Party Pics registration form and submit your event photos to be featured in a gallery on the Web.

FAIRHOPE YACHT CLUB • 101 VOLANTA AVE. • 610-4969 FACEBOOK.COM/CHILDRENSCUPREGATTA

Join Our List Get the latest in fashion, food, art and events delivered right to your inbox. Visit mobilebaymag.com to sign up for our email list.

Here Comes the Bride

LEFT If only the skies had stayed this blue and the seas so smooth! MB art director Laurie Kilpatrick enjoys the calm before the storm. This month’s “Dream Boats” feature came together despite threats of torrential thunderstorms.

RIGHT Captain Destin Williams, left, and cocaptain Drew Holk, right, maneuver the Skin Deep sportfishing yacht around Terry Cove. PHOTOS BY TODD DOUGLAS

Recently engaged? Tell us your proposal story, some details about the big day and send a picture of the happy couple, and we’ll feature it online — for free!

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 11

PHOTO FROM THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY. COLORIZATION BY DYNAMICHROME LIMITED.

REACTION

SURPRISE! On February’s “In Living Color” I got to the last page of your February issue, and there was a picture (above) of my father, John H. Selby Jr., on the king’s float from 1938. He is the middle boy on the right side looking straight into the camera. Needless to say, I was so excited! I have never seen a picture from when he was in the court. I still have his entire costume, and at Mardi Gras I display his hat. It is one of my favorite possessions.

- Sharon Selby Hodges

DAUPHIN WAY MEMORIES On March’s Ask McGehee about the connection between Dauphin Way Baptist and ASMS Fun story of the old Dauphin Way Baptist buildings. I learned to swim at the pool there.

- Virginia Caddell I went to Dauphin Way as a kid and through my teen years. I met my husband there and was married there in 1978. Great memories!

- Margie L. Garcia I remember I used to line up for vacation Bible school on those steps.

- Len White

12 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

MOBILE MUSINGS On the February issue Vis–à–vis the bicentennial timeline, I believe that Mr. McLean of the container shipping brilliance spelled it “Malcom,” not “Malcolm,” although the more usual, with the two L’s, often appears in print. Dunno why I care (I did not know him), but too much confusion about spelling proper names already exists, in my opinion.

(For example, parsing out what to do about “Blakley,” “Blakeley,” even “Blakly,” can be really confusing.)

Another topic: I usually enjoy Watt Key’s pieces, but “The Necklace” (February’s “Bay Boy”) was too much for me. What a bloody, barbarous set of practices to encourage in a young man! Or to encounter in your magazine. I eat meat, respect hunters and their role in supporting conservation, forests, the economy, etc. But surely adults drawing such pleasure from bathing youngsters in blood (and testicles) of the prey is repugnant when we suffer too much already from bloodbaths and brutalities!

I do love the Rothstein pic of the banana docks worker, tough though his life may have been. Thank you!

I remember only a f licker of being taken to the waterfront as a very small child, and the array of exotic (to me) sights and sounds.

- Cammie Cowan Editor’s note: McLean was born Malcolm Purcell McLean on November 14, 1913. It is unknown as to when and why he later dropped the second “L” in his name.

This edition is totally wonderful!

Read it cover to cover on the plane tonight f lying into MOB. Many thanks for a jewel of Mobile, Mobile Bay Magazine!

- Ron Jenkins

SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY On April’s “Ask McGehee” about the historic Ezell House Dr. Ade Bodet and his wife Elaine were inspired by Moongate (the Ezell House) and actually modeled their lovely Spring Hill home after it at the corner of Stein and Cedar.

- Appie O. Head

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 13

text by CHELSEA ADAMS

SAY WHAT?

WHAT’S THE DEAL?

“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.”

— KNUTE ROCKNE, Norwegian-American football player and coach These unofficial “mayors” of the baseball parks in and around Mobile demonstrate the true meaning of sportsmanship. Meet them in “Home Field Heroes,” page 28.

WORD UP

cymbiform /sim-BUH-form/

PHOTO BY TODD DOUGLAS

adj.) Having the shape of a boat; convex and keeled; from the Latin “cymba,” meaning boat.

Check out these cymbiform beauts all over Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Sail on over to “Dream Boats,” page 36, and imagine standing on the decks of these gorgeous vessels.

FACT CHECK

SOUTHERN RITES

THERE BE PIRATES AFOOT!

SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE

Argh! Shiver me timbers! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Pirates are a cultural phenomenon. There is plenty of fun sea jargin that storytellers have interjected into pirate lore, but the truth of the matter is pirates rarely spoke with such caricatured expressions. Mostly, they conversed as though they were sailors from around the globe, with varied dialects, languages and slang.

But don’t let this take the fun out of Talk Like a Pirate Day for you!

Since 2011, environmental organization 100-1000 Restore Coastal Alabama has been hard at work preserving and protecting Alabama’s shoreline. One of their biggest projects is the creation of oyster shell reefs off the coast of Dauphin Island. Not only do these natural, sustainable shells help fight erosion of the beach, but they also aid the aquatic ecosystem, providing a safe habitat for some of Mobile’s favorite sea critters, including oysters and shrimp!

Did you know Dauphin Island was once beseiged by a ship of scallywags?

Flip on over to page 52 to read the tale.

The shoreline isn’t the only part of the beach that needs protection. Find out more in Elemental, page 16.

14 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

UNDER PRESSURE Have you worn seasickness bracelets for a boat trip? The ones with the plastic beads pressing against the inside of your wrist? These are acupressure bands that curb motion sickness and nausea. But how do they work?

Acupressure (and acupuncture) are holistic methods dating back 5,000 years to ancient Chinese medicine. The belief is that your energy, or chi, runs through your body and, when blocked, causes pain. Applying pressure to or massaging certain points, called meridians, helps reinvigorate the energy flow, thereby releasing any tension and easing any pain. Despite its longevity as a medicinal method, few studies have been conducted looking for a scientific basis for the practice.

Further, even studies that have had promising results have been shown to be unreliable. So for now, we’ll just have to trust in the power of the bands (and possibly the placebo effect).

Martha and Kenny Muscat are pros when it comes to going out on the water.

In Bay Tables, page 22, they share some of their best recipes for a day (or more) on the boat.

THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THEIR BOAT, THE, THE MUSCATS, LEFT, CAN BE SEEN PLAYING DOMINOES WITH FRIENDS. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU.

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 15

ELEMENTAL

Fine Dune text by BRECK PAPPAS

S

imply put, a dune is a hill or ridge of sand piled up by the wind. Already bored? Well you shouldn’t be, because when it comes to sand dunes, there’s a lot more than meets the eye. As with so many things in the natural world,

WITH THE WIND Sand dune systems are formed by wind action. It all starts with some sort of beach debris, such as seaweed, driftwood, fishing nets, etc.

This debris blocks the wind, causing windblown grains of sand to slowly accumulate. Eventually, dune grass seeds find their way to the growing pile of sand and germinate, further stabilizing the ever-growing sand pile. If the initial debris was rotting vegetation, like seaweed, its nutrients will even help the new seedlings to survive. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Beach — it’s a dune!

dunes, though deceivingly bland on the surface, contain multitudes of complexities: a rodent constructs an elaborate tunnel system, crickets and frogs dive inside to evade predators, opportunistic sea oats take root and hold on tight. And all the while the

dune grows, one grain of sand at a time. You’ve certainly seen the rolling mounds at the beach, surrounded by protective fencing and threatening signage, but have you ever stopped to wonder what all the fuss is about?

Here’s the deal on dunes.

WORD GAMES

HOME IS WHERE THE SAND IS

Although the origin of the word “dune” is somewhat unclear, some suggest it comes all the way from the Gaulish word “dunum,” meaning “hill” or “fort.”

Though this shouldn’t be confused with the theme music from “Jaws.”

Sand dunes are an important habitat for both plants and animals. Besides the beach mice and sea turtles that burrow in, a plethora of plant species put down their roots on the sandy mounds, including sea oats, beach elder, bitter panicum and Gulf bluestem. Without the stabilizing power of these specially adapted plants, sand dunes would not exist.

BRACE FOR IMPACT Among several positive environmental features, sand dunes are especially useful when it comes to absorbing the energy of violent storms, preventing beach erosion and slowing the process of inland flooding. They’re so important, in fact, that artificial dunes are often created using bulldozers.

CAN I HAVE THE RECIPE? The three conditions necessary for dune formation include the presence of a large supply of sand, winds strong enough to carry that sand and a suitable location for sand accumulation.

A SANDY STORY ◗ The Perdido Key beach mouse, a small rodent that inhabits the sand dunes of Baldwin County, was declared an endangered species by the federal government in 1985. Their burrows, which usually reach a depth of about three feet, feature an entrance tunnel, a main nest chamber and an escape tunnel designed to thwart predators.

Besides the value of their burrows to other dune-dwelling species, beach mice also aid the growth of dune plants by eating and dispersing seeds. Beachfront development, hurricane damage and domestic cat predation are the primary threats to the beach mouse. ◗ According to Kelly Reetz, a naturalist at Gulf State Park, beach mouse population is a great indicator of dune health. “If conditions within the dunes begin to decline, we will see a decrease in mouse populations.

Once conditions are corrected (whether the damage is due to invasive plants, feral cats or foot-traffic), the populations will begin to rise.” ◗ Each year, Gulf State Park repurposes donated Christmas trees for dune enhancement. “We place three trees together in a horseshoe shape open to the southeast for maximum sand collection,” Reetz explains. “By placing them in strategic locations, we’re able to help new dunes grow and provide a healthy habitat for the Alabama beach mouse, nesting sea turtles and shore birds.” ◗ The public is asked not to walk on sand dunes because of the destabilizing effect of foot traffic. Just a few footprints can begin the process of dune erosion. ◗ Act 971, passed by the Alabama Legislature in 1973, is known as the Wild Sea Oats Act and declares it a misdemeanor to pick wild sea oats.

In November of 2016, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation approved a $63 million grant for Alabama coastal projects, $36 million of which will be used to acquire and conserve 2,700 feet of dune habitat. MB

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 17

TASTINGS

FLORA-BAMA YACHT CLUB

text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

T

he Flora-Bama is hardly a hidden gem. Visitors to the Gulf Coast have been enjoying their cocktails and shots for more than 50 years. The bar on the state line definitely gets its share of the millions of tourists who visit the Alabama beaches each year. We natives either go regularly or avoid it completely, depending on what we consider a good time.

What is surprising, however, is the cuisine served up at the Flora-Bama Yacht Club just across the street from the original bar. Since the restaurant’s opening four years ago, Chef Chris Sherrill has been sourcing high quality local seafood and produce and preparing dishes in a way that is rarely seen at casual beach establishments. The menu features Southern coastal fare, with something for every taste and budget. Amid staples, such as fried shrimp platters and oyster po’boys, there are items such as Hawaiianinspired yellowfin tuna poke, grilled shrimp nachos on crisp wonton chips, unusual fish options (tripletail, for example) and seasonal vegetables.

The extra steps taken in the kitchen set this place apart from the rest of the sandy shacks. Chef Sherrill makes his own shrimp stock for the base of his gumbo, and he then steals ladles of the finished gumbo broth to turn his plain rice into a creamy, Cajun risotto-like side dish. Locals and tourists alike enjoy the “you hook ’em, we cook ’em” menu option, and it can’t possibly get fresher than that.

From the get-go, Sherrill wanted to create a place that was unpretentious and relaxed, where guests could enjoy fine dining in their flip-flops. You can’t beat the view overlooking Old River toward the homes of Ono Island with paddle boarders and dolphins passing by. On jam-packed holiday weekends, the little beach at the Yacht Club is two boats deep with folks ordering up cocktails and enjoying the afternoon. But at other times, the place is as relaxing as it gets. A few kids dig in the sand while grown-ups relax in Adirondack chairs with their toes in the water.

Lunch is long over, and yet they are unable to climb into the car; the urge to unwind is too strong. Huge sun sails stretch over the sandy patio area, providing shade and mirroring the colors of the sea in architectural angles. Music wafts from the outdoor stage seven days a week in season, and cafe lights twinkle above. Not much to complain about here.

Chef Sherrill, a member of MB’s current class of Forty Under 40, is a bottomless pit of energy who works long hours in the kitchen, competes in and promotes numerous chef cook-offs, and almost single-handedly lured the World Food Championships to the Alabama Gulf Coast. As if that wasn’t enough, he also cofounded the nonprofit NUISANCE Group with fellow chefs to promote the use of underutilized, invasive, so-called trash seafood. That’s about as local and sustainable as it gets.

Perhaps a fruity goombay smash cocktail and deep-fried shrimp are just what the doctor ordered for your vacation, or perhaps you seek something a little lighter and more refined.

Either way (and we do love ’em both), the Flora-Bama Yacht Club should hit the spot for your next trip to the beach. MB

 Flora-Bama Yacht Club • 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Su – Th, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. F – Sa • 17350 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Florida • (850) 483-6272 florabamayachtclub.com • Average entree price: $16

20 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

ON THE MENU GREEK SHRIMP NACHOS This creative take on traditional snack food hits every flavor note. It’s a colorful platter of grilled Gulf shrimp over crispy wonton chips drizzled with decadent spinach feta cream sauce. The chef adds in some salty feta crumbles, peppadews, banana peppers, tomatoes, olives and more to create a rich and decidedly Mediterranean taste.

YELLOWFIN TUNA POKE Fresh Gulf yellowfin tuna is chopped and marinated in a sweet and spicy sesame soy chili vinaigrette, then drizzled with wasabi cream and hoisin sauce. With a big pile of wonton chips on the side for scooping, there’s plenty to share and lots to love about this dish.

BLACKENED GULF TRIPLETAIL A favorite local fish, tripletail (or blackfish) is blackened and served over creamy Cajun dirty rice that Chef Sherrill prepares like a risotto.

Throw in some seasonal vegetables with tasty grill marks and finish it with an “Orleans” sauce, and you’ve got a fresh but hearty dish with plenty of smoky flavor.

BEIGNET FRIES Fresh beignet dough is sliced thin and deep fried to perfection. This lily is then gilded three-fold with a dusting of powdered sugar, a drizzle of white chocolate ganache and a smattering of caramel sauce. These addictive dessert fries are over the top.

GREEK SHRIMP NACHOS

BAY TABLES

Sea Rations Entertaining can be a breeze, even from the galley of a wooden troller. text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

W

hen Martha and Kenny Muscat go cruising along Mobile Bay in their custom wooden boat, heads turn. The /usr/friendly, as it is called (Kenny cofounded local computer company CPSI), is a real looker with classic lines and loads of personality. Kenny’s brother, Joe, built the tiny troller by hand on top of a lobster boat hull they purchased out of New Brunswick, Canada.

The ship was designed to allow its passengers to enjoy the outdoors with windows and doors that open to let warm breezes and sunshine flow in and out of the wheelhouse.

Kenny admits he’s a shade kind of guy, and with a covered flying bridge up top for driving in calm seas, there’s plenty of that, too. The 35-foot vessel is the picture of classic nautical design, with a dark green hull, teak railings and lots of wood below deck, and a touch of shiny brass here and there.

Over the last decade, the Muscats have traveled from the boat’s homeport at the Grand Hotel up and down Mobile Bay and beyond, inviting their kids, grandkids, friends and

22 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

relatives on board. They often take overnight trips to Sand Island, The Wharf at Orange Beach and even an annual week-long trip to Apalachicola. As with most boats, quarters are close, with the tiny bunkbeds, master berth and “head” practically on top of one another. With that in mind, the Muscats make sure to travel with friends who are easygoing “boat” people.

The Muscats have found the perfect cruising guests in Margaret and Billy Seifert, above, whom they’ve known since high school. Both couples grew up in Mobile but now reside on the Bay in Point Clear and appreciate the slower pace of life on the /usr/friendly. Margaret grew up on Dog River, and Billy loves life on the water, so finding their sea legs is not a problem. The crew of four often takes weekend-long excursions together, eating, drinking and laughing over a game of dominoes late into the night.

Martha makes entertaining at sea look effortless. She always asks guests to bring a snack to share on board and then plans the rest of the meals using simple recipes that can

OPPOSITE Setting out to sea means lots of

fun and games with friends, as well as delicious, easy-to-cook meals for all.

ABOVE Martha and Kenny Muscat enjoy relaxing on their attention-grabbing vessel, the /usr/friendly.

“Believe me, there is nothing­ — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

— “The Wind in the Willows”

by Kenneth Grahame, from a framed work in the wheelhouse of the /usr/friendly

be prepped ahead of time and served up in the tight galley kitchen. The boat has only a small refrigerator, one gas burner, a microwave and toaster oven, so meals need to be uncomplicated.

Martha is an accomplished cook but admits that on the boat she takes shortcuts she wouldn’t at home. She has compiled a list of recipes over the years that are crowd-pleasers but don’t require a lot of work or perishable ingredients. These quick and troublefree recipes will no doubt be appreciated in landlubber kitchens, too. Here, she shares some of her go-to’s. MB

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 23

MUSCATO WHITE SANGRIA

/USR /FRIENDLY SHRIMP CREOLE

CHILE CHEESE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

DAN’S HOT DOG CHILI

Muscato White Sangria

Chile Cheese Breakfast Casserole

SERVES 1

SERVES 8

The perfect cocktail for sunsets and dominoes, this sangria goes down easy.

2 raspberries ice 1 ounce Skyy brand blood orange vodka 1 1/2 ounces sour mix 4 ounces muscato white wine 1. Put raspberries in the bottom of a glass and top with ice.

Pour vodka, sour mix and muscato over the top and serve.

/usr/friendly Shrimp Creole SERVES 4

This dish was made for life on the boat — fresh local seafood cooked with easy shelf-stable ingredients in the electric skillet and toaster oven of a boat kitchen. Kenny loves to make it for guys-only fishing weekends on the Bay. Serve it with his addictive Butter-Toasted Saltine Crackers, below.

25-ounce can Blue Runner brand shrimp Creole base 1 can original Rotel 1 pound medium shrimp, headed, peeled and deveined 2 cups cooked white rice (Success microwave rice works great on the boat.)

1. Simmer the shrimp Creole base in a skillet for 15 minutes until it is reduced by a third.

2. Drain Rotel and add to the skillet. Return to a simmer, then add shrimp. Heat until shrimp are cooked, 3 - 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and serve immediately over rice.

Butter-Toasted Saltine Crackers

SERVES 4

Kenny’s sister, Betty Wilson, always made these crackers to serve with her gumbo. They are the perfect salty boat snack.

1/2 sleeve Saltine crackers 2 tablespoons butter, softened

1. Cover the baking pan of a toaster oven with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.

2. Preheat toaster oven (or regular oven) to 250 degrees.

3. Lay saltines on the pan. Top each cracker with a dab of softened butter. Place pan in oven and toast for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.

To make cooking on the boat a snap, Martha mixes the dry ingredients ahead of time in a plastic zip-top bag. You can also assemble this dish two hours before baking and keep in the refrigerator. They serve this casserole with smoked link sausage from Farm Fresh Meats in Robertsdale and fresh berries marinated overnight in Chambord.

10 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups cottage cheese 1/2 cup melted butter 2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles 1 teaspoon onion flakes 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat the eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.

4. Grease a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish and add the batter.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until puffy and brown and the center is firm.

Dan’s Hot Dog Chili SERVES 12

Martha says there’s no sense in making one batch. It freezes well and will be enjoyed quickly, so double up! They got the recipe from their friend’s brother, Dan, who lives in Pennsylvania where this local bar food is served on hot dogs, hamburgers or on a bun by itself.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1

pound ground beef teaspoon red pepper flakes teaspoon cayenne pepper teaspoon dried oregano teaspoon dried basil teaspoon chili powder teaspoon garlic salt teaspoon cumin powder teaspoon salt medium onions, diced small 1/2 cups (or 1 20-ounce can) tomato sauce 1/2 cups water tablespoon yellow mustard

1. Brown ground beef in a heavy pot. Drain the excess fat.

2. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 1/2 2 hours. Add more red pepper flakes, if desired.

3. Serve warm on top of hot dogs or hamburgers. Garnish with your favorite toppings.

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 25

THE DISH interviews by CHELSEA ADAMS • photo by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

MB’s contributing food fanatics share the local dishes that made them hungry for more this month.

JASON MCKENZIE, Executive Director, The Joe Jefferson Players

PALEO PANCAKES AT FOY SUPERFOODS

ARTISANAL CHEESE AT POUR BABY “We got to choose our own five of their many options of international cheeses.

We chose the creamy Burrata, the wine-soaked Spanish Drunken Goat, the crumbly Georgia Gold cheddar, the Humboldt Fog with vegetable ash, and the Red Dragon cheddar with spicy mustard seeds and a Welsh brown ale. It’s perfect as an appetizer or as a lighter meal if you love cheese!”

POUR BABY • 6808 AIRPORT BLVD. • 343-3555 POUR-BABY.COM

BRIAN KANE, Managing Partner, Fairhope Brewing Company

GYRO AT THYME ON SECTION “If you like Greek food at all, then you will be thoroughly impressed with this sandwich. As one expects, the centerpiece of this sandwich is the shaved lamb and beef piled on tasty pita bread. The sandwich is finished off with the highlights: spicy aioli and tzatziki sauce. And if you are looking for the perfect side item, you cannot go wrong with the truffle fries.”

THYME ON SECTION • 33 N. SECTION ST., FAIRHOPE • 990-5635

HELENE HASSELL, Executive Director, Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation

BEEF PHO AT POT AU PHO “I have a bowl of fragrant Beef Pho (pronounced fuh) at Pot Au Pho about once a week. This delicious noodle soup features a deeply complex broth that is rich with the flavors of ginger, lemongrass and cardamom, rice noodles and lean beef. The pho is served with a big pile of fresh herbs, peppers and bean sprouts. I like using the chopsticks to help me slurp the noodles and the ceramic Chinese spoon to get every drop of the yummy broth.”

PALEO PANCAKES AT FOY SUPERFOODS “I’ve been on the search for the perfect pancake — sweet, but not too sweet, light and fluffy with pecans or berries.

FOY Superfoods’ Power Paleo Pancakes are made with organic almond flour and coconut flour, flax seed and coconut oil, then drizzled in organic maple syrup. I had blueberries and strawberries. These were the best pancakes I’ve had. They hit all the notes of semi-sweet, with great texture and flavor!”

POT AU PHO • 464 AZALEA ROAD • 509-0752

307-8997 • FOYSUPERFOODS.COM

FOY SUPERFOODS • 119 DAUPHIN ST.

 Share your favorite dishes around the Bay on our Facebook page.

26 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

CHANDRA BROWN STEWART, Executive Director, Lifelines Counseling Services

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 27

HOM E F I E L D

H E ROE S text by EMMETT BURNETT • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN

WHEN BASEBALL REIGNS SUPREME, THESE DEDICATED DADS STEP UP TO THE PLATE TO MAKE SURE ALL IS READY FOR LOCAL YOUTH TO SWING FOR THE FENCES.

T

HE PING OF THE BAT, CHEERS FROM THE BLEACHERS AND THE AROMA FROM CONCESSION STANDS CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING: PLAY BALL! BUT THE OPENING PITCH TO THE FINAL OUT ON A YOUTH BASEBALL DIAMOND IS ONLY THE TIP OF A RED CLAY ICEBERG. THERE IS MUCH WORK BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE GAME; THIS IS A JOB FOR SUPER DAD. HE IS THE SULTAN OF SUMMER GAMES, DELEGATE OF THE DUGOUT, MAYOR OF THE MOUND. HERE, MEET A FEW OF THE FATHERS GOING BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY TO ENSURE ALL THE BASES ARE COVERED.

28 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

DAVID BYLINOWSKI — MIMS PARK David Bylinowski joined Mims Park when his son, Calvin, was 4. Calvin is now 14 and no longer plays ball at the park. But his father still does. David coaches his younger sons Henry, 11, and Ben, 8. He also serves on the board of directors. But do not be misled by the name. This board is not folks sitting around a mahogany desk conjuring policy. “It is a group of men and women with dirty, calloused hands,” David says about those making Mims Park perk. “There are so many moms and dads who are out here,” he says. “Sometimes the night before the jamboree, we stay and prep the field until 1 a.m., making sure it is ready before the next day’s games. It’s a busy night.”

David is often onsite three or four days a week. Chalk lines must be painted, litter removed, outfields cut, fertilizer applied.

“It is a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”

In addition to watching his sons play ball, he finds it rewarding watching his kids helping other kids. “Our older boys are taking it upon themselves to mentor the younger players,” David notes. “The youngsters love it and think it’s pretty cool having older boys teach them instead of being coached by some old guy.” may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 29

“I DO IT BECAUSE I LOVE MAKING

THE PARKS AND FIELD S LOOK GOOD FOR THE KIDS TO PLAY ON.” Tim Hilpert

PHOTO BY MAJOR ADAM COLBERT

Charles Antinarella

30 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

TIM HILPERT — WESTSIDE PARK, WESTSIDE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

At Westside Park, Tim Hilpert serves as coach, board member, grounds and facility worker — you name it.

His sons, Ethan, 10, and Brayden, 7, play on two different league teams.

Tim coaches both. The boys’ father is no stranger to the diamond. In addition to coaching at Westside for seven years, he played for Spring Hill College and served as its assistant coach for two years. His Westside teams practice two or three times a week for two to three hours, plus they host games every day except Wednesday and Sunday.

Outside of coaching, Tim spends a few hours a day helping with league duties and manicuring the field. There is not all that much to do — other than add dirt, rake clay, drag the field, paint lines, install bases, chalk and paint, remove leaves, pressure wash dugouts, pick up litter and get the park ready for 650 kids.

“I grew up playing baseball and always appreciated a nice field,” says Tim. “And I want the same for these kids.”

CHARLES ANTINARELLA — FAIRHOPE YOUTH BASEBALL

Charles Antinarella has coached his sons for 16 years. His oldest is 21 and out of the park as a player. But his youngest son is 13 and still at it. So is Charles.

“I’ve been on Fairhope’s park board for 10 years. I was not asked to be on it. I was told to be on it,” he laughs. “It landed in my lap, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since.”

Like the other coach-dads, Charles spends hours on and around the field.

“Getting ready for the season takes tons of man hours,” he says. “Fortunately, the City of Fairhope mows our grass. But uniforms must be ordered, sponsors confirmed, concessions organized. There are lots of other tasks that have to be dealt with daily. Ballparks have almost evolved into a full-time job for the volunteer people.”

All that work builds up to that first pitch. “And that is the reward,” the Fairhope resident says. “There is nothing like being in the ballpark on game day. I enjoy seeing the people. And I just love the game of baseball — always have.”

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 31

JEREMY GLASS — MATTHEWS PARK

“Don’t make this about me,” insists Jeremy Glass, coach and board member of Matthews Park. “Yes, I work a lot of hours here, but many others do as well.

We do what we can to make Matthews Park a better place — whatever it takes for kids to play ball.”

Of the park’s approximately 250 to 300 youth players, Jeremy coaches 12 T-ball players, ages 3 and 4. “We basically teach them how to properly run around the bases,” he says about the tiny players who are sippy cup eligible. He also coaches a minor league team of 9- and 10-year-olds. “They are competitive.

They play for fun but also to win.”

A father of three daughters, Jeremy says, “I coach other people’s sons.”

Through the years, he has also coached four of his nephews. But he works behind the scenes, too.

“We are here in the off season, almost year-round. The grass never stops growing, and the field and diamond always need tending.” Jeremy adds, “Running a ball league is like running a business where the employees aren’t paid. But you do it because you love it.”

DAVID TEAGUE — MUNICIPAL PARK

An 11-year ballpark veteran, David Teague is a coach, president of the board of directors and volunteer for all things Municipal Park. “It has to be done,” he says about serving the 550 young ballplayers.

“If nobody works in the park, there will be no park.” So David steps up to the plate.

He has two sons: Brown has graduated from the Municipal Park leagues, but 10-year-old Jack, who has been here since age 4, now plays minor league ball.

David spends three or four days a week at the park, and that doesn’t include game time. There’s registration, tryouts, scheduling, maintenance, concession stand work and field preparation.

(Thankfully, the Municipal Park coaches share responsibilities for preparing their fields.) And then, of course, there is the coaching.

But, he notes, “I am one of many who do this, and I just coach one team. Some of these guys coach more. Scott Patrick coaches for two sons, and David Weems has three in the leagues. Now those are the super dads!”

32 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

Jeremy Glass

PHOTO BY MAJOR ADAM COLBERT

“IF NOBODY WORKS

IN TH E PA RK , THERE WILL BE

NO PAR K.” David Teague may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 33

“THE GAME HELPS BUILD THEIR CONFIDENCE,” NOTES COACH BOBBY.

“IT PROVES TO THEM THAT THE Y CA N DO AN YTH ING.” Bobby Miller

34 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

BOBBY MILLER OSCAR DRIVER PARK, SARALAND

Move over, boys. Saraland’s Oscar Driver Park hosts seven softball teams, totaling 83 girls ages 4 to 12. Girls’ cleats hit red dirt three nights per week — two games and one practice. One of those girls running the bases is Avery Miller, age 8, coached by her father, the park’s president, Bobby Miller.

“I just enjoy being out here with my daughter,” says Miller, who estimates that, during softball season, he spends about 20 hours per week at Oscar Driver Park. “But I also enjoy watching the other players learn the game, build sportsmanship and benefit from all the opportunities girls’ softball offers.”

He also notes that opportunities in girls’ sports were not always easy to come by. “Girls’ softball was almost unheard of when I was a kid,” he recalls. “It is more popular than ever now, and it’s a much faster game. These girls are athletes, and they are out there to compete.” The Saraland young ladies play “fast-pitch” — as in greased bullet, phantom jet in overdrive, jaguar with his tail on fire fast. It is a sight to behold. “The game helps build their confidence,” notes Coach Bobby. “It proves to them that they can do anything.” MB

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 35

DREAM

36 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017

B OAT S WITH AN ENDLESS VARIETY OF BOATS CRUISING THE RIVERS, BAYS AND OPEN GULF WATERS OF THE ALABAMA COAST, THERE IS CERTAINLY A VESSEL FOR EVERY TASTE AND PURSUIT. MB TRACKED DOWN A FEW BEAUTIES, EACH WITH A PERSONALITY ALL HER OWN.

text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by TODD DOUGLAS

THE CLASSIC Nothing says Americana like a wooden cruising boat with a flag unfurled on a teak transom.

It conjures images of the Kennedys in striped shirts and boat shoes. Tasse, a perfectly restored 1973 Dyer, is the picture of classic boating with a blue hull and wood trim. Built by family-run Anchorage Boat Builders in Rhode Island, the Dyer 29’ has been in continuous production since 1955 — longer than any other fiberglass boat. Talk about tradition!

Although the beautiful lines and timeless appeal of the Dyer have inspired other boatmakers, its craftsmanship is unparalleled, keeping them hard to find with high demand. While it was built for comfortably cruising and turning heads, Tasse looks and acts like a seagoing vessel, handling rough seas with ease. The large cockpit perfectly accommodates a number of either fishermen or lounge chairs, depending on your preference. Below deck, you’ll find sleeping quarters, a small galley kitchen and a head that make travel doable, but her owners usually keep it close to the restaurants and sand bars of coastal Alabama. She can be seen on weekends in the summer with her bimini top up, providing shade to friends and family who gather for an easygoing cruise.

MODEL

Dyer 29' YEAR

1973 SPEED

20 knots april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 37

38 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017

THE ALPHA This 63-foot Ricky Scarborough sportfishing yacht, owned by Heather and Chris Haley of Fairhope, has covered the Gulf in just a few years. She has fished big game tournaments from Biloxi to Destin, traveled to faraway islands such as the southern Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, and anchored at hometown locales, including Robinson Island and Pirates Cove. There is no shortage of fun to be had, regardless of where it docks.

The Skin Deep, a nod to Heather’s dermatology practice, is a head-turning, custom-built boat. Chris compares the two-to-three-year process of ordering a custom boat to building a home, since every detail inside and out is specified by the owner. Scarborough and the handful of other custom boat builders from the Outer Banks all incorporate a concave “Carolina flare” bowline, which makes a smooth riding, dry boat. She can travel as far as Mexico, with all the amenities of home onboard, including three staterooms, two heads, satellite TV and radio, a watermaker and much more. It also has an ice chipper that keeps big-game catches fresh until the boat returns to the dock.

High-tech details include touch screen electronics for the captain and redundant generators, just in case.

A boat like this is designed for chasing marlin, but Chris says they don’t take it too seriously. He is proud that many of his son’s friends have caught their first billfish on board. The focus is on fun, but they certainly do it in style.

Length

63' Year

2000 RANGE

450 miles SPEED

30 knots FUEL

1,400 Gallons SLEEPS

6

TTheHname E /usr/friendly C H A R perfectly M E Rsums LENGTH

35' Year

2004 FUEL CAPACITY

300 gallons ENGINE

Single CUMMINS DIESEL SLEEPS

4

40 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

up the attitude of this wooden trawler.

Everything about it was custom designed for enjoying a hassle-free day on Mobile Bay. After a lifetime on the water in boats of various sizes and shapes, Kenny Muscat had a pretty good idea what he was looking for in the perfect boat. It needed a shallow draft, a good ride in chop and a classic look. He dreamed of just enough room for a couple of fishing buddies to hop on board, but not so much that he couldn’t handle it all himself when needed. His big idea moved from the drawing board to the workshop, and after only seven months, the little trawler was complete and put to sea.

The /usr/friendly has charm aplenty, with wood-framed windows that swing out and up, securing in place with brass hooks and allowing maximum sea breeze into the wheelhouse. The windows down the port and starboard slide down into the walls, disappearing from sight altogether.

A few classic, round portholes add extra charisma. Chairs out on the back deck create an outdoor salon, perfect for cocktail time once the anchor is set.

She is seaworthy, no doubt, and can travel up to 450 miles without refueling. However, the Muscats typically keep close to the wharf in Point Clear. Her shallow draft allows her to tie up at the house on a high tide so grandkids can climb aboard. That’s about as user friendly as it gets!

NO. OF SAILS: 5 RANGE: LIMITLESS AS LONG AS THERE IS WIND

TSexyHis not E exactly R AwhatC comes E Rto mind

LENGTH

21' TYPE

PLANING DINGHY SPEED

UP TO

20 knots WEIGHT

749 lbs NO. OF SAILS

2

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW ORLEANS SAILING

when you hear the word “dinghy,” but you might need to tweak your internal dictionary just a bit. A new class of racing sailboat has just hit the Gulf Yachting Association’s Capedevielle Circuit, and this planing dinghy is crazy fast.

Local yacht clubs up and down the Gulf have been sailing the older Flying Scotts for more than half a century now, and they are finally being retired and replaced by the Viper 640. Mobile Bay got its first few boats this year, and Ellis Ollinger of Fairhope is the proud owner of one of them.

The Viper 640 is light, easy to rig, simple to sail, fast and fun — that’s the beauty of this little vessel. It’s a selfbailing boat with an open transom that, to those who don’t sail, appears to defy the laws of physics. Three-man crews can be seen taking on any wind and sea conditions, leaning precariously backwards over the edge to prevent too much heel. As a “one-design” boat, every Viper 640 along the coast is essentially identical and can sail against each other with no handicaps.

The boat that sails across the finish line first is the winner, and Ollinger plans to be the victor. Local sailing is ready to come about with this new generation of exciting boats!

april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 41

42 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017

TWalking H EalongD theA sun-weathered N D Y dock of the Fairhope Yacht Club, you pass stern after stern of sailing vessels of all sizes, ages and conditions. One in particular catches your eye, however, with a shining navy blue hull and handsome teak trim along the curve of the deck. The Ma Jo Lee, a 1971 Hinckley Bermuda 40, is a grande dame among local sailboats with cherry wood finishes below deck and crisp striped cushions in the cockpit. Hinckley’s reputation precedes it, having produced high quality sailing vessels since 1928. The B-40, as this vessel is known, has a fiberglass hull with graceful lines that make for speed and beauty in equal parts, earning her a place in the American Sailboat Hall of Fame. She has needed little renovation or repair over the years, a testament to the quality of craftsmanship you get with a Hinckley boat.

Fairhope blueberry farmer Tynes Stringfellow bought the Ma Jo Lee in 2003 and immediately sailed her to the West Indies, where he has a home on the Grenadine Island of Bequia. Known as the Windward Islands for the steady 20-to-30knot blow in that part of the Caribbean, it was the perfect place to hone his sailing skills. While the Ma Jo Lee has raced its fair share of regattas on both Mobile Bay and the Caribbean, it is really a pleasure boat used for sunset cruises and trips with family and friends. Stringfellow’s oldest daughter spent half of the first year of her life aboard in the Caribbean, the stuff most people’s dreams are made of!

LENGTH

40' MODEL

HINCKLEY BERMUDA 40 YEAR

1971 SLEEPS

6

NO. OF SAILS

5

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 43

LENGTH

44' Type

Lugger Year

1938 FUEL CAPACITY

200 gallons RANGE

400 miles SPEED

7 1/2 Knots SLEEPS

5

44 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

THE FIXER UPPER

While some boats are all sparkle and speed, others show their age gracefully through classic proportions, sturdy hulls and natural materials. The Madame Toussaint is a nearly octogenarian vessel, built in Biloxi for the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company.

It originally functioned as a survey boat for oil exploration in the Mississippi Delta.

She carried a crew of five men, most likely geologists, surveyors and a captain, until her retirement, upon which she became a pleasure boat. She is a lugger, with a high bow and low freeboard aft. Being made in Biloxi should surely allow her to be called a Biloxi Lugger; however, the definition of those boats is murky, like the waters the Madame has cruised all her life. As she was neither a shrimp nor crab boat, and because her hull is a little bigger than most, she does not qualify as a Biloxi Lugger. Regardless, she is stately and sturdy.

Owned by the Mobile Bay Wooden Boat Foundation — a group put together by Reid Key, Ben Raines, Skip Jones and other conservationists — the boat is currently being restored to her former glory. The Foundation is attempting to raise the funds needed to repair the hull and complete the work so that the Madame Toussaint can be made available to local conservation groups, schools and nonprofits for research, education and fundraising for environmental causes. A weekend on this beauty would engender a passion for protecting our waters in any who sailed upon her. MB

april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 45

Summer Cocktails for a Crowd

text and styling by MAGGIE LACEY photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU vintage bar accessories courtesy of DOWNTOWN ANTIQUES, FAIRHOPE

It’s time for summer entertaining, and these fruity cocktails are a surefire way to get the party hopping.

Each one is made by the batch with unique ingredients and fun infusions of flavor.

CAIPIRIÑHA COCKTAIL recipe page 50

Lemon Basil Gimlet

SERVES 6

This is a sophisticated take on the standard gimlet with fresh citrus and basil to complement the herbal and floral notes of the gin. Serve this concoction the next time you are dining alfresco with a group of friends. Think of it as lemonade for grown-ups.

1 cup water 1 cup sugar 3 large strips lemon zest 1 cup packed fresh basil sprigs, roughly chopped 3/4 cup gin

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1 cup ice cubes fresh basil sprigs, for garnish small strips lemon zest, for garnish

1. To make lemon basil simple syrup, add water and sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon zest and basil and remove from heat. Cover and let stand at room temperature until cool, about 1 hour.

2. Refrigerate several hours until cold.

3. Strain syrup through a sieve to remove any solids.

(This can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week.)

4. Combine lemon basil syrup with remaining ingredients in a pitcher and top with ice. Stir for several minutes until the ice chills the drink. Strain into champagne coupes or martini glasses. Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil and a small strip of lemon zest.

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 47

48 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

Jalapeño Watermelon Margaritas SERVES 8

This summery twist on the traditional margarita packs a flavor punch. The kick of the jalapeño balances out the sweetness of the watermelon. It can all be prepped ahead of time for easy entertaining. Adjust the amount of jalapeño to your liking — add more or less, and let it infuse longer to add more spice. This margarita works great with traditional tequila, as well.

1 jalapeño, sliced, plus more for garnish 1 1/2 cups silver tequila 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 6 wide strips orange zest 4 cups watermelon cubes 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, plus 2 tablespoons, divided 1/2 cup coarse salt 8 lime wedges, for garnish

1. For jalapeño tequila, add jalapeños to a glass jar with a lid and cover with tequila. Let sit for 24 hours at room temperature, then strain. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, water and orange zest to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar dissolves, about 3 - 5 minutes. Let syrup cool.

Remove orange zest.

3. In a blender, puree watermelon cubes in batches until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on solids, into a pitcher. (You should have about 2 cups of juice.)

3. Combine watermelon juice, orange syrup, 1/2 cup of lime juice and jalapeño-infused tequila in a large pitcher.

4. Place 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice on a small plate and coarse salt on another. Dip rims of glasses in lime juice, then in the salt to coat. Fill saltrimmed glasses with ice, then pour margarita over. Garnish with lime wedges and jalapeño slices, if desired.

(Removing seeds from jalapeños lessens the heat.)

Adapted from Everyday Food

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 49

Spicy Ginger Pineapple Punch SERVES 4

Nothing says sunshine like a good rum punch! Easily made by the batch and served up on the wharf or in your backyard, this punch hits all the right notes — the kick of ginger beer, a dash of sweet, a hint of spice, just the right amount of bubbles. Party accomplished.

3/4 cup vodka 3/4 cup spiced rum 3/4 cup fresh lime juice 3/4 cup canned pineapple juice 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 (12-ounce) bottles ginger beer pineapple and lime slices, for garnish

1. Pour the vodka, rum, lime juice, pineapple juice and nutmeg into a large jug.

Stir and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Right before serving, add the ginger beer to mixture.

3. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh pineapple and lime slices.

Caipiriñha SERVES 6 The official drink of Brazil comes stateside! Caipirinhas are a refreshing blend of cachaça, lime and sugar.

Although similar to rum, which is made from molasses, cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice that is fermented and distilled in a process dating back to the 1500s when the Portuguese first moved their sugarcane production to this side of the globe.

1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup water 3 limes, quartered 1 1/2 cups cachaça sparkling water

1. To make a simple syrup, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. In a large pitcher, muddle together the quartered limes and simple syrup.

3. Add the cachaça and some ice. Stir until chilled.

4. Distribute the liquid evenly into six highball glasses filled with ice, and top with sparkling water. MB 50 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

SPICY GINGER PINEAPPLE PUNCH

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 51

HISTORY

Pirate Attack!

A fearsome pirate attack on Dauphin Island left lasting impressions upon early colonists. text by JOHN S. SLEDGE

O

n September 9, 1710, a small brigantine hove into view at Dauphin Island and dawdled offshore. A clutch of French colonists gathered at the water’s edge to study the strange vessel and speculate as to her purpose. She was flying a French flag, which was both heartening and reassuring — heartening because the colonists hadn’t seen a supply vessel in three years, and their clothes were threadbare; reassuring because France and England were officially at war, though the reverberations had yet to be much felt in this distant corner of the world. As they watched and wondered, two white puffs suddenly appeared beside the vessel, followed by the unmistakable boom of shipboard artillery. This was the standard maritime distress signal, and the colonists assumed she was run aground on a sandbar.

Port Dauphin wasn’t much to look at — 20 rude dwellings with palmettofrond roofs and a large warehouse on the island’s east end overlooking Pelican Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It should have had a fort as well, but unfortunately the plans were tangled in bureaucratic delays. Modest as the little settlement was, it ably served as colonial Mobile’s outlet to the world. Deep-draft, oceangoing ships could anchor there to offload settlers and supplies and take on trade goods and passengers. Fort Louis de La Mobile, the colony’s capital, was located 67 miles to the north on the Mobile River’s banks.

While the colonists stood squinting at the vessel, she dropped two longboats into the sea. Within minutes, the strong crews propelled their craft onto the gently shelving white beach,

52 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

and a pair of Frenchmen leaped over the sides. After brief introductions, they requested that the senior colonists present, army lieutenant Philippe Blondel and keeper of the royal warehouse Francois Derbanne, accompany them back to their vessel to render aid. Only when Blondel and Derbanne clambered aboard the brigantine’s weathered deck and beheld some 30 armed cutthroats did they realize their mistake. Rather than a small French trading vessel, they were aboard an English pirate ship out of Jamaica.

Her captain had been to the island some time before as a merchantman and recognized a prize to be plucked.

Blondel and Derbanne could only watch helplessly while the pirates rowed back to the island and captured the little village without firing a shot. And so began a three-day ordeal. Timely relief was unlikely. None of the colonists had managed to escape, and even if they had, help was miles away. The corsairs roughly herded everyone into a couple of huts and then searched the village for valuables and weapons. On September 10, Blondel and Derbanne were brought ashore and ordered to unlock the warehouse. There, tightly stacked and awaiting the next French vessel, were 10,000 deerskins, 15,000 raccoon skins, 71 barrels of flour, and vital naval stores including rigging, blocks and sails. These routine trade goods, representing hundreds of hours of labor, were the stock in trade of 18th-century Gulf Coast pirates rather than the glittering treasure of popular imagination.

The Englishmen hauled their swag to the beach and began loading it into their longboats. This was hard work and slow going. The hides were stiff, ungainly and heavy in stacks. They had to be loaded into the boats carefully, rowed out to the brigantine, heaved on board and stowed below deck lest the surf ruin them. Intent on easier pickings, several pirates tortured the colonists to force them to divulge the location of any hidden loot. Whether this torture was verbal or physical or both (the record doesn’t specify), the pirates got nothing else for their trouble. Local legend tells of a jeweled cross that belonged to the

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 53

Catholic Church hastily hidden in a well and never recovered. Satisfied that they had thoroughly plundered the place, the corsairs set fire to the rude buildings ­— excluding those that held the colonists — and returned to their vessel.

It was then that a voyageur from Mobile landed in his pirogue and discovered the chaos. He surprised one of the looters tarrying behind, leveled his musket and shot him dead. The pirates heard the bang as they strained at their oars and feared soldiers had arrived.

Tired as they were, this spurred them to pull all the harder for their ship. No pirate in his right mind wanted to risk a fight with an equal or superior armed force. The captain didn’t scare quite so easily, however, and decided to be sure of the situation before leaving. Cattle were visible ashore, and he wanted to steal the bull. He ordered the anchor hoisted, no doubt accompanied by much grumbling on the crew’s part, and steered around to the island’s eastern tip where another longboat was dropped with a small party aboard.

This time the colonists were ready.

The voyageur and Blondel had freed their fellows and scrounged up several muskets that the corsairs hadn’t confiscated, and now they concealed themselves just back of the beach. The final act probably took place near what is now known as Little Billy Goat Hole.

One can imagine the scene — the grimly determined colonists crouched behind spreading dark green palmetto fronds, heavy muskets gripped in sweaty palms, eyes focused on a longboat full of nutbrown scoundrels armed to the teeth and getting closer by the moment. These Frenchmen were done being victims.

They simultaneously lifted muskets to shoulders, flame and smoke leapt from the muzzles, and splashes kicked up on either side of the longboat. Sensibly alarmed, the pirates knew they were up against significant force and quickly turned around. At long last, their vessel let fall her salt-stained sails and mercifully sailed away.

The Dauphin Island raid exhibited many of the classic features of 18thcentury piracy: deception, robbery, interrogation accompanied by torture, wanton destruction and retreat in the

54 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

face of opposition. Its perpetrators were cowards bent on plunder — nothing glamorous about them. The incident is the only bona fide such attack on Alabama’s portion of the Gulf Coast, but its results were devastating. Property losses were staggering, and the already beleaguered French colonists were further demoralized. “The distress is great,” one colonial official noted. At 27 Mile Bluff, Bienville worried about the colony’s viability, and the raid helped convince him to move Mobile downstream to be closer to its vulnerable outside link. A small fort was finally built on the island as well, with several mounted cannons. But it was too little, too late for those unfortunate colonists traumatized by the ruthless September buccaneers of 1710. MB  John S. Sledge is currently at work on “Coursing the Furrowed Blue,” a maritime history of the Gulf.

Shipwreck! Pirates and Treasure at GulfQuest Want to learn more about the history of real buccaneers? Odyssey Marine Exploration’s traveling exhibit, now on display at GulfQuest, features more than 500 artifacts that archaeologists have found inside these sunken time capsules around the globe. It is a portrayal of marine archaeological expeditions at its finest, unearthing the true tales behind legendary swashbucklers and some of the most notable shipwrecks in the world. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. W - F and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sa. GULFQUEST • 155 S. WATER ST. • 436-8901 GULFQUEST.ORG

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 55

56 mobilebaymag.com | november 2016

HISTORY

Shanties by the Bay During the height of the cotton industry in Mobile, dockworkers’ songs became a creative way for the crew to keep time and pass the day. text by DAVID BAGWELL

S

ea shanties (also known as chanteys) were slow-paced songs which gangs of working men — or “shantymen” or “shantyboys” — sang to pace the hard work. On ships, these songs helped the men crank the windlasses, raise the anchor and set the sails, all hard work done by groups of strong men before steam engines and “donkey boilers” replaced them.

Mobile’s own antebellum longshoremen loading cotton in sailing ships were a major part of the creation of these folk songs.

Before the Civil War, the Gulf Coast ports were major exporters of cotton bales to England and France. Mobile’s own Harriet Amos Doss says in her work, “Cotton City: Urban Development in Antebellum Mobile,” that our local cotton exports at that time surpassed Charleston, Savannah and every other port except New Orleans (New Orleans got North Alabama’s cotton via the Tennessee River, plus Louisiana’s and Mississippi’s supply).

The cotton would be loaded on flatboats or steamboats at landings all up and down the rivers. An 1855 print from “Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion”, opposite top, shows bales sliding down the old cotton slide from the bluffs at Claiborne to the Steamboat Magnolia at the bottom of the slide. In a “triangular trade” from Mobile, the cotton was mostly shipped to Liverpool for British cotton mills. Those ships then brought immigrants from England to New York, and goods for the planters and city folk from New York to Mobile. (The main shipping line after 1830 was the Hurlburt line, and Mobile’s Cowbellions

are said to have started when Michael Krafft got tipsy with the captain of a Hurlburt ship in the Christmas and New Year holiday season and went off with rakes and bells.)

The tighter the cotton was packed, the more money the shippers made.

When the cotton bales got to Mobile, they were too loosely compacted to efficiently ship. Men and steam machines would compress the bales so that they were more tightly bound. The cotton compresses were major businesses in Old Mobile, but as a second step, for maximum efficiency, the men also used giant “jackscrews” to force these tight cotton bales into the cargo holds of the sailing ships.

Most have assumed that these workers were mostly black, whether slave or free. But it turns out that research from a 1951 book by W.M. Doerflinger, “Shantymen and Shantyboys,” explains that many of them were white Irish sailors in the North Atlantic packet trade who didn’t want to cross the North Atlantic in sailing ships in the winter. Instead, lots of them came to Mobile and New Orleans for the winter job of “screwing cotton,” or forcing the bales into the cargo hold, which was said to be a hot and demanding job. This was just a seasonal job, since the cotton was harvested in the fall then compressed and loaded on the boats in winter.

Doerflinger tells us that while these white Atlantic sailors were here for the winter working, they worked side by side with black workers. Thus the white sailors were exposed to the landbased working songs of the local black

“Oh! Was you ever in Mobile Bay? Oh! Roll the cotton down.

Where they loads th’ cotton all the day.

Oh! Roll the cotton down.”

ABOVE A black dockworker transports cotton along the waterfront. COURTESY OF ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 57

TOP An 1855 print from “Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion” shows tightly packed bales being moved down the old cotton slide. Here is a similar slide. COURTESY OF ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA. ABOVE LEFT Along the pier, workers load bales of cotton from the warehouse and onto a steamship. This was prime time for the shanty songs to echo along the docks. WADE HALL POSTCARD COLLECTION, TROY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ABOVE RIGHT A steamer, the Nettie Quill, carries its cargo down the river. COURTESY OF S. BLAKE MCNEELY COLLECTION, DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, USA ARCHIVES.

workers and tended to blend the black and white music and lyrics together.

They also say that the white workers were exposed to music in Mobile’s theaters — black spirituals and revival music — and in what can still be called, for historical purposes, “negro minstrel” shows. The result was a blended work song, and Mobile played a major role in that creation.

In his book, “Shanties from the Seven Seas,” Stan Hugill says that by now it is impossible to be accurate about where any part of this or that shanty came 58 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

from and that it’s best not to be dogmatic about it. Many of the verses were very dirty and many more we would today consider clearly racist. But it’s certain that the Port of Mobile was named in the verses of several of these songs.

For example, in the shanty “Roll the Cotton Down,” one verse says: “I’m going down to Alabam’ to roll the cotton down, me boys.” Another says: “Was ye ever down in Mobile Bay, screwin’ cotton by the day?” and “Oh, Mobile Bay’s no place for me, I’ll pack me bags and go to sea.”

And in the shanty “Donkey Riding,” the lyrics echo: “Wuz ye ever down in Mobile Bay, Screwin’ cotton all the day, A dollar a day is white man’s pay.”

So, should you ever hear the crooning of an old sea shanty, remember that part of it might well have come from right here, back in the 1840s or 1850s. MB

 David Bagwell is a retired attorney and amateur historian living on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.

MAY / JUNE 2017 ON STAGE & EXHIBITS PG. 62 • JUNE HIGHLIGHTS PG. 64

THE 1975 PERFORM AT THE 2014 HANGOUT MUSIC FESTIVAL / PHOTO BY DAVE VANN

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAY HIGHLIGHTS

may 4

may 5 - 6

may 11

8th Annual Little Black Dress

Festival of Quilts: Springtime in Mobile

Hope Cup Golf Tournament

6:30 p.m. Doors open. The New York-style runway show and cocktail party benefits the Ronald McDonald House. Tickets: $100.

More than 250 quilts will be on display at this event hosted by the Azalea City Quilters Guild.

Turn out for this golf tournament benefiting the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Endowment.

FORT WHITING AUDITORIUM • 694-6873 RMHCMOBILE.ORG

ABBA SHRINE CENTER • 7701 HITT ROAD AZALEACITYQUILTERSGUILD.COM • 479-9970

COUNTRY CLUB OF MOBILE • 4101 WIMBLEDON DRIVE • USAHEALTHSYSTEM.COM/HOPECUP

may 6 - 7

may 11

Blessing of the Fleet

Fairhope Girl’s Night Out

2 p.m. - 10 p.m. F. 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sa. Watch colorful balloons take to the sky.

This time-honored tradition in the town of Bayou La Batre is fun for the whole family.

18507 U.S. HIGHWAY 98 WEST, FOLEY GULFCOASTBALLOONFESTIVAL.COM

ST. MARGARET CATHOLIC CHURCH BAYOU LA BATRE • 824-2415 FLEETBLESSING.ORG

4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Ladies on both sides of the Bay are invited to an evening of shopping, dining and strolling through downtown Fairhope. Admission: $20.

may 5 - 6 2017 Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival

20 N. SECTION ST., FAIRHOPE • 929-1466

 To have your event included in the online or print edition of Mobile Bay Magazine, email calendar@pmtpublishing.com.

60 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

may 12 - 14 Foley Art in the Park 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The arts-and-crafts event in the park is the perfect way to celebrate Mother’s Day weekend.

JOHN B. FOLEY PARK • FOLEYARTCENTER.COM

may 13 Creek Fest Enjoy live music from Eric Erdman at this event that celebrates the beauty of Three Mile Creek.

TRICENTENNIAL PARK • 690-8863 CREEKFEST.ORG

may 13 Orange Beach Wine Festival Noon - 4 p.m. The festival features more than 120 wines, three live music acts, food from local restaurants and a selection of craft beer.

ORANGE BEACH • WAVESOFWINE.COM

may 19 - 20 Mobile Gallery of Gardens 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Private gardens in the historic districts of Church Street East, Oakleigh and De Tonti Square in the City of Mobile will be open to the public for tours.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS MOBILEBOTANICALGARDENS.ORG

may 19 - 21 Hangout Music Festival 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The lineup for this year’s beach festival includes Mumford & Sons, Weezer, MGMT and more.

THE HANGOUT • HANGOUTMUSICFEST.COM

may 20 - 21 Thunder on the Bay 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Celebrate the role that Fort Gaines played in the legendary Battle of Mobile Bay. DAUPHIN ISLAND • DAUPHINISLAND.ORG

may 27 Fort Morgan Memorial Day Tribute 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Living history reenactors at Fort Morgan pay respect to those who gave their lives in service of our country.

FORT MORGAN • FORT-MORGAN.ORG

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 61

ON STAGE & EXHIBITS

through june 4 Christenberry: In Alabama 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tu - Su. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Th. Explore Alabama’s landscape, structures and traditions through the eyes and lens of William Christenberry.

MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM

through august 27 Contemporary Alabama Photography 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tu - Su. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Th. Celebrate Alabama artists selected by guest curator Richard McCabe.

MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM

may 5 The Black Jacket Symphony Presents Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” 7 p.m. Doors open. 8 p.m. Show starts. The acclaimed symphony puts their own spin on the iconic album. Tickets: $22 - $27.

SAENGER THEATRE • 432-2010 BLACKJACKETSYMPHONY.COM

may 5 - 7, 12 - 14, 19 - 21 “On the Verge; or, The Geography of Yearning” 8 p.m. F / Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Travel back to the year 1888 with three women explorers who venture into the last and most mysterious of unexplored territories.

Tickets: $18 for plays, $20 for musicals; for students, $12 for plays, $14 for musicals.

THEATRE 98 • 350 MORPHY AVE., • 928-4366 THEATRE98.ORG

62 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

THE BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY PRESENTS “RUMOURS”

may 5 - 21 “The Music Man” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. This musical showstopper is sure to be a good time.

CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE • 801 IROQUOIS ST. 457-8887 • CCTSHOWS.COM

may 13 - 14 “Pictures at an Exhibition” 6:30 p.m. Doors open. 7:30 p.m. Show starts. Sa. 1:30 p.m. Doors open. 2:30 p.m. Show starts. Su. The Mobile Symphony closes out the season with performances of Dvorak’s “Cello Concerto” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Tickets: $15 - $75.

SAENGER THEATRE • 432-2010 MOBILESYMPHONY.ORG

may 14 Mother’s Day Garden Concert 1 p.m. Take mom to Bellingrath Gardens to hear the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra. Bring a picnic lunch. Guests may reserve a table for 4 at $22 or 6 at $27. Make your reservations early as tables are limited. Admission: $13, for adults; $7.50, for children ages 5 12. Children ages 4 and under and members will be admitted free.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

may 27 Alabama The country all-stars return to The Wharf for a Memorial Day weekend concert with special guest The Charlie Daniels Band.

THE WHARF • 800-745-3000 ALWHARF.COM

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 63

JUNE HIGHLIGHTS

june 2 - 11 “American Idiot” 8 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Johnny, Will and Tunny try to escape suburbia by moving to the city. The trials and tribulations that they face are set to the songs of Green Day’s “American Idiot” album. Tickets: $15 - $20.

MOBILE THEATRE GUILD • 14 N. LAFAYETTE ST. 433-7513 • MOBILETHEATREGUILD.ORG

june 2 - 18 “Rock of Ages” 8 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Celebrate all things 1980s at this heavy metal musical about trying to make it big in the music scene. Tickets: $10 - $20.

JOE JEFFERSON PLAYERS • 11 S. CARLEN ST. 471-1534 • JOEJEFFERSONPLAYERS.COM

june 6 Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band Celebrate with fins to the left and fins to the right. The local boy comes home.

This outdoor concert in Lower Baldwin County is the perfect way to kick off the best summer ever.

THE WHARF • 800-745-3000 ALWHARF.COM

64 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL / PHOTO BY JEFF NELSON

june 7 - july 26 Wonderful Wednesdays 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. The summer series at Bellingrath includes sessions on seasonal gardening, horticultural production techniques and the collections in the home.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

june 10 Dragon Boat Festival 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Come out in support of more than 1,500 paddlers at the Fuse Project’s Fourth Annual Dragon Boat Festival. In addition to watching the races, Fuse Project will have food trucks, fashion trucks, a petting zoo and more.

Admission: $5.

USS ALABAMA BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK FUSEPROJECT.ORG

june 29 - july 1 Distinguished Young Women The best and the brightest high school senior girls take over Mobile for a few days in hopes of winning a scholarship.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS • 438-3621 DISTINGUISHEDYW.ORG

may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 65

BAY BOY

Major’s Creek

In an attempt to relive his glory days in the Delta creeks, Watt embarks on an adventure with his son and old buddies.

But all is not as he remembers. text by WATT KEY • photo by K ATHY HICKS

W

ith Gulf Shores, Mobile Bay and the MobileTensaw Delta in our own backyard, there’s no end to the adventures one can get into on the Gulf Coast. It seems I’ve dabbled in just about all of them, but when I sit back and reflect on what I’d like to be doing most on any given free Saturday, I yearn for narrow tea-colored creeks running through the remote Alabama backwoods. I think of their cool swimming holes over bottoms of polished gravel and white sand. I imagine drifting through shaded tunnels, casting along the cut banks for bream and bass that you’d suspect have never seen a fishing lure.

When I was a teenager, my friends and I floated these creeks in the spring and summer with light aluminum johnboats and trolling motors, places like Little River and the headwaters of Fish River. Then along came college and day jobs and marriage and kids. Float trips no longer fit into my schedule, but I never stopped daydreaming about them.

And I was certain that when the time came, my young son was going to find them just as memorable.

Albert was 6 when I decided it was time to take him on his first float trip. It wasn’t long before I’d recruited two of my old running mates, Archie and Daniel. Archie also had a young son that he was eager to bring. We decided on our favorite route, Major’s Creek, just north of Stockton.

It seemed a lot harder to get organized than I remembered, but I was packing for two now. Fortunately, I didn’t hold anyone up. Archie and Daniel ran into similar delays, and by the time we all met at the Highway 59 bridge, it was nearly two o’clock in the afternoon. We left Archie’s pickup truck there and took mine, loaded with our boats and gear, upstream to the bridge on Silas Ganey Road.

Before shoving off, I studied the creek using the satellite map on my phone. I saw a dark, lush green valley snaking what looked like five or six miles through the piney woods. I knew we’d be pushing it to get out before dark, but I didn’t remember it ever taking more than four or five hours. And with daylight savings time in effect, we should have been fine.

66 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

We started off dragging the boats down a gravel creek bed that was covered by only a few inches of water. I suddenly remembered this as being pretty common on these adventures, especially at first. As we got further downstream, the water usually got deeper and quicker.

We were still in sight of the bridge when we encountered our first fallen tree spanning the creek. This too, I remembered, was to be an occasional nuisance. We drug and pulled over the tree and continued on. The bridge fell away behind us, the trees closed overhead, and we descended into the cool, dark shade of wilderness.

An hour later, we were still dragging over gravel, and we’d lifted our boats over at least 15 fallen trees. Occasionally, we encountered water more than six inches deep and excitedly jumped in our boats and began paddling, only to find ourselves out again 50 yards downstream. It was like a tornado had come through there. I didn’t remember it being nearly so much work.

“When are we gonna fish and swim, Daddy?” Albert asked.

“I don’t know, Albert,” I said. “Maybe later.”

By the time I found my first fishing hole, it was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. I made a few quick casts just to complete that piece of the fantasy. Meanwhile, Archie pulled out his cellphone and studied it to see how far we had to go.

“No reception,” he said.

“We better keep going,” Daniel said with a look of concern.

We didn’t stop any more to fish. We didn’t stop to swim.

Eventually it became deep enough for us to use the trolling motors, but it was never long before we had to get out again and pull over another deadfall.

By about six o’clock, we were thoroughly exhausted. Then we heard the first rumblings of thunder. I looked up and saw the sky had darkened and felt a cool breeze whiff over the water.

No way, I thought. This isn’t happening.

Well, 15 minutes later, it was happening. And this wasn’t just a little afternoon shower. This was one of the most violent storms I have ever experienced settling into our creek valley. Rain poured over us in heavy, pounding torrents. Thunder slammed and lightning whip-cracked the air with an intensity that I felt in my teeth. I was certain a tree beside me was going to explode in orange and yellow sparks at any moment. Albert got a bucket off the floor and put it over his head. I started to take it back from him to bail, then realized it was useless. The boat was filling up too fast. I got out and pulled it to shore where I met the others.

We considered the facts: We had no food, no shelter, no flashlight, no cell reception, two terrified young boys and no idea where we were. Do we get out of the creek and stay the night or brave the storm and keep going?

We decided to keep going.

The boats were too heavy with water to motor, so we had to pull them, wading chest-high in the now swollen creek. The rain was coming down so hard that we couldn’t talk amongst ourselves, each of us waging our own little battle to persevere. Occasionally I asked Albert how he was doing, and he told me from inside the bucket that he was fine.

Eventually, about sundown, the storm trailed off. The cicadas and frogs began to thrum in the still dusk. And just as it was getting too dark to see, we spotted the silhouette of the bridge through the trees ahead.

I suppose a man should be wary when trying to relive the days of his youth.

Things aren’t always as you remember them. Albert is 13 now. Sometimes he finds a way to remind me that Major’s Creek was the scariest time in his life.

Maybe one day I’ll come out and admit that, yes, it was pretty scary for me, too.

For now, he’s just got to believe that Dad’s always in control. MB may 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 67

ASK MCGEHEE text by TOM MCGEHEE

I found an old bottle marked “Fosko” and “Mobile.” What was Fosko?

LEFT Fosko, a Mobile-made soft drink, was popular at local stores and events, as demonstrated by this early 20th-century photograph of a Fosko stand at Arlington Fairground. ERIK OVERBEY COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, USA ARCHIVES.

Winey Flavor

Fosko was a soft drink that was produced in Mobile at the E. Carre Bottling Company, which stood on the east side of Franklin Street, just north of Dauphin. Ed Carre was a French chemist who had established a soda water company here at the end of the Civil War and advertised mineral water, cider and soda water. After the introduction of flavored sodas at the 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia, Carre followed suit.

By the start of the 20th century, Carre was producing cream soda, root beer/sarsaparilla, orange, grape and a chocolate concoction he called a “Brownie.” Carre’s partner, J. Carleton Wilkins Sr., developed Fosko.

Wilkins had started out as the bookkeeper for the bottling firm and 68 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

became the sole owner after Carre’s death in 1918. By 1920, he had also gone into a partnership operating a Dauphin Street candy store to the south of the bottling company. Wilkins-Higgins Candy Company faced the side of the Cathedral and by 1924 had been enlarged to include eight apartments.

According to members of the Wilkins family, the Fosko soda drink was mixed by hand in an oversized cauldron.

Once filled, bottles were shipped to local stores where they were iced down in large coolers. When Mobile’s new baseball stadium, Hartwell Field, opened in 1927, the E. Carre Bottling Company was the sole provider of soft drinks, including Fosko. There, drinks sold for 10 cents a bottle — double the price that was charged outside the park.

Fosko’s memorable motto was “Its winey flavor is great!” Advertisements boasted that Fosko refreshed while tasting like “old wine.” As Prohibition was in full effect, this may well have been an effort to attract consumers unable to get the real McCoy. In an era long before air-conditioning, thirst quenching was another important factor. Consumers were advised, “When you get hot and thirsty ask for Fosko … It cools, refreshes and offers real hospitality.”

Wilkins died in 1930, and although his 16-year-old son attempted to run the operation, it closed within a year. By 1934, the Dauphin Street address was only listed to the Wilkins-Higgins Apartments.

A Brief Resurrection

Fosko reappeared in the early 1940s and struggled along until about 1950.

It apparently never caught on to a new generation, and since Prohibition had long been repealed, a “winey” flavored soft drink may have been less appealing.

The Wilkins family proudly holds onto the formula and looks forward to the day Fosko might be rediscovered by a new generation of Mobilians. The Wilkins-Higgins Apartments have been recently rebuilt and were quickly filled.

Residents now park on the site of the former bottling operation. MB

IN LIVING COLOR

Mobile Skyline, 1935 Original photo from the Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, USA Archives • colorization by Dynamichrome Limited

In this photograph of the Mobile skyline, taken around 1935, an unidentified man looks across the Mobile River from Pinto Island. The green roof of the Merchants National Bank Building (now the Regions Bank Building) is instantly recognizable. Built six years before this picture was taken, the bank building would remain the tallest in Mobile until the construction of the First National Bank Building in 1965. Also visible is a sign for the historic Battle House Hotel. Stanley Blake McNeely, a freelance photographer who hailed from Natchez, Mississippi, captured this scene of tranquility on the Mobile River. In just a few short years, the shipbuilding boom of World War II would forever alter this languid view.

70 mobilebaymag.com | may 2017

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 71

72 mobilebaymag.com | january 2017