Mobile Bay Magazine - May 2019

Mobile Bay THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES

May 2019

THE COASTAL ISSUE

Cheers!

TO LIVING THE GOOD LIFE ALONG THE COAST

DAUPHIN ISLAND’S SHIFTING SANDS

LITTLE PALM COTTAGE Suzanne Winston’s beachy fixer-upper in Josephine pg. 56

THE PINK PINEAPPLE

from Playa in Orange Beach

SUNSET POTLUCK

on Fairhope’s bluff

LIVING THE GRAND LIFE Patrick McDonald’s 2-year staycation

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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXV / ISSUE 5

SUZANNE AND STEPHEN WINSTON’S BEACH COTTAGE IS AN ODE TO ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME . PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY

MAY 2019

44

Shifting Sands Get a glimpse of the past, and future, of Alabama’s ever-evolving barrier island

50

The Full-timer The Grand Hotel’s long-term resident, Patrick McDonald, prepares to turn in his room key

56

Little Palm Cottage Thanks to Suzanne and Stephen Winston, an Old Florida cottage gets a new life, in a new location

 This summer marks the 75th anniversary of the commencement of Operation Ivory Soap, the top-secret WWII undertaking at the Grand Hotel that trained 5,000 men. Learn another little-known story about the beloved resort in “The Full-timer,” page 50.

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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXV / ISSUE 5

MAY 2019 24

18

ON OUR COVER Playa Restaurant’s Pink Pineapple cocktail PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

9 EDITOR’S NOTE 10 REACTION 13 ODDS & ENDS 14 GATHERINGS First lady Laura Bush shares insights with the Junior League of Mobile

28

ASHLYE HIX AND HER HORSE WALTZER / PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN BEACH BOWL WITH SALMON / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU A POTLUCK DINNER ON THE BLUFF / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

22 OBSERVATIONS 37 SPOTLIGHT The sand on each ‘Bama Jane Tucker Photography

beach has a story to tell looks to the future as the 17 THE DISH camera is passed from

mother to daughter 24 BAY LIFE 18 TASTINGS

Foncie and Joe Bullard Picnic Beach in Gulf bring together friends and 40 SPOTLIGHT Shores runs the gamut, music for a barn blessing A new open-air market from BBQ to acai bowls in historic Africatown 28 BAY TABLES plants the seed for a 21 MIXOLOGY Fairhope neighbors con- productive future A pink cocktail meant for the sunshine — just in vene for a potluck dinner with a view 64 MAY CALENDAR time for Cinco de Mayo

70 LEGENDS Relive the night that sent the Ivanhoe to its watery grave 73 ARCHIVES The Mobile Bar Association celebrates 150 years of law 76 ASK MCGEHEE Did Mobile outlaw high heels?

78 IN LIVING COLOR Four Mobile schoolgirls enjoy a day at the yacht club in 1910

 Did you know that the sand along our beaches largely originated in the Appalachian Mountains?

Find out more about the sand between your toes, courtesy of an associate professor of geology, on page 22.

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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXV

No5

MAY 2019

PUBLISHER T. J. Potts Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Maggie Lacey MANAGING EDITOR/WEB Abby Parrott

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Amanda Hartin

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hallie King PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Virginia Mathers

ART DIRECTOR Laurie Kilpatrick

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

ADVERTISING S R. ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Joseph A. Hyland Anna Pavao ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jennifer Ray

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

David Bagwell, Eleanor Inge Baker, Mallory Boykin, Catherine Dorrough, Joshua Givens, Tom McGehee, Breck Pappas, John Sledge CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Summer Ennis Ansley, Matthew Coughlin, Elizabeth Gelineau, Kathy Hicks, Elise Poché, Chad Riley ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES

3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 43 Congers, NY 10920-9922 1-833-454-5060 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 © 2019 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 .

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EXTRAS | EDITOR’S NOTE

COMPLICATED STUFF WHO KNEW SAND COULD BE SO COMPLEX! THIS ISSUE OF MB TAUGHT US THAT YOU CAN’T TAKE THESE TINY GRAINS FOR GRANTED, AND THAT YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW HOW THEY ENDED UP WHERE YOU FOUND THEM. CURRENTS, WIND, DREDGING, BEACH RECLAMATION? EITHER WAY, LET’S ENJOY IT! PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

Coasting

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

I

’ve never been into bird-watching. Frankly, it always seemed like a pastime that just wasn’t my speed, shall we say. But it turns out I was wrong, as I’ve fallen into the activity quite accidently.

Every morning, I drive the causeway or Bayway, depending on how much I value my life that day, to get to the MB headquarters on Cottage Hill Road. Amid the hustle and bustle of aggressive morning commuters, shorebirds of every shape and sort are gliding, diving and nesting within plain sight of the traffic. And I am transfixed.

My interest began with the brown pelicans. They are easy to spot and ubiquitous as they coast the drafts above the Bayway traffic. Every so often you will see one suddenly turn his eye down to the glassy surface of the Bay. He looks once, looks twice, and then out of nowhere, he plummets headfirst to the surface of the water like a skydiver without a parachute.

Luckily, his body was built for impact; as Google tells me, the pelican perfected this style of fishing about 30 million years ago through several interesting physical adaptations that I won’t bore you with here. But to watch them float on the surface after this death-defying feat and gulp fish into their mouths is delightful.

Then I moved on to the ospreys. There are always three or four birds perched atop the light poles that run the length of the Bayway, and it makes sense. The lights are the tallest things around, giving the birds an optimum view of their prey. Oftentimes, the ospreys will have their catch clutched tightly in their talons as they perch high above the endless line of Chevys and tractor trailers. The real thrill, however, is when one of these birds flies with a fish in its grasp, assumingly headed back to the nest to share the bounty. The birds hold the fish face-forward every single time, making them less resistant to the wind as they travel through the sky — pretty amazing stuff to witness alongside your daily commute and a cup of coffee.

I guess I’ve just discovered a new form of distracted driving.

[LOVE THIS ISSUE] CLIMBING THE WALLS THE GORGEOUS WALLPAPER IN SUZANNE WINSTON’S BEACH HOUSE IS TO DIE FOR. I’M DIGGING THIS CORAL COLORWAY! LYFORD TRELLIS WALLPAPER, QUADRILLE

PERFECT PICNIC THE PEACH AND TURQUOISE SUNSET FROM THIS MONTH’S BAY TABLES INSPIRED THE TABLE SETTING. THESE UNBREAKABLE PLATES WERE MY FAVORITE. JULISKA FLORA AND FAUNA MELAMINE SALAD PLATE $17 LIVING WELL , FAIRHOPE

PALM WONDERFUL THE ROW OF PALMS AND WHITE TABLES AT PICNIC BEACH IN GULF SHORES HAS ME DREAMING OF THE SUNNY SUMMER DAYS AHEAD! PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

TOUCH OF GREEN MOBILE’S ANNE CLEMENT HAS A KNACK FOR CREATING GORGEOUS SPRING PLANTERS, LIKE THIS ONE ON HER BACK DECK.

Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR

maggie@pmtpublishing.com

 What a thrill it was to meet former first lady Laura Bush at the Junior League of Mobile’s recent luncheon! Mrs. Bush’s grace, commitment to lifelong causes and unexpected wit were so inspiring and part of what makes her endearing to so many. MB’s Editorial Consultant Judy Culbreth and I paused for this photo op!

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EXTRAS | REACTION

Tell us how you really feel ...

ROYALLY SPEAKING On March’s “In Living Color,” featuring King Felix III 1928, Patrick Feore Patrick’s family, along with other Irish stevedoring families, moved to Mobile from the St. Lawrence River in Canada prior to the turn of the century. They came to take advantage of the Southern pine boom. He subsequently established a shipping fleet to meet the everincreasing demands for lumber throughout Latin America.

[MORE ONLINE]

Find additional local stories on mobilebaymag.com.

Here’s what’s new on the website!

My Favorite Things Exterior designer and MB columnist Catherine Arensberg shares her eight favorite outdoor items for summer 2019.

(Un)Common Law Mobile has a history of enacting some strange laws. (See page 76 for proof.) Visit our website to explore more of the Port City’s weird and interesting rule book.

- Michael Feore

On February’s “Spotlight” on The Listening Room This room is magical. The connection between the performer and audience is unlike anything I’ve experienced.

- Joe Sims

- Tom McGehee ABOVE IS ANOTHER PHOTO OF KING FELIX III 1928, PATRICK FEORE, COLORIZED BY HAND DURING THE ERA THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN. PHOTO PROVIDED BY PATRICK’S NEPHEW, MICHAEL FEORE.

As a music lover, it’s a place you can go and truly hear musicians without trying to listen over a hundred people yelling and laughing over the music.

EGG ON OUR FACE

- Emilee Shuler

On April’s “Bay Tables” chess bar recipe

IRONCLAD SUPPORT On March’s “Tastings,” featuring Iron Hand Brewing This is a great spot with great owners.

- Lynn Breon

The ingredient list for Betty Luce’s Chess Bar recipe mistakingly called for 4 eggs to be added to the cake batter.

Only one egg is needed for the batter. An additional three eggs are needed for the topping, making the grand total of eggs needed four, not seven. Thanks to our astute reader, Cindy Sanders, for catching the error.

 Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue with us?

Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com.

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PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

LISTEN UP

The colorized photo from March shows Pat Feore arriving at the foot of Government Street. His queen was Martha Rogers, daughter of architect George B. Rogers, who had just recently started working with the Bellingraths on dressing up their fishing camp.

Drink Up! Thirsty for more summer cocktails? Once you’ve tried Playa’s Pink Pineapple on our cover, go online for a compilation of refreshing fruity drink recipes.

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

Join Our Email List Get the latest in fashion, food, art, homes, history and events delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for our email list at mobilebaymag.com.

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EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS

The Coast with the Most text by HALLIE KING

Fairhope Brewing INTRODUCES CANS

AMERICANS ANNUALLY SPEND

PINE WARBLER. PHOTO BY KATHY HICKS

$2.9 BILLION

The first-in-the-area canning line will increase the brewery’s distribution by 25 percent this year. It fills 60 cans per minute, as opposed to the former bottling line’s 32 bottles per minute, and only requires two full-time operators.

ON MARGARITAS

MAY 11 is International Migratory Bird Day. They say the best time to spot birds in flight is early spring, and one of the best places to watch them is on the beaches of Dauphin Island.

Read about the shifting sands of the evolving barrier island on page 44.

40

PERCENT of waters in the continental U.S. drain into the Gulf of Mexico, including

33 MAJOR RIVERS

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM CINCO DE MAYO [ MAY IS ]

NATIONAL BARBECUE MONTH Nothing beats barbecue at the beach. Just ask the brains behind Picnic Beach, page 18.

105 YEARS OF

MOTHER’S DAY

On May 8, 1914, Alabama U.S. Representative James Thomas Heflin’s Resolution 103, requesting President Woodrow Wilson and his federal officials wear white carnations to honor mothers, was signed into law, designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

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PEOPLE | GATHERINGS

Welcome, Laura Bush The Junior League of Mobile welcomed former first lady Laura Bush to their inaugural Community Luncheon. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

W

hen Laura Bush appeared from behind presidential-blue curtains, the crowd of more than 800 gathered in the Mobile Convention Center ballroom stood to its feet, cheering. The former first lady took the stage March 14 as the keynote speaker for the Junior League of Mobile’s inaugural Community Luncheon.

Attendees were treated to the deft humor and eloquent storytelling for which Bush is known, and no matter the walk of life, women — and men — around the room smiled and nodded during Bush’s anecdotes about marriage and child-rearing. Education was a major focus of her address, and the onetime teacher poignantly spoke of a former student, an inner-city boy, she still thinks about today.

Strung throughout her message were peeks into life in the White House as the 43rd president’s first lady. Ever humble and graceful, Bush said she garnered much of her wisdom by watching her mother-in-law, the late first lady Barbara Bush.

But it was her impassioned call for volunteerism, which is at the core of the Junior League’s mission, that struck the loudest chord with the audience. “Take time to make a difference,” she challenged, saying this can be done on a larger, global scale, or more locally, right here in Mobile. MB

LEFT Former first lady Laura Bush engages the audience with heartfelt humor and anecdotes.

“MRS. BUSH’S INSPIRING MESSAGE OF LOVE AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY RESONATES WITH OUR MEMBERS WHO CONTINUOUSLY STRIVE TO IMPROVE THE WORLD AROUND US.” – Meagan Barnett, President of the Junior League of Mobile

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OPPOSITE, TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT Councilwoman Gina Gregory mingles before the event. UMS-Wright student Emerson Faulkner, daughter of Junior League president, Meagan Barnett, leads the Pledge of Allegiance. Junior League of Mobile members Janee Bonner, Nancy Erwin, Amy Carpenter, Meagan Barnett, Lucy Pryor Slaton (president-elect), Lucy Brady, Katy Sullivan, Chandra Brown, Mary Stewart Nelson and Beth Morrissette. SECOND ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT FOX 10 News anchor Lenise Ligon smiles during a humorous story. Guests Brooke Dodson and Kristen Delaney wait in eager anticipation. Carolyn Jeffers and Jeaneane Fountain visit during the VIP meet-and-greet. THIRD ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT The crowd of more than 800 listen intently to Laura Bush’s call to action. Junior League sustainers Sherry Brown, Sarah Davis and Faye Brady Hughes enjoy the morning. FOURTH ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT Junior League president Meagan Barnett reacts to Laura Bush. Past president Mary Stewart Nelson excitedly wraps up the event.

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FOOD | THE DISH

Bite of the Bay MB’s contributing food fanatics share the local dishes that made them hungry for more.

CARL HARPER, Vice President, Harper Technologies, LLC

STUPID FRIES AT BIG WHITE WINGS “Big White’s signature Stupid Fries are a fan favorite for a quick bite that will fill an appetite of any size. The fries are deep fried to a golden brown then topped with a combination of meats and sauces.

Choose from toppings such as bacon, Conecuh sausage, chicken and ground beef. The dish is then drizzled with a mixture of cheeses and sauces, giving it a flavor that will kick your senses into gear.

If you have an opportunity to try it, I definitely recommend you do.”

STUPID FRIES AT BIG WHITE WINGS. PHOTO BY ELISE POCHÉ

BIG WHITE WINGS • 405 WILSON AVE., PRICHARD • 301-7880 • FACEBOOK.COM/ BIGWHITEWINGS2

BEEF KEBABS AT SAGE “The baba ghanoush and stuffed grape leaves at Sage in Fairhope are great starters that can easily be shared with the whole table. The beef kebabs have tons of flavor and satisfy everything you would hope and expect from Lebanese cuisine.”

JACK MCCOWN, Owner, Atchison Home

SAGE LEBANESE CUISINE & CAFÉ • 319 FAIRHOPE AVE., FAIRHOPE • 517-7536 SAGELEBANESECUISINE.COM

KASEE HEISTERHAGEN, Assistant United States Attorney

COUNTRY-FRIED STEAK AT MAMA’S ON DAUPHIN “A Downtown staple since 2003, Mama’s on Dauphin is the closest you will get to a homemade lunch at your granny’s house.

The daily specials range from fried chicken to jambalaya to chicken and dumplings, and every one of them is worth a visit. You can bet I’ll see you there on Fridays for country-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, complemented with a big glass of sweet tea!”

B’BETH WELDON, Artist

VEAL PORTERHOUSE AT CAMELLIA CAFE “Camellia Cafe’s veal porterhouse, accompanied by spring pea purée, roasted cauliflower mushrooms, house-made tater tots, fresh pea shoots and sauce duxelles, was absolutely amazing! Everything we had that night was perfect in its own right: Murder Point oysters, Snake River Farms Wagyu beef carpaccio, Kobe beef burger, local tomato salad, their spring salad and, of course, the popular truffle fries!”

MAMA’S ON DAUPHIN • 220 DAUPHIN STREET

CAMELLIA CAFE • 61 N. SECTION STREET,

432-6262 • MAMASONDAUPHIN.COM

FAIRHOPE • 928-4321 • CAMELLIACAFE.COM

 What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page! may 2019 | mobilebaymag.com 17

FOOD | TASTINGS

Picnic Beach text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER

T

here’s no shortage of restaurant options at the beaches.

What Lilly Zislin saw missing, however, was healthy and fresh food that could be packaged and taken straight out to the sand. Families and groups of friends who travel to Gulf Shores don’t want to spend a lot of time in the condo kitchen, and sometimes they don’t even want to lose their prime spot in the sand to go grab a meal. With white beaches and endless sunny views, who could blame them? Lilly had the perfect fix in mind.

When a restaurant space just across the beach highway from The Hangout, which Lilly owns with her husband Shaul, came available, she jumped on the opportunity, and Picnic Beach began to take shape. Lilly designed the white walls and wooden beams of the interior herself, added fun surf shack décor and tons of board games for families to enjoy on rainy days. But the restaurant has become well known in design circles for its artificial turf, a bold aesthetic element that has paid off in spades. The floors, indoors and out, are covered in a bright green carpet of grass that never dies, giving Picnic Beach a preppy attitude and cool modern vibe. This isn’t your grandma’s

AstroTurf. The grass is steam-cleaned weekly (and of course, swept daily) to keep it polished and crisp for customers looking to “eat happy, eat healthy,” as they say.

Lilly helped develop a menu that would have something for everyone with a focus on fresh ingredients. Picnic Beach offers everything from slow-smoked brisket and mac and cheese to acai bowls and fresh juices. There are a number of vegan options, including the impossible burger, which could fool many a meat lover. Hawaiian poke, salmon veggie bowls and award-winning fries round out the offerings. And it can all be packaged in neat, family-sized recyclable cardboard to-go boxes, ready to travel straight from kitchen to sand.

As we pack up our stuff and prepare to leave Picnic Beach, a group of trendy teenage girls lean against one another while they wait in line, excitedly perusing the menu. Restaurant manager Shea Tingle says their customer base tends to be young adults and savvy families looking for trendy options while on vacation. As Picnic Beach gears up for spring break, and the summer months soon to follow, it’s easy to see where our next beach eats are going to come from. MB

 Picnic Beach • 128 East 1st Ave., Gulf Shores • Juice and coffee bar opens every day at 9 a.m.; Kitchen open 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. Su – Th, 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. F – Sa • 540-0117 • picnicbeach.com • average entree price $13

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[ON THE MENU ]

GULF PUNCH Fresh-squeezed orange, pineapple and apple juices blend to make Picnic Beach’s “Detox Juice.” It’s bright and citrusy, like a day at the beach.

TUNA POKE BOWL Organic tricolor quinoa, tender sushi-grade tuna and crisp veggies are topped with seaweed, sesame seeds, Asian herbs and ponzu sauce. It’s pure Hawaii in a bowl.

THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER A meat-alternative patty, vegan American cheese, Sriracha mayo and all the fixings will have you scratching your head. It’s impossibly good.

BRISKET Big slices of flavorful brisket that easily shred with a fork are topped with a sweet and smoky sauce. Crispy red cabbage slaw and tangy potato salad finish the perfect picnic meal.

BEACH BERRY BOWL

TUNA POKE BOWL

A thirst-quenching snack that packs a punch of vitamins, it’s the right refresher after a day in the hot sun. It’s made with organic acai, blueberries, strawberries, banana, granola, coconut flakes and honey.

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FOOD | MIXOLOGY

Coastal Cocktail ‘Cause a Cinco de Mayo without tequila is like a beach without sand.

Playa at Sportsman’s Marina has the recipe for success. photo by ELIZABETH GELINEAU pineapple glass pictured is available in the PLAYA GIFT SHOP for $8

THE PINK PINEAPPLE 6 ounces Fresh Victor cactus and pomegranate juice* 3/4 ounce silver tequila 3/4 ounce vodka

Add ingredients to blender, adding ice until desired consistency.

Garnish with a pineapple slice and serve. * Fresh Victor is only available direct to bars.

Playa says you can substitute equal parts of Finest Call pomegranate and prickly pear syrups, available online.

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GUMBO | OBSERVATIONS

Our Sandbox To get the scoop on Bay-area sand, MB sat down with David T. Allison, Ph.D., associate professor of geology at the University of South Alabama. It turns out, the sand beneath our feet actually originated as rock from the Appalachian Mountains. As fragments from the mountain chain wash away, they move south by way of rivers, churning and tumbling along rock beds. Over time and distance, rocks become rounded, smaller and more uniform in size, ultimately resulting in the crystalline powder for which our area is known. text by AMANDA HARTIN photo by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

HOLLINGERS ISLAND 30°32’36.0”N 88°04’53.7”W Located just south of the mouth of Dog River, sand settles on this island’s shores after traveling down the Bay. The sand gets its darker color from the presence of small quantities of clay and feldspar.

POINT CLEAR 30°27’26.5”N 87°55’03.7”W Because Mobile Bay has less energy (meaning it churns less frequently than the Gulf), sand along Point Clear’s shores is darker than its counterpart located farther south. The darker material is mainly composed of clay and feldspar minerals that also cause the sand to “clump” when wet.

GULF SHORES 30°14’48.9”N 87°41’20.3”W Proximity to the Gulf’s east-to-west longshore current means this area is not influenced by large sedimentladen rivers, providing an ample supply of pure white quartz sand relatively free of silt and clay.

6 COMPONENTS OF GULF COAST SAND QUARTZ Transparent with a white “frosted” reflective surface, quartz is the hardest of the common rock-forming minerals.

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MAGNETITE This black-colored mineral is very magnetic and is one of two major sources of iron.

FELDSPAR The most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust and mantle, the pink/red color comes from trace impurities of ferric iron.

DAUPHIN ISLAND 30°14’53.6”N 88°07’37.8”W Because of its location along the continuously active Gulf of Mexico, the southern side of the 14-mile-long island is replete with sugary white sand.

GRAVINE ISLAND 30°48’02.9”N 87°55’19.5”W The sand on the northern part of the island is from a channel that was dredged to make a passage for some 100 World War II military vessels on their way to anchor in the Tensaw River.

The “Ghost Ship” fleet remained there until the 1970s. The darker pinkish color is produced by small proportions of feldspar and clay mineral grains mixed in with quartz sand grains.

BEAR POINT AT ORANGE BEACH, BACK BAY 30°18’05.0”N 87°30’54.3”W The comparatively dark color of the sand is due to proportions of organic matter and clay mixed with sand. This could be caused by runoff from land or storm-driven surge events. Note that the higher clay content causes a “clumping” property.

MEAHER STATE PARK 30°40’03.9”N 87°56’08.5”W Located along the causeway, the color and texture of this sand is due to small proportions of feldspar and clay mineral grains.

METAMORPHIC MINERALS Some of the darker sand grains may be metamorphic minerals, such as epidote, garnet and staurolite.

ONO ISLAND 30°17’53.7”N 87°28’35.7”W Because of its proximity to the Gulf, this sample has hints of pink from feldspar and other non-quartz grains.

CHALK Deposits of Demopolis and Selma Chalk in the Black Belt can be eroded and transported as rock fragment grains.

SHELL & LIMESTONE Shell fragments and limestone (both white) round out the compilation of Bay-area sand.

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PEOPLE | BAY LIFE

BARN BLESSING Foncie and Joe Bullard host a spiritual evening of song and praise at their equestrian property in celebration of their many blessings. text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN

I

n a part of the country where we bless our pets, the shrimping fleet and even the occasional wharf, perhaps a barn blessing is not that out of the ordinary. The barn in question, however, and all 12 of the horses that live within it, is truly extraordinary.

Since 2016, Foncie Bullard has been creating the equestrian facility of her dreams, a property that she jokingly refers to as the duck hunting camp her husband, Joe Bullard, always dreamed of but never got. With a dynamic group of lady equestrians training in her perfectly groomed arena and every stall filled with some of the finest warmblood horses in the area, Foncie decided it was time to finally “bless this wonderful mess.”

When you step into the shade of the barn at Undigo Farms, your eye is swept upwards to the rustic wood rafters basking in the light of second-story windows. Wood paneling fit for a living room finishes the stall doors with touches of brass here and there. For just a minute, you think this might be Kentucky, but no. It’s just a little piece of land about a mile inland from Mobile Bay in Point Clear, an area of rolling hills that has seen steady growth with the toney equestrian set over the last few decades.

About a year ago, a horse that was tied on the wash rack in Foncie’s barn got nervous and almost injured its owner, Ashley McCormick. Foncie, standing nearby, did

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TOP TO BOTTOM Whiskei takes in the activity of the barn blessing with interest. Foncie Bullard embraces her husband, Joe, thankful for her equestrian facility, which she refers to as “a dream.” Singer Ronnie Freeman inspires the crowd with his rousing praise and worship music. OPPOSITE The central aisle of Undigo Farms, made ready for the concert and blessing, is a sight to behold.

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the most illogical thing you could do when managing almost 2,000 pounds of panicking muscle and hoof. She reached down and pressed play on her stereo.

The praise and worship music that rose from the speakers seemed to calm the horse instantly, albeit surprisingly.

“I’ve never had a problem with that horse since,” Foncie laughs, “and since that day, we play that glorious music for the horses every night.” That was the birth of Foncie’s idea for a concert at the farm. She hoped to one day lure the singer of that CD to her barn to celebrate the God who made the animals and land she loved. And a barn blessing seemed to go perfectly along with it.

Together with some of their closest friends and barn folks, Joe and Foncie welcomed Mobilians Pam Hanes and Norman McCrummen to first ask the blessings. Each prayed for those assembled and the “wonderful mess” that is Foncie’s perfectly manicured farm, including all the animals contained therein. The concert followed, with performances by local singers as well as the voice from that CD years ago, Ronnie Freeman, a world-renowned praise and worship singer from Montgomery. Whether drawn by the spirituality, the love of animals or the majesty of the country surrounding it, those in attendance were treated to a feast of the senses for one lovely afternoon. MB

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A leather halter and lead hangs ready. Local singer Summerlyn Powers, just 18 years old, wowed those assembled with her songs and stage presence. Dancer enjoys the good life in the fields of Undigo Farms. Teresa and Gus Smith step out of the barn to enjoy the concert. Jeanna and Rodney Pilot bear witness to the barn blessing on a glorious afternoon.

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FOOD | BAY TABLES

Calling Your Bluff Residents of a small neighborhood, perched on a cliff overlooking Mobile Bay, gather for sunsets, snacks and a sense of community. text by MAGGIE LACEY photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

T

he waterfront along Mobile Bay’s eastern shore is mostly occupied by private homes behind gates and long drives, preventing the passerby from enjoying a view of the water.

Make a turn into downtown Fairhope, however, and all of that changes. The city’s forefathers, a group of progressive intellectuals and artists who followed the economic principles of Henry George, had the foresight to set aside large tracts of public land along the shorefront. These many acres would never be developed except as parks and civic spaces, held for the public to use and enjoy. Because of this forward-thinking development, locals and tourists alike flock to the grassy parks and shaded sidewalks of Fairhope’s waterfront to enjoy the views and breathtaking sunsets provided by the town’s western vistas.

One such public parkland perches on a cliff’s edge, high above the duck pond and public beach access, providing the homes on Bayview and the surrounding streets with quiet views of the water through tall pine trees. No single home monopolizes the view; rather the park and its bayfront vista is shared by the entire community. And community is what Pauline Anders was searching for when she established the neighborhood’s monthly sunset potlucks more than 30 years ago.

Neighbors are reminded about the event by a small yard sign placed at the entrance to the Bluff, as the neighborhood is colloquially known, and each family makes their preparations. A stadium chair or two, a small folding table and a cotton tablecloth are the only setups required.

Each family brings and shares appetizers and side dishes.

The cast of characters has changed through the years as families come and go. Children grow up and move away and newcomers flock to town. But a core group of homeowners, always spearheaded by Pauline, have kept the neighborly gatherings alive and well. On this particular evening, artists, food bloggers, teenagers, businessmen and retirees come together and find common ground over delicious snacks meant to be shared. Folks who have lived in the neighborhood most of their adult lives laugh and share recipes with newcomers who just arrived, looking for their own slice of utopia.

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As Pauline passes the torch this year, and others begin to rally the troops at sunset, the gatherings on the Bluff show no sign of slowing down. Fairhope’s founders would certainly be proud of this tradition of gathering for the sake of community in a beautiful public space meant to be enjoyed by all. MB

SUNSET SANGRIA SERVES 8

Teen and Bob Siener make this Southern Living recipe nonalcoholic for sunsets on the bluff since alcohol is prohibited in city parks.

1 (750-ml) bottle rosé wine 3/4 cup vodka 1/2 cup peach nectar 6 tablespoons thawed frozen lemonade concentrate 2 tablespoons sugar 1 lb. ripe peaches, peeled and sliced 1 (6-oz.) package fresh raspberries 2 cups club soda, chilled

1. Combine first five ingredients in a large pitcher and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add peaches and raspberries. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours.

2. Stir in chilled club soda just before serving.

Serve over ice garnished with a peach slice.

OPPOSITE Neighbors meet neighbors, share recipes and enjoy the sweeping vistas over Mobile Bay from the Bluff in downtown Fairhope. Wooden pizza board, turquoise tumblers and melamine plates are by Living Well in Fairhope.

ROASTED BEET AND SWEET POTATO SALAD recipe page 33

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RUSTIC SOURDOUGH BREAD MAKES 1 LARGE LOAF

Recipe by Deb Hopkins Deb says it is best to begin this recipe in the evening so the bread can rise overnight.

1/4 cup active starter* 1 1/2 cups warm distilled water 4 cups King Arthur’s bread flour 1 1/2 teaspoons fine Himalayan salt

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until fully combined. Cover with a damp cloth and allow dough to rest for about 1 hour.

2. Knead dough into a smooth ball, no more than 20 seconds. Cover again with a damp towel and let the dough rise overnight in a warm spot, 8 to 10 hours or until doubled in size. (If you are unsure, place dough in a cool oven with the light on for the right temperature during rising.)

3. Remove the dough onto an unfloured counter and poke the dough with your fingertips to create dimples. Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.

4. Line a brotform basket with a cotton dish towel. Shape the rested dough into a smooth boule or batard shape, pulling dough gently in a circular motion to tighten the form. Place in brotform smooth side down.

5. Cover dough with the towel and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24. Remove the dough and smooth the top of the loaf with allpurpose flour. Using a sharp knife, slice across the top of the dough about 1/2 deep to allow dough to expand and steam to escape.

6. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Allow dough to return to room temperature while oven preheats. Line an enamel roaster, Dutch oven or stoneware cloche with parchment paper to make it easy to remove bread during the baking process. Add the dough.

7. Cover the dough with lid and place in the oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 450 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes covered.

Remove lid and bake for 30 minutes more.

Remove bread from bakeware and bake loaf directly on the rack for 10 more minutes. This aids in crisping the crust.

8. Remove bread and let it cool for about 1 hour before slicing. Best served the same day but bread can be stored in a paper bag or wrapped in cotton dish towel at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.

* Deb has made sourdough for years using her own starter, but you can also buy an active starter online.

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COCONUT SALMON CAKE BITES

COCONUT SALMON CAKE BITES

SERVES 8

Recipe by Shannon and Carlton Spinks 2 (14-ounce) cans salmon 1/4 cup finely diced onion 1/4 cup finely diced chives 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning 1 egg 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Mix salmon, vegetables, breadcrumbs and seasoning together gently with a fork. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, then work it into the salmon mixture with your hands.

2. Pinch off a golf-ball-sized amount of salmon, roll it in your hands and then flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Set aside on a large plate.

Continue until all the salmon mixture has been used.

3. Add oil to a large saute pan and heat over medium. Add as many patties as will fit, being careful not to crowd them in the pan, and cook until brown on the bottom.

Flip and brown the other side.

Remove to a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to drain. Serve warm with dripping sauce (below).

COCONUT DIPPING SAUCE 1/4 cup bloody mary mix, such as Zing Zang 1 (14-ounce) can coconut cream 1 tablespoon chopped chives 1 teaspoon Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, or all-purpose seasoning of your choice

1. Heat a medium saucepan over low heat. Add bloody mary mix and coconut cream and stir to combine. Remove from heat and add chives and seasoning, to taste.

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HUMMUS COLLARD WRAPS

ROASTED BEET AND SWEET POTATO SALAD

ROASTED BEET AND SWEET POTATO SALAD SERVES 12 AS A SNACK OR 6 AS A SIDE DISH

Recipe by Kristin Alpine 3 medium beets 2 small sweet potatoes 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried salt and pepper, to taste 1/4 cup pepita seeds 3 oranges, peeled and sliced crossways 1 cup cooked Israeli couscous or grain of your choice microgreens or other greens of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Add first five ingredients to a large bowl and stir to coat. Place on a large, rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Toss for even cooking, then roast another 20 minutes.

2. Toss roasted vegetables with half the Orange Vinaigrette (below) while they are warm from the oven to better absorb flavors. Layer roasted vegetables, pepita seeds and couscous in small mason jars for an appetizer or large mason jars for a meal. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette, top with a few microgreens and serve.

SHRIMP DIP

HUMMUS COLLARD WRAPS MAKES 16 Recipe by Theresa McCown 8 large collard green leaves 1/2 cup hummus of your choice Sriracha chili sauce, to taste 1/2 each red and yellow bell pepper, sliced in thin strips 1/2 cucumber, sliced in thin strips 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly 1/2 cup slivered Kalamata olives 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Wash collard leaves, then remove the stems and trim off the thickest part of the spine.

2. Fill a large saute pan with 1/2 inch of water and bring to a simmer. Add the collard leaves and steam for a few minutes to make them more pliable. Allow to cool completely.

3. Lay one collard leaf on a cutting board. Add 1 tablespoon of hummus to the bottom 1/3 of the leaf and drizzle with Sriracha, to taste. Top with a few slices of each of the vegetables, olives and cheese.

4. Fold the sides in towards the middle, and then roll the leaf from front to back until the filling is completely enclosed, keeping everything nice and tight. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until ready to serve.

5. Before serving, slice chilled wraps diagonally across the middle and serve cold.

ORANGE VINAIGRETTE MAKES 1/2 CUP zest and juice of 1 orange 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon honey 1/4 teaspoon cumin salt and pepper, to taste

1. Combine ingredients and whisk.

SHRIMP DIP

SERVES 10

Recipe by Nancy Brandon Nancy has been making this easy recipe for more than 35 years. It was shared with her from a friend whose family was in the seafood business.

Old Bay Seasoning 1 1/4 pounds boiled shrimp, chopped 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 - 4 tablespoons mayonnaise Generous sprinkle of garlic salt Juice and zest from 1/2 lemon Crystal hot sauce, to taste 1 dash Worcestershire sauce 3 green onions, chopped 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

1. Boil shrimp in Old Bay Seasoning, according to package directions. Allow to cool slightly, then peel and chop.

2. Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and seasonings in a food processor until fully blended. Stir in green onions, jalapeños and shrimp by hand. Refrigerate to let flavors meld.

3. Serve with Fritos, Ritz crackers or stuffed in a fresh jalapeño half.

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ANTIPASTA SKEWERS

VENISON POPPERS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Antipasta skewers are passed around from a hand-turned wooden bowl made by neighbor John B. Howell. Artist Stacey Howell brings her husband’s venison poppers to the communal table. Venison poppers look tasty on a local pottery platter. Kristin Alpine and Shannon Spinks share food and drink with friends.

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ANTIPASTA SKEWERS Recipe by Kathy McGuire cheese tortellini of your choice cherry tomatoes Italian salad dressing of your choice whole black or green olives sliced salami white cheddar cheese, cubed bamboo skewers or large toothpicks

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Allow to cool completely.

2. Place pasta, tomatoes and salad dressing in a large zip-top bag and allow to marinate in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

3. Skewer each item in the following order: olive, salami, cheddar, tortellini and tomatoes. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

VENISON POPPERS MAKES 30 POPPERS

Recipe by Stacey and John B. Howell John B. uses spaghetti instead of toothpicks to hold his poppers together to prevent someone getting a “toothpick through the roof of their mouth.” Genius.

1 wild venison tenderloin, frozen Allegro Game Tame (Wild Game Marinade), to taste 1 8-ounce block cream cheese 4 jalapeño peppers, sliced into 8 - 10 strips 10 slices of bacon, cut into thirds spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces

1. Thaw frozen tenderloin a little bit, then cut into thin medallions. Add the medallions and marinade to a zip-top bag and refrigerate for 1 to 7 days, depending on the gaminess.

2. Slice cream cheese into 3/8-inch squares.

Lay a venison medallion on a work surface and top with a square of cream cheese and a strip of jalapeño. Roll up the medallion to enclose the filling. Wrap the medallion with a piece of bacon. Stick 2 - 4 pieces of spaghetti, as needed, through the popper to secure the bacon.

3. Cook on a hot grill until bacon is crispy and venison is fully cooked. Alternatively, you can cook under a broiler in the oven until the bacon on top is browned, then flip and finish cooking completely. may 2019 | mobilebaymag.com 35

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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

Family Focused Built over four decades, Jane Tucker Photography pushes the boundaries of its creativity, marketing and clientele as it moves into the hands of the next generation. text by ELEANOR INGE BAKER • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

may 2019 | mobilebaymag.com 37

A

s a child, Chelsea Hargett Francis, above, often found her mother Jane Tucker, right, snapping photographs of her at unsuspecting moments.

“Early on, my siblings and I stopped wanting our pictures taken, so she took shots when we weren’t looking,” Chelsea says. “I’d be watching TV, and Mom would come in with a camera. ‘The light is just right,’ she’d always say.”

Chelsea comes from a family of talented female artists. Her grandmother B. Tucker was a renowned watercolorist, while her mother Jane has captured treasured images of Bay-area families for 40 years. Chelsea teamed up with her mother after graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in photography in 2005. Now, 14 years later, Chelsea has taken the reins of Jane Tucker Photography.

“It was my heart’s desire to give Chelsea the business,” Jane says. “I was afraid to let go of something that gave me so much love. I had to let go, and she wanted to claim it.”

Jane operated solo for years before Chelsea joined her, so the uncomfortable transition of sharing her creative workspace was expected but still challenging.

“All of a sudden, I had someone wanting to take my camera,” Jane continues.

The mother and daughter have made their business relationship work by setting healthy boundaries. They wait to offer criticism until the other asks for advice, and they work to model a sense of harmony for their clients.

“We realized we couldn’t be negative with each other,” Chelsea says.

“Sometimes during photo sessions our clients are on edge. If we’re going to get good photographs, it’s important for me to set a calm tone so that my clients can feel relaxed.”

Chelsea is responsible for pushing the business from dark-room-developed negatives and word-of-mouth advertising into the competitive world of digital

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photography and social media.

“It was hard to make those changes, but I was able to help our business keep up with the ever-growing number of photographers in the area,” Chelsea says. “With digital, anyone can take pictures. It hurt when we saw our clients’ photos posted on other photographers’ social media pages. But one by one, they seem to have all come back to us. It’s gratifying to see that.”

Over the past 10 years, Jane has developed a process of accentuating clients’ photos with pastels. “They are really like hand-tinted photographs,” she says. “With pastel crayons and a Q-tip, I soften the background of the pictures and touch up shadows and highlights to bring out details in the clothes, hair and face.

No one else is doing this. It gives the effect of a painted portrait, but at a much lower cost.

People love them.”

Also a certified yoga instructor, Jane divides her time between teaching, traveling and spending time with her grandchildren. She and

“We have a warm love.

I appreciate all the knowledge my mother has given me.

Watching Mom work throughout my life has taught me so much.”

– Chelsea Hargett Francis

Chelsea both live on the Eastern Shore after moving their studio from the Tucker family home in Spring Hill in 2008, so they are now closer than ever.

“We have a warm love,” Chelsea says. “I appreciate all the knowledge my mother has given me. Watching Mom work throughout my life has taught me so much.”

Like most working mothers, Chelsea walks a tightrope balancing a family and career, but her efforts and skill don’t go unnoticed.

“Chelsea has great people skills and is a talented photographer,” Jane says. “She connects with children and is good with light and composition. She’s got a more balanced personality than I ever had — that’s why I took up yoga.”

Both mother and daughter are drawn to the relationships that develop through preserving the memories of their clients.

“I want to affirm the mothers who hire us,” Chelsea says. “I don’t feel perfect is perfect. My style is loose. I love the natural interaction when a mother hugs her child.

I’m drawn to the beauty of imperfection.”

As it has for the past 40 years, Jane Tucker Photography continues to keep innovation a priority.

“We always want to get better and offer new things to our clients,” Chelsea says.

“We’re constantly focused on lighting and different techniques. We want to continue differentiating ourselves and pushing the artistic boundaries of photography. My goal is for our clients to walk into their homes and love what they have from us.” MB

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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

Seeds of Change The historic community of Africatown proves its future is as rich as its soil. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by ELISE POCHÉ

M

ary Shaw rests one hand on her hip as she gazes out over the land. A breeze rushes past her, sending small puffs of newly tilled earth across Jakes Lane. As she hunches over the weathered handle of her hoe, beads of sweat glisten on her brow, an indication that Alabama’s heat has arrived early.

Mary’s been tending this strip of land in the Africatown Community Garden for four years now, and today is planting day. Mounded at the

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end of her plat lies the beginnings of what will soon be sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, okra, corn and cantaloupe. “I just like to do gardening,” she says, not looking up. “I like to grow it, and I like to eat it. And I like helping people.”

Much like the 11 other men and women who farm alongside her, the fruit of Mary’s labor results in surplus, with overabundant produce given to friends, family and neighbors in need. But come summer, the breadth of people being assisted by the community gardeners’ toil will be larger than ever.

Digging into History Africatown was formed by freed slaves, many of whom were brought over illegally on the infamous Clotilda. The group banded together to develop their own community and retain their customs and language.

In 1880, the first black training school in Alabama — and the second oldest public school in the state — was formed, and Mobile County Training School still exists as a middle school.

Early community life entailed learning to read, write and speak English. Women raised and sold crops, and men worked in mills. Over time, the settlers were able to earn enough money to purchase the land on which they lived, and Africatown slowly grew into five distinct neighborhoods: Plateau, Magazine Point, Kelly Hills, Happy Hills and Lewis Quarters.

The self-governing society survived as a distinct community into the 1950s, when it was absorbed by Mobile. As major industries crept in, the population grew and local businesses sprouted. “We used to have stores all along the streets,” says lifelong resident Thelma Maiben-Owens. “There was Louise’s Luncheonette, Craig’s Drive-In, grocery stores, pharmacies and Amoco — we had two of ‘em.” The population peaked around 12,000 in 1960.

That number declined rapidly when paper mills closed, negatively affecting the viability of small businesses. Shops closed up, resulting in a lack of food providers for the 1,800 or so remaining residents. This led to Africatown’s designation as a food desert, which, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is an area devoid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods.

Growing Hope Despite the rise and fall of economic prospects, one aspect of the community prospered. “The garden has existed in one form or another for the past 50 years,” Thelma says as she motions along the 7 acres’

may 2019 | mobilebaymag.com 41

worth of tilled land bound between Jakes Lane, Paper Mill Road and Shell Bayou.

She and Willie “Junebug” Jones are the two remaining original gardeners.

Much has happened over those five decades, with possibly the most exciting events occurring in the last few years as Africatown has experienced national recognition for its history and direct connection to the slave trade. As the broader community began to better appreciate the history of this area, they also saw the great need. In 2015, with support from the Alabama Department of Agriculture, Alabama Power officially deeded the garden plot to the Africatown Community Development Corporation.

“I JUST LIKE TO DO GARDENING. I LIKE TO GROW IT, AND I LIKE TO EAT IT. AND I LIKE HELPING PEOPLE.” – Mary Shaw

Shortly after, 16 new water faucets were installed. Prior to having access to running water, gardeners filled 5-gallon buckets at their homes, loaded it into their cars and delivered it to the garden.

As the garden increased its bounty, talk of a market to sell the fresh produce circulated. This past March, the community held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new marketplace, supported by a $50,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ Healthy Food Financing Program.

The open-air market site, shaded by a gnarled oak tree and freshly planted crepe myrtles, will boast local vendors selling fresh produce — not the least of which will be offerings from the Africatown Community Garden — four days a week. The site will

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also be home to a neighborhood store, open six days a week, selling grocery essentials like milk and bread.

Customer traffic is expected to be high.

Located in the almost-triangular space between Paper Mill Road, Tin Top Lane and Shelby Street, the marketplace is centrally located to all five neighborhoods and is visible to Cochrane-Africatown Bridge commuters.

And in what could be seen as a turning of tides, the Meaher family, whose ancestor funded the Clotilda’s fateful voyage, owns Chippewa Lakes, the company responsible for donating the marketplace land.

Cultivating Tomorrow

OPENING PORTRAIT Cabbage collards grown

by Thelma Maiben-Owens are among Africatown Community Garden’s offerings.

ABOVE, CLOCKWISE Mary Shaw prepares to anchor a guide string. A portion of the freshly tilled 7-acre community garden. Thelma is one of two remaining original community gardeners. The recent addition of 16 faucets makes watering the garden easier than ever.

Heard amongst small, tidy houses, weathered tombstones and the greenest cabbage collards is the quiet tinny of settlers, those whose dream it was to create a safe, supportive and cohesive town. A $3-million Welcome and Heritage Center, to be developed over the next several years, will soon give them voice.

And while Africatown has more history, successes and struggles than there is space to share here, the future of this community is, quite literally, ripe with hope. MB

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ALABAMA’S BARRIER ISLAND IS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF FLUX, WITH SHORELINES — AND PROPERTY LINES — THREATENED BY STORMS AND RISING SEA LEVELS.

SHIFTING SANDS text by JOSHUA GIVENS

photo this page A recent photo of land

erosion on Dauphin Island taken by researchers at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Photo supplied by Dr. George Crozier.

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PHOTO BY KATHY HICKS

A

small child sitting on the beach at Dauphin Island lets the dry, powdery, white quartz sand slide through his fingers as he fills a bucket, making a pile that will resemble a castle only in his imagination. He wonders at the feel of it and might even know a little about where the sand came from, thanks to the enthusiasm of his science teacher. But he probably has no idea that this beach — the very sand he holds in his hand — is shifting. The little barrier island that so many locals and tourists love to visit for its quiet sunsets and windswept dunes is moving slowly but surely and always has been. The only questions to ask are, where is it going and how fast?

On the map, Dauphin Island appears to be nothing more than a tiny drumstick-shaped strip of land haphazardly located about 30 miles south of Mobile. But take a closer look. Or, better yet, take a step onto the

sugary white beaches, and you might notice something far more eye-catching than the crashing saltwater waves or occasional pelican dive-bomb: an incredible labyrinth of natural and manmade sand dunes. These dunes protect inland areas from coastal water intrusion, particularly on the east end of the island, and they’re able to absorb the impact of high-energy storms while also serving as resilient barriers against catastrophic winds and waves.

But unfortunately, as any longtime resident will tell you, the dunes of Dauphin Island are not indestructible.

From hurricanes Frederic in 1979 to Katrina in 2005, storms have left their signature trademarks of structural annihilation and environmental change. And when all of that beautiful sand is viciously stirred up by unforgiving winds and waves or shifted around by a commercial construction project, beach erosion becomes a concern.

So says Scott Douglass, P.h.D., professor emeritus at the University of South Alabama’s Department of Civil, Coastal and Environmental Engineering. He’s also the founder of South Coast Engineers, LLC, a Fairhope-

DAUPHIN ISLAND’S CHANGING LAND A snapshot of the many phases of our barrier island

1700s

Dauphin Island and Petit Bois Island were one.

MISSISSIPPI

ALABAMA

1800s

Storms and erosion reduced the island to just the larger east end.

1900s

“

The island recovered its land to have much the same shape we know today, but not for long.

BEACH EROSION

1916

IS A NATURAL

The unnamed storm of 1916 made landfall in Pascagoula, MS, and took with it most of the west end of Dauphin Island.

PHENOMENON. ALL BARRIER ISLANDS

1930s-1940s

MOVE. BEACHES

Again the land reemerged from the sea to form a more typical Dauphin Island.

MOVE. BEACH EROSION BECOMES A

1947

PROBLEM, THOUGH,

Tropical storm Fox made direct landfall on Dauphin Island and caused a small breach that repaired in just a few years.

WHEN YOU HAVE PROPERTY LINES AND BUILDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. – Dr. Scott Douglass, professor emeritus at the University of South Alabama’s Department of Civil, Coastal and Environmental Engineering

2005

“

Hurricane Katrina brought in more than 12 feet of storm surge and cut the island in two.

2019

Beach that was formerly known as Sand Island migrated and joined Dauphin Island to create a spit in the Gulf of Mexico.

BUILDING A BEACH $6.8 MILLION Spent on beach restoration in 2016, adding 320,000 cubic yards of sand to a one-mile stretch of beach on the east end of the island, replacing about 10 years’ worth of beach erosion

$3.6 MILLION Money from a 2014 BP oil spill settlement through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funded a study for restorative efforts all along Dauphin Island’s shoreline

3.5 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF SAND The town of Dauphin Island hopes to pump this sand onto more than 4 miles of shoreline on the west end

WORKING TO CREATE Wider sandy beaches (100 feet on east end, 200 feet on west end); higher sand dunes; increased native vegetation; and improved storm protection for the existing homes and public infrastructure

based consulting firm specializing in coastal management, engineering and applied science.

“Beach erosion is a natural phenomenon,” he explains.

“All barrier islands move. Beaches move. Beach erosion becomes a problem, though, when you have property lines and buildings and infrastructure. In modern history, a lot of beach erosion wasn’t just natural. It’s been clearly documented all over the world that humans have accelerated it because we blocked sand movement down the coast through structures, inlets, jetties, etcetera. In the big picture, three things cause erosion at Dauphin Island: sea level rise, storm activity and sand supply.”

Understanding the science behind beach erosion might seem like trying to master astrophysics with nothing more than a fifth-grade education at your disposal, but it’s not

“

during the winter season. And when those waves are higher, and have higher energy, they tend to get the sand in motion.

Since the beach is at an angle, the sand rolls downhill. The beauty of it is that the sand rolls downhill until it loses its momentum and stops. The sand piles up, and a lot of it disappears, but it makes a little ridge at the bottom. It accumulates as a bar, which, under the spring season, is shoved back up onto the beach with every tide. If we didn’t have sea level rise, there wouldn’t be beach erosion. But the problem is confounded by the changing sea level.”

For now, there isn’t much notable difference or change anticipated to take place over the next 10 years. Besides, no one is really measuring the current rate of erosion, and there’s a reason for that. It would be a difficult task because sand is constantly being removed from the north side of Dauphin

MY GREATEST FEAR IS GETTING A MAJOR HURRICANE. I HONESTLY DON’T

KNOW THAT WE WOULD HAVE A WEST END LEFT IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN. THE TOWN RELIES HEAVILY ON THE TAX BASE FROM OUR VACATION HOUSING RENTALS, MOST OF WHICH ARE ON THE WEST END. – Robin Linn, qualifying broker and owner of Alabama Coastal Properties

quite as complex as it seems. George Crozier, P.h.D., retired director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, clarifies the erosion phenomenon further.

“There’s a seasonal change in the beach,” he notes. “The winter storms here are usually preceded by a southern front, and so what happens is that we have higher energy waves

PHOTO BY KATHY HICKS

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“

Island and placed on the south side in an effort to protect private properties and infrastructure, as well as to keep sand off the roads after major hurricanes. Acquiring an accurate measurement would be like trying to count the grains of sand on the … well, you get the picture.

Erosion’s impact stretches across the environmental, ecological and economic spectrum. As Dauphin Island native and lifelong resident Mayor Jeff Collier says, beach erosion is one of the biggest challenges facing the island.

“The impact of erosion is primarily felt by individuals who have lost their property,” Collier explains. If property is submerged, or reduced to rubble by a storm, the revenue essentially vanishes along with it. From that point forward, the final decision rests with the owner. “We also lose lodging taxes and sales taxes; it cuts into revenue.

“Currently we have individuals who still pay property taxes,” Collier continues. “They have a reduced tax because their property is either partially or fully under water. But it’s their discretion to pay taxes or not. If they want to maintain ownership through tax payments, then that’s certainly their prerogative.”

The rich irony in Dauphin Island’s situation is that, while beach erosion does pose certain threats to the island’s environmental and geological future, the majority of local realtors and business owners don’t appear to be terribly worried. And who can blame them? Living every day in the Sunset Capital of the state tends to minimize anxiety. Robin Linn, qualifying broker and owner of Alabama Coastal Properties, admits that she’s been around long enough to notice the changes wrought by erosion on the west end.

However, she says, “My greatest fear is getting a major hurricane. I honestly don’t know that we would have a west end left if that were to happen. The town relies heavily on the tax base from our vacation housing rentals, most of ABOVE Dauphin Island as seen by the Alabama State Police helicopter the day after Hurricane Katrina. Photo supplied by Dr. George Crozier.

which are on the west end.”

Tricia Kerr, president of Dauphin Island Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Sand Box gift shop, agrees.

“Erosion isn’t affecting my business right now. It may affect our tax base, but until it affects our bottom line, I don’t know that people will take enough interest in it.”

Whether Dauphin Island’s destiny is one of slow erosion, culminating in an eventual cataclysmic loss of properties and revenue, or whether the island endures for another century, one thing is certain: it won’t stop visitors, tourists and residents from continuing to fall in love with everything the unique and memorable location has to offer.

“A lot of people these days are looking for the sort of place that will feed your soul,” Collier says. “And I think that’s what our great community offers. I’m proud of us.” MB

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THE FULL-TIMER After two years, a long-term resident prepares to leave the “theater of the real” that is the Grand Hotel. But if you know Patrick McDonald, don’t rule out an encore. text by BRECK PAPPAS • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN

P

atrick McDonald is out of bed by 8 a.m., without the help of an alarm clock. After opening his laptop and checking in on the world, he steps out of his suite at the Grand Hotel, descends the main staircase, glides past the sitting room and its four-sided fireplace and enters the Grand Hall.

“Good morning, Mr. McDonald,” a genteel hostess says with a nod.

“Good morning, Jennifer,” he replies.

The tall gentleman walks slowly to his usual seat in the dining room, situated against a window. Jasmine doesn’t bother bringing over a menu. The kitchen knows this guest.

“What’ll it be today, Mr. McDonald?”

He pauses for a moment before deciding on oatmeal with almonds, strawberries, yogurt and coffee with a dash of cream. While he waits, McDonald strikes up courteous conversations with other servers before catching the eye of a buffet attendant, who makes her way over to his table.

“Would you like your croissants this morning, Mr. McDonald?”

“That would be great,” he answers, smiling.

“Thank you.”

The attendant knows that McDonald favors the smaller croissants of the bake shop to the larger ones of the buffet. She also knows to return to his table with the most delicate and flaky of the batch. She enjoys spoiling him.

Throughout breakfast, McDonald doesn’t pay his fellow diners much attention, nor does he attract theirs. The daily hustle and bustle “goes on around me,” he explains. And so he sits, content with his thoughts and his croissants and his staff.

After finishing the meal, he ambles to his car, dispatching goodbyes to Theresa at the front desk, Greg at valet and eventually Tonya at the front gate. They know it won’t be long before they see Mr. McDonald again, because they’ve witnessed the routine for as long as they’ve worn the uniform. It’s a routine, after all, years in the making.

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“I WOULD DRIVE ON THE GROUNDS, AND SOMEHOW THIS MUSIC WOULD START PLAYING. IT’D BE LIKE A PLAY — LIKE I WAS DRIVING ONTO A STAGE, AND I WAS BECOMING A CHARACTER IN THIS THEATER CALLED THE GRAND HOTEL.” – Patrick McDonald

An Awakening McDonald isn’t a guest at the Grand Hotel.

At least, not in the traditional sense. Because for the past two years, the 72-year-old has lived at the luxury resort as a full-time resident — a silver-haired, south Alabama Eloise of sorts.

“I just live like you would at home, basically,” he explains. “It’s not like I’m at a resort. All this activity is going on around me, but this is my home.”

Rather, it will be his home for another five days. Within the week, McDonald will move into the cottage he’s been renovating in downtown Fairhope. While that might seem like the end of some era, it’s simply the latest chapter in what is undoubtedly one of the most unusual stories in the hotel’s long, venerable history.

On this morning, McDonald sits in a comfortable chair in Bucky’s Lounge, speaking slowly and deliberately.

“I knew Bucky,” he says, referring to the now-legendary employee Bucky Miller, a hotel staple for over 60 years. “He was clearly a savant when it came to names. He had this incredible ability to recall the names of people he’d seen the year before, or even five years before.”

McDonald’s own relationship with the hotel began in 1992, when he built a home a

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couple miles south of the establishment. He estimates that, since that time, he’s averaged about a meal a day at the resort. When asked where he ranks among the hotel’s most devoted regulars, he says he’s “not sure how you’d compare it.”

“I used to come to the Birdcage (now Bucky’s) and eat for years, and there was a married couple who came here for a drink every night for 30 years,” he says. “They were a fixture.”

McDonald himself has never married.

There was a girl many years ago, whom he met during college while working a summer at Yellowstone National Park. But caught in the midst of the revolutionary 1960s, McDonald wasn’t tethered to the formulaic life of the generation before him.

“I was on no path,” he tries to explain.

“It didn’t occur to me to get married, and it didn’t occur to me not to get married.”

With his bachelorhood in consideration, a question arises after almost three hours of conversation: Is McDonald married to the Grand Hotel?

He takes a long pause. “No,” he says.

“I’m attached to it. And I’ve been through enough cycles to know I would never leave it or purge it from my system. But marriage is something else. I think that is a parallel path — parallel emotion. I think love sort of owns you … and I don’t feel like this owns me.”

A product of Mobile, McDonald graduated from McGill Institute in 1964 before studying architecture and eventually engineering at Auburn.

“That’s where I woke up,” he says. “About that time, there was a total change in society.

Either because of the [Vietnam] War or whatever, we were just free to think about all kinds of things that maybe my older brother didn’t even think about — a seismic shift.”

For McDonald, this meant a complete and irreversible change in the way he viewed the world, as well as his place in it.

“I’ve tried to go back to sleep,” he jokes.

“But it’s hard to unlearn.”

His awakening also led to a love of travel, which continued even after being drafted into the Army in 1970 and stationed in Germany, where the idea was to contain Russian aggression in post-WWII Europe.

“Every moment we were free, I was gone,” he says, reminiscing about the miles he tallied across the continent in his Volkswagen bus.

A server delivers a coffee to McDonald, and he thanks her by name. He says he knows the names of most employees on the hospitality side of the hotel.

“I was in the hospital business, and you know, I might have had 2,000 employees.

You just get in the habit of learning names. I think it’s kind of silly to see somebody every

ABOVE McDonald, pictured here on the grounds of the hotel, suspects he’s known as the “Grand Hotel Guy” in town. “A lot more people than I know seem to know about [my living here],” he says. “There’s some wonder to it for them.”

day and not know their name.”

After one and half years in the Army, McDonald decided to pursue a career in hospital administration. He spent about 10 years running hospitals across the country and another 10 years consulting before getting the itch to attempt an early retirement.

“I don’t know what possessed me to think I was enough old [to retire]. It’s not like I had gathered a whole bunch of money,” he says, still bemused after all these years about the

forces that motivate his decisions.

“This is where my story with the hotel really begins.”

The Road to Point Clear Despite having seen so much of the world, McDonald says he “didn’t have a feeling for another place other than here.” Following an instinct, he bought an empty lot just south of the hotel in 1989.

“Half of my comfort with moving here

was this hotel,” he says. “Fairhope didn’t exist in my mind. It was the hotel and a mile or two north or south. If you look at it in terms of colors, this was the only color, and everything else was black and white.”

You see, McDonald doesn’t make the big decisions like the rest of us. He describes how, at crucial moments in his life, “cellular reactions” have helped guide his hand, and it was precisely this type of gut reaction to the aesthetic of the Grand Hotel and the

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surrounding area that has anchored him here for almost three decades.

“Fairhope wasn’t like it is today,” he explains. “It had no gravity center, no pull to it, no attraction. But the hotel did.”

At 45 years old, McDonald moved to Point Clear, into a house he built to match the aesthetic of the hotel up the road.

“I would come [to the hotel] in the morning, have coffee and breakfast, get a newspaper, sit down. It was part of my life really — part of my house. I could leave my home, where I had built something that suited my aesthetic vision, and I could come here where there was a similar aesthetic, so it wasn’t like I was leaving home.”

Aside from providing the bachelor with an opportunity to socialize, the resort seemed to cast a magical spell over McDonald in those early days.

“There will be times when it’s like a musical. It’s not a musical at the moment, but for many years, especially in the beginning, I would drive on the grounds, and somehow this music would start playing. It’d be like a play — like I was driving onto a stage, and I was becoming a character in this theater called the Grand Hotel. A theater of the real.”

In the meantime, McDonald had made some wise commercial and residential investments in Fairhope and, after 14 years, moved into a cottage in town. His routine at the Grand remained unchanged, until another house project, which took from 2006 to 2015 to complete, near Montrose complicated his daily visits.

“It wasn’t convenient enough to make the hotel a part of every day,” he says. “I had to think about coming. But this place wanted me here, and I wanted to be here.”

Hello, Goodbye So in 2016, McDonald sold the finished home and, without another property to move into, settled at the Grand. “This has always been my second home,” he says. “It’s just that, at the moment, it happens to be my first home.”

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Having become a member at the neighboring Lakewood Club in the early ’90s, McDonald is eligible for a discounted room rate, as well as food and beverage savings. But he says the real trick to living at a resort is to create a “range” for oneself.

“For an individual to have a relationship with an institution, you have to have some way of doing it. I live with the hotel, but in a range that belongs to me,” he explains. Even in the midst of hotel renovations, McDonald has a way of living on the periphery.

“If I followed their wave pattern, I would be disrupted. But I choose my own path.”

As the conversation turns to his impending departure from his home of two years, McDonald naturally becomes reflective about the experience. “What surprises me is how much [the staff ] cares about my being here,” he says. “Because I don’t really expect that — I’m just living. And suddenly I’m aware that there are a fair number of people who really care … so that’s heartwarming in a way. There are times when that really breaks through.

“I take none of this for granted,” he continues. “It’s not like I expect them to allow me to do this. It’s pretty easy to be on stage for three days and perform for a client, but when the client never goes away, that’s a whole different thing. Their actions say more than I could ever say about the place — that they’ve allowed me to be here and to make it a home.”

Will he ever return as a full-time guest?

“There’s no reason why it wouldn’t happen. I seem to go through these phases with houses; I like creating them more than living in them.

“I’m not really leaving,” he says. “I made sure of that by not moving outside the range of the hotel.”

McDonald sweeps his gaze around the lounge, where Bucky once greeted guests by name and where an old married couple sank 30 years of nightcaps.

“I’ll never leave it,” he says. “I never have left it.” MB

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LITTLE PALM COTTAGE A home that no one wanted was scooped up by a designer with vision, finding new life and a bright new look on the shores of Perdido Bay.

text by CATHERINE DORROUGH • photos by SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY

T

ucked away on Perdido Bay, a short sail from Pirates Cove, a newly renovated cottage brings a slice of Old Florida across the state line to nestle among Alabama’s scrubby oaks and saw palmettos.

Known by owners Suzanne and Stephen Winston as Little Palm Cottage, the Josephine, Alabama, home — complete with cheerful decor, a spacious deck for entertaining and kid-proof furnishings — is a space designed to share with friends. “It’s beach chic meets midcentury modern,” Suzanne says. “We like quirky and fun.”

Winston (known as Suzie to her friends) is an established home renovator and interior designer based in Montrose. The self-styled “Queen of Fix and Flip” says she tries to stay true to the original manner and architectural period of each home she works on. “I wanted to figure out what kind of style this home would give us,” she says.

LEFT Suzanne Winston and her four-legged companion, Petunia, welcome visitors to Little Palm Cottage. The bright coral front door and bold lime green eaves set the tone for what’s to come inside the diminutive cottage with major style. Suzanne’s husband, Stephen, designed the custom metal Chippendale railings.

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“IN LITTLE PALM COTTAGE’S LIVING ROOM THE WALLPAPER IS THE STAR OF THE SHOW. THE OTHER ITEMS ARE THE SUPPORTING CAST.” homeowner and designer Suzanne Winston

Winston worked with Len Love of Love Construction and Perdido Beach Trading Company to retrofit a pair of vintage screen doors with Palmetto Stripe wallpaper in Lake Worth Lagoon by Palm Orleans. Love added barn door hardware and hung the former screens as sliding doors to separate the living room from the kitchen. Winston says they can turn the living room into a spare guest bedroom in a pinch.

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THE VINTAGE COFFEE TABLE WAS REIMAGINED AS AN OTTOMAN AND PAIRED WITH A BOLD, MODERN FABRIC TO MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING.

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CHOOSE A FEW SPLURGE-WORTHY ACCENTS TO ELEVATE YOUR LESS EXPENSIVE PIECES. SUZANNE PAIRED QUADRILLE WALLPAPER WITH FORMICA COUNTERTOPS AND SEWED FANCY TAPE TRIMS ONTO AFFORDABLE ROMAN SHADES.

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Along a similar vein, she incorporated the local landscape into the cottage’s design. “The history of where we are is so much more Old Florida than Alabama,” she says. Winston found inspiration in hearing that Josephine was the site of a popular resort in the 1920s.

It sparked her imagination to think about what the area must have been like when it was a bustling destination, and she decided to design the home as a throwback to beach life from that era.

Getting to Square One While every home renovation project is a journey, this one has taken a more literal turn than most. Originally built on state Highway 181 around 1939, by 2016 the cottage’s future was uncertain, as developer Mike McElmurry made plans to build on the land on which it sat. McElmurry, a friend of Winston, knew Suzie had previously moved a home that had gone on to be OPPOSITE The laundry room gets a major upgrade with Lyford Trellis wallpaper by Quadrille and a punchy bright green countertop — the perfect example of how Suzanne mixes high and low. The window opens onto a bar on the deck overlooking the Bay. RIGHT The home’s old farm sink was moved outdoors to the grill and outdoor shower nook. BELOW Swinging ratan chairs, fun artwork and bright pillows create a welcoming spot to watch the water, while cocktails are easily passed through the bar window.

BUY INEXPENSIVE THROW PILLOWS SO THE KIDS CAN MOVE FROM THE SOFA TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT HESITATION, AND ALWAYS HAVE BASKETS FILLED WITH COLORFUL BEACH TOWELS CLOSE AT HAND!

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house. On the morning of the journey, the moving crew arrived on-site before Winston, and they got to work. She found herself caught in a traffic jam on Highway 181 and wondered what was causing the holdup. “All of a sudden,” she recalls, “over the tops of the cars, I saw the roof of my house going by.”

The house trundled its way along Baldwin County’s highways and county roads, a man perched on the roof to move limbs and lines out of the way. In one nail-biting moment, it crossed Fish River Bridge in a tight squeeze, hanging over the side of the guardrail. On its arrival in Josephine, the movers discovered that code restrictions prevented them from setting it down in the spot where Winston wanted it — around which she had designed the cottage’s gracious deck. But Winston took it in stride. “My plans adapt,” she says.

Combining Form and Function

PICK A COLOR SCHEME AND STICK WITH IT. SUZANNE CHOSE BLUES AND GREENS INSPIRED

BY THE WATER AND FOLIAGE AROUND LITTLE PALM COTTAGE.

featured in Southern Living. He offered to give her the cottage if she would take it off the property.

The cottage had seen better days. It had been considerably repurposed over the years, having been, at one point, an office for a dairy farm. “The floor plan made no sense,” Winston says. However, Winston has an affinity for old homes with good bones, and she could see the underlying potential.

So Winston and her husband Stephen, a Fairhope family physician, decided to move the cottage to their property in Josephine.

They had bought the land with a dream to build a beach house after their son Tripp, now 13, went to college; it seemed like a good fit.

Winston hired Florida-based Ducky Johnson House Movers to transport the

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Little Palm Cottage has taken on new life in Josephine, with a reconfigured floor plan and sunny decor. Refurbished vintage and antique pieces amplify the throwback theme.

Winston made fabric choices with ease of use in mind. The living room furniture has been upholstered in Sunbrella fabric and accessorized with indoor-outdoor pillows. The rug in that room, a pretty Jaipur in beachy blues and greens, is an outdoor rug that can be taken outside and hosed off.

All of it looks at home indoors. “The fabrics have just come so far,” Winston says.

Likewise, the exterior fixtures are designed to be hardy in order to withstand life on the water.

The custom metalwork deck railing was designed by her husband and crafted by their friend, Eddy Osborn. Winston also points out shutters and braces that were made in metal rather than wood; the less time needed for maintenance, the more time to be spent sipping margaritas with friends.

Eventually, the Winstons will build that beach house they’d originally planned, and Little Palm Cottage will become a guesthouse. For now, though, with its shady porch and lime green overhang beckoning, it sits on its own as a welcoming family oasis. MB ABOVE A bright white bathroom continues the home’s color scheme with green and blue tiles and tropical art.

OPPOSITE A bunk room offers plenty of places for kids and guests to rest, with a bold wallpaper accent wall and a map of Pleasure Island by local artist Melissa Smith finishing the look.

WHITE BEDDING FEELS CLEAN AND CRISP, IS EASY TO MIX AND MATCH AMONG BRANDS, AND BLEACHES WELL AT THE END OF A VACATION!

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EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS

What’s hot in May! MAY 3 - 4 GULF COAST HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL 2 - 10 p.m. F. 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Sa. Watch as pilots and balloons from across the U.S. light up the sky with their vibrant designs.

FOLEY SOCCER PARK GULFCOASTBALLOONFESTIVAL.COM

GULF COAST HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL

MAY 4

THROUGH JUNE 8

MAY 2

THE TOUT ENSEMBLE: EDMOND DECELLE & THE STUDIO DECELLE From the 1920s to the 1960s, Edmond DeCelle was a prominent artist and designer of Mardi Gras.

COCKTAILS WITH THE CRITTERS 6 - 9 p.m. Join Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation for an exciting evening overlooking the Mobile River Delta featuring delicious hors d’oeuvres and entertainment from local singer songwriter Eric Erdman.

Tickets: $50 in advance; $55 at the door.

MOBILE CARNIVAL MUSEUM MOBILECARNIVALMUSEUM.COM

BLUEGILL RESTAURANT SEALABFOUNDATION.ORG

MAY 3 - 19

MAY 1 TASTE OF THE BAYOU 6 - 9 p.m. Sample some of the best seafood dishes around at this annual event.

Admission: $10.

BAYOU LA BATRE COMMUNITY CENTER • TASTEOFTHEBAYOU.ORG

“THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER” 7:30 p.m F / Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Witness the antics and adventures of Tom and his friends Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher, Joe Harper and many more characters at the beloved community theater.

PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK PLAYHOUSEINTHEPARK.ORG

BIDS, BREWS & BEATS 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Alabama Credit Union’s Secret Meals for Hungry Children Organization is excited to host its 5th annual event featuring food, live music and a live auction. All proceeds from this event go directly back into the Secret Meals organization.

FLORA-BAMA LOUNGE AND OYSTER BAR • SECRETMEALS.ORG/ FUNDRAISERS

MAY 4 BALD EAGLE BASH 4 - 7 p.m. Help Weeks Bay while enjoying seafood dishes from top restaurants; Bald Eagle Blue, a signature beer from Fairhope Brewing Company; and music by The Red Clay Strays. Tickets: $45 in advance; $50 at the gate.

TONSMEIRE WEEKS BAY RESOURCE CENTER • BALDEAGLEBASH.COM

MAY 4 - 5 THE BLESSING OF THE FLEET 10 a.m. Sa. - 4 p.m. Su. Celebrate the bayou with Alabama Gulf seafood, traditional Vietnamese cuisine, a gumbo cook-off, a decorated boat contest and more.

ST. MARGARET PARISH, BAYOU LA BATRE • FLEETBLESSING.ORG

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

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MAY 9

MAY 10 - 26

MAY 11

MAY 11 - 12

FAIRHOPE GIRLS NIGHT OUT 4 p.m. Head across the Bay for a fun night of shopping and dining with friends. Evening pass: $20, includes dinner voucher, gift bag and coupons.

“PRELUDE TO A KISS” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2:30 p.m.

Su. Laugh out loud during this romantic comedy.

Tickets: $12 / $18.

CREEK FEST 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Enjoy the great outdoors with a cane pole fishing tournament (16 and under), music, door prizes and educational exhibits.

FOLEY ART IN THE PARK 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. More than 110 arts and crafts exhibitions will be on hand along with children’s activities at this family event.

TRICENTENNIAL PARK

FOLEY PARK • FOLEYARTCENTER.COM

FAIRHOPE WELCOME CENTER FAIRHOPEMERCHANTS.COM

THEATRE 98 THEATRE98.ORG

MAY 11

MAY 9

CRAWFISH FOR A CAUSE Noon - 3 p.m. Benefitting the burn center at USA Health University Hospital, this family-friendly event offers live music and a silent auction. Tickets: $30, includes all-you-care-to-eat crawfish and beverages; $10, ages 6 to 10; free for 5 and under.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

THE GROUNDS • FACEBOOK.COM/ CRAWFISHFORACAUSE

MAY 16

MAY 12 MOTHER’S DAY EVENING GARDEN CONCERT 5:30 p.m. Instead of bringing flowers to Mom, bring her to the flowers for the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra. Admission: $14, for adults; $8, for ages 5 12; free to members and to ages 4 and younger.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

WHITE LINEN NIGHT 7 - 10 p.m. Dress up in your favorite white linen and eat local fare from your favorite restaurants. Tickets: $75.

EASTERN SHORE ART CENTER ESARTCENTER.ORG

MAY 17 - JUNE 2 “GUYS AND DOLLS” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Sing along to classics like “Luck Be a Lady” during the musical set in New York.

CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE CCTSHOWS.COM

MAY 20 “MISS BESSIE’S” BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Born on May 20, 1878, Bessie Morse Bellingrath left an enduring legacy of beauty in the gardens and home she created.

Be sure to visit the gift shop for the annual “Buy Like Miss Bessie” sale.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

MAY 25 THE LUMINEERS

The Hangout Music Festival

EVENING GARDEN STROLL 5:30 - 7 p.m. Celebrate National Public Gardens Day with a demonstration on spring floral arrangements and container gardening. Sample complimentary wine and cheese in the gift shop, along with other tasty treats.

CREEKFEST.ORG

MAY 17 - 19

See headliners like The Lumineers, Cardi B, Travis Scott, Vampire Weekend, Diplo, Hozier, Khalid and Walk the Moon. Tickets: $299 and up. GULF SHORES • HANGOUTMUSICFEST.COM

PEPSI BEACH BALL DROP 5 - 9 p.m. The summer season kicks off with a countdown and a beach ball drop. The event also features a kid zone.

THE WHARF ALWHARF.COM

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MAY PERFORMANCES See below for the best that Bay-area stages have to offer.

MAY 4 - 5 MOBILE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS FORTÉ 7:30 p.m. Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Enjoy the powerful and passionate performances of two of Russian music’s most beloved masterworks in one concert.

Tickets: $20 - $80.

MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESYMPHONY.ORG

MAY 9 ALABAMA 7:30 p.m. The famous country band takes the stage with special guest The Charlie Daniels Band.

Tickets: $16 - $80.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

MAY 10 BRYAN ADAMS 7:30 p.m. The ’80s and ’90s singer brings his hits to the Gulf.

Tickets: $19 - $93.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

MAY 11 JIM GAFFIGAN 7:30 p.m. Get ready to laugh at the comedian’s special brand of humor.

Tickets: $38 - $63.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

MAY 25 - 26 THOMAS RHETT 7 p.m. The country music star and songwriter takes the stage with special guests Dustin Lynch, Russell Dickerson and Rhett Akins. Tickets: $31 - $91.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

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[ONGOING EVENTS]

BIKE NIGHT AT BOB’S 4 - 8 p.m. First Wednesday of every month.

Drive or motorcycle around Downtown and enjoy beer, food, live music and a good time.

BOB’S DOWNTOWN CORNEROFFATANDHAPPY.COM

BRUNCH AT SOUTHERN NATIONAL 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sip on mimosas while feasting on decadent brunch items with a Southern twist.

SOUTHERN NATIONAL SOUTHERNATIONAL.COM

FAIRHOPE FIRST FRIDAY ARTWALK 6 - 8 p.m. Shop, dine, wine and explore downtown Fairhope on first Fridays.

DOWNTOWN FAIRHOPE

DAPHNE FARMERS MARKET 2 - 6 p.m. Pick up local produce and arts and crafts in Daphne.

THE CORNER OF MAIN STREET AND SANTA ROSA

BIENVILLE BITES 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Taste award-winning dishes from seven restaurants in historic Downtown. Tickets: $55.

DOWNTOWN BIENVILLEBITESFOODTOUR.COM

MOBILE HAPPY HOUR WATERFRONT CRUISE Tu / Th. Have a cocktail aboard The Perdido Queen Paddlewheel and experience the sights and sounds of the city’s waterfront.

1 WATER ST. PERDIDOQUEEN.COM

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS Develop gardening skills through various information sessions all summer. Admission: $13 for adults; $7.50 for ages 5 - 12; free to members and to ages 4 and younger.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

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[JUNE HIGHLIGHTS]

JUNE 6 HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH 7:30 p.m. Feel ’90s nostalgia with the “Only Wanna Be With You” band and special guest Barenaked Ladies. Tickets: $72 - $129.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

JUNE 7 - 23 “HELLO, DOLLY!” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. The beloved Broadway musical follows the antics of a meddlesome widow Dolly Gallagher Levi as she takes Yonkers, New York, by storm.

JOE JEFFERSON PLAYHOUSE JOEJEFFERSONPLAYERS.COM

JUNE 8 FUSE PROJECT DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sample dishes from food trucks while watching dragon boat teams compete. Kids’ activities provided.

USS ALABAMA BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK FUSEPROJECT.ORG

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HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH

JUNE 14 THE FAB FOUR 8 p.m. Journey back to the days of Beatlemania with the ultimate Beatles tribute band.

Tickets: $25, $35, $45 and $55.

MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESAENGER.COM

JUNE 15 DIERKS BENTLEY 7 p.m. The country superstar artist of songs such as “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do” brings his hits to the Wharf. Tickets: $31 - $91.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

JUNE 27 KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND 7:30 p.m. “Get Down Tonight” and “Shake Your Booty” in a way only you can to these 1970s hitmakers. Tickets: $42, $56, $66, $96.

MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESAENGER.COM

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HISTORY | LEGENDS

The Wreck of the Ivanhoe Relive the night of action that sent the blockade runner to her resting place off Fort Morgan. text by JOHN S. SLEDGE illustration by NICHOLAS H. HOLMES III

S

he was a beautiful vessel. On that everyone agreed, whether they wore the blue or the gray. But lovely lines or no, her enemies were determined to destroy her if they got the chance. The Ivanhoe was a blockade runner and thoroughly looked the part — long and low with twin smokestacks, powerful side-wheels and a pair of stubby masts. Her iron hull had been laid down in a Scottish shipyard, and upon completion, she had crossed the Atlantic to Bermuda and then made Cuba. In late June 1864, she departed Havana for a dash into Confederate Mobile, laden with desperately needed arms, ammunition and medicines.

Ivanhoe’s prospects of success were good, despite the Union screw steamers and gunboats prowling the mouth of Mobile Bay. She was a veritable rocket on the water, capable of an astonishing 16 knots, and there wasn’t a ship that could catch her.

So it was that on the night of June 30 the Ivanhoe resolutely steamed west in the Swash Channel, a 12-foot-deep trench that ran along Fort Morgan Peninsula to the Bay. Blockade runners favored this route since the Confederates could cover it with field pieces and, closer to Mobile Point, Fort Morgan’s big guns. Standing on the vibrating deck with his eyes straining into the darkness, Henry Gorst, the Ivanhoe’s captain, fretted about the engine noise and the phosphorescence churned by his big paddle wheels. If his ship could just avoid detection, Mobile Bay, and safety, was only two miles distant.

Other eyes were out there straining, too,

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and when a flare lit the sky to port, Gorst knew the game was up. “Ahead full!” he barked. With a powerful surge, the Ivanhoe lurched forward, her sharp prow cleaving the Gulf like a knife blade. In an attempt to intercept, the Union gunboat Glasgow “ran for the beach,” as Adm. David Glasgow Farragut later put it, and loosed five shots at the steamer. Gorst later blamed what happened next on “an ignorant pilot.” Sheering to starboard, the Ivanhoe suddenly groaned and shuddered as she drove hard aground, her stern lifting with the abrupt check and her wake surging past her into the inky darkness ahead.

Intent on salvaging the cargo and, if possible, refloating the vessel, two boatloads of Confederates quickly rowed the 50 or so yards out to her. Decades later, one of these men, George S. Waterman, penned a vivid account of their ensuing struggle.

“We got two kedge anchors out,” he wrote, “each with a long scope of cable, in order to get her off the beach; but all our efforts at the windlass, with the steamer ‘backing’ with all her might, were unavailing.” Since they weren’t likely to save the vessel, the men began offloading the cargo and rowing it ashore.

Gray dawn revealed the scurrying salvors to the Union fleet, and Farragut ordered his ship captains to shell the grounded runner. Two hundred rounds were fired, most going wide

of the mark. But Waterman found the Yankee fusillade frightening.

“Solid shot was tearing great holes through the upper works,” he recalled, “and shells were bursting every minute above and around the ill-fated vessel.”

One projectile smashed into the Ivanhoe’s foremast, another exploded in the wardroom, a third punched through her bow and a fourth stove in an iron plate, allowing water into her hold. One man was killed, another showered by splinters.

Observing matters through his binoculars from much farther away, Union Capt. Percival Drayton was unimpressed.

“I must confess that I could see no signs of the least damage to the blockader,” he grumbled in a dispatch, “although wonderful stories are told. And if we don’t keep a pretty sharp lookout the enemy will get her off tonight.”

Farragut agreed and ordered several small boats in to destroy the Ivanhoe. Because they had already offloaded the majority of the cargo, the Rebel salvors were camped ashore and didn’t see the Yankee boarding party stealthily clambering onto the runner.

“The duty was performed promptly,” a Yankee officer proudly reported, “the vessel boarded and set on fire.”

As soon as the flames flickered into view,

the Rebels rowed out to save the ship. Luckily for them, a gunpowder keg failed to explode, but the flames were fast spreading. “Once started, the fire seemed possessed of a demonlike energy and fierceness,” Waterman marveled. “It leaped from amidships to stern with inconceivable rapidity.”

Shouting men jumped into the water to save themselves, and small boats bobbed about, plucking them from the brine. By the time the fire burned out, the Ivanhoe was a hopeless wreck.

Mother Nature did the rest. Even as the Rebels labored to remove the vessel’s machinery, rising winds and seas conspired against them. “The Ivanhoe rose and fell as the waves struck under her counter,” Waterman later wrote, “and the continued thumping of the vessel in the quicksand caused a bank to form around her, on which our launch and first cutter struck while riding the heavy surf.”

Gorst ordered his men to take down the ship’s yardarms, swaying crazily in the gale, but torrents of water were sluicing along the deck and big waves were smashing over the bulwarks, sending curtains of spray well above the men’s heads. Waterman eyed the scudding clouds and then noticed the vessel’s handsome figurehead, “the carved figure of the Knight of Ivanhoe … buried in ridges of foam.” The roaring seas swept several men overboard, where they sputtered and clutched at life rings thrown their way, kicking with all their might for shore. No one drowned, but it was time to leave the Ivanhoe to her fate.

In the overall saga of the American Civil War, the Ivanhoe’s story rates as little more than a footnote. But when recent hurricanes scoured this stretch of coast, once again revealing her elegant lines to pilots and boaters, the thrilling scenes that enveloped her 155 years ago seemed suddenly more immediate, tangible and profound. Should her half-buried hull ever be excavated by marine archaeologists, it will doubtless reveal further fascinating insights into the exciting world of Mobile Bay’s storied blockade runners. MB  John S. Sledge is the author of “The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History,” due fall 2019 from the University of South Carolina Press.

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HISTORY | ARCHIVES

Mobile Bar Association Celebrates 150th Anniversary Take a glimpse into the lives of the incorporators and a few noteworthy attorneys throughout the Bar Association’s long history. text by DAVID BAGWELL

L

awyers have “associated” ever since there have been lawyers, on circuit or on steamboats or over coffee or whiskey or meals. But 32 lawyers incorporated the Mobile Bar Association 150 years ago, on April 12, 1869.

The Association celebrated its birthday on March 28, 2019, during a ceremony in the new Federal Courthouse in Mobile, with addresses by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Mobile native Judge William H. Pryor Jr., a former Alabama attorney general and now United States circuit judge who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The subject of Judge Pryor’s address was the only U.S. Constitutional doctrine that originated in Mobile, “the Equal Footing Doctrine,” first espoused in the 1840s by Mobile lawyer John Archibald Campbell.

The 1869 incorporation sought “the establishment of a Law Library in the City of Mobile and the increase of professional learning and the cultivation of friendly intercourse among the members of the Bar of Mobile.” The library was a particular point of emphasis, since times were hard and libraries expensive.

Of course, this was right after the Civil War, and times were hard all around. Those who gathered to found Mobile’s Bar were all men — it was years later that women became lawyers in Mobile. They were all white, although there were a couple of very rare

ABOVE Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the Mobile Bar Association’s sesquicentennial event. PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

black lawyers way back. Most of them were Democrats, meaning “anti-Reconstruction and anti-Republican.” And in the 1890s, the days of William Jennings Bryan, nearly all of them were gold-standard “sound money” men.

Lawyers — like other professionals — can be boring. In the famous 1979 Karen Silkwood trial, her family’s lawyer, Gerry Spence, said the defense lawyers were all “gray men in gray suits,” which could probably be said about most lawyers today. But not so much in 1869. The incorporators, along with a few other notable lawyers from our city through the years, lived amazing lives and had exceptional professional careers. Let’s meet a few of them. MB

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DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE BAR

PHOTO COURTESY PALMER HAMILTON

PHOTO COURTESY PALMER HAMILTON

PHOTO COURTESY HISTORY MUSEUM OF MOBILE

Some say that good lawyers tend to be boring, and those who are not boring are probably doing something illegal.

This is not true in every case, however, as these exceptionally interesting — and accomplished — Mobile lawyers prove.

DANIEL PERRIN BESTOR (1840 – 1911)

PETER HAMILTON (1817 – 1888)

THOMAS A. G. T. HAMILTON (1820 - 1897)

Founding member and first president of the Mobile Bar Association Birthplace: Greensboro, Alabama

Founding member of the Mobile Bar Association Birthplace: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Parents: Daniel Bestor and Eliza Townes College: University of Mississippi Spouse: Nellie Tarleton Children: Grace Tarleton Bestor Inge and Daniel Perrin Bestor Worth noting: When war came in 1861, he volunteered for the 37th Mississippi Infantry. He spent the war in the Virginia theater, and after the cessation of hostilities, he came back to Mobile. After passing the bar in 1867, he read law with Robert H. Smith. A Democrat and a Baptist, Bestor was president of The Strikers Mystic Society for nine years from 1883 to 1891, years during which one scholar wrote that to be in the top level of Mobile society, “you have to live on Government Street, attend Christ Church and go to the Strikers’ Ball.” Bestor checked all those boxes other than his being a Baptist.

Colleges: Princeton University, University of Alabama Spouses: Ann Martha Beers; Caroline Cunningham Goodwin Worth noting: Hamilton was shy and modest and hardly made a living for several years. As part of the firm “Hamiltons & Gaillard,” which included his brother Thomas, he tended to the chancery and appellate side of the practice, thought to require less personality and aggression. Hamilton served as U.S. attorney under President Zachary Taylor and, in that role, condemned the east end of Dauphin Island to become Fort Gaines. In 1872, he was elected for one term to the Alabama Senate and was called on to draft a bill to bring Alabama out of financial chaos. He sat down at 10 p.m. one night, handwrote without a note or a book, and by 8 p.m. the next night, had a bill to reorganize the debt. It passed without a single change.

Founding member of the Mobile Bar Association Birthplace: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Spouses: Lucy Beverly Hogan; Henrietta Porcher Gaillard Children: Lucy, John Hogan, Thomas Jr. and Minnie Hamilton; John Gaillard Hamilton Worth noting: Before becoming a lawyer, Hamilton joined Phoenix Fire Company No. 6 at the age of 18, but by 1842 he was practicing law. (He would later join forces with his bother Peter.) Hamilton was the last of the old school in dress — he was the last in Mobile to wear a silk top hat daily in winter and wore white or brown linen suits in summer. In 1870, he was chairman of a bar committee in which his duties included getting rid of a drunken judge and ousting the Republican [read: Reconstruction] city government and replacing it with Democrats. Hamilton mostly tried jury cases and was said to have been very good at it before retiring in 1896 due to ill health.

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AZALEA CITY NEWS COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA.

ERIK OVERBEY COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA.

ERIK OVERBEY COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA.

HURIEOSCO AUSTILL (1841 - 1912)

GESSNER T. MCCORVEY (1882 - 1965)

HARRY SEALE (1895 – 1989)

Founding member of the Mobile Bar Association Parents: Jeremiah Austill and Margaret Eades Austill College: University of Alabama Spouse: Aurora Roberta Ervin Children: Margaret, Robert Ervin, Jennie Fee, Hurieosco Jr., Aileen and Jere Austill Worth noting: Austill’s father, Jeremiah, was one of three heroes in “The Canoe Fight,” the famous battle on the Alabama River in the Creek War in which the settlers got the better of the Red Stick Creeks after a humiliating defeat at Burnt Corn Creek. He served one term in the Alabama House of Representatives, one term in the Senate, and one term as chancellor of Mobile County. Afterwards, he devoted his professional practice to railroad law and finance and was a founder of the Mobile and West Alabama Railroad.

About half the people in Spring Hill are descended from him: the Austills, Lotts, Gates and others.

Birthplace: Hale County, Alabama Parents: Thomas C. McCorvey and Netta Tutwiler McCorvey

Birthplace: Choctaw County, Alabama College: University of Alabama Spouse: Marie Grutka Worth noting: Seale—simply known as “Mr. Harry” by lawyers and courts—was the top all-around trial lawyer in Mobile for 50 years. After service in the Army during World War I, Harry moved to Mobile and married. Seale had a working-class background in the lumber mills, lead mines and rubber plants and could be rough when necessary, but graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Alabama in 1927 and from its law school. Seale became Mobile’s city attorney and held the job for 23 years until 1958. An aggressive and competitive trial lawyer, his expertise was criminal law. Though he thought he handled more murder cases than any lawyer in Mobile, he never had a client die in the electric chair. Seale, a storyteller and jackleg historian, shared his lawyer stories with newspapers and others. Without him, we would not have the few tales we have today.

College: University of Alabama Spouse: Emily Gray Children: Three daughters, all of whom died maiden ladies Worth noting: McCorvey’s aunt, Julia Tutwiler, was a notable progressive and prison reformer. McCorvey was a noted conservative, and while some Mobile lawyers would be considered “heroes” regarding racial equality, McCorvey likely would not, despite being a very good lawyer.

As a member of the University of Alabama board, McCorvey, himself a Crimson Tide running back and graduate, took part in two events resisting integration. He and other trustees led the expulsion of AfricanAmerican student Autherine Lucy in 1956, and as president pro tem of the board in 1963, he led the board to support Gov. Wallace in his “stand in the schoolhouse door” to avoid the university’s integration.

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HISTORY | ASK MCGEHEE

Did the city of Mobile enact a law against women wearing high-heeled shoes? text by TOM MCGEHEE

On October 15, 1959, a city ordinance went into effect prohibiting women from wearing shoes with heels higher than an inch and a half and less than an inch in diameter. The so-called “spike heels” were high fashion and led to a growing number of lawsuits filed against the city when the wearers got them stuck in sidewalk grates. Claims ranged from twisted ankles and broken bones to damaged shoes.

The city commissioners (forerunners of the current city council members) had enough. Upon notice of yet another lawsuit against the city, Commissioner Charles Hackmeyer exploded and said, “That makes 50 times we’ve been sued for that kind of rot. I move we do something about it!”

The announcement of this unusual ordinance became front-page news around the U.S. Columnists began a lively debate on the dangers of wearing the shoes. A Los Angeles radio station interviewed Mayor Joe Langan about Mobile’s new law, and a U.S. serviceman in Korea even wrote the city, begging officials not to ban women’s form-fitting sweaters, which were also popular in those days.

Permit Required Fashion-conscious Mobilians could still wear those spike heels if they applied for a permit with the city. When the permit portion of the law was announced, the switchboard at City Hall was swamped with calls. At 8 a.m. on October 16, 1959, 38 women were in line to apply. As part of the process, each applicant signed a waiver agreeing to hold the city harmless from any injuries suffered while wearing their heels.

Mobile’s effort was apparently not the first in America. In the 1920s, as skirts got shorter and the heels got higher, a bill in conservative Utah proposed that wearers of heels higher than one-and-a-half inches would be fined up to $500 and face up to a year in jail. By the late 1950s, major airlines, fearing a puncture to metal cabin floors, outlawed high heel shoes altogether.

Experts in 1963 estimated that the popular stiletto was responsible for the necessary replacement of a half billion dollars’ worth of damaged flooring in the United States. By the end of that decade, American floors would be saved, when a new generation of women began shedding their high heels

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ABOVE An ad for Baker’s Shoe Store on Dauphin Street, advertising fashionable spike heel shoes, appears in the same Mobile PressRegister issue that announces the shoes’ banishment. PHOTO COURTESY MOBILE PRESS-REGISTER

for more sensible shoes. But fashion comes in circles. Queen Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) preferred high heels, and first lady Melania Trump has been criticized for wearing stilettoes in recent months.

Regardless of the fashions though, Mobilians had better avoid sidewalk grates while wearing their high heels. The city is still protected from an attempted lawsuit should an injury occur, although it is unclear when the last permit was issued. MB

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END PIECE | IN LIVING COLOR

Schoolgirls at the Yacht Club, 1910 Original photo from Anne Randolph Crichton, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library Colorization by Dynamichrome Limited

Four schoolgirls from Baker Graded School, pictured in 1910, pose during what appears to be an exciting field trip to the Mobile Yacht Club at Monroe Park. The private girls’ day school, led by Miss Nannie Baker, was established in 1888 and was located at 155 N. Claiborne St. Behind the girls is a lavish twostory clubhouse, which boasted wide verandahs and comfortable furnishings. According to the Mobile Yacht Club’s website, the structure was completely destroyed by the hurricane of 1916. As a result, and because of the United States’ entry into World War I, a new clubhouse was not built until 1940, just north of the mouth of Dog River on the site of the existing Mobile Yacht Club.

Do you know anything about Baker Graded School or the girls pictured? Let us know! Email ahartin@pmtpublishing.com.

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