Mobile Bay Magazine - October 2018

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES

October 2018

THE FALL ISSUE

IN-SEASON DOORSTEPS Master the look with 3 local designers

SOUTHERN COMFORT Family recipes made with love

AT HOME WITH

DIANA & BLAIR NEWMAN

BOILED PEANUTS

FALL FASHION FEATURING: CHALEUR COFFEE’S ELEANOR HILLEY, BIG CITY TOYS’ MELANIE CLARK & COLLECTIVE’S SARAH THOMAS

How-to with Fidler Farms

2 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 3

4 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXIV / ISSUE 10

OCTOBER 2018 46

Small Biz, Big Style The looks of the season are shown off in style by three entrepreneurial ladies.

SARAH THOMAS, OWNER OF COLLECTIVE, STUNS IN A SUNCOO SILVER SEQUIN BLOUSE FROM DEBRA’S, ABSTRACT MULTICOLOR SKIRT FROM STUDIO BLU AND SUEDE “CHASE” DOLCE VITA BOOTIES IN CINNAMON FROM DEBRA’S. PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

56

Midtown Marvel The Newmans’ Midtown home showcases pieces from their collections and travels.

65

Best of the Best

Prepare these award-winning recipes from local chefs in your own kitchen.

 Have you ever wanted to recreate that oh-so-special dish you tasted at one of the many cook-offs held annually around town?

Now’s your chance! Visit page 65 to find the top recipes from winners in all categories.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 5

OCTOBER 2018 20

ON OUR COVER Eleanor Hilley, owner of Chaleur Coffee, wears a burnt orange Elliatt dress from Studio Blu and a turquoise chunky beaded necklace from Sway.

PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

28

9 EDITOR’S NOTE 10 REACTION 13 ODDS & ENDS

18

14 SPOTLIGHT Drag Brunch fun at OK Bicycle Shop 16 THE DISH 18 TASTINGS Crust is a must at Section Street Pizza in Fairhope 20 BAY TABLES Comfort food recipes made from the heart 28 GUMBO Boiled peanuts, fall’s well-loved Southern treat

30 DECORATING Dress up your doorstep for fall

42 SPOTLIGHT Kathy Hicks’ eye and lens are for the birds

92 ASK MCGEHEE The Bankhead Tunnel toll as it once was

36 SPOTLIGHT Meet the new owners of Atchison Home

80 OCTOBER CALENDAR

94 IN LIVING COLOR Pool players at Jim’s Billiards on Davis Avenue

38 AMAZING LIFE Ross Hutchisson’s rod and reel repair legacy

86 ARCHIVES The ghosts of Mobile past fill local halls and homes 90 BAY LIFE One dog’s life and legacy will never be forgotten

POUND CAKE PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU JIMMIE FIDLER PHOTO BY TED MILES SECTION STREET PIZZA PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

 Mazes and music and food, oh my! Festivals are the talk of the town this fall, from autumn frights to tasty delights.

Find the biggest and best the city has to offer on page 81.

6 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 7

Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXIV

No10

OCT 2018

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

EDITORIAL INTERN Jennifer Le

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

ADVERTISING

SALES MANAGER

Joseph A. Hyland Anna Pavao ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jennifer Ray

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Mark Singletary

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Jill Gentry, Tom McGehee, Breck Pappas, Elizabeth Parker , Christy Dobson Reid, Mac Walcott CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Summer Ennis Ansley, Colleen Comer, Matthew Coughlin, Todd Douglas, Elizabeth Gelineau, Jill Gentry, Kathy Hicks, Ted Miles, Chad Riley, Elise Poché 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 © 2018 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 .

8 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

EXTRAS | EDITOR’S NOTE

Such a Goober

E

very Saturday in the fall we stop at Hazel’s to pick up a big zip-top bag of boiled peanuts to have on hand for watching the game.

It’s an addictive October ritual that my husband introduced me to when we first met. I must admit, I never ate boiled peanuts growing up, but now I am hooked. It’s a bonus that we live in a part of the country where the peas grow and can be boiled green, straight from the fields.

And according to the Fidler family, who cultivates 100 acres of the jumbo legumes in Baldwin County, now is the ideal time to harvest and boil ‘em up.

Despite coming to the boiled peanut game late in life, I have peanuts in my blood. My great-grandfather was a peanut seller in Enterprise, Alabama, in the 1910s, and sold the legumes under the name “Goff’s Good Goobers,” Goff being his last name. My grandmother was the first Queen Peanut, a real honor back then, I am told, although these days I think it’s more of a pageant.

She went back for the 75-year anniversary of her coronation to wave her hand regally at the crowds and usher in a new reign of royalty. At the ceremony she wore a long, cream-colored silk cape embellished with dozens of shining, golden peanuts. If that doesn’t make you smile like a greyhound with peanut butter on his lips, I don’t know what will.

Speaking of things that make you smile, fall has arrived. The humidity has dropped just so and the temps have cooled ever so slightly at night. Summer storms are gone and the skies are bright and blue. The light is different. You feel good because of the changes, small as they may be, despite the fact that we don’t get a very robust autumn in this part of the world.

When it comes to fall highlights, Halloween is one of my personal favorites, never being one to pass up a wild costume or a sweet treat. My Halloween fun has flown to new heights in recent years thanks to the Witches Ride.

Organized in Fairhope and downtown Mobile as fundraisers for local charities, the rides are a real hoot! A coven of friends all dress to kill and dust off their brooms (cruiser bikes with extra-large candy baskets) to parade through the streets in ghoulish fashion. Tickets are hard to come by, and my coven stakes out the event website to get ours in the first minutes, or else be left in the cold!

So whether your idea of the perfect fall includes football, fresh fashion, carving pumpkins or good goobers, we hope this fall issue puts a spell on you!

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING A SELFIE OF MY COVEN FLYING DOWN THE STREET IN LAST YEAR’S WITCHES PARADE

GOOD GOOBERS GREEN PEANUTS ARE FRESH FROM THE FIELD AND READY FOR BOILING TIME!

[LOVE THIS ISSUE]

PEACEMAKER THE FOUR CORNERS PIZZA AT SECTION STREET PIZZA GIVES EACH MEMBER OF THE FAMILY EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT, AND GIVES MOM’S SANITY A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN.

COMFORT FOOD MY DEAR FRIEND, AMELIA BOBO, BROUGHT OVER THIS BANANA BREAD WHEN WE HAD OUR FIRST BABY AND IT WAS THE PERFECT PICK-ME-UP!

PILLOW TALK I LOVE THE POPS OF CHARTREUSE IN DIANA NEWMAN’S LIVING AND KID’S ROOM, SHOWN RIGHT. THE MONOGRAM WAS ADDED TO HER OWN PILLOWS BY WHAT A STITCH.

ROUND AND ROUND CHAPEL FARM COLLECTION CARRIES A BEVY OF BEAUTIFUL BAGS BY NEELY AND CHLOE, SEVERAL SHOWN IN OUR FALL FASHION FEATURE. I AM COVETING THIS ROUND NUMBER MYSELF!

Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR

maggie@pmtpublishing.com

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 9

EXTRAS | REACTION

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

Tell us how you really feel ...

The photo was most likely taken in front of Mobile Hall at Spring Hill College. I love looking at these old images.

- Ward Faulk III It looks like the front of St. Joseph’s School — my old grammar school.

- Monica McDonald The building in the background of the 1915 crash scene is the St. Joseph’s parochial school.

- Tom Trott

“GIRLS CAN” INSPIRE On August’s “Sisters Who Podcast” So exciting ladies. So proud!

- Tricia DeMouy O’Neill

CAR CRASHED THE INTERNET On August’s “In Living Color” of a car crash in front of an unidentified building

It looks like the old St. Joseph’s grammar school. Today it is called the Wings of Life Recovery Center.

COVERED IN COMPLIMENTS

Mobile Bay THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES

The building is the old St. Joseph’s Catholic school. I attended school there.

- Stephen Zakrzewski

- Thomas Neese

The car crash was in front of St. Joseph’s School on Jefferson and St. Louis.

I went to school there in the ’40s, and I recognize the people as the dads and granddads of boys I went to school with.

I’m pretty sure the picture is in front of the Old Shell Road Elementary School.

I taught there for a year in the early 1980s. My classroom was over the main entrance, on the right side of the picture.

- Charlie Moss

THE FAMILY ISSUE

- Howard Andrews

The building is the one on the north side of St. Louis Street, near Broad Street, that now houses the nonprofit organization, Wings of Life.

- Sue Cato Winter I am very certain that this picture was taken in front of St. Joseph’s School, which my father and many of my relatives attended.

August 2018

Your covers have been 100!

WHAT’S FOR

DINNER?

WONDER KIDS

Great cover!

GO GREEN!

LITTLE WAYS TO MAKE A BIG IMPACT

OLIVIA SMITH The swimmer to watch

DREAM BEDROOMS

- Amanda Pritchard

10 TOP-NOTCH TEENS

MUST-LIST IDEAS FROM SAVVY MOMS

$3.95

- Katie Mount Kirby

FOR TOTS TO TEENS

The crashed car appears to be in front of the old St. Joseph’s Catholic school, which was located on St. Louis Street, near the intersection of Broad and Springhill Avenue. I enjoy reading Mobile Bay Magazine for news and events on both sides of Mobile Bay. - Chris C. Bailey III

On August’s cover featuring Daphne High School senior, Olivia Smith

WWW.MOBILEBAYMAG.COM

CLARIFICATION On September’s cover September’s issue features a cover line mentioning the landmark concert of soprano Renée Fleming. To clarify, the Mobile Symphony Orchestra was the organization responsible for bringing the world-renowned vocalist to the Port City.

- Laurie Oester

 Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue with us? Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com.

10 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

[MORE ONLINE]

Find additional local stories on mobilebaymag.com.

Here’s what’s new on the website!

Looks Like Fall Share your front porch pictures with us! Use the tag #MBfalldecor on Instagram to show us how you’re decorating your home this season.

Check out the designs starting on page 30 for inspiration!

Monster Mash

PHOTO BY ELISE POCHÉ

Sing along while you read! Follow us on Spotify (search “mobilebaymag”), and find our October 2018 playlist filled with tunes inspired by this month’s issue.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered From meal prep and takeout to laundry and vet care, local delivery services are here to make your life just a little easier.

Calling All Brides!

The deadline for our early bird discount to reserve your spot in Mobile Bay Bride 2019 is Oct. 31! Go online to purchase your announcement at a reduced rate.

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.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 11

12 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS

Rise and Fall text by HALLIE KING

125 YEARS since the Ferris wheel was invented by George W. Ferris for the 1893 World’s Fair.

Ride the Ferris wheel and more attractions that travel annually from Canada to Mobile at the Greater Gulf State Fair, starting on Oct. 26.

“Would you purchase a haunted house?”

- Realtor.com

32% YES

October 22 is

NATIONAL NUT DAY

Each fall, Pantone releases their Colors of the Season for a little style inspiration. Some of our favorites include Ceylon Yellow, Red Pear, Russet Orange and Quetzal Green.

We found some fall inspiration of our own on page 30.

500 MILES

that migrating birds fly over the Gulf of Mexico without stopping to rest.

Don’t forget about America’s favorite not-so-nutty nut. Technically a legume like beans and peas, peanuts are the most popular “nut” in the United States, making up 67 percent of nut sales.

Visit page 28 for our guide to boiling the legumes like a pro.

[ FAST FACT ]

Migrating birds use the stars above and sounds from the earth below to find their way at night. october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 13

PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

What a Drag A downtown Mobile restaurant hosts an over-the-top drag brunch that, for those with a wild sense of humor and a bottomless mimosa, is a rollicking good time. text and photos by MOBILE BAY MAGAZINE STAFF

D

ollar bills. Mimosas. Wigs. Pop songs. Lipstick. Welcome to Mobile’s Drag Queen Brunch, hosted by OK Bicycle Shop on Dauphin Street the first Saturday and third Sunday of each month, rain or shine.

The brunch features a special menu and copious amounts of Champagne and orange juice, but the main attraction is the Wakettes — Champagne Munroe, Jawakatema Davenport and Zamareyah Dawn. Dressed in elaborate costumes, stilettos, flawless makeup and wigs, the ladies lip-sync to well-loved pop hits while dancing, flipping and even performing “death drops” — on-purpose falls that result in the drag queen on her back with a leg folded underneath — all while collecting hundreds of single dollar bills being thrust at them by excited bachelorettes and birthday girls.

It’s impressive.

“Sometimes people think there’s some kind of agenda in drag,” says Jawakatema Davenport, who goes by Joshua Lockwood when not performing as Davenport in clubs along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to Pensacola. “But really, we just want to make money, entertain people and express ourselves. If you think about it, everybody has a drag queen in them. Everyone has listened to a song in the car or in the shower and performed

14 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

in some kind of way. We just take it to another level and have a spotlight and stage to do it on.”

Drag is an adrenaline rush like any other performance, Davenport says, comparing the experience of a drag show to any other concert or theater production.

“At my shows, I like for people to forget what’s going on in their lives for a little ABOVE LEFT Champagne Munroe’s pink patterned one-piece and blue wig wow the patrons armed with tips at OK Bicycle shop.

ABOVE RIGHT Zamareyah Dawn performs in an extravagant black and white ensemble complete with full-face makeup, floral jewelry and glistening thigh-high boots.

while,” Davenport says. “If you’re having a bad time at work or an argument with your spouse, you can come and forget about all of that and enjoy yourself. I love to see people in the crowd smiling, jumping up and down and cheering.”

Drag can be a full-time career for some performers, but Davenport says most of the money she makes at a show is invested back into costumes, jewelry, makeup and wigs.

“It’s a lot of work, and it’s actually pretty expensive,” Davenport says. “For example, we spend a lot of time on padding — we create our curves out of foam — and I have to spend a lot on shoes because I wear a size 12 in men’s.”

Davenport was born and raised in Mobile and in 2003 moved to Birmingham, where the drag scene was already booming. She performed “Toxic” by Britney Spears as a joke at an amateur night but ended up winning the competition.

“Winning that $50 was a huge deal as a college freshman,” Davenport says.

“I was hooked.”

Davenport moved back to Mobile in 2007, and says the community has since welcomed the drag brunch sensation. The regular event at OK Bicycle Shop began as a one-time fundraiser for a local charity.

“The place was sold out — standing room only,” Davenport says. “I was like, ‘I see dollar signs. I think this could happen.’

And now it’s been going strong for over a year. Here we are, three drag queens with a regular gig at a venue on Dauphin Street in Mobile, Alabama. It’s been amazing.” MB

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 15

FOOD | THE DISH

Bite of the Bay

DR. MARSHALL SHOEMAKER, Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shoemaker OB-GYN

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS AT COUSIN VINNY’S “One of my favorite places on Sunday nights is Cousin Vinny’s in Daphne. I gravitate to the spaghetti and meatballs, with just the right amount of well-seasoned meat sauce, perfectly cooked noodles and two meatballs only slightly smaller than tennis balls. It is truly something special. The garlic toast and a glass of Chianti or Cabernet blend round out a delightful supper that helps prepare for the week ahead.”

COUSIN VINNY’S • 1709 MAIN ST., DAPHNE 626-6082 • FACEBOOK.COM/VINNYSDAPHNE

KRISTI GALLOWAY, Community Relations Officer, Regions Bank

BLT AT THE NOBLE SOUTH “I love working downtown and my goto lunch spot is The Noble South. With a friendly neighborhood feel, it’s classic Southern food at its best. The BLT is hard to beat. They keep it classic with bacon and heirloom tomatoes on toasted wheat bread, but add kale and housemade green goddess dressing for an updated twist.

Not only do I always enjoy the food, but the atmosphere is fun and welcoming.”

THE NOBLE SOUTH • 203 DAUPHIN ST. 690-6824 • THENOBLESOUTHRESTAURANT.COM

AMERI’CA TICKLE, Owner/Designer, Tickle Creative Company

BY-CATCH SANDWICH AT BAYSIDE GRILL “The blackened by-catch fish sandwich from Bayside Grill at the Grand Hotel is one of my go-tos. Sourcing of food is important to me, so the fact that they serve wild Gulf seafood is a plus. I order it bun-free, and the side of apple slaw is crisp, light and not too sweet. Along with handmade chutney and relishes, it is a truly delicious sandwich! The southwest view of the Bay at sunset doesn’t hurt the experience at all.”

TANDOORI CHICKEN WITH INDIAN FRIED BREAD AT LOS ARCOS. PHOTO BY ELISE POCHÉ

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

DR. RAOUL RICHARDSON, Senior V.P. of Research and Development, Baheth Research & Development Laboratories LTD

TANDOORI CHICKEN AT LOS ARCOS “At the urging of a friend I discovered Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant and walked into a fusion experience. The selection of fresh ingredients and cross-cultural diversity led me to the Tandoori Chicken. The chicken is marinated in aromatic Indian spices, grilled, and served atop a salad of organic spring mix, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, olives, artichokes and feta cheese. Be certain to try the remarkable sangria and a mango lassi for dessert!”

BAYSIDE GRILL • 1 GRAND BLVD., POINT CLEAR

LOS ARCOS MEXICAN• 5556 OLD SHELL ROAD

928-9201 • GRAND1847.COM

345-7484 • LOSARCOSMOBILE.COM

 What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page!

16 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 17

FOOD | TASTINGS

Section Street Pizza text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

T

hey say you should pick a business partner that you really like. For the duo who recently opened Section Street Pizza in downtown Fairhope, it’s more familial than that. After a lifetime of hearing her dad, Mark Foster, reminisce about the glory days at his first job at a pizza joint, Elizabeth Pieczynski finally got a wild hair and thought a pizza business with her dad would be a blast. They jumped into the deep end this summer and opened their first restaurant — a bright and airy corner pizzeria with a looming brick oven and a family-friendly atmosphere.

Because the retail development, located across from the Fairhope Civic Center, was just under construction, Elizabeth got to design the space from top to bottom, a job she calls “a complete heart attack.” Thank goodness for Pinterest and lots of pizza parlor research, which kept Elizabeth focused on the look she was after.

With a young daughter at home, Elizabeth was acutely aware of the lack of dinner spots where a family with kids would feel welcome.

She wanted Section Street to be a family’s go-to dinner spot. To that end, she designed the Four Corners Pizza, which allows each member of the family to pick their own toppings, customizing their very own slice of heaven. Something as simple as that makes peace on the home front a real possibility.

In addition to being family-friendly, Elizabeth also wanted the pizzeria to be a welcome space for people with special needs to dine — and, more importantly, to work. Inspired by her mom’s career, she and her dad decided to make it a safe place where employees can be comfortable in their uniqueness. “It’s a small restaurant, and our staff is a tight-knit group. I talk to their moms, and they have job coaches. The goal was to integrate that into the business model from the start,” Elizabeth explains humbly, emphasizing that neither she nor her employees seek attention for the hard work they are doing.

And hard work it is, owning a restaurant. Elizabeth perfected the pizza dough recipe over months and months of trial and error, and it takes 4 hours to produce (make that three days and 4 hours when you add in the proofing time!). It takes serious preparation, but Elizabeth and Mark can be found mixing the dough together daily.

“I’m proud that we don’t take shortcuts,” Elizabeth says. “We love finding ingredients that might be temperamental, like fresh basil and arugula, but that add so much to the flavor of the pizza.

Our pepperoni has no preservatives, and the prosciutto is the same.

We don’t slack on ingredients.” This classic pizza joint also offers modern choices like gluten-free crusts, vegan cheese and only the freshest vegetables. Old meets new at this multigenerational joint where there’s a whole lot of love put into your pizza pie. MB

 Section Street Pizza • 5 - 9 p.m. T, W, Su. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Th - Sa. Closed Mondays 108 N Section St., Fairhope • sectionstpizza.com • average entree price $13

18 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

FOOD | TASTINGS

THE BOSS

ARUGULA BIANCA

[ON THE MENU ]

FOUR CORNERS

CHICKEN AVOCADO CAPRESE Warm bites of perfectly grilled chicken, tiny mozzarella balls, diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, mixed baby greens and fresh basil are arranged like a Cobb salad and drizzled with balsamic reduction.

THE BOSS PIZZA Meat lovers to the max! This popular pie at Section Street has fresh mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce and five different meats: Italian sausage, ground beef, prosciutto, bacon and pepperoni.

ARUGULA BIANCA PIZZA This sophisticated pie has fresh mozzarella, crushed garlic, Parmesan and Romano cheeses, salty prosciutto di Parma and a drizzle of decadent truffle oil. Then it’s topped with fresh baby arugula for a crisp and peppery contrast.

FOUR CORNERS PIZZA The only way to have peace at dinnertime — A braid of handmade dough divides a tomato and mozzarella pie into quadrants. Then choose the toppings you want on each section to make everyone in the family happy.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 19

FOOD | BAY TABLES

JAN OSMON’S CHICKEN POT PIE recipe page 27

20 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

FOOD | BAY TABLES

Comforting Body and Soul The long-standing Southern tradition of bringing comfort food to those we love continues generation after generation, oftentimes with the same tried and true recipes. text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

T

here is something magical about a handwritten recipe card, as if it carries with it little pieces of the souls of all the hands that have touched it and all the celebrations its ingredients have welcomed. The most powerful recipe cards are the ones written in the cursive hand of someone — usually of a relative, perhaps several generations back and now deceased. It sparks an instant connection to the past.

When MB arrived at the home of Tricia Williams in Montrose to take a look at her famous pound cake, her binder of handwritten recipes was laid out on the counter, a chronological record of all the celebrations she has witnessed through the years with her family.

There was the teapot cake recipe she once made for her mom; the chocolate ganache recipe she goes back to time and time again; the birthday cakes for each child’s birthday with notes about the event.

There are plenty of recipes printed from websites and photocopied from cookbooks, but the truly magical ones are all handwritten.

This particular day is baking day. Despite a week so hectic it could make your head spin, Tricia had baked a Lane cake, a chocolate layer cake, some chocolate crinkle cookies and a glorious, mile-high pound cake. She explained that all her children’s birthdays fall in the same week, and she always makes their cakes from scratch. Today was the day to knock the baking out.

This pound cake is not ours at all but made with love for her daughter Raine’s 35th birthday. Tricia always uses the same recipe from “Little Rock Cooks,” a cookbook by The Junior League of Little Rock, Arkansas, where she lived as a newlywed. The cookbook was a gift from a friend in 1972, and it has been the gift that keeps on giving.

Each of the following recipes represents the time-honored tradition of bringing home-cooked food to those we love. Sometimes we head to the kitchen for joyous occasions — such as a birthday or birth of a baby. But we also cook as a show of support during an illness or death in a family. These five home cooks share their go-to recipes for such occasions, made with love and full of comfort or joy, ready to pass along.

ABOVE This batch of Tricia Williams’ scrumptiously crackled pound cake is especially made with love for her daughter’s birthday.

OPPOSITE The design in the crust atop Jan Osmon’s chicken pot pie is cut out and decorated by hand.

MB TIP: Handwrite a small tag giving the recipient instructions on how to best freeze or reheat your dish, just in case they are inundated with food and need to save something for later.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 21

22 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

FOOD | BAY TABLES t ONE-DISH WONDER Sometimes the best advice is to keep it simple. Caitlyn Waite is an accomplished home cook, and before kids she loved the challenge of a complicated recipe. But these days, with two kids and a busy schedule, she looks for hassle-free recipes. Any time she takes food to a friend who is sick or has a new baby, she bundles the dish with paper plates, paper napkins and disposable cutlery. Her lima beans and rice recipe is quick to reheat one bowl at a time, and is also quick for Caitlyn to pull together. She adapted it from a red beans and rice recipe, saying that she personally doesn’t love red beans, so she came up with her own creative twist on the homey dish. Amidst a sea of casseroles, a meal like this is a welcome change. When she is not putting her creative twist on modern-day recipes, Caitlyn loves to pore over the scrapbook her grandmother made for her as a wedding present — it contains all of the old family recipes, including the famous cheese wafers that were favors at Caitlyn’s wedding. Some family recipes are too good not to share!

MB TIP: To simplify the process for yourself and your recipient, deliver meals in throw-away aluminum pans. They won’t have to wash anything and you won’t have to wait for a return!

EASY AS PIE u Nothing says comfort like the smell of a chicken pot pie warm from the oven. Nothing says pure love like heart-shaped steam holes carefully cut out of the pastry crust. Jan Osmon makes everything with love and shares with abundance. She and her sister both make the same chicken pot pie recipe anytime there is a new neighbor to welcome, a baby to celebrate or a sickness or death in the family. A warm meal that’s a cinch to pull together is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. This recipe can be made the old-fashioned way — fresh vegetables, slow-cooked chicken and pastry made from scratch. It can also be thrown together in a pinch with rotisserie chicken and refrigerated pie crust. Both versions are a welcome treat. Jan once gave this dish to a dear friend whose mother had passed away. Her daughter had one taste and begged for the recipe. Jan obligingly shared, and added a miniature heart-shaped cookie cutter so her friend’s daughter could make the same sweet steam holes. The dish is now a hit on the other family’s dinner table, too. The love keeps going ’round and ’round.

MB TIP: If you’re delivering a warm meal, wrap it in a thrift store or estate sale towel. The dish will stay warm and the recipient will then have a gift that they can use time and time again.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 23

FOOD | BAY TABLES

t KEEP IT SIMPLE Hollie MacKellar was born and raised on the Eastern Shore and has a large group of lifelong friends within close reach. When her mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, these same friends rallied around her and her family, spoiling them with love, many cases in the form of food. She knows a thing or two about bringing a casserole or baked good to a friend in need, having been on the receiving end so many times. Hollie says her mom never had the time to master complicated recipes when they were growing up, but later in life, a part-time job at Williams Sonoma introduced her to a whole new world of food.

She poured herself into the recipes, ingredients and gadgets that the gourmet retailer is known for. Hollie’s mother’s monkey bread recipe, however, is ridiculously simple and completely addictive. It’s perfect for casual eating — just pull off a piece and enjoy — making it ideal when folks are too busy or too distracted to sit down at the breakfast table. Everything looks a little cheerier with one of these on the kitchen counter!

MB TIP: Think of dishes that store well at room temperature or reheat in the microwave easily. With a new baby or family tragedy, you often want to grab a quick bite at an unusual time of day (or night!).

FAMILY TRADITION u Amelia Bobo has deep roots in Alexander City, Alabama. Her fourtimes great-grandparents were some of the original settlers there, and she counts the town’s second mayor as family. Amelia loves to browse her great-grandmother’s recipe book, much of which was taken from the Alexander City Methodist Church cookbook. The banana bread is a favorite. Amelia says a warm loaf makes a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert. It’s easy to grab a piece on the go when life is crazy and time is short. When baking for her own family, though, she likes to switch out the white flour for whole wheat and reduce the amount of sugar, saying her family is none the wiser. However, you can’t go wrong when you stick with an original — this one is a blue ribbon winner from the Baldwin County Fair! Amelia laughs that as a newcomer to the area a number of years ago, she got a wild hair and entered the recipe in the baking contest — something completely out of character for her to do. The rest is history, and you should definitely add this one to your recipe files. MB MB TIP: Write the ingredients of your dish on a tag!

That way, your recipient knows if nuts, dairy, gluten, soy or other allergens and irritants are in your dish.

24 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 25

MOM’S MONKEY BREAD

TRICIA’S POUND CAKE

ALEX ANDER CITY METHODIST CHURCH BANANA BREAD

LIMA BEANS AND RICE

26 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

TRICIA’S POUND CAKE

JAN’S CHICKEN POT PIE

SERVES 12

SERVES 6

Tricia Williams - Recipe adapted from “Little Rock Cooks,” a cookbook by The Junior League of Little Rock, Arkansas. Tricia adds almond extract to all her baked goods when she can, and it adds the perfect extra punch of flavor to this pound cake.

Jan Osmon - In a pinch, this recipe can be made with rotisserie chicken from the deli and refrigerated pie crust.

1 1/2 cups butter 3 cups sugar 6 eggs 3 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Gradually add dry ingredients to mixer, beating well. Add vanilla and almond extracts.

Fold in sour cream just until combined.

3. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two loaf pans. Pour batter into pans and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool slightly before gently removing from pan, then let cool completely on a wire rack.

MOM’S MONKEY BREAD SERVES 10

Hollie MacKellar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 cans (16.3 ounces each) Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large-storage plastic food bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.

2. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding pecans to the biscuit pieces.

3. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter. Pour over biscuit pieces.

4. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and serve warm.

Double pie crust 2 cups diced or shredded chicken 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 cups chicken stock 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced Fresh or frozen peas and carrots, if desired Kosher salt White or black pepper, freshly ground Herbes de Provence

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pie plate with cooking spray. Line pie plate with bottom crust and add bite-sized pieces of diced or shredded chicken.

2. Mix cornstarch with water to form a thin paste and stir into chicken stock. Cook in a saucepan over medium heat until desired thickness is achieved. Cool completely.

3. Add hard-boiled eggs to chicken pieces along with peas and carrots, if using. Add salt and pepper and herbs de Provence.

4. Pour the cooled, thickened broth over chicken mixture and seal with the top crust.

Flute the edges. Use small cookie cutters to make two or three steam holes.

5. Bake 30 - 40 minutes and serve warm.

ALEXANDER CITY METHODIST CHURCH BANANA BREAD MAKES 3 LOAVES

Amelia Bobo 1 cup butter, room temperature 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 large ripe bananas, mashed 1 cup nuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and beat well. Add buttermilk and vanilla and combine.

2. Combine flour and baking soda in a separate bowl, then alternate adding flour and bananas to butter-sugar mixture. When completely combined, fold in nuts.

3. Lightly grease 3 medium-sized loaf pans and fill with batter. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

LIMA BEANS AND RICE SERVES 6 - 8

Caitlyn Waite - Recipe adapted from “Love Welcome Serve” by Amy Nelson Hannon. Caitlyn swapped the red beans for limas in this quick and easy recipe that feeds a crowd. Don’t forget the throwaway container!

2 pounds Conecuh sausage, sliced into rounds 1 package center-cut bacon, chopped 1 orange bell pepper, chopped 1/2 yellow onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1/4 cup flour 1 can seasoned lima beans, partially drained 1 can large butter beans, partially drained 1 can okra, corn and tomato mixture, drained 1 cup beef or chicken stock 1 teaspoon creole seasoning, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups white rice, cooked according to package directions Cornbread or French bread, for serving

1. Preheat a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Brown the sausage and transfer to a plate and cover. In the same pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the grease in the pot.

2. Reduce the heat to low. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic, and saute in the bacon grease until translucent.

3. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook for 2 - 3 minutes, until flour is cooked.

4. Pour lima and butter beans, okra mix and stock over vegetable roux. Add creole seasoning and salt and stir to combine.

5. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

6. Return sausage and bacon to the pot and stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir in cooked rice.

7. Serve warm with cornbread or French bread.  What is your favorite recipe to take to a friend in need? Send us your best dishes and we will share them in an online gallery!

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 27

GUMBO | TRADITIONS

Goober Pea Guide The time is now for the best boiled peanuts, and MB has the tips for making good goobers at home. text by HALLIE KING • photos by TED MILES

N

“THERE ARE 30,000 ACRES OF PEANUTS IN BALDWIN COUNTY, BUT PEOPLE BUY GREEN PEANUTS FROM FIDLER FARMS BECAUSE WE GROW THE JUMBOS.” - Jimmie Fidler

o fall football weekend or drive down a country road is truly complete without a zip-top bag filled to the brim with hot, salty boiled peanuts.

And the time to enjoy them in their prime is now, when fresh green peanuts are being harvested from Baldwin County fields.

Jimmie Fidler, head farmer at Fidler Farms in Silverhill, is certainly not the only peanut farmer in Baldwin County, but he does have the monopoly on one special legume — jumbo green peanuts. He was the first to plant them in Baldwin County 27 years ago, and his farm is still the only supplier of fresh green peanuts in the area to this day. His small parcel of jumbo green peanuts — just 100 acres — gives Fidler Farms the advantage in the boiled peanut game because jumbo green peanuts make the most supple and tender product.

Green peanuts (no, they aren’t green in color) are those that are freshly harvested and combined directly from the soil. They aren’t dried after harvest, so they retain 30 to 50 percent of their moisture content. By comparison, raw peanuts — those that are dug and then dried — only retain 10 percent of their moisture content and roasted peanuts — dried raw peanuts that are then cooked — retain less still.

Therefore, when green peanuts are boiled, they require much less time than other varieties to soften and transform into the briny delicacy, making them the most sought-after crop to purchase pre-boiled or freshly harvested to throw into your own pot at home.

The trouble with green peanuts, however, is that you can only get them during harvest time (read: NOW). Peanuts are sown in the spring after the last frost, so they aren’t available to harvest until September and October. You can purchase raw or roasted peanuts year-round because they have a stable shelf life. Green peanuts, on the other hand, must be used almost immediately. Even when properly stored in the refrigerator, green peanuts may spoil within 10 days of harvest. So take advantage of the season and get your green peanuts into the pot as soon as possible! MB TOP TO BOTTOM Jamie Fidler uses a tractor to dig the day’s crop.

The peanuts then travel through a hand-engineered processor for cleaning and packing. fidlerfarms.com

28 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

FIDLER FARMS’ BOILED PEANUTS MAKES 10 POUNDS 5 pounds green peanuts 10 ounces salt

1. Add peanuts and salt to a large pot.

Cover peanuts with fresh water.

2. Boil for 2 hours, or longer if peanuts are more mature.

3. Drain and serve warm. Peanuts can be refrigerated or frozen and reheated in the microwave.

TIPS FOR BOILING SUCCESS: • Use 2 ounces of salt per pound of peanuts • Add any other flavors you like — Cajun seasoning is always a winner!

• Put all of your seasonings in at the beginning, because green peanuts don’t require much cooking time • If the cooked peanuts aren’t salty enough, soak for an hour off the heat for more flavor • If the peanuts are too salty, add fresh water to the pot

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 29

HOME | DECORATING

A Fall Welcome Wreaths and garlands are no longer just for Christmastime. Mobilians are decking their doorsteps for Mardi Gras, Easter and every holiday afterward. Here, four creative locals let the changing season inspire chic fall looks for every style and personality. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY

SOUTHERN THANKSGIVING

ELIZABETH DOYLE AND KIM LOWE, OVER THE TOP DECOR

Elizabeth Doyle and Kim Lowe’s friendship is the perfect example of two heads being better than one.

Each friend once worked alone, decorating homes and then comparing work with the other. And then it hit them — why don’t we collaborate? The pair enjoys dressing homes for any occasion, and for autumn, Elizabeth and Kim look for natural elements that can be repurposed or painted for Christmas and Mardi Gras decor.

30 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

LOOK TO YOUR OWN YARD FOR INSPIRATION. GATHER LEAVES AND PINECONES — FOR FREE!

“A door knocker in the middle of the door is no problem. Instead of using a metal over-the-door wreath hanger, hang your wreath on the knocker, bringing attention to the oft-neglected lower half.”

GET THE LOOK! BUILD OFF A WIDE GARLAND BASE Christmas garland makes a great, sturdy base for added embellishments. Use floral wire to secure items to the garland.

REUSE DECORATIONS Painting items, such as pinecones, will preserve them from one season to the next.

GATHER WHAT IS IN SEASON For fall, think gourds, pumpkins and leaves.

MIX TEXTURES Using different textiles gives an added depth.

MAKE LARGE CLUSTERS BEFOREHAND If you’re adding large clusters to the garland, make them ahead of time — in the air conditioning!

WHERE THEY SOURCED: RIBBONS – Al’s 5 &10 BURLAP – Al’s 5 &10 PINECONES – Their backyard MAGNOLIA LEAVES – Their backyard CYPRESS CLIPPINGS – Their backyard PHEASANT FEATHERS – eBay CORN & HUSKS – Etsy

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 31

HOME | DECORATING

FUNKY & FAB HALLOWEEN

BLAKELEY WEBB, LIGHTING DESIGNER

If you ask Blakeley Webb, too much is just enough.

And passers-by of her Dauphin Street home are thankful she decorates by that mantra. Not one to let a holiday slip by unadorned, Blakeley exceeds the confines of any decorating box, bringing her wildest dreams to life, especially during Halloween. Blakeley reaches for pieces from the collection she’s grown over the years, even using her old clothes for a witch’s ensemble.

EVEN INEXPENSIVE ITEMS, LIKE DOLLAR STORE PUMPKINS, WOW WHEN DONE IN MULTIPLES!

32 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

“When framing your front door with garland, anchor the midpoint of the garland to the ceiling, about 2 to 3 feet in front of the door. This gives the decor a three-dimensional look.”

GET THE LOOK! PLAN AHEAD Treat your garland as one unit.

Attach embellishments with floral wire, and at the end of the season, just move the whole garland to storage rather than removing individual pieces.

MESH IS A GREAT SUPPLY TO HAVE ON HAND The weather in Mobile can wreak havoc on outdoor decorations, but mesh can stand up to the heat and humidity.

PAINT THE INTERIOR Neon paint on the inside of pumpkins not only revitalizes them but also makes them more visible at night.

CUT RIBBON IN 3 – 4 FOOT SECTIONS Nothing is more frustrating than trying to work with an entire spool of ribbon — or any fabric — at once. Shorter sections make twisting and tying much easier.

FISHING LINE Fishing line is good for attaching items and for hanging the garland. Look for line that has been tested for a high weight — garland gets heavy quickly!

WHERE SHE SOURCED: RIBBON AND MESH – Al’s 5 & 10 CERAMIC PUMPKINS – Similar to shown can be found at Old Time Pottery PLASTIC PUMPKINS – Walmart BROOMSTICKS – Similar to shown can be found at Michael’s LIGHTS – Hobby Lobby WITCH – Designer’s private collection

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 33

HOME | DECORATING

“Who says design has to stay on the porch?

Consider decorating a garden gate instead.”

COTTON IS SUCH A CLASSIC SOUTHERN ELEMENT, ITS USE CANNOT BE OVERDONE!

SWEETLY SOUTHERN

PAGE SMITH, PAGE SMITH DECOR & DESIGNS

You won’t find Page Smith with idle hands.

She’ll likely have them tangled in ribbons and lights or dappled in paint, working on her next homemade project.

A decorator since childhood, Page finds no celebration or holiday too small to spruce.

When turning her sights to fall decorating, she keeps in mind the natural colors from crops of the region: hydrangea greens and cotton whites.

34 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

GET THE LOOK! MIX LOCAL ITEMS Visit local farms and farmers markets and buy what is in season. Don’t be afraid to buy a pumpkin from one place and flowers from another.

Mix and match!

CUSTOMIZE THE DECOR TO THE SETTING If it’s a rustic look you’re after, consider burlap and cotton, for example. If you’re decorating a more modern space, reflect that in your pieces.

WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE There is no need to buy everything new! Think about collections such as your china, scrap fabrics or your children’s toy box when decorating.

HARDY CHOICE A grapevine wreath makes a great foundation. The sturdiness of the grapevine makes it easy to build upon.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO RELOCATE Take a look around your home to find items that would work with the decor.

If you like a vase from an upstairs bedroom, for instance, bring it out for decoration during the season.

WHERE SHE SOURCED: DRIED HYDRANGEAS – Elizabeth’s Garden COTTON – Penry Farm DOUGH BOWL WITH STAND – Charles Phillips Antiques PUMPKINS – Hobby Lobby WOODEN PUMPKINS – Designer’s private collection BABY’S BREATH – Winn-Dixie

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 35

PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

Right at Home The new owners of Atchison Home talk design, inspiration and comfort. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photo by CHAD RILEY

T

ucked at the end of a tree-lined driveway, right off the bustling path of Dauphin Street, sits a four-story turn-of-the-century brick building, its history as Southern as mossy oaks and its contents as timeless as good manners and mint juleps. If the ivy lazily climbing the exterior and the patinacovered awning are not inviting enough, the gracious glass doorway certainly is, ushering you inside into the nearly all white first floor. The interior vibe feels comfortable and unrushed, and stress seems to melt away with each lilt of the eye throughout the thoughtfully decorated room.

For 30 years, Atchison Home has served as a sanctuary for home design. Tony and Sylvia Atchison, the eponymous original owners, opened the 20,000-plus square feet of showroom in 1988. One serendipitous day in January 2018, Andy Freeman, while shopping for office furniture during lunch, stuck his head in Tony’s office and mentioned that he and his partner, Jack McCown, would be interested in buying the business should the Atchisons decide to retire. The rest is proverbial history. In September, the Atchisons sold the business to Jack and Andy.

“They were already doing what we wanted to do,” Andy says, adding that he and Jack have always dreamed of owning their own furnishings store but knew they could not compete with Atchison Home.

As such, Jack and Andy have no plans to rename the business. “It’s brand recognition,” Jack says, “and the name still fits.” What it fits exactly is the store’s current offerings, from antiques to modern pieces, lamps to wall art — all things home.

36 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

ABOVE Andy Freeman and Jack McCown welcome all to the elegant Atchison Home experience.

“We won’t be reinventing the selection; we will just broaden the offerings to include things such as Turkish rugs, and maybe in the future, garden furniture. Quality remains, and we’re still offering elegance.”

Atchison Home is truly a one-stop design shop. On site is an architectural designer — Jack’s brother, Robert — and a team of interior designers — including Sylvia — making the transition from inception to fruition possible under one roof. “We want this to be a place where people can come in with their own tastes and ideas and experiment with design,” Jack says.

The couple complements each other like toile and pinstripes. Jack is the artistic half, falling in line with his multigenerational creative heritage — his grandfather was passionate about architecture and interior design, and he would often visit the Atchisons’ shop to discuss his clients’ design details. On the other hand, Andy, a transaction lawyer and the practical half, uses design as a creative outlet.

Jack and Andy find inspiration while traveling, citing their European biking trip through an ancient French village as one of the most memorable and motivational.

They also hope to teach and inspire others about design. “We want to educate the next generation,” Andy says. “Many times people think you can’t have nice furniture and have kids, but you can!” He continues on to note how fabrics have changed over the years.

“There are so many practical options.”

The options certainly don’t stop at fabrics.

Scouring multiple levels of classic, well-made furnishings could leave a customer feeling overwhelmed. Jack emphasizes that the whole home — or even whole room — does not have to be furnished all at once. Choose one or two staple pieces, and add to the collection as you are able. “When you buy nice furniture,” he says, “you can keep it forever. It’s timeless.”

As timeless as Atchison Home, in fact.

“We want everyone to feel welcome here, not just designers and decorators,” Jack says. “We want everyone to feel inspired just by walking through the door.” MB

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 37

PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

A Fisherman’s Best Friend A real angler needs a reel repairman. That’s where Ross Hutchisson comes in. text by BRECK PAPPAS • photos by TODD DOUGLAS

W

ith one fishing reel already disassembled, its inner workings laid out on the workbench like a murdered clock, Ross Hutchisson reaches for another. The paper tag dangling from the handle of this second reel gives him the diagnosis — something about a faulty drag gear. Without ceremony, the fishing reel doctor grips a drill and begins surgery on yet another patient.

“I don’t work on just one at a time,” he says. “I’ll tear four reels apart at once, have them all laid out here and go back and forth. I’ve been at it so long, I know what to look for.”

After a few quick bursts of the drill, Hutchisson exposes internal gadgetry, much of which is coated in a black, oily residue. He explains that this substance is a by-product of saltwater fishing that, if not cleaned out regularly, can really “gum up” gears. Within seconds, he notices something else.

“Someone’s already tried working on this reel and couldn’t put it 38 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

back together,” he says. “See? It’s missing a screw.”

Hutchisson says he sees this a lot — customers trying their hands at repair work before admitting they need the help of a professional. The only difference between these tinkering amateurs and the man whose help they seek is time. The 76-year-old Hutchisson is self-taught.

Having “always diddled” with fishing equipment, he turned that hobby into a career more than 30 years ago. Multiply that by the “500 or 600” pieces he estimates he works on in a year, and you realize that Ross Hutchisson has helped a lot of people catch a lot of fish.

In the workshop behind his home in Mobile, Hutchisson and his dog of 13 years, Ginger, sit among screwdrivers, brushes, spools of line, retired lures, cans of grease and fishing pictures of old. Two 5-gallon buckets on the floor hold a dozen or more reels needing maintenance, and countless fishing rods stand in clusters like forests of bamboo.

“People say, ‘How do you keep up with all this stuff?’ Well, I know exactly what everything is and who owns what,” he says. “This was

just a carport at one time. I used to work out here when it was completely open. Night, day and winter. There was nobody here but the dogs and me,” he says, nodding toward Ginger. “Well, not Ginger. Some other dogs.”

School of Fish Born in Mobile in 1942, Hutchisson’s fondest childhood memories involved fishing trips with his uncle down to Dauphin Island, “when there wasn’t all the crowds.”

“We did some things then that I would never think about doing now,” he says. “Like going to Petit Bois [Island] in a 14-foot wooden boat. I guess you could say that’s how I got into this a little bit.”

After attending McGill Institute (now McGill-Toolen), Hutchisson joined the Army, a decision that required his parents’ signatures since he wasn’t yet 18. He says his most memorable time in the service was the three years he spent in Germany, where he witnessed the building of the Berlin Wall.

Upon returning to Mobile, he found work repairing tugboats on the waterfront, got married and started a family. After switching to a career in finance, Hutchisson decided to pursue a dream.

“I’d always talked about opening a tackle shop with marine hardware,” he says.

“Back then, there were none. There was no Academy Sports, there was no West Marine, there was no Walmart.”

And so Hutchisson opened up Bow to Stern Supply at Springhill Avenue and I-65. “I kept it open for nine years, and then I decided I either had to get big or get out. So I got out.

But I had built up a clientele doing this stuff,” he says, gesturing around the workshop.

After a stint working for Sports Unlimited in Mobile, Hutchisson finally decided to commit to his own rod and reel repair operation full-time in 1987, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned on my own,” he says. “I’ll sit here at times when I can’t figure something out. I’ll take it apart, put it together, and that might take an hour OPPOSITE Ross Hutchisson constantly has an array of rods and reels at his work bench, ready to be repaired and returned to local clientele.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 39

and a half. But when I figure it out, it goes in here,” he says, with a tap on a fat white binder.

“There’s a lot of little tricks to the trade, you know. Like anything else.”

Like a car needs regular maintenance, a reel requires its own tune-ups, especially those cast in the Gulf. “Salt water wreaks havoc on fishing reels,” he says. “I do very little freshwater work.”

Business comes from several sources: a few charter boats out of Dauphin Island, Sam’s Bait and Tackle and The Rod Room in Orange Beach. “Those places don’t send just one or two reels,” he says. “It’s 10 or 20 at a time.” And of course, there are other regulars.

“Believe it or not, I’ve had some customers for 25 years,” Hutchisson says. “They’ll come every year to have their equipment serviced.

But most of it is word of mouth. I’ve been at it long enough.”

Hutchisson also builds custom rods, although the time-consuming nature of such work limits the number of projects he can take on. Building a rod, he explains, is the process of starting with a “blank” rod (usually made of fiberglass or graphite) and adding its components from the top down.

Not only is he building a rod suited for a particular type of fishing, but he’s also flexing his artistic muscle. A customer might ask for a certain color scheme or design, which Hutchisson achieves using spool after spool of colored thread. This “weaving” or “thread art” requires as much time as it does skill.

“I’ve done some rods that have taken 6 or 7 hours just to do the base wrap,” he says, standing before enough spools of thread to reach Cuba. Could it be that the fishing reel mechanic is also a bona fide artist?

“I don’t know about all that,” he says.

Talk of the Town There is one thing about business Hutchisson can’t deny. A sign in the workshop reads, “Cows may come and cows may go, but the bull in this place goes on forever.”

“That’s very true,” he says. “Very true.”

He would know. Since his early days working at Bow to Stern Supply, Hutchisson has attracted troublemakers and fabricators like fish to the hook.

“We have a lot of geehawing at times,” he

40 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Among Hutchisson’s clients are charter boat operators from Dauphin Island, who send him business by the bucketload.

Explaining the mechanics of a reel, Hutchisson says, “They all basically operate the same way. Once you learn a few of ’em, you’ve got the basics figured out.” Fishing line and spools of thread cover the walls of the eclectic workshop.

says. “Now when I had my store, there used to be regulars, and I’d let them sit around …

Next thing you know, you’ve got more lies than you can shake a stick at.

“It was a gathering place, so to speak.

Everybody would come in and tell lies about what they caught over the weekend or what they didn’t catch.” Hutchisson says there’s still an element of that at the carport workshop, but it’s nothing like the early days.

Just four minutes later, Hutchisson looks toward the door. “Here’s a fisherman now,” he says. As if on cue, a man named Johnny, “one of those 25-year customers we talked about,” has come by the shop to drop something off.

“I’m one of them customers that gets to the front of the line right quick,” Johnny says in agreement. “Once he’s gone, I don’t know

who I’m gonna use. You can’t get this kind of service anymore.”

In the days leading up to our interview, I had heard Hutchisson referred to as Mobile’s “priest of fishermen,” a man in whom you could confide about that one secret fishing spot, without fear that he’ll spill the beans to his next “geehawing” customer. But Hutchisson says there aren’t many secrets left these days.

“With electronics now, fish don’t even have a chance,” he says.

Although the secrets might have dried up, the conversations that occur within these walls are no less important — perhaps a unique form of therapy?

“Probably,” Hutchisson agrees. “For some of them, it is. A break in the action, so to speak. They come by here, like Johnny, and

catch up on what’s going on in Mobile fishing news.” Just don’t expect love advice from the man tuning your reel.

“I just listen,” he says laughing. “No advice.

I’m not a counselor.”

Hutchisson acknowledges the work beats a desk job, but there’s no denying it can be both highly technical and stressful. He has always had to fight to keep up with the changing market. New rod and reel companies and technologies spring up almost overnight, or a long-standing company will suddenly change the numbering system of its spare parts, knocking his inventory out of whack. But Hutchisson keeps diddling away, knowing that such challenges, like cows, come and go. After all these years, there’s little that the doctor, mechanic, artist and priest of fishermen can’t handle. MB

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 41

PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

Watching and Waiting Fall migration provides an avian wonderland for a local nature photographer and educator. text by AMANDA HARTIN • bird photos by K ATHY HICKS • portraits by ELISE POCHÉ

S

omewhere amongst the treetops surrounding 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center, a royal tern screeches an early morning welcome. Not to be outdone, noisy insects — a few of which are sure to be breakfast soon — chirp, hiss and buzz. Overhead, a wispy cloud or two dots the blue sky, and a light breeze signals fall has made its long-awaited way to the Gulf.

Early autumn along the Bay ushers in sweaters, bonfires, colorful foliage and — most excitedly for nature photographer Kathy Hicks — fall migration. Occurring primarily from October through mid-November, fall migration is the southern trek birds take from colder weather to milder climates in search of food.

Coastal Alabama provides the perfect respite en route to Central

42 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

and South America. Kathy arrives hoping to catch a glimpse of these winged travelers through her lens.

Donning a hat, long sleeves and jeans, Kathy stands at an unassuming height; her camera supported by a monopod is nearly taller. On her back she carries essentials: water, bug spray, lenses, extra batteries and memory cards. But if you ask her, the most important thing she packs isn’t in the bag.

“The No. 1 rule of nature photography is patience,” she says, slinging the satchel on her back. “Some people think they can skip that part, and they do get lucky sometimes. But the best strategy is to stake out an area where the animal will probably appear, sit still and be quiet — for as long as it takes.” She once sat in the same

BLACK SKIMMER

COPPER-RUMPED HUMMINGBIRD

“THE NO. 1 RULE OF NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY IS PATIENCE …

BUT THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO STAKE OUT AN AREA WHERE THE ANIMAL WILL PROBABLY APPEAR, SIT STILL AND BE QUIET — FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES.”

SNOWY EGRET

SUMMER TANAGER

EASTERN PHOEBE

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 43

spot along the shore of the upper delta for 12 solid hours, watching over a heron rookery and awaiting feeding time.

Today Kathy sets out on a shorter jaunt, taking a hiking trail near the kayak launch at 5 Rivers, her home away from home where she works as an educator. “Those are barn swallows,” she says, pointing toward the piney canopy above. She recognizes the individual calls of several bird species, a skill she acquired over the years.

A few yards into the woods, Kathy drops to the ground, belly-down, nestling atop a bed of straw. “My coworkers no longer get alarmed when I suddenly disappear,” she laughs, camera in hand, eye-level with her avian subject. She notes, however, that sometimes there are photo ops that just aren’t feasible — or ethical. “The welfare of the subject has to come first,” she says, iterating the avoidance of approaching baby birds, rare birds or overly stressed birds.

The key to nature photography starts before setting foot outside — research and education are key. “You need to know the habits of your potential subjects,” Kathy says.

The indoor educational center at 5 Rivers provides information on local wildlife, while the outdoor sanctuary offers plenty of photographic opportunities. Her other 44 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

favorite viewing spots include Fort Morgan, Dauphin Island, Weeks Bay, Meaher State Park, Blakeley State Park and the Upper Delta Wildlife Management Area. Even her backyard in Fairhope — where she was the first in Alabama to spot a Hooded Oriole — offers occasional sightings.

Photography comes as a second career for Kathy, who, while in her 40s, graduated

“IF THE SUBJECT HAS EYES, MAKE SURE YOU CAN SEE A SPARKLE IN THEM AND THAT YOU FOCUS ON THEM. GET THE CLOSEST YOU CAN TO EYE LEVEL.” summa cum laude in graphic design. “When I first picked up a camera, I thought I’d never understand F-stops and shutter speeds,” she says. “That worry disappeared once I was able to visualize what was happening in the camera. I’m firmly of the opinion that if I can take good photos, anyone can do it.” MB october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 45

SMALL BIZ

BIG STYLE Running a shop is never as glamorous as it sounds, but three local small-business owners take a breather from the mayhem to try on the season’s chic cool weather looks.

text and styling by MAGGIE LACEY • editorial assistance by HALLIE KING photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN • hair by ELISABETH GIGI WELLS, STUDIO 33 makeup by OLIVIA FRYFOGLE, EYE AND FACE AESTHETIC CENTER AT PREMIER MEDICAL models MELANIE CLARK, ELEANOR HILLEY AND SAR AH THOMAS shot on location at CORNER 251 AT THE ADMIR AL HOTEL

ON ELEANOR, OPPOSITE White ruffled long-sleeve button-down blouse (Elliatt, Hemline). High-waisted cropped wide-leg pants in Brick (Demoo, Debra’s). Open-toe “Holt” sandal in Black (Veronica Beard, Debra’s). Turquoise loop earrings (Hemline).

46 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

STYLE // European Edge

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 47

S

ome people dream of an easy job they can keep for life with a good salary and a pension, the kind of job that you leave behind as you punch out at 5 o’clock.

And then there are entrepreneurs.

These somewhat masochistic folks have an idea they can’t shake, see a void in the market and feel a spark inside that drives them to do the unthinkable — open their own store. If the long hours, endless responsibilities and stacks of bills don’t scare them, the demanding customers certainly should.

Three local women stared all of those hurdles straight in the face and dared to hang out their shingle and open their own stores, to much success. With a goal to fill a particular niche, the right eye for style and a commitment to customer service, their shops stand head and shoulders above the crowded space of local and national retailers.

Melanie Clark was already busy as a radiologist by day and mom and wife by night. But as she shopped around for cool and different toys for her kids, she saw a massive void in the local toy market and decided to open Big City Toys in Spring Hill. With towering shelves of smart, modern games and gadgets, her shop is a creative candyland of play. Opened in 2015 to rave reviews from kids ages 0 to “infinity and beyond” as they say, Big City made the move to a larger space near Pollman’s where you can certainly have an unforgettable trip to the big city.

Sarah Thomas moved to Mobile after marriage without knowing a soul, but when the perfect location with charm and history came available for rent, something inside told her to jump. She launched Collective, a gift boutique with an eye for stylish accessories for both home and self. What was the former longtime home of the Pavilion on Old Shell Road is now filled with au courant baubles and sophisticated surprises — a one-stop shop for baby gifts, birthdays, weddings and more, and Sarah’s smiling face is always there to assist.

Eleanor Hilley was undaunted when she opened her method brew coffee shop, Chaleur, in 2017. She and her husband pour their high-quality, if not a little bit hipster, drip coffee from the old Mobile Popcorn location on Dauphin Street in Midtown. Doing one thing and doing it with perfection seems to be their mantra, but plans for expansion are in the works.

A large coffee roaster is being installed so they can toast the perfect bean on-site, and a French pastry menu is in the works.

The serene environment they have carefully created must bely the tears and sweat it takes to run a small business in today’s day and age. Eleanor does it with aplomb — and just the perfect dose of caffeine. MB

48 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

STYLE // All About Contrasts

ON MELANIE Cropped ribbed wool sweater in Caramel (Sway). Straightcut cropped tailored pants in Purple (Tara Jarmon, CK Collection). Platformheeled “Dalrae” wedges with straps and studs in Caramel (Dolce Vita, CK Collection).

Oversized gold floral earrings (Debra’s). Pink and gold tassel clutch (Debra’s).

april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 49

STYLE // Seventies Shimmer & Sway 50 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

STYLE // Classic & Seasonless

ON ELEANOR, OPPOSITE Shimmering rainbow striped crop “Rhodes” sweater (Alice and Olivia, CK Collection).

Lined flare trousers with tab details and bold buttons in Military Blue (Derek Lam 10 Crosby, Debra’s). Horse hair bucket bag in Scarlet (Neely & Chloe, Chapel Farm Collection). Open-toe “Abigail” sandal in Black (Chinese Laundry, DSW).

ON SARAH, THIS PAGE Buttondown collared shirt-dress with tie sleeve accent (Theory, Debra’s). Black wicker tassel clutch (Debra’s).

STYLE // Seventies Luxury

ON MELANIE, LEFT Tailored corduroy “Rosalie” blazer with single front button in Dark Red (Veronica Beard, Debra’s).

Wide leg floral “Bedford” pants in Bordeaux Multi (Veronica Beard, Debra’s). Silver spaghetti strap camisole (Sway).

Gold and pearl bug drop earrings (Neely Phelan, Hemline). Clear top ice bucket “Pebble” bag in White (Neely ON MELANIE Over& Chloe, Chapel Farm Colsized cropped ribbed lection). Open-toe “Abigail” sweater in Caramel sandal in Black (Chinese (Moon River, Sway).

Laundry, DSW). Round frame Cropped tailored troublack sunglasses (Hemline). sers in Purple (Tara Jarmon, CK Collection).

ON SARAH, OPPOSITE Vibrant Chunky and strappy padded shoulder “Dapper “Dalrae” wedge heels Draped” midi dress with in Caramel (Dolce cinched belt in Lime Light Vita, CK Collection).

(Grey Lab, Debra’s).

Chunky ON ALLIE Oversized goldSheer floral three-quarter black beadeddress necklace length sleeve with floral earrings (Debra’s).

Pink (CK Collection).

Oversized (Justicia andappliques gold tassel clutch Ruano, Deb“Needing Fame” sunglasses ra’s). Yellow fascinator (Christine (Debra’s). in (Quay, HemA. Black/Smoke Moore, CK Collection).

White line).

Goldearrings hoop (Hemline). earrings floral hoop (Sway).

52 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017

STYLE // Eighties Neon Goes Ladylike

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 53

STYLE // Urban Cool

54 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

ON ELEANOR, OPPOSITE Tulle ruffle sleeve black cocktail dress with nude netting straps (Studio Blu). Kitten heel leather “Deedee” booties in Off White (Dolce Vita, Hemline). Embroidered floral clutch (CK Collection).

SPECIAL THANKS SHOOT LOCATION CORNER 251 THE ADMIRAL HOTEL 432-8000 • THEADMIRALHOTEL.COM

RESOURCES CK COLLECTION 320 FAIRHOPE AVE., FAIRHOPE 990-9001 CKCOLLECTION.COM DEBRA’S 4068 OLD SHELL ROAD 343-7463 INSTAGRAM.COM/SHOPDEBRAS HEMLINE 4356 OLD SHELL ROAD 287-6875 SHOPHEMLINE.COM STUDIO BLU 4354 A OLD SHELL ROAD 219-7424 FACEBOOK.COM/ STUDIOBLUBOUTIQUE SWAY 324 FAIRHOPE AVE., FAIRHOPE 990-2282 INSTAGRAM.COM/SHOP_SWAY CHAPEL FARM COLLECTION 19130 SCENIC HWY 98, FAIRHOPE 929-1630 CHAPELFARM.COM DSW 3930 B AIRPORT BLVD. 460-9129 DSW.COM

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 55

“ART AND COFFEE TABLE BOOKS ARE MY LOVES.” DIANA NEWMAN

56 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

A classic Midtown home comes alive with a carefully curated collection of art and antiques from years scouring estate sales, flea markets and a life of worldly travels.

MIDTOWN

MARVEL

text by CHRISTY DOBSON REID photos by SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY

THE LIVING ROOM IS A TESTAMENT TO DIANA’S PASSION FOR COLLECTING AND DEFT ABILITY TO MIX HIGH AND LOW. CHAIRS FROM ATCHISON HOME MIX WITH AN IKEA COFFEE TABLE. THE INLAID SIDEBOARD WAS A GEORGIA ROAD TRIP SCORE. DIANA ADDED LUCITE SHELVING TO THE ARCHES TO BRING MORE EMPHASIS TO THE HISTORICAL FEATURE WHILE INCORPORATING A MODERN TOUCH.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 57

D Diana always admired the Georgian/ Colonial-style home on Beverly Court when she drove from Downtown to Spring Hill on Old Shell Road, visiting then-boyfriend Blair. “I loved the clean-lined symmetry of the Georgian/ Colonial-style architecture, and the fig vine growing up the brick added so much character,” Diana says. When the home went on the market around the time the couple got engaged, it was the obvious choice. “We might have gone to an open house or two, but we didn’t look seriously at any other house,” Blair, a business litigation attorney at McDowell, Knight, Roedder and Sledge, LLC, recalls. “It was a size we could grow into and in the right part of town for us.” And grow into the house they have. The home is now full with daughter Eleanor, 3; son James, 2; and goldendoodle Winnie, 5.

The couple got to work making the home theirs by painting every room. They used “Alabaster” by Sherwin Williams throughout the main living area, breakfast area, kitchen and sunroom to create consistency and flow. “We also changed out every light fixture,” Diana adds. She believes in investing in good lighting because, much like paint colors, it can really change the room. When it came to decorating, Diana wanted stately cohesion but with a livable and fun edge. She likes a clean-lined, modern look but also likes incorporating vintage finds.

They began to fill the home with 58 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

THE NEWMANS SWAPPED THE FORMER RED FRONT DOOR FOR “PALLADIAN BLUE” BY BENJAMIN MOORE. DIANA LOVES TO GARDEN AND ADDED WINDOW BOXES NOW FILLED WITH IMPATIENS, MARIGOLDS, IVY AND SWEET POTATO VINE. THEY CLEANED UP EXISTING LANDSCAPING USING BOXWOODS, HYDRANGEAS, GARDENIAS, FERNS AND JASMINE.

MISMATCHED CHAIRS AND BENCHES SURROUND THE DINING TABLE

A CLEAN COLOR PALETTE KEEPS AN ECLECTIC MIX FROM FEELING HAPHAZARD. BLAIR’S GRANDMOTHER’S TABLE ANCHORS A BENCH FROM M.A. SIMONS, THREE CANE-BACK CHAIRS FROM ANTIQUES AT THE LOOP AND TWO BURLAP-COVERED ARMCHAIRS FROM A FLEA MARKET IN NASHVILLE. THE CONSOLE TABLE WAS A SOUTHEASTERN SALVAGE FIND. THE LAMPS ARE FROM MARSHALLS, BUT DIANA UPGRADED THEM WITH PAPER SHADES FROM ATCHISON HOME AND ACRYLIC FINIALS FROM YELLOW HOUSE ANTIQUES. THE DOOR GOT A GLOSSY COAT OF BLACK AND THE WALLS ARE “FRENCH CANVAS” BY BENJAMIN MOORE.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 59

THE KIDS’ ROOMS ARE FILLED WITH ART AND ACCENTS THAT CAN GROW WITH THEM

DIANA INCORPORATES FUN (BUT SERIOUS!) ART INTO THE KIDS’ ROOMS. ELEANOR’S HAS A GRAPHIC, COLORFUL SILHOUETTE FOUND AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI. JAMES’ PLAYFUL PHOTOGRAPHS OF MATCHBOX TOY CARS AND A FIRE TRUCK ARE BY LESLEE MITCHELL. A SERIGRAPH WITH BLUE, GREEN AND BLACK SHAPES IS BY ARTIST VICTOR ROSADO.

60 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

THE HOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY A DUPLEX, SO THE UPSTAIRS LAYOUT IS THE SAME AS THE DOWNSTAIRS. THE MASTER BEDROOM PERFECTLY MIMICS THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR PLAN, AND ORIGINALLY THE MASTER BATH WAS THE UPSTAIRS KITCHEN. PAINTING BY COLLEEN COMER

furniture and decor they accumulated from family, their single years and traveling.

Diana enjoys the hunt at flea markets, antique stores and consignment shops.

She finds satisfaction in giving something new life by pairing it with a contemporary piece. “Furniture designers are always looking to the past for influences in current designs, so secondhand stores can be a good call for mixing in at a lower price point,” she adds. Along with lighting, Diana believes that upholstery is worth the investment. “Sometimes those alone can be a game-changer,” Diana says. “I believe in a high/low mix, but my rule with upholstery is to make the splurge if possible.”

The couple’s most prized possessions include their art and art-related items they’ve collected over years of travel. “One coffee table book I bought is of an art collection that was actually housed in a hotel we stayed in while in Nicaragua, and the first two pieces of art that we bought together were from our honeymoon in Croatia. They are still some of my favorites,” Diana says.

Diana now takes the talent she used to fashion their home and uses it in her art.

“I have recently started creating fragmented collage art for commission, and most of my clients are in search of a cohesive mix with certain fabrics and colors,” she says.

“I enjoy introducing the right color palette while creating original art for their home.”

When they aren’t working or at school, the family appreciates time together in the sunroom or backyard and on the back porch. Diana, who put so much work into the house, can then relax and revel in the revival of design that stays true to the good bones of the structure. MB october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 61

“WE LOVE TO ENTERTAIN ON OUR BACK PORCH. YOU KNOW IT WAS GOOD WHEN THE DISCO LIGHT MAKES AN APPEARANCE.” DIANA NEWMAN

62 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

THE SUNROOM, ABOVE, HAS A WALL OF FRENCH DOORS LEADING OUT TO THE COVERED PATIO THAT LOOKS ONTO A TRELLISED WALL OF CONFEDERATE JASMINE. ABOVE A PAIR OF LEE INDUSTRIES CHAIRS FROM ATCHISON HOME HANGS A STATEMENT PIECE OF ART FROM HIGH COTTON CONSIGNMENTS. DIANA FOUND THE PAIR OF LIBRARY READING LAMPS AT YELLOW HOUSE ANTIQUES. THE SIDE TABLE IS WEST ELM AND THE FOOTSTOOL AND COWHIDE WERE NASHVILLE ANTIQUE MALL SCORES.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 63

64 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

BEST of the BEST A winning recipe takes sweat, tears and plenty of secrecy about ingredients and methods. MB spills the beans on these local cook-offs. text by HALLIE KING recipe photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU CAJUN KEBAB 2017 Hangout Oyster Cook-Off FAVORITE RESTAURANT WINNER: Wolf Bay Restaurant and Catering

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 65

H

eat. Sweat. Fire. Passion. Salt.

The components that make up a cook-off-winning recipe far surpass the items on the ingredient list. Contestants ranging

from amateur cook to professional chef bring everything they have to competitions that benefit charities, companies or the communities around them. Their recipes are top-secret, sometimes passed down through generations before landing in the hands of the winning team. However, some LEFT Grills blaze on the second Friday of May every year at the Fairhope Rotary Steak Cook-Off. ABOVE Ted Miles and Marcus McDowell of “ The Lunch Ladies” win the Mayor’s Hospitality award at the 2013 Fairhope Rotary Steak Cook-Off.

secrets are good enough to share, and the teams that found victory with these recipes were happy to let Mobilians in to create these winning dishes on their own. MB

STEAK WITH HERB CREAM CHEESE SPREAD 2017 Fairhope Rotary Steak Cook-Off WINNER: Chive Talk’n

66 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

TRINITY GUMBO 2018 Dauphin Island Gumbo Festival WINNER: May’s Cafe at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 67

PERCY SLEDGE’S BUCK BALLS 2017 AWF Wild Game Cook-Off WINNER: Mobile County Wildlife and Conservation Association

68 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

ABOVE Left to right: Grey Cane, Sonny Kearley, Patrick Kelly, Wesley Williams, Tom Leatherbury and Peter Gaillard proudly show off awards for the Mobile County Wildlife and Conservation Association’s buck balls at the 2017 AWF Gulf Coast Wild Game Cook-Off. RIGHT Food Network Star finalist Martie Duncan gives a demo as a guest chef at the 2016 Hangout Oyster Cook-Off.

GUMBO THIBODAUX 2018 Downtown Cajun Cook-Off WINNER: Dauphin’s

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 69

CAJUN KEBABS

GUMBO THIBODAUX

Recipe by chef Ron Stone, Wolf Bay Restaurant and Catering

Recipe by chef Steve Zucker, Dauphin’s

MAKES 20 SKEWERS

MAKES 2 GALLONS

4 quarts canola oil 8 ounces butter, divided 3 tablespoons garlic, minced, divided 1 pound Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 tablespoons salt, plus more to taste 1 tablespoon black pepper, plus more to taste 3 eggs 1 cup water 1 cup whole milk 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided 2 tablespoons paprika 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1/2 pound large crawfish tails 1/2 tablespoon white pepper 1 pound large Gulf oysters 4 cups cracker meal 1 pound tasso ham, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 French baguette Salt and pepper, to taste 20 6-inch bamboo skewers Cajun Monica Sauce (recipe below) 1. Fill a 6-quart pot with canola oil.

Preheat over medium heat until oil reaches 350 degrees. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt 4 ounces butter. Add 1 tablespoon garlic and stir until fragrant. Add shrimp and saute for 2 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, until shrimp is pink and fully cooked throughout. Set aside.

3. Combine eggs, water and milk in a bowl. Mix well to form an egg wash. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, paprika, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Combine to form a Cajun flour.

4. Coat the crawfish tails in the egg wash, followed by the Cajun flour. Set remaining egg wash aside. Fry crawfish tails until golden brown and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

70 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

5. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon salt and white pepper. Mix well to form a seasoned flour.

6. Coat oysters in seasoned flour. Shake off the excess and coat them in the remaining egg wash. Roll them in cracker meal and fry until golden brown.

Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

7. Remove any excess seasoning from the surface of the tasso ham. Arrange evenly on a baking sheet and roast until hot and crispy, about 10 minutes.

8. Melt 4 ounces butter in a small saucepan. Cut the baguette into thick bias cuts.

Place on a baking sheet and brush with butter. Bake 10 – 15 minutes until toasted.

9. Skewer a fried oyster, followed by a sauteed shrimp, followed by a fried crawfish tail, followed by a square of tasso ham.

Serve over toasted crostini with a side of warm Cajun Monica sauce.

CAJUN MONICA SAUCE 4 2 1 1 2

ounces butter tablespoons garlic, minced tablespoon chicken base tablespoon Greek seasoning tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped 2 tablespoons paprika 3 tablespoons onion powder 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons black pepper 1/4 cup flour 1 quart heavy cream 1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Turn flame off and add chicken base, Greek seasoning, thyme, oregano, paprika, onion powder, salt and black pepper. Stir well.

2. Add flour to create a roux and mix well. Add 1 cup of heavy cream, stirring to make sure there are no clumps of flour.

3. Repeat, adding 1 cup at a time, until the all the cream is in the saucepan.

Bring to a simmer, stirring every few minutes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup all-purpose flour 4 cups onions, diced 2 cups celery, diced 1 cup red bell pepper, diced 1/2 cup garlic, minced 1 pound Conecuh sausage, sliced 1 pound gumbo crabs, cut in half 8 cups water 8 cups oyster liquor 4 bay leaves 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined, divided 1 pound okra, divided 1 cup diced tomatoes 1/4 cup hot sauce 1/4 cup Maggi Seasoning Sauce 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s 1 tablespoon black pepper 2 teaspoons white pepper 1/2 teaspoon red pepper 1/4 cup lime juice 1 pound alligator meat, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 pounds rabbit meat, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 pounds catfish, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 pound claw crabmeat 1 pound crawfish tails 2 cups oysters 1. Heat oil until it sizzles.

2. Add flour and stir constantly until you have a dark roux.

3. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, sausage and gumbo crabs to the oil.

Saute together until celery and onion have turned translucent.

4. Whisk in water and oyster liquor.

5. Add bay leaves, 1 pound of the shrimp, 1/2 pound of the okra and tomatoes and heat mixture to 195 degrees.

6. After temperature rises back up, incorporate all other ingredients except the meats and remaining shrimp.

7. Simmer for 60 minutes, skimming oil and froth from perimeter of the pot.

8. Add the alligator and rabbit meat and cook for 20 minutes.

9. Add the rest of the shrimp, cubed catfish, crabmeat, crawfish and oysters.

10. Cook for 15 minutes until shrimp are cooked through. Serve warm.

TRINITY GUMBO Recipe by chef Darren Harbison, May’s Cafe at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab SERVES 20 2 cups bacon grease or vegetable oil 6 cups flour, divided 1 1/2 gallons seafood stock or water 2 pounds okra, divided 2 red bell peppers, diced 2 green bell peppers, diced 3 pounds onions, diced 2 celery stalks, sliced thin 1 tablespoon liquid crab boil 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning 2 bunches fresh parsley, finely chopped 3 tablespoons minced garlic 2 bunches green onion, thinly sliced 2 bay leaves Salt and pepper, to taste 1 pound lump crabmeat 3 pounds shrimp, peeled 1 pound crawfish tail meat 1. Heat bacon grease or oil in a castiron skillet over medium heat. Add flour, reserving 1 cup, and stir until you reach a color between dark and milk chocolate. Slowly stir in final cup of flour once browned. Remove roux from heat. Seal and store any leftover mixture in refrigerator until needed.

2. Put stock or water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Add 1 1/2 pounds of okra and return to boil. Boil for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine peppers, onions and celery.

Remove 1/3 of mixture and reserve with remaining 1/2 pound okra.

4. Once okra is boiled, add prepared vegetables to the pot. Return to boil.

Add crab boil, Old Bay, parsley, garlic, green onion, bay leaves, salt and pepper and boil for 15 minutes.

5. Add crabmeat and boil 10 more minutes. Add reserved vegetables to pot and return to boil.

6. Stir in as much roux as you like to reach the consistency you prefer, ensuring that it dissolves into the liquid.

Add shrimp and crawfish, then salt and pepper to taste.

7. Serve warm over rice with potato salad on the side.

PERCY SLEDGE’S BUCK BALLS Recipe by Tom Leatherbury, Sonny Kearley, Wes Williams and Patrick Kell, Mobile County Wildlife and Conservation Association SERVES 6 1 pound smoked link deer sausage 2 cups regular grits 2 sticks butter 2 blocks cream cheese 1 cup green onions, chopped Salt and pepper, to taste Louisiana Shrimp Fry 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut sausage into small cubes. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

2. While sausage is cooking, prepare grits. Bring 10 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Stir in grits and let water return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Once grits are cooked, turn off heat and stir in deer sausage, butter, cream cheese and green onions. Mix well until cream cheese and butter are dissolved.

Salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture cool and place in refrigerator overnight in order for grits to become hardened.

4. Preheat a deep fryer to 375 degrees.

Once mixture is hardened and workable, spoon out large meatball-sized balls. Batter venison balls in Louisiana Shrimp Fry mix and fry until golden brown, about 4 - 5 minutes. Serve warm.

HERB CREAM CHEESE SPREAD Recipe by Dahlia Davis and Monteigne Brown, Chive Talk’n Steak Cook-off contestants compete with ribeye steaks, but this spread is delicious on any cut of beef or other meat!

MAKES 1 1/2 CUPS 8 ounces cream cheese 1 stick butter 1 teaspoon dill 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning Garlic salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 1. Soften the cream cheese and butter to room temperature. Blend them together until well combined.

2. Add seasonings and mix until well blended. Store in refrigerator. Best served on steak, but also great on chicken or pork.

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 71

72 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

FACES OF FINANCE FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS IN MOBILE AND BALDWIN

COUNTIES ARE TOO NUMEROUS TO COUNT, BUT SOME STAND OUT AS THE BEST IN THE INDUSTRY. IT’S A ROCKY SEA TO NAVIGATE ALONE, BUT THESE LOCAL BANKERS, ACCOUNTANTS AND WEALTH ADVISORS KEEP YOU AND YOUR FUTURE FINANCIAL SECURITY ON GOOD COURSE.

A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 73

SPECIAL SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE

LEFT TO RIGHT: DONNA ABERCROMBIE, JENNIFER TOSCH, WARD HIERONYMUS, JANET JOHNSON, CHRIS JONES, SHELLY MALONE, DAN GARLAND, MICHELLE KIRKPATRICK, VAN VANLINGEN, KAREN GENARD, STEPHANIE BLOCKER. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

Century Bank

SINCE 1903, CENTURY BANK HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE AND A TOP COMPETITOR FOR OUR CUSTOMERS’ BANKING NEEDS. CENTURY BANK IS PROUD TO SERVE SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI IN GEORGE AND JACKSON COUNTIES AND SOUTHWEST ALABAMA IN MOBILE COUNTY. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO EXPANDING INTO BALDWIN COUNTY IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2019 WITH A NEW LOCATION IN FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA.

What is your mission?

To achieve above-average growth and profits that are equal to or better than our peers by providing quality service and being equitable to our employees, stockholders and the communities we serve. Century Bank will continue our long-standing tradition of being personal community bankers that provide personal banking services for our customers, along with being technologically advanced enough to attract younger customers while maintaining our existing customer base. We strive to be high tech/high touch. In short, to be the bank of choice in the markets we serve.

What sets your business apart?

At Century Bank we offer a wide variety of services and products that fit the needs

of any individual, family or business. From basic accounts for your everyday needs to those that help you earn interest while saving for a rainy day, we have you covered.

With loan decisions made locally, we can put you in the fast lane to reaching your goals, whether you are purchasing a new home or automobile, renovating a home, planning the vacation of your dreams or opening your own business. Local decisions and familiar faces — at Century Bank, we take banking personally.

What contributes to your success?

The directors, officers and employees of Century Bank continue to uphold and maintain a legacy of excellent customer service along with being civic-minded in the communities we serve. We invite 1- 800 - 841- 8350 • centurybank.net

74 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

you to become part of our bank and experience the friendly attitude of our employees as they serve your financial needs with sincere pride in Century Bank and its heritage. After all, it is what we have done since 1903.

How do you make sure that your clients get the best service/results?

At Century Bank, we pride ourselves on extraordinary customer service and making the customers feel welcome the minute they enter any of our locations.

Our employees work efficiently and with a helpful attitude to ensure that the service you receive leaves a lasting impression on you.

SPECIAL SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE

Passmore Planning Professionals PASSMORE PLANNING PROFESSIONALS FOCUSES ON HELPING FAMILIES TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM FINANCIAL GOALS BY CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING INDIVIDUALIZED, COORDINATED FINANCIAL PLANS. LEFT TO RIGHT: ANDREW S. PASSMORE AND W. SCOTT PASSMORE. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

Why or how did you get into your field?

We entered this field to help people.

Our practice began when J. Wilbert Jordan, LLB, CLU, returned from serving in World War II. The practice grew when Wilbert’s son-in-law, W. Scott Passmore, ChFC, CLU, joined in the mid-1970s. Scott’s son, Andrew Passmore, MS, CFP®, joined the family practice in 2008.

What is your mission?

Our goal is to help our clients accomplish their goals by providing order and structure to what is otherwise a fragmented effort.

What sets your business apart?

We have developed a process that coordinates the various financial affairs of a family’s financial life to help accomplish as many of their goals as possible. Each goal affects the others, and you can only split a dollar in so many ways. By coordinating the family’s financial affairs, we believe we offer the opportunity to accomplish as many of their goals as possible.

What contributes to your success?

By focusing on process rather than financial products, we intend to align with our clients’ needs and objectives.

While financial products are required to accomplish various goals, we believe that our focus on process helps us to maintain long-term relationships with our clients.

Why coordinated financial planning?

Advisory Services offered through Investment Advisors, a registered investment advisor and division of ProEquities Inc., Securities offered through ProEquities Inc., a registered broker/dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Passmore Planning Professionals is independent of ProEquities Inc.

A family’s individual financial strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats drive their ability to accomplish their financial goals. Most families, however, are unable to see the big picture of how these key financial points and their various financial affairs interact. By focusing on these points and the coordination of a family’s financial affairs, we help guide them toward accomplishing their goals and finding financial fulfillment.

3662 Dauphin St., Suite 1A • 251-316 -3506 • passmoreplanning.com october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 75

SPECIAL SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE

Renasant Bank

Why or how did you get into your field?

MARK FILLERS IS THE SOUTH ALABAMA MARKET PRESIDENT FOR RENASANT BANK, A 114-YEAR-OLD REGIONAL BANK HEADQUARTERED IN TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

I got into banking after working for my family’s business for about a year out of college. My wife, Erin, had just completed a bank management program and encouraged me to do the same.

I did and became a commercial loan underwriter. I have been blessed with several advancement opportunities in the Mobile area since then and am grateful for my career in banking. I truly enjoy helping people and businesses achieve their financial goals.

What sets your business apart?

At Renasant Bank, we seek to understand then meet the needs of our clients. We provide concierge-like financial services, meeting our clients wherever they are — home, the road, the ball field or the office — to conduct their transactions. This allows us to proactively understand what they need and offers room for personal and meaningful relationships. In this digital age, Renasant understands the need for quickness and ease, especially when conducting a transaction. With products such as Apple Pay and Zelle, it’s easier than ever to send and receive money — all from Renasant’s mobile banking app.

What contributes to your success?

I try to treat people how I would like to be treated.

How has your business grown or changed and where are you going from here?

With the rise of technology, banking looks completely different than it did 10 years ago. At Renasant, we try to meet our clients’ needs regardless of how they want to conduct their financial business — from those who want to write checks, to those who want to pay online, to those who want to pay person-to-person through mobile banking. We will continue to develop quality relationships with people and strive to do the right thing for our clients and employees.

165 W I-65 Service Road N • 251-930 - 5950 • renasantbank.com 76 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

SPECIAL SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE

Merrill Lynch

How do you make sure clients get the best service/results?

S. Wesley Carpenter, CPWA®, CFP®, ChFC®, CRPC® S. WESLEY CARPENTER IS A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WEALTH MANAGEMENT ADVISOR FOR THE HARTY CARPENTER GROUP AT MERRILL LYNCH, WHERE HE SERVES A SELECT GROUP OF PROFESSIONALS, BUSINESS OWNERS AND RETIREES. HE IS ALSO THE RESIDENT DIRECTOR OF THE MERRILL LYNCH OFFICE IN FAIRHOPE AND RECENTLY WAS NAMED TO THE FORBES “AMERICA’S TOP NEXT-GENERATION WEALTH ADVISORS” 2018 AND 2017 LISTS. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

I believe that relationships are built on trust, open communication and transparency and that’s my entire team’s top priority!

We have a disciplined goals-based wealth management process that we follow with each client to make sure that no details are overlooked and all of our recommendations are addressed. The strength of a client’s strategy will mean little if it falls short at execution. Our methodology is designed to educate clients to help them make the best financial decisions and our strength is the communication to make sure that strategy is executed. Communication is the key and we connect with most clients monthly.

What contributes to your success?

Why or how did you get into your field?

Since I was a little boy, I have always had an interest in the stock market and just felt it was a great fit with my finance and economics degree. I could not have made a better career choice.

What is your mission?

We help clients achieve financial success by bringing clarity to complex life challenges.

What sets your firm apart?

I would say three things: upfront, unbiased, honest advice; qualifications; experience.

I really believe it is because we put the client first in every situation and we do what we say we are going to do. We take great pride in listening to our clients and working hard to exceed their goals and expectations. I have always had a thirst

for knowledge and felt it was important to continue my learning by obtaining a Certified Private Wealth Advisor ® designation (CPWA®), a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), a Chartered Financial Consultant ® (ChFC®) and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) designations to expand the services I offer to clients. In addition, I hold six securities licenses, an Alabama Insurance License and a National Multistate Mortgage License.

Our team offers clients 92 years of industry and practical experience helping clients manage and prepare for their financial future. We understand the demands and responsibilities of managing wealth, and we draw upon the vast resources of Merrill Lynch to offer a total wealth management strategy tailored to your individual needs.

My amazing clients and family! Over the past 14 years, I have developed some wonderful relationships with clients who I call friends now. I love to come to work and get true gratification seeing our clients achieve their financial goals like retiring, buying a vacation home, selling a business or leaving a family legacy. I could never forget my amazing wife, Aeana, and our two boys Quin (4) and Wells (2), who give me the support, courage and motivation to keep me striving to be the best I can be.

How has your business grown or changed and where are you going from here?

Our practice is constantly evolving with the needs of our clients and the economic changes we all face. When I first started, I was a stand-alone advisor for 8 years and now I have a team of six. Significant wealth requires sophisticated strategies and a responsibility to deliver to our clients. I really believe that clients are demanding that advisors have teams of diverse skills and multigenerational strengths that can help take advantage of synergies between professional and family needs. Today we are spending a lot more time advising clients on personalized income and tax strategies, college education, social security, longevity and health care, as well as estate and philanthropic planning.

601 N Section St. • Fairhope • 251-990 -2361 • www.fa.ml.com/thehartycarpentergroup october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 77

SPECIAL SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE

FRONT, LEFT TO RIGHT: SHANNON MCCLURE, KATIE MCGINLEY. BACK, LEFT TO RIGHT: BRAGG VAN ANTWERP, KYLE PUGH, RICK MITCHELL, DOUG MCLEOD, CARMEN WILLIAMS. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

Mitchell McLeod Pugh & Williams MITCHELL MCLEOD PUGH & WILLIAMS (“MMPW”) IS AN INDEPENDENT, EMPLOYEE-OWNED INVESTMENT ADVISORY FIRM LOCATED IN MOBILE. AS OF JULY 31, OUR REGULATORY ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT WERE $1.1 BILLION. WE PROVIDE FINANCIAL ADVICE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND WORK EXTENSIVELY AS A FIDUCIARY INVESTMENT ADVISOR FOR 401(K) PLANS. OUR CLIENTS ALSO INCLUDE TRUSTS, ESTATES, NON-PROFITS, ENDOWMENTS AND FOUNDATIONS.

Is MMPW a stock broker?

No. MMPW is a registered investment advisor (“RIA”). As an RIA, we have a fiduciary duty to our clients, which means that we have a fundamental obligation to always act in our clients’ best interests and to always put our clients’ interests above our own.

The word “fiduciary” is an important one, and one we do not take lightly.

In practice, we believe our clients are better served by the fact that we have no affiliation with a large brokerage

firm. This independence and our “open architecture” approach further our ability to invest on our clients’ behalf in an unbiased way with our sole focus always on doing what is best for them.

In just a few words, how would you describe your approach to managing money?

MMPW believes money is made and maintained by following a disciplined, consistent and long-term approach to investing. We seek to reduce risk and

volatility through broad diversification and by using high-quality securities.

Lastly, we have observed that most investors pay too much for financial services, often without knowing how much they are paying or why they are paying it. MMPW focuses on keeping costs low and completely transparent because, ultimately, fees and expenses are the only aspects of investing that have any proven predictive value on investment returns.

2610 Dauphin St. • (251) 471-2027 • mmpw.com 78 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

SPECIAL SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE

LEFT TO RIGHT: JOSH AND JENNIFER NULL. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

Gulf Coast Financial Advisors WE ARE A 100 PERCENT INDEPENDENT, 100 PERCENT LOCALLY OWNED FEE-BASED FINANCIAL PLANNING AND WEALTH ADVISORY PRACTICE LOCATED IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN FAIRHOPE.

What is your mission?

The foundation of our practice is the education and enlightenment of our clients so that they understand what is happening with their money and why.

Whether we are helping a young family start out, or a retiree celebrate the gift of a long life, we serve as a watchdog to protect and preserve what our clients have built or are trying to build.

How do you make sure clients get the best service/results?

At the end of the day, people want their financial plan to work as advertised.

Period. So for us it’s about the continual sharpening of proven strategies — marrying common sense money management processes with downside protections and never, ever forgetting the goals of the client.

What sets your business apart?

What contributes to your success?

Competent, knowledgeable and relentless focus on risk management and efficiencies of fees and expenses within a financial plan, while accounting for the fact that we are all human with human emotions.

People hire us because relationships matter. Being fully independent also sets us apart because we only answer to one boss: the client.

The hard-earned lessons from my own personal financial mistakes and successes.

Just like many of my clients, we’ve had to scratch and claw and sacrifice to get where we are, and I think that resonates.

Having learned real-life financial lessons, not just something out of a textbook, means I can honestly offer judgementfree, experienced, no-pressure financial

guidance. For me, it’s more than just operating in “best interests.” It’s about always being on the lookout out for my clients.

How has your business grown or changed and where are you going from here?

We continue to expand, grow and learn, and we are not afraid of change. To stay relevant and productive in our industry, you must always be learning and you must always be on your toes. We will never rest on our laurels. And no matter how much our practice grows, we will always focus on making sure our clients know the score as well.

Advisory Services offered through Investment Advisors, a division of ProEquities, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through ProEquities, Inc., a Registered Broker/Dealer, and member FINRA & SIPC. Gulf Coast Financial Advisors is Independent of ProEquities, Inc. Josh Null holds his Series 6, 7 & 65 in the State of Alabama.

413 Johnson Ave. • Fairhope • 251-327-2124 • www.gulfcoastfa.com october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 79

EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Eat, Drink and Be Scary OCTOBER 12 - 21 “THE MIRACLE WORKER” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Come witness Annie Sullivan’s relationship with Helen Keller.

CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE CCTSHOWS.COM

OCTOBER 14 THE MARKET AT THE PILLARS 12 - 4 p.m. Live music and artisan goods from more than 40 local vendors.

THE PILLARS OF MOBILE THEPILLARSOFMOBILE.COM/ THE-MARKET

WOOFSTOCK

OCTOBER 17

OCTOBER 4

OCTOBER 6 - 7

THINK PINK TEA 3 - 6 p.m. This free community event, featuring a runway fashion show, raises awareness about breast cancer.

MOBILE SYMPHONY PRESENTS: ROMAN FESTIVALS 7:30 p.m. Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Go on a musical journey as Respighi brings ancient Rome to life.

Tickets: $15 - $80.

MOBILE CONVENTION CENTER USAHEALTHSYSTEM.COM/THINKPINKTEA

OCTOBER 5 CHIP IN FOR A CAUSE 8 a.m. Registration. 10 a.m.

Shotgun start. This four-person scramble goes to benefit the local branches of the YMCA. An awards reception and hors d’oeuvres will be provided after the game. Four-person entry: $500; Single-player entry: $125.

HERON LAKES COUNTRY CLUB YSAL.ORG/CHIP-IN-FOR-A-CAUSE

MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE • MOBILESAENGER.COM

OCTOBER 7 OUTDOOR MARKET AT 5 RIVERS 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. Purchase local arts and crafts and nature-inspired items.

5 RIVERS DELTA RESOURCE CENTER OUTDOORALABAMA.COM/ACTIVITIES/5-RIVERSALABAMA-DELTA-RESOURCE-CENTER

OCTOBER 12 SOPHIELLA GALLERY GRAND OPENING 6 p.m. Come enjoy the opening show, featuring 10 local artists, during the LoDa ArtWalk.

SOPHIELLA GALLERY • FACEBOOK.COM/SOPHIELLAGALLERY

BOB DYLAN & HIS BAND 8 p.m. He’s stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again. Tickets: $60 - $120.

MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESAENGER.COM

OCTOBER 19 - 20, 26 - 27 “DRACULA” 7:30 p.m. Get spooked at Playhouse in the Park’s production of Bram Stoker’s classic. Tickets: $8.

PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK PLAYHOUSEINTHEPARK.ORG

OCTOBER 19 CHIP IN FOR AUTISM 11:30 a.m. Registration. 1 p.m.

Start. Chip in for Autism is an annual golf tournament to raise funds and awareness for Woody’s Song School. $60 per player.

AZALEA CITY GOLF COURSE LEARNING-TREE.ORG/EVENTS

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

80 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

OCTOBER 20

OCTOBER 26

OCTOBER 27

TRI THE GULF Swim, bike and run around Dauphin Island.

FORKS AND CORKS 6 - 9 p.m. Kick off the ARTSealab festival with an on-site seafood culinary challenge Tickets: $25.

WOOFSTOCK 3 - 11 p.m. Enjoy beer, Halloween fun and time with man’s best friend. Sponsored by the Animal Rescue Foundation.

Tickets: adults, $10; kids (4 - 12), $5; kids under 4 free.

DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB ARTSEALAB.ORG

WOOFSTOCK/17672/

DAUPHIN ISLAND TRITHEGULF.RACESONLINE.COM

OCTOBER 20 WINE ON THE RIVER 4 - 8 p.m. Taste wine and cuisine from around the world.

COOPER RIVERSIDE PARK WINEONTHERIVERMOBILE.COM

OCTOBER 25 ONE NIGHT IN HAVANA 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. Travel to an old-school nightclub filled with the sights, sounds and flavors of Havana. Proceeds go toward Distinguished Young Women.

Tickets: general admission, $100; VIP, $150.

SERDA BREWERY • MOBILE.ORG/INCLUDES/CALENDAR-OF-EVENTS/

OCTOBER 26 NOVEMBER 4

GET YOUR BOO ON

THE GREATER GULF STATE FAIR Take in the view atop the Ferris wheel, crash into a friend on the bumper cars or see yourself from a new perspective in the fun house.

Tickets: $8 gate admission; $20 ride ticket.

Take the family along when visiting these kid-friendly haunts. Need an adrenaline rush? Check out the list on page 83. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you!)

THROUGH OCTOBER 31

THRILLER NIGHTS OF LIGHTS 7 - 10 p.m. Drive through a spook-tacular show set to thrilling music. Admission: $6 per person.

HANK AARON STADIUM THRILLERNIGHTSOFLIGHTS.COM

THE GROUNDS THEGROUNDSMOBILE.COM

OCTOBER 27

BROOKLEY AIRFIELD ONENIGHTINEVENT.COM

BOO AT BELLINGRATH 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Perfect for the whole family.

Admission: $7.50 - $13. Free for Bellingrath members and children under 4.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

THROUGH NOVEMBER 3

SEWARD FARMS CORN MAZE 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturdays only. Family fun, a twisting corn maze and fantastic food!

Admission: $12 and up; 2 and under free.

SEWARD FARMS, LUCEDALE, MISSISSIPPI SEWARDFARMS.COM

TRI THE GULF

THROUGH OCTOBER 31

PUMPKIN PATCH EXPRESS & SCARY NIGHT TRAINS AT WALES WEST 5 - 9 p.m. F; 1 - 9 p.m. Sa / Su; 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. every day Oct. 24 - 31. Ride an authentic steam train and decorate a pumpkin at this family-friendly event.

Admission: $15 per person; 2 and under free.

WALES WEST RV PARK & LIGHT RAILWAY WALESWEST.COM

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 81

[ONGOING ACTIVITIES]

THROUGH DECEMBER 14

RAISE 251 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Learn about hidden or overlooked issues affecting community health in Mobile and how to make better health decisions.

ALABAMA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER ALABAMACONTEMPORARY.ORG

THROUGH DECEMBER 23

LOCAL COLOR WALKING TOUR 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Sundays. Grab a beer at Serda Brewing and delve into hidden local history on this tour. Tour highlights include Boyington Oak, the historic Crystal Ice Company and Creole Fire Hall 1, where the Excelsior Band began.

Admission: adults, $15; children under 12, $10.

SERDA BREWING SECRETHISTORYTOURS.COM

THROUGH DECEMBER 30

MYSTERY OF THE MAYAN MEDALLION 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. M - Sa; 1 - 5 p.m. Su. Explore the mysteries of the Mayan culture by looking at archaeology, biology and astro-mathematic field stations at this interactive exhibit.

HISTORY MUSEUM OF MOBILE HISTORYMUSEUMOFMOBILE.COM

THROUGH FEBRUARY 10

STEPHEN ALTHOUSE: METANOIA Get inspired by Althouse’s photos of wood, leather, and forged metal tools and artifacts.

MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM

THROUGH MARCH 28

MONICA J. BEASLEY: FEMINISM AND MAGICAL THINKING Explore concepts of feminism, femininity, home, marriage, family, race and Southern culture in local Monica J. Beasley’s work.

MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM

82 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

EERIE MOBILE Ready for more heart-pounding scares?

The following places offer guided tours or Halloween-themed frights — real and perceived. Visit if you dare.

CHURCH STREET GRAVEYARD TOUR HISTORICMOBILE.ORG/EVENTS

MOBILE’S OWN GHOST STORIES TOUR BAYCITYCONVENTIONS.COM/DAILYSIGHTSEEING

FORTY SOUTH FARMS DARK WOODS TRAIL FACEBOOK.COM/FORTYSOUTHFARMS

HISTORIC OAKLEIGH HOUSE HISTORICOAKLEIGH.COM

HAUNTED DUCKS AT THE FORT GULFCOASTDUCKS.COM

NIGHTMARE CHAMBERS NIGHTMARECHAMBERS.NET

RICHARDS DAR HOUSE MUSEUM RICHARDSDARHOUSE.COM

WHO HAUNTS THE FORT FORT-MORGAN.ORG

MAGNOLIA CORN MAZE MAGNOLIACORNMAZE.NET

GULFQUEST HALLOWEEN FEST GULFQUEST.ORG

THE PARK AFTER DARK VISITOWA.COM

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 83

BEST OF THE FESTS From indie music acts to the most delectable shrimp dishes on the Gulf Coast, October fests offer something for everyone.

ALABAMA COASTAL BIRDFEST

OCTOBER 3 - 6

Explore your inner ornithologist.

Tickets: $22 - $70.

5 RIVERS DELTA RESOURCE CENTER WEEKSBAY.ORG

TEN65

OCTOBER 5 - 7

Hear up-and-coming musical acts at this free music festival.

DOWNTOWN MOBILE • TENSIXTYFIVE.COM

ALABAMA FESTIVAL OF FLAVOR

OCTOBER 6

Noon - 5 p.m. Devour the area’s best food, beer and wine. Tickets: $10 - $60.

DOWNTOWN FOLEY ALABAMAFESTIVALOFFLAVOR.COM

NATIONAL SHRIMP FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 11 - 14

10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sample a wide variety of shrimp dishes while taking in more than 80 musical acts.

GULF SHORES • MYSHRIMPFEST.COM

GREEK FEST

OCTOBER 18 - 20

11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Celebrate Greek culture with food, dancing, arts and crafts, a tour of the church and more.

Tickets: $5; weekend pass, $10 - $12.

ANNUNCIATION GREEK CHURCH GREEKFESETMOBILE.ORG

ELBERTA GERMAN SAUSAGE FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 27

8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Nosh on the German delicacy at this can’t-miss event laced with entertainment and tradition.

ELBERTA TOWN PARK • ELBERTAFIRE.COM

84 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

[NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS]

NOVEMBER 2 - 18 “OTHELLO” 7:30 p.m. F. / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Watch the Joe Jefferson Players present their own take on Shakespeare’s tragic tale of jealousy and deception. Tickets: adults, $20; seniors and military, $15; students, $10.

JOE JEFFERSON PLAYERS JOEJEFFERSONPLAYERS.COM

NOVEMBER 7 AN EVENING WITH LYLE LOVETT & ROBERT EARL KEEN 7 p.m. Doors open. 8 p.m. Show starts.

Join these two old buddies for an unforgettable night of songs and storytelling.

Tickets: $40, $50, $60, $75.

MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESAENGER.COM

NOVEMBER 8 - 11 FAIRHOPE FILM FESTIVAL 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Experience awardwinning films amongst the majestic atmosphere of Fairhope.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN DOWNTOWN FAIRHOPE FAIRHOPEFILMFESTIVAL.ORG

NOVEMBER 10 GEARS AND BEERS 7 a.m. Participate in an 8.1-mile Beignet Buster, a 30-mile Swamp Romp, a 63-mile Mystic Metric and the Bayou 100 Century to support the Delta Bike Project.

FORT OF COLONIAL MOBILE GEARSANDBEERSRIDEMOBILE.COM

NOVEMBER 15 - 17 CHRISTMAS JUBILEE Stock up on gifts for the whole family from local vendors. Tickets: $12; $8 college, senior and military; $5 children; 5 and under free.

MOBILE CONVENTION CENTER JUNIORLEAGUEMOBILE.ORG

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 85

HISTORY | LEGENDS

Mobile’s Haunted Present The Bay’s historic ghosts still materialize today in spooky ways. text by ELIZABETH PARKER

“Don’t tell me there’s nothing here!”

That’s how local ghost investigators, cases of gear and EMF meters in hand, report some clients greet them when they arrive at one of greater Mobile’s countless haunted properties. I’ve heard this proclamation myself on investigations and interviews, a big change from the days when hauntings were family secrets or furtively whispered topics of discussion. It seems that everybody has a ghost — or wants one.

And in more than a few places around town, there is definitely something there.

Knollwood Park / Infirmary West Hospital Built in the early 1980s, the former Knollwood Park / Infirmary West Hospital served west Mobilians for many years. Now an empty space framed by landscaped parking lots, the hospital hardly had time to develop a ghostly reputation when staffer Carla found herself busily stocking each of its floors with supplies. However, she avoided runs to the bottom floor, which housed the morgue. It just gave her the creeps.

One day, without another staffer to send, Carla found herself making the trip to the morgue. She delivered the supplies and returned to the elevator as quickly as she could. Watching the elevator’s numbers light up, Carla felt its descent to the ground floor was never ending. As she waited, a neatly dressed older gentleman walked up to wait, too.

“He had on a dark brown hat, so dark it was almost black, and I nodded to him and said hello,” Carla remembered. “He just ignored me and kept on looking straight ahead. We stood there two or three minutes.”

When the elevator arrived and the doors slid open, Carla stepped in and, turning, moved aside to make room for the other passenger. He wasn’t there.

In her relief to be out of there, she told herself the man probably walked back to the morgue for some reason and thought no more of it. Shortly afterward, Carla took a delivery to the emergency room. There, on the counter, was the man’s hat. “I just saw

86 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

that man downstairs,” she told the nurse, and suggested someone might be able to catch him before he left the hospital.

“You can’t,” replied the nurse.

“He’s been dead for about two hours.”

Sea Captain in Fairhope Across the Bay, another male spirit, disinclined to make polite conversation with women, is the ghost of a sea captain, though not the mild, pipe-smoking spirit of downtown Mobile lore. This ghost haunts his former residence in Point Clear, and he wants no females on his deck!

The home the captain built for his retirement, perfectly designed to watch the boats sail in and out of the waterway, was a dream come true for one modern-day family.

However, soon after moving in, the new lady of the house found it nearly impossible to live in.

Often left alone when her husband traveled for business, the woman was never without the sensation of “someone watching with his arms crossed over his chest.” He would walk right up to her or — worse — loom close behind her. The captain stomped up the staircase with heavy-booted feet or came into her bedroom at night to stand at the foot of the bed, scowling, as the lady woke with a start.

The captain never showed himself to her and never bothered her husband. The only place the captain did not go was the glassedin sun porch added after his death. So, there she stayed, as much as possible, until her husband was transferred out of state. With relief, they sold the house to a new owner who bought it for his mother.

The Enchanting Richards Family The sociable ghosts of the beautiful Richards DAR House in downtown Mobile would never behave in such a fashion, even with their own captain at the family helm. Built by captain Charles G. Rich-

ards around 1860, the house’s last surviving family members lived there until 1946 and apparently never left.

In the middle of countless festive celebrations or weddings, staffers have noticed a clutch of oddly dressed old ladies standing just off the side, appearing to enjoy themselves very much.

“Oh, them?” one docent remarked casually. “They like to come to the parties.”

The house is also haunted by the captain’s young wife, Mrs. Caroline Richards, and her memories. Leaving behind 10 or so children at the time of her early death, is it any wonder staff still see Mrs. Richards in her bedroom window when they arrive in the morning? On quiet days, the stillness of the house is broken by the sound of young voices singing and talking. They chase each other from the staircase landing and back to the hallway above the offices, light footfalls causing the staff to glance up at the ceiling and speculate. Sometimes the children gather on the stairs and peer through the spindles, only to giggle and shush each other when the docents walk through.

Kali Oka “Cry Baby Bridge” and Plantation North of Mobile, the town of Saraland is a haunted location all its own. The Kali Oka Road “Spook Light” has been seen countless times, illuminating the dark dirt road it bobs along. Then there is the infamous Cry Baby Bridge, where more than a few firsthand reports describe the eerie wailing of an infant and the apparition of a woman. “We sat on the rail of the bridge, backs to the water, ’til we could bring ourselves to move our legs,” said one observer. He was horsing around with friends when they heard the baby cry softly for several long minutes.

The nearby Oak Grove Plantation is so well-known that a horror movie was filmed there. John, a paranormal investigator, took a team in to spend an evening, “roaming through the house and grounds. We made sure that no one was in the house or on the property.”

When they were through exploring, John was the last one out of the kitchen’s back door.

As he walked to his car, the persistent feeling of eyes boring into the back of his neck was so strong he turned back. John and his team had turned off all the lights in the house, they were sure, but now the kitchen was completely lit.

“There, in the kitchen window, was a black figure,” John said. “The figure just stood there, looking at us.” As he stopped

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 87

to stare, it moved back from the window and disappeared.

Saraland Neighborhoods In the early 1990s, a pair of friends researched area ghost stories in preparation for writing a book. Some of the most hair-raising Saraland accounts they collected came not from famous places like Oak Grove but from regular neighborhoods.

One homeowner contacted them several times in an increasingly frustrating game of phone tag and cold feet. The woman reported soldiers from Alabama’s Colonial times, in full uniform, marching across her yard and appearing in the house. Sometimes, she said, they would even ride in the car.

When the writing duo finally got an appointment, they arrived at the house to find the owners were not at home. A phone call to the house was answered — by garbled male voices. Hanging up, the writers decided to check their own voicemail messages to see if the homeowner had called to cancel.

The same male voices were on their answering machines.

Oakleigh House All the hauntings in Saraland could be funneled into one place with room to spare, and that is Oakleigh Period House and Museum in Midtown Mobile. Visitors typically enter Oakleigh through the front door, on the main level, but that’s not the best way to go. The best way, for ghost enthusiasts, is to take the interior stairs from the bottom floor, just outside the downstairs dining room. About midway up the stairs, a shift in energy causes the strange sensation of walking through surf.

In the front parlor, up close to the ceiling, a lilting, fluttery energy circles the room like a trapped, invisible bird. This revenant spirit is assumed to be Miss Daisy, a gentle soul often felt but rarely visible. Once during a media photo shoot, some felt an image of a lady from another era appeared in the picture. But for the most part, Miss Daisy is a light, dreamlike spirit.

More intense are the presences in the second parlor, where the atmosphere is heavy, almost like an argument has been interrupted. The furnishings in this room are often disturbed, and upon opening the house in the morning, chairs can be found pulled up to the fireplace. Without comment, the docents drag them back to their proper positions before the tours start.

88 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

A psychic, who was actually shoved into the hall by the principal spirit in this parlor, described him as “an angry young man with chestnut-colored hair. He thinks he was robbed — had something related to the house stolen from him — and he’s still ranting and raving, trying to right what he sees as an injustice.” Many years ago, a young visitor refused to go into that parlor because he said the man in there frightened him. That same weighty energy was enough to agitate the parlor chandelier during a tour one day.

Beyond the parlors, the conversation drifts from the library, and the bedrooms off that hallway are the territory of at least one lady. A docent finished a tour and reported seeing “the shadow of a lady in a long dress” while she was talking to her tour group. The docent thought a coworker had come up to give her a message, and — when the shadow did not leave — the docent excused herself.

She stepped into the hall, only to find it completely empty. Puzzled, the docent returned to her group to resume the tour. Suddenly, the shadow slipped back into view.

Was this also the female figure, in period dress, who was seen crossing the hallway by two other docents on the same day? And is she the one that continues to putter around and move personal items in the bedroom at the end of the hall?

Personal Encounters I last saw my ghost a year ago on a rainy autumn afternoon. The black-haired man dressed in dark blue made quick, long strides across the backyard toward the fence, heading for the woods.

“Who in the world is that?” I asked aloud.

As he passed behind a tree and did not emerge, I knew what this was: another visit from the Yankee soldier I have met before but with whom communication proves difficult. Still, I bolted for the fence line to see if a real man had managed to jump a 4-foot fence and onto the very steep slope behind it without notice or injury. Nothing.

Are we his “something here?” MB

Elizabeth Parker is a native Mobilian, nonfiction writer and author of “Haunted Mobile: Apparitions of the Azalea City.”

Elizabeth helps people with ghost problems, and can be reached through her website www.mobileghosts.com or @mobileghosts on Facebook. october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 89

PEOPLE | BAY LIFE

All Dogs Go to Heaven The obituary of one beloved Labrador retriever who touched many human hearts while living a completely un-extraordinary life text by MAC WALCOTT • illustration by COLLEEN COMER

A

beautiful creature crossed the River Jordan, surely leaping large and high into the sweet, black water. Known as Zoey Lyons-Walcott, age 12 (human years), 100-plus pounds, she made her journey one recent night from the darkness and coolness of the crawl space under her human house.

The possibility of foul play is currently being investigated, as one of Zoey’s friends has received a contemporaneous serpent sting on his cheek, and strange barking was heard from her crawl space location on the evening of her demise.

Zoey was a highly bred (four figures) blond Labrador retriever, raised originally in downtown Fairhope by Mike and Kelley Lyons, who loved her dearly. For the first two years of Zoey’s life, she shared

90 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

their human bed, lived the life of a queen and knew no other way of living. Mike trained her extensively as a boat dog, and she knew how to climb a ladder out of the water into the boat and fetch the end of a mooring line. She also felt very comfortable boarding any boat that pulled up to the dock and greatly enjoyed all boat rides. In keeping with her breeding, Mike also trained Zoey as a gun dog, and her fanatic, incessant barking after the first shot later in life was legendary.

She also confided to friends who would listen that Mike had killed only 18 ducks the entire time she knew him.

Zoey posed and was photographed many times in her youth, and her natural good looks, breeding and sweet disposition made her an obvious choice for canine modeling. However, several years

after she came to live with the Lyonses, her life changed dramatically when she was placed at Big House Farms and adopted by the Walcott family. This was a difficult decision for her first owners, and was based on complex urban and maternal changes that were occurring in their human life at that time. All three of them grieved for many years after her move. But it wasn’t all bad news. In her new life, Zoey was the queen of a harem of three mixed-breed adoptees.

She lived outdoors, free-range on 40 acres; her only responsibilities being not to run away, bite the children or tear up things.

She excelled in all of this, growing fat in her later days with memories of her boat training, hand-signaled retrieving and modeling fading away, along with her trim waistline.

Her life returned, however, on those occasional days when Mike visited; lost lovers reunited, usually only for a few moments but enough to keep her dreams alive ’til the next time he came.

Zoey leaves to cherish her memories three canine companions: Nellie Hall (her best friend, a small, female, black mixed-breed from Citronelle), Scout Hall (a large, brown, male Lab-like mixed-breed, also from Citronelle) and Anthony “Andy” Walcott (a medium, blonde, dingo-like male with beady eyes), as well as three human siblings, ages 12 to 18. A service of canine interment was held at the farm, presided over by her youngest human sibling, a young man greatly experienced, unfortunately, in these matters. In lieu of chew toys, the family requested that memorial gifts be made to the local shelter.

“Rest in peace, sweet darling, for surely we shall meet again.” MB

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 91

HISTORY | ASK MCGEHEE

Did the Bankhead Tunnel ever have toll booths? text by TOM MCGEHEE

When the Bankhead Tunnel opened on Feb. 20, 1941, a toll booth was in operation at its eastern end.

Signs at the western approach warned travelers of its existence.

The charges varied depending on what went through the tunnel. A motorcycle was 15 cents; a “private car or taxi” was 25 cents; a station wagon would be charged 35 cents. Trucks were charged anywhere from 35 cents for a wrecker to $1 for trucks over 5 tons. Buses with more than 24 seats also were charged $1.

Mobilians had long been accustomed to pay in order to cross the Bay. Ferry boats charged drivers a minimum of $3.10 for the car and an additional 40 cents for each occupant. When the Causeway and Cochrane Bridge opened to the public in 1927, the bay boats vanished and drivers now paid just $1 a car plus 10 cents per passenger. Reportedly, this often led to extra passengers riding in a car’s trunk to save on the added costs.

The bridge and Causeway had been constructed by a private firm. The state of Alabama assumed its operation in 1937 and discontinued the toll. Travelers would thus have a brief break from paying a toll before the arrival of the new tunnel just four years later. Drivers could still cross via the Cochrane Bridge and avoid the toll, but most would prefer to cut the extra 7 miles out of their travel and use the Bankhead Tunnel.

No Free Rides Apparently worried over the arrival of a

92 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

ABOVE The Bankhead Tunnel, as seen in the 1950s, with its now-removed toll booths.

new toll, Mobile had the list of regulations for the new tunnel to include this sentence: “The city has no authority to grant free use of the tunnel.”

The Bankhead Tunnel arrived with a long list of prohibitions. No vehicles were to enter driven by “incompetent or intoxicated drivers” nor any “slow-moving vehicles, which cause undue delay and interference with traffic.” Steam rollers or tractors with metal wheels were prohibited along with push carts or wheelbarrows.

“Vehicles loaded with dirt, garbage, manure, loose hay or straw” were not to enter, along with those “carrying animals or poultry not properly confined.” Just like today, “gasoline tank trucks, loaded or empty” were strictly prohibited. And there were to be no

“persons sitting on the rear of trucks with feet dangling.”

The toll revenue from the tunnel quickly escalated. For the remainder of 1941 the total was $160,554. Within two years it was almost $508,000, and by 1950 it was up to nearly $600,000.

Quick Obsolescence A year later the Mobile Register reported, “The need for another tunnel is foreseen because of the congestion in the Bankhead Tunnel on weekends and holidays. According to engineers, congestion will be an everyday situation in another five years.”

It would be more than two decades before an additional tunnel was constructed. The twin George C. Wallace Tunnels were

ABOVE A Bankhead toll receipt from 1962.

completed in 1973 and were named to honor the current governor. As part of the deal, the toll on the Bankhead was abolished and none was ever charged for the twin tunnels.

History seems to repeat itself. Summer weekend congestion and higher traffic counts led to a repeat of that 1951 observation that the tunnels were inadequate to handle the load. Currently, a new Bay bridge is in the works along with replacing the entire Jubilee Bayway, thanks to revised federal regulations.

The latest proposal calls for a private entity to cover construction costs and some maintenance, as was done with the first Cochrane Bridge. Once completed, that firm will be collecting tolls for using either the Wallace Tunnel or the new bridge.

The proposed toll would currently range from $3 to $6 per vehicle but would not be collected in a booth.

Regular commuters may pre-purchase tolls, which will be loaded onto a windshield mounted transponder. Cameras will capture everyone else’s license tag and travelers will receive a bill in the mail, which will include a handling fee. MB

october 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 93

END PIECE | IN LIVING COLOR

Davis Avenue Pool Hall, 1939 Photo courtesy of Wilma B. Dixie, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama • Colorization by Dynamichrome Limited

A group of men pose inside Jim’s Billiards on Davis Avenue in Mobile, 1939. Davis Avenue, ironically named for the one-time president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, was a well-known thoroughfare in the heart of Mobile’s black community. In 1986, the street was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

Do you recognize anyone in this picture, or do you know anything about Jim’s Billiards? Let us know! Email ahartin@pmtpublishing.com.

94 mobilebaymag.com | october 2018

april 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 95

96 mobilebaymag.com | april 2017