Walker Magazine | Spring 2021

A Publication of the Daily Mountain Eagle

D OW N

I N

T H E

volume 9 • issue 3 • spring 2021

D I R T

Kids get back on the ball field + CELEBRATING NORSE HERITAGE + ALL IN THE FAMILY AT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE + LASTING LEGACIES - VIKINGS TENNIS

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TOMMY PARRISH

KEITH RICE

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MAGAZINE Established October 2012

PUBLISHER James Phillips EDITOR Jennifer Cohron ART DIRECTOR Malarie Brakefield CONTRIBUTORS Jake Aaron, Kalyb Abbott, Johnathan Bentley, Jason Clark, Scott Eric Day Photography, Randy Fielding, W. Brian Hale, Jeff Johnsey ADVERTISING Jake Aaron, Brenda Anthony, Renee Holly, Andrea Phillips, Liz Steffan DISTRIBUTION Michael Keeton

Walker Magazine is a publication of and distributed seasonally by the Daily Mountain Eagle, a division of Cleveland Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without written consent from the publisher. Walker Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of claims in any advertisement in any issue. Walker Magazine is not responsible for errors, omissions or changes in information.

The opinions of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its publisher.

Our mission is to promote Walker County and to showcase its many attributes as a quality place in which to live, to work and to play. We welcome ideas and suggestions for future editions of the magazine. Just send us a brief note via email. © 2021 Daily Mountain Eagle WALKER MAGAZINE P.O. Box 1469 Jasper, AL 35502 (205) 221-2840 email: walkermagazine@mountaineagle.com

Last spring, many of us were forced into lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This spring, the world is opening back up, and I think the cover of our latest issue of Walker Magazine reflects the happiness we’re all feeling as life gets back to normal.

A photo essay featuring local Little League teams is an idea we have discussed in the past, but this felt like the right time to do it considering that many kids were getting back to the ball park for the first time in over a year. While our photographers were out one Saturday, they also took in a local softball game. Spring sports are part of the rhythm of the year for many families. We at Walker Magazine are glad to see them back, and we hope everyone had a good season.

Also in this issue, we have a separate sports story on the 1989 Walker Vikings tennis team that started a school tradition of success at the state tennis tournament. Several of the players from that team have sons who are now playing tennis for the Vikings.

We keep the theme of family ties going in a series of articles on employees of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. The department currently has two fathers and sons and one father-daughter pair who are serving in the jail, on the road and as part of the administration. While other relatives have worked together at WCSO in the past, it’s rare to have so many doing so at one time.

Arin Smith understands the importance of relationships too. Smith, who has long been fascinated with Norse mythology, is part of the group Dansk Spyd Alabama Hird, which celebrates Vikings and all aspects of Scandinavian culture through reenactments.

Returning to sports, we caught up with Dora football coach Chavis Williams, a local player who had success with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Baltimore Ravens before coming home to mentor the next generation of football heroes.

Finally, we’re honored to have been entrusted with a series of photos from Walker County’s centennial celebration in 1924. The photos were sent to us by John Grubbs of Tennessee, who found them while going through some of his family’s mementos and graciously mailed them to us to share with our readers.

Jennifer Cohron, Editor

to Walker Magazine! If you’re an out-of-towner, get a year of great stories right at your doorstep.

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FROM THE VAULT

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Walker County Celebrates Centennial

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LASTING LEGACIES Two generations of Viking tennis success

GENERATION NEXT

All in the family at the sheriff’s office

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DOWN IN THE DIRT Kids get back on the ball field

For your entertainment we have placed this fishing hook (actual size) within the pages of Walker Magazine. This will be a permanent feature for our readers. We hope you enjoy searching for the fishing hook in each issue.

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DANSK SPYD ALABAMA HIRD Celebrating Norse heritage

WE ARE WALKER COUNTY Coach Chavis Williams

Members of Curry’s Little Leage team are having fun again in the dirt.

Photo by Jeff Johnsey

HINT:

Invert this page to reveal the page number.

Find the hook hiding on page sixteen.

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Vault From The

Walker County Celebrates Centennial Compiled by Jennifer Cohron Photos courtesy of the John Grubb

B

etween 10,000 and 12,000 people reportedly filled the streets of Jasper for a county centennial celebration held in November 1924. (The official date of Walker County being established is Dec. 26, 1823). An ox wagon near the head of the afternoon parade carried two of the county’s oldest citizens, Uncle “Boog” Worthington, 90, and his sister, “Little Grandma” Simpson, 98. Towns around the county entered historic

floats. Manchester was singled out for having the most comprehensive display with a float that represented the evolution of North Walker. Ann Tutwiler Pennington wrote a centennial pageant that was presented in the evening.

These photos were taken by Karl Kropp of Carbon Hill, who emigrated from Sweden with his parents, and provided to the Daily Mountain Eagle by his great-nephew, John Grubb.

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Generation NEXT The law enforcement community is a brotherhood. The men and women who are sworn to uphold the nation’s laws often think of themselves as a family. At the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, family ties are more than symbolic. Currently, three pairs — two father-son and one fatherdaughter — work together at the county’s largest law enforcement agency. Each is carrying on a tradition of service as part of the thin blue line.

Text by JENNIFER COHRON

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Sgt. Ray Capps & Deputy Randi Capps Photographs by RANDY FIELDING

The Capps family has a legacy in law enforcement.

Lanny Capps, who spent the bulk of his career at Jasper Police Department, went through the first police academy offered at the University of Alabama and was an instructor until two sessions before his son, Ray, came through in 1989.

In June 2020, Sgt. Ray Capps watched his daughter, Randi, graduate into a career in law enforcement.

“Public service is just kind of in our blood,” said Ray, who worked at several area municipal police departments and took a break for nearly a decade before returning to law enforcement in 2009.

At the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, Ray has previously served as leader of the SWAT team and as the commander of the SWAT team and dive team.

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is generally low and the dangers are many.

He wanted a different life for Randi.

“It took me five years to talk him into it,” she said.

It was a comment from Ray’s wife that ultimately swayed him.

“She said, ‘Randi is going to be in law enforcement. You’re going to have to accept that. You can either let somebody else train her or you can train her,’” he said.

Like her father and grandfather before her, Randi wanted to help people.

“With everybody I talked to, Dad was either hated or loved, but they respected him. He did his job, and if you do that, it’s rewarding and it’ll make you feel good because you’re helping people,” she said.

Ray did win one side of the argument, however. Randi was a reserve deputy for 18 months and went through the reserve academy, which is held every other weekend rather than one uninterrupted session.

During her time in the academy, Randi worked as a dispatcher at Jeff State Community College, where she was completing a degree in criminal justice.

“I knew if she went through the accelerated program and started a fulltime job here, she wouldn’t finish her degree,” Ray said.

He is currently heading up the department’s new aviation division. He was also instrumental in acquiring three helicopters for WCSO through the 1033 military surplus program.

Ray has a son who shares his love of aviation and has considered a career in law enforcement, but it is his youngest daughter, Randi, who has followed in his footsteps.

Ray Capps and Anthony Leach, who is now chief deputy, served on the SWAT team

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together. Like Tyler Leach, Randi was often recruited to play a bad guy on training days.

“Of course, with me being a female, they wanted to say, ‘I got her’ and give me a tap on the shoulder. Dad said, ‘No, treat her like a bad guy,’” she said.

At 16, Randi announced that she wanted to go into law enforcement. Her dad was firmly against it.

Capps knew from experience that the pay

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Randi was a road deputy for about six months before transitioning to the role of school resource officer at Carbon Hill after finding out she was pregnant with her first child. Her goals are to one day become an investigator and serve on the SWAT team.

As the department’s only female deputy, Randi has experienced some resistance but mostly curiosity. When she answers a call, she can see the confusion play out on the faces of those who were expecting a male deputy.

The women she encounters on the job are usually glad to see a female in uniform. The kids at Carbon Hill are even more excited.

“Little girls say they want to be a police

officer, and the teachers say, ‘They never said that until you got here,’” she said.

Despite his initial misgivings, Ray knows his daughter has what it takes to be a good officer.

“The last time that Anthony and I went out as part of the SWAT team, we were on the entry team, and she and Tyler were on the perimeter. Things tried to go bad on the inside, but it got corrected.

When I came out, I found out that there was a guy in the backyard who was like 6’4”, 250 pounds, and she took him down,” Ray said. • From left to right, Deputy Randi Capps, Sgt. Ray Capps, Chief Deputy Anthony Leach and Deputy Tyler Leach.

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Lt. Charles Hannah & Officer Andrew Hannah Photographs by Kalyb Abbott

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Charles Hannah’s days were fairly predictable when he was building windows and doors and selling insurance.

Then he came to work at the Walker County Jail in October 2006.

When Charles arrives at the jail in the morning, a familiar face is usually heading home.

His son, Andrew, became a correctional officer in January 2020. Like his dad, Andrew tried a different line of work but found it to be too boring.

He was also a newlywed who was looking for a job that offered him benefits like retirement and health insurance.

Instead, he hired on as a part-time correctional officer. Two years later, he received a full-time position. He was quickly promoted to sergeant and then to lieutenant.

Although doing paperwork is part of the job description, Charles prefers to be in motion. He has no problem serving meals, helping distribute medication or covering for an employee who needs a short break to clear his or her head during a busy shift, even if it means staying over for a couple of hours after his shift ends to finish up the paperwork.

In addition to the physicality of the job, there is also a psychological component.

“When you’re dealing with multiple personality types, you can’t deal with everybody the same way. You have to deal with them each on an individual basis. You can’t go in guns ablazing on everybody.

Sometimes they just need somebody to talk to and calm them down,” Charles said.

A good correctional officer must assert authority while also showing compassion.

Charles stresses three things — be firm, be fair and be consistent.

“It’s never boring.

With windows and doors, I knew what I was going to do every day when I came to work.

With insurance, it was riding around in a car all day and sitting around talking to people. It was the same thing every day, over and over,” he said.

Charles had always wanted to be in law enforcement because of his grandfather, who was a sheriff’s deputy in Talladega. After doing some ride-alongs with his brother-in-law at a department outside of the county, he realized that he wasn’t interested in being a deputy.

in and all of that on a daily basis, you’re not prepared,” Andrew said.

Although Andrew has gotten his foot in the door at the local level, he has ambitions to work in some aspect of federal law enforcement one day.

Having a dad who has spent 15 years working in the jail didn’t guarantee that Andrew would be suited for the role.

Some new correctional officers don’t even last a full shift on their first day.

“He told me that he’d back me up, but I’d have to make my own way,” Andrew said of his dad’s response.

Though he knew more about the workings of the jail than most, Andrew quickly learned that nothing can really prepare someone for the physical demands of a shift in the jail.

“Until you’ve done it, until you’ve dealt with fights and drunken inmates coming

When Charles has to use his Taser on an inmate, he always explains why later. He jokes that of all the people he has tased, only one person didn’t thank him later — Andrew, who had to be tased as part of his training.

For some inmates, especially those who have been in and out of jail since their youth, Charles becomes something of a father figure.

“It’s almost like they seek my approval.

You can ask some of them in here now and they’ll say, ‘He raised me,’” Charles said.

Charles’ assessment of being a corrections officer is that the work is physically tough and mentally straining but overall satisfying.

“When you see someone at the gas station, someone you’ve dealt with since they were a juvenile and they come up to you and say, ‘I’m doing good. Meet my child,’ you see that you made a difference,” he said. •

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Chief Deputy Anthony Leach & Deputy Tyler Leach Photographs by KALYB ABBOTT

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getting picked on in school, I was going to say something,” Anthony said of his reasons for getting into law enforcement.

He served as an officer in Kimberly, Dora and Sumiton (with a four-year stint in the U.S. Army) before returning to Dora as chief for several years.

Anthony joined WCSO in 2002. He spent a little over a decade moving up through the ranks from deputy to day shift sergeant to investigator. He also spent 10 years on the SWAT team, including six as team leader.

He stepped into the role of chief deputy on a temporary basis when his predecessor underwent an operation near the end of Sheriff Jim Underwood’s administration. Sheriff Nick Smith, who had initially planned on bringing in someone from outside the department, selected Anthony to take it permanently after Leach won him over with his hard work and professionalism while serving on an acting basis during the first month of the new administration.

Tyler, 20, is the youngest of three children that Anthony has with his wife, Monica.

His interest in law enforcement began when he was a spectator (and was occasionally enlisted to play the part of the bad guy) during SWAT team training.

Anthony was concerned, as any parent would be given the

As a kid, Tyler Leach sometimes did sweeps of his house, clearing each room of potential threats, with his dad, Anthony, the leader of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team.

Now when father and son clear a house, someone is going to jail.

Anthony, an 18-year veteran of WCSO, has served in the role of chief deputy since 2019. Tyler is a deputy and the department’s animal cruelty investigator. He also followed in Anthony’s footsteps as a member of the SWAT team.

While father-son pairs have been rare at WCSO, Anthony and Tyler aren’t the first in their family to do it. Anthony has an uncle and a cousin who work together at the Slidell Police Department.

Anthony started his career 26 years ago as a dispatcher at the Kimberly Police Department.

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dangers of the job but especially a parent who has experienced them firsthand. He made no attempt to change his mind, though.

“When I was his age, nobody could talk me out of it. I knew I couldn’t talk him out of it. He’s as stubborn as I am,” Anthony said.

Those days at SWAT training made a lasting impression on Tyler. Of course, it looked fun to a child’s eyes, but he also liked to see the team working together.

He joined WCSO as a reserve deputy one month after he graduated from high school in 2019 and was hired as a deputy that October. He graduated from the academy in March 2020.

Tyler follows the same chain of command as every other deputy. He reports to a sergeant and a captain.

When they are on a raid with the SWAT team, Tyler’s life is as important to Anthony as everyone else’s on scene.

“When I was the team leader, we were like a family anyway. It’s not that different. The way I look at it, I have to take care of those guys too,” Anthony said.

Tyler feels the same way.

“It doesn’t matter who is behind you or who is in front of you. You’re going to do stuff the same way,” Tyler said.

Though it may not be said out loud that often, Anthony and Tyler take pride in their shared calling and in each other’s accomplishments.

“When he got chief, there was a lot of talk that other people were going to get the spot. He hung in there, took the test and got it. I was proud of him,” Tyler said.

Though crime hasn’t changed, the environment for law enforcement has since Anthony was a young deputy. He worries because Tyler and the other deputies are scrutinized constantly and criticized publicly, something he never encountered before social media.

Choosing a career in law enforcement also means seeing the worst situations imaginable day after day after day.

There are days when a deputy can go home knowing he made a difference, though, like when Tyler was part of an investigation that rescued 10 horses from animal cruelty in October.

“It’s every day, not just one particular thing,” Anthony said of the moments that he takes pride in his son. • SPRING 2021 A PUBLICATION OF THE DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE

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Dansk Spyd Alabama Hird Celebrating Norse heritage Text by W. BRIAN HALE Photography by SCOTT ERIC DAY PHOTOGRAPHY

SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD, ARIN SMITH HAS HAD A DEEP LOVE FOR VIKINGS AND NORSE MYTHOLOGY. As Smith delved deeper into Viking and Scandinavian culture, he found himself drawn to a growing number of organizations, including his own group, Dansk Spyd Alabama Hird, which reenacts and celebrates Norse heritage at festivals.

Part of the Viking Age of Living History group, members of Dansk Spyd Alabama Hird don clothes made of materials that are historically accurate to the time period and the region using written accounts of what individuals of the day looked like.

“We wear these clothes, doing what we do, to get a better idea of the feel of the time, as well as have an idea of how the culture was,” Smith said. “The more

we learn about these people, the more advanced their culture appears.”

While the Vikings are often regarded as great combatants and their name is commonly linked to warfare, the Scandinavian culture was highly developed, with Viking raids on other nations being only one aspect of the civilization.

“What people thought of Vikings years ago was horned helmets, leather and fur-clad warriors pillaging and causing wanton destruction. Warfare was just part of a whole of their amazing culture,” Smith said. “Women enjoyed greater freedoms than what you see in other civilizations — they could own businesses, represent themselves in legal cases, choose where and how to live if they were unmarried. While married women were responsible for raising children and keeping the house, both

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husbands and wives prepared meals for the family.”

Viking professions such as armorers and blacksmiths, trades that Smith’s group emulates, were essential for crafting clothes and components that are today worn by group members, including domed helmets that are rated for combat and mailed shirts, which can help deflect blows.

Festivals that celebrate the Norse culture and heritage feature activities practiced and enjoyed by the Vikings, including sports and board games. Sporting activities for the Vikings included mockcombat, wrestling, mountain climbing, swimming, javelinthrowing and hunting. Board games such as dice, games of strategy along the lines of chess, and chess itself were also enjoyed.

“We have combat scenarios we play out, and we’re all martial artists as well in historical European martial arts. There’s a set of safety rules that are agreed upon internationally we adhere to. If we meet another Viking group from Denmark, we could fight them faithfully and still put on a good performance,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of attention to hygiene that we commit to, as the Vikings saw cleanliness and appearance as a sign of status and wealth. We all have a personal hygiene kit that’s historically accurate we use. I actually have a personal one I use every day because it’s very thorough.”

Dansk Spyd groups, such as the Alabama chapter that Smith leads, include hirds in Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana. Free to join, the Hirds accept individuals from all walks of life regardless of sex, age, religion or creed.

“It’s a great escape and through it, you gain a unique perspective on a civilization that broke a lot of barriers and was very advanced,” Smith said. •

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Photo by Johnathan Bentley

Two generations of Viking tennis success Text by JOHNATHAN BENTLEY | Photographs submitted

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WALKER WAS SO CLOSE.

That was the only time Austin ever won it.”

The Vikings had never been in this position before — battling for a state tennis championship in Mobile.

Walker had burst onto the state tennis scene that season, taking down state champions and willing their way to the state tournament for the first time.

Though the 1989 team didn’t win state that year, a glance at the school’s trophy case confirms that the squad kick-started something special — a state tennis tournament run that continues to the present day.

Since 1989 the Vikings have missed the state tennis tournament just once. Prior to 1989, the team had never made the state tournament.

At state, the upstarts had the deck stacked against them.

Despite a list of accomplishments throughout the season, the draw favored the traditional powers. There was also the fact that Walker’s de facto tennis coach was unable to do any onsite coaching at the event.

In the end, the Vikings fell just short, losing to Austin High School by a mere two points. Just one more victory in singles or doubles play and the Vikings would’ve claimed their first state championship.

Thirty two years later and the memory is still fresh.

“We went a long way, said Shannon Johnson, the No. 1 seed on the team. “We were close. We really should’ve won it that year.

This year’s group of Vikings, while carrying on the state tradition, has a special connection to that team that put Walker tennis on the map. Three members of that original state runner up team — Johnson, Chad Hill and Jody Barber — have sons playing in Jasper’s top six this season.

Alex Barber is the Vikings’ No. 1 seed, Will Johnson is the No. 2 and Wilkes Hill is No. 6. Barber and Johnson also make up the No. 1 doubles team. The Vikings just closed out another season at the State Tennis Tournament in Mobile where they placed eighth in a loaded Class 6A field. Christian Matthews, himself

Front row, left to right kneeling: Chad Hill and Brad Roberson (State Champions at #5 singles); Middle row, left to right: Dan Johnson, Dwayne Wiginton, Mike McCain, Jody Barber, Shane Wilson, Shannon Johnson and Jason Selman with trophy (Johnson and Selman State Champions #1 doubles) Jason Selman State champion #2 singles. Grant Rolley, Russ Robertson team manager, and James Sparks. Back row: Jeremy Davis.

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Walker tennis team celebrates a big win against No. 1-ranked Central Tuscaloosa (Daily Mountain Eagle, 1989)

Chad Hill in 1989

Shannon Johnson in 1989

Johnson with Rolley

Shannon Johnson with Grant Rolley who was inducted into the USTA Alabama Hall of Fame in 2018

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Alex Barber

Will Johnson

“

Wilkes Hill

[Grant] brought us together and we learned how to win.

a multiple-time state champion at Walker, is now the head tennis coach.

The common thread between then and now is Grant Rolley, who first started his connection with the Walker — now Jasper — team in 1989. Many of Jasper’s players through the years have gone to Rolley, the tennis pro at Musgrove Country Club, to begin their careers.

Just mentioning Rolley brings back memories to his former players from that very first team.

“It was mostly Shannon that went to Grant and tried to talk him into coaching. We had a high school coach, but he just didn’t really know tennis. Grant taught us how to play competitive, aggressive tennis and how to fight to the end,” Chad Hill said. “That (1989) team had more determination than

- J O DY BA R B E R

anything I’ve ever been a part of. We were so committed. I had never played tennis until my senior year. The guys talked me into playing tennis because they said they wanted to win a state championship and they needed one more guy. I said, ‘I don’t know how to play tennis.’ They worked with me every day in the winter so we could end up having a team that could make it to state.

We had grit and determination, and look, we are still all great friends today and a lot of that is all because of Grant.”

together and we learned how to win. We were a team. We would yell and scream for our teammates. We were a little rowdier back then, but it was a different time. The thing that really sticks out is that Grant helped develop us into a team that could win,” Jody Barber said. “To this day, Grant has taught all three of my kids in tennis. He’s a good person and wants the best for our kids. That’s what makes him good at what he does,” said Barber, whose older son also played for the Vikings.”

Walker ended up becoming one of the top programs in the state. The Vikings won their first state tennis championship in 1999.

Overall, the program has won 11 boys championships with the last coming in 2018.

“Grant brought us all together,” Hill said.

“We meant a lot to him. We had a high school coach, but it was Grant that taught us how to play competitive, aggressive tennis. Everywhere we went we were revelraisers. We had a little bit of an attitude. For me, it meant a lot to be part of those guys.

There are life-long relationships that came out of it.” •

“Grant changed the attitude. He made us realize that if we wanted to be better, we had to put in more time. He brought us

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Down in the Dirt

Spring sports are making a comeback in Walker County. Baseball and softball fields that sat eerily silent last year during the pandemic are once again gathering places for kids with smiles on their faces and dirt on their pants and the parents and coaches who love to cheer them on.

Photos by JASON CLARK and JEFF JOHNSEY

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Chavis Williams is a Dora graduate and was one of the first signees for Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban in 2007. Williams was a member of Alabama’s 2009 Southeastern Conference and National Championship teams and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Returning home after his NFL stint, Williams joined the football staff at Dora as an assistant coach under his former coach, Johnny Wright. Years later, he was hired as the defensive coordinator at Carbon Hill and later took the helm of the program as head coach, leading the team to its first playoff appearance since 1999.

In January, Williams was named as the new head coach at Dora, completing a full circle from player to head coach of the program he so dearly loves. A fixture at many Dora sporting and extracurricular events, he is one of the school’s most ardent supporters and treasures his community.

Dora has always been home to me, no matter where I’ve gone and what I was doing, it was always in my heart. Dora High School represents its community and the wonderful young people who make up its student body are the leaders of our future. It’s a great honor to be part of the great staff at Dora where I strive to make a positive, lasting impact on our young peoples’ lives.

- CHAVIS WILLIAMS 46 / WALKER MAGAZINE

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