October 31, 2013

The Suburban Newspaper for Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

inside

JOU RNAL otmj.com

th

ursd ay, Oct ober 31, 2013

V ol . 23 #21 Briarwood Christmas Shop is a holiday tradition

about town page 6

Friends join forces to fight Alzheimer’s disease

About town page 8

Roar, Cancer Foundation team up for UA-AU event

social page 22

Vietnam veteran Ty Dodge, above, the president and chief executive officer of RealtySouth, shares his battle stories with his Sunday School class at Briarwood Presbyterian Church. A lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Dodge

volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1969, right. Photos special to the Journal

War and Remembrance Army Veteran Ty Dodge Shares Stories of Vietnam Experiences

By Keysha Drexel

hh

Journal editor

T

he son of a World War II veteran and career U.S. Army officer, Ty Dodge grew up knowing about the sacrifices soldiers make defending our country on foreign soil.

But it wasn’t until the Mountain Brook resident was inches away from the enemy in a North Vietnamese Army tunnel in 1969 that he saw the true face of war.

Dodge, the president and chief executive officer of RealtySouth, was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1969.

“I was 24 years old and ready to take on the world,” he said.

A graduate of Furman University, Dodge made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps and make serving his country his career.

“I realized that if I was going to be a career guy, I would See Dodge, page 20

inside

hh

Jones spreads the word about good food, wine

home page 30

Holiday Hero

Birmingham Native Raymond Weeks Is Known as ‘Father of Veterans Day’ Page 18

Veterans Park Volunteer

Desert Storm Gave Army Reservist Ginger Branson a New Perspective Page 18

Homewood High students pursue passion for music

schools page 42

Sue murphy: what’s in your pantry? p. 2 • friends for life p. 12 • brookwood to get freestanding er p. 16 • Homecoming season p. 45

2 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

Opinion/Contents

Seasonal Shopping

murphy’s law

Thanks, Dabs Enough

I Businesses in downtown Homewood and Edgewood will usher in the holiday season with the 12th annual Homewood Chamber of Commerce Holiday Open House on Nov. 7.

This year, the event will have a Facebook page for chamber member businesses to post their in-store events occurring all day.

From 5:30-8:30 pm, the stores will open their doors to welcome visitors to an evening of shopping for the latest holiday gifts while enjoying refreshments.

The Homewood Chamber of Commerce uses the annual holiday event to encourage community residents to “shop locally” with businesses in the community.

For more information on what many merchants in Homewood are planning for the event, see our special section beginning on page 34.❖

On otmj.com Find photos from the best parties, a list of upcoming events in our area and more online.

Coming NoV. 14

We’ll have tips for how to pull off the perfect Thanksgiving meal and our annual holiday Gift Guide in the next issue.

in this issue About Town 3 People 12 NEWS 16 Life 18

Social 22 Weddings 28 Schools 42 Sports 48

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

JOU RNAL

October 31, 2013

Publisher: Maury Wald Editor: Keysha Drexel Features Writer: Donna Cornelius Office Manager: Christy Wald Editorial Assistant: Stacie Galbraith Sports: Lee Davis Contributors: Susan Murphy, June Mathews, William C. Singleton III, Emil Wald, Marvin Gentry, Lee Walls Jr., Bryan Bunch Advertising Sales: Suzanne Wald, Julie Trammell Edwards, Tommy Wald Interns: Ginny Cooper, Taylor Burgess Vol. 23, No. 21

Over The Mountain Journal is a suburban bi-weekly newspaper delivered to Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County areas. Subscriptions for The Journal are available for $24 yearly. Mail to: Over the Mountain Journal, P.O. Box 660502, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Phone: (205) 823-9646. E-mail the editorial department at editorial@otmj.com. E-mail our advertising department at ads@otmj.com. Find us on the Web at otmj.com.

Copyright 2013 Over The Mountain Journal, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Journal is not responsible for return of photos, copy and other unsolicited materials submitted. To have materials returned, please specify when submitting and provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All materials submitted are subject to editorial review and may be edited or declined without notification.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

love the holidays. Turkey, are days when I look wistfully at the cranberry sauce, visions of Shredded Wheat and sigh. sugarplums–really, I’m all The second problem I call “good in. But before I can bring all that intentions.” These are semi-exotic jars good harvest home, I have to clear of foods for ambitious recipes I thought out the remnants of the harvest I I would make later that week but found brought home before. that months (many months) later, I had I hate to waste food. There are just never gotten around to them. It seems two of us eating at home now, so we like admitting defeat to let the green end up with a lot of dabs, a few slices chili sauce go, but the cranberries have of roast beef, a half a package of green to sit somewhere. beans. I’m the queen of reheat and reFinally, there are the “new leaf” plate, but I draw the line at bringing products, wonderful do-good food items doggie bags home from restaurants that I bought on days when I decided because I know they will sit in the to turn my life around. I’m not referrefrigerator for three days and I’ll ring to those miraculous new leafy Sue Murphy throw them out anyway. It’s a waste of sweeteners that have apparently been good food and good Styrofoam. hiding in some undiscovered corner I’ve bought rice The one thing I can’t seem to of a jungle where the natives happily stop is dabbing up the freezer. If cakes 27 times, eaten munch on coconut chocolate chip we’ve re-plated once and there’s still cookies and never gain an ounce. them on gung-ho a good bit of tasty food left over, No, I’m talking about products with I package it up and throw it in the more protein and more fiber and days number one freezer thinking that I am laying up and loads of antioxidants. and two and then loads happy surprises for some hungry day Things you have to talk yourself into down the road. Right now, I have a went forth to ignore eating. Things that sound better than half-pound of cooked Italian sausage they taste. I’ve bought rice cakes them in favor of waiting for a personal size pizza, a 27 times, eaten them on gung-ho turkey carcass awaiting a cold day something covered in days number one and two and then for soup and seven jumbo shrimp went forth to ignore them in favor of chocolate that I guess Harold and I could share something covered in chocolate. I’ve as an uneven shrimp cocktail. Sadly, done the same thing with vegetable the rest of my freezer denizens are juice. Fifty-seven vegetables in one no longer identifiable. Last time, I just hauled each icy 8-ounce serving? What kind of slacker would say no? item out on the counter to thaw, waited for the frosty fog Me. to clear and said, “Oh, I remember when we had that. It The blessing of course, is that this is my problem: too was good.” Then I threw it away. much food in a world where some people have little or My pantry glut is a three-pronged problem. First, nothing. I will try to do better in the coming year, taking there’s the Buy-One-Get-One bonanza, super deals that I in only what I need, but for now, the challenge is to fincouldn’t pass up that pile up to clog the pantry pipeline. ish what I have.

Right now, I have four unopened boxes of Cheerios. I I think I’ll start with the Halloween candy. A half a like Cheerios, and I will eat them–eventually–but there bag of Snickers bars? Somebody’s got to do it. ❖

over the Mountain Views

What does it mean to you to be a veteran?

“It provided an opportunity to serve my country.

Our freedom does not come without a price and we’re fortunate that citizens are willing to pay that price.”

Fran Buchan Vestavia Hills U.S. Air Force, 1970-94

“I am very proud to be a veteran and to have served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam conflict. I am also very proud of the men and women who continue to serve in our voluntary military today.”

Joe Perez Vestavia Hills U.S. Navy, 1968-70

“I’m a die-hard patriot. If I were 35, I’d join again in a second. I love my country.”

Morris Ross Hoover U.S. Navy, 1945-46

“It was my duty and I never thought that there was anything that I should do but serve.”

Chuck Conyers Vestavia Hills U.S. Air Force, 1962-65

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 3

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Save the Date to the public. Samford Art Gallery is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday except on holidays and school breaks.

For more information, visit http:// letterpressephemera.com.

focus on plants

extra dance space for dancers of all levels. The Fun Competition, Second Edition will be from 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 3. Presented by Dennis Woods, the contest is for dancers of all levels. Entry

for the competition is $15. Spectators can attend for free. Weekend passes for the event are $99. To request a registration form, email curtnwendy@ hotmail.com.

Homewood

Birmingham

David Haskell, a Pulitzernominated author and professor at Sewanee will be the keynote speaker at the Central South Native American Plant Festival at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Photo special to the Journal

Native Plant Conference Nov. 1-2 Birmingham Botanical Gardens The Birmingham Botanical Gardens will host the Central South Native Plant Conference Nov. 1-2. David G. Haskell, a Pulitzer-nominated author and professor at Sewanee, will be the featured keynote speaker. Over two days, the conference will feature speakers from across the nation, early morning birding, field trips to some of Alabama’s unique outdoor educational spaces and an event at the Birmingham Zoo. To see the entire schedule for both days and purchase tickets online, visit www.bbgardens.org.

Homewood

International Exhibit of Letterpress Artwork Oct. 31-Nov. 29, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Samford University Art Gallery Samford University Art Gallery will host an international exhibit of letterpress artwork through Nov. 29.

The 918 Letterpress Ephemera Show

takes its name from the .918-inch height of letterpress wood and metal type.

Ephemera is defined as any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved. Examples of letterpress printed ephemera include posters, greeting cards, pamphlets, postcards, tickets and zines. The exhibit and reception are free and open

Ballroom Dancing in Homewood Nov. 1-3 The Exceptional Foundation Ballroom dancers from all over the Southeast will cut a rug for a good cause Nov. 1-3 to celebrate National Ballroom Dance Week and to raise money for the Exceptional Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Homewood for special needs individuals. The event will start on Nov. 1 with a dance featuring live music by The Classics.

Exhibitions by local dancers will include a special exhibition by the Exceptional Dancing Stars. On Nov. 2, six hours of dance workshops will be taught on three dance floors by nine different teachers.

Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School and Family Life Center will provide

2622 fargo drive Full Brick Home in the $220's!

Beautiful Sun Room Located in Twin Branch Estates

For more information go to JamesHarwell.com

James Harwell 2011 Sales Associate of the Year

Final Weekend - Sale Ends Sunday

Over the Mountain Office 1220 Alford Avenue • 205.281.4731

To: From: Date:

Lee Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 October This is your aD prOOF from the Over The MOunTain JOurnaL for the Oct. 17, 2013 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

To: please initial and987-3516 fax back within 24 hours. if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, From: Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., your ad will run as Over is. We printThe the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

205-824-1246, fax Date: Oct 2013 This is your ad proof from the over the mountain Journal for the oct 17, 2013 issue. Please contact your sales representative as soon as possible to approve your ad or make changes. You may fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

4 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

redmountaintheatre.org or call 3242424.

arts and crafts

Homewood

S

CIALIZING I N PE

Convertible Tops Sunroofs Leather Interiors facebook.com/AlabamaAutoTop

1201 3RD AVENUE SOUTH . BIRMINGHAM, AL 35233 PHONE: 205-251-0684 . WWW.ALABAMAAUTOTOP.COM

Organizers and crafters are getting ready for the 10th annual Arts and Crafts Show and Sale at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church on Nov. 3. From left: Rita Strauss Maples and Fran Robertson. Photo special to the Journal Mountain Brook

Introducing Bravo Ceramic Egg ~Just in time for the Holidays~

OLS Arts and Crafts Show and Sale Nov. 3, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church Shoppers looking for unique gifts can head over to Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood, where talented parishioners will display their creations during the 10th annual Arts and Crafts Show and Sale on Nov. 3 from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The church’s Family Life Center assembly hall will be filled with handmade items including pottery, aprons, jewelry and rosaries. There will also be paintings, drawings, photography, crocheted items and food. Exhibitors will donate a portion of their proceeds to the parish. Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church is at 1728 Oxmoor Road in Homewood. The Family Life Center is off Central Avenue and across from the OLS parking garage. For more information, visit www.ourladyofsorrows.com

TumTum Tree Foundation Wine Auction Weekend Nov. 1-2 Birmingham Country Club The 24th annual TumTum Tree Foundation Wine Auction Weekend will be Nov. 1-2 at the Birmingham Country Club. The event will feature tastings of more than 250 wines, a silent auction and private winemaker dinners featuring several wineries. The event will benefit Magic Moments, Kid One Transport, Mitchell’s Place, the Red Barn and the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Division of Children’s of Alabama. Wine tastings and the silent auction will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 1. Tickets are $75. The private winemaker dinners will be from 8-10 p.m., and tickets are $125. The black tie-optional dinner and live auction will be at 6 p.m. on Nov. 2. Tickets are $200. For tickets or more information, visit www.tumtumtreefoundation.org or call 563-0832.

Birmingham

Raise the Roof for Rett Nov. 1, 6-10 p.m.

LINC Point The SUKI Foundation will present the second annual Raise the Roof for Rett event on Nov. 1 from 6-10 p.m. at LINC Point, 101 Oslo Circle, Birmingham, to help fund research and therapy programs for Rett syndrome patients at Children’s of Alabama. The event will feature live music, dinner and dessert, complimentary drinks and a silent auction. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door. Tickets and sponsorship packages are available at http://SUKIfoundation.org/events.html.

Birmingham

“Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” Nov. 1-3 RMTC Cabaret Theatre Red Mountain Theatre Company will present “Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” Nov. 1-3 at the RMTC Cabaret Theatre, 301 19th St. North. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. This production is part of RMTC’s Youth Series and is performed by students ages 7-12. The family-friendly production is appropriate for all ages. For tickets, visit www.

North Shelby

Fall Dinner and Auction Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m.

Harley-Davidson Pelham The Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles will hold its 10th annual Fall Dinner and Auction on Nov. 3 in the Harley Owners Group, or HOG, Room at Harley-Davidson Pelham. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction, followed by a gourmet dinner and live auction. Items up for bid at the silent auction will include restaurant gift certificates, antiques and collectables, unique children’s items and holidaythemed items. Tickets are $25 per person or a table of 8 for $175.

Birmingham

Cahaba Brewing Shrimp Boil Nov. 2, 3-7 p.m.

Cahaba Brewing Company Cahaba Brewing Company will host a shrimp boil from 3-7 p.m. on Nov. 2 to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Cahaba Brewing Company is at 2616 Third Ave. South.

For more information, visit www.BCRFA. org or call 996-5463.

Homewood

Step Out Nov. 2, 7:30-11:30 a.m.

Samford University Presented by the American Diabetes Association, Step Out will be held at Samford University from 7:30-11:30 a.m. on Nov. 2. Participants are encouraged to build a team of family members, friends and co-workers to help raise money and walk to help find a cure for diabetes. For more information, visit main.diabetes.org or call 870-5172, extension 3079.

Homewood

Holiday Open House Nov. 3, 1-3 p.m.

The Shops of Assistance League The annual Holiday Open House at the Shops of the Assistance League will be from 1-3 p.m. on Nov. 3. PrimeTime Treasures and Encore Upscale Thrift Shop will be open for shoppers to purchase unique seasonal items as well

First Anniversary Sale Event! lImItEd tImE offEr $

695

tuesday, november 5 9:30 am to 5:30 pm 3168 Heights Village

Alabama Gaslight & Grill 2828 Linden Ave. Homewood • 870-4060

Next door to Cummings Jewelry

Monday - Saturday 9:30-5:30

970-2077

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 5

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

little black dress big benefit

Smith's Variety

holiday o peN houSe!

Making plans for the annual Little Black Dress Luncheon and Fashion Show are, from left: Char Bonsack, Jan Service, Gwen Belle-Isle and Mary Ann Wade. Photo special to the Journal

Vestavia Hills

Little Black Dress Luncheon and Fashion Show Nov. 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Private Club in Vestavia Hills The Assistance League of Birmingham will host the Little Black Dress Luncheon and Fashion Show from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Nov. 6 at a private club in Vestavia Hills. The annual affair will benefit the three programs of Assistance League: PrimeTime Treasures, Operation School Bell and Operation Literacy.

At the event, White House Black Market will showcase new fall and winter fashions, which will be modeled by Assistance League members. High Designs Jewelry, Southern Natural Soap and Merry Cheese Chips will be selling their wares, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the nonprofit programs of Assistance League. Jazz music will be provided by The Goodfellas II. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling 870-5555. For more information, visit www.assistanceleaguebhm.org. as hundreds of other crafts, jewelry and art sold by the organization’s craftsmen.

Encore will showcase the latest fashions and décor and the newly opened boutique, Encore Collection, featuring designer clothing. Light refreshments will be available. For more information, visit www.assistanceleague.org.

Thursday, Nov. 14th 5:00pm - 8:00pm

10% off STorewide Special Guest Items Excluded

firST 50 cuSTomerS will geT a gifT card worTh up To $50 Wine & appetizers will be served Live music!

Board of Lectureship. The event is free, and childcare will be provided.

For more information, visit www. homewoodlibrary.org.

Free Monograming on vera Purchases Free Personalization on Ornaments

Homewood

Ricardo Saldivar Talk Nov. 3, 3 p.m.

Homewood Public Library The Christian Science Church in Birmingham will host a talk entitled “God’s Love Answers All Your Needs” Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. at the Homewood Public Library, 1721 Oxmoor Road. The speaker is Ricardo Saldivar of Chicago, who serves on the Christian Science

Multiple Book Signings including Jon McClure

Final Weekend - Sale Ends Sunday

Multiple local Artists

Christopher Glenn, inC. To: From: Date:

Drawings for lOTS of great STuFF!

Lee Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 October This is your aD prOOF from the Over The MOunTain JOurnaL for the Oct. 17, 2013 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Antiques, Gardens, & Giving

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

Santa mIGht EvEn Stop by!

please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

2713 19th street south homewood, Alabama 35209 205-870-1236

hours: 10:00 - 5:00 tuesday thru saturday Ups/Gift Wrap

www.christopherglenninc.com

Since 1950

mouNTaiN Brook Village 2715 Culver Rd. • 871-0841

Find us on

6 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

A Briarwood holiday tradtion

Pets on leashes are welcome. For more information, visit www.outofdarkness.org or call Lisa Dunn at 335-1876.

Hoover

Birmingham

Organizers are getting into the holiday spirit by planning for the Briarwood Christmas Shop Nov. 7-8. From left: Jennifer James, Jeed Houston, Patty Crauswell and Lena Davis. Photo special to the Journal

Briarwood Christmas Shop Nov. 7-8 Briarwood Presbyterian Church The Briarwood Christmas Shop, a community holiday tradition for more than 20 years, will once again offer a unique shopping experience Nov. 7-8. The free event is hosted by Briarwood Christian High School.

Proceeds will benefit needs throughout the school that are not covered by the school budget. The 2013 shop will feature gifts, local artwork, jewelry and accessories, home décor, wood crafts, monogrammed clothing, collegiate items and holiday items. There will be several out-of-state vendors participating and boutiques for women’s fine clothing as well. Stationery and paper products can be customized at the event. The event runs from noon-6 p.m. on Nov. 7 and from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Nov. 8 at the Fellowship Hall at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, located at Interstate 459 and Acton Road.

Hoover

Walk 153 Nov. 3, 1:53 p.m.

Buccaneer Stadium Walk 153, an event to raise awareness and financial support for adoptive families, will be held at Hoover High School’s Buccaneer Stadium on Nov. 3. Entertainment will include live music from Mandi Mapes Kotts, free inflatables and a kids’ zone.

Dreamcakes, Steel City Pops and Kona Ice will have food for sale. Hotdogs, chips and drinks will also be available for purchase. Registration begins at noon, and the walk begins at 1:53 p.m. For more information, visit www. thestationchurch.net.

Birmingham

Cooking Class with Tina Wasserman Nov. 3, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Levite Jewish Community Center The Levite Jewish Community Center will host a private cooking class with

cookbook author Tina Wasserman on Nov. 3 from 9:30-11:30 a.m.. The cost is $25. Wasserman will share her recipes for carrot and sweet potato latkes and couscous. The class is limited to 15 participants. For more information, visit www.bhamjcc.org.

North Shelby

Out of the Darkness Community Walk Nov. 3, 2:30 p.m.

Heardmont Park More than 2,000 people from throughout Alabama are expected to participate in the Out of the Darkness Community Walk on Nov. 3 at Heardmont Park. The fundraising walk supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by helping to support local and national suicide prevention and awareness programs. Registration begins at 1 p.m., and the walk begins at 2:30 p.m. There is no registration fee to walk. The walk routes are paved and will accommodate wheelchairs and strollers.

Friends of the Hoover Library Meeting Nov. 4, 10 a.m.

Hoover Public Library Jeanne Averhart, recorder player, will present music to honor all veterans at the Nov. 4 meeting of the Friends of the Hoover Library. Refreshments begin at 9:45 a.m., and the meeting starts at 10 a.m. The meeting is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Hoover Public Library, 200 Municipal Drive. For more information, call 444-7840.

Birmingham

Illuminations Tree Display Nov. 4-Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Russell and McWane Buildings Children’s of Alabama will present the 2013 Illuminations tree display Nov. 4-Dec. 5 in the main lobbies of both the Children’s Russell and McWane Buildings from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. each day.

The event will feature about 40 trees designed and decorated by individuals, companies and organizations from the Birmingham area. The Illuminations tree program is held each year in conjunction with the annual Illuminations Ball, one of the hospital’s major fundraising events. The viewing of the trees is free and open to the public. For more information, call 638-9956.

Hoover

Veterans Benefits Program Nov. 5, 10 a.m.

Hoover Public Library The Hoover Public Library will host a seminar on benefits for military veterans and their families on Nov. 5. The 10 a.m. program will be presented by the Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs and Birmingham’s VA Medical Center.

Reservations are required. For more information, call 444-7816.

Hoover

Holiday Mail for Heroes Nov. 6 Hoover Public Library Patrons at the Hoover Public Library on Nov. 6 can participate in the

VISIT OUR GREEN MODEL HOMES EACH SUNDAY FROM 2 - 5 P.M. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL MIKE WEDGWORTH: 205.365.4344

Homewood Public Library The Homewood Arts Council will present “Dandelion Wine” as part of its Spoken Word Series at the Homewood Public Library. The free event will be at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 in the Round Auditorium at the library. The Seasoned Performers will bring the magic of summertime in small town America to life. The event is supported by the city of Homewood. For more information, visit www.homewoodlibrary.org.

viva the fun

Vestavia Hills

Plans are being made for the 2013 installment of Viva Vestavia.

Attending last year’s festivities were, from left: Martha Cook, Kay and Mike Wilburn, Derek and Lani Meek, Steve and Karen Odle.

Viva Vestavia Nov. 7, 6:30-9 p.m.

Photo special to the Journal Hollywood Pools Viva Vestavia XI returns Nov. 7 from 6:30-9 p.m. at Hollywood Pools, 1441 Montgomery Highway. Tickets are $40 and include a Viva Vestavia XI commemorative etched wine glass. The event will feature a taste of Vestavia Hills restaurant fare and fine wines and will include a silent auction. The event will benefit the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce Foundation. To order tickets, visit http://business.vestaviahills.org or call 823-5011.

Helping Hands: Holiday Mail for Heroes program. Patrons can stop by the nonfiction desk at the library and add a personal message to a holiday card which will be donated to this annual Red Cross project. The event is free. For more information, call Ashley Davidson at 444-7840.

Birmingham

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 7

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Taste of Triumph Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m.

Iron City Triumph Services will host its annual fundraising gala, A Taste of Triumph, at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Iron City. The

event will feature wine and beer tasting hosted by Triumph Services, a nonprofit providing services for adults with developmental disabilities. The gala will include wine and beer from International Wines, live music by Jimmy and Laine, live and silent auctions and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $60 per person or $100 per couple. Iron City is at 513 22nd St. South, Birmingham. For more information, visit www.triumphservices. org.

Homewood

COLLIER’S

Birmingham

Five Alarm Gala Nov. 7, 6:30-9 p.m.

B&A Warehouse In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Firehouse Shelter will host its sixth annual Five Alarm Gala on Nov. 7 from 6:30-9 p.m. at B&A Warehouse.

Tickets are $50. Jeh Jeh Pruitt of Fox 6 will emcee the event, which also will include music by Les Moore and the In-Betweens, a live auction featuring auctioneer Bob Straka, a raffle of more than 50 holiday gift baskets and B&A’s gourmet hors d’oeuvres, buffet and drinks. The Firehouse Shelter

Nursery

autumn t h e

p e r f e c t

s e a s o n

f o r

planting

e n j o y 11/ 2 w e l l - o r g a n i z e d a c r e s o f s h r u b s , trees, groundcovers, vines & perennials as well as a knowledgeable, helpful staff.

822 . 3133

Final Weekend - Sale Ends Sunday

Spoken Word Series Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m.

M ON – S AT 9 - 5:30 . S UN 1 - 5 . 2904 O LD R OCKY R IDGE R D .

To: From: Date:

Lee Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 October This is your aD prOOF from the Over The MOunTain JOurnaL for the Oct. 17, 2013 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number! please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

CAHABA HEIGHTS CRESTLINE PARK

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

GREYSTONE HOMEWOOD HOOVER THE NARROWS OAK MOUNTAIN VESTAVIA

Brookwood Primary Care is an extension of our physician family, with convenient locations all over town, backed by all the resources of Brookwood Medical Center.

Book your appointment at BirminghamDocAppts.com, or call 877-2726.

8 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Allies Against Alzheimer’s Friends Join Forces to Deal with Disease

Romp & Play

By Keysha Drexel

Elf Magic

B

Journal editor

The

Way

Elf Magic Party

(in case of rain - Cahaba Heights Elementary)

Monday, November 11, 2013 Veteran’s Day - No School 10am - 12pm

Tickets are $5/child ($8 for 2, $12 for 3) Photo with Santa

Play with elves Jingle & Jangle

Sing along DVD

Balloon Art, Tattoos & Crafts

Games & Prizes

GIFTS . MONOGRAMMING . HOME . BABY

3930 Crosshaven Drive | Cahaba Heights 968-0909 thebluewil ow.com | Find us on C

arbara and Ted Crane celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary earlier this month, and the North Shelby wife said many people don’t believe her when she says she loves her husband more today than when they were first married.

Ted Crane was diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s in 2006 that has slowly taken away his ability to communicate. But that doesn’t mean his wife can’t understand him.

“This illness takes all the clutter and mundane distractions out of your life,” Barbara said. “Suddenly, it’s just the two of you and every moment is precious. In our case, because there’s no verbal communication, that touch of the hand and the eye contact of those beautiful blue eyes is all I need, and it is truly an overpowering feeling of love.”

And while she feels blessed that her husband is still here to reach out his hand to her and meet her gaze, Barbara said she might never have been able to cope with her husband’s illness without Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama and her longtime friend, Sydie Allen.

Barbara and Sydie are both members of a caregivers’ support group organized by Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, a nonprofit volunteer organization and resource center headquartered in Mountain Brook and serving Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers and professionals.

The women first met about 35 years ago when Sydie’s husband, Tommy Allen, and Barbara’s husband were doing business together.

Tommy and Ted both graduated from Auburn University with engineering degrees and worked in the paper industry.

“When Tommy and Ted met, they just clicked, and then Sydie and I met and we clicked instantly. We have all been friends for a long time. Sydie and I used to play tennis together, and we were always glad to see each other at different corporate events that we went to with our husbands,” Barbara said.

In 2002, Sydie’s husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“Tommy got sick first. It took me a long time to realize what was happening because he has always handled things with humor. That’s how he disguised the little slip-ups that were signs of Alzheimer’s,” Sydie said. “I had no clue he had a problem and looking back now, I can see I was in denial.”

Sydie had every good reason not to want to face what could possibly lie ahead for her husband after his diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s disease is caused by nerve cell death. Once a nerve cell, or brain cell, dies, the function is lost.

A person with Alzheimer’s disease becomes increasingly impaired as cells continue to be lost. While no two Alzheimer’s patients are alike,

Barbara Crane, left, and Sydie Allen are getting ready for the Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama’s Walk to Remember on Nov. 2. The women have been friends for more than 30 years and are both now caregivers to their husbands, who have Alzheimer’s. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel

they usually progress from needing supervision to needing custodial care to needing 24-hour a day nursing care.

“I didn’t want to think about how it would progress. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing my soul mate, my best friend, piece by piece. I didn’t know if I could take care of him, and I didn’t know where to turn,” Sydie said.

Barbara said she completely identifies with Sydie’s characterization that she was in denial for a little while about her husband’s diagnosis.

“You don’t want to think that your life is changed forever, but that’s exactly what happens,” Barbara said.

“I went through the same emotions after Ted was diagnosed and, like Sydie, I didn’t know where to turn for answers.”

But the women soon found out about the services offered at Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, including adult day care for Alzheimer’s patients and support groups for their caregivers.

The women went together to investigate the adult day care program and hold each other’s hand during the process of signing their husbands up for the services.

“We went to check it out together, and we sat in the courtyard and we cried together. We both felt so guilty about even investigating the daycare option,” Barbara said. “I think taking Ted to the adult day care on that first day and then going to that first support meeting was one of the most difficult things I did initially.”

Sydie said taking her husband to the adult daycare and joining the caregivers’ support group was difficult for her, too.

“I think we both had a hard time with that because it makes you acknowledge that you have a problem, that this is real,” she said.

But the women said they soon saw the benefits of having a break from caring for their husbands.

“You feel terribly guilty at first, but then you realize that they are getting so much out of the programs at

the daycare,” Sydie said. “And you realize how talking about what you’re going through with other people who are going through the same thing can really help you.”

The women said they feel very blessed to have each other as they continue to navigate their journeys as their husbands’ caregivers.

“I always figured Barbara and I would grow old together, but I never imagined we would share this experience,” Sydie said. “Nobody understands it quite like Barbara does, and it’s a great comfort to have her by my side.”

Both women said they have been strengthened by the support of their families and friends and by their faith, and both said they looked at how their husbands handled things to give them an idea of how to take on the challenges of Alzheimer’s.

“They were both dynamic, smart, successful men, and I draw on that and think about what Ted would do or want me to do in a given situation.

Our husbands took such good care of both of us for so long, and now it is our turn to take care of them,” Barbara said.

The friends said they will lace up their sneakers along with other participants in this weekend’s Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama Walk to Remember at the Riverchase Galleria.

“We want to do everything we can to support Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama because they do so much to help so many people,” Barbara said.

Both women said they feel lucky to still have their husbands and feel that deep inside, the men are the same loving spouses they have always been.

“We’ll celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in December, and I can’t imagine being without him. I’ve learned a lot through this whole thing, and probably the most important is that love transcends all,” Sydie said.

For more information on the Nov. 2 Walk to Remember fundraiser or Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, visit www.alzca.org. ❖

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 9

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Hope for the Holidays, a grief support program for people who are facing their first holiday season since losing a loved one, will be held Nov. 9 at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Homewood.

The free event will be held in the Fellowship Hall, 114 Oxmoor Road. For more information, call 870-8667.

SUNSHINE ON THE VINE

Vestavia Hills

Birmingham

PALS Holiday Entertaining Workshop Nov. 13, 10:30 a.m.-noon Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest Vestavia Hills People Affecting Library Success, or PALS, will host the Holiday Entertaining workshop fundraiser from 10:30 a.m.-noon on Nov. 13. The event will benefit the children’s department at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest.

Food stylist and recipe developer Virginia Hornbuckle will bring her years of experience with magazines like Taste of the South, Cooking with Paula Deen, Tea Time and Woman’s Day to the workshop to show participants how to make easy, delicious recipes and fun, affordable tablescapes for holiday entertaining. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the workshop. For more information, visit librarypals.org.

Planning Spring Valley School’s Sunshine on the Vine event are, from left: Bethany Jones of Corretti Catering, Julia Glass, Joanie Scott and Joey Longoria of Granger, Thagard & Associates. Photo special to the Journal

Spring Valley School’s Sunshine on the Vine Nov. 15, 5:30 p.m.

Carraway-Davie House and Conference Center The Carraway-Davie House and Conference Center will be the setting for Spring Valley School’s Sunshine on the Vine fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 15. Sponsored by Western Supermarkets, the auction and wine tasting will directly benefit the school. The event will feature wines for sampling, foods for tasting and an auction. Granger, Thagard & Associates will serve as auctioneers. Items up for bid will include a vacation to Kinsale, Ireland, a beach vacation package, a rock climbing adventure, jewelry and much more. Individual tickets are $75. A reserved table for eight is $500. For more information, call Tery Young at 423-8660. has provided homeless men in the Birmingham area with a nurturing and caring environment while empowering each individual to reach his full potential since it first opened its doors on Dec. 23, 1983. For more information, visit www.firehouseshelter.com.

Vestavia Hills

Magic Marketplace Nov. 8, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Vestavia Hills UMC The Vestavia Hills United Methodist Women’s Circle 5 will present the 15th annual Magic Marketplace from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Nov. 8. The event will feature more than 60 local and regional vendors selling jewelry, art, baked goods, stationery, clothing, baby gifts, holiday goodies and much more.

Proceeds will benefit the Juvenile Arthritis Foundation. Box lunches will be available for $6. The church is at 2061 Kentucky Ave. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ MagicalMarketplace.

Hoover

Birmingham

Fashion Sense and Show Nov. 14, 11 a.m.

Hoover Country Club The Hoover Service Club will host the Fashion Sense and Show at 11 a.m. on Nov. 14 at the Hoover Country Club. The event will feature lunch and a fashion show of the latest styles modeled by Hoover Service Club members. Tickets are $18. For more information, call 981-1242. ❖

Alabama Designer Craftsmen’s Fine Crafts Show Nov. 8-10 Birmingham Botanical Gardens The 41st annual Alabama Designer Craftsmen’s Fine Crafts Show will be Nov. 8-10 at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. More than 45 artists will feature artwork in basketry, glass, metal, clay, gourds, wood, fiber, jewelry and printmaking. A special preview event from 6-9 p.m. on Nov. 8 will feature Rush Wines and complimentary hors d’oeuvres. There will also be a fine art raffle throughout the weekend with a drawing at 1 p.m. on Sunday. New this year is the Children’s Craft Classroom with Marilyn Huey on Saturday and Sunday. For a list of participating artists, visit www.alabamadesignercraftsmen. com.

Finally!!!

A GLUTEN FREE Bakery in Birmingham

Final Weekend - Sale Ends Sunday

Homewood

Hope for the Holidays Nov. 9, 9 a.m.-noon Dawson Memorial Baptist Church

Fall Clearance Sale To: From: Date:

Lee Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 October This is your aD prOOF from the Over The MOunTain JOurnaL for the Oct. 17, 2013 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2013 3 Days Only!

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number! please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

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www.thefunkymuffinbakery.com 205-408-9825

10 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

About Town

A Little Something* AAA Alabama* AC Financial Partners Alfano Computer Solutions* Alliance Publishing Group Annabelle’s/Vestavia Hills Apothecary* ARC Realty* Artists Incorporated* Best Nails* Birmingham School of Music* The Blue Willow* The Bridge* Bruster's Real Ice Cream* Cahaba Fitness* Cameras Brookwood* Chickadee* Collage Designer Consignment* Contri Bros. Gift Basket Crabtree Computer/Sunshine Internet Marketing* Cross Construction Fancy Goods Variety* First Partners Bank* Focus MD, Birmingham Golden Living-Riverchase The Heavenly Donut Company* Hilton Garden Inn-Liberty Park* Houliang Massage* In the Zone Publications Interiors and Antiques Market* Jewels by Rose*

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

The Jimmie Hale Mission Kidz Closet* Klingler’s European Bakery & Café * La Catrina Mexican Cantina* Mary Kay Cosmetics-Susie Serio Mason Music-Cahaba Heights* Mia Moda* MiBella Wellness Center Milestones Behavior Consulting* Monograms Plus* The New York Butcher Shoppe* Newk's Eatery-Vestavia Hills* Old Oak Advisors Primrose School at Liberty Park* Promotional Creations* RealtySouth-Liz Phillips Guest Renasant Bank Mortgage Lending* Sarver Orthodontics* Seniors Helping Seniors Siham’s Grill and Sweets* Standard Heating & Air Conditioning Co. State Farm Insurance-John Henley Agency* Subway-Liberty Park* Tucker Family Dentistry* Tutoring Club* TWO MEN AND A TRUCK* Vestavia Bowl* Vestavia Hills Parks & Recreation Foundation* Webster Electric* The Wine Cellar*

Stop by the Business Expo at the Tree Lighting Festival on December 3!

Visit www.vestaviahills.org for the most current list.

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 11

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Prize Passport

Pick up a Prize Passport from the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce office or from any of the merchants listed on the opposite page with a star (*) by their name. Then collect stamps from 3 different business districts listed in the passport. Each district has a different stamp.

Once your passport is complete, turn it in at the Chamber Office (1975 Merryvale Road, Vestavia Hills, 35216) by December 6, or at the Tree Lighting Festival on December 3.

We will have a drawing on December 7 at 9:00 am at the Breakfast with Santa for an iPad, a Regions Bank bicycle, and a $100 Chamber gift check.

No purchase necessary to receive stamps. One entry per person.

Calendar of Events Open House Kick Off Party November 14 Vestavia Hills Civic Center, 3:30-5:30 pm

& November 21 New Merkle House, 3:30-5:30 pm Join us for children’s crafts and light refreshments! The first 100 people who attend will receive an insulated tote bag filled with coupons and flyers from participating merchants.

Please only attend one party.

Merchant Open Houses November 14-16 North 31, South 31, & Columbiana Road

& November 21-23 Rocky Ridge, Liberty Park, & Cahaba Heights Participating merchants will be hosting open houses in their businesses and offering discounts and refreshments for shoppers. Be sure to pick up a Prize Passport and collect the merchant stamps to be entered in a drawing for an iPad and other prizes!

Tree Lighting Festival December 3 Vestavia Hills Civic Center, 6:00 pm Enjoy live entertainment, a business expo, the lighting of the tree and a visit with Santa!

Breakfast with Santa December 7 Vestavia Hills Civic Center, 7:30-10:00 am Enjoy a pancake breakfast with Santa. $1 Suggested Donation

Liberty Park Christmas Parade & Celebration December 8 Liberty Park Sports Complex to Alston Meadows, 2:00-4:00 pm Enjoy the city’s official parade followed by the Liberty Park Christmas Celebration with children’s activities, refreshments, live entertainment, pictures with Santa and more!

Visit www.vestaviahills.org for an extended list of events Presented by the City of Vestavia Hills & the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce

12 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

People

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Friends for Life

Big Brother-Little Brother Relationship Still Strong Today

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

W

hen Mike Vest of Inverness joined others earlier this month to announce Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham’s expansion into Shelby County, the Shelby County commissioner spoke from firsthand experience about the organization’s positive impact on children throughout the Birmingham metro area.

And as the organization celebrates its 40th year with the “Big Round For over 90 years, Levy’s Up” volunteer recruitment campaign has been Birmingham's through Nov. 22, Vest is hoping more Specialist in Antique and people will sign up to make a differShelby County Commissioner Mike Vest, left, and his Big Brother, Mark Estate Jewelry as well as Griffin. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel ence in the lives of children.

Fine Diamonds, Art “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for sports. out of high school. Drugs were very Big Brothers Big Sisters,” Vest said. and Antiques.

“I figured sports would be a way to “There are so many kids out there who prevalent in our neighborhood, and save him. I coached his church basepeople were dying from overdosing are just like I was and really need that ball teams and took him to baseball and drug deals gone bad. I was an atguidance from a Big Brother or Big and football and basketball games. risk youth.”

Sister.”

I always told him that if he worked His mother signed him up for Big Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater really hard, he might be able to earn a Brothers Big Sisters when he was “a Birmingham is an affiliate of Big long-haired 11-year-old kid with a wad sports scholarship and go to college,” Brothers Big Sisters of America, of gum” in his cheek, Vest said, and he Griffin said. which has more than 400 chapters Vest said he took Griffin’s advice was matched with a young firefighter worldwide. Directed by chief executo heart and poured himself into being named Mark Griffin. tive officer Sue S. Johnson, the local the best athlete he could be.

“I remember it just like it was yesorganization has been serving the chil“It saved my life so many times. I 2116 2nd Avenue North • (205) 251-3381 terday. Mark and his soon-to-be wife, dren of central Alabama for 40 years would kind of start to join along with Louise, walked in the house and said and is a United Way agency. www.levysfinejewelry.com some of what the kids in my neighborTo mark the milestone anniversary, they were going to take me to a UAB hood were doing, and then I’d remembaseball game,” he said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater ber what Mark said, and I’d run down Birmingham is hoping to recruit “40 to the baseball field or the gym and Z^ Bigs in 40 Days” by matching 40 adult A! z

practice,” he said. Ϭ SK volunteers to students in its communiϯ

' ALA E The Boys and Girls Club also ‘I wouldn’t be here if it / ty-based and school-based programs.

To: Jennifer d Z RING

played an important role in Vest’s life In the BBBS community-based

From: Over UThe Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 weren’t for Big Brothers as a young > F TO teen, he said. program, matches are made based on O FAX: 205-824-1246 Big Sisters.’ Mike Vest “It offered me and other kids a interests, expectation and geographic Date: Oct.. 2013 place to go after school if our parents location. Volunteers spend three to five were working and not home. It gave hours every other week with the child This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl forActivities the Griffin, a Hoover firefighter who us something to do besides get out on and talk on the phone. can now lives in Anniston, said he, too, the streets and get in trouble,” Vest Oct. 31, 2013 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. range from going to the park, movies, “Alaska’s Tour Operator of the Year ” will never forget the day he met Vest said. museums or to just hanging out. and became his Big Brother.

Vest said Griffin became a major -Anchorage & Visitorsis Bureau In the BBBS school-based pro- phone Please make sureConvention all information correct, including address and “I have never seen a kid eat so fixture in his life over the next few gram, match meetings are limited to ůĂƐŬĂ͛Ɛ ƉƌĞŵŝĞƌ ƚŽƵƌ ŽƉĞƌĂƚŽƌ ŽīĞƌŝŶŐ ŽŶĞͲŽĨͲĂͲŬŝŶĚ ĂĚǀĞŶƚƵƌĞƐ ŽŶ ŽƵƌ ĂůůͲŝŶĐůƵƐŝǀĞ ŝƟŶĞƌĂƌŝĞƐ ĨĞĂƚƵƌŝŶŐ ůĂƐŬĂ͕ ƚŚĞ zƵŬŽŶ dĞƌƌŝƚŽƌŝĞƐ Θ ƚŚĞ ĂŶĂĚŝĂŶ ZŽĐŬŝĞƐ͘ number! much. He probably had one of everyyears. Griffin loaned Vest his car--a the school grounds and take place WE GUARANTEE WILDLIFE! thing at the ballpark that day,” Griffin blue Firebird--so he would have a nice once a week for one hour.

Volunteers Please initial and fax back within 24 hours. said, laughing. “But I was so glad that car for his first date. school students or adult if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your admay willbe runhigh as is.

We print the paper Monday.

I had a chance to steer him down the “He was always a mentor to me volunteers. Activities for the schooland treated me just like I was his fambased program are strategically geared right path because when we met, he was headed in the wrong direction.” ily,” Vest said. toward the social development of the Griffin got involved with Big When Vest got to high school, he child to increase academic ability, oneBrothers Big Sisters after he attended played quarterback on the football on-one relationships, critical thinking a Braves game with a co-worker and team and set his sights on earning a and decision-making skills. his Little Brother. football scholarship to attend college.

Both programs are designed to do ƩĞŶĚ ŽŶĞ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ Free͕ /ŶĨŽƌŵĂƟǀĞ dƌĂǀĞů ^ŚŽǁƐ ĂŶĚ ůĞĂƌŶ “I’d always loved kids and felt like “God blessed him with a lot of just what Vest said they did for him ƚŚĞ FACTS ĂďŽƵƚ ůĂƐŬĂ ƚƌĂǀĞů͊ EŽ ƌĞƐĞƌǀĂƟŽŶƐ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ͘ talent, and I was hoping maybe that when his mother signed him up for the I needed to do something to help kids.

Register at the show to WIN a I was single at the time and thought I he’d get a chance to play football in program in the late 1970s.

14-Day Denali Explorer Land & Cruise Package! probably wouldn’t have the time once college, so it was great when he won Vest’s parents divorced in 1975 BIRMINGHAM I got married and had my own kids,” a scholarship to play at Samford,” when he was 8 years old, leaving his DŽŶĚĂLJ͕ EŽǀĞŵďĞƌ ϭϴƚŚ he said.

Griffin said. mother to take care of Vest and his 6:00 PM Vest and Griffin said they clicked Vest played quarterback at Samford older brother by herself.

Hampton Inn right away and soon were spending a University and then moved on to purThe family lived in the Powderly 3400 Colonnade Pkwy lot of time together. sue his other passion--music. and Green Acres area of Birmingham.

Vest signed a recording contract “He would come by every Sunday Vest’s mother found a job at Royal and made a living as a country singer and take me to church. We went to Cleaners in Bessemer to support herplus $200pp in Additional Savings ballgames, we went everywhere. Mark for several years before moving back self and her children. when you book a 2014 land and cruise package! to Alabama to start a family. He took me to my first trip to the beach “She was working all the time Enjoy 7 Day Cruises With: was elected to the Shelby County in Ft. Walton. He really opened up the just to put a roof over our heads and Commission in 2012 and is the world to me in a lot of ways,” Vest food on the table,” Vest said. “My executive director of the Governor’s said. mother worked six days a week on Commission on Physical Fitness.

Griffin said he saw right away that most weeks, and she was just never Order your FREE 2014 Alaska Brochure & Alaska Experience DVD today!

“I knew he would be successful,” Vest was a talented athlete and so tried at home. My older brother had fallen Griffin said. “But I never imagined to encourage him to get involved with in with the wrong crowd and dropped

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that Mike would have the kind of success he has in so many things. I’m really proud of him.”

Throughout it all, Vest and Griffin stayed in touch, getting together at holidays or to go to big games.

“You are loyal to the people who have believed in you along the way.

Mark truly is like my brother, and I feel really lucky to have him in my life,” Vest said.

The two men still meet for coffee after Griffin gets off from work as a firefighter at Hoover’s Greystone fire station.

“We can always pick right back up where we left off, and he’s like my family,” Griffin said.

And Griffin, Vest said, is a part of his family in another way.

Vest’s youngest son, Griffin, is named after the Big Brother who had such a huge impact on his life.

“When he told me that I could be somebody, it made such a big difference in my life that cannot be underestimated,” Vest said.

That’s why Vest said he was determined to expand Big Brothers Big Sisters to Shelby County.

“You think that Shelby County is this really affluent place where kids don’t need programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters, but that’s just not true,” he said. “There are plenty of kids out there who need that positive adult in their lives.”

About four months ago, Vest enlisted the help of Shelby County Community Services Manager Reggie Holloway and Coordinator of Community Services Shelli Thomason to help bring Big Brothers Big Sisters to Shelby County. Next, an advisory committee was formed with representatives from school, government and business, including EBSCO Industries and Alabama Power.

“I always hoped that someday I could, in some small way, give back to Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I’m so thankful for all the support for this,” Vest said.

As Griffin prepares to retire after 33 years as a firefighter, he said he knows he and Vest will always stay in touch.

“We’ll always be a part of each other’s lives. There’s no doubt about that,” he said.

And Vest said he will continue to champion the program that introduced him to Griffin and helped him get where he is today.

“I’m a product (of Big Brothers Big Sisters) and a proud product, and I will go to my grave being a campaigner (for the organization),” he said.

For more information on how to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit www.bbbsbhm.org or call 939-5590. ❖

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 13

People

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Steward was instrumental in launching a film studies program at Samford.

Her research interests include 20th

selection, Samford’s Provost and Executive Vice President J. Bradley Creed said students gave her “rave reviews for bringing energy–and even A Homewood resident was recently a little attitude–to discussions of great honored for excellence in classroom works of literature.” teaching.

According to Creed, one Julie Sims Steward, student wrote that Steward associate professor “ingrained in my mind the of English at Samford importance of owning my University, received the education, taking advantage John H. Buchanan Award, of it and being a responsible established in 1965 to honor steward of my opportunity to a longtime Samford trustee study at Samford.” and Birmingham pastor.

A native of Texas, Nineteen of the 54 Steward joined the Samford previous recipients of the faculty in 1999. In addition award still teach at Samford.

Julie Sims Steward to teaching English courses, In announcing Steward’s

Homewood Resident Honored at Samford

Heart KNOWLEDGE that can change your world.

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century poetry, creative writing, literary theory and the use of contemplative practices in the study of poetics.

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Alisa Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 Oct. This is your AD prOOF from the Over The MOunTAin JOurnAl for the Oct. 31, 2013 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number! please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

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14 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

People

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Hoover Resident Flies High with Civil Air Patrol A Hoover resident recently honed his leadership abilities at a professional development course for Civil Air Patrol members.

James Kilgore, along with 97 other students, was prepared for executive-level success after participating in the Civil Air Patrol’s 2013 National Staff College, held recently at Maxwell Air Force Base in James Kilgore Montgomery.

“I consider it an honor to serve in the CAP and appreciate the unique opportunities that are afforded us to advance our skills. I am privileged to be able to serve my fellow citizens within my own community, the state and country,” Kilgore said.

The program is designed to develop the leadership abilities of participants, preparing them for regional or national CAP positions. Seminar discussions, case studies and exercises were included in the seven-day course.

The classes also equip students with skills in executive management, communication and leadership that employers in any field look for in potential employees, officials said.

Instructors were from the U.S. Air Force’s Air University, from senior CAP leadership and other sources of leadership expertise. Keynote speaker for the 2013 National Staff College was Brig. Gen. Thomas Deale.

Kilgore serves as the Chief of Staff To: Jessica of the Alabama Wing at Maxwell AFB From: Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 and is a search and rescue pilot with FAX: 205-824-1246 Squadron 132 out of Shelby County Date: Oct. 20123 Airport in Calera. is also the director This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiNHeJOurNAl for theof the assistant program in Oct. 31, 2013 issue. Please fax approval or changesphysician to 824-1246. the School of Health Professions, Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, at the University of Alabama his surgical internship Dr. Moody comes to at Birmingham. and ENT residency at us from the University the Medical University of Arkansas for Mediof South Carolina in cal Sciences in Little Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

Charleston.

Rock where he was if we have not heard fromDr. youMoody by 5 pm of thealso Friday before the press date, has Associate Professor your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday. been very active in of Otolaryngology and A Mountain Brook resident has community and attention.

Director of Nasal and Thank you for yourservice prompt been named Lawyer of the Year by medical mission trips.

Sinus Disorders. He the Birmingham Legal Secretaries Since graduating medicompleted his underAssociation. cal school, he has served as graduate education at the UniRobert R. Baugh, a shareholder of part of multiple surgical\mediversity of Virginia and attended the law firm cal mission trips to developing medical school at Vanderbilt of Sirote and areas such as Honduras, Nepal, University School of Medicine Permutt, P.C. Moldova, China, and Kenya. in Nashville, TN. He completed and president of the Birmingham services offereD: Bar • Adult & Pediatric ENT Association, • Sinus Disease & Surgery was presented • Allergy Testing & Treatment with the • Disorders of Hearing & Balance award at the • Hearing Aid Sales & Services 2013 Legal Robert R. Baugh Professionals Edwyn L. Boyd, M.d. • Marcus w. Moody, M.d.

Reception held earlier this month at the offices of Baker Donelson.

2116 Data Park • Hoover, AL 35244 • 733-9595 Baugh represents clients in insurance, business and product liability cases and counsels businesses and business owners on intellectual property matters and labor and employment law.

Baugh’s appellate practice includes

We're pleased to welcome Marcus W. Moody, M.D.

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

Mountain Brook Resident Is Lawyer of the Year

Members of Girl Scout Troop 531 earned the Bronze Award for their Loving Library project. Front, from left: Heather Hancock, Katherine Wright, Olivia Heywood and Angie Morales. Back: Shelby Self, Hannah Villani, Mya Rumph and Olivia Hofmann. Photo special to the Journal

Troop 531 Members Earn Girl Scout Bronze Award Members of Girl Scout Troop 531 have earned the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can earn.

Brock’s Gap Intermediate School sixth-graders Heather Hancock, Olivia Heywood, Olivia Hofmann, Angie Morales, Mya Rumph, Shelby Self, Hannah Villani and Katherine Wright and Prince of Peace Catholic School sixth-grader Juliana Craft won the Girl Scout Bronze Award.

The scouts were recognized with the award for a project they initiated called Loving Library. The girls gathered donated books from Hoover area schools for patients at Children’s of Alabama.

The girls said the project taught them public speaking skills as they traveled to different schools to ask for donated books. They said they also learned the importance of helping others. cases before the state Supreme Court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A press release on the award said Baugh’s “selection as Lawyer of the Year recognizes not only his professional achievement but also his dedicated commitment to his staff and family.”

North Shelby Resident Wins Teen Pageant Title A 16-year-old North Shelby resident has been crowned Miss Talladega County’s Outstanding Teen 2014.

Brooklyn Holt, a junior at Oak Mountain High School, won more than $4,100 in scholarships and services along with the title.

Brooklyn Holt She will represent Talladega County in the Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen Pageant at Sylacauga High School in March.

The Miss Talladega County Pageant is a franchise of the Miss Alabama Pageant and Miss America Organization.

Holt is the daughter of Clarisse Dittenhoefer and Michael Holt.

Vestavia Resident Chosen for Homecoming Court A Vestavia Hills resident was selected as a member of the 2013 University of Alabama Homecoming Court.

Tiffany Underwood, a senior

accounting major, was chosen for the Homecoming Court in an Oct. 1 student election.

Some 10,144 votes were cast in this year’s election with students voting online through their myBama accounts.

Underwood was one of Tiffany Underwood five seniors selected for the honor. She was sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

She had the opportunity to participate in the UA homecoming parade in downtown Tuscaloosa on Oct. 5.

Vestavia Residents Honored as Best Lawyers Two Vestavia Hills residents were recently honored by a peer-review publication for legal professionals.

Attorney Stephen D. Christie of Miller Christie & Kinney and Lawrence T. King of King Simmons were nominated for “Best Lawyers,” one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession.

They were evaluated by their peers on the basis of professional expertise and completed an authentication review to make sure they are in current practice and good standing.

A listing in the publication is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor. The listings are now published in almost 70 countries around the world. ❖

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 15

People

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Shop the Villages of Mountain Brook This holiday season!

Mountain Brook Village

Crestline Village

Open House December 5

Open House November 21

English Village

Holiday Parade

Open House December 4 mountain brook

chamber of commerce

December 8, 3pm Mountain Brook Village

News

16 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

u over the mountain

Police Departments Acquire Surplus Military Equipment

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

If a tornado or severe storm makes streets impassable in the Over the Mountain area, several local police departments are more prepared to navigate these treacherous roads–thanks to the U.S military.

Both Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook own Humvees they’ve received free from the Department of Defense. Vestavia Hills has three vehicles, and Mountain Brook has two.

“Basically we utilize them in inclement weather when there’s a storm or anything like that and when the roads are impassable by patrol car,” said Mountain Brook Police Capt. Greg Hagood.

“During our last snow, we staged them in different areas. We didn’t have to use them, but we had them just in case.”

The Humvees are some of the larger items both police departments have acquired through the military, but the departments have also received trucks, rifle scopes, rifle racks, backpacks, sleeping bags, cots and even pots and pans.

The police departments received the equipment through a program coordinated by the Defense Department’s Defense Logistics Agency.

The program allows law enforcement agencies to acquire surplus military equipment. The equipment can range from computers to helicopters to weapons to combat boots to even nuts and bolts.

“The military will use equipment for a specific length of time for a specific purpose, and when the item is upgraded or if the unit is no longer designated to use that particular item, then the military turns it into surplus, and it goes into the defense reutilization process,” said Trussville Police Lt. Herb Rosenbaum, a state coordinator for the 1033 Program (the program’s official designation).

Items are made available to other military units or departments. If no one claims them, then the items are made available to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

As state coordinator, Rosenbaum handles

requests for equipment made available by the U.S. military. Law enforcement agencies must make a formal request for the item or equipment and must justify their use of the equipment. The justification must be based on a law enforcement need.

“They can’t say, I’d like to get 25 night vision goggles because I enjoy bird watching,” Rosenbaum said. “But if they’re doing night narcotics surveillance, there’s a good justification for why they might need those items.”

In Vestavia Hills’ case, the police department received several stainless steel pans it uses to clean weapons, Officer Eddie Crim said. The department also received a large Army tent.

“The Army would use it for a temporary barracks,” Crim said. “In our case, if we had another disaster like a tornado, we could use the tent to set up a command area where we could provide medical supplies or use it as a rally point for families.”

Humvees are popular equipment because they’re versatile vehicles for law enforcement agencies, Rosenbaum said.

“Here in Alabama, we have bad weather. In situations like that, you need tactical-type vehicles to move around in to pull people out of houses that have been damaged or maneuver through areas due to fallen trees. A lot of times it’s hard to get into the woods because of trails that may be too muddy or rough to take a regular vehicle,” he said.

Equipment offered through the program can be either new or used. Crim said the Vestavia Hills Police Department received rifle scopes through the program.

“Some of them were in great shape and just needed to be cleaned up,” he said. “Some of them were not, and we just use those for parts.”

Hoover Capt. Jim Coker said through the Hoover-Jefferson County Air Support Unit, his department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department share helicopters. Much of the military supplies Hoover receives supports that unit. Those items include two aircraft tugs, which pull helicopters from airport hangers, an aviation fuel truck, an aviation fuel trailer, a Hummer,

Officers from the Vestavia Hills Police Department are ready to roll into any emergency situation in this military Humvee. From left: Officer Eddie Crim, Officer Mark Fifles and Sgt. Chad Cobb. Journal photos by Keysha Drexel

Officer Orvie Mattson with the Mountain Brook Police Department stands next to a used military Humvee the department acquired through a government program.

generators, tools and toolboxes, flight clothing, helmets and other types of flight gear.

“When you have aircraft, you need supporting tools and vehicles,” Coker said.

The program has been a blessing to local law enforcement agencies, particularly during a slumping economy that has greatly restricted city budgets, Rosenbaum said.

“It allows law enforcement agencies to acquire an item that they probably couldn’t afford to purchase because of budget constraints,” Rosenbaum said. “Or it allows them to divert funding that may

have gone to purchasing a Humvee or a tacticaltype vehicle to somewhere else in the police department.”

Crim, Hagood and Coker said they agree.

The items would be a huge expense if the Hoover department had to buy them, Coker said.

“These items aren’t something we’ve actually put in our budget,” Crim said. “Of course, the Humvees are huge ticket items. But even something like scopes and pans, we wouldn’t necessarily put in our budget because we kind of try to make do with what we can. But it’s nice when you get equipment like this, and it doesn’t affect your budget.”

A military Humvee can range from $130,000 to $170,000, depending upon the vehicle’s age and accessories.

“It’s not practical for us to budget for a Humvee or something like that due to the cost,” Hagood said. “Obviously, this is an affordable way to be able to get this type of equipment.”

The Mountain Brook Police Department painted over the military insignia and repaired the Humvees it acquired from the military. The Vestavia Hills Police Department also tweaked its vehicles to fit the department’s needs.

Despite minor tweaks and repairs, officials from both police departments said they are happy to have the Humvees as part of their transportation fleets.

“They’ve done some metal work to it and done some modifications to it, but it’s a great vehicle,” Crim said. ❖

u North Shelby

Brookwood Gets Go-ahead for Freestanding Emergency Room

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

It took five years, but Brookwood Medical Center finally got the green light to go ahead with plans for a freestanding emergency room on the U.S. 280 corridor.

The Alabama Supreme Court on Oct. 11 refused to hear arguments from Trinity Medical Center attorneys against allowing the freestanding ER planned at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119.

Brookwood Medical Center spokesman Stephen Preston said the ruling means the hospital is moving ahead with the long-planned project.

“This is something we’ve been working on for almost 10 years in total, and we’re anxious to move forward as

soon as possible,” he said.

The emergency room facility will cost about $19 million to build, Preston said, and will provide emergency medical services to adults and children 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The 19,000-square-foot facility will have 12 exam rooms and offer a full

range of diagnostic services, Preston said.

“That includes CT scans, MRIs, the whole gamut of diagnostic capabilities,” he said.

About a decade ago, Preston said, Brookwood officials opened a dialogue with residents in communities along This rendering shows what the new freestanding emergency room Brookwood Medical Center is planning to build at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119 will look like.

the U.S. 280 corridor to talk about the medical needs of the area’s growing population.

“What we heard was a resounding call for emergency services because traffic was, and still is, a major concern if you are trying to get emergency medical attention,” he said.

Brookwood filed for a Certificate of Need and spent the next five years dealing with legal hurdles.

In August, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals unanimously agreed with a lower court’s decision in favor of the freestanding emergency room proposed

by Brookwood Medical Center.

Trinity Medical Center opposed Brookwood’s plans, arguing that a Certificate of Need should not have been approved for Brookwood back in 2010 because at that time, the concept of a freestanding emergency room did

not exist in the state health plan.

Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court’s decision to deny the request to overturn a lower court’s ruling in favor of Brookwood put the project to build the state’s first freestanding ER back on track.

Since the legal battle began, the state has adopted rules for freestanding emergency room facilities.

The rules adopted in July will help ensure quality patient care and regulate how the freestanding facilities are operated, including one rule that states the property cannot be more than 35 miles away from its main campus and must share the name of its parent hospital.

That rule lets people know that a relationship exists between the freestanding emergency rooms and the parent hospitals, Preston said.

“It’s a much-needed service, and we’re excited about it,” Preston said.

Preston said officials hope the new emergency room will open by the end of next year. ❖

u Mountain Brook

Sections of Overton Road Temporarily Closed

Motorists who travel on Overton Road in Mountain Brook might have to find a new route for the next few days.

A temporary closure of the Overton Road intersection with U.S. 280 started at 8 p.m. on Oct. 25 and will continue for about nine days, according

to a news release from the Alabama Department of Transportation.

While the construction project is underway, motorists can’t turn left from U.S. 280 outbound onto Overton Road or turn right from U.S. 280 inbound on Overton Road.

u Hoover

north of the interstate and west of U.S. 31 a key route to the shopping centers.

The road extension project, estimated to cost $5.7 million, has been in the works for about 10 years, city officials said.

The project is a joint endeavor between Hoover, Jefferson County and the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Ivey said the road extension will ease traffic congestion in Hoover, especially during the busy holiday season.

Crews have already put down the final asphalt coat on the road extension, and the mayor said a new gutter system has been ordered to keep water from draining off the interstate onto the new Chapel Lane.

The Chapel Lane extension is the second of three phases of the Interstate 459 flyover project.

The first phase was the flyover which carries southbound interstate traffic to the west side of the Galleria and connects with Alabama 150.

New Route to Galleria to Open Soon Holiday shoppers traveling to Hoover next month will have a new route to take them to the Riverchase Galleria and Patton Creek shopping center.

Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey announced on Oct. 15 that a new route to Interstate 459 should be open

by Nov. 22, the Friday before the annual Black Friday shopping day.

Chapel Lane, just west of the Galleria and north of Interstate 459, is being extended over Patton Creek and under the interstate to connect with Galleria Boulevard on the south side of Interstate 459.

The 3/4-mile road extension will include a 1,200-foot bridge and is expected to give Hoover residents

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 17

NEWS

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Traffic will also be closed to the right turn from Overton Road onto U.S. 280 outbound and to the U-turn from U.S. 280 outbound onto U.S. 280 inbound.

At 7 p.m. each night during the construction project, there will be single lane closures to the eastbound and westbound travel lanes on U.S. 280 near Overton Road and double lane closures to the eastbound and westbound travel lanes on U.S. 280 near the Overton Road intersection beginning at

8 p.m. each night.

ALDOT officials are encouraging those who travel on Overton Road to access U.S. 280 to follow the posted detour route to access the busy highway at an alternate location.

In the release, ALDOT also reminded motorists that U-turns are prohibited at the intersections of Rocky Ridge and Green Valley Roads.

Those who usually use the outbound U-turn at Overton will be required to use the Pumphouse Road

The third phase of the project is still being planned but would allow traffic to go across Alabama 150

and connect with Old Montgomery Highway near the Cahaba River. ❖ —Keysha Drexel MONEY-SAVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IDEAS

interchange as an alternate route.

ALDOT officials said traffic delays are expected during the temporary closure. ❖

Final Weekend - Sale Ends Sunday

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Lee Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205 October This is your aD prOOF from the Over The MOun Oct. 17, 2013 issue. please fax approval or cha

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please initial and fax back within 2

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life Holiday Hero

18 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Birmingham Native Is Known as ‘Father of Veterans Day’

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

As communities across the nation prepare to recognize those who have served in the armed forces next month, an Over the Mountain family is preparing to continue the life’s work of its patriarch.

The Sunday before Veterans Day, Barbara Minor of Vestavia Hills will join her family to lay a wreath on a granite memorial erected at Linn Park in Birmingham to honor her father, the late Raymond Weeks, a Birmingham native who is sometimes called the Father of Veterans Day. “Daddy wouldn’t want the attention to be on him. He always wanted the honor to go to all the veterans,” Minor said.

A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, Weeks pioneered the concept of a national day to honor military veterans and founded the National Veterans Day nonprofit group.

That led to the first celebration using the term Veterans Day in Birmingham in 1947. The celebration included a parade and other ceremonies to honor veterans.

At that time, the only national event honoring military veterans was Armistice Day on Nov. 11. First observed in 1919 to honor soldiers and sailors of World War I, Armistice

Day was named after the cessation of hostilities with Germany that went into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

As he was building up the Birmingham event, which took place on Nov. 11, Weeks continued to lobby for a national veterans day, his daughter said.

“It was important to him and something he worked night and day on for years,” Minor said.

Weeks spent two years in the Navy during World War II, Minor said, and started the movement for a national veterans day after coming home after the war.

“After the war, Daddy came back home and noticed that there was no enthusiasm for veterans, no real way to thank them for what they had done,” she said. “That’s when Daddy decided to go to Washington and call on Gen. Eisenhower. Eisenhower was the president of Columbia University then--it was before he became president.”

Weeks invited Eisenhower to the Birmingham Veterans Day celebration and continued to push for change, Minor said.

“Daddy wanted a day to honor everyone who had sacrificed and fought for their country. It was important to him that all veterans were included,” Minor said.

Weeks’ cause was taken up by

Rep. Edward Rees of Kansas, who introduced legislation to change Armistice Day into Veterans Day. The legislation was signed into law

by President Eisenhower on June 1, 1954.

Weeks also organized the first Infantile Paralysis Fund campaign and then served as the first chairman of the March of Dimes. He served three years in the Alabama House of Representatives and was the president of the Birmingham Junior Chamber of Commerce, state commander of the American Legion and state chairman of Armed Forces Day. “Giving back to the community is something Daddy always stressed to us,” Minor said.

Weeks also encouraged his children to do their part to honor the nation’s military veterans, Minor said.

“We were all involved with it, especially at the beginning. My sister, Brenda, and I would help Daddy get all the letters ready to send out to the people he invited to the Veterans Day parade. It was something that he worked on throughout the whole year,” she said.

In November 1982, Weeks was recognized for his efforts to honor all veterans for their service to the nation when he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Ronald Reagan.

“Daddy didn’t want to make a big

Veterans Park Volunteer

Desert Storm Gave Army Reservist a New Perspective

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

Ginger Branson, a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves, is a volunteer at the Alabama Veterans Memorial Park. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel

Having worked as a nurse for several years before she joined the U.S. Army Reserves, Ginger Branson of Cahaba Heights said she thought she had seen some of the worst life has to offer.

But that perspective changed drastically during the six months Branson served in Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia in 1990 and 1991.

“After being over there and seeing how Saddam Hussein treated those people, and even his own people, I know we were right for being there,” Branson said. “Some of the worst things, the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever witnessed in my life happened during those six

President Ronald Reagan presents Raymond Weeks with the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1982. Photo special to the Journal

deal out of it, but we all knew it was a big deal,” Minor said. “He wasn’t the kind of person who liked the spotlight on him, and I remember that he made a point of accepting that medal from Reagan on behalf of all the veterans.”

Minor said her father was humbled by the award from Reagan, but she remembers “he was pretty upset that he had to miss the Birmingham parade that year.”

Weeks headed up the National Veterans Day nonprofit organization and the Birmingham event until his death in 1985.

“There was never any doubt what we were doing on Veterans Day while I was growing up, and it’s a tradition that I have carried out with my own children and grandchildren,” Minor

months, and I think all of us felt right about what we were fighting for there.”

Branson, who served in the Army Reserves from 1973 until 2002, is now a volunteer at the Alabama Veterans Memorial Park, located off Interstate 459 at the Liberty Park exit. She said she plans to honor what veterans of all wars have fought for during the sixth annual Patriotic Tribute at the park on Nov. 10.

“I grew up in a military family. My dad was a Navy pilot in the South Pacific in World War II, and my brother, Bob, also retired from the Navy,” she said. “So honoring veterans and recognizing them was always important to me.

Now that I have been in a combat situation, I feel even more strongly about it.”

Branson didn’t have the money to go to college after graduating from high school, and so she took a job as an admissions clerk at what was then called the South Highlands Infirmary on 11th Avenue South in Birmingham.

“I was trying to save money to go to school because I wanted to be a teacher. The administrator at the infirmary where I worked told me I should go to school to be a nurse, but I told him I didn’t want to be a nurse. He said the hospital would help pay my way to school if I studied nursing and then after I got my nursing degree, I could go back and get my teaching degree. So I started nursing school at Jeff State,” she said.

After graduating from Jefferson State Community College, Branson attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where

said. “Daddy taught us to respect the sacrifices of the men and women in the military and to appreciate our freedom, and that’s always going to be important in our family.”

The family will attend a memorial service for Weeks at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Linn Park just across from Boutwell Auditorium.

Also on Nov. 10, the National Veterans Award Dinner will be held at 7 p.m. in the East Ballroom at the BJCC. Minor said she and her family are making plans to attend this year’s National Veterans Day Parade, which will start at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 11.

For more information on area Veterans Day events, visit nationalveteransday.org. ❖

she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education.

But instead of heading to the classroom, Branson headed to the battlefield.

“A friend of mine was an Army recruiter and told me I should join because the benefits were great,” she said. “I didn’t like the idea at first because, well, I had a life. I was really involved in civic theatre and I knew what military life was like from my father and brother.

I was a patriotic person, but I was reluctant to join, at first.”

But in 1973, Branson decided to continue her family’s military legacy and joined the U.S. Army Reserves.

“And God, did I love it,” she said. “I never expected I would like it so much. I loved the people, the whole patriotism feeling, and I loved the hard work. Turned out, I was suited to military life.”

From 1973 until 1989, Branson volunteered for several deployments to provide medical support for American troops in South America.

She served in El Salvador and Paraguay.

Also during that time, Branson and others in her medical unit participated in war games exercises at different Army bases across the country.

It wouldn’t be long before that training would come in handy as Branson found herself more than 7,000 miles away from home in a real war zone.

“I was deployed with Operation Desert Storm to Saudi Arabia in December 1990,” she

said. “At that time, I was a wife and mother with two little boys to take care of. The youngest was in kindergarten, and his brother was in the third grade.”

Instead of wrapping Christmas presents for her children that year, Branson prepared to go to war.

“I was a little nervous because it was my first combat situation, but the toughest part was leaving my kids so close to Christmas,” she said.

But once Branson got to Saudi Arabia, she realized her children were lucky to be safe back in America.

Because Iraq had invaded Kuwait, Saudi Arabia was overrun with refugees trying to flee Saddam Hussein’s deadly Republican Guard by the time Branson arrived in the Middle East.

Branson and her unit were stationed at a Saudi military post that also housed the refugees.

“They fed them and we gave them medical care, but every day, the Saudi soldiers would take these big buses, like school buses, and put as many of the women and children on them as they could to take them back to Kuwait,” she said. “The women would cry and wail as they made their way to the back of the bus and then they’d throw their babies out the back windows of the bus to other refugees waiting to catch them. The women knew they would die when they were returned to Kuwait, and they were trying to save their children any way they could. The Saudi soldiers didn’t catch on to what the women were doing, thank God. It was just heartbreaking.”

Some of the refugees would even

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 19

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

hide their older children in the latrines on the Saudi military post, Branson said.

“I realized then how awful life must be for them because they had to live in that constant fear,” she said. “I knew I would get to go home in a few months, but they couldn’t leave the nightmare. When people start talking about why we were over there during the Gulf War, I tell them that’s why.”

Branson said her experiences in Saudi Arabia taught her that war is fought by human beings who are essentially all the same, no matter what side they are fighting on.

“I guess it’s kind of like the Dalai Lama says, that when you get right down to it, we’re all the same person.

We all have the same emotions. We all want to be cared for and respected and for our families to be taken care of and safe,” she said.

Branson said her time in Saudi Arabia wasn’t all bad and that she attended one of the most beautiful Easter services she’s ever seen right in the middle of the desert.

“The chaplains got some of those school buses the Saudis used to transport the refugees and loaded up everyone who wanted to go to a sunrise service on Easter Sunday. It was out in the middle of the desert, just the middle of nowhere,” she said.

“I opened my eyes from praying and looked out at the hill to watch the sun come up, and there was this Saudi shepherd standing there on the top of the hill, holding his crook with the sun behind him, and he just put up his hand and waved. All you could really see was his silhouette, and it just gave

me the chills it was so beautiful.”

Branson said she will never forget the camaraderie she experienced with the other troops while serving in Desert Storm and that her military experience made her rethink an old Army slogan.

“We’re not really an Army of one, like the old saying used to go. We’re an Army of many that works together as one for what we believe in,” she said. “That’s what I want to celebrate on Veterans Day.” Branson will be on hand to greet visitors and give them a tour at the Alabama Veterans Memorial Park’s Veterans Day program on Nov. 10.

This year’s event, which runs from 1-4 p.m., will honor the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I and will focus on Alabama’s involvement in the war. Descendants of World War I veterans will be recognized, and Della Fancher, the park’s founder, will give a presentation on the history of the park.

Also at the park’s patriotic ceremony, Col. Robert Lewis Howard will be honored posthumously with a Medal of Honor plaque that will be placed on the column in the park’s Memorial Plaza.

During a brief intermission, visitors to the park can visit the Hall of Honor to view the names of the more than 11,0000 Alabamians who lost their lives in service to their country in the last two centuries.

The event at the park is free. Golf carts will be available for transportation down the Memorial Trail.

For more information, visit www. alabamaveterans.org. ❖

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magically designed for the one thing kids like to play with most. other kids.

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20 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

Dodge, From page 1

eventually have to go to Vietnam.

I had originally gotten orders to go to Germany after I graduated from Furman, but I asked to have them changed so that I could go to Vietnam,” he said.

Right from the start, Vietnam was not what he expected, Dodge said.

“We got to Saigon and I expected to see rockets and bullets flying by, but it was interesting, because at that moment, it was kind of like landing in Birmingham,” Dodge said.

But the calm scene at the airport in Saigon belied the chaos happening in the country at the time, Dodge said.

“I got my first wake-up call on the bus from Saigon to a base camp near Cambodia. They had put up chain link fencing over the bus windows, and I realized that was so that hand grenades couldn’t be thrown in the bus,” he said.

In June 1969, Dodge assumed command of a platoon in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment after the former platoon leader had been killed.

“I had just spent a long time processing and was ready to get out to the field, but when I arrived at the unit near Cambodia, I was told I had to attend a memorial service,” Dodge said. “There were about 20 guys standing around in the mud, and I couldn’t understand why the officer in charge wanted me to attend the service until he told me that it was for the guy who for about three days commanded the unit I was about to

life lead. That changed my whole attitude about what I was getting into, and right after that, they loaded me on a helicopter and flew me out to the field.”

Rain was a constant problem while Dodge was in Vietnam, he said.

“With constant rain--and it seemed like we never dried out completely-and a nighttime temperature in the 50s, it could get pretty uncomfortable,” he said. “The other problem we constantly battled was mud. With heavy vehicles, it was pretty tough and slow going at times.”

In September 1969, Dodge’s unit was sent to the Terra Rouge rubber plantation located in and around Quan Loi, some 70 miles north of Saigon.

After a 100-mile road march from the Blackhorse base camp southeast of Saigon to Quan Loi, Dodge said he and his men were exhausted.

“It was an all-day and most-of-thenight affair, and we were tired, having been shot at along the way,” he said.

As the soldiers moved closer to the rubber plantation, they began taking hits from enemy heavy small arms, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades, or RPGs. “The closer we got, the more intense it became, and by the time we actually made it (to the rubber plantation), it was quite a firestorm,” Dodge said.

By midafternoon, the soldiers had fought their way to a large clearing at the rubber plantation. That’s when Dodge said he witnessed one of the most horrifying things he saw in Vietnam.

“Across the clearing, not 50 meters away, a medevac chopper with

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

In June 1969, Dodge assumed command of a platoon in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment

a large red cross painted on its nose was coming in to pick up our wounded,” he said. “As it hovered just a few feet from the ground, a RPG streaked from the wood line and turned it into a fireball. I could distinctly see the faces of the pilot and the copilot as it went down. I just hoped they died quickly.”

It would be 30 years later while visiting the National Archives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Florence, that Dodge would learn the fate of those in the medevac helicopter.

“I was researching the battle and learned from an after-action report that three of the five crew members actually survived,” he said.

It was also at the edge of that same clearing that Dodge and his men found a wounded North Vietnamese soldier propped up against a tree. He had been shot several times and was clinging to life.

“So we did what American soldiers have done in every war--we gave him aid. My platoon medic shot him up with morphine, stopped the bleeding as best he could and put him on the next medevac chopper that came in,” Dodge said.

The next morning, fighting was sporadic, Dodge said, and the soldiers realized that the North Vietnamese troops could be hidden in a series of tunnels and bunkers all around them at the rubber plantation.

“Tunnels and bunkers were all around us, and some still concealed enemy soldiers,” Dodge said. “We had to get them out.”

As a cavalry unit, the men under Dodge’s command were not experienced in tunnel warfare.

“Someone had to be the first tunnel rat. Ringing in my ears was something my father must have told me thousands of times growing up. He told me to never expect my troops to do anything I wouldn’t do or hadn’t already done myself,” he said. “It was clear to me that I needed to follow Dad’s advice, so I armed myself with a flashlight and my .45 and headed in.”

Dodge said because the Vietnamese soldiers were generally smaller than American soldiers, getting into the narrow tunnel was a challenge.

“You sort of had to slither into them on your belly like a snake,” he said. “It was very scary. I had the cold sweat of fear pouring out of me, and I could see no farther than the beam of my flashlight.”

About 10 to 15 feet into the tunnel, Dodge approached a bend in the passageway and came face to face with a North Vietnamese soldier with a grenade in his hand.

“It’s amazing what can go through your mind in a split second like that.

I remember thinking that this guy was a soldier doing his duty for his coun-

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try just like I was doing for mine. I wondered if he had a wife back home in Hanoi like I had in Tuscaloosa. I wondered if he had kids,” he said.

“But it came down to who could pull the trigger--or in his case, the grenade pin--first. I pulled the trigger and it blew him back into the darkness and I backpedaled for daylight as fast as I could go.”

Even in ground combat, Dodge said, most soldiers never come as close as he did to the enemy.

“When you can see the whites of your enemy’s eyes, when you can smell him and hear him breathing, it makes war very, very personal for you,” he said. “It was one of the toughest moments of the whole war for me and one I absolutely did not want to repeat.”

In early November 1969, Dodge’s platoon was sent to Fire Support Base Buttons near Song Be, a provincial capital city. Intelligence had learned that the North Vietnamese wanted to overrun the city and to do so would have to take the base first. Dodge and his troops were dispatched to help provide security.

Around 1 a.m. on Nov. 4, Dodge and his soldiers were attacked by a North Vietnamese Army force of about 4,000 men. There were only a few hundred soldiers at the base camp at that time.

The North Vietnamese forces started firing RPGs at the American armored vehicles, and one of those hit Dodge’s vehicle.

“It blew the guy to the right of me out the back of the vehicle and went right through my leg,” Dodge said.

“I reached down to check my leg and

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 21

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

it felt like warm Jell-O, and my first thought was that I was going to get to go home. That thought quickly vanished, though, and was replaced with the thought that these guys are going to kill me.”

A second RPG blast ripped through Dodge’s armored vehicle as he scrambled to get out and find cover.

“I was hit by two RPGs. They blew away most of my right thigh, including three inches of my femur. I also had a lot of internal injuries and shrapnel from head to toe,” he said.

Dodge said he doesn’t remember anything about the next four days. He woke up in a hospital in Saigon and stayed there for about 10 days until he was stabilized enough to be flown out of the country.

“At that time I was in a body cast-my ‘shipping container’--and my next stop was Camp Zama in Japan, where I had several surgeries and spent two months in traction,” he said.

Dodge was flown to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, had several more surgeries and was put back in traction for another six months.

After he was released from the hospital in June 1970, he went back to active duty and was stationed in Colorado.

“After that, I decided I was tired of moving around and so in 1971, I decided to move into the civilian world. There weren’t many jobs available at the time, so I ended up working at South Central Bell in Birmingham and stayed with them for about seven years,” he said.

In 1978, Dodge got his Alabama real estate license and became the regional vice president of RealtySouth

in 1998. He took the helm as the president and CEO in January 2008.

Since 1998, Dodge has taught Sunday School at Briarwood Presbyterian Church and said he started sharing his experiences in Vietnam with groups at the church.

“I think it’s important to talk about it because I think people need to realize that war is not as glamorous as we sometimes make it out to be. Fathers die, mothers die, children die. People get killed and hopefully, in the future, we’ll have less war, not more,” he said.

Dodge said when he gives talks about his military experience, he tries to make people understand the sacrifices men and women have made to ensure American freedoms.

“Many a Vietnam veteran returned home to a world that could little relate to his experience. It’s like people didn’t want to hear too much, but I think it’s important to talk about what happened there and what happens in all wars so that we can really appreciate the sacrifices made that enable us to continue to enjoy the American way of life,” he said. ❖

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FAX: 205-824-1246 please make sure all information is correct, including address phone Date: andAug. 2013 number! please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

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This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl for the issue. Please email or fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.Septmeber 5th, 2013

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone n Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Legends Luncheon

R

ROAR, Cancer Foundation Team Up for UA-AU Event

OAR and the Southeast Cancer Foundation hosted the first Alabama and Auburn Team Up Against Cancer Legends Luncheon on Oct. 1 at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse.

A standing-room-only crowd attended this first gathering of former Alabama and Auburn football legends to help kick off the upcoming fourth annual James Bond Gala on Feb. 8 at The Club.

University of Alabama legend Jerry Duncan served as the captain for the Crimson Tide. Auburn University’s Mike Kolen and Terry Henley served as the Tigers’ captains.

The Bright Star’s Jimmy Koikos and Hot & Hot Fish Club Chef Chris Hastings served as co-chairmen along with ROAR chairmen Barbie Arnold, Yvonne Pope and Pat Starr.

Herb Winches was master of ceremonies.

Organizers said the luncheon was a major success as ROAR and the Legends teamed up to raise awareness and encourage new friends to join forces. Proceeds benefit the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology.

Those attending included Alvin Bresler, Tom Bryan, Jackie Burkett, Randy Campbell, Jeremiah Castille, Neil Caudle, Bob Childs, Joe Cribbs, Al Del Greco, Jerry Elliott, Darwin Holt, Buck Howard, Bobby Humphrey, Kermit Kendrick, Murray Legg, Bill Newton, Lloyd Nix, Major Ogilvie, Gary Rutledge, Dick Schmalz, Ben Tamburello, Reggie Torbor, Tyler Watts, Stan White, Gusty Yearout and Tommy Yearout.

ROAR members at the event included Pam Ausley, Barbara Brickner, Dona Bullock, Terry Crutchfield, Kristie Dobelbower, John Falkenberry, Deane Giles, Jackie Gray, Carolyn Higginbotham, Hiltrud Hollibaugh, Julie Kim, Bob Lochamy, Jackie McAtee, Debbie McCune, Melody McGuire, Honey Miller, Denise Nichols, Sue Nuby, Alicia Pangman, Michelle Scholtz, Sue Selby, Sherry Tatom, Fresia Vega and Martha Yeilding.

Also attending were Robert Ajam, Steve Arnold, Jason Baker, Gwen Belle-Isle, Mary Cunningham Beck, Sheila Benson, Hubert Benson, Ralph Boykin, Tom and Dixie Brannon, Dr. Markus Bredel, Dr. Jim Bonner, John Bullock, Debbie Burks, Ted Burns, T.K. Calil, Paul and LaRue Carter, Margaret Casey, Dr. and Mrs. J.G. Cocoris, Nancy Deloney, Stella Esdale, Dr. John Fiveash, Phillip Gargis, Steve Garrett, Debbie Geldzahler, Lisa Henley, Joanna Hufham, Kim Hull, Patricia Jones, Tom Jury, Andy Kaufmann, Dr. Robert Kim, Carol Knight, Philippe Lathrop, Bill Lloyd, Larry and Lynette Mantooth, Kelly May, Dr. Ann Mitchell, Dr. Ed Murray, Bill and Judy Nelson, Tony and Doree Nelson, Dottie Newton, Terry Newton, Jim Nonnengard, Kimbo Rutledge, Renee Schneider, Dean and Cheryl Taggart, Gene Townley, Dr. Christopher Willey, Fletcher Yeilding, Foster Yeilding and Manly Yeilding. ❖

Former Alabama and Auburn football legends, along with Chris Hastings and Jimmy Koikos gathered at a luncheon to help kick off the upcoming fourth annual James Bond Gala on Feb. 8 at The Club. Photos special to the Journal

Renee Schneider, Mike Kolen and Martha Yeilding.

Mary Cunningham Beck, Major Ogilvie and Stella Esdale.

John Bullock, Dr. Ann Mitchell and Pat Starr.

Jerry Duncan, Sherry Tatom and Jeremiah Castille.

Fresh Faces Front, from left: Carrie Norris and Kacy Dunaway.

Back: Julia Bevill, Bonnie Bloemeyer, Kelsey Brown, Ashton Dugger and Carrie Norton.

Photo special to the Journal

House of Hope Welcomes Junior Board Members About 40 women gathered for a dinner at the House of Hope on Sept. 26 to welcome the organization’s new Junior Board members.

Bringing fresh ideas to the House of Hope this year are new Junior Board members Julia Bevill, Bonnie Bloemeyer, Kelsey Brown, Ashton Dugger, Carrie Norton, Carrie Norris and Kacy Dunaway.

Others attending the dinner were Martha Bohorfoush, Peggie Goodwin, Debbie Dresher, Debbie Cooney, Suzanne Graham, Charla Brown, Sara Bright, Dot

Heine, Tammy Walker, Lori Norton and Barbara Langston.

House of Hope is a Christian ministry for women. It provides a safe, confidential place for women to be encouraged through prayer and fellowship. The ministry has helped hundreds of women since it started two years ago.

House of Hope is in Mountain Brook’s English Village at 2106 Cahaba Road. For more information and to find out how to get involved, visit www.houseofhopeforwomen. org or call 639-1360. ❖

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 23

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Entertaining Event RMTC Hosts Fall Membership Party

Keith Cromwell leads children from the RMTC Youth Programs through a presentation at the Fall Membership Party.

Photo special to the Journal

Red Mountain Theatre Company kicked off its 2013-2014 Season on Sept. 10 with a Fall Membership Party.

Hosted by the RMTC Dress Circle Society, the event was held at the law offices of Wiggins, Childs, Quinn and Pantazis.

The evening began in the penthouse with a cocktail hour. Appetizers and desserts, provided by Iz Catering, were surrounded by fresh floral arrangements by Tammy Fleisher, all coordinated by Melissa McMurray, president; membership chairmen Lisa Robbins, Andrea Nunes and Shannon Cabraja and social chairmen Zane Rhoades, Erin McAtee and Angela Lichtenstein.

Other Dress Circle Board mem-

bers for 2013-2014 include Amanda Vaughan, Julie Foster, Conner Milam, Juliet Brooks, Lisa Garrett, Matthews Brown, Fonda Shaia, Martha Echols, Ashley Bates, Susan Edmonds, Debbie Drummond, Shannon Smith, Amy Johnstone, Jayme Carpenter, Danielle Morgan, Betsy Holloway, Jan Thompson, Traci Allen, Mary Yeager, Carol Medders, Tracy Taylor and Beth Norris.

After enjoying refreshments and a fall sunset on the outside patio, guests headed downstairs to the RMTC Cabaret Theatre, where they were greeted by RMTC Executive Director Keith Cromwell and given a preview of the 2013-2014 season.

Entertainment included perfor-

mances by the cast of “Grease” along with Kristi Tingle Higginbotham, Kristen Bowden Sharp and the children in the RMTC Youth Programs.

Guests also enjoyed a special presentation celebrating Cromwell’s 10th anniversary as executive director of RMTC and were reminded to mark their calendars for the annual RMTC Gala on April 26, 2014.

Those attending the membership party included Corbin Day and Kim Morgan, Stuart and Erin McAtee, Kathryn and Raymond Harbert, Ginger and Lane Milam, Keelie and Scott Segars, John and Deb Sellers, Sharon and Bob Suellentrop, Lee Ann Petty, Howard and Stacey Torch, Dianne and Bill Mooney and Polly Anna and Michael Barlow. ❖

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

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Getting SMART:

Women’s Fund Event Incorporates Social Media

our gift to you

More than 400 guests came out to support The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham on Oct. 8 at Iron City in Birmingham.

The SMART Party 2.0 offered guests a new kind of fundraiser with a live and virtual event in one.

Guests could compete for prizes by “crowd-funding” from their friends in advance of the live party using social media technology.

There were 683 people participating in the social media aspect of the party for a total of 1,083 people showing their support for The Women’s Fund.

Presented by Regions and St. Vincent’s Health System, SMART Party 2.0 raised money ...when you make a purchase of $300 for The Women’s Fund of Greater (Retail value $74 - see store for details) Birmingham, the only local foundation that solely supports programs for women and children. + This year’s event raised $166,201, 2415 Montevallo Road . Mountain Brook Village . 871.8297 about 60 percent more than last year’s inaugural event.

Three large screens around the stage at Iron City featured a leaderboard with the running tally of contributions, live interviews with party guests and a new video about the programs of The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham.

The top fundraiser raised more than $5,000 by asking her friends to help her win. She was rewarded with a tour of Facebook’s California headquarters, two airline tickets to San Francisco and a two-night hotel stay ean at the San Francisco Hilton.

Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., Second prize was lunch with 05-824-1246, fax PBS’s Gwen Ifill at Fogo de Chao in Washington, D.C. Oct. 2013 DJ Coco kept the evening lively.

This is your aD prOOF from the Over The MOunTain JOurnal for theparty featured contempoThe cocktail rary floral arrangements, SMARTinis Oct. 31, 2013 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. and subtle green and purple lighting.

Guests enjoyed taking photos on please make sure all information is correct, a stationary Regions bike and in front including address and phone number! of St. Vincent’s da Vinci robot and the SMART car from Crown Automobile.

“The SMART Party incorporated please initial and fax back within 24 hours. before, during and after if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press technology date, the event,” said event co-chairman your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Wiles. “Virtual guests watched Thank you for your prompt attention. Karla the party live from computers or handheld devices--from anywhere in the world. When donors checked the event website, www.smartparty. org/birmingham, they instantly noted the amount raised at that time, then made their donation. Their donation

MacKenzieChilds ice bucket

christine's bagatelle

Falcon Wiles, Karla Wiles, David Nelson, Mary Goodrich, Susan Evans and Sid Evans. Photos special to the Journal

was instantly added to the total on the screen–it was a virtual telethon.”

The SMART Party concept was created

by Women’s Fund board member Brooke Battle, who realized the power of technology to reach more donors and the critical need to develop the next generation of philanthropists.

Jeanne Jackson, president and CEO of The Women’s Fund, recognized 10 innovative SMART honorees on stage.

Those honored were Tracey Morant Adams, executive director of economic development for the city of Birmingham; Helene Elkus, community volunteer; Jessica Estrada, director of mission integration and community outreach at St. Vincent’s Health Systems; Michele Forman, director of media studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Valerie Ramsbacher, vice president at Regions; Dr. Isabel Scarinci, professor of preventive medicine at UAB; Dr. Pia Sen, professor of health care organization and policy at UAB; Pardis Stitt, co-own-

Brantley Fry, Wright Rouse, Mimi Bittick and Karen Carroll.

er of Highlands Bar and Grill, Chez Fonfon and Bottega; Rep. Patricia Todd, associate director of AIDS Alabama, and Teri Weksler, director of Dance for Parkinsons Program in Birmingham Event co-chairmen were Meredith Calhoun, Ricki Kline and Karla Wiles. Assisting them were logistic chairmen Karen Carroll and Mimi Bittick, honorees chairmen Meredith Shah and Marcia Hart, committee chairman for prizes Brantley Fry and marketing chairmen Katrina Watson and Yvette Weaver.

Emcees for the circulating live camera were Megan LaRussa, Theresa Long, Jaclynne Maxwell and Hannah Wolfson. ❖

social

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Symphony Celebrates the Season

ASO Volunteer Council Hosts Membership Party The Symphony Volunteer Council Membership Party began the fall season by celebrating with a meeting on Sept. 23 at the home of Michael and Lynne Meeks.

Dr. Michael Meeks is the director of the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

After hors d’oeuvres provided by some of the members and hostesses Martha Black and Shirley Brown, Meeks introduced three of his students--Anna Willis, in voice, and Eamon Griffith and more photos at Zoe Willis, both on piano. Their performances were a highlight of the evening of friendship, fun and food.

SVC President Roberta Atkinson announced that several new members had joined the group. The new mem-

OTMJ.COM

From left: Terry Standridge, Nadine L’Eplattenier, Jack Standridge and Rich Venglik. Photo special to the Journal

bers are Cathy Barker, Char and Rick Bonsack and Lucille and Veltra Dawson, all of Hoover, and Bettie Davenport of Vestavia Hills.

Also attending were Edith and Bob Bauman, who have been active with and supported the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 1970.

Others attending were Tora Johnson, Jim Atkinson, Marlene Gaither, Jane and Chandler Smith, Sandra Annonio, Kathie and Pringle Ramsey, Jody Weston, Teresa Wilson, Bill and Dixie

Attic Antiques Christmas Open House

Thurs. Nov. 7 10-5 Fri. Nov. 8 10-5 Sat. Nov. 9 10-5 New board officers and members of the Fandango Dance Club are, front, from left: Virginia Tucker and Mary Rooney. Back: Elise Warren, Rebecca Come share joy Boggs. Photo special to the Journal Mason, Laura Bryan, Dotty Carlely andthe Mindy

Dance with Group Get-together us. Fun, laughter of the coming season

Fandangoand Club Celebrates Autumn fellowship!

Ayers, Sam and Louise Mango, Evan and Donna McCauley, Jack and Terry Standridge, Bob and Sandra Wilson, Olivia and Gene Weingarten, Liz and Tom Warren, Lowell and Betty Womack, and Charlotte, Rich and Jonnie Venglik.

Also spotted at the event were Bob and Skip Wadhams, Shine and Virginia Gutherie, Nadine L’Eplattenier, Debbie Reid, Janet Lauer, Bill Aroosian, Jeff Solomen, Heather Jones, Elaine and Oliver Clark, Nichole Larisle, Kathleen Willis, Ray and Merrily Newton, Tonie and Gene Bone, Larry and Pat Daughety, Mimi Jackson, Charlotte and Steve Clarkson and Janis Abernathy. ❖

Attic Antiques Christmas Open House

Thurs., Fri. & Sat., Nov. 7th, 8th & 9th 10am-5pm

Come share the joy

of the coming season

with us. Fun, laughter and fellowship!

5620 Cahaba Valley Road 5620 Cahaba Valley Road Other board members include To celebrate the arrival of the fall 991-6887Rebecca Mason, Lochrane Smith, 991-6887 season, members of the Fandango Fran Robertson, Mary Rooney and Dance Club gathered at the Over home40 of Years Over 40 Years Mindy Boggs. ❖ Ann Campbell.

The club members enjoyed each other’s company while savoring hors d’oeuvres and drinks as they welcomed autumn.

At the event, members heard details about a membership book Make it personal... a custom that will include photos of each portrait or painting member. The group also discussed

by Judy Butler plans for dance lessons and a cruise.

Hand drawn and/or painted from photographs The club’s new board members in your choice of media,charcoal, pencil, pastels, were announced at the event. watercolor or oil/acrylic.

Laura Bryan is president, and www.jbutlerart.com Dotty Carlely is vice president.

Virginia Tucker To: Babara is secretary, and or call 205-907-0700 Elise e-mail butlers101@aol.com From:Warren OverisThetreasurer.

Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 Date: Oct. 2013

The Perfect Gift.

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 25

26 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Amulet Members Plan Christmas, Spring Dances

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Members of the Amulet Club gathered on Sept. 17 for the group’s annual Fall Coffee.

The party was held at the Greystone home of Barbara Jones.

Fall bouquets adorned the reception rooms, where members enjoyed refreshments coordinated by hospitality chairmen Evelyn Ringler, Ann Harris and Nell Larson.

Amulet Club President Ann Harris presided at the business meeting. It was announced that the Amulet Club Christmas Dinner-Dance, chaired by Sue Trammel, will be at the Vestavia Country Club on Dec. 12. The 6:30 p.m. event will feature live music from the Max Groove Trio for listening and dancing.

The club’s Spring Dance, cochaired by Peggy Branham and

Roma Bounds, will be at the Vestavia Country Club on April 11. The 6 p.m. event will feature music from The Classics.

Both the Christmas and spring dances are open to invited guests.

Also in 2014, the club will host its Wine and Cheese Party, chaired

by Sue Trammel, at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens at 2 p.m. on March 12. The 2014 Winter Luncheon will be co-chaired by Fay Hart and Janis Zeanah and held at Birmingham Country Club.

Those attending the Fall Coffee included Sandi Whitten, Nell Larson, Evelyn Ringler, Sue Trammel, Roma Bounds, Dot Weathers, Ann Harris, Fay Hart, Barbara Edwards, Sally Fried, Barbara Jones, Liz Judd and Barbara Jackson. ❖

Nell Larson and Sandi Whitten.

Photo special to the Journal

Ballerina Club Honors This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL for the Oct. 6, 2011 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

New Please make sure all information is correct, Members

870-3589 Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 Sept.

including address and phone number!

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

From left: Mary Rooney, Janis Zeanah, Lou Lanier, Kathy Miller and Ginny Baxley.

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Photo special to the Journal

Members of the Ballerina Club got together in Homewood earlier this month to honor new members.

The group held a dinner at The Club on Oct. 22.

Ginny Baxley chaired the event and put on a dinner that was enjoyed by all those attending. She and Patsy Straka

decorated the tables with flowers for the event.

Ballerina Club President Vicki Lukens introduced new members at the dinner and welcomed them to the club.

New members are Lou Lanier, Kathy Miller, Mary Rooney and Janis Zeanah. ❖

St. Vincent’s Auxiliary Marks 50th Year

From left: Lyn Ault, Sahra Coxe, Beverly Register, Emmy McGowin and Betty Wagstaff. Photo special to the Journal

The Carousels Dance Club members recently met to welcome the fall season.

Members gathered at the Birmingham Country Club for their annual fall luncheon.

At the event, several new members were elected to join the club.

New members were Kay Dore, Ann Harvey, Jane Cannon Culverhouse and Connie Bishop.

Lynn Ault is the Carousels Dance Club president for this club year.

Sahra Coxe is the yearbook chairman, and Emmy McGowin is the party committee chairman.

Beverly Register is secretary, and Betty Wagstaff is treasurer. ❖

Carousels Club Gathers for Fall Luncheon

A volunteer organization recently celebrated a half century of service.

The St. Vincent’s Health System Auxiliary marked its 50th anniversary on Sept. 12 with a luncheon at the Vestavia Hills Country Club.

More than 60 auxiliary members, St. Vincent’s Foundation associates and members of the St. Vincent’s Health System leadership team attended the noon event.

During the luncheon, Senior Vice President of Mission Integration Wayne CarmelloHarper presented the auxiliary with a Papal Blessing signed by Pope Benedict XVI in honor of the organization’s 50th anniversary.

Also during the event, Volunteer Chairman Kathy Miller presented St. Vincent’s Birmingham President and Chief Operating Officer Andy Davis with a check for $10,000 to go towards the building of the new Bruno Cancer Center.

A presentation looking back on the growth of the auxiliary was also shown at the luncheon. ❖

Fashionable Fundraiser

From left: Mary Jane Williams, Lee Dawkins, Stephanie Kantis, Neillie Butler and Nell Fredella.

Cancer Survivors Model at Saks Show A recent fashion show gave cancer survivors a chance to model the latest clothing trends as they raised money for the American Cancer Society.

The event was held at Saks Fifth Avenue at The Summit on Sept. 26.

The show was sponsored by Les Copains in honor of the American Cancer Society’s Hope Gala Committee.

Saks and Les Copains donated a percentage of the sales from the evening to the American Cancer Society.

The event was organized by Deidra Sanderson and Susan

Photo special to the Journal

Brouillette, the chief executive officer of Alacare and the Hope Gala honorary chairman this year.

Alexandra Lapegna, director of retail for Les Copains, flew in from New York to attend the event, and Stephanie Kantis, a jewelry designer, traveled from Palm Beach to attend.

Buccaneer Bash

Talk Like a Pirate Day Draws a Crowd More than 200 people walked the plank for a good cause at the third annual United Way Talk Like a Pirate Day last month.

A crowd of about 225 gathered for the event on Sept. 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, at Education Corporation of America in Birmingham.

Participants wore pirate costumes and walked the plank to be judged by local personalities, including Ronda Robison of WBRC Fox 6 and Jerry Tracey of WVTM Alabama’s 13. Drew Langloh, chief executive officer of United Way of Central

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 27

social

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Alabama was also a judge for the event.

Participants were judged on their pirate talk and pirate costumes.

Those attending also enjoyed other activities, including a barbecue lunch, door prizes and music from a disc jockey.

Lapegna talked about the clothing worn by each model, and Kantis talked about the jewelry she had selected for each look.

Models for the event were Mary Jane Williams, Lee Dawkins, Neillie Butler and Nell Fredella, all cancer survivors. ❖ All proceeds will go to benefit the United Way of Central Alabama.

Attending Talk Like a Pirate Day from Education Corporation of America were Deb Lenart, COO and president; Tom Moore, CEO; Chuck Treirweiler, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Jason Mann, president of marketing, and Vanessa Richardson, project manager.

Also at the event were Sam Bell and Fran Howard of Southern Engraving and Mark Robillard of Cornerstone Media. ❖

To: From: Date:

Lynn Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 Oct.. 2013

This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAL for the Oct. 31, 2013 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

A Psychological Thriller from local author Kristina StreetmanDiGiovanni

Top: Ronda Robinson and friend. Above, trom left: Tom Moore, Drew Langloh, Deb Lenart and Chuck Trierweiler. Photo special to the Journal

Available on Kindle

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Alabama’s own, Kristina StreetmanDiGiovanni, from Mountain Brook, is proud to announce novel.

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if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

28 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

Stephens-Phillips

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stephens Jr. of Hoover announce the engagement of their daughter, Kimberly Elizabeth Stephens, to Ronnie Brandon Phillips, grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Cain

Manuel-DeBardeleben

Mr. and Mrs. Donald William Manuel of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Caroline Elizabeth Manuel, to Prince James D’Anthony DeBardeleben, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Welch DeBardeleben of Birmingham.

Tant-Bevill

Mr. and Mrs. James Anthony Tant of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Lauren Riley Tant, to Eric James Bevill, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Cecil Bevill Jr. of Macon, Ga. The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Leroy Rader of Birmingham and the late Mr. Joseph Green Tant and the late Mrs. Kathryn Tant Mitchell of Tuscaloosa.

Weddings & Engagements of Paducah, Ky. The bride-elect is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stephens of Hoover and Mrs. Donna Hayes Logsdon and the late Mr. Eugene Logsdon of Springfield, Ky. Miss Stephens is a graduate of Hoover High School and the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies and a minor in English. She received her juris doctorate from Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law in May. She is an attorney at Beckman Weil Shepardson LLC in Cincinnati.

Mr. Phillips is a graduate of Lone Oak High School in Paducah and Murray State University with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing and management.

The wedding will be on Nov. 16 at The Shoal Creek Club.

Miss Manuel is the granddaughter of Mrs. Thomas Blair Cox Sr. and the late Mr. Thomas Blair Cox Sr. of Birmingham and Mr. William Carter Manuel and the late Mrs. William Carter Manuel of Birmingham.

Miss Manuel is a 2008 graduate of Mountain Brook High School and a 2012 cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority. She is employed with Mountain Brook City Schools.

Mr. DeBardeleben is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence James Pugliese of Greenwich, Conn., and Mrs. Prince DeBardeleben Jr. and the late Mr. Prince DeBardeleben Jr. of Birmingham.

Mr. DeBardeleben is a 2004 graduate of Mountain Brook High School and a 2008 graduate of HampdenSydney College. He is employed with Bayer Properties.

The wedding will be Dec. 21 at Canterbury United Methodist Church.

Miss Tant is a 2004 graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and a cum laude graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, editor-in-chief of The Circle magazine and was elected to the Cater Society during her senior year. Miss Tant is senior product manager for WebMD in New York City.

The prospective groom is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. James Cecil Bevill Sr. of Tennille, Ga., and Mrs. Barbara Folkner of Tubac, Ariz., and the late Dr. A. L. Folkner.

Mr. Bevill is a 2004 graduate of First Presbyterian Day School and a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science. He received his juris doctorate from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Mr. Bevill is a member of the Georgia Bar Association and is an underwriting associate with Ambridge Partners in New York City.

Following the wedding on Jan. 25, 2014, the couple will live in New York.

Scott-Roberts

Teresa Inge Scott of Mountain Brook and Jeremy Remington Roberts of Yazoo City, Miss., were married April 27 at First Presbyterian Church, founded in 1824 in Eutaw.

Chris Beeker Jr., uncle of the bride, officiated the ceremony. A recep-

Richardson-Ratliff

Emory Knox Richardson and Thornton Hope Ratliff were married Oct. 12 at Canterbury United Methodist Church. The Rev. Samuel Lee Williamson officiated the cer-

Millhouse-Roeder

Katherine McTyeire Millhouse and Dr. Michael Thomas Roeder were married Sept. 7 at Independent Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Conrad Sharps officiated the ceremony. A reception followed at the Country Club of Birmingham.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

tion followed at Myrtle Hall, built in 1838 and owned by Teresa and Chip Beeker.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Scott Jr. of Mountain Brook. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Mary Patton Inge and the late Mr. Harwood Inge of Eutaw and Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Scott and the late Mrs. Barbara Heard Scott of Birmingham.

The groom is the son of the late Mrs. Trudy Remington Roberts of Yazoo City. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Harry Cecil Remington of Bradenton, Fla. Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a gown with a sweetheart bodice constructed of Alencon lace underneath cross-ruched tulle. It draped over the gown with a chapellength train. Her cathedral-length veil was made by Josephine Smith with lace that her great-grandmother, Augusta Inge, brought back from Brussels. It was also worn by her

mother; her aunts, Teresa Beeker and Virginia Sandlin, and her first cousin, Diana Browning.

Matrons of honor were Lauren Whiteside Mestre of Dallas and Lacey Valeska Scott of Birmingham.

Bridesmaids were Lacey Baker of Jackson, Miss.; Diana Beeker Browning, Allen Bunting, Jessica Wassecman Hall, Margaret Hiden and Shelby Roberts Segrest, all of Birmingham; Lauren Roberts Key of Savannah, Ga., and Erin Klein of Opelika.

Serving as best man was Joshua Street of Yazoo City. Groomsmen were Clarke Bohorfoush, Bernard Scott, Will Nading, Andrew Remington and Eric Remington, all of Birmingham, Corbett Scott of New Orleans and Fred Street of Yazoo City.

After a honeymoon trip to Antigua, the couple live in Madison, Miss.

emony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Lazenby Richardson of Birmingham. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Kimble Vardaman Ratliff Jr. of Birmingham.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a gown designed by Lela Rose and an heirloom cathedrallength veil from the groom’s family made of Brussels lace.

The bride was attended by Key Richardson Hudson as matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Virginia Anthony Broughton, Caroline Elizabeth Hoke, Marye Beasley Kohn, Bradley Arendall Maroules, Joyce Callahan Ratliff, Elizabeth Wood Rodgers, Allison Burg Scully and Lauren Caroline Silverstein, all of Birmingham; Ashley Archer Jones of St. Louis, Mo., and Simmons Hazelrig Skinner of Jacksonville, Fla. Lillian Key Hudson was the flower

girl.

The groom’s father was his son’s best man. Groomsmen were William Tyler Gay, Charles Andrew Hudson, James Frank Justice, Raleigh Barbee Kent, Henry Scott Morrow, James Moody Proctor III and Knox Randolph Richardson, all of Birmingham; Robert Ed Connell IV of Cleveland, Miss.; James Kimble Vardaman Ratliff III and George Preston Ratliff of Washington, D.C.; and James Nicklaus Stacy of Jakarta, Indonesia. James Hope Thornton II was the ring bearer.

Acolytes were Nancy Austin Trammell and Patrick Lee Trammell III. The crucifer was Margaret Anne Donnell. Program attendants were Grace Ann Swift and Rosemary Katherine Lee. After a honeymoon trip to Napa Valley, Calif., the couple live in Birmingham.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David McCoy Millhouse.

She is the granddaughter of Mrs. William Walter McTyeire Jr. and the late Mr. McTyeire and Mrs. S. Roy Millhouse and the late Mr. Millhouse, all of Birmingham.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. David Russell Roeder of Albertville. He is the grandson of Mrs. Russell Samuel Roeder and the late Mr. Roeder of Pennsylvania and Mrs. Jacobus Nicolas Pronk and the late Mr. Pronk of Maassluis, Netherlands.

The bride was given in marriage by her father. She wore an ivory silk satin and French Alencon lace gown

by New York designer Amsale. The strapless gown had a French lace bodice and a full pleated A-line skirt.

An ivory silk satin ribbon encircled her waist. Completing her ensemble was a chapel-length ivory illusion veil edged with a wide scallop of

Alencon lace.

Attending the bride as matron of honor was Anna Russell of Huntsville. Maid of honor was Liza Holman of Birmingham. Bridesmaids were Mandi Dishman of Decatur, Sara Clay Terry and Caroline Holman of Birmingham, Rachel Knight of Huntsville, Hanna Lamb of Memphis, Tenn., Aimee Mosley of Albertville and Magda Stewart and Marty Whitehouse of Lexington, Ky. Jake Williams of Leesburg, Ga., served as best man. Groomsmen were Robert and Adam Millhouse, brothers of the bride, of Birmingham and Matthew and Nathan Roeder, brothers of the groom, of Albertville. Other groomsmen were Cory Goodlett of Cullman, John Laster of Elkton, Ky., Tyler Mosley of Albertville, Ben Peters of Birmingham and Jacob Russell of Huntsville.

After a honeymoon trip to St. Lucia, the couple live in Albertville.

To have our wedding & engagement forms sent to you, call 823-9646.

Rankin-Brooks

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Rankin of Greystone announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Marie Rankin, to John W. Brooks IV, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Brooks III of Houston.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of the late Dr. and Mrs. A. Bradley Rankin of Alameda, Calif., and the late Mr. and Mrs. William Wicks of Seattle.

Miss Rankin is a graduate of Spain Park High School and a 2009 gradu-

Inman-Horton

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Richard Inman of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Bethany Lauren Inman, to Marshall Caller Horton, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Edward Horton of Vestavia Hills.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mrs. Martha Nolen Starnes

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 29

Weddings & Engagements

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

ate of the University of Alabama, where she received her bachelor’s degree and was a member of the women’s crew team and also competed in equestrian events statewide.

She received her master’s degree in clinical human nutrition from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011. Miss Rankin is employed as a lead dietitian in Houston.

The prospective groom is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Brooks of Huntsville and Mrs. Dorothy Micak and the late Mr. W.A. Micak of Katy, Texas.

Mr. Brooks is a 2004 graduate of Cypress Falls High School in Houston and a 2008 graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English and history and was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity. He is employed with Metalplate Galvanizing Company in Houston.

The wedding is planned for May 17 at Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Birmingham. A reception will follow at Oak Island Antebellum Mansion.

Haney and the late Mr. Robert Lester Starnes of New Site and the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Richard Inman of Tuscumbia.

Miss Inman is a 2006 graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and a 2010 cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama, where she received a bachelor’s degree in interior design and was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. She was presented at the 2008 Poinsettia Debutante Ball. Miss Inman is employed with TurnerBatson Architects.

The prospective groom is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Percy Richardson Jr. of Hoover and the late Mr. and Mrs. William Clyde Horton of Hueytown.

Mr. Horton is a 2006 graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and a 2010 graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree in finance and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and a member of Jasons Men’s Honorary.

He is employed with Regions Bank.

The wedding will be Dec. 7.

Recently engaged, married or celebrating an anniversary?

Let us help spread the word of your good news.

Send your announcement to editorial@otmj.com or visit www.otmj.com for forms and info.

Yeager-Gibbons

Joanna Elizabeth Yeager and Thomas William Gibbons were married Sept. 6 at McElwain Baptist Church. Dr. Joseph Tricquet officiated the ceremony. A reception followed at Pine Tree Country Club.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Yeager Sr. of Birmingham. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Gibbons of Birmingham.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride was attended by Darcy Massey as matron of honor.

Bridesmaids were Rebecca Yeager, sister-in-law of the bride, and Lauren

Bridal Show Coming Nov. 3 Brides-to-be have a chance to browse the latest in wedding music, flowers and frills at the Nov. 3 PWG Bridal Show at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.

Engaged Wedding Library and Perfect Wedding Guide of Birmingham will host the event from 1-5 p.m.

Those attending will get to preview gowns as models from Bella Couture and Mr. Burch stroll the red carpet. They can also snap a photo of their favorite model against the Hollywood style step and repeat.

Wedding planners will style themed vignettes to give brides a true glimpse of wedding festivities in action. Planners and designers will turn a simple space into a wedding scene with high-end appeal, focusing on current trends while also presenting products and services that are within reach of every bride that visits.

The first 200 brides to attend the event will have a chance to participate in the first-ever “Cupcake Dive for Diamonds” sponsored by Diamonds Direct and Dreamcakes.

One lucky bride will walk away with the winning cupcake and $1,000 towards wedding bands at Diamonds Direct.

Thousands of dollars of giveaways will also be awarded at the show.

Other show sponsors include Event Rentals Unlimited, Alabama Weddings Magazine, Bella Couture,

Joseph, Ashley Portis and Amber Krista, all of Birmingham. Abigail Garrison of Birmingham was the flower girl.

Phillip Moody of Birmingham was the best man. Groomsmen were Charles Yeager, brother of the bride, of Birmingham; Anthony Gendreau and Jacob Gendreau of Panama City Beach, Fla., and Leland VanBerschot of Birmingham. Clayton Garrison of Birmingham served as ring bearer.

William Garrison of Birmingham was page.

After a honeymoon trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., the couple live in Birmingham.

Mr. Burch, Design Productions, Amerson Events, Classic Travel Connection and Décor to Adore.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door or in advance at Ticketmaster.com. To pre-register and for more details, visit Birmingham.

PWG.com. ❖

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30 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

Scott Jones is a wine expert—but he doesn’t like to be described as a wine snob. He tries to make his wine tasting events for corporate and private clients fun as well as informative, he said.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Gluten-free Goodies

The Funky Muffin Bakery Cooks up Healthy Treats

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

Bringing Fun to the Table Scott Jones Loves Spreading the Word about Good Food and Wine Story by Donna Cornelius • Photos by Lee Walls Jr.

Y

ou’re hosting a holiday party and need to buy wine. So you venture into a wine shop, and a nattily-dressed salesperson heads your way. You have no clue what to ask for. Pinot Noir or Pinot Blanc? Malbec or Merlot? Why oh why, you’re thinking, didn’t I read that copy of “Wine for Dummies” more carefully?

I don’t show up in a smoking jacket and ascot.”

Oh, the horror.

Jones, a native Southerner, earned a bachelor’s degree in magScott Jones is out to rescue those whose wine wisdom isn’t azine publishing and journalism at the University of Mississippi. exactly full-bodied. According to the food and wine professional, He lived in Los Angeles and who lives in Hoover, choosing New York before settling in wine should be fun—not frightBirmingham. ening.

“After I graduated from Ole “There’s no snobbery in what Miss, my wife and I moved to I do,” Jones said. “I sidestep L.A.,” he said. “We were both in the fancy ‘winespeak’ and meet the movie business.” people where they are.”

After five years there, the Jones, the former execucouple headed for New York, tive editor of Southern Living, where Jones attended the preshas been writing and talking tigious Culinary Institute of about wine for more than 10 America. He also worked at years. He’s president of Jones Food and Wine magazine.

Is Thirsty and Jones Is Hungry, In 1999, Jones joined culinary media companies Southern Living, which focused on publishing, custom brought him and his family to content, food and wine writing Birmingham. and wine education.

“I’ve loved every minute of He shares his love and being here,” he said. “There’s an knowledge of wine through eduincredible food and wine scene cational seminars and tastings here.” in corporate settings and private Jones has visited MacMurray Ranch, where this wine was Jones left Southern Living in-home gatherings. Whatever made. The vineyard property, in California’s Russian River Valley, is run by actor Fred MacMurray’s daughter, Kate on Dec. 31, 2010, he said, the venue, he said, he tries to MacMurray. and officially started Jones Is make people comfortable instead Hungry Jan. 1, 2011. Through of telling them which wines they the company, he does food, wine and travel writing, develops and should like. tests recipes and handles strategic media planning. He also gives “Choosing wines, at a wine store or even at Publix, can be lectures and demonstrations and judges culinary-themed competiintimidating,” Jones said. “It’s OK not to know everything. My job is to empower folks to make better, more informed decisions.

See Jones, page 32

With the holidays just around the corner, thoughts turn to indulging in baked goods and traditional recipes with all the trimmings.

But for the millions of people in the U.S. with celiac disease, an intolerance of the protein gluten found in wheat, rye and barley, making it through all the holiday parties and family get-togethers can be challenging.

“The first couple of years after I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I think I just did without during all those holiday celebrations.

I ate turkey and plain green beans, but I knew there had to be a better way,” said Carol Key, owner of The Funky Muffin, a gluten-free bakery on U.S. 280.

When Key, who lives in Greystone, was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2003, the gluten-free food market was almost nonexistent, she said.

“I’d never heard of celiac disease or gluten-free anything. The doctor gave me this long list of foods that I couldn’t eat, and for six weeks, I spent hours at the grocery store reading labels because so many of the preservatives in pre-packaged food have wheat in them. It was a nightmare,” she said.

As she prepared to deal with her celiac disease, Key said she threw away about 15 bags of groceries from her refrigerator and pantry that she could no longer eat.

“I thought my life of sandwiches was over,” she said. “After months of checking labels and finding more things I couldn’t eat, I decided to just go with whole foods and make my diet about fruits, vegetables and quality meats.”

The simple diet plan meant Key had to spend a lot more time planning and cooking fresh meals.

“That part was hard, because I was like everyone else and relied a lot on convenience foods. I had to make time to plan and cook every meal,” she said.

Key’s simple diet plan worked well enough---until she reached her first holiday season after being diagnosed with celiac disease.

“At Thanksgiving, my mother made me a pie without the crust. It was hard to look at all the yummy breads and cakes and know I couldn’t have them,” she said.

Key said she would bring her own glutenfree dishes to family get-togethers but always felt like she was missing out on something.

That’s when she said she started getting creative.

“I thought, there’s got to be a better way than depriving myself of all the things I love, especially at the holidays,” she said. “I began experimenting in the kitchen and trying to convert my favorite recipes into gluten-free versions.”

Converting her favorite recipes took a lot of trial and error, Key said, as she educated herself about the alternatives to wheat flour and other gluten-filled ingredients typically used in holiday fare.

The challenge in baking without gluten is finding other ingredients that will approximate

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 31

HOme

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

The Funky Muffin

Key shared the recipe for her bakery’s signature Funky Muffin, which she said would work perfectly for a holiday brunch.

1 box of gluten-free cake or muffin mix ½ cup of dried cranberries ½ cup of raisins 1 teaspoon of cinnamon ½ cup of pecans (optional)

Follow the directions on the box of cake/muffin mix. Fold the next four ingredients into the muffin mixture. Fill muffin tins about three-quarters full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

Cool and store in an airtight container.

Carol Key opened The Funky Muffin gluten-free bakery on U.S. 280 earlier this year which offers a variety of gluten-free baked goods, from bread and muffins to cakes and cookies.

the effects of gluten in a flour mixture, Key said.

“I experimented with all kinds of rice flours and different kinds of flours trying to find something that didn’t taste like cardboard or groundup cement,” she said. “It was quite an education.”

After perfecting a few of her favorite recipes into gluten-free versions, Key started thinking about other people like her who were looking for delicious ways to manage celiac disease or wheat intolerance.

“I wanted a place where those that needed or elected to eat gluten-free could come, walk in and know that they could have it all,” she said.

So, the idea of The Funky Muffin bakery was born.

The bakery opened in July on U.S. 280 behind Full Moon Bar-B-Que. The Funky Muffin offers its namesake muffin, along with sandwich breads, pies, cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more.

“The feedback has been over-

whelmingly positive,” Key said. “So many people are grateful we’re here.

Recently, a woman and her child came in, and the child, who had celiac (disease), asked what he could have, and the mom told him he could have anything in the bakery. I teared up a little bit when I saw him so happy that he could have any muffin or cupcake or cookie that he wanted and not have to worry about getting sick.”

Key said she has learned that people who can’t eat gluten products really miss the simple foods the most.

“I make a plain butter vanilla pound cake that’s gluten-free and was offering samples of it at an expo recently. I noticed one woman came back for another sample and had tears in her eyes. She told me she hadn’t had pound cake in 10 years,” Key said.

The Funky Muffin is also working on a new gluten-free recipe just in time for the holiday season.

“I’m developing a gluten-free cornbread dressing that I think a lot

Photo special to the Journal

of people will be excited about for the holidays,” she said.

But those with celiac disease or wheat allergies aren’t the only ones who are developing a taste for Key’s gluten-free food.

“Everyone that comes to my house for the holidays knows that the menu will be gluten-free and over the past few years have really come to love the gluten-free desserts more than they did the old versions,” she said.

Key said she has several tips for surviving the holidays on a glutenfree diet.

“It’s all about being creative and looking at (converting traditional recipes into gluten-free recipes) as a challenge and not a chore,” she said.

At holiday parties outside of your home, Key advises sticking to fruit and vegetable trays.

“But avoid the dips and sauces and gravies, because so many of those, including anything with cream cheese, have wheat byproducts in them,” she said.

Some alcoholic drinks are also off limits to those with celiac disease, Key said.

“The safest thing is to stick with water or fruit juices or maybe wine,” she said.

While many people with celiac disease feel sad about their limited diets around the holidays, Key said the best bet is to focus on what you can eat.

“Think about how much better you feel now that you’re managing your celiac disease and focus on good

health, good friends and your family,” she said. “That’s what the holidays are all about anyway.” ❖

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please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number! please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

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32 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

home

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

‘I also like to talk about the magic that happens when food and wine are paired together. What wine do you pair with chicken fettuccine or shrimp salad or spicy Thai food?’

You're Invited!

Join us for our annual

Christmas Open hOuse

Association.

“Chile is what California was 100 From page 30 years ago,” he said. “It’s got a similar thur. nov. 14 from 4pm - 8pm climate. It’s laid back, and the food tions. is great.”

Fri. & sat. nov. 15 & 16 10am-6pm Jones Is Thirsty came along last One of the places he enjoys visitSeptember. ing the most, he said, is California’s “I’d been doing educational Russian River Valley. At a vineyard events for business and private that was once a ranch owned by clients for 10 years,” he said. “This Fred MacMurray of TV’s “My 147 North Chalkville Road TRussville, Al 35173 was a way to formalize what I was Three Sons” and Disney movie Visit us online at www.trussvilleantiquemall.com doing.” fame, MacMurray’s daughter 661-9805 • Open Mon. - Sat. 10 - 6 • Sun. Noon - 5 His two daughters, now teenagchauffeured Jones and his wife ers, came up with the names of around in the same jeep the wellboth companies, he said. known actor drove.

“I had lots of ideas, but they “We learned that the family that told me I should keep it simple,” originally owned the property was he said. “And everyone who knows from Alabama,” Jones said. “I felt me well calls me ‘Jones.’” presents like we’d come full circle.”

Although he attended culinary One of his favorite festivals, olidAy elp eminAr school, Jones said he never had he said, is the Charleston Food For those who have lost a spouse, child, parent or loved one in the last year. plans to work as a chef or own a and Wine Festival. He’s looking restaurant. forward to being a celebrity judge “My passion has always been at the Hangout Oyster Cookfor the media part—to write about off in Gulf Shores Nov. 9. He’ll food and wine,” he said. “I’m more join well-known chefs and Food tam147@centurytel.net like a curator. That’s what I feel Network personalities there, but like I can bring to the table.” m: Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 he has a bigger reason for looking Jones didn’t grow up in a family FAX: 205-824-1246 forward to the event. of oenophiles, he said. e: Oct. 2013 “My family will be able to go “We didn’t drink in my home,” with me,” he said. he said. “I started drinking more This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THEWhite MOuNTAiN JOurNAl On most trips, he said, his busy Guest Speaker: Sherry Williams wine whenfor we the lived in L.A. I just agenda and his family’s schedule Oct. 31, 2013 issue.

Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. liked it.”

Nationally known authority on grief and bereavement means he travels alone.

His interest in wine increased “I’m often a party of one,” he during his three years at thephone AturdAy , november 16 Please make sureSall information is correct, including address and Jones recently hosted the Jones Is Thirsty Culinary Institute of America. said.

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“Everything blew up from there.

It glamorous job, it’s first and foremost VestaviaThank Hills United Church youMethodist for your prompt attention.

What wine do you pair with chicken ignited my passion.” work. On culinary tours, he said, par2061 Kentucky Avenue fettuccine or shrimp salad or spicy Jones said he’s intrigued by the ticipants often are up at the crack of Thai food?” “academic part” of wine. dawn to cram into a van, not slowing Jones’ companies frequently take “I love the geography and the down until late at night. him on the road to meet with corpohistory,” he said. “But I was always But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t turned off by the ‘wine snob’ part of rate clients, for culinary tours and love what he does. it.” to attend food festivals. He’s visited “There’s no doubt God has blessed Designs for every room.

That’s why, whether he’s holdChile three times as the spokesme,” he said. “I’ve met lots of great ing tastings for fellow food and wine people around the world.” ❖ person for the Chilean Fresh Fruit

Jones,

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“I encourage people to try different types of wine, to become better informed,” he said. “I also like to talk about the magic that happens when

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Jones said his vanilla-buttermilk panna cotta is an easy and elegant holiday dessert.

Photo special to the Journal

knows not everyone feels confident in the kitchen—particularly when they’re feeding guests.

“There’s nothing wrong with picking up pulled pork from Jim ’N Nicks and making sliders,” he said.

If you’re not sure how much wine to buy, plan on getting five to six glasses of wine out of a bottle, Jones said.

“Over a two-hour party, each guest typically will drink two to three glasses of wine,” he said.

Smart buying means that you won’t run out of wine—and also that you won’t have so much of the good stuff that

guests might tend to overindulge.

“Drink responsibly,” Jones said.

“When you’re hosting a party, there’s a level of stewardship there.”

When you’re choosing which wines to serve, the first rule is not to be afraid to ask questions, Jones said.

“Be honest about what you like,” he said. “And be honest about your budget.

There are amazing wines under $12.”

For more information about Jones’ wine education seminars, tips—and recipes, too—visit www.jonesishungry. com and www.jonesisthirsty.com. ❖ —Donna Cornelius

Jones Celebrates

Tips for Taking on the Holidays The biggest foodie holiday of the year is always a festive occasion for Scott Jones and his family.

“I like a big Thanksgiving,” he said.

“But for Christmas and New Year’s, I like things on a smaller scale, more intimate.

Smaller gatherings allow people to catch up and to mingle.”

Hosting holiday get-togethers should be fun, he said.

“This is an overused term, but ‘keep it simple’ is my advice,” he said.

That starts with good planning and coming up with strategies to make things ahead of time, he said.

“You need to set yourself up to win,” he said. “This isn’t the time to try 10 new things. Maybe work in one new food.

This isn’t the time to wing it.”

While Jones loves to cook, he

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34 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

homewood for the holidays

Seasonal Shopping

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Homewood Businesses Will Open Doors for Open House

Businesses in downtown Homewood and Edgewood will usher in the holiday season with the 12th annual Homewood Chamber of Commerce Holiday Open House on Nov. 7.

This year, the event will have a Facebook page for chamber member businesses to post their in-store events occurring all day. From 5:30-8:30 pm, the stores will open their doors to welcome visitors to an evening of shopping for the latest holiday gifts while enjoying refreshments.

The Homewood Chamber of Commerce uses the annual holiday event to encourage community residents to “shop locally� with businesses in the community, said Tricia Ford, the chamber’s executive director. “Local businesses support the economy in our municipality, and this is just one effort to encourage people to shop in Homewood,� Ford said. The majority of the businesses in Homewood are owned by individuals with the store owner on site.

Customers receive individual attention, and their gifts are beautifully wrapped, Ford said.

The Homewood Holiday Open House is not only a tradition but a lot of fun, something that people look forward to every year, Ford said.

More than 2,000 people attended the 2012 Holiday Open House. The annual event attracts Homewood

Among the Homewood merchants getting ready for the 12th annual Homewood Chamber of Commerce Holiday Open House on Nov. 7 are, from left: Liz Lane, Four Seasons; Margaret Scott, Savages Bakery & Deli; David Hezlep, Wallace-Burke Fine Jewelry & Collectibles; Paige Drummond, Eighteenth Street Orientals and Melanie Mendonca, Needco Inc. - The Cabinet Co. Journal photo by Maury Wald

shoppers and holiday gift hunters from other Over the Mountain communities and beyond, Ford said. “We have some people who attend from as far away as Meridian and Jackson, Miss., and Nashville.

Those attending the event will find something for everyone on their shopping lists. We’re fortunate to have a tremendous mix of retail stores in Homewood, and there is something for everybody,� she said.

November 7th • 5:30-8:30pm

See Holiday Open House, Homewood For The Holiday’s Facebook Page for specials throughout the day!

*Map is not to scale

Shoppers will have access to plenty of free parking. A holiday trolley will make stops between the downtown area and Edgewood. Maps for the trolley routes areas are available at local businesses and at the Homewood Chamber of Commerce office, 1721 Oxmoor Road in the Homewood Public Library. For gift certificates or more information, call the chamber office at 871-5631.Â

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Amy Head Cosmetics “Amy Head Cosmetics is a contemporary cosmetics boutique,” says owner Lynn North, pictured above right, with Amy Head.

“We feature Amy Head cosmetics and Bonnie Holmes skin care,” she said. “With unique color choices and creative makeup application techniques, we will teach you how to apply makeup confidently for everyday or special occasions. Our goal is to bring out your personal beauty.”

Amy Head Cosmetics opened in Crestline Village in 2004.

“We moved to Homewood in 2009 and we love our location,” Lynn said. “It’s exciting to be located in the midst of a great shopping area.

“Owning Amy Head Cosmetics is very rewarding. It’s fulfilling to see women really

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 35

homewood for the holidays

like the way they look. We try our best to make shopping for makeup a pleasant experience. It’s a ‘no pressure’ atmosphere.”` Lynn knows everyone wants to look their best for holidays, and she said Amy Head Cosmetics is there to help.

“Schedule an appointment to have your makeup done for that special event. If you need a break from it all, plan a ‘girls night out’ at Amy Head Cosmetics,” Lynn said. “We have great gifts, one-of-a-kind jewelry, HOBO bags, gift certificates and more! We are excited to be carrying Ceri Hoover Bags. Come see our large selection.”

Amy Head Cosmetics will be open until 7 p.m. Nov. 7 for Homewood’s Holiday Open House.

Amy Head Cosmetics is located at 2801 18th Street, South, Suite 101, Homewood, 879-3418.

Applause Dancewear Applause Dancewear is a retail dancewear store located across from Homewood Central Park, where it has been since it opened 32 years ago in 1981.

“We strive to be the store that everyone automatically considers when they are deciding where to go to buy what they need for dance. We want them to come to us because we have the selection they need and the customer service that keeps them coming back. Everyone that works in our store is a dancer, this ensures that the customer is receiving advice and information from a staff that is passionate and knowledgeable about what they are selling.” said Katie Wade Faught, above.

Buddy and Cindy Wade opened the store when Cindy was the choreographer and creator of The Start Spangled Girls at Homewood High School.

Their daughter Katie took over management and

eventually ownership after completing her marketing degree at UAB. Applause will once again partner with 103.7 The Q FM radio to continue the fight against breast cancer. They will be sponsoring The Little Black Dress Party, at WorkPlay, at a date that will be announced later. Log onto the stores Facebook page or listen to 103.7FM for more information. Proceeds will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama.

“We are so excited to continue this important mission for another year and to be a part of something so important. We wanted to give back to a cause that we felt touched pretty much everyone that we deal with in one way or another and that this would be a great way to accomplish that,” Katie lives in Homewood with her husband Brian, owner of Edgewood Tees and Graphics and their two sons, Wade and Hogan Bexley.

Applause Dancewear is located at 1629 Oxmoor Road, 871-7837.

Great Gift items for all of the dancers in your life!! new arrivals daily!

Dancewear 1629 Oxmoor Road Homewood 871-STEP (7837) like us on Facebook

Celebrating 32 Years In Business - Family Owned & Operated

36 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

homewood for the holidays

The Briarcliff Shop The Briarcliff Shop is a shop specializing in lamps, home accessories and accent furniture.

“We also have gifts for all occasions, weddings, birthdays and baby gifts,” says Mary Glen Carlton, owner, above. “During the holidays, we will have Christmas gifts and holiday decorations.

“The Briarcliff Shop started as a lamp store 54 years ago. I bought the shop 11 years ago and three years ago we moved from English Village to Homewood. We are known for our great lamps and lampshades and carry a large selection, but we also carry a wide range of gifts, furniture and home accessories.

“Having my own business is very rewarding. I love working with all of our customers and helping them find the perfect gift for someone or the

Accessories

“We offer a great variety of items perfect for the holiday gift-giving season. Our new assortment of pillows include Turkish silk textiles, ikats, velvets, cut mohairs, silks along with antique fabrics and trims and a wide range of additional options. Also check our assortment of holiday trim, mercury glass and accessories for the home.”

Centuries is located at 1817B 29th Avenue South in Homewood, 879-2295.

Gifst

Mirrors

Books

Lamps Holiday Open House Thursday, Nov. 7 Thymes Rep will be in store from 11am-1pm

1829 29th Ave. So. • Homewood • 870-8110

Furniture

Accessories

Prints

Lamp Shades

Chandeliers

Centuries has been in business for 11 years and the owner, Daniel Grigsby, has been an antiques dealer and decorator for 26 years. Daniel started at an early age decorating homes and soon became an antiques dealer, after realizing that he needed to include more modern pieces and upholstered goods. He decided to open a retail shop to showcase his style.

“We offer a variety of items for the home, ranging from fine antiques, vintage and midcentury to modern furniture and accessories,” says store manager Jeffrey Sharpe, pictured above.

“We specialize in custom made upholstered goods, pillows in a variety of textiles and finishes along with our newly introduced ‘lamp bar’ offering a huge assortment of lamp shades and lamp repair.

‘We specialize in custom made upholstered goods, pillows in a variety of textiles and finishes along with our newly introduced ‘lamp bar’ offering a huge assortment of lamp shades and lamp repair.’

Frames

Tables

Centuries Interiors

Prints

Frames

Furniture

perfect table or lamp to help update or brighten their room. We are constantly receiving new merchandise, so you are sure to find something for everyone on your Christmas list.

“We are excited about the Homewood Holiday Open House on Nov. 7. The Thymes rep will be in the store from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. to share the secrets of the famous Thymes Bath and Body line. We will also have a large selection of the Frasier Fir home fragrances. We will draw for door prizes throughout the day. Shoppers should stop at The Briarcliff Shop during the holidays because of the great selection of gifts, friendly customer service and beautiful, free gift wrap on all of their purchases. We have great new Christmas decorations, but still offer our traditional lines, such as Fontanini, Old World ornaments and Frasier Fir home fragrances.”

The Briarcliff Shop is located at 1829 29th Avenue South, Homewood, 870-8110.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Centuries interiors 1817 29th Ave. South Homewood AL 35209

205.879.2295

Eighteenth Street Orientals “Eighteenth Street Orientals, a family owned business, has successfully created an environment where homeowners can purchase quality oriental rugs in an atmosphere of first-class customer service at affordable prices,” says owner Paige Drummond, above.

The Howard/Drummond family opened shop in 1986 with a commitment to offering beautiful handmade rugs. Each family member as well as their team of employees are both passionate and dedicated to serving their customers. It did not take long for this combination of skill and talent, along with their reputation for quality and service, to boost Eighteenth Street Orientals from a startup business to a recognized leader

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 37

homewood for the holidays

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

in the industry. Having continued the tradition, Paige and Sam Drummond have maintained the commitment their family originated almost 28 years ago.

The Drummonds reside in Homewood where they have two children, Elizabeth and Alex.

Being a business owner for Paige is a dream.

Paige enjoys being able to meet with her clients face to face so that she can understand their wants and needs and provide them with a rug that meets all of their expectations.

The Holiday Season is Paige’s favorite time of year and Homewood’s Holiday Open House is the perfect kickoff. It’s a night of festivity and fun and mingling with familiar faces. Come by and join in on all the excitement and enjoy the new beautiful rug inventory at Eighteenth Street Orientals.

Eighteenth Street Orientals is located at 1808 29th St. So. 870-3838.

Harmony Landing Harmony Landing is a home interior furniture and accessories store.

“We carry lamps, wall art, candles, rugs, and several lines of upholstered furniture,” says owner Rila Foley above. “We import a line of case goods as well as carry many of the well known vendors such as Furniture Classics. We started in this business being known for our pine tables and we still carry a line of pine tables with reclaimed wood tops. Harmony Landing opened in 1999. It was the first year we celebrated the holiday season with a Open House the first week in November.

“It has been a wonderful experience to move into a new community and be welcomed as I have been. The customers and friends I have made through the last 15 years have been irre-

placeable. I moved to Birmingham to open the store with my daughter, Elizabeth Edwards. The retail community has grown and changed over the last 15 years. It is an ever-evolving process.”

This holiday season Harmony Landing focuses on personalized gifts at all price points

‘The retail community has grown and changed over the last 15 years. It is an ever evolving process.’

for anyone on your list.

“We offer many holiday ideas to decorate your home. We offer pre wrapped gifts and other ideas for the entire season. We look forward to seeing everyone at our Open House on Nov. 7.”

Harmony Landing is located at 2925 18th St. So. 871-0585.

180 8 2 9th Avenue South / 205 . 87 0. 3838

Holiday Open House Thursday, Nov. 7 • 5-8pm 29 25 18th Street South, homewood • 871-0585 monday - Saturday 10:00 - 5:30

38 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop is the oldest toy store and hobby shop in the Birmingham area.

“We are family owned and operated since 1950 with a focus on classic toys for the child inside of everyone,” says Tricia McCain, manager.

“We carry a wide variety of brands including, but not limited to Corolle Dolls, Lego, Playmobil, Melissa & Doug, Lionel Trains and Traxxas Remote Control.

Pictured above, Tricia’s son, Tripp McCain, right and friend, Savannah Rossomme, left, are playing a game of Spot It, one of the most popular games for the kids Christmas list.

“Whether you are looking for a new toy for

homewood for the holidays

a newborn baby, a birthday gift for your child’s classmate or even a new hobby for dad, our experienced staff can help you decide on the best item. If you are looking for a particular toy, don’t

‘We are family owned and operated since 1950. We carry a wide variety of brands including, Corolle Dolls, Lego, Playmobil, Melissa & Doug, Lionel Trains and many others.’ hesitate to give us a call. If we don’t stock it, we can often special order it for you.”

Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop is located at 2830 18th Street South, 879-3986.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

NeedCo, Inc. - The Cabinet Company NeedCo, Inc. - The Cabinet Company is a full service cabinet company that has a complete remodel division as well as an in-house plumbing staff.

“We offer custom cabinetry that we make at our Bessemer location,” says David Harrison, owner.

“We provide a design layout with 3D drawings for kitchens and bathrooms. In our Remodel Division we offer a wide range of remodeling services.

“I created NeedCo, Inc. – The Cabinet Company in 2000. What started out as my hobby has turned into two showrooms in Central Alabama. I have been in the construction industry for 30-plus years.

After selling my heating/air and plumbing company in 1997, I decided to turn my hobby of woodworking into the The Cabinet Company. The company

is still growing today and we are adding different divisions.

“I like what I do. At NeedCo we all take pride and ownership in what we create and that, coupled with satisfied customers, makes it very rewarding for me as a business owner.

“We are unveiling our new remodel division at our Holiday Open House. We will have our remodelers on hand to talk about remodeling do’s and don’ts and general questions about what services we offer. We will have food and things for the kids to do, while their parents look around our kitchen and bath showroom. We have several new displays and kitchen accessories.”

Pictured above in the NeedCo showroom are designers Patsy Gissendanner, left, and Melanie Mendonca.

NeedCo, Inc. - The Cabinet Company is located at 2901 18th Street South in Homewood, 871-2066.

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Savage’s Bakery & Deli Savage’s Bakery & Deli has been a Birmingham landmark for more than 70 years.

It was first opened in 1939 by Mr. and Mrs. William Savage on Highland Avenue and later moved to it’s current location in downtown Homewood on 18th Street South. When Savage’s Bakery came up for sale in 1978, Van Scott Jr., a Birmingham native, seized an opportunity to own one of the city’s finest bakeries. Van, above with his daughter, Margaret who works at the bakery, followed through with his passion for baking and his goal to one day own his own business.

“Savage’s Bakery & Deli has expanded over the years and has a variety of different products.

We’ve always been known for our meltways, iced smiley face cookies, butterflake rolls, and of course the cakes!” said Margaret.

homewood for the holidays

“We continue to use the original recipes, which take some time, but it makes all the difference when it comes to taste.”

The holidays are approaching, which means Savage’s Bakery will start baking a variety of pies, including apple, cherry, pumpkin, sweetpotato and of course, pecan. Savage’s also offers their famous butterflake, Brookhouse and Parkerhouse Rolls.

“We are baking pumpkin spice bread and pumpkin spice muffins this year for the holiday season and both are already drawing rave reviews from customers. Iced turkey cookies for Thanksgiving are an annual favorite and starting in December, the Christmas bells, stars and tree cookies will be available. Special orders can be made to ensure every customer’s holiday season will be one to remember,” Margaret said.

Savages Bakery & Deli is located at 2916 18th Street South, 871-4901.

Stock & Trade Design Co. Stock & Trade Design Co., a new venture for Michael and Marina Carey, offers a wide selection of custom upholstery, furniture, lighting, rugs, accessories, unique objects and antiques, as well as custom pieces from local artisans.

“We’re committed to providing beautiful and affordable home furnishings…pieces infused with clean lines, modern sensibility, and classic style, making them a desirable part of your décor for years to come,” said Christopher Rankin, above with Barbara Williams and Kimber Bathie, from left.

“We’ve been in business one year this November. We began as E Homewood Interiors and opened our doors to the public during Homewood’s Holiday Open House last year. Now, one year later,

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 39

we are moving from our original 1,800 square-foot design studio to a new 20,000 square-foot gallery showroom. With the business growing and moving to our new location, we felt the name needed to reflect the new direction we are moving, as well.

This is an opportunity to rebrand ourselves and we’re launching our new gallery showroom during this year’s Homewood Holiday Open House.

“The holidays will be about elegant simplicity, clean lines and soft neutrals, paired with a little holiday ‘bling’,” said Christopher. “We love lots of mercury glass and all things silver for the holidays.

Ornaments in warm hues of red, gold, and copper blended with natural fibers of burlap ribbon, etc., will also be a part of our holiday mix. When it comes to holiday decor, we like to keep it clean and simple, letting the beauty of your home and its furnishings shine through.”

Stock & Trade is located at 3048 Independence Drive, 783-1350.

3048 Independence drIve Homewood 783.1350

40 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

homewood for the holidays

The Vascular Institute of Birmingham The Vascular Institute of Birmingham is pleased to announce that Dr. Brent Quinney, above center, with Dr. William Harvey, left, and Dr. David Whitley, has joined their practice at their soon-to-open office in Brookwood Hospital in Homewood. His specialty is vascular surgery. He treats aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease, vein disorders and dialysis access.

Dr. Quinney received his undergraduate degree at the University of Alabama in 1999. He attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 2000-04. He did his general surgery residency from 2004-09 at UAB and vascular

surgery fellowship at UAB from 2009-11.

“I have wanted to be a surgeon since high school when my grandfather was ill and a general surgeon extended his life by three years,” says Dr. Quinney. “I was able to spend more time with ‘Greedaddy’ and knew that’s the type of impact I wanted to make on others’ lives.

“It’s so rewarding to help a patient who has significant pain when walking to be able to play golf again because he underwent arteriogram and balloon angioplasty, or patients with severe peripheral arterial disease who were facing amputation but underwent open surgical revascularization and are happy they can walk into clinic without a prosthetic.”

Dr. Quinney lives in Hoover with his wife, Sarah and their three children.

The Vascular Institute of Birmingham is treating patients at St. Vincent’s, St. Vincent’s East and Brookwood Medical Center.

David Whitley, M.D. & William Harvey, M.D. Welcome

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Wallace-Burke Fine Jewelry & Collectibles Wallace-Burke Fine Jewelry & Collectibles Wallace-Burke Fine Jewelry & Collectibles opened in October 2007. Owners David Burke Hezlep, above left, and Preston Wallace Foy, right, bring to the fine jewelry business more than 75 years of experience.

David, a former vice president of Bromberg’s has devoted himself to making Wallace-Burke into the ultimate jewelry and gift store. With collections from all over the planet and price ranges beginning at $20, you are sure to find the perfect gift for this holiday season.

Preston, former vice president of NW Ayer

Advertising in New York City and national director of the De Beers Diamond Promotion Service has also committed himself to developing Wallace-Burke into a comfortable, no-stress shopping experience.

“Whether you are shopping for a holiday gift or for that ‘one-of-a-kind’ piece of jewelry,

Preston Wallace Foy and David Burke Hezlep bring to the fine jewelry business more than 75 years of experience.

Wallace–Burke can deliver,” Preston said.

For the holidays, Wallace-Burke has a wide collection of fun and interesting giftware and fine jewelry that will fit anyone’s budget.

Wallace-Burke Fine Jewelry & Collectibles is located at 1830 29th Avenue South, Suite 100, 874-1044.

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Exquisite and unique jewelry, antiques, and giftware from around the globe.

Soho Square, Suite 100 • 1830 29th Avenue South Homewood, AL 35209 • 205.874.1044 • www.wallace-burke.com

Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market

In October 2013, The Alabama Retail Association awarded Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market with the silver award for Retailer of the Year in her retail sales category.

“Our store hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays,” says Dorothy McDaniel, owner, above. “In addition to arranged flowers and flowers by the stem, the store has a wide variety of gifts, stationery, gourmet foods, and personalized products available for purchase. We have a large consumer cooler where customers can purchase flowers by the stem and even make their own arrangements at our ‘Do-It-Yourself’ station. The store also offers delivery to areas as far north as Trussville and Gardendale and as far south as Pelham.

“We also offer home and office holiday decorating and can provide lovely arrangements for your holiday party or get-together.”

Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market is located at 2560 18th Street South, 871-0092.

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 41

homewood for the holidays

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Edgewood Fine Jewelry

“Edgewood Fine Jewelry is a store with an offbeat feel. We are family owned and operated and very laid back, as well as kid and petfriendly,” says owner Heather Jones, above left.

“Daisy, our dog, (pictured above with Helaine Kanter, store employee) welcomes all except the mailman.”

“We are a full service jewelry store. We do repairs, remounts, redesigns, string pearls, watch repair and batteries and engraving.

“It is important to us that we have unique pieces that you won’t find everywhere. We have an assorted line of silver jewelry that fits all budgets and we offer space to local designers to showcase their work.

“For the hoildays this year, we plan to showcase unique jewelry of local artista and craftsman as well as our own jewelry.

“Come visit us and enjoy our relaxed shopping environment and love of all things jewelry.

Let us help you create your family heirlooms and keepsakes that will last a lifetime.”

Edgewood Fine Jewelry has been open for 14 years, 10 of those in Homewood.

Edgewood Fine Jewelry is locared at 2854 18th Street South Homewood, AL 35209, 423-8616.

The Shops of Assistance League

The Shops of Assistance League are unique, nonprofit shops in the heart of Homewood featuring PrimeTime Treasures and Encore Upscale Thrift. PrimeTime Treasures features hand-crafted items made by Alabama senior citizens. Encore features women’s and children’s clothing and home decor.

Primetime Treasurers has been in business since 1977 and has returned almost 4 million dollars to its crafters. Encore was established in January of 2011 and is a great place to shop for designer clothing like the coat worn by Linda Joseph above.

“For the holidays we will have unique handcrafted items in the Christmas Shop and gently used Christmas items for decorating and entertaining in Encore,” says Mary Ann Wade, chairman of PrimeTime Treasures. “Join us for our Holiday Open House Sunday, Nov. 3 from 1-3:30 p.m. Shoppers may purchase unique seasonal items as well as hundreds of other crafts, jewelry and art sold by our talented craftsmen. Encore will showcase the latest fashions, décor and the newly opened boutique, Encore Collection, featuring designer clothing. Can’t wait to see you there!”

Shops of Assistance League is located at 1755 Oxmoor Road in Homewood, 870-5555.

Tricia’s Treasures

Tricia’s Treasures is a combination of antiques, accessories, food, tomfoolery and in general, a happy and warm gathering place where selling is almost second place to the rest.

“This year makes 32 years in the antique business and what a long, short, fun, tiring, fulfilling, happy journey it has been,” says Tricia Thomas, owner, pictured above. “The old tires have a slow leak these days but I will keep pumping ‘em up. The stories that have come through our doors over the years are too many to be told! And the laughs we’ve shared have made all these lines in my face!

“I have a sigm in our shop that says ‘The only thing more overrated than natural childbirth is the joy of owning your own business.’

Well, that is close to true--I just never tried the first.

“There is a treasure for you at Tricia’s Treasures, no matter the season, so please join us for our fall and winter seasons and make your home warm and beautiful. We are open Tuesday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday.”

Tricia’s Treasures is located at 19th Place South, Homewood, 871-9779.

Sunday November 3, 2013 1:00pm-3:30pm 1755 Oxmoor Road Homewood, AL 35209 205.870.5555

Edgewood Fine Jewelry

2854 18th Street South Homewood, AL 35209

205-423-8616

Mon by appointment, Tues – Fri 10:30 to 5:00, Sat 10:30 – 3

Antiques and Accessories

2700 19th Place South • Homewood • 871-9779 Tue.-Fri. 10:30-5:30 • Sat. 11:00-4:30

42 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

Uneven Ground

SCHOOLS

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Homewood High School students Rebecca Feldman, left, and Caroline Sims accompany their blended harmonies on acoustic guitar.

Homewood High School Students Pursue Passion for Music

By Ginny Cooper Journal intern

W

hen Homewood High School students Caroline Sims and Rebecca Feldman sat down over Labor Day weekend to play music together, they had little idea where the project would take them.

The girls decided to post a song they’d recorded that weekend, The Script’s “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved,” on YouTube. The song soon garnered more than 700 views, and Sims’ mother sent it in to the organizers of Hot Strings Festival, who booked them to perform between Act of Congress and Matthew Mayfield.

Hot Strings Festival is a Birmingham music and arts festival that benefits The Foundry, a Christian mission that provides refuge and longterm recovery programs for men and women addicted to drugs and alcohol.

The lineup for the festival was diverse, featuring artists from singersongwriter Mayfield to bluegrass trio Three on a String.

“It was so cool, such an incredible experience to be there,” Sims said, “We followed Act of Congress, and I just remember being so star-struck, because I listen to them on the way to school and jam out to all of their songs. It was

surreal to share a stage with someone you listen to in your car.”

Feldman said despite the rainy weather during the festival, playing there is something she’ll never forget.

“It got rained out so there really weren’t that many people, but it was still an incredible opportunity, and it was great to play for people we didn’t know,” Feldman said.

The last few months have been very busy for the high school students. They played at WDJC to promote the festival and are planning to play again for the station’s call to prayer on Nov. 6.

They are also playing a few songs for their high school pageant and performing at any coffee shops or open mic nights they can find as they continue to develop local support.

“It’s such a thrill for us to play little coffee shop gigs and see smiles on people’s faces because we’re so used to just playing for our family and friends.

It’s so nice to play for people who don’t know you, even if it’s just a tiny crowd,” Sims said.

Though Sims and Feldman have been playing together as an acoustic duo for only a few months, their parallel musical careers go back much further. They have been singing in choir together since middle school and are both in Homewood’s award-wining show choir, The Network.

“The best part about it (Uneven

Photo special to the Journal

Ground) is doing it together, it’s so much more fun,” Sims said, “I have so much fun with Rebecca; I wouldn’t want to be doing it with anyone else.

Rebecca is like that sister I never had.

Our personalities go together so well.”

Feldman said she enjoys having a partner in her musical adventures.

“My favorite part about the project is that I don’t have to be alone. She (Sims) makes it so fun, and it isn’t so serious playing with her. It’s more fun and more exciting,” Feldman said.

The girls’ songs reflect this connection. Though their voices are different-Sims’ voice has a clear, penetrating tone while Feldman’s has a deep, raspy quality--the two sounds blend together indistinguishably to create haunting harmonies, which they both accompany on acoustic guitar.

Though they play a mix of original

songs and covers at most shows, the girls are passionate about songwriting and recently recorded their first original song, “Darling,” at Mason Music’s studio in Cahaba Heights. Both write their own songs but have recently begun collaborating on most of their work.

“Songwriting is such a difficult thing, and it’s frustrating when you can’t finish a thought,” Sims said, “We kind of finish each other’s sentences when we’re writing. That’s how ‘Darling’ came about.”

Feldman said Ingrid Michaelson is a huge inspiration on her music.

“She really inspires my writing style,” she said.

Music is only one of the girls’ many interests. Sims serves as the Alabama district secretary for Key Club and plays varsity tennis, while Feldman

dances with the Star Spangled Girls as a part of the Homewood High School Patriot Marching Band and plays piano.

Balancing all of these activities, Sims said, is the most difficult part of the experience.

“We’ve had to leave school a couple of times, and we’ve had to practice at night because we have to make sure it’s perfect,” she said. “It’s so worth it, though.”

The duo said they have worked very hard in the past few months to write and play as much as possible but are enjoying every minute of the experience as they continue to look toward the future.

“I really want to be known, and I really want to go somewhere. I really don’t know where, but I know that I want to be known in the musical world,” Feldman said.

Sims said because of the duo’s recent success, she’s more inspired than ever to chase her dream of becoming a professional musician.

“I think everybody has a dream in their life, and it’s so surreal when you actually try to go for it,” Sims said.

“Because you look at it as some huge, unattainable thing, but once you start going for it, it isn’t work and it isn’t scary. It’s just doing what you love. It’s an indescribable feeling.”

To hear the first single by Sims and Feldman, go to soundcloud.com/ unevenground. For booking information, contact Andi Sims at simsinbham@aol.com or 213-7955. ❖

School Notes Liberty Park Celebrates Constitution Day Students at Liberty Park Middle School in Vestavia Hills recently celebrated the U.S. Constitution with a Constitution Day event.

The event on Sept. 17 was sponsored by the Cahawba Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Ethan Vice, field representative for U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, spoke to the sixth-grade students about the Constitution and the history of the nation’s capital.

Daniel Thackett, teen director at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, and Jean Deal, the school’s librarian, dressed as James and Dolly Madison for the event.

All students were given a pocket Constitution by the DAR. A special display in the library held an American flag that had flown over an army base in Afghanistan. Art students designed their own representations of the American flag, and students announced facts about the Constitution every day over the school broadcast.

Also as part of the special event, students in Kirk Spence’s seventh-grade social studies classes acted out the Constitutional Convention and debated several topics, including civil rights, women’s rights and the Civil War. At the end of the event, the students compared and contrasted the Articles

of the Confederation and the U.S. Constitution.

The students joined 35,000 other children from more than 260 Primrose schools in 17 states in the Celebrating Cultures event.

The students sang “It’s a Small World” and other songs, sampled ethnic foods from around the world and performed traditional songs and dances from the students’ various cultural backgrounds.

The event marked the end of a month-long program at the school to celebrate cultures and teach students about diversity, their heritage and the importance of acceptance of others despite cultural differences.

Homewood Students Named Semifinalists

Daniel Tackett dressed as James Madison and Jean Deal dressed as Dolly Madison as part of Liberty Park Middle School’s Constitution Day celebration. Photo special to the Journal

Primrose Students Celebrate Culture About 85 preschoolers at Primrose School dressed in silk gowns and saris, carried paper fans and ukuleles and wore wooden clogs during the school’s celebration of cultures on Sept. 27.

Several students at Homewood High School were recently recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The school had five students named National Merit Semifinalists and two named Commended students.

The school’s semifinalists were among approximately 16,000 semifinalists announced in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The semifinalists from Homewood High are David Selden, Sarah Grace McDuff, Josh Gardner, Roman Paoletti and Adam Pratt.

These academically talented seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,000 National Merit

Volcanic Adventures

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 43

Schools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Simmons Middle School science teachers Susan Ogle, Julie Falkner and Dana Langford have spent the last two summers studying volcanoes across the globe so that they can share their knowledge with their students.

Simmons Middle Erupts with Science Excitement “Lava Lounge” may be an apt phrase to describe some sixth-grade science rooms at Simmons Middle School this fall.

That’s because teachers at the school have erupted with excitement over volcanoes following back-to-back summers of international learning experiences.

Those experiences have now flowed into classrooms recently as students have started learning about volcanoes in their science classes.

This past summer, teachers Susan Ogle and Dana Langford embarked on a Costa Rican adventure to study volcanoes including the Rincón de la Vieja volcano and the Poas volcano. In 2012, teacher Julie Falkner studied at the famed Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat.

“We’ve always been very excited and motivated teachers, but now I think we’re better teachers because of this,” Ogle said.

Ogle is in her 30th year of teaching, and Langford is in her 18th. Both said they enjoyed the excursion thanks to a grant from the Fund

for Teachers organization in Texas.

The two teachers saw active volcanoes, rain forests, hot springs, indigenous wildlife and more.

“It was out of our comfort zone--and that was a good thing,” Langford said.

Ogle said she had an “aha moment” at the Poas volcano.

“I got to the peak and saw the crater where the top blew off years ago. I thought, this is my first time to see a volcano after teaching about them all these years,” Ogle said.

Falkner, who has taught science for 14 years, said the textbooks were brought to life for her in a new way in 2012 when a University of Alabama-Huntsville grant enabled her to visit the Caribbean island of Montserrat, home to the Soufriere Hills volcano. Soufriere Hills became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since.

Falkner said a tour guide helped her get close-up encounters with Soufriere Hills and

Photo special to the Journal

that she got to meet cientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

“That was a big highlight. It was awesome,” Falkner said.

Falkner also studied reef life, rain forests, seismology and other concepts and subjects taught to students at Simmons each year.

“This trip enriched what we already knew.

Being an AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative) site, it’s already handson in terms of what we do. This professional

development made me more confident in how I connect with our students,” Falkner said.

Ogle, Langford and Falkner all said the places they visited were unique but how they went about the process was not. They said they encourage any teacher to apply for professional development grants available to educators.

“The experience is better than any workshop you can attend, better than any book,” Langford said. “It will make any educator want to be a better teacher.” ❖

School Notes Cont.

Father John Fallon and Assistant Principal Katie King greeted students as they stepped onto the new cushioned playground surface. Fallon spoke to the students about the new playground and

blessed it.

Turning the previously hilly and boulder-strewn area behind the church and school into a safe, fun space took about two months, school officials said.

The $100,000 project was a joint effort of the Prince of Peace Catholic School, Church and PTO. The school has four playgrounds.

Mike A. Keller, DDS, PC Pediatric / Adolescent Dentistry Dr. Mike Keller, friends & staff are happy to recognize September members of the NO SUGAR BUG CLUB

Several students at Homewood High School were recently recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. From left: National Merit Semifinalists David Selden, Sarah Grace McDuff, Josh Gardner and Roman Paoletti and Commended Students Miller Williams and Yevgeni Gavrikov.

National Merit Semifinalist Adam Pratt is not pictured. Photo special to the Journal Scholarships worth about $35 million that will be offered next spring.

Homewood students named Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation were Miller Williams and Yevgeni Gavrikov.

Students with exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performances on the qualifying test used for program entry but who are not continuing in the competition are designated as Commended Students.

Prince of Peace Opens New Playground Kindergarten and first-grade students at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Hoover have a new place to play.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to open a new playground at the school on Sept. 19.

Shortly after lunch, the young students waited inside the primary school wing for their teachers to open the door to the new recess area.

Prince of Peace Catholic School Assistant Principal Katie King cuts the ribbon to open the school’s new playground. Photo special to the Journal

Tyem Alharthi Avery Allen Jack Allen Jacob Allen Ethan Anderson Ellie Anderson Anna Taylor Archer Kaye Arnold Selena Arteaga Victor Arteaga Juan Arteaga Christian Arteaga Jordyn Averhart Kendyl Averhart Will Bailey Uriah Barginere Leah Barnett Beau Barnett Jonah Baroody Raymon Baroody Addison Basquill Hannah Kate Basquill Jacob Bass Brooklyn Baughman Emma Berthiaume Owen Berthiaume Cooper Boyd Lindsay Brown Brooklyn Brown Levi Brown Nathanael Brown Caleb Bunch Natalie Bunch Austin Burke Trey Caffey Alex Caffey Will Carothers John Carothers Mya Carroll Oscar Cartagena Angel Cartagena Daniel Cartagena Klinton Chadwick Caroline Charles Brennen Charles LizzieAnn Clemens Cassidy Clemson Kennedy Coggin Campbell Coggin Luke Compton Mason Compton Will Cooper Quentin Crommelin Blythe Danley Mimi Davis Annabel Davis Tyrone Davis

Tyra Davis Jackson Dewine Emma Grace Dungan Tate Dungan Jameson Eagar Noah Egan Jessie Egan Hassan Eljishi Widad Eljishi Eleanor Elkus Mary Richard Elkus Isabel Elkus Connor Evans Ellie Grace Farmer Hunter Farr Howell Fell Harrison Fell Neka Ferguson Ian Fifier Adam Fifier Shanden Fifier Shannon Fifier Parker Foshee Jack Foshee Addison Foshee Omari Fowler Joshua Freeman Brittany FreemanTerry Jackson Frey Parker Frey Hunter Frey Hayden Gilbert Ryan Gilbert Olivia Goodman Gabrielle Goodman William Graham Mattie Graham Thomas Graham Trey Griffith Anne Barron Groves John Hall Colton Hankey Rilee Hardin Reid Hardin Nick Harris Erin Harris Hanna Hartman Danielle Hartman Samantha Hassen Christian Hawkins Sarah Grace Hayes John Whitten Hays Lillian Hays Alex Headrick Jack Hebert John Hendry Mary Winston Hendry

Shawn Herring Jason Herring Garrett Higgins Catherine Hinson Danielle Holmes Zoe Honeycutt Gabby Honeycutt Destiny Houston Josiah Houston Shelby Howard Jack Howard Sarah Huddle Christian Huddle Rett Hughen Hill Hughen Miles Hughen Sarah Jenkins Ellen Jenkins Alison Jenkins Xzaria Jett Caroline Johnson Cooper Johnson Lily Johnson Mei Johnston Sydni Jones Skylar Jones Trinity Lairson Graham Lane Robert Lane Joshua LaTorre Jacon LaTorre Gracie LaTorre Aidan Lee Joshua Legg Sam Legg Ivan Lentz Aidan Lentz Katy Grace Liscomb Bo Liscomb Calire Lockridge Logan Lockridge Rebecca Lovelady Oliver Lovelady Mary Lovelady Randy Maldonado Carlos Maldonado Myshka Manzueta Kadence Marlin Addilyn Marlin Kason Marlin Thomas Marriott Bennett Marsh Jacob Marsh Kareshia Matthews Ethan Maxwell Jeb McCary Andrew McCary

Hayden McCrary Holly McDaniel Amy McDaniel Jayden McGuire Johnathon McKinnon Robert McLean Piper Metty Alex Metty Violett Miller Olivia Miller Laila Miller Bennett Mitchell Lila Mitchell Amelia Moffatt Adele Moffatt Ford Moffatt Kwatevia Moore Addie Moss Jordan Moss Joshua Motley Timothy Motley Kathryn Mussell Lauren Mussell Andrew Naftel Julia Naftel Damion Nail Grayson Parris Sumner Parris Meade Parris Bennett Pearce landon Pickens Alex Pitts Emily Pitts William Pitts Mary Frances Pitts Tre Ponder Glen Porter Mauree Alice Porter Katie Ramsbacher Reid Ramsbacher Rylie Redden Walter Reed Beau Reed Kelsey Reid Kaleb Reid Amelia Richardson Eleanor Roth James Roth Tyler Sach Chloe Sach Ann Heaton Sanders Jack Sellers Paulix Sheppard Henry Short Claire Short Andrew Sink Emily Sink

Mary Carolyn Sink Lauren Sizemore Ashley Sizemore Olivia Smith Jacob Smith Kirk Smitherman Jacob Smitherman Mary Snyder Kenzie Speakman James Spencer Anna Spencer Peter Spencer Aidan Springer Jane Perry Starling Dalton Steadman Presley Stephens Blake Stephenson Sydney Stephenson Cody Stewart Ryans Stewart Tempie Stokes Hugh Stokes Meredith Stringfellow Abigail Taylor Ashley Thomas Connor Tierney Glavine Tillman Ashton Tillman Gage Verner Lanier Verner Jacob Vice Eli Vielguth Audrey Vielguth Jeremy Vining Mimi Waggoner Reese Wallace Jackson Wallace Cooper Wallace Anne Mitchell Welch Lilli Corinne Welch Carson Weldon Connor Weldon Mason West Virginia White Grace Wilkins Grant Wilkins Julia Wilkins Payton Wilkins Rasaria Williams Kadence Willis Anne Hardy Wilson Jack Wolfe Braxton Wolfe Conner Zaremba Chase Zaremba Kaitlyn Zeek

Brookwood Dental Building • 2045 Medical Center Drive • Birmingham, Alabama • 870-7110

44 • Thursday,October 31, 2013

Schools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Fresh Take on Fundraising

Hilltop Montessori School will host the Deep Roots Gardening Dinner on Nov. 14. From left: Dalton Ellis, school founder Cindi Stehr and Kellum Rankin work in the school garden in preparation for the dinner. Photo

Hilltop Montessori Will Host Gardening Dinner

Students, teachers, parents and alumni at Hilltop Montessori School in Mt Laurel are digging up a healthy menu for a school fundraiser planned for Nov. 14.

The school will host the Deep Roots Gardening Dinner at Stone’s Throw Bar and Grill at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 to benefit the school’s environmental education program.

The dinner will include fresh produce from the school gardens that will be prepared by Chef Chris Harrigan at Stone’s Throw.

The community gardening dinner is a natural extension of the school’s mission to “provide a quality Montessori education in an environment which fosters a child’s love of learning and a respect for self, others, community and world,” said Head of School Michele Scott Wilensky,

who is chairing the event along with Melanie Morrison.

The menu will include items from the school’s garden as well as a sweet touch from its award-winning apiary. Alumni like Hunter Scott have been helping harvest the honey from the apiary, which produced honey that recently won third place at the Shelby County Fair.

The honey program was spearheaded by the school’s founder, Cindi Stehr. Stehr founded the school in 1996 with the goal of offering a high-quality, authentic Montessori education to Birmingham area students of all interests, backgrounds and abilities.

The benefit dinner on Nov. 14 will begin with a cocktail hour followed by dinner and dessert and a live auction by Jack Granger of

special to the Journal

Granger, Thagard and Associates.

Auction items will include a personal chef for an evening donated by Iron Chef winner Chef Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham. A dinner party at Stone’s Throw Bar and Grill will also be auctioned off at the

event. Other auction items include student artwork, jewelry and dining, spa and vacation packages.

For information on tickets or sponsorships for the dinner, call the school at 437-9343 or visit www.hilltopmontessori.com. ❖

School Notes From left: Lilly Billingsly, Sydney Taylor and teacher Melissa Day talk about the Shades Cahaba Elementary School Fantasy Football program.

Photo special to the Journal

Shades Cahaba Students Learn through Football Shades Cahaba Elementary School students in Homewood are learning to solve real-world problems with football.

The students are participating in the school’s Classroom Fantasy Football program. The program aims to help students take the lessons they are learning in the classroom and apply them to problems they might encounter in their everyday lives.

School officials said the program helps facilitate an understanding of mathematics and the abstract world of algebra through multiple exposures to concepts.

In the program, students work in groups in their classrooms. Each group works together as co-owners of one Fantasy Football team. Each fifth-grade classroom is a division of the overall Shades Cahaba Fifth-grade League and competes against other teams within their own classroom to win their division.

The regular season is 10 weeks long, with two additional weeks for division/

class winners to compete for the Super Bowl championship.

Students decide the name of their team, the mascot, colors and logo. They use iPads and computers to research current NFL players and prepare a wish list of potential players to draft to their team on a classroom draft day. Each team has a budget to draft players.

After draft day, each team of owners makes a scoreboard poster with pictures of the NFL players on their team. The scoreboards are hung in the fifth-grade hall at the school.

In order to score points each week, students use iPads to research how their players performed in the previous NFL game in which they played. They record the stats for each of their players on a score sheet. These weekly stats are used in algebraic equations to calculate points earned for their team by each player.

As groups research their players’ stats in previous games, they take screenshots on the iPads used by their group so that the teacher can easily flip through their screen shots to check their

Shades Mountain Christian School K3 - 12th Grade

www.smcs.org 205-978-6001

calculations before they post their points on the team scoreboard.

Vestavia West Students Pledge to Follow Motto Students at one Vestavia Hills elementary school are renewing their commitment to demonstrate their school’s motto.

Vestavia Hills Elementary West students have pledged to follow The West Way by demonstrating courtesy, respect and responsibility.

The school motto is on display in several places on campus to remind students of how they are expected to behave.

Students kicked off the new school year by celebrating West Way Week and received pencils imprinted with “The West Way Is the Best Way” as souvenirs.

Classes have been focusing on and discussing each trait in the motto.

To wrap up the celebration, students, faculty and staff wore their favorite team shirts to remind them that together, they are a team.

Hall-Kent Students Study Science through Poem Students in Donna Firnberg’s kindergarten class at Hall-Kent Elementary School in Homewood are learning science through a classic poem.

The students have been learning to recite and read “Humpty Dumpty” and have also included a science experiment and writing lesson in their studies.

Firnberg used a real egg to represent Humpty Dumpty. As the egg fell

Vestavia Hills Elementary West second-graders Holland Backus, Emma Catherine Leal, Kai Olivet, Abbey Wehby and David Howard have pledged to follow The West Way. Photo special to the Journal into different materials, the students observed the results and wrote about what they saw.

They answered questions about why the egg cracked when it landed in certain materials and why it stayed intact when it landed in other materials.

Oak Mountain Band Hits a High Note at Competition The Oak Mountain High School Spirit of the Cahaba Marching Band won high marks at a recent marching competition in Alexander City.

The band competed in the Lake Martin Invitational Marching Competition at the Charles E. Bailey Sportsplex on Oct. 5.

Competing in the Open Class division, the band received the superior rating of all I’s in the categories of drum major, feature twirler, dance, color guard, band and percussion.

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The band, feature twirler, color guard and percussion received the Best in Class recognition.

The band also was recognized in special areas with a Best Overall in the categories of Best High Brass, Best Pit Percussion, Best Low Brass, Highest Marching Score and Highest Music Score.

The band is directed by Kevin Ownby and Travis Bender.

Our Lady of the Valley Elects New Leaders The student body at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School in North Shelby recently elected new student council members for the 2013-2014 school year.

During Mass on Sept. 23, each newly-elected member of the student council expressed his or her dedication and commitment to the school in an installation ceremony.

New officers are Nick Buttrey, president; C.J. Romano, vice president; Danielle Russell, secretary; Cooper Gray, treasurer; Peyton Miller, chaplain, and Alyce Voisin, historian.

The student representatives recently taking office were John Daniel Rose, Anna Parmer, Hall Welborn, Olivia Beland, Lizzie Ballinger, Chandler Norman, Olivia Fant, Jackson Shields, Anne Sherman and Christina Till.

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 45

SChools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Spain Park High School recently honored members of the 2013 Homecoming Court. From left: Laura Beth Passey, Carlie Nall, Destiny Houston, Taylor Sanford and Brennen Cooke. Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

Members of the 2013 Homecoming Court at Homewood High School were, from left: Reneisha Sims, Emily Roberts, Hallie Tarpley, Racquel Williams, Katie Potts and Abby Thompson.

Photo special to the Journal

Homewood High School recently crowned a new Homecoming Queen.

Racquel Williams was crowned the 2013 Homewood High School Homecoming Queen in a halftime ceremony during the Patriots’ Oct. 4 homecoming game against John Carroll Catholic

High School.

Other members of the Homecoming Court were Reneisha Smith, Emily Roberts, Hallie Tarpley, Katie Potts and Abby Thompson.

The school’s annual homecoming parade was held in downtown Homewood on Oct. 3. Cheerleaders, dance troupes, the band, homecoming court and others marched along Oxmoor Road from the library to SoHo Square.

Hoover High Crowns 2013 Homecoming Queen, King

New Homecoming Queen at Oak Mountain High

There’s some new royalty at Hoover High School.

The student body recently crowned Amy Brinton as its 2013 Homecoming Queen and Noah Townes as Homecoming King.

Brinton is the daughter of Rhonda and Mark Brinton. She is a member of the Hoover High School Symphonic Wind Concert Band and the Indoor Drumline. She is also a member of the Latin Club.

Townes is the son of Vanessa Townes. He is a Hoover Ambassador, a part of the Hoover High School Engineering Academy and a member of the Hoover High School Symphonic Wind Concert Band.

Members of the Queen’s Homecoming Court were Julianne Dean, freshman; Emily Schneider, sophomore; Melissa Faulk, junior, and Sarah Martin, senior.

Others nominated for Homecoming King were Jacob Tofani, David Morton, Nic Brown, Luke Moradi and Hagan Scott.

Also nominated for homecoming honors were seniors Noah Townes, left, and Amy Frances Brinton were recently crowned Homecoming King and Queen at Clark, Hoover High School.

Caroline Photo special to the Journal Dunn, Caroline Conrad and Sarah Patrick; juniors Kyra Moyer and Fallon Phillips; sophomores May Randle and Katherine Conrad; and freshmen Jenna Olszewski and Amber Ajlouny.

The new Homecoming King and Queen were announced during halftime at Hoover High’s game against Northridge on Sept. 19 at the Hoover Met. Leading up to the big game, the school had themed dress-up days and a pep rally.

Oak Mountain High School crowned a new Homecoming Queen during a halftime ceremony at the Sept. 27 game against Pell City.

Holly Sproull was named the 2013 Oak Mountain High School Homecoming Queen and received her crown from the 2012 winner, Shelby King.

Sproull is the varsity tennis team captain and was chosen by the faculty at Oak Mountain to be on the school’s Student Leadership Council. A Holly Sproull was crowned member of the 2013 Oak Mountain High the National School Homecoming Queen by Honor Shelby King, the school’s 2012 Society, Homecoming Queen. Photo special to the Journal Sproull is also a reporter, producer and editor with the school’s broadcast journalism team.

The school’s Homecoming Princesses were also crowned at the halftime ceremony.

The Junior Princess was Holley Moates.

Meredith Edwards was crowned Sophomore Princess, Grace Riddle was named the Freshman Princess.

Leading up to this year’s homecoming game, Oak Mountain High School students celebrated with themed dress-up days, powder puff football games, talent shows and a pep rally.

The school’s homecoming dance, which had the theme “Dancing Through the Decades,” was held on Sept. 28.

Homewood Crowns New Homecoming Queen

Members of the Vestavia Hills High School Homecoming Court were, from left: Millie Cadden, Ellie Barrentine, Elson Stewart, Claire Hand, Grace Albright, Olivia Mims, Kierra Goins, Paul Joseph Spina, Grace Baker, Lindsey McMahon, Margaret Ann Vice, Kate Bryan, Chandler Moss, Lily Rumbley and Jordan Barefield. Photo special to the Journal by Belmont Studios

Spain Park Selects 2013 Homecoming Queen The students at Spain Park High School have selected Destiny Houston as the school’s 2013 Homecoming Queen.

Houston was crowned during a halftime ceremony at the homecoming game against Thompson High School on Oct. 4.

The school’s Homecoming Princesses were also crowned at the halftime ceremony.

Brennen Cooke was named Freshman Princess, and Taylor Sanford was crowned Sophomore Princess.

The Junior Princess was Laura Beth Passey, and Carlie Nall was named Senior Princess.

Leading up to the big game, students and faculty members celebrated Spain Park’s homecoming with themed dress-up days for each day of the week.

Following the game, a homecoming dance was held Oct. 5 in the banquet room at the Hoover Met.

Mountain Brook Crowns New Homecoming Queen Mountain Brook High School crowned a new Homecoming Queen in a halftime ceremony during the Oct. 4 game against Carver High School at Spartan Stadium.

Mae Rose Tyson was named the 2013 Homecoming Queen.

She was escorted on the field by her father, Marc Tyson.

The school’s 2012 Homecoming Queen, Lamar Cooper, escorted by her father, Jim Cooper, attended the ceremony to crown Tyson the new Homecoming Queen.

Other members of the 2013 Mountain Brook High’s 2012 Homecoming Queen returned to the school to crown the 2013 Homecoming Queen. From left: Jim Mountain Brook High School Lamar Cooper, Mae Rose Tyson and Marc Tyson.

Homecoming Court were Emily Cooper, Photo special to the Journal by Hank Spencer Owen Mendelsohn, Lucy Neal, Adele Bird, Carlton Cooper, congratulate the new queen and her court.

Mary Seldon Andrews and Caroline Bramlett.

Before the game, the school’s annual Principal Amanda Hood and SGA President homecoming parade was held in the villages of Ben Jackson joined the on-field ceremony to Mountain Brook.

Vestavia Honors Homecoming Court Vestavia Hills High School recently named its 2013 Homecoming Court, King and Queen.

Kierra Goins was crowned Homecoming Queen and Paul

Joseph Spina was named Homecoming King.

Members of the Homecoming Court included freshmen Millie Cadden, Lily Rumbley and Jordan Barefield.

Sophomore members of the court were Ellie Barrentine, Elson Stewart and Chandler Moss.

Juniors selected for this year’s homecoming court were Claire Hand, Margaret Ann Vice and Kate Bryan.

Senior members of the 2013 Vestavia Hills High School Homecoming Court were Grace Albright, Olivia Mims, Grace Baker and Lindsey McMahon.

Madeline Meredith of Vestavia Hills, left, with Susanne Boyden of Raleigh, N.C.

Madeline Meredith Wins USTA Tourney

sports

Jordan Sims of Homewood High School has been selected to play in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, joining an elite group of AllAmericans.

Sims, an offensive lineman, and others selected will play in the game on Jan. 4, 2014 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

The annual East vs. West matchup will be televised live on NBC at noon and will feature the nation’s top 90 high school football players.

“Sims is a talented athlete whose leadership and teamwork qualities have made him a standout at Homewood High School,” said Mark Davis, deputy assistant Secretary of the Army for Marketing. “Only the strongest wear the Army colors, and we are proud to welcome all of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl players and commend each of them on their selection.”

Sims was selected by the U.S. Army AllAmerican Bowl Selection Committee, which consists of All American Games and 247Sports.

U.S. Army All-Americans are eligible for the

Madeline Meredith of Vestavia Hills won the USTA Southern Section Designated 16 year old tennis tournament that ended October 14 in Raleigh, N.C. Meredith, who is 14, triumphed over 255 other players from nine southern states. She currently trains at the Saviano Tennis Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year Award, American Family Insurance Defensive Player of the Year Award, Pete Dawkins Game MVP Award and the Felix “Doc” Blanchard and Glenn Davis Awards.

As a result of Sims’ selection, his coach, Doug Goodwin, is invited to travel to San Antonio and attend the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, an elite three-day learning experience including Bowl Week activities.

For more than 13 years, the U.S. Army AllAmerican Bowl has been the nation’s premier high school football game, serving as a launching pad for America’s future college and NFL stars. Adrian Peterson and Andrew Luck made their national debuts as U.S. Army All-Americans. In the 2013 NFL Draft, eight U.S. Army All-American Bowl alumni were drafted in the first round.

The 2013 game drew a crowd of 40,133 to the Alamodome and except for the NFL playoffs was the most-watched sporting event on television over that weekend.

For more information on the U.S. Army AllAmerican Bowl and its related events, visit www. usarmyallamericanbowl.com and www.goarmy. com/events/aab or the bowl’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.

macoy,

Elite Eight Coming This Week

From page 48

Alex Killough and Emily Wood were crowned Homecoming King and Queen at Shades Mountain Christian School.

Photo special to the Journal

SMCS Crowns New 2013 Homecoming King, Queen Shades Mountain Christian School recently crowned its new Homecoming King and Queen.

Alex Killough and Emily Wood were crowned King and Queen during halftime at the school’s homecoming game Oct. 4 at the old Finley Stadium on Columbiana Road.

Killough is a senior and the son of Steve and Lydia Killough of Hoover.

Wood is also a senior and the daughter of Tony and Debbie Wood of Alabaster.

The members of the senior homecoming court included Finley Clutts, the son of Carey and Leann Clutts of Hoover and the grandson of the late Bob Finley; Ashten Conner, daughter of Steve and Leigh Conner of Pelham; Rachel Pearson, daughter of Dale and Beth Pearson of Hueytown, and Cody Reasner, the son of Jerry and Jill Reasner of Vestavia Hills. ❖

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Homewood’s Sims Chosen for Army All-American Bowl

Photo courtesy All American Games

46 • Thursday, October 31, 2013

After the state meet, Macoy plans to compete in the Foot Locker Cross Country Meet in North Carolina on Thanksgiving weekend. The meet will bring the top runners from throughout the South together with a shot at advancing to the nationals in San Diego. Journal photo by Bryan Bunch

place team finish. His father had won the 1600meter event 31 years earlier.

“Probably winning the team championship in cross country was a highlight in my high school career,” Macoy said. “When I was a freshman, we won a sectional meet that put us in the state championship that was special, too. Winning the 1600meter run in the outdoor meet was great because my dad had won it, so that was kind of a way to honor him.”

Although Macoy participates in all three major track competitions–cross country, outdoor and indoor--he said the training regimens for the respective events don’t differ greatly.

“Cross country is always going to be about distance,” he said. “On the mile or two-mile run, it’s going to be more about speed. At the end, though, there’s not much difference. It’s all running.”

Distance runners may be unique among nearly all competitive athletes in that they know they will be hurting before their race is complete. So being mentally prepared for a race is just as important as physical preparation, Macoy said.

“All I do is try to think about where I am in the race,” he said. “The main thing is to block out the pain that you know is coming on the last mile.

Sometimes a song will keep running around in your head. Anything to take your mind off of the fact you’ll be hurting is a good thing.”

As the state cross country meet approaches, Macoy himself might be peaking at a good time. At the recent FSU Invitational Meet in Tallahassee, Fla., he ran the 19th best time nationally and the third all-time best for Alabama.

After the state meet, Macoy plans to compete in the Foot Locker Cross Country Meet in North Carolina on Thanksgiving weekend. The meet will bring the top runners from throughout the South together with a shot at advancing to the nationals in San Diego.

“November’s going to be a big month,” Macoy said. “Winning the state (in cross country) again and doing well in the Foot Locker event would be a great way to end my senior year.”

Macoy’s running career won’t end when he picks up his high school diploma. He is being heavily recruited and visited Stanford University last weekend. Macoy lists Stanford along with the University of Florida, the University of Alabama and Auburn University as among his favorites.

“I’ll probably make a decision in December,” he said. “Now I want my full focus to be on the events coming up.”

Mac Macoy sounds like a champion. In fact, he sounds just like his dad.

The girls’ volleyball championships get underway this week with the Elite Eight at the Birmingham CrossPlex and as always, the Over the Mountain area is well represented in Wednesday’s opening round.

In Class 6A, Mountain Brook, the top seed in the North, will meet Baker of Mobile at 9 a.m.

Hoover, the fourth seed in the North, will meet McGill-Toolen Catholic of Mobile at 11 a.m.

In Class 5A, John Carroll Catholic, the third seed in the North, will meet Spanish Fort at 1 p.m.

In Class 3A, Indian Springs, the fourth seed in the South, will meet Madison Academy at 9 a.m.

Anna Claire Johnson and her Hoover High teammates were set to take on McGillToolen Cathloic Wednesday.

Journal file photo Marvin Gentry

Week 9 Results

Hoover’s Dylan Ackerson, (98) gets past a Tuscaloosa County lineman to pressure the Wildcats quarterback. Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

Hoover 41, Tuscaloosa County 0 Hoover won its 24th consecutive game with a surprisingly easy 41-0 domination of Tuscaloosa County.

The visiting Wildcats chalked up a mere 59 yards of total offense for the game.

Buccaneer quarterback Jack Hutcheson completed 14 of 17 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Hoover, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, ran its record to 9-0.

Homewood 66, Talladega 0 Homewood continued its march through Class 5A rivals with a 66-0 rout of Talladega. Walter Rutledge led the Patriots with 144 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

Homewood moved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in Class 5A Region 4 play.

Pelham 27, Spain Park 24 Pelham rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit to surprise Spain Park 27-24, handing the Jaguars their first defeat of the season. Highlights for Spain Park included an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Otis Harris and a blocked punt recovery for a score by Phillip Brown. The normally potent Jaguar offense was held to just 106 total yards.

Spain Park fell to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in Class 6A Region 4 play.

Oak Mountain 36, Thompson 22 Oak Mountain defeated Thompson 36-22, with a 69-yard scoring play from quarterback Warren Shader to his brother, wide receiver Harold Shader, being the biggest play.

Warren Shader finished with 143 yards on the ground and 76 via the passing lanes. The Eagles raised their record to 4-5 for the season.

Briarwood 26, John Carroll 6 Breaking open a scoreless first half, Briarwood’s Walker Lott ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to lead the Lions to a 26-6 win over John Carroll. Briarwood improved its record to 7-2 for the year and 7-1 in Class 5A Region 4 play.

The Cavaliers slumped to 2-7 overall, 2-6 in region play.

Shades Mountain Christian was defeated by Meek 43-13.

Thursday, October 31, 2013 • 47

sports

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

spartans, From page 48

Sept. 6. Vestavia routed the Mounties 41-14 last week.

Vestavia started the game according to the script. The Rebels drove the length of the field to score on their first possession. Quarterback Landon Crowder completed two passes totaling 51 yards to Patrick Haywood to get Vestavia deep into Spartan territory. Crowder’s one-yard run and Jack Hatchett’s conversion gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead with 7:29 left in the first quarter. That would be the only time Vestavia would dent the scoreboard.

“We didn’t do anything special on defense,” Yeager said later. “We told our kids to play hard from whistle to whistle, and we’d be proud of them no matter the score. They stepped up tonight and played a great game.

Vestavia is a great team and a great program. Anytime you win in this rivalry, it’s special.”

One key to Mountain Brook’s success was its ability to stop Jordan Johnson, the Rebels’ outstanding tailback. He gained only 53 yards in 17 carries and was stopped cold on a fourth-and-two situation on the Spartan 31-yard line in the third period.

Mountain Brook tied the game when Jacob Carroll passed 28 yards to

lovelady, From page 48

school when he began spending long hours on local golf courses with his dad, Tim. “It all started when we went to the driving range at Vestavia Country Club.

From there, we just had the best time hanging out and playing golf together,” he said. “Learning the game was fun, but the best part was spending time with my dad.”

By the time Lovelady reached middle school, he was successfully competing in junior tournaments throughout the South. Upon reaching Mountain Brook High School, he took his place as one of Alabama’s top amateur golfers.

Lovelady was the top Class 6A medalist in the Alabama High School Association golf championships in 2008. He was the low medalist again in 2011, leading the Spartans to the state title.

Lovelady also turned heads by firing a sizzling 64 at the PGA Junior Championship at Shoal Creek. Before his senior year ended, Lovelady had won All-American and Metro Player of the Year honors and was named Golfer of the Year by the Birmingham Kiwanis Club.

When Lovelady received an offer from Alabama golf coach Jay Seawell, his answer was easy.

“I’d always been a Tide fan, so there

Hunter Branch for a touchdown with seven seconds left in the first half.

Smith’s kick knotted the game at 7-7.

The Spartans’ drive covered 47 yards in seven plays.

Mountain Brook’s momentum continued in the second half when Drew Odum returned the kickoff 62 yards to the Vestavia 29. The drive died when Carroll was sacked by Dalton Campbell on a fourth-and-two situation.

Mountain Brook made the best

of its next possession, driving to the Rebels’ 24-yard line, with Carroll’s 24-yard scramble being the biggest play. Smith’s 41-yard field goal attempt cleared the crossbar by inches and gave the hosts a 10-7 lead with 2:33 left in the third stanza. That lead would prove insurmountable.

“Tre didn’t kick one longer than 40 yards in warm-ups,” Yeager said. “But since we got stopped on our previous drive, we decided to give him a shot.”

Vestavia saw three drives deep into Vestavia quarterback Landon Crowder is stopped by Mountain Brook’s Parker Crane, #91 and Mac Campbell, #11.

More photos at otmj.com Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

was no doubt where I wanted to go,” he said. “So getting a scholarship at Alabama was a dream come true. They didn’t have to ask me twice.”

Lovelady’s freshman year at the Capstone started well. He started the first three tournaments, posted two top25 finishes and averaged less than 74 shots per round before suffering an injury that ended his season. Fortunately, Lovelady was granted a medical hardship by the NCAA and won an extra year of eligibility.

Between seasons, Lovelady showed his golf game was in full gear by shooting a 61 at Vestavia Country Club, a new course record, in August 2012.

In Alabama’s championship season, Lovelady was a major contributor as a redshirt freshman. He played in six events and started four times. His average score was 74 of 17 rounds, and he fired three rounds of 69 and four rounds of par or better. His best finish was a tie for ninth in the Savannah Quarters Invitational.

Lovelady credits Seawell for much of Alabama’s success.

“Coach is really good at knowing how to put confidence in his players,” Lovelady said. “He knows what to say and do after you have a good round or a bad round. There’s a fine line, and he knows right where to find it.”

Lovelady is off to a strong start in his sophomore year as Alabama is undefeated in the fall season. He is work-

ing constantly to improve his game.

Putting–the bane of many weekend golfers–is his forte.

The biggest mistake golfers make in putting is thinking too much, Lovelady said.

“A lot of golfers overthink greens,” he said. “And then they think about the bad things that will happen if they miss.

It’s better just to study it, line it up and hit it. If you think too much, you can miss it before you even swing the club.”

Lovelady would like nothing better than for the Crimson Tide to add a second national championship to its trophy case.

“That would be a thrill,” he said.

“We have the talent and the work ethic to get there again. If we just play our best at the right time, we have a chance.”

Lovelady, a business major, has had many thrills in his young college career.

One of the biggest came last December, when a friend invited him to play the world famous Augusta National Golf Course–the home of the Masters, the

Mountain Brook territory fall short prior to beginning its final assault late in the game. Crowder moved a fourthand-six situation for a first down at the Spartan 40 with 1:26 to play. Then he threw three incompletions before Andrew Autry intercepted a fourthdown pass with 31 seconds left, ending the Rebels’ last hope.

“Both defenses played really well,” Vestavia coach Buddy Anderson said.

“They whipped us when it counted.”

Carroll completed 14 of 24 passes for 141 yards. He also rushed for 32 yards.

“This is a great win for Mountain Brook and our fans,” he said. “You have to give credit to our defense. This is Mountain Brook football.”

Odum agreed.

“This team is all about family,” he said. “This is one we will all remember when we are old and living in a nursing home.”

Odum had 10 catches for 80 yards.

Mountain Brook’s win gave it a 6-3 mark, 5-2 in region play. Vestavia dropped to 7-2 overall, 6-1 in league competition.

“I think we showed we aren’t the same team that started the season,” Odum said.

Maybe the football world had forgotten Mountain Brook, but the Spartans showed that they haven’t forgotten how to win. greatest prize in all of golf.

“I had walked Augusta many times but never played it,” Lovelady said.

“It was my favorite course, because of all the great players that had played there, so when I got the chance to play, I jumped at it.”

Lovelady made the most of his opportunity. He shot one-over par 73 and eagled the legendary par-five 13th hole. Ironically, Lovelady hit from the same pine straw where eventual Masters champion Phil Mickelson launched his famous shot in the 2011 classic.

Perhaps that was an omen for the kind of year Lovelady and Alabama would have in 2012-13.

Would Lovelady like to play Augusta again?

“Absolutely,” he said, laughing.

“Friends who can get you on Augusta are the ones you keep for life.”

And for Tom Lovelady and the Alabama Crimson Tide golfers, the thrill of a lifetime came Saturday afternoon.

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Mountain Brook quarterback Jacob Carroll completed 14 of 24 passes for 141 yards in the Spartans’ victory over Vestavia Friday night.

Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

Sports

Homewood’s Sims Chosen for Army All-American Bowl Page 46

Remember the Spartans

Lee Davis

The Real Macoy Rebel Runner Looks To State X-Country Meet

T

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

Be honest. If you were a typical high school football fan, you had probably forgotten all about the Mountain Brook Spartans.

And why not? Coach Chris Yeager’s team had lost most of its offensive line from the previous season and was expected to be in rebuilding mode in 2013. Mountain Brook promptly lived down to that expectation, losing its first three games and falling off most people’s collective radar.

And while most folks weren’t watching, the Spartans got better. A lot better. They won five consecutive games to put themselves strongly

Surprising Mountain Brook Stuns Favored Rebels 10-7 back into playoff contention in Class 6A’s Region 6.

Despite the nice comeback, most observers expected the Spartans to offer little resistance when third-ranked Vestavia Hills--arguably playing better than almost any team in Alabama-rolled into Spartan Stadium Friday night.

Mountain Brook didn’t get the memo that it was supposed to be fodder for the Rebel Machine.

Instead, it battled the favorites tooth and nail, finally finding the answer at the end to pull off

a stunning 10-7 upset. Tre Smith’s 41-yard field goal late in the third quarter provided the underdogs the margin of victory.

Yeager sounded much like a prominent college coach in the state when describing the win.

“It’s an awesome victory, but to me it’s more about the journey,” he said. “When we were 0-3, everybody was jumping off the bandwagon. But our kids kept working and believed. They knew there were good things that were going to happen down the road.”

The Spartans’ upset proved once again the meaninglessness of comparative scores. Shades Valley scorched Mountain Brook 45-28 back on See spartans, page 47

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

Master Stroke

Lovelady Living Dream As Bama Golfer

Almost everyone has a moment in which they have to pinch themselves to believe it’s real.

That moment for Tom Lovelady probably came Saturday afternoon.

Lovelady, a sophomore golfer for the University of Alabama, was honored along with his teammates at the halftime of the Alabama vs.

Tennessee football game at Tuscaloosa’s Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide golfers were formally presented with their NCAA championship rings in honor of the national title they won with a win over Illinois last June.

The victory marked Alabama’s first national championship in any men’s sport besides football, and Lovelady, a lifelong Tide fan, wasn’t shy about wanting to soak it all in. The Crimson Tide also won the Southeastern Conference Golf Championship in 2012-13.

“It’s going to be incredibly cool,” said Lovelady a couple of days before the ceremony. “Just to stand on that field in front of 100,000 people and accept an award for winning a national championship is something I never could have imagined. It’s a great honor for my teammates and for the University in general.”

Lovelady’s path to the national championship began in elementary See lovelady, page 47

his column could have been about a golfer.

As a seventh grader, Mac Macoy had decided that golf was going to be his sport of choice. But fate intervened.

Macoy was ill and missed school the day of the mandatory meeting for aspiring golf team members, and he wasn’t allowed a makeup. So the youngster had to find another sport.

His genes helped point him in the right direction. His father, Coy, had been a track and field star at Vestavia Hills and also ran at Georgia Tech. His mom, Adrienne, had run competitively at UAB. “I was pretty bummed out about not being able to play golf, but my parents thought that I needed to participate in some sport,” the younger Macoy said. “Since my mom and dad had run track, and there were no cuts from the track team, I decided to give it a try.”

Golf’s loss was track and field’s gain, as Macoy proved that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Now a senior at Vestavia, Macoy is following in his dad’s imposing footsteps as one of the most outstanding runners in school history.

A year ago, Macoy led the Rebels to their first Class 6A cross country championship in 25 years as he completed the three-mile course in Oakville with a time of 15:37.30.

Vestavia is among the favorites to win the 2013 cross country title next month.

“I think we’re really running well,” Macoy said. “Auburn (High School) has a ton of great runners and a lot of people are picking them to win, but I think we’re peaking at the right time and will do fine.”

Macoy is also a standout in indoor and outdoor track. For example, in the state Class 6A outdoor meet last spring, he won the 3200-meter and 1600-meter runs and was part of the winning 4X800-meter relay team, while helping Vestavia to a fourthSee macoy, page 46