Mountain Brook Magazine, September/October 2019

HOLMSTED FINES CHUTNEYS • SIDE BY SIDE AT ENCORE MINISTRY • SETTING SAIL WITH ISABEL SMITH

Steeple Stage

CRESTLINE’S OWN THEATRE COMPANY

ON THE TRAIL AGAIN

A HISTORY OF BRIDLE TRAILS

THE JEMISON GYM

THREE WORKOUTS, NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED

MountainBrookMagazine.com 1

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FEATURES

52

THE JEMISON GYM Skip the gym and head to Jemison Park as the temperatures cool down. You won’t need any mats, weights or bands for these three workouts—just bring yourself and find a bench or open space.

60

ON THE TRAIL AGAIN With the development of Mountain Brook came a network of bridle trails—and Saturday morning rides that are still etched in the memories of riding academy equestrians.

68

How a community ministry at Canterbury United Methodist encourages working together to minister to those with dementia and their caregivers.

6 September/October 2019

PHOTO BY LAUREN USTAD

SIDE BY SIDE

41

33

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA BROCKMAN

arts & culture

17 Cabaret + Conversations: A Theatre Company in Crestline 24 Read This Book: Young Adult Tales Beyond Our World

schools & sports

25 Setting Sail: On the Water with High School Senior Isabel Smith 32 Five Questions For: MBHS Band Members

food

& drink

33 British Roots, Southern Flair: A Taste of Holmsted Fines Chutneys 39 Five Questions For: Golden Age Wine

in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 9 #MountainBrookMag 10 The Question 11 The Guide 76 Chamber Connections 78 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Mountain Brook

40 Five Questions For: Bobby Carl’s Table

home

& style

41 In-Town Retreat: The Holmans’ Tranquil Crestline Home 49 At Home: Fresh Fall Tablescape 50 In Style: Fall Basics

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MOUNTAIN BROOK

contributors

MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL

Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Briana Wilson Madoline Markham Scott Mims Keith McCoy Emily Sparacino

CONTRIBUTORS

Emily Butler Jessica Clement James Culver Mary Fehr Madison Freeman Chandler Gory Emily Henderson Dee Moore Alyssa Parten Tracey Rector Katie Roth Christiana Roussel Lauren Ustad Rebecca Wise

DESIGN

Jamie Dawkins Kate Sullivan Green Connor Martin-Lively

MARKETING

Darniqua Bowen Kristy Brown Kari George Caroline Hairston Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Jordan Price Briana Sanders Jessica Steelman Kerrie Thompson

ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Katie McDowell Stacey Meadows Tim Prince

Emily Butler, Writer

Emily Butler is a senior at Mountain Brook High School. She spends most of her time working as the co-editor in chief for the Mountain Brook High School newspaper, The Sword & Shield, as well as keeping up with the daily news. Most afternoons, she can be found at a local coffee shop with an iced coffee, writing or doing schoolwork.

Mary Fehr, Photographer

Mary is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Birmingham.

She studied art and art history at University of Montevallo. She likes to teach and plans on getting her MFA in order to do so. Mary also loves to travel and has a goal of photographing a wedding in every state! She enjoys reading non-fiction, going to concerts and spending time with her family.

Chandler Gory, Writer

Chandler is a freelance writer and a news producer at CBS 42 in Birmingham. She attended high school at Mountain Brook and recently graduated from The University of Alabama in May 2019. She enjoys history, politics and Crimson Tide football. Her life goal is to tell as many people’s stories as she can.

Alyssa Parten, Writer

Alyssa has been personal training and coaching in Birmingham since 2012. After graduating from the University of Alabama in 2014, she now resides here with her husband and two fur-babies. Alyssa trains a diverse group of clients but specializes in post physical therapy rehabilitation, recreational strength training, and competitive/sport specific strength training. She also has an online coaching business and blog, Ladybeef Inc., where she remotely trains recreational and competitive powerlifters and writes articles about fitness and exercise science.

Mountain Brook Magazine is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Mountain Brook Magazine is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Mountain Brook Magazine, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Mountain Brook Magazine is mailed to select households throughout Mountain Brook, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit MountainBookMagazine.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $16.30 for one year by visiting MountainBrookMagazine.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532.

Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@mountainbrookmagazine.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.

8 September/October 2019

from the editor

S

ON THE COVER

Some people prefer fiction and film take them to other worlds with strange creatures and futuristic scientific advancements. But my fantasy world has always been the past. History has a way of transporting me to a setting, dress and culture unlike my own, but also with a direct connection to my familiar reality. In my free time you’ll find me observing Queen Victoria as she wrestles through her marriage and leading a country (Masterpiece Theatre anyone?) or tracing the lineage of two families whose roots go back 300 years to a set of sisters in Ghana (Homegoing is one of my top recommended reads).

But it’s in my work that delving into the past most connects to the here and now. For this issue that looked like a trip to the heyday of the bridle trails that run through Mountain Brook. Writer Chandler Gory came along for the journey and did the heavy lifting for the story you’ll find starting on page 60.

Asking around on the “What’s Happening in Mountain Brook” Facebook page led us to the homes of folks who had photos, news clippings and other documents of days spent on horseback in scrapbooks from their parents or themselves. Looking at a gem of a brochure on the trails, Blair Cox and I tried to match up the photos in it with places we drive past today, and Erin Hutchinson and I were postulating about what building could have been in the background of a photo of her mom and aunt with horses from the 1940s.

That’s just one story I’m excited to share in the pages that lie ahead.

You can also venture into the back story of a British-style chutney line with a Southern flair, an intense balloon volleyball game at a ministry for adults with dementia and their caregivers, a theatre company in the Steeple Arts building (who knew?), the waters where MBHS senior Isabel Smith sails, the village in Normandy where the high school band played to commemorate the D-Day anniversary this summer, and a Crestline home that feels like a beach retreat. Plus, we’ve got three workouts you can try at Jemison Park as the temperature starts to cool because a workout in the air conditioning as mornings and evenings turn crisp is just not acceptable in my book.

Thanks for reading, and for venturing into the past with me!

madoline.markham@mountainbrookmagazine.com

Inside Central Alabama Theatre

Carl Peoples founded Central Alabama Theatre, which now makes its home in the Steeple Arts building in Crestline Village.

Photo by Katie Roth Design by Connor Bucy

MountainBrookMagazine.com 9

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Tag us in your @mountainbrookmag photos on Instagram, and we’ll pick our favorites to regram and publish on this page in each issue.

@villagedermatology @anitaberrymanmiles Meet “Doug.” He’s making his rounds meeting the fam new and old…

@cflake4 Mountain Brook LOVES cheer camp

Our very own Dr. Jenny Sobera and our Skin for Life Boutique were named as one of the Alabama Retailer of the Year winners!! We are so incredibly honored to be recognized in our category out of 70 nominees.

Can’t wait to celebrate with all of the other winners at Alabama Retail Day in October!

@lisahartsphotos Home of America’s first #officepark

MountainBrookMagazine.com 11

“ ” THE QUESTION

What teacher in Mountain Brook had the biggest impact on you or your kids?

Mrs. Bretz at Crestline! She sparked an interest in science in many young minds. I am a science teacher now and often think of her lessons for inspiration.

-Callie McCraney Taylor

-Kim Hobbs

Nelda Glaser, amazing, kind, encouraging math teacher. She is not happy until she believes the student truly understands the lesson.

Coach Glen Rice always spoke words of wisdom, whether in the classroom, on the ball field, or out on the streets. My kids adore him and they run to him the second they see him.

George Ann Parker!! Or, madame! Taught French at MBJH from the time it opened until 2008!

Betsy Henle! She challenged me to be the best creative writer and all around English student I could be. She always encouraged me to express exactly who I was in my writing.

Diana Plosser, AP Latin. She used a centuries year-old language as a vehicle to teach us how to solve problems and understand people.

Kris Rush at MBE! She taught the special ed preschool class. She came to Children’s for a week to learn how to feed my son.

My son speaks in sentences now because of her.

-Susan Shook Dukes

-Emily Wells

-V.J. Graffeo

12 September/October 2019

Diane Waud, retired from Brookwood Forest. Even after retirement she is very present in the lives of her Waudos. Once a Waudo, always a Waudo!

-Juliet Shunnarah Lang

-Lynn Head Cline

-Emily Israel

THE GUIDE

MYSTICS OF MOUNTAIN BROOK PARADE OCT. 31 Crestline Village 4 p.m.

It’s tradition! Come out to the streets of Crestline for festive floats and candy throwing galore before starting your night of trick or treating.

Photo by Ben Breland

MountainBrookMagazine.com 13

THE GUIDE WHAT TO DO IN MOUNTAIN BROOK SEPT. 2 Labor Day Mountain Brook Schools Closed SEPT. 10 Family Night: Jim Aycock’s Music Show Emmet O’Neal Library 5:30 p.m.

SEPT. 11 Patriot Day Ceremony Held with Cities of Homewood & Vestavia Homewood City Hall 9 a.m.

OCT. 3-6

Antiques at the Gardens Birmingham Botanical Gardens FRIDAY & SATURDAY 10 A.M.-5 P.M. SUNDAY 11 A.M.-4 P.M. Antique dealers from across the country set up their wares at the gardens for quite the fair of antiques, furniture, porcelain, fine art, silver, garden accessories and jewelry.

Architects, interior designers and landscape designers will also display curate themed areas with goods selected from the best of Birmingham and other sources. General daily admission is $15 a person.

SEPT. 14-15

Fall Plant Sale Birmingham Botanical Gardens SATURDAY 9 A.M. - 4 P.M. SUNDAY 11 A.M. - 3 P.M.

Find everything you need for your yard heading into colder weather with herbs, sustainable trees, fall annuals, shrubs, natives, perennials and more for sale. Plus, all the trees are natives selected especially for Birmingham’s climate and condition.

14 September/October 2019

SEPT. 17 100 Things to do in Birmingham Before You Die

By Author Vera Gates Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30 p.m.

SEPT. 19 Meet Journalists Andrew Beck Grace & Chip Brantley, Creators of the White Lies Podcast Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30 p.m.

SEPT. 20-22 Orchid Show and Sale Birmingham Botanical Gardens OCT. 2-13 Shop Save Share Benefitting Junior League of Birmingham Community Projects OCT. 3 YA Craftsplosion: DIY Candles Emmet O’Neal Library 6-8:30 p.m.

OCT. 8 Family Night: Atsmagic with Arthur Atsma Emmet O’Neal Library 5:30 p.m.

OCT. 10 Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Featuring Coach & Brand Consultant Matt Lyles Birmingham Botanical

THE GUIDE Gardens 11 a.m.

OCT. 12 Nightmare on Oak Street Horror Double Feature: Child’s Play + Annabelle Creation Registration Required Ages 18+ Emmet O’Neal Library 5-10 p.m.

OCT. 15 Native Plant Fall Decorating with Kelly Wood from Grace Gardens Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30 p.m.

OCT. 25 Homecoming Parade Crestline Village OCT. 25 A Night Dark & Grimm Emmet O’Neal Library /Kids 6 p.m.

SEPT. 15

Taste of Mountain Brook 101 Hoyt Lane Next to City Hall Crestline Village 11:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M. Eat your way through all the villages in one sitting with tastes from your favorite Mountain Brook restaurants while taking in live entertainment. It all benefits All In Mountain Brook’s community programs and speaker events. Purchase tickets at tasteofmountainbrook.com.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 15

THE GUIDE

AROUND TOWN SEPT. 12 The Magic of David Garrard Samford University Wright Center SEPT. 14 The Brook and the Bluff Alys Stephens Center SEPT. 19-OCT. 6 Legally Blonde: The Musical Virginia Samford Theatre SEPT. 19-21 St. George Middle Eastern Food Festival St. George Greek-Catholic Milkite Church

MUSIC

Bringing Back the Big Band If the rehearsal we heard poolside off Cherokee Road is any indicator, the Marlowe Shepherd and the Abraham Becker Orchestra performance on Sept. 19 at the Lyric Theatre is going to be one to remember. The duo will perform classic and contemporary big swing from the likes of George Gershwin, Cole Porter and more alongside a 21-member ensemble, including an 8-piece string section and an 8-piece brass and reed section. You can purchase tickets at lyricbham.com.

SPORTS

Varsity Spartan Football Bring on the Friday night lights. Don your green and gold, and we’ll see you at Spartan Stadium. All games kick off at 7 p.m.

Sept. 6: At Tuscaloosa County Sept. 13: At Spain Park Sept. 20: At Vestavia Hills Oct. 4: At Oak Mountain Oct. 11: At Hewitt-Trussville Oct. 18: At Thompson Oct. 25: Vs. Hoover/ Homecoming Nov. 2: At Gardendale 16 September/October 2019

Photo by Ben Breland

SEPT. 22 Vulcan AfterTunes: Logan Ledger Vulcan Park and Museum 3 p.m.

SEPT. 29 Vulcan AfterTunes: Griffin House Vulcan Park and Museum 3 p.m.

SEPT. 25 Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors The Lyric Theatre SEPT. 28 Irondale Whistle Stop Festival Historic Downtown Irondale SEPT. 28 Fiesta Linn Park OCT. 3-5 Greek Food Festival Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral OCT. 4-6 Southern Women’s Show BJCC OCT. 4-6 Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival Barber Motorsports Festival OCT. 5 Bluff Park Art Show

THE GUIDE

Bluff Park Community Center OCT. 6 Cahaba River Fry-Down Benefits Cahaba River Society Railroad Park OCT. 6 Magic City Mac + Cheese Festival Brookwood Village Macy’s Upper Parking Lot 1-4 p.m.

OCT. 6 Vulcan AfterTunes: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Vulcan Park and Museum 3 p.m.

OCT. 12 Susan G. Komen North Central Alabama Race for the Cure Regions Field OCT. 20 Breakin’ Bread Pepper Place

SEPT. 13-14

Sweet Repeats Consignment Mountain Brook Community Church FRIDAY 9 A.M.-6 P.M. SATURDAY 9 A.M.-NOON Stock your kids’ fall and winter wardrobe while supporting MBCC’s short-term mission trips to places like San Diego, Peru, Hungary, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Consignors receive 75 percent of the selling price, and 25 percent goes to MBCC Missions. You can also find many items half off on Saturday.

SEPT. 8

Jewish Food and Culture Fest Levite Jewish Community Center 11 A.M.-3 P.M.

Time for kosher barbecue, the When Pigs Fly Kosher BBQ Cook-Off to be specific.

There will be lots of food of course, and also live music, kids’ activities and more, all open to the community. The Marvin and Ruth Engel Fund and the Unrestricted Fund of the Birmingham Jewish Foundation help make this event possible.

November 2-3 | The Preserve | Hoover, Alabama 65+ Brews | Cask Garden | Beer Snacks | Fall Football | Wooded Venue | Music Advance tickets get Featured Glass | $30 | www.mossrockfestival.com

MountainBrookMagazine.com 17

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&CULTURE

ARTS

CABARET + CONVERSATIONS

Steeple Arts is home to more than dance classes.

You can also find a theatre company inside.

BY KATIE ROTH PHOTOS BY KATIE ROTH & CONTRIBUTED MountainBrookMagazine.com 19

I

If you know Church Street, you know the historic red church building on the corner. You’ve seen small children taking dance lessons and sixth graders walking into the rite of passage that is ballroom dancing lessons. But for the past three years, Steeple Arts has been home to another art form too: theatre.

“I had always sort of jokingly said, ‘I see my theater being in an old church,’” admits Carl Peoples, founding executive producer and artistic director of the Central Alabama Theater (CAT). “I think it’s destiny. If you’re putting out the right energy and just keep pedaling, I think those places find you.”

And that’s exactly what happened. When Carl started CAT five years ago, he had no idea that he would find his dream performance space. Instead Steeple Arts found him. After holding shows in the

20 September/October 2019

The CAT production The Bikinis: A New Musical Beach Party was a kitschy retrospective reunion concert of a fictional '60s girl group called The Bikinis.

Clubhouse on Highland for two years, Deanny and Sanford Hardy, the owners of Steeple Arts, offered for the organization to move its performances to their more spacious location. With the exception of bigger shows—like December’s upcoming one-man show version of A Christmas Carol—CAT has found its home in Mountain Brook.

The 2019-2020 season marks the start of CAT’s first official season. The season kicks off Nov. 2 with a one-woman show performed by local artist Amy Johnson, who you may recognize from Red Mountain Theatre Company’s My Fair Lady. The season is diverse, but its signature is always cabarets.

“You have to have something different (in this business). And thank God we do,” Carl says.

Carl remembers thinking that it was ridiculous

“I had always sort of jokingly said, ‘I see my theater being in an old church.’ I think it’s destiny.”

-Carl Peoples

MountainBrookMagazine.com 21

SAVE THE DATE FOR CAT PRODUCTIONS* uNovember 2, 2019 – Actress & Vocalist Amy Johnson

uDecember 20-21, 2019 -

Holiday Show: Mark Cabus’ Oneman Version of A Christmas Carol uFebruary 8, 2020 –Broadway Music Man Abdul-Hamid Royal

uMarch 7, 2020 – Actor, Singer, Director & Storyteller Tawny Stephens

uApril 4, 2020 – Dynamic

Husband & Wife Duo Dr. Jeff Kensmoe & Natalie Collins uMay 16, 2020 – Central

Alabama Theater’s Jr. Advisory Board JABaret II

uJune 5 & 6, 2020 –Birmingham Ensemble Three on a String

* All CAT Cabarets are held at Steeple Arts. The holiday show is held at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center. Auditions for the summer musical and play will be held in February 2020.

that people had to travel all the way to New York to see true cabaret shows, so he decided to bring them to Alabama—with conversations too.

“I think we choose plays and musicals that are story-driven that sometimes challenge our audience because I think that’s art’s job on some level,” Carl says. “I think it should at least make you have a social conversation.”

After more than 15 years as an actor, writer, director and producer in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, New York, California and even across Europe, Carl realized that storytelling was still the most important aspect of art to him. While working in the television business in Los Angeles, he went back to performing in local theatre productions “to satisfy (his) soul.” “At the end of the day, faster and cheaper was not my idea of art,” he says.

That move is not a common one, but if you meet Carl, it’s immediately evident how passionate he is about his profession. He’s a kind and creative soul with the goal of bettering his community, starting 22 September/October 2019

Belinda George-Peoples performances at a CAT Cabaret.

conversations and sharing his passion for theatre with younger generations.

In addition to bringing in well-known performers to play alongside local actors, Carl has also started a free mentorship program for rising juniors in high school to 26-year-olds who are interested in the world of theatre, whether it’s on the stage or behind the scenes. Twelve members are chosen for the Junior Advisory Board (JAB) each calendar year to learn more about their desired field—studying anything from acting to lighting to stage management to set design—while simultaneously gaining nonprofit community service hours for volunteer work and helping CAT with productions. JAB members also produce their own cabaret—called JABaret—to show off what they’ve learned throughout the year. JAB alumni currently include a woman who earned a full ride to Julliard, another who now works for The Educational Foundation of Birmingham and even Miss Alabama 2019 Tiara Pennington.

Birmingham’s own Three on a String performed at CAT in Crestline this summer.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 23

A Sister Women play reading with the cast and Carl Peeples at CAT.

Take a walk in the Parke

24 September/October 2019

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In addition to their ticketed cabarets, musicals and plays, CAT also holds a free play reading series called CAT Scripts whenever they find room in their schedule. Each event is followed by a talkback, where audience members can ask actors questions about the script and accomplish the goal of starting thoughtprovoking conversations. CAT was one of the first theaters in the Birmingham area to introduce script reading events, and now it’s fairly common at other local theaters. But “it’s not a competition,” says Carl. “It’s an exposure to art.”

As for planning, Carl is looking forward to scheduling more shows for the next couple of years and won’t be moving anytime soon, with the goal of “reaching more people and getting more opinions.”

For more information about CAT and to purchase tickets for the upcoming season, visit centralalabamatheater.org.

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READ THIS BOOK

Tales Beyond Our World Recommendations from

Matt Layne

Young Adult Librarian The Emmet O’Neal Library

My first job in a library was as a children’s storyteller.

I travelled from library to library and to some schools and even to Children’s Hospital to tell stories, sing songs, and to engage children and students with crafts and activities. I now work with teenagers, and I have loved reading the plethora of diverse books that are currently being written. With Halloween approaching, I find myself falling back into bewitching tales that take us beyond our world, so here are a few I recommend.

Howl’s Moving Castle

by Diana Wynne Jones Witches, wizards, transformation, enchanted hopping scarecrows and a Baba Yaga house that walks around on chicken legs. If you’ve seen Hayao Miyazaki’s beautiful animated film but not read the original book by Diana Wynne Jones, do yourself a favor and check it out today. If you’ve not seen the movie or read the book, you’re in for a doubly sweet treat!

Skulduggery Pleasant

by Derek Landy Skulduggery Pleasant is a private investigator. He is also a wizard. He is also a skeleton. His peculiar expertise comes into full play as he assists the niece of his best friend in solving her uncle’s murder and trying to stop the dark forces that are vying to rule the world. The blend of humor and magic is sure to please.

The Golden Compass

by Philip Pullman Get ahead of the game and read The Golden Compass before it premiers as HBO’s next big series. Set in a parallel universe, Lyra and her dæmon, Pan, have had an idyllic childhood growing up among the students and scholars at the prestigious Jordan College at Oxford, but all that changes when she gets a visit from her imperious uncle and her best friend disappears. It’s epic fantasy at its finest!

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book, Neil Gaiman’s modern update places our young hero in, you guessed it, a graveyard. Bod is an orphan who is raised by the ghosts in the graveyard and a kindly vampire and occasionally a werewolf. The level of spookiness is perfect for an October night read-aloud with older children.

Mort

by Terry Pratchett Mort is a young man with a dim future. At the local hiring fair, he can’t find a single craftsperson to apprentice himself with, and it’s already beginning to toll midnight. That’s when Death rides in on his bone-white charger, Binky, looking for an apprentice. Hilarity, magic and pathos ensue in this lovely little book by the master of satirical fantasy.

26 September/October 2019

SCHOOL

&SPORTS

SETTING SAIL

Isabel Smith has been competing at the helm of sailboats since she was 6 years old.

BY EMILY BUTLER PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED MountainBrookMagazine.com 27

28 September/October 2019

From the outside, sailing looks like a peaceful boating trip across a large body of water, but for one Mountain Brook High School senior that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Competitive sailing is in fact a full core sport, Isabel Smith will tell you. “It’s much harder than it looks,” Isabel’s dad, Fred, says. “Competitive sailboat racing is intense. It’s like being on the best rollercoaster ride ever.”

Isabel has done more than just pick up sailing skills too. She’s been winning races since 2011 when she came in first place as a skipper in the J22 boat at Birmingham Sailing Club. Most recently she placed first in the Georgia Tech Open Regatta and in the Neill Advanced Sailing Clinic and Regatta in Chicago. Over in the North Seas in Denmark, she sailed for Team Denmark and back at home she qualified for a nationally selected team of top sailors in the U.S. (although it didn’t work out long term).

These sailing adventures all began when Fred, who also sailed competitively, introduced a 6-yearold Isabel to the sport that his own father had taught

him at their lake house at Logan Martin Lake, also home to the Birmingham Sailing Club. “My dad has a J22 (sailboat), and I remember going out on the boat with him when I was little and racing,” Isabel recalls. “It’s probably my first and favorite sailing memory.” After being coached by friends at the Birmingham Sailing Club for years, Isabel now works with professional sailors as her coaches.

Isabel and her dad aren’t the only sailors in the family either. Isabel’s younger brother Darby has been competing and recently made the U.S. Optimist Development Team, which is the doorway to making the national team.

On the way to all of these accomplishments, Isabel has had to overcome major obstacles too.

Two years ago, she had a corrective foot surgery due to spinal issues she’s had since birth, and those left her without feeling in her left foot and parts of her MountainBrookMagazine.com 29

LEFT: Isabel sails in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

THIS PHOTO: Isabel takes a photo with her dad, Fred, after sailing on Lake Pontchartrain over Thanksgiving.

“One of the hardest parts of learning how to sail is the wind shifts.

You have to notice when the wind changes directions and where to go on the course.”

-Isabel Smith left leg. Even though she’s had intensive physical therapy, she won’t regain feeling in her foot and parts and of her leg. But instead of giving up or dialing it down, Isabel has just worked through the numbness in her foot. Now, she says, she’s used to it.

And then there are the other challenges that come with sailing. “One of the hardest parts of learning how to sail is the wind shifts,” Isabel says. “You have to notice when the wind changes directions and where to go on the course. Starting is also difficult.

If you have a good start, you have a much higher chance of winning the race.” The races start with the sailboats behind two buoys that mark an invisible line. If the sailboat crosses before the 5-minute countdown is over, the team of sailors will face a penalty in the scoring. Once the countdown is over, the boats make their way around a course that usually takes about an hour.

Not only does the sport require extreme core strength, but for someone who can’t get to a lake every day to practice, it requires also additional 30 September/October 2019

workouts. When Isabel is away from the water, she does a lot of strength and endurance training so that, among other scenarios that might come up, if her boat ever flips over during the race she will be prepared to flip it right back over with her partner.

She continues to sail by her lake house on Logan Martin Lake and frequently travels to Georgia to practice on Lake Allatoona through the Atlanta Sailing Club.

Sailing is a team sport too. Isabel used to sail against Evie Blauvelt, who lives in Atlanta, but now the two girls work together to win, sailing on a two-person boat called the 420. “Evie and I know each other so well that when something comes up on the course, we don’t even have to communicate because we both know what the other is going to do,” Isabel says, noting Evie has become one of her best friends along the way. Last year the duo placed first at the Neill Advanced Sailing Clinic and Regatta on Lake Michigan in Chicago, a twoday regatta run by college coaches that is a feat to even qualify for.

Isabel and her sailing partner Evie compete in Chicago.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 31

Isabel and Evie sale on Lake Altoona last summer.

Isabel represents the U.S. while in Belgium with her dad, Fred.

Isable and Evie after competing on Lake Eerie.

Victory doesn’t come without sacrifice though.

Most weeks during the school year, Isabel attends classes during the week with her peers, and on the weekends she travels to Atlanta, Pensacola and beyond to either practice or compete. Often she ends up doing her homework on the plane because of the intense schedule during her races, but for her it’s more than worth it. “One of the most rewarding things about sailing is getting to meet so 32 September/October 2019

many new friends from all over the world and you get to go to a ton of cool places like Belgium, Chicago, St. Thomas, California and New Jersey,” she says.

Looking ahead, Isabel hopes to attend a college where she can competitively sail, although she isn’t quite sure where yet. She has her sights set on the Olympics too, but for now, she’s going to keep competing and see where it takes her.

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SCHOOL & SPORTS

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

MBHS Band Members PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

June 6, 2019, marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day invasion in Normandy that began the liberation of France from the Nazis in World War II, and the Mountain Brook High School Band was there to celebrate. The students donned their green and gold uniforms to play patriotic tunes and more at commemorative events at two of the cemeteries adjacent to beaches that were invaded that fateful day as well Sainte-Mère-Église, the first town liberated by the American airborne. To learn more about the trip we chatted with students Laurel Bradley and Henry Pelham as well as band director Jason Smith, who led the trip with assistant and associate band directors James Rogers and Michelle Beck.

What music did you play during the commemorative D-Day events?

Jason: For the cemetery productions there was a mass band performance with a special arrangement John Williams had put together rearranged from “Hymn to the Fallen” from Saving Private Ryan. For the parade and in the town square we performed some American patriotic tunes, some tunes that were reminiscent of America like jazz and some music that connected us with the folks in France, a little bit of Les Misérables and An American in Paris.

What stands out most from the trip?

Laurel: To me the most incredible thing was when we went to the Omaha Cemetery and got to hear veterans speak and to play with bands from all around the world. Afterward we got to look around the cemetery and see the beach. It was a broody day, so it was very reminiscent of the day of the invasion. It was somber, and we felt very prideful in what we were doing and what everyone did 75 years ago.

34 September/October 2019

Henry: I loved the concert at SainteMère-Église because my grandfather landed there. They had a picture in the chapel of everyone who landed there, and we were able to pick him out. When you think of a rural town in France, I think of Sainte-Mère-Église because it’s picture perfect. It was like a fairy tale.

Jason: There the townspeople were all dressed up in American period dress. All the cafes were playing American jazz from that time. The windows were painted with American flags and British flags and Canadian flags, and the stained glass has the images of Americans who helped that little town.

you were a kid storming that beach, that water was cold, and the rain was colder, and the wind was wicked.

How did being there bring to life these historical events?

Laurel: One of the veterans made me realize they really were kids like us when this happened.

Jason: We were experiencing even just a little warmer weather than what the invasion army felt. The highs were in the mid-50s, and it was very wet and cloudy. If

Did you perform anywhere outside of Normandy?

Jason: We travelled to Paris for three days and performed patriot music in Luxembourg Gardens in honor of the 75th.

When we took the stage the crowd swelled from 100 people to 400 or 500 people. All the little kids came up to the stage too.

Everyone was appreciative of us.

What was it like to see the beaches and cemeteries?

Jason: It takes your breath away standing in front of that many white crosses in rows upon rows.

Laurel: We found one cross from Alabama: Daniel Jones. We got to read his birth date and where he came from.

Henry: At the beach I was astounded by the size of the craters that were left by the battleships. They were like 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

&DRINK

FOOD

BRITISH ROOTS, SOUTHERN FLAIR

Chutneys are making their way onto tables in Alabama and beyond thanks to the Holmsted Fines line.

BY CHRISTIANA ROUSSEL PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR & CHRISTINA BROCKMAN MountainBrookMagazine.com 35

M

Mountain Brook, Alabama, is a long way from the rolling verdant hills of the glorious English countryside, but for Crestline resident Rebecca Williamson, it couldn’t taste any closer. Her bespoke chutney line, Holmsted Fines, certainly has definitive British roots, although Rebecca has also found a way to translate that ubiquitous condiment to our Southern way of eating.

Chutneys are by nature comprised of both sweet and savory components, fruits and vegetables in each jar. Brits have been known to put chutney on everything from scrambled eggs to roasted game, and it is not uncommon to find a jar on every kitchen table in the U.K., nestled between the salt, pepper and perhaps malt vinegar. It is that ubiquitous. And Rebecca firmly believes there is a place for chutney on every Southern table too, contending that if more people here were just familiar with how versatile chutney is as a condiment they too would

36 September/October 2019

be finding new ways to add it to almost every recipe.

Rebecca first fell in love with chutney when she was doing mission work with Youth with a Mission just outside of London in 2002. The recent Auburn graduate immediately took to the old manor home, named Holmsted, where she did her discipleship training. The traditions of this place took root in Rebecca’s heart for service and later became the namesake for Holmsted Fines when she began her business in earnest in 2013 with three varieties.

Most everyone who has tried the chutneys loves them, but many people might not be familiar with what a chutney is or how to use it at home— beyond pouring a jar over a block of cream cheese and serving with Ritz crackers.

It seems a proper chutney introduction is what is called for here. “My go-to is to add it to a cheese plate where it is perfect,” Rebecca says. Fittingly, at the Pizitz Food Hall in downtown Birmingham,

Holmsted Fines founder Rebecca Williamson packages chutneys in her Crestline home.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 37

THE HISTORY OF CHUTNEY Barron’s Food Lover’s Companion describes chutney in this way: “(a) spicy condiment contains fruit, vinegar, sugar and spices. It can range in texture from chunky to smooth and in degrees of spiciness from mild to hot.” It is interesting to note that many cultures claim chutneys as their own but the source SpicesInc says this: “Chutney is derived from the Hindi word ‘caṭnī”’ and the Northern Indian Urdu word ‘chaṭnī’ meaning ‘to lick.’ Simple spiced chutneys originated in India and can be traced back to around 500 BC and preserving food in this manner was adopted by the Romans. Chutneys made their way to England and France sometime in the early 1600s where they were often referred to as ‘mangoe’ fruits and sometimes as ‘mangoed; vegetables. The fruit versions were much more popular.

Chutney recipes flourished in the English-speaking world and the Brits passed on their recipes to their colonies in early America and Australia.

Indian immigrants were the ones who introduced chutneys to the Caribbean region in the 17th century. Chutney is also popular throughout Africa.” Knowing that chutneys have found a home in all four corners of the globe, is it any wonder that they are right here at home in the produce panoply of the American South? And we have Rebecca Williamson to thank for that.

38 September/October 2019

Busy Corner Cheese Shop uses Holmsted Fines chutneys on a number of appetizer boards. “They are great because they really know their cheeses and how to best pair my chutneys,” she adds. You can take in your own board for them to create something or just buy all the components there to create your own masterpiece at home.

Having mastered the cheeseboard accompaniment, Rebecca suggests thinking bigger next: “It is really meant to make your cooking easier. If you are looking to add flavor to roast chicken or pork tenderloin,

just add a few spoonfuls of one of these chutneys to the meat.” The sweet and savory components truly heighten the roasted flavor of any meat they’re added to. And you can also go beyond meat, spooning chutney over roasted vegetables or into a warm bowl of couscous, quinoa, or rice where the flavor disperses to provide the ideal culinary backdrop.

Rebecca started the Holmsted Fines label with the traditional green tomato chutney and then added the peach and balsamic red onion varieties. Her latest addition, apple

205-447-3275 • cezelle@realtysouth.com

MountainBrookMagazine.com 39

Rebecca Williamson started Holmsted Fines in 2013.

jalapeño, packs a bit of a punch but still remains quite balanced.

To underscore the versatility of these chutneys, Rebecca has even more recipes on the Holmsted Fines website. Who knew peach chutney could make your favorite bourbon taste even better or that a dollop of the apple jalapeño chutney could elevate your plain vanilla ice cream? Rebecca loves getting feedback from customers on their favorite ways to use her chutneys and has even toyed with the idea of having a blogger cook-off where consumers vote on the best new use of her traditional condiment.

Holmsted Fines chutneys have developed a reach far beyond what Rebecca originally thought possible – even shipping to California and Hawaii – but it is still the local market where she feels most connected. Prior to closing, Western Supermarkets was one of her best customers, and now she says she is grateful for the opportunity to grow in other outlets, like the Piggly Wiggly, The Cook Store, Whole Foods Market and Alabama Goods. She enjoys the smaller partnerships as well and cherishes the connections made in pop-up shops she does with Catherine Hall and in the Byndel gift boxes curated by Madison Murphy. She would like to have more restaurants feature her chutneys on their menus and is eager to develop those relationships which could expose more diners with the versatility of her goods. Knowing the possibilities are limitless with Holmsted Fines chutneys, we can only dream about what these chefs might concoct.

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FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Brandon Loper & Trent Stewart

Golden Age Wine Owners PHOTO & TEXT BY KATIE ROTH

It’s 100 percent wine bar, it’s 100 percent wine shop, and it’s now open in Mountain Brook Village to the right of Olexa’s. At Golden Age Wine you can buy a bottle or order a glass with a charcuterie board, and you will find a clean aesthetic designed by Amanda Loper. “We’re creating something where we want to hang out for the selection of wines, atmosphere, vibe, the whole thing,” co-owner Brandon Loper says. Here’s what he and his business partner Trent Stewart had to say about it all.

How did you two meet?

Trent: All these people kept asking me, “Do you know Brandon Loper? He’s really into wine.” Finally, one of those friends connected us through email in 2017, and we met for lunch. He was wanting to open a shop or a bar, and I was thinking I could sell him wine. We ended up hanging out for over three hours drinking different wines by the glass and really talking about wine. Over the course of the next several months, it went from me selling him wine to us thinking maybe we should do this together.

and didn’t really know anything about wine. Then a few years later, my wife and I spent a week in Burgundy, France. The French tried to explain to me the concept of terroir, which means “sense of place,” if you will. A wine can transmit the vineyard it’s from, the family that made it, the culture that it’s in, everything involved that makes that wine what it is: the dirt, the rocks, the climate, the weather. I came home changed and went from being into wine as a hobby to becoming obsessed with it. The Western in Mountain Brook actually took a chance on me, and I became a wine consultant and got a little bit more What inspired you to open a wine shop involved in wine buying. and wine bar?

Brandon: I actually called the Alcoholic How did you land on Mountain Brook Beverage Control Board the day my wife for Golden Age? Trent: When Western announced they and I decided we were moving back to Alabama from California to figure out what were going away, it seemed like there was the permitting fee was in Alabama, and a void in this village. Western announced they said $250. I was like sign me up! It’s that on a Friday, and the following Tuesday like a million dollars in San Francisco to we were negotiating the lease. get a liquor license, so that was for me when it started.

Trent: My wife and I travelled to Northern California about 15 years ago

What kind of events will you be hosting here?

Trent: We’re going to do general wine

classes and tastings. I went through a program called Wine and Spirits Education Trust, so I’m going to teach some WSET classes. We’ve also received a lot of interest from people who want to rent the space out and have small book clubs, baby showers, office meetings and do it with wine and charcuterie and cheese and such.

Why do you prefer a more “natural” wine making process?

Brandon: Everything in the shop is going to fall under the ethos of well-made, farmer-centric, sustainable or organic.

We’re not going to have anything mass produced in here. Our tables are recycled marble, and we got the chairs off of CraigsList and Facebook Marketplace. The red and white oak on the ceiling is recycled.

There’s local Alabama red clay on the tile.

Trent: A lot of the wine is coming from the Old World: France, Italy, Spain, etc.

And if you see tasting notes or anything like that, it’ll be from us.

Brandon: Over half of the wines in here are wines that were formerly not in the state of Alabama, so we spearheaded bringing in a lot of new wines.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 41

FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Trey McLemore

Bobby Carl’s Table Chef + Co-Owner PHOTO BY ANDI RICE

Ask Trey McLemore to talk about his new English Village restaurant, and the word “grandma” will come up a lot. His grandmothers shaped how he cooks and eats, and he’s aiming for what we’d call a “grandma chic” style. The concept he’s bringing to the former Root to Tail space is seasonal and Southern, casual and affordable. And there’s going to be a bourbon bar and retail wine shop with prepared foods too. We got him to unpack the details as he was preparing for a late August opening.

What brought you to opening a restaurant in English Village?

I’ve cooked my whole life and in tons of restaurants, and I always hung out with the chefs and asked questions. I haven’t lived in Birmingham in 15 years, but the last place I worked was Open Door Café in Crestline Park, which I helped open. I have like 3,000 cookbooks, and cooking is my happy place. My friend Tim Lowe and I grew up together in Vincent, and he and his wife, Christie, are partnering with me on the restaurant. We are going to make the food we grew up eating on my family’s 100 acres in Vincent in Shelby County. I really think it will work for families here, and we are going to try to be really affordable and family friendly and casual.

with squash, onions, cream, Gruyere and Parmesan crisps. Instead of dishes being heavy, fried and with bacon, I want them to be clean and delicious and fresh.

For dinner we will serve a steak with a compound butter with A1, shallots and thyme, and we’ll serve it with pop fries— homemade steak fries like my dad and Tim’s dad always made—and creamed collards. We’ll also have a shrimp and grits with a Conecuh sausage vinaigrette. A crawfish aioli will go on the pork chop with a Hoppin’ John. I’m working on a brick chicken with a seven onion marmalade made with leeks, garlic, shallots, yellow onion, red onions and probably sorghum.

We’ll also do a fish on succotash; I am obsessed with succotash.

We’ll have really nice bourbons and classic cocktails like Sazeracs and Old What will we find on the menu?

Fashioneds.

We have 16 feet of bar space Succotash and Hoppin’ John are iconic, to fill, so we can put a lot of bourbon up straight-forward dishes that define what we do. For lunch we will have a meat and there. We’ll also have wine and beer. three option made with real ingredients and some sandwiches like a collard green How did your grandmother shape what sandwich and big, beautiful salads. I am you are doing now?

Our menu is what my grandma cooked working on a fried okra with red eye when I was in the kitchen. It’s all I ever tomato gravy and a squash casserole gratin 42 September/October 2019

want to eat really—cornbread and butter beans. We’ll have McEwen & Sons grits, and everything will all be seasonal. I don’t buy tomatoes in the winter because they taste terrible.

What’s the story on the name?

I am Robert Carl McLemore III, but I go

by Trey. A buddy of mine saw my driver’s license one time and started calling me Bobby Carl. It became a silly joke because it sounds like a Ricky Bobby kind of thing.

It’s my alter ego, the better version of me.

When we were kids in the country we got called to “the table” for supper, and Tim really liked that to go with the name.

It looks like you are lightening up the interior?

I want it to be bright and delicate and feminine and the bar to be more masculine and bourbon-y and wooden. I love the light pink and mint green reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s. We put in church pews and found a pulpit at a thrift store to be our hostess stand. We’ve also been piecing together pieces of granny china and will have granny chandeliers.

&STYLE

HOME

IN-TOWN RETREAT The Holmans didn’t have to leave Crestline to find a tranquil space to call home.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD MountainBrookMagazine.com 43

W

Whenever a friend of Ann Holman’s walks into Ann’s home, she feels like she’s at the spa—and with good reason. Its open, white and bright space exudes tranquility. “When I first walked in, it just felt calm and soothing,” Ann recalls. “And my kids feel like they are at the beach here.”

Before moving into this house in 2018, the Holmans had spent 18 years making memories in the same Crestline home, but with their three kids in high school and college, it was time to move on and allow another family to be so close to the elementary school and Halloween fun—if they could find a new house they loved that still kept them close to Crestline Village.

The day Ann walked in an open house at this spec home off Montevallo Road, she knew it was “the one,” and she and her husband, Jamie, had an offer in by that night. In their new space, the family spends time together in the spacious kitchen/family room area and the den on the other side of the fireplace, and everyone can retreat to their own spaces too.

Their daughters Wels and Lucy have a living area off their bedrooms upstairs as does their son Mac on his wing of the upstairs, and Jamie has his own study off their bedroom.

Light fixtures and other details were already in

44 September/October 2019

place in the house when the Holmans moved in, but to finish out the décor Ann turned to interior designer Lisa Flake, one of her friends since junior high school. Together they added touches of funk to the space. “It’s easy because Ann has great taste and she’ll take some risks,” Lisa says. “And she knows what I like,” Ann echoes.

Lisa and Ann convinced Jamie to let them use blush pink accents in the living spaces in “exchange” for him getting a leather recliner and hanging animal heads in his “man cave” study. From there they set out to look for curtains and other fabrics to make the new space the family’s own, starting with their oldest daughter Lucy’s room to get it complete before she left for her freshman year of college. The Holmans also built out the breakfast nook with a leather banquette, and they added screened walls to the back porch and additional cabinets in the laundry room.

Ann and Jamie had always thought about building a house, but instead they found one that was just what they were looking for without the headaches that come with the building process—on a lot they love too. Nestled down a hill right off Montevallo Road, they can see trees from their home but not the street. To Ann, it feels like a treehouse, but all the more so like a retreat.

Den Lisa and Ann reworked the Holmans’ furniture from their previous home for this space, adding custom pillows with blush pink accents and other decorative elements. They found the white wings on the mantle at Stock & Trade and the accessories in the book cases from Details, Trouve and Lamb’s Ears.

The indoor/outdoor rug from Hiltz Lauber also makes for easy cleaning with two dogs in the house.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 45

Master Bedroom Ann wanted soft greys and whites to create a retreat feel in their bedroom.

To warm up the spacious, deep room, they added shutters and a wall with light grey wavy wallpaper by Thibaut behind the bed, and they created a living space with chairs from Defining Home, white leather fringe ottomans from Outpost and a custom window seat that Lisa designed.

Master Bathroom The autumnal colors in this rug from King’s House Orientals Rugs add a splash of warmth to this classic white space.

46 September/October 2019

Study Jamie’s office space has a more masculine design with leather chairs from Stock & Trade and geometric pillows from Too, Unique Pillow Accents. A painting by local artist Emmy Grier purchased at Argent and custom drapes round out the space.

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Kitchen Ann found large glass canisters at Lamb’s Ears to accent the giant island in this white and bright kitchen where she spends time cooking. The kitchen opens up to a family living space with a TV, making it easy for the family to spend time together.

Breakfast Nook A mix of black, metallic and grey make a statement on a wall-height banquette off the kitchen that Lisa designed with custom pillows. Ann found the blush pink chairs to go with it when she and her daughter went to meet her college roommate in Houston.

48 September/October 2019

Girls’ Bedrooms (Above) Lucy saw a butterfly wallpaper in a magazine, and Lisa helped her select this design for her walls by Cole & Son and find feminine white and pink bedding to go with it. (Below) Younger sister Wels, who favors clean lines, picked out the pop art by Julia Davis of Bored Shenanigans and on-theme Lauren Moshi pillows for her black and white bedroom.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 49

Girls’ Living Space Wels and Lucy pulled in elements from Lucy’s old gold and white and pink room to accent their shared hang-out space, and Wels picked out the neon light to replace one from her old room to add a splash of pink.

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AT HOME

FRESH FALL TABLESCAPE

Photo & Text by Jessica Clement of JMC Studio Enhance your fall get-togethers with a beautifully decorated tablescape, and play with the contrast of colors and materials. Combine colored plates, bright napkins and glamorous napkin rings to make a bold statement.

Include natural organic layers, like woven placemats, fruit and flowers, to soften the look and create interest.

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Jessica Clement is an interior designer and stylist who believes that well designed interiors should tell the story about the people who live there.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 51

FALL BASICS IN STYLE

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LOOK 1 1. DENIM JACKET Denim jackets—and oversized denim pieces—are in full force this season.

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52 September/October 2019

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MountainBrookMagazine.com 53

The Jemison

Gym Written & Produced by Alyssa Parten Photos by Rebecca Wise

54 September/October 2019

Skip the gym and head to Jemison Park as the temperatures cool down at last. You won’t need any mats, weights or bands for these three workouts—just bring yourself (and a friend if you like) and find a green bench or open space.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 55

Open Space Workout These “supersets,” or two exercises performed back-toback, are another way to get more “bang for your buck” in a shorter amount of time. This workout focuses on lower body and core power, strength, and stability while also providing a quick “sweat sesh.”

“Challenge your body and take care of it – it is amazing the mobility your body has and what it can do when you incorporate strengthen and conditioning.”

– Jenna

Try These Superset 1:

Jump Squats, 3 sets of 10 Jumping Jacks, 3 sets of 20 Superset 2:

Walking Lunges, 3 sets of 10 Plank Kick Throughs, 3 sets of 10 Superset 3:

Jack Squats, 3 sets of 10 Froggers, 3 sets of 10

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Jack Squats

To start this combination of a Squat Jump and Jumping Jack, begin in shoulder width squat stance, and jump to move your feet in and back out. As your feet land back out, squat and touch your hands to the ground. Pay attention to not round your back in squatting and touching the ground. Keep your chest up, glutes tight and knees tracking over your toes.

56 September/October 2019

Jump Squats

Jumping Jacks

Position your feet shoulder width apart. Keeping your

Starting in an upright standing position, jump while moving

glutes tight and knees tracking over your toes, sit into

your feet apart and your arms simultaneously out and over

a squat. From there propel yourself up, jumping out of

your head. Jump back in, coming back to the starting

your position with as much effort as you can. As you

position, and repeat.

land, continue downward into your next squat jump.

Walking Lunges

In an upright standing position with your hands on your hips, take a large step forward. As soon as your front foot makes contact with the ground, begin to lower your back knee towards to ground. Once the back knee is 2-3 inches from the ground, ascend back up, bringing your back foot toward your front foot. You can stop in the standing position to catch your balance before stepping forward on the alternate leg.

Plank Kick Throughs

In a push-up position, slide one foot up and out to one side while reaching the opposite side hand out to touch your shoe.

Bring your foot and hand back to the starting pushup position and repeat on

Froggers

For this bottom portion of a Burpee, start in a push-up position, and jump both feet in, bringing your knees close to your chest. After your feet land on the ground, jump and move them all the way back out into the starting push-up position. Keep your core engaged, glutes from lifting up, and lower back from dipping down.

the opposite side.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 57

Park Bench Workout In this full body workout, you will complete a set of each individual exercise before moving on to the next to build strength and muscle.

Try These

“The hardest part is just starting your work out.

Once you do, you just make it a part of your daily routine just like anything else you do every day: brushing your teeth, going to work, etc.

Once it’s in that routine, you will feel weird not working out.” - Brian

Bench Squats: 3 sets of 12 Incline Bench Push Ups: 3 sets of 6-10

Knee Ups: 3 sets of 12 for each leg

Bulgarian Split Squats: 2 sets of 8-10

Bench Tricep Dips: 3 sets of 10-12

Plank Step Ups: 3 sets of 6-8 for each arm

Incline Plank Kick Backs: 3 sets of 10 for each leg

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Knee Ups

Place one foot on the bench and use the glute of your lifted leg to push your self up while bringing the back leg off the ground and knee up.

58 September/October 2019

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Bulgarian Split Squats

Facing away from the bench, prop one foot up on it so that you have to distribute your weight on the front foot that is still on the ground. Carefully bend the front knee while

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simultaneously lowering the back knee to perform a lunge.

Using your front leg glute, lift yourself back up to straighten the front knee before repeating the move.

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MicroNeedling Bench Squats

With your feet shoulder width apart and chest straight ahead, take a controlled sit on the bench. Then using your glutes, stand back up while keeping your chest up and shoulders back.

Incline Plank Kick Backs

Place your forearms on the bench and walk your feet all the way out behind you until you position yourself in an inclined plank. Keep your core engaged without letting your hips shoot up or lower back dip down, and lift one foot in the air and back down again.

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Trail Workout Cycle routines like this one are great for increasing your endurance and getting a workout in relatively quickly.

You can always increase the duration of the workout by adding rounds or really challenge yourself by giving yourself a time limit to complete as many rounds as possible.

“Instead of focusing on being skinny, I want all my fellow mommas to hone in on their strength-both inner and outer!”

- Rachel

Try These Complete 3-4 rounds of each of this routine:

5-Minute Walk or Jog 5 Squat Jumps 5 Walk Out to Shoulder Taps Side Squat Skips, 5 each way 5 Walk Out to Mountain Climbers 5 Broad Jumps

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Walk Out to Shoulder Taps

Starting in an upright standing position, reach your hands down in front of your feet.

Walk your hands out in front of you in small, controlled steps so your hips don’t sway side to side much. Once you are out into a push-up position, engage your core and tap your right hand on your left shoulder. Place that hand back down and repeat on the other side, and repeat the sets of taps five times. Walk back into your feet and then right back out again for your next set.

60 September/October 2019

Squat Jumps

Position your feet shoulder width apart.

While keeping your glutes tight and knees tracking over your toes, sit into a squat. From there propel yourself up, jumping up with as much effort as you can.

As you land, continue downward into your next squat jump.

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Walk Out to Mountain Climbers

Similar to the Walk Out Shoulder Taps, walk out to a push-up position again, but this time bring one knee into your chest and quickly switch sides by pushing that foot back and the

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other knee in. Repeat this five times, making sure to keep your core engaged and shoulders stacked over your hands.

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you land, stand back up and repeat.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 61

62 September/October 2019

On the Trail Again

With the development of Mountain Brook came a network of bridle trails—and Saturday morning rides that are still etched in the memories of riding academy equestrians.

By Chandler Gory | Photos Contributed

MountainBrookMagazine.com 63

It’s like a scene out of a Disney movie—10 or so children on horseback, trotting along lush pathways behind their fearless leader. You can imagine the laughter, the smiling faces, the sheen of sweat on the horse’s coats.

This was the typical Saturday morning for the young equestrians who attended the Mountain Brook Riding Academy near the Country Club of Birmingham. The stable and academy were owned

by Dr. Gibson, a local veterinarian, and Ed Gomien was the manager and riding instructor.

Today many of these routes are walking trails, but starting in the 1920s they were reserved for horses.

The bridle trails wound through Crestline, past the Mountain Brook Country Club and what is now Old Leeds Road. Developed by the Jemison Company in the mid-1920s, an advertisement for the trails boasts “on Mountain Brook bridle paths horseback riders can see nature in many different 64 September/October 2019

moods. Twenty-five miles of turfy trails wind through wooded hills, cross lovely country roads, follow along field edges, skirt the banks of rippling streams.”

There were 15 trails to choose from, and though many of the serious riders had their own horses, people wanting to enjoy the trails could rent horses from the riding academy.

June Jaynes Garza, now 99 years old, rode at the academy back in the 1930s, when Mountain Brook was a budding community on the outskirts of Birmingham. She remembers the Saturday morning rides fondly.

“It was healthy for one thing, to keep us out and

LEFT: Sisters Babs Barinowski Hutchinson and Sophia Barinowski Seibels were a part of the Mountain Brook Riding Academy when this photo was taken in the late 1940s.

THIS PAGE: Susan Huston competes with her horse Derby Bourbon.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 65

riding and exercising, and the other, it was very nice for kids from 6 to 7 to 10 to 12,” June says. “We had a good time, and enjoyed it. And oh, we loved Mr. Gomien—he was the one from Cincinnati—he was very patient for one thing, and a good instructor and he would lead us on many of the trails.”

A Mr. Kirkpatrick sometimes led the Saturday morning rides too. Kirkpatrick was a former member of the U.S. Calvary, but June makes a point to say he wasn’t a Rough Rider.

June was among the youngest to ride at the academy, spending most of her childhood there. “I tell people I grew up in a barn, and I almost did, because if I wasn’t in school, I was in the barn. It 66 September/October 2019

was a healthy life,” June says. “It was, you know, I could’ve been in much worse places.”

Susan Hutson also rode on the bridle trails, though she trained at and boarded her horse at Mary Leonard’s stables on Leach Drive in Crestline.

Leonard owned a large piece of land, complete with a barn, stables and riding ring. She eventually sold it in the early 1960s and moved to Leeds.

Like at the Mountain Brook Riding Academy, Leonard also had a cadre of children under her wing. Hutson rode with Leonard while she attended Mountain Brook Junior High in the 1950s. In yellowed newspaper clippings carefully preserved from her childhood, you can see Hutson sitting

astride her horse, Derby Bourbon, smiling.

“We were just sort of like a family, and I think it taught us a lot more, it taught us values and how to work hard and achieve things,” Hutson says. “I mean, it was a great experience during the junior high years to have the discipline of the training program, and so, I guess it’s like any sports…that’s what you get out of it: the friendships.”

Hutson says she and the children that rode with Leonard would often get finished riding on Sunday and pile in the back

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of Leonard’s truck for a trip to Golden Rule, where they’d enjoy a barbecue together.

Hutson, like June, says she loved horses from a very young age. Before she started riding with Leonard, Hutson’s parents would take her to dude ranches and up to the Great Smoky Mountains to ride horses during the summer.

“I have a postcard somewhere, where my brother wrote a postcard home to our grandparents and said you know, that he thought I was crazy: ‘We went horseback riding and Susan talked the whole time to the horse,’” Hutson says, laughing. “I was just always drawn to it, and I think most people that you talk to that had horses. I mean it’s just 68 September/October 2019

something that you’re born with a love for them.”

Hutson and June, like many other children in Mountain Brook, spent her childhood on the intricate network of bridle trails under the hot Alabama sun, enjoying her friends’ company and training for horse shows across the state.

“It was a healthy life, and it was a good thing for children to do on Saturday morning,” June says. “It kept them out of trouble.”

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Blair Cox, Susan Little Hutson, Erin Hutchinson and June Jaynes Garza for sharing their families’ photos, memorabilia and memories for this story.

Susan Huston (left) rides with Nancy Sellers, who shared a horse with sister Virginia Sellers Davis.

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70 September/October 2019

Side

by Side

How a community ministry at Canterbury United Methodist encourages working together to minister to those with dementia and their caregivers.

By Tracey Rector | Photos by Rebecca Wise

Caring for someone with dementia is an exhausting and frequently thankless task. The hours are long, frustrations are many, and the grief that results from watching a beloved parent, spouse or even your child become more and more debilitated by the disease can be overwhelming. Valerie Boyd knows this all too well. The director of senior adult ministries at Canterbury United Methodist Church

watched the toll it took on her mother for 13 years as the primary caregiver for her grandmother, who was living with Alzheimer’s. The experience convinced Valerie that resources for caregivers and patients were desperately needed, and as a staff member in one of the largest United Methodist congregations in the state, she knew Canterbury could be the place to make it happen.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 71

MORE LOCAL RESPITE MINISTRIES FOR ADULTS WITH DEMENTIA When her father was a participant in Encore, Susan Logan witnessed first-hand how important it was for his health and well-being, and so she took the idea to her own congregation, St. Luke’s Episcopal, to help staff the volunteers at Canterbury. Then when The Rev. Rich Webster learned about the program, he not only wanted to help Encore but also wanted to start a similar program at St. Luke’s.

As a result, Founders Place adult respite ministry opened in April 2019 and borrows heavily on the ideas that have led Encore to be so successful.

For more information, contact Executive Director Susanna Whitsett at swhitsett@saintlukes.com or visit saint-lukes. com/founders-place1.

In addition to St. Luke’s, Independent Presbyterian Church offers a respite ministry called Recess (ipc-usa.org/ serve/missions/recess.html), Collat Jewish Family Services holds a CARES (Caring for Adults through Respite, Enrichment and Socialization) program in Cahaba Heights (cjfsbham.org/cjfs-cares/), and Asbury United Methodist is set to start a similar program called Anchor Community Respite this fall.

With that conviction and a lot of research and hard work, Canterbury opened the doors three years ago to Encore, an adult respite program for dementia patients and their caregivers. The program’s success has heightened awareness about dementia and created a template for a similar program in Mountain Brook at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. With one in three senior adults now living with Alzheimer’s or other dementia and those numbers increasing rapidly, the need is already great and growing exponentially.

IN THE MOMENT When you walk in the door of the Encore

72 September/October 2019

program for adults, one of the first things you see is a sign that reads “Best Day Ever.”

Only three small words, but they are powerfully important as the philosophy behind Encore. The mission of the staff and volunteers is to make sure each participant has the best day ever.

How do they do it? “We live in the moment,” Valerie explains. “It’s a place where our participants can truly be themselves.” Patti Williams, program director for Encore, tells of a time when one of the regular participants arrived for the day in a pair of his wife’s pants. “We roll with it,” she says with a laugh. “This is a nojudgement zone.” That fun, relaxed attitude was evident the day I visited. “Celebration”

Kristen Snell visits with one of the Encore participants during an art session.

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by Kool and the Gang played while the participants started an intense game of balloon volleyball. One participant grinned and warned me before they began: “You’re going to think we’re nuts!”

Encore participants enjoy mini-lectures, exercise, brain-stimulating games, music and meals. On Thursdays care partners can attend a support group for encouragement and education about dealing with the effects of dementia on their loved ones.

Patti speaks of the need to eliminate the stigma of memory loss in older adults. Many times, she says, it’s the family members who have the hardest time accepting the diagnosis, hence the need for a support group and more community education.

During this season of care, many family members tend to further isolate their loved one because they are worried about protecting them. “One thing we hear a lot is, ‘Oh, he would be so embarrassed by his behavior,’ and they feel like they are protecting them (by keeping them out of social situations),” Encore family and community educator Kristin Snell says. Valerie notes that the opposite is actually true: connections with others are vitally important 74 September/October 2019

to reduce feelings of depression and keep the dementia patient functioning at as high a level as possible for as long as possible.

Education for caregivers also focuses on strategies for managing and reducing conflicts. “If caregivers can learn to diffuse situations, many problems can be avoided,” Patti says. One strategy they teach is the acronym DARE: Don’t Argue, Reason or Explain. “People with dementia can’t change.

Family members have to change,” Valerie says firmly. This willingness of the caregiver to change their own behavior while understanding that the dementia patient cannot change theirs is vital for the mental health of both.

SIDE BY SIDE Encore is just as important for those with dementia themselves too. In fact, the program boasts a 94 percent success rate for participation.

“One of the things we hear from caregivers who are considering the program is that they don’t believe their family member will participate. ‘I can’t get him

Patti Williams, Valerie Boyd and Kristen Snell are on staff with the ministry Encore.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 75

Balloon volleyball is staple of the schedule at Encore.

to put a puzzle together,’ (they say), or ‘She’ll never play those games.’ They are shocked when they see what we’re able to get out of them,” Patti says.

But it is very much a team effort. “Our volunteers are the key. We couldn’t do this without them,” Patti emphasizes. Volunteers are trained in how to communicate and be a friend to someone with memory loss. They also serve lunch, call Bingo, assist with art projects and help in any other way needed throughout the day. Perhaps their most important contribution, however, is simply interacting with the participants. This is where the stories happen, where you find out about the poetry book one of the participants wrote and illustrated, or where you learn what it was like to pick cotton on a North Alabama farm back in the day. The volunteers are trained to facilitate communication with the participants. For instance, direct questions are avoided because they can create confusion or anxiety when the participant can’t remember something specific.

“Everything we do is intentional,” says volunteer Barbara Rush. “We do everything we can to challenge the mind.” But the first commitment is always to respect the dignity of the participants, and it’s clear the volunteers take their responsibilities seriously.

76 September/October 2019

It’s a job they seem to love. “I look forward to this as much as anything I do all week,” says Rod Ramsay.

Who are the participants? They are former college professors and physicians. Artists and writers.

Business owners and community leaders. People who’ve given their lives to make their world a better place. In a sense, Encore is also a respite for them, a place where they are not just accepted, but celebrated and encouraged as well.

At the end of each day, the participants, volunteers, staff, and a few caregivers who’ve wandered in to join the fun enjoy a rousing sing-along in choir. The final song is always “Side by Side,” the old classic made famous by Dean Martin. “Don’t know what’s coming tomorrow,” the participants sing. “Maybe it’s trouble and sorrow/ But we’ll travel the road, sharin’ our load, side by side.” It’s a poignant reminder and a perfect illustration of the mission of the staff and volunteers at Encore: to come alongside and help both adults with memory loss and their caregivers navigate a journey where sometimes the best medicine is simply a laugh, an understanding ear and a warm hug.

For more information on Encore, visit encorerespite.org or call the Encore office at 205874-1525.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 77

Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S

New Member Spotlight

Taste of Mountain Brook Benefitting ALL IN Mountain Brook

- pawTree - Advanced Surgeons, PC - John Hollister LLC - Bobby Carl’s Table - Iron Mountain Insurance - Sterlinggood LLC

Sunday, September 15th 11:30-1:30 Purchase tickets at TasteofMountainBrook.com

- Right at Home - Community Bank - El ZunZun Mexican Restaurant The Squirrel Guy’s - The Happy Olive LLC - Satterfield’s Restaurant & Catering LLC

Chamber Luncheon Featuring Matt Lyles, Speaker, Coach & Brand Consultant Thursday, October 10th 11:00-1:00 Birmingham Botanical Gardens Purchase tickets at mtnbrookchamber.org

Village Gold is going digital!

Starting this fall, Village Gold will be available to purchase online 24/7 at mtnbrookchamber.org!

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PHOTOS BY CANVAS BAG MEDIA

Twelve bands of Mason Music students took the stage at Workplay on April 28 for the 2019 Rock Band League Battle of the Bands, presented by Otey’s Tavern and Taco Mama. RBL’s adult band, Ghost of You, also performed for the crowd.

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OUT & ABOUT

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SUMMER READING KICKOFF

2

3

4

PHOTOS BY EMILY HENDERSON

The Junior Women’s Committee of 100 held this annual set of festivities to kick off summer reading at the Emmet O’Neal Library.

1. Maggie Holt and Elizabeth Young 2. Violet Malbrough, Carlisle Hemrick, Lila James Malbrough and Henry Hemrick 3. Ford Newman

5

4. Sophie Comklin 5. Mary Clayton Dixon, Lizzy Wood, Sara Green and Francis Townsend 6. Riley Yoder 7. Caroline Wood 8. Walt Piretti 9. John Menge 10. Katherine Lary 11. Flip Sokol 12. Lily Henderson 13. Brooks Averitt

82 September/October 2019

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OUT & ABOUT

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BALL OF ROSES

2

3

4

PHOTOS BY DEE MOORE

The 59th annual Ball of Roses benefitting the Alabama Ballet was held on June 1 at The Country Club of Birmingham.

1. Lyle, Jill, Virginia, Sarah and Warren Cain 2. George and Mackin Thompson, Ann Bailey and Craig Whit 3. Ginny, Virginia and Joe Farley 4. Catherine and Margaret Pewitt, Madeline and Katherine DeBuys

5

5. Jenny, Ellen Coleman, Lee and Caroline Edwards 6. Lindsey Trammell with Max and Nancy Austin 7. Katherine and Cal Dodson 8. Trent, Turner, Carson, Grace and Hewes Hull 9. Maggie Baker with Tom and Sara Moody, and Patty and Allen Baker 10. Suzan, Ann Raines and Neil Doidge 11. Jim, Anna Jackson, Lamar and Anna Cooper

84 September/October 2019

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NOV 2-3 the preserve, hoover WWW.MOSSROCKFESTIVAL.COM Feathers by Sarah Conklin

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● 14th ANNUAL SPONSORS WATERFALL: Mountain Brook Magazine • Starnes Media • This is Alabama RIVER: Alabama Power • Bell Media Birmingham Magazine • Joe Piper • USS Real Estate VILLAGE GREEN: Avadian Credit Union • Bare Naked Noodles • City of Hoover Coca Cola United • Event Rentals Unlimited • Jaguar + Land Rover Bham Pursell Farms Resort • RealtySouth SPOTLIGHT PARTNERS: AARP Ala • CartoTracks • Golden Flake Snack Foods Hoover’s Magazine • Jefferson Credit Union • LeafFilter North of AL Mountain High Outfitters • Royal Cup • Saiia • Sprouts Farmers Market

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OUT & ABOUT

1

MARKET DAY

2

3

4

PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

Mountain Brook Village stores held their annual day of sidewalk sales and more on July 20.

1. Betty Summers and Rebecca Sibley 2. Uma Srivastava, Raj Patel and Elizabeth Koleszar 3. Ann Marie Osborn and Ashley Moss 4. Suzanne Lawson and Edie Duffey

5

5. Joann Long, Judy Gibb, Jane Van Eaton, Lucy Underwood and Pam Beckham 6. Jada Christopher and Brenda Johnson 7. Shana Peagler and Shelley Sloan 8. Taylor Brown, Liz Read and Melanie Hennessey 9. Karen Blair and Anne Lawton 10. Lindsay Levine and Judy Cullinan 11. Cathy Kelley, Molly Horsley and Shelly Shook

86 September/October 2019

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Apply online at: www.dchsystem.com NOW HIRING!!!

•CDL DRIVERS •ASPHALT EQUIPMENT OPERATORS Apply Online Today! www. dunnconstruction.com •Bright Future•Great Pay• •Unheard of Benefits• HOME EVERY DAY! #DunnTheRightWay EOE/ Minorities/Females/ Disabled/Veterans $2000 SIGN ON BONUS NEW PAY SCALE TO QUALIFYING DRIVERS EVERGREEN TRANSPORT, is accepting applications for local drivers in the Calera and Leeds, AL, area.

Must have Class A CDL, good driving record, 1 yr verifiable tractor trailer experience. Good pay and benefits. Apply in person at 8278 Hwy 25 South, Calera, AL, or call for info 205-668-3316.

person: 146 Tommie Drive, Thorsby.

Mon-Fri. 10am-3pm.

Housing Authority of the Birmingham District Hiring: Homeownership Lease-Purchase Facilitator Resident Services Coordinator-ROSS Human Resources Specialist Compliance Data Analysis Application Data Entry Clerk Assistant Vice President of Housing Operations Director of Public Safety Custodian View complete description and apply at www.habd.org or 1826 3rdAvenueSouth Birmingham, Al 35233 NOW AVAILABLE LPN’s, RN’s 12 HOUR SHIFTS CNA’s Full-time & part-time Apply in person: Hatley Health Care 300 Medical Center Drive Clanton, AL 35045 Helping Hands Estate Sales Serving clients over 7yrs Professional & Experienced We can help sell the contents of your home! Contact for information: 256-283-5549 tbob56.wixsite.com/ helping-hands

Now Hiring Heavy Equipment Operators and CDL Drivers Competitive pay and benefits. Pre-employment drug test required Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Call: 205-2986799 or email us at: jtate@forestryenv.com

Industrial Coatings Group, Inc. is hiring experienced -Sandblasters -Industrial Painters Helpers. Must be able to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must be willing to travel. Professional references required.

Please send resume to: icgsecretary@hotmail.com or call (205)688-9004

Franklin Iron Works Now Hiring. Grinders & Laborers. Must apply in

SHEETMETAL & MANUFACTURING HELP WANTED •Sheetmetal/

Layout, •Manufacturing Helpers, •Sheetmetal Machinery Operators, Multiple positions Paid holidays, typical shifts are 6:00am-2:30pm Must be reliable & on-time Call RICK: 205-761-3975 Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com Need FREE help with your Medicare? Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) today at (800)AGE-LINE (800)-243-5463.

Now Hiring!! •CaregiversADL’s, assist with medications and some lifting 7am-3pm, 3pm11pm, 11pm-7pm •Activity Director Part-Time •Cookssome 12/hr shifts Call Shay McNeal 205-620-2905 Marble Valley Manor.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga.

256-245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) •800-5482546(T/A). Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer Are you a motivated professional? Are you looking for a dynamic career? Are you ready to control your own level of success? See why McKinnons’ is an exciting place to work and grow. Now accepting applications for Sales, Service, and Detail Shop.

Apply with the receptionist.

205-755-3430

Shake up your career!!!

Are you looking for something new and FUN? Milo’s is always looking for great managers to come join our growing and dynamic team. Apply online at miloshamburgers.com Montgomery Stockyard Drop Station at Gray & Son’s in Clanton.

Call Lane at 205-3894530. For other hauling arrangements, contact Wes in Harpersville 205965-8657 Oxford Healthcare in Montgomery currently hiring certified CNA’s and/ or Home Health aides in the Clanton, Marbury and Maplesville areas. Must be able to pass complete background check, have reliable transportation and have a strong work ethic. Serious inquiries only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www.

Oxfordhealthcare.com Looking for a house to rent in Shelby County?

We can help. Call for available rentals and specials (205)433-9811 Southeastern Food Merchandisers NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Food Service Delivery Drivers with 1 year experience!!! Pay & Benefits •Home daily •Schedules allow you to depart and return to same terminal daily •Dispatches are single day routes, nothing runs overnight or multi-day! •Paid by weight delivered, miles, and stops •Drivers running single driver routes are earning $75,000-$100,000 yearly! •Team and Helper routes are earning $65,000+ yearly What we offer in addition to route pay! •Attendance/ Accuracy bonuses •Wklypay w/direct deposit •401(k) w/company match, eligible after 6-months with quarterly enrollment •Blue Cross of AL health

& dental insurance, company subsidized •Two different medical plans for Blue Cross depending on your needs •Vision Insurance, company subsidized •Basic Life and AD&D 100% employer paid •Company paid Short-Term Disability •Voluntary Life & AD&D also provided on post-tax basis for you, and your family Email resume: ofrye@southeasternfood. com Call:205-685-4534

DRYWALL REPAIRS SAME DAY SERVICE Offering: •Plastering •Stucco •Water Damage Repair $$FREE ESTIMATES$$ Please Call: 205-502-6023

CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock.

Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)663-2822

NOW-HIRING CLASS-A CDL DRIVERS IN THE BIRMINGHAM AREA •Clean driving record and drug test required •Piggyback lift exp.a plus •Benefits offered. Contact Information: april@blairblock.com 256-378-3345

Electrician - FT Supreme Electric, local-based company in Pelham.

Must be willing to learn & work hard. Go to: supremeelectric-al. com Print employment application under Contact Us. Mail to: Supreme Electric 231 Commerce Pkwy Pelham, AL 35124 or call 205-453-9327.

Heritage Christian Academy is now accepting enrollment for K3-12th Grades.

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity!

Call 205-978-6001, to schedule a Campus Tour!

HIBBETT SPORTS Conveyor Mechanic •Great Benefits •Monday, Thursday, Friday 10:00am9:00pm •Saturday 8:00am-7:00pm Call: 205912-7204 www.hibbett. com

TaylorMade Transportation Hiring CDL Drivers for Flatbed Regional Division! BCBS Insurance After 30 Days.

To apply call: (334)3662269 or email: s.smith@ taylormadeinc.com

Help Wanted - full time/ part time available!

Warehouse enviroment assisting with painting, building, designing props and scenes. Visit www.phobiafactory.com to submit your application.

Become a Dental Assistant in ONLY 8 WEEKS! Please visit our website capstonedental assisting.com or call (205)561-8118 and get your career started!

A Dry Waterproofing •Basement/Crawlspace Waterproofing •Install Sump Pumps •Repair Wet Basement •Mold Remediation •French Drains •Foundation Repairs *Also providing electrical work! Emergency Service 6-Days/Week Serving Jefferson/Shelby Counties Call Van:205230-3972

White Oak Transportation is hiring CDL-A drivers in your area. Great Pay! Excellent Benefits! Visit our website www.whiteoaktrans.com for more information EOE-M/F/D/V

F&S CONSTRUCTION “Quality work you can count on” •Decks •Windows•Painting •Siding of All Types•Baths •Flooring•Kitchens •Foundation Specialist •And Much More!! Free

Estimates!! Licensed/ Insured & 50yrs Combined Experience Call:205-641-1148 1st Heritage Credit, LLC 8919 Hwy-119, Alabaster Branch Mgr:Brook Morris 205-620-0664 “Excellence is our Standard” Loan Available: •Personal•Consolidation •Auto•Consumer Retail Call/Apply: 1stheritagecredit.com Loans are subject to normal credit criteria! $Cash Paid For Used RV’s!$ Motor Homes, Travel/Enclosed trailers, consignment welcome, Cars and Trucks, Pick up available, Mccluskey Auto and RV Sales, LLC 205-833-4575 Service Tech, Inc. Heating & Air Conditioning AL Cert #89282 NOW HIRING FULL TIME POSITIONS •Certified Technician with 5 years Experience •Office Assistant with 5 years Quickbooks Experience Apply at: www.servicetechhvac.com WASTE PRO IS NOW HIRING CDL DRIVERS & MECHANICS Go online to WWW.WASTEPROUSA. COM to fill out an application today!

HVAC Company with 43 years in business NOW HIRING HELPER AND/OR TECH Will train! Drug test required. Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm.

Call 205-663-2199 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HEAT & FROST INSULATORS & ALLIED WORKERS BIRMINGHAM AREA HEAT & FROST INSULATORS LOCAL 78 Accepting applications for a 4-year Apprenticeship Program. Applications accepted in person July 1-July 31, Monday-Friday 8:30am-2:00pm at: 2653 Ruffner Road Birmingham,

AL 35210. 205-956-2866 or craig@insulators78. org Applicants must be 18+ and furnish proof of age. High school diploma/GED & reliable transportation required.

Applicants will be required to take a simple math test and an English comprehension test. The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee is registered with the Department of Labor Bureau of Apprenticeship Training and is an equal opportunity employer.”

Manager Language Services (MedicalInterpreter) •BS Degree Healthcare Management, 3yrs exp in medical interpreting/ translating healthcare/ pediatric setting •Medical Interpreter Certification or ability to become certified •Bilingual(English-Spanish) Children’s of Alabama Position located in Birmingham, AL Contact: Allison.Sizemore@ childrensal.org HOME REPAIR/ REMODELING SST Properties, INC. Home Repair & Remodeling.

Licensed & Insured!

Call: 205-808-2482 Small Engine Technician Full-Time Must have knowledge of: -Lawn Mowers -Pressure Washers -Chainsaws -2-Cycle/4Cycle Weed Eaters MUST BE DEPENDABLE! Call: (205)281-0565 Email: qtr@mindspring.com DREAMER’S SCHOOL OF COSMETOLOGY GRAND OPENING SEPTEMBER 2019 NOW ENROLLING NEW STUDENTS! Now Hiring: •Secretary with Computer Skills •Licensed Cosmetology Instructor -Serious Inquiries Only844 Highway 31, Suite E Alabaster, AL 35007 Call 205-624-4676

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MY MOUNTAIN BROOK GRAHAM SMITH

Welcome Home Podcast Co-host + Mom of Two

Off-Menu Ollie Irene

The “Secret/Not So Secret” Hamburger It’s my personal opinion that Chef Chris Newsome makes the top burger in town. I dream about it, and I love that it’s not “officially” on the menu. I’m also kind of partial because he’ll sometimes open the restaurant just for our burger club at lunchtime!

Photo by Rebecca Wise

In Bloom

Victoria Road Cherry Trees Yes, it’s true I’m partial because I live on Victoria Road, but legend has it that when Victoria was first being built, all homeowners were “required” to plant at least three cherry blossom trees.

Come spring, the street is a treasure to stroll or drive down as it’s literally bursting with pink blossoms. We all still try our best to keep at least three planted and the tradition alive.

Put a Bow on It

Mailbox Culture New baby? Marriage? Sickness?

Holiday mailbox? Put a bow on it! I LOVE it! I remember when we moved back to town my mother-in-law asked me what my “Christmas plan” was for my mailbox? I responded by saying, “Uh, to collect mail?” I just didn’t know! Since then, she and I have had so much fun getting my mailbox ready for the holidays.

Free Dirt!

Compost Central Did you know that the City of Mountain Brook takes all our fall leaves, turns it into the most fantastic compost, and gives it back to its residents free of charge? Well I didn’t, and was floored to learn about such a unique city service. My girlfriends and I can often be found driving out to behind the Rathmel Athletic Complex to these gorgeous mountains of topsoil and loading bucket after bucket to put on our plants and vegetable gardens.

Pickup Basketball

Saint Luke’s Pavilion Games Ask any mother of boys and we all say the same thing, “We’ve just got to run em.” The recent renovation of Saint Luke’s added an outdoor basketball pavilion meant for anyone in the community to come play on.

There’s always a group of boys playing a pickup game.

90 September/October 2019

URGENT CARE from

Open 365 DAYS A YEAR Weekdays 2 – 10PM Weekends 10AM – 8PM WALK-INS WELCOME or SAVE YOUR SPOT ONLINE childrensurgent.com

LOCATIONS BIRMINGHAM 500 Cahaba Park Circle Suite 100 TRUSSVILLE 117 North Chalkville Road (205) 848-CARE (2273)

WE TREAT MINOR ILLNESSES AND INJURES INCLUDING: • Fever • Allergies • Coughs, colds • Acute asthma attack • Flu • Sprains/strains • Earaches • Bruises and lacerations

• Sore throat • Insect bites/stings • Vomiting and upset stomach • Minor burns • Diarrhea • Rashes • Other non-life-threating conditions

New locations opening in Fall 2019 Madison, Huntsville Northport, Tuscaloosa Vestavia Hills, Birmingham.

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92 September/October 2019