Homewood Life, September/October 2020

OUR FALL TRAVEL GUIDE • ALABAMA THE BEAUTIFUL IN PHOTOS • GRILLING WITH 1918 CATERING

97 YEARS YOUNG

HARRIET CLOUD ON THE COURT

AN RV TRIP TO REMEMBER A FAMILY’S CORONA SUMMER VACATION

peace from SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 HomewoodLife.com Volume Four | Issue Five $4.95

CHAOS TIPS TO GET ORGANIZED

HomewoodLife.com 1

IN AN EMERGENCY,

A COMMUNITY BUILT ON RESPONSIVENESS In an emergency, you have the power to choose where to receive expert care. Insist on going to Brookwood Baptist Medical Center. As your community of care, take comfort in knowing we’ll always be here when you need it the most.

For more information, visit BrookwoodBaptistMedicalCenter.com For life-threatening emergencies, call 9-1-1

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“ TAKE ME TO BROOKWOOD BAPTIST.”

A PL AL IC ED

DR ZA

BROOKWOOD BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER: EMERGENCY ROOM

O WO OK BRO

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DR ER NT CE AL C I ED

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center 2010 Brookwood Medical Center Dr. Birmingham, AL 35209 PENDENCE CT INDE

FEATURES

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SUMMER VACATION Amy Holditch made her family’s corona summer one to remember with an RV trip up the East Coast and a few Clark Griswold-worthy moments along the way.

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ALABAMA THE BEAUTIFUL Stuart Franco captures Southern landscapes from city to coast in his home state.

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Cooler temperatures make a great excuse to get out of town and explore everything from beaches to canyons.

4 September/October 2020

PHOTO BY STUART FRANCO

FALL TRAVEL

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25

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

arts & culture

11 Lettered by Hand: Mary Grace Whatley’s Illustrations & More 18 Read This Book: Books for Good Neighbors

schools & sports

19 Just for Fun: Harriet Cloud’s Tennis Game at Age 97

food

& drink

25 All in the Family: Grilling with Brothers Jason & Jamal Brown 30 Five Questions For: Rock Inn Salsa Founder Deanna Owen

home

in every issue 4 Contributors 5 From the Editor 6 The Question 7 The Guide 56 Chamber Connections 58 Out & About 62 Marketplace 64 My Homewood

& style

31 Bringing Home (Organized) Peace: Tips to End Chaos 38 In Style: Flirty for Fall

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contributors EDITORIAL

Alec Etheredge Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Scott Mims Emily Sparacino

CONTRIBUTORS

Aliza Baker James Culver Lindsey Culver Solomon Crenshaw Jr. Meredith Elder Stuart Franco Melanie Peeples Lauren Ustad Eric Velasco

DESIGN

Jamie Dawkins Kate Sullivan Green Connor Martin-Lively

MARKETING

Darniqua Bowen Kristy Brown Kari George Caroline Hairston Rachel Henderson Rhett McCreight Viridiana Romero Lisa Shapiro Kerrie Thompson

Aliza Baker, Intern

Aliza was born and raised in a small town in Georgia, but she currently lives in Birmingham where she attends Samford University. Her lifelong interest in human psychology grew into a love for hearing people’s stories and getting to tell them in her own words. In her free time, you might find her reading a mystery novel in a local coffee shop or going on a spontaneous road trip with friends.

Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Writer

A native of Birmingham, Solomon has developed a long-standing reputation as a writer who is adept at telling a story that is both enlightening and entertaining. While sports has long been a staple of his work, Solomon has now established himself as a communicator who is also comfortable addressing entertainment, general features and a myriad of other matters. Reach him at screnshawjr@solcrenjr.com.

Stuart Franco, Photographer

After working in corporate world of banking and commercial real estate for the past 15 years, Stuart is now combining his love for storytelling with his desire to help business owners realize their visions through Focus Birmingham, a marketing and commercial photography company. He also started @cotton_state on Instagram in 2019 as a way to show off the beauty of Alabama and the Deep South. He and his wife live in Homewood with their golden retriever Dooley and their yellow lab Julep.

ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Daniel Holmes Stacey Meadows Tim Prince

Eric Velasco, Writer

Eric is a freelance journalist, whose work ranges from food and beverage stories to judicial politics and capital punishment. He has nearly 30 years of experience in daily newspapers, and he and his family live in Cahaba Heights.

Homewood Life is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Homewood Life 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, Homewood Life, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

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

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

6 September/October 2020

from the editor

T ON THE COVER

Peace from Chaos

Organizing consultant Tara Bremer shared her tips with us on how to bring order to a Homewood home.

Photo by Lindsey Culver Design by Kate Sullivan Green

This summer I explored the coasts of England and New England, spent time in rural and urban France, and went to a lavish wedding in Singapore. In between, I meandered through central Texas and spent a good long time in the suburbs of Chicago, just after taking a train from the South to California and the Midwest a few times.

“Are you sure that was your COVID summer?” you might be asking.

Yep, it was. I just did all my travelling via books while keeping myself planted right here in Sweet Home Alabama, daydreaming about getting on a plane that will take me far from home again one day. (Books titles in order of reference: Thunderstruck, The Nightingale, Crazy Rich Asians, News of the World, The Most Fun We Ever Had, The Warmth of Other Suns—the last of which I most recommend.) Anyone else itching to explore somewhere new?

Well fortunately this issue can take you beyond Homewood—with some Homewoodians as your guides of course. First up, we’ve got an account of Amy Holditch’s epic family RV excursion up the East Coast this summer and what she learned (and laughed about) along the way.

Just behind that is a photo exploration of our state as documented by photographer Stuart Franco, plus a list of the top natural wonders here in Alabama that can hopefully inspire some fun day trips for your family this fall as we still operate in this world of social distancing.

Back here in Homewood, you can meet a few folks who have certainly been busy in this crazy year. The brothers behind 1918 Catering kicked a food truck into business as large events weren’t happening like usual.

Mary Grace Whatley kept on adding her whimsy to her artistic creations from her home studio. Ninety-seven-year-old (yep, 97!) Harriet Cloud kept playing tennis outdoors. And Tara Bremer showed us organization tips with (often-small) Homewood spaces in mind—because if we are going to continue to spend so much quality time at home we might as well make it neat to help save our sanity, right?

As for me, I’m planning to keep on frequenting my favorite local restaurant patios and trails, and as the temperatures (hopefully) start to drop, I want to plan some day trips to see some of those Alabama natural wonders (Dismals Canyon has been on my list a long time!) and some weekend trips to places that still feel safe—it’s been far too long since I’ve dipped my toes in the ocean and walked along its shoreline as waves crash with such a soothing serenade.

Whatever lies ahead, I always welcome your ideas for stories for our future issues; please do email me any time. And thanks, as always, for reading!

madoline.markham@homewoodlife.com HomewoodLife.com 7

“ ” THE QUESTION

What do you/did you miss most during the COVID-19 quarantine?

I miss the quiet mornings at my house while my kids were at school - just keeping it real!

Getting to hug people without it being weird, not thinking about COVID all the time, and being in crowded areas without worrying.

My son worked so hard for a football scholarship, and now he has no idea if he’ll even get to play at all. It’s crushing to watch.

The freedom my oldest child had before social distancing was a thing. He has autism, and social distancing just isn’t something he understands.

Visiting the Homewood Library and being able to walk through the library and pick out books. I have been going to the library since I was 12.

I miss having neighborhood kids coming in and out of our house, tracking grass, grabbing snacks and making a ton of noise. I will never roll my eyes at them again.

The simple pleasures of planning events in the future. Everything now comes with a stipulation if it’s feasible. I miss the innocence of looking forward to the fun!

I would have said my father’s funeral, but we honored him as a family and broadcast it. I did miss being with him the last two days of his life because of COVID.

- Christin Mize Knight

- Lisa Lane

-Leah Short Crockett

- Eva Shelton Gonzalez

8 September/October 2020

- Lisa Jarvis

-Merin Graves

- Mollie Buck

-Meredith Murphy McLemore

THE GUIDE

HANDMADE ART SHOW + PICKIN’ IN THE PARK OCT. 18 HOMEWOOD CENTRAL PARK 10 A.M.-5 P.M. All the arts come to the park in one day thanks to the Homewood Arts Council and City of Homewood, and it’s sure to be a good time. Check out eclectic local art on display and on sale, hear acoustic performances by local musicians, and/or bring your own instrument to join in on the music-making. Find updates on handmadeartshowhomewood.com.

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THE GUIDE AROUND TOWN

COMMUNITY

Anti-Racist Little Library You’ll find Little Free Library boxes sprinkled around Homewood, but now there’s one with a specific theme: an Anti-Racist Little Library. It is stocked with books for adults, teens and children that have People of Color as central characters and that promote racial equality. Find it on Clermont Drive and learn more about it over at @antiracistlibrary20 on Instagram.

SEPT. 19 St. Jude Walk/Run Birmingham Railroad Park SEPT. 23-27 Regions Tradition Greystone Golf and Country Club

Nothing in Return

someone who can’t do anything for them in return just taught my girls and I an incredible lesson.”

Lift Your Spirits and Feet Up!

10 September/October 2020

SEPT. 25-27 Homestead Hollow Arts & Crafts Festival Springville SEPT. 26 Red Shoe Run Virtual 5K Benefitting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama

SEPT. 14-20

Homewood’s Community Grief Support (CGS) has moved its annual fundraiser this year with an online art and entertainment.

The auction will feature artwork, vacations, sports memorabilia, and other items that will benefit the organization’s mission to enhance the lives of those who have lost loved ones. “Now, more than

SEPT. 12 Fall Plant Sale Birmingham Botanical Gardens SEPT. 12 11th Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival DeBardeleben Park, Bessemer

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Kristie Connor stumbled into an act of kindness at a neighbor’s house in mid-July. “Two Homewood firefighters came back after a call a few houses down from me to clean up an elderly person’s yard (in the BLAZING heat),” she writes. “I walked my girls down to thank them, and one guy said, ‘She just looked like she had her hands full.’ A complete stranger. These men loving

SEPT. 10 Virtual ZooRendezvous Hosted by the Birmingham Zoo

ever, those who are grieving the loss of a loved one need our services,” Administrative Director Lisa Harrison says.

“We’re needed not only due to COVID-19 deaths, but due to the isolation that accompanies all types of grief during this pandemic.” For more information, visit communitygriefsupport.org.

SEPT. 26 Head Over Teal 5K/10K Benefitting Laura Crandall Brown Foundation Any Virtual Location OCT. 1-31 Virtual Pink Up the Pace Run Benefitting Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama OCT. 4 BHM 26.2 Marathon, Half Marathon, Marathon Relay, 5K & Fun Run Railroad Park OCT. 4 8th Annual CahabaQue Benefitting Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama Cahaba Brewing Company

THE GUIDE OCT. 10 Running for the Bulls 5K & Fun Run Benefitting Bama Bully Rescue Red Mountain Park OCT. 16 Babypalooza Virtual Baby Expo babypalooza.com 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

OCT. 23-24 Buck Creek Festival Helena OCT. 24 Paws for the Cause 5K Benefitting Shelby Humane Society Veterans Park, Hoover OCT. 24 BOO Run for Down Syndrome 10K, 5K & 1-mile Fun Run Red Mountain Park

LIBRARY

A 24/7 DIGITAL LIBRARY Did you know that the Homewood Public Library offers exclusive online resources that are available to all Homewood residents with valid Jefferson County Library Cards? For more information on these or other services, or to get a library card, visit homewoodpubliclibrary.org.

LIBBY- thousands of ebooks and digital audiobooks for all ages HOOPLA- a little bit of everything with ebooks and digital audiobooks as well as music, comics, television shows and movies KANOPY- a collection of documentaries, Indie films, educational titles and other videos.

FLIPSTER- digital magazines in a variety of categories (food, wellness, technology, current events, etc.)

TUMBLEBOOKS- animated, talking picture books that kids can read, or have read to them

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&CULTURE

ARTS

LETTERED BY HAND

The vibrant colors and eye-popping detail in Mary Grace Whatley’s lettering and illustrations might just make you say “OMG.”

BY ALIZA BAKER PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER

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Mary Grace Whatley works on her illustrations and lettering business from her home office.

14 September/October 2020

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Many children beg their parents to take them to get ice cream or buy the shiny new toy they saw on a commercial the other day. But not Mary Grace Whatley. As a kid, she’d plead with her mother to let her browse the office supplies at Staples or Office Depot.

In elementary school, Mary Grace always enjoyed playing around with her handwriting.

Every year, she would change her style of writing, turning dreary essays and tests into works of art. It only made sense that she’d develop a knack for calligraphy and lettering along the way. Today you’ll find her in Homewood checking out the latest pens and markers to add to her collection of tools for her online lettering and illustration business, ohmgcreates.

Growing up, though, she dreamed of becoming a teacher—a profession where her love of office supplies would be welcomed with open arms. At Samford University, she majored in education and only practiced lettering in her free time. But something shifted when she began addressing wedding invitations for friends and family. “I started learning how to use a real calligraphy pen,” Mary Grace recalls. “That was the first

time that I was doing work for other people. It made me realize that I could find something to do other than my teaching career that could serve other people well.”

She took a teaching position in Leeds after graduating in 2017 but also began promoting her illustrations on social media whenever she wasn’t busy in the classroom. And that’s when the flood of likes, comments and shares rolled in.

Of all the pieces in her collection, her custom prints commissioned based on a customer’s photo get the most love. To bring them to life, Mary Grace sits down in her cozy yet modern studio, surrounded by her most cherished pieces and a rainbow of paints and markers. In all of them she captures special moments in people’s lives with her signature Mary Grace style.

By her third year of teaching, Mary Grace knew it was time for a change. “I just had this whispering in my ear telling me that I could do this, that there are other things out there for me in my plan,” she reminisces. “The whisper kept getting louder and louder, and I knew that it was time to take a different career path.”

With encouragement from her close-knit HomewoodLife.com 15

family and husband, she left her teaching position this past May. Throughout her transition to fulltime artist, Mary Grace experienced a roller coaster of emotions: anxiety, nervousness, excitement, hope. She regularly found herself asking, “Can I actually do this?” And though it wasn’t always easy, she could.

The biggest challenge she experienced while getting her online shop up and running was narrowing her focus. Her website offers a wide variety of vibrant items such as prints with inspirational quotes, custom illustrations, decorative stickers and hand-painted Bibles. You name it—Mary Grace does it. But she wants a signature, something she can be known for. And that’s a goal that she’s still working toward.

Right now, that looks like designing a devotional which is being written by some of her closest friends. Her goal is for her devotionals and painted Bibles to become her bestsellers and one day to sell them in stores.

It wouldn’t be the first time to have her work in

16 September/October 2020

stores either. Mary Grace created some lettering work and coloring pages for Drew Barrymore’s home décor line through Walmart, since they liked the unique style and vivid colors of her art. Scarlet and Gold, an Auburn-based apparel store, and Magic City Nutrition in Birmingham also teamed up with Mary Grace and used her designs on their products. “I was super honored that these companies would even take the time to message me to see if I was interested,” she says. “I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that they have given me and hopefully will get later on.”

So, what makes Mary Grace’s art grab the attention of these businesses? She thinks it’s the way that her bubbly personality shines through each and every piece.

What makes her art meaningful though, is “serving others well.” Her favorite aspect of running ohmgcreates is receiving an enthusiastic text or direct message from a customer expressing their love for the product. But her mantra of service doesn’t stop there—she frequently uses her

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18 September/October 2020

earnings from ohmgcreates to give back to charities such as the Equal Justice Initiative, which seeks to challenge racial and economic injustice and protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. “I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know as much as I want to about racial injustices,” Mary Grace says. “But I think opening the conversations and wanting to know is a little bit of what this world needs.”

As someone who struggled to find her footing in the artistic industry, she hopes that her story will encourage aspiring artists to just go for it too.

“Honestly, this is going to sound so cheesy, but young artists should follow the path and dreams that they want to take,” she says earnestly.

“Whether that is going to be quitting your job or coming out of college and taking that leap of faith or making it a side hustle—if the Lord is leading you down that path, He is going to make you able to do that.”

Perhaps one day, as Mary Grace browses the newest collections of pens or planners or devotionals that Staples and Target have to offer, she’ll see something that she designed on the shelf right beside the items she loved so much as a kid.

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READ THIS BOOK

Books for Good Neighbors Recommendations from

Jonathan Robinson New Owner of Little Professor

Relationships are built in the margins—a casual conversation, a backyard meal, playtime between kids—and often schedules squeeze these out, at least until the pandemic began. Here are five books to remind us of the importance of neighborliness. I should also mention my wife, Meredith, and I are Homewood residents and purchased Little Professor in February, and we want it to be a vibrant community hub.

Good Morning, Neighbor

by Davide Cali and Maria Dek A mouse making a cake asks a neighbor for an egg, which sets off a ripple effect of a group of neighbors coming together to bake and share. This is a wonderful picture book for kids (and adults) of all ages and one of our toddler’s favorites!

On Being Nice

by Alain de Botton From Alain de Botton’s School of Life series comes this “in-depth examination of our attitudes toward niceness.” I love this whole series, which comprises topics like calm, self-knowledge and relationships.

Here’s a favorite line: “Niceness deserves to be rediscovered as one of the highest of all human achievements.” Amen.

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers

by Maxwell King What list like this could leave him out? Fred is posthumously back en vogue, and we’re better for it.

Anyone interested in a portrait of his career, philosophy and everlasting kindness would enjoy this biography.

The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community

by Marc J. Dunkelman One of my oft-recommended staff picks in the shop, this book formed a lot of our “shop theology” on how physical spaces are used to unify communities. Written by a sociologist at Brown University, this is a bit more academic but inspires us to reconcile what technology has stripped from our kinship and friendships.

Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis

by Robert D. Putnam Here’s another semi-dense read by Harvard political scientist Bob Putnam, but imperative to grasp in our economic and politicized age. The breakdown in physical and neighborly communities has left us with a disturbing opportunity gap, increasingly evident in the past few decades of globalization. As interest and dollars swing back to local, we should see our schools, churches and neighborhoods as unifying bodies where we care and champion each other’s opportunity.

20 September/October 2020

SCHOOL

&SPORTS

JUST FOR FUN

At just shy of 98 years old, Harriet Cloud doesn’t plan to give up playing tennis anytime soon.

BY SOLOMON CRENSHAW JR. PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER HomewoodLife.com 21

Harriet Cloud has been playing tennis for 87 of her 97 years.

22 September/October 2020

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Harriet Cloud was about 10 years old when she took up tennis. She remembers playing everything in her small Kansas hometown, but she grew to like tennis best.

“I played in high school, but I was never on a team,” she recalls. “I just liked it better than any other sport so I just played. I grew up playing tennis, playing golf, doing swimming, just doing everything.”

At 97 years young, Harriet is still playing tennis.

The Homewood resident says it’s a great sport, even though, by her own admission, she isn’t a great player. “There are those that are great, and then there are those who are just playing the game,” she says. “I'm certainly not one of the greats. I just play the game.” There’s another form of great she claims though, that of a great-grandmother of 13, and grandmother of 15.

The matriarch of her family is captain of her USTA team that plays out of Brook Highland Racquet Club, and she continues to pencil herself into the lineup. “Can anybody beat her? Yes, they can beat her,” says Sally Brown, a longtime friend who plays with and against Harriet. “You can put something right in front of her, and she can't run to get it. But she's a wonderful individual … just an HomewoodLife.com 23

“

(Harriet is) just remarkable, especially to be able to play tennis all these years. I've always been a fan of hers just because I just think she's one of the nicest ladies.

”

–Tennis Pro Ann Etheredge

24 September/October 2020

amazing individual.”

Since 2002, Harriet has played on 58 USTA League teams, including the Golden Girls, Super Shots, Super Stars, Loblollies and Aces. Since 2013, she has cut her schedule down to only two seasons a year after playing on 44 teams in 11 years. You’ll find her at practice matches with her teammates on Mondays and with a 65 & Over Women’s 3.0 team on Wednesdays.

The USTA advised against playing tennis when society shut down. Harriet’s league, like others, shut down in March and resumed in June. Since then, Harriet has played at least once a week, torrid temperatures permitting. “I think it’s the humidity that just does you in,” she says. “The weather is really a factor for many people but particularly the older women because our games were supposed to be at 1:30 in the afternoon. That caused some problems, but I think most of us have done some rearranging so we did play in the morning.”

Harriet and her husband, Louis, were married for 60 years before he passed away in 2007. The couple played tennis at Homewood Park and West Homewood Park. To that union were born eight children. Two attended Homewood High, the rest John Carroll Catholic. They all played tennis.

“Playing tennis is what we did a lot,” Harriet recalls.

“We took our children out to play tennis and then later we were on some teams that they had in Birmingham.”

Growing up in Ellsworth, the county seat of Ellsworth County in Kansas, she and her family members played tennis for fun. Nobody was on a team; everybody just played. Her college days were spent at Kansas State University, a scant 103 miles up Interstate 70 from Ellsworth. Her tennis play was limited to intramurals as a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She went on to receive her master’s in nutrition at the University of Alabama and work with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Newborn Follow Up Clinic starting in 1977.

Around that time, she joined Ann Etheredge’s Working Women's Tennis League at George Ward Park. “She's just remarkable, especially to be able to play tennis all these years,” says the tennis pro, who recently retired from Pelham Racquet Club. “I've always been a fan of hers just because I just think she's one of the nicest ladies.”

While it is not in place these days, Harriet would definitely qualify for the Working Women’s League today. She officially retired in 1998, but she’s still working on a part-time contract basis at a clinic for

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WWW.FOCUSBHAM.COM HomewoodLife.com 25

premature babies. She’s also a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, where she attends a Bible class every Thursday night.

Jeanna Jackson, the director of Clinical Nutrition at Children’s of Alabama hospital, says Harriet continues to impress off the court. “Everybody knows about Harriet in the nutrition world,” she says. “She’s inspirational. We all want to be that knowledgeable one day. She’s well respected in her profession.”

Harriet says she is trying to be very careful during the pandemic but admits she doesn’t stay home as much to some of her friends. She and her cohorts had worked from home until returning to the clinic on July 30.

Continuing to work “does make you get out of bed and it does keep you current on how to use a computer, and all media,” she says. “I'm trying to decide: Am I going to quit? Or am I just gonna die with my tennis racket in my hand? Or die with my boots on, as they say.”

She counts genetics among the reasons for her long life along with exercise, of course. After all, her mother was a month away from being 109 when she passed away. But Harriet’s left knee threatened to stop her tennis play. She was told she needed a knee replacement in her late 80s, but she didn’t want to go under general anesthesia. Today she works with a trainer once a week to help.

Harriet says her age does give her family some concern—she turns 98 in October after all. Two of her daughters—the better tennis players among her offspring—tell her she should stop playing, that she’s going to fall and hurt herself. But their mother is undaunted.

“I’m just kind of pitiful,” she says. “I cannot run well. I recognize that I'm not playing well. But I am having fun.”

26 September/October 2020

&DRINK

FOOD

ALL IN THE FAMILY Try brothers Jason and Jamal Brown’s fried green tomatoes or smoked chicken wings, and you’ll taste secrets passed down from their grandmother.

BY ERIC VELASCO PHOTOS BY STUART FRANCO & CONTRIBUTED HomewoodLife.com 27

T

The seeds that sprouted into 1918 Catering were cultivated in the kitchen at 1918 Berkeley Road in south Bessemer, where Jason and Jamal Brown grew up with their parents and two brothers.

Jason, older than Jamal by a year, started making meals at age 7 while their father worked for the railroad and their mother was on the job as a nurse.

He started with jelly toast, scrambled eggs and pancakes before perfecting the SPAM sandwich.

Jamal started out watching but soon began participating. They grew as cooks, and Jamal developed a talent for smoking pork and beef brisket for family and friends. All along their mother, Genetta Brown, encouraged their culinary journeys. “She wanted to make sure we knew how to fend for ourselves,” Jason says.

The brothers graduated to large tailgating events handing out food during the week-long Magic City Classic festivities. As their fan base grew, they decided to go pro.

The partners, based since 2015 in a facility on Vulcan Road in west Homewood, built their business through catering gigs and pop-ups, in which they would haul a smoker to a location and serve barbecue with sides. They’ve cooked for large corporate events, weddings and birthday parties,

28 September/October 2020

Brothers Jason and Jamal Brown run 1918 Catering.

and they once slung 1,000 hot dogs for a party at a youth baseball field.

Coronavirus-related restrictions imposed last spring—and the cancellations and refund requests that followed—profoundly affected the business.

But it also created an opportunity: The Brown brothers put together a food truck that travels to different subdivisions. It’s been so successful they’re considering a couple more, even after their catering business revives.

“Daily there are three different places asking us to come there,” says Jason, 42. “Even a year from now people are going to want to have things delivered.

There’s still going to be a need.”

Jason and Jamal call their cuisine “Southerntraditional with a personal touch.” They season their food with a proprietary blend of herbs, spices and salt. The house aus jus, another secret formula, is injected into meats, providing flavors unique to 1918. “It’s a traditional taste,” says Jamal, 41.

“Subtle but not too subtle.”

Their specialties include fried green tomatoes, smoked chicken wings and what Jason calls “the famous” 1918 burger. The beef gets a flavor infusion from the house au jus and another secret ingredient, which they learned from their grandmother. (“I will

Jason and Jamal learned many of their secret ingredients from their grandmother.

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CHEF SPECIALTIES JAMAL’S FAVORITE: BRISKET

There’s something about the sizzle when fat from beef

“The brisket’s nice,” Jamal says, proudly.

Pecan smoke is sweeter and “not as robust” as oak, says

brisket hits glowing-hot coals that sparks Jamal Brown’s Jamal, and pecan trees are abundant too. soul. Asked about favorite things to cook, the co-owner of

1918 Catering mentions his penchant for pork butts and ribs prepared low and slow over a pecan wood fire.

“But I love brisket most of all,” Jamal says. “Some say it’s

JASON’S FAVORITE: SALMON

Salmon is Jason’s latest cooking passion, especially since his 8-year-old son loves it. “I’ve been trying to get him to

the most difficult meat for you to grill or smoke. Once you eat a lot of protein,” says Jason, who lives in the McCalla finish it, the flavor and tenderness is indescribable.”

It’s no surprise smoked and grilled meat are the backbone of the brothers’ catering and food truck menus since it’s

area with his wife and two children. “He’s trying to gain some muscles. So that’s one thing we eat a lot of.”

Jason pan-sears the fish in olive oil and lemon juice, adds

long been a part of their family. “My mom would buy a ton butter and reduces the liquid a bit. He adds a sprig of fresh of meat and put me out there, saying, ‘Cook this,’ ‘cook

that,’” Jamal says. “I know I burned up several slabs of ribs.

But she never stopped going to get the meat to get me to learn how the process went.”

rosemary before finishing the fish in a hot oven. It’s always a hit, Jason says. “Serve it to him over some jasmine rice and he goes crazy.”

Jason uses a well-seasoned black cast-iron skillet because

Today, Jamal’s brisket cooks for 12-14 hours. He trims it holds heat evenly and is non-stick. In Jason and Jamal’s

the meat, leaving some fat to render, and injects it with

1918 Catering’s proprietary au jus. He rubs it down with a

family of cooks, everyone uses black cast iron.

“That’s one of the basic things in our family,” Jason says.

mixture of mustard and the brothers’ signature seasoning “I remember going to family reunions out in the country

blend before grilling it five hours at 275-300 degrees. Then, and my uncle frying fish in the cast iron. If you go to any he smokes the meat overnight, allows it to rest and chills it Brown household and fish is being fried, it’s going to be to aid slicing.

The 1918 Catering staff serves at an event before the COVID-19 pandemic event began.

30 September/October 2020

fried in cast iron.”

not tell,” Jason says.) Once formed, the patty is seasoned with the branded 1918 seasoning salt.

Cooking over a pecan wood fire completes the signature flavor.

The Browns grow their own herbs too. All ingredients they use are fresh, down to the components of spinach dip, apple and peach cobblers and sides such as collard green casserole.

Officially, Jason is the CEO and Jamal is the COO. “But in a small business you are everything,” Jamal says. “You’re the chef, you’re the dishwasher, you’re the janitor. I have to cut grass.”

The brothers’ goal over the next year is to build a multi-tiered operation that combines traditional social and business catering, curbside pickup for family meals and food trucks at multiple locations.

In May, Jamal and Jason were singled out as “hometown heroes” on ESPN radio for feeding frontline workers during the pandemic. Utilizing their parking lot as a drive-through, they served food like herb-roasted chicken and rosemary green beans to 500 people. They partnered with BHMcares to serve another 200 meals to hospital workers.

They made deliveries to UAB Hospital, including Cajun chicken alfredo and 1918 burgers with housemade chips.

Targeting healthcare workers was a “natural fit,” Jamal says. He is a nurse. Jason’s wife is a nurse.

Their mother is a nurse, as are several others in the extended Brown family.

The brothers also come from a line of cooks, all trained or mentored by their grandmother, Fannie Mae Brown. “Her recipes, her processes—that’s what trickled down to the generations,” Jason says.

All the men in their extended family cook too. “Eat in any of our households, and a Brown man cooked it,” Jason says. “At family reunions men do all the cooking.”

Nourishing others, and the hard work that goes into it, are second nature to Jason and Jamal Brown

Jamal grills salmon fillets.

and how they run 1918 Catering. “We’re family oriented, a couple of good guys,” Jason says. “We love cooking, love people, love being social, love having a good time.”

Jamal finishes the thought: “If you want good vibes, good energy, good food, look to 1918.”

1918 Catering is located at 197 Vulcan Road.

Reach them at 205-518-5711 and learn more at 1918catering.com.

HomewoodLife.com 31

FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Deanna Owen

Rock Inn Salsa Founder PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY

Once you start eating fresh, you don’t go back. That’s what Deanna Owen has found with her salsa made from farm stand produce seasonally, both for her and for her customers. She starts making the salsa each March and continues as long as tomatoes are good, usually through September or October, and you can buy it in 16-ounce containers at J&S Produce in the Trinity United Methodist Church parking lot. To learn more about Rock Inn Salsa and how it all got started, we chatted with Deanna at the peak of Alabama summer produce season. For more information, follow @rockinnsalsa on Instagram or Facebook.

How did you start making salsa?

A friend of mine was making it and would give it as Christmas presents, and it was so good to taste fresh homemade salsa. I asked her about her recipe, and she said she just found something on the internet. I found one I liked and made it my own; I am not a recipe follower or a baker who likes to measure. I used produce from my daddy’s garden until he passed away, and that was about the time Jason Davidson started the J&S Produce stand in the Trinity United Methodist Church parking lot.

He sells the salsa there, and I do some porch pickups when everything is in season. I got started when my son who is now is a sophomore at Auburn went to middle school, and it’s taken off from there.

Where did the name come from?

My parents live on Rock Inn Point on 32 September/October 2020

Login Martin Lake, and that’s where it started. My dad has always piddled with How do you like to cook with it? garden plots but when they retired and I like to make taco soup with it and use moved to the lake he really got into it it for any recipe that calls for Rotel. I also daily as a hobby. like to make chicken breasts in the crockpot with it, and I use that chicken in What makes your salsa taste the way it quesadillas and salads. I add it to cheese does? dip and my guacamole. My in-laws like It’s just fresh. A lot of people only want to put it on scrambled eggs or in a mine and won’t eat the jarred stuff. Some breakfast burrito. You can use it for just batches are hotter than others because about anything you would use chopped you never know the degree of hotness of tomatoes for. One of my friends eats it the jalapeño peppers. I like to call it a with a spoon, and some people hide it medium plus heat because it’s hotter than from their spouses and family. a regular medium, but it’s not super hot.

If you like a kick, it’s perfect for you. I Do you ever get tired of eating it? don’t use cilantro in my salsa. If you like I don’t get tired of it because it’s it, please add it, and the same goes with seasonal. It never stays around long adding fresh grilled corn. I feel like I have enough at my house to go bad. When I get come up with a good blend and a good to the end of the season, I will can a few consistency, and everyone seems to like jars that I’ll save to give as gifts. it.

&STYLE

HOME

BRINGING HOME (ORGANIZED) PEACE

An organizing consultant shares her tips for bringing order to the chaos in closets, kitchens and even playrooms.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER HomewoodLife.com 33

How do you keep your home organized in the midst of the chaos

of life? Tara Bremer’s mantra is to focus on keeping the things you

are using and loving. To find out what exactly she means by that, she walked us around the Homewood home of one of her home

organization clients, Emily Morgan Brown, and her family, and she

showed us practical tips she uses with simple supplies you can find at Target or Walmart. Tara notes that the Browns are minimalists but that these concepts can be applied to anyone—and that she styled these spaces for photos with real life in mind too.

Clear Containers I think the most helpful concept in a pantry is clear containers.

Not every item needs to be in one, but it’s helpful for things that will fall over like chips or oatmeal packets. Since they are clear, you know what the inventory is inside of them. If you keep food items in the box they came in, you might not realize you only have one left and then all of a sudden you are out. I want people to have a visual sense of their own inventory.

Cookbooks Here Emily has a rainbow order for her cookbooks that makes it soothing visually.

Ideally only keep cookbooks you are using a lot or that are sentimental. If you aren’t using them, put them on a top shelf.

34 September/October 2020

Kitchen Drawer We divide utensils up with clear containers like these from Target. If they aren’t divided, it will become a disaster, and you will end up with a pizza cutter blocking your drawer to where you can’t open it. Drawer liners are good for any drawer where there is risk of getting liquid or oil in it to protect it, and it keeps things from moving.

Tara Bremer holds degrees in psychology and counseling, so she brings knowledge of the human condition, behavioral psychologies and habit formations to her home organization business, House Peace. She also puts her experience to the test every day with her three kids. Learn more about her team’s in-person and online offerings at housepeace.net.

HomewoodLife.com 35

Playroom Toys Shelves and containers are a big deal, and labels are everything. Even if a 4-yearold can’t read “cars,” he knows what a C is and he knows what a picture of it looks like. Kids are going to dump stuff, and then they can clean it back up and sort their toys themselves. I don’t believe in over-organizing. For example, with American Girl doll items, I would not say to make one bin for shoes and one for clothes, etc., but I would make one for the dolls and one for everything else. I like that Emily has broad categories for cars, dolls, dress up, etc.

Coiled Rope Basket You can buy these soft baskets from the Pillow Fort kids line at Target. I like to use them for stuffed animals and dress-up clothes. For adult closets, I have used them for costumes, scarves, bathing suits, clothing overflow and things you don’t need access to in drawers.

36 September/October 2020

I love training kids to be a part of the solution. My best tip for creating habits is to write a note. I might post a note on the bathroom mirror that says: “A clean bathroom is: a clean mirror, clear counter, and everything wiped off.” Then if I say to them, “Go clean your bathroom,” they know what the expectation is.

Bathroom Drawer I like to use inexpensive white plastic containers for children’s bathrooms to keep items separated. It makes it easy for your kids to clean up and know where their hair ties and toothpaste go, and it’s wipeable.

I strive to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.

205-447-3275 • cezelle@realtysouth.com

Animal Hospital, Veterinary Care, Boarding & Grooming 2810 19th Place South, Homewood, AL 35209 StandiferAnimalClinic.com HomewoodLife.com 37

Kid’s Closet My three ingredients for closet organization are matching hangers, containers for the shelves and something to put shoes on or in. This girl’s closet has bins on the shelf for winter items and her in-season shoes on a shelf; you can buy a shoe riser if your closet doesn’t have shelves. I put her clothes in color order for picture, but in my own closet I put them in order by sleeve—long sleeve, short sleeve and sleeveless—and then in order by color.

Master Closet Emily keeps items like winter items, ball caps and swimwear in bins on her shelves, and she uses her built-in cabinetry for her shoes. In my closet, I also have hooks where I hang jeans or pajama pants I want to wear again before washing.

AFTER YOU ORGANIZE, HOW DO YOU SUSTAIN IT? Give Things Away Regularly: Stuff will always keep coming into the

house whether it’s kids’ art or a freebie from a conference. It’s important to keep things coming out. I keep a bag in my pantry for items to take to the thrift store to remind me.

Label: Labeling is huge. It might feel silly, but it can provide clarity

to the whole family—the spouse, kids, sitters, grandparents, or you might forget too.

Channel Your Frustration: Use your frustration at your chaos to be the energy to propel you to organize and keep things organized.

38 September/October 2020

Mudroom Hooks For all your backyard playground needs!!

Here Emily uses hooks by her back door to hang her girls’ backpacks and helmets. By my own back door, we use banks of hooks for hats, jackets or something that needs to be returned to a store so I don’t forget it.

CALL

205-408-4386 for more info!

Laundry Room Place utilitarian items like detergent bottles in white bins that are wipeable in case things spill. These are from Target, and you can clip on labels if you have light bulbs and other items in different containers.

NOW ALSO SELLING AY COMMERCIAL PLAY EQUIPMENT! CALL 205-408-4386 86 FOR MORE INFO!

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www.backyardalabama.com HomewoodLife.com 39

IN STYLE

flirty for fall

BY MEREDITH ELDER PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD

1

LOOK 1

1. HEART GRAPHIC TEE This fun transition piece can be dressed up or down!

Ambiance | $29.99

3

2. GLAMOROUS SATIN MIDI SKIRT Feeling flirty? Rock this gorgeous mid-length slip skirt.

Ambiance | $54.99

3. GOLD & BLACK TIERED EARRINGS These statement earrings will spice up any outfit.

At Home Furnishings | $7

2

4. STEVE MADDEN DILLON SANDAL A must-have sandal that will literally elevate any look.

Shoefly | $109

4

40 September/October 2020

1

LOOK 2

2

4 1. PEACH LOVE TIE-DYE SWEATER Tie-dye sweaters are essential to any fall wardrobe.

The Pink Tulip | $49

2. WISHLIST LACE BRALETTE Pair this bralette under all of your favorite tops.

The Pink Tulip | $26

3

3. UMGEE MID-RISE SKINNY JEAN A pair of skinny jeans that will never go out of style.

The Pink Tulip | $42

2

4. OPAL MOON NECKLACES These simple chains are great for layering or wearing alone to keep things casual.

The Pink Tulip | $26 | $18

5. MUSSE & CLOUD SANDALS

5

Refresh your wardrobe with a timeless platform sandal.

Shoefly | $109

ACCESSORIES 1. GOLD & SILVER BRACELET At Home Furnishings | $10

3

1

2. BLACK AND GOLD BEADED BRACELET At Home Furnishings | $20

3. MINT ENAMEL HOOP EARRINGS At Home Furnishings | $11

2 HomewoodLife.com 41

Amy Holditch made her family’s corona summer one to remember with an RV trip up the East Coast and a few Clark Griswold-worthy moments along the way.

42 September/October 2020

By Melanie Peeples Photos by Richard Lewis & Amy Holditch

HomewoodLife.com 43

Amy Holditch, far right, with her mom Sandra Gillis and her son Duncan

Back in March, Amy Holditch saw the corona summer coming down the pipe as, one by one, the camps she had signed her son up for began cancelling. She had a decision to make: sit back and watch it happen—let this summer be the one her son remembers as the time coronavirus ruined everything—or take the wheel into her own hands.

She had been planning a big vacation this summer: Hawaii. She knew she didn’t feel safe flying. She thought about places she could drive, but that still meant having to depend on public facilities.

Then she saw an article in The Wall Street Journal that mentioned how a huge number of people were renting RVs this summer. She imagined herself behind the wheel of a house on wheels. She could see herself doing it.

But mostly, she didn’t want to wait another year to make great memories with her family. Her mom has some progressive memory loss, and she didn’t want to risk waiting another year. “I don’t know how many trips we have left in us,” she says.

She and her mom have always taken trips together, including driving across France a couple years ago. But driving a big RV would be different.

A lot of single moms would be too afraid to do it, to take off on a 10-day trip in a 27-foot-long camper, but not Amy. She’s not the kind of woman to back down from a challenge.

“No, she’s not,” says her mom, Sandra Gillis. “She pretty much gets her mind made up on something 44 September/October 2020

and does it. And I’m proud of her for that. I like to think she gets it from me,” she chuckles.

Amy’s 12-year-old son, Duncan, was all for it.

He’s at the age where the memories he makes now with his grandmother will stay with him the rest of his life. He’s also getting old enough to be a real help to his mom. An inspiration, even. She recently had to rent a kayak at the beach, and drag it into the water, something her husband had always done before. She was nervous about going too far out in the water, but says Duncan talked her through it.

Like the kayak, Amy knew this RV trip—an adventure, actually—would be a growth opportunity for all of them. “I just kept thinking about it,” Amy says. “and I just kind of jumped off the cliff and did it.”

The three of them hit the road July 18 and drove all the way up to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and back. Around 2,500 miles in all. It wasn’t without adventure, and it was definitely memorable.

“It was good,” Amy says, just 24 hours after arriving home and still tired. “Like having-a-baby tired. Tired to my bones. Like after being up nursing a baby all night tired,” she says, laughing. But she has no regrets.

“It feels pretty badass. I feel pretty good about it,” she says. “The high point was just some of the togetherness. We played charades, and Duncan and I had a lot of late night giggles in the cab above the driver’s seat. I’m glad that I did it.”

The Trip, According to Amy Day 1: Homewood to Cleveland, Tennessee Feels good to be behind the wheel of Megachop (yes, the RV has a name the owner gave it) with miles to go and an open road to clear my oftjumbled mind. Can’t help but wonder if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew as I roll into the Holiday KOA in Cleveland.

I already wrecked it—just a small crunch with a metal, upside-down U bar at the gas station near Chattanooga, so no need to worry about THAT anymore. Onward.

Day 2: Cleveland, Tennessee to Roanoke, Virginia

drove through the mouth of the beast, but boy was I wrong. “Fun” does not describe the process of driving a behemoth through one of the most crowded cities in America.

Then, because I wasn’t stressed enough, Waze spit me out on the lovely Merritt Parkway in Connecticut where cars/trucks over 8 feet were prohibited. What?! I shrunk in my seat every time we went under an “architecturally elaborate” overpass. There were bridge warnings everywhere!

Megachop fit but just barely. Definitely a guardian angel on my shoulder today.

Mystic is amazingly beautiful and quaint, as is most of Connecticut. Could totally live here.

Day 4: Mystic, Connecticut to Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Everything is so New England-y. It takes Made it to Roanoke with ease. Megachop is a FOREVER to get to our site, and it is a bit more beast but purrs like a kitten. Virginia is like a remote than I anticipated. We are in the sticks! pastoral painting, complete with rolling hills, tiny, Took a nice hike to some cliffs that overlooked faraway red barns and silos looming in the distance. the Atlantic and to see Cape Cod’s first lighthouse.

Turns out it’s under construction and closed until Day 3: Roanoke, Virginia to 2021. Of course it is. Thanks, 2020.

Trails are beautiful and lush. We saw some Mystic, Connecticut rabbits scampering about the RV park around sunset tonight. Yurts and tents are scattered I drove Megachop through the Lincoln Tunnel in throughout the park. So peaceful. Really happy to New York City, and it just about broke me. I had not have to drive Megachop for a few days.

Frank Sinatra belting out “New York, New York” because I thought it would be “fun” to listen to as we

Head of Meadow Beach in Cape Cod

HomewoodLife.com 45

Scenes Amy and her family captured in Cape Cod (this photo) and Salem, Massachusetts (center and right)

Day 5: Cape Cod

everything is so undeveloped here, almost like 30A was 30 years ago. The dunes are protected, and Provincetown was super cool. Lots of quaint over building is not a problem at all. It’s a sleepy shops and everyone is friendly and super little beach town, and I love it. progressive. Sat on the beach in the harbor watching the boats while eating yummy lobster Days 8 & 9: Cape Cod to salad and truffle fries from the Lobster Pot. College Park, Maryland Duncan loved the truffle fries and said they reminded him of Jo Jo’s in Homewood. (RIP Jo Rolled into the inferno that is Cherry Hill RV Jo’s truffle fries.)

Park and will spend two days at this luxury resort

Day 6: Day Trip to Salem We rented a car and drove to Salem today. It poured, but we saw a few sights like the Salem Witch Museum and the Witch House. Most restaurants were curbside, and the town seemed really dead. Took the long way home through Boston and made a mental note to definitely revisit in the future. By plane. Or ferry from The Cape.

Tomorrow is our last day in Cape Cod. My friend described it as a very subtle beach experience compared to the gulf, and he couldn’t be more right. The whole vibe of this place is so laid back and progressive. Just fantastic. I bet it’s magical in the fall, all cold and crisp outside.

Day 7: Cape Cod Yikes. Went to Head of the Meadow Beach but could only stay for 15 minutes because of permit requirements. It’s $75/week! I kept noticing how 46 September/October 2020

that has a café that delivers! Groceries delivered?

Yes, please! Would you like a golf cart to get around in, too? Sign me up! This little gem of a place is like the Ritz after wheeling and dealing in Megachop’s tiny kitchen for so many days.

Day 10: Asheville, North Carolina After a long day on the road and a couple of popup dance parties, we are all pooped and ready to climb into (and up to) bed. I am lulled to sleep by angry 18 wheelers making their way East and the midnight racers crossing back and forth down I-40. As cramped as my cozy above-cab bed is, I really do love it. Most of all, I know that I will miss the closeness of having Mom and Duncan with me every night.

Being on the road always clears my mind in the best way. I love thinking about the thousands I pass, each enveloped in their own unique world and living this life on their terms, much like we all

do. I’ve got say, I feel pretty damn accomplished. I can successfully drive long distances and know how to do lots of groovy RV stuff, like making sure I give myself enough room when turning corners. I can empty tanks and plug in with relative ease. I can feed my family with the help of my trusty knife (when it turns out our can opener is broken) and also break into a locked bathroom, saving us all from truly roughing it outdoors. But, I think the most important thing I have learned is that I am, without a doubt, a room service and hotel kind of girl.

Amy says Cape Cod is much like what 30A was 30 to 40 years ago with miles of untouched dunes and protected land.

Day 11: Asheville, North Carolina to Homewood Woke up, loaded up and began the slow crawl back to the ‘Ham. Happy to be going home. One of my favorite things about traveling is missing home. It always gives me such perspective and appreciation for my hometown.

Exhausted. Exhausted. Exhausted. Would 100 percent do this again but not without someone to help me with driving. I mean, I love to drive, but what was I thinking?

HOMEWOOD’S

BEST HO

2020 WINNER

MEW

OODLIFE.C

OM

thank U

Homewood

U salon

s al o n u s t y l e . c o m HomewoodLife.com 47

A drone view of the Coosa River in Wetumpka

48 September/October 2020

Stuart Franco captures southern landscapes from city to coast in his home state.

Photos by Stuart Franco Text by Madoline Markham

HomewoodLife.com 49

TOP: Just before the new Cortland Vesta 17-story apartment building would rise up from Five Points, Stuart took this drone shot of the skyline and fall color just after dusk last fall.

BELOW: Stuart was walking down 3rd Avenue North in Birmingham one day for lunch when he noticed a different angle on the Alabama Theatre sign than you usually see when it is lit up at night. He had his camera on him and captured the textures of the sign up close with blue sky in the background—a perspective many people see everyday but might not pause to take in.

Stuart Franco is passionate about showing off the beauty of his home state. Growing up, scenery would catch his eye as he rode from his Montgomery home to the beach or to Camp Laney in North Alabama. In adulthood, he looks for it any time he ventures out from his Edgewood home, especially when he finds landscapes with an old rustic southern feel.

“You see how beautiful and vast Alabama is and that there’s a lot more to it than people give it credit for,” he says. “The variety of architecture stretches from antebellum in the country to postmodern in the cities, from the beach and Mobile Bay to downtown Birmingham.”

In early 2019 Stuart started sharing the scenes he’d captured over the years on an Instagram account harkening to one of Alabama’s nicknames, @cotton_state. From there he began to develop himself more as a photographer on a path that would ultimately lead him to step from a career in finance to running Focus Creative this summer.

Now as he drives around be it for work or for pleasure, if anything he sees catches his eye and is visually compelling, he’ll likely capture it to share yet another angle of Alabama the Beautiful.

50 September/October 2020

Magnolia Springs, a picturesque South Alabama town, is widely photographed, and here’s Stuart’s take on it.

Stuart photographed this street on a cloudy day when he was able to capture even lighting all the way through the trees.

HomewoodLife.com 51

52 September/October 2020

TOP: Stuart and his wife’s yellow lab is named Julep after Julep Point in Point Clear, and the only one who loves walking along the bay more than Stuart does is Julep. Stuart captured this image of her after she had swum in the bay just after the start of the New Year in 2020. FAR LEFT: Stuart often looks for the intersection of architecture and landscapes to photograph, and that often takes the form of Mobile Bay piers at sunset. He and his wife married in the area and enjoy talking there to look for just the right view and light. This particular pier didn’t appear to be in use, so its silhouette was simpler than others around it. LEFT: Where oak and moss meet the bay is a quintessential Point Clear scene, showcased here with a tree named The General. “Moss beautiful yet haunting,” Stuart says.

HomewoodLife.com 53

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

fall travel Anyone else extra craving a getaway with all that 2020 has thrown our way? As temperatures start to cool, there are plenty of places you can venture just a safe car drive away from home. Be sure to make plans to explore the beauty of beaches, mountains and canyons, and to find a hotel to pamper you with culinary offerings nearby too.

Photos by Ryan Carlson

54 September/October 2020

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

The 7 Natural Wonders of Alabama 1. MOUNT CHEAHA The highest point in Alabama offers breathtaking views and is surrounded by the Talladega National Forest.

2. DISMALS CANYON Waterfalls, deep caverns and moss-covered rocks foster plant life, and you can also see the Dismalites, a glowworm that emits a blue-green light.

3. LITTLE RIVER CANYON The Little River has sculpted a spectacular canyon reaching depths of up to 600 feet southeast of Fort Payne.

4. CATHEDRAL CAVERNS You’ll see rock formations and one of the largest stalagmites in the world once after you enter inside its grand entrance.

5. MOBILE-TENSAW DELTA These bottomland hardwoods, cypress/tupelo swamps, bogs and marshes are home to 1,071 flora and fauna species.

6. CAHABA RIVER Between May and June, you can find the Cahaba lily’s large white blossoms in the longest stretch of free-flowing river in the state.

7. GULF COAST BEACHES Of courses our sugar white sand beaches and turquoise waters made the list!

Cheaha State Park OPPOSITE: Dismals Canyon

HomewoodLife.com 55

WA LT O N A LEGACY O F LE I SU R E South Walton’s 26-mile stretch of sugar-white sand beaches in Northwest Florida offers an all-natural escape, yet perfectly blends modern amenities, world-class cuisine and small town charm into an unforge able experience.

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Homewood Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S

Why Join the Chamber

Excellence in Education Award Caravan July 22nd The Homewood Chamber of Commerce recognized a student from each of the schools in the Homewood City School system with the Annual Excellence in Education Awards on July 21. In lieu of the traditional luncheon this year due to social distancing regulations, the chamber traveled to the homes of the students and presented them with awards at their homes.

New Members

Meredith Drennen, Executive Director of the Homewood Chamber of Commerce, along with Floresha Watkins Woodall, a Homewood Chamber Board Member and Regions Bank Executive distributed the award certificates to the students. The Homewood High School Award Winner is also the recipient of a scholarship sponsored by Regions Bank. The caravan ceremony honored students from the five Homewood City Schools:

uAlabama Education Association uARC Realty-Homewood uBirmingham Direct Primary Care uImage South uRiverbrook Construction

— Harrison Massie of Homewood High School — Kayla Warren of Homewood Middle School — Travis Heathcock of Edgewood Elementary School — Emily Villanueva Garcia of Hall-Kent Elementary School — Jackson Martin of Shades Cahaba Elementary School

Save the Date Holiday Open House November 5th

7 HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD 58 September/October 2020

HOMEWOOD, ALABAMA 35209

F i n d U s O n l i ne

Sign up for our weekly newsletter | Access our member directory Purchase Buy Local Homewood eGift Cards

Downtown Homewood Sidewalk Sale July 25th

Member Spotlights Check out our recent member spotlights on our blog!

An Interview with Dr. Austin Adams at Rousso Facial Plastic Surgery

Elevate Consulting Offers “Leading Through Uncertainty” to Businesses

An Interview with Diamond Smiles Dental in Edgewood

205 - 871 - 5631

WWW.HOMEWOODCHAMBER.ORG HomewoodLife.com 59

OUT & ABOUT

1

WEST HOMEWOOD FARMER’S MARKET

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PHOTOS BY ALIZA BAKER

Every Tuesday afternoon in June and July, families in the community headed to the West Homewood Farmer’s Market to enjoy food trucks, produce from local farms, and arts and crafts vendors.

1. April McClung- Emily’s Heirloom Pound Cakes 2. Charlie Scott and Mary Kate Scott 3. Denise Young- Arm Candy by TD Design 4. Hunter and Krimson Revis 5. Jana Simmons 6. Josh Brady and Ford Alexander 7. Kelley Davis- Kelley’s Kitchen 8. Kristen Johnson and Lynn MotonThe Artzy Cook 9. Lindsay Smith 10. Pam Weaver- Buttnaked Candles 11. Patrick and Kevin Fehr- DixieDogs N Coneys 12. Raven Rice 13. Ruth Blackburn and Sarah Nicholson 14. Tasheka Wilson- Yahlé Jewelry 15. Valencia Johnson- Body by V

60 September/October 2020

OUT & ABOUT

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HomewoodLife.com 61

OUT & ABOUT

1

JULY 4 FIREWORKS

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PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

Local residents gathered around downtown Homewood with social distance between families to watch the annual Thunder on the Mountain fireworks show shot off from Vulcan Park & Museum.

1. Pam and Michael Quekenmeyer, Jessica Smith, and Mark LaMarsh 2. Jennifer and Hayden Speigner

5

3. Raleigh Robinson and Ella Sweeney 4. George and Cindy Keller 5. The Henderson Family 6. Hannah Anderson and Kayla Miller 7. Jack, Lucy and Oliver Stokes 8. The Coleman Family 9. The Williams Family 10. Brynlee and Baylee Harrison, and Brook and KK McCoy 11. Cobb and GeorgeAnn Saunders, and Bill and Lee Miller

62 September/October 2020

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OUT & ABOUT

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She’s taking on

life

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Brooke, pediatric cancer survivor

Because they’re taking on cancer

10 Pediatric Oncology Healthcare Team

The Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama is ranked among the top pediatric cancer programs in the nation.

Our team of over 300 dedicated pediatric healthcare professionals is committed to exceptional patient care and innovative research.

11

At Children’s, we’re safely serving children — providing essential care just as we have since 1911.

Our Center treats more than 90% of Alabama’s children with cancer and blood disorders. Learn how you can help at: ChildrensAL.org/committedtoacure

HomewoodLife.com 63

MARKETPLACE

Marketplace Homewod Life • 205.669.3131

Need appliance or air conditioner parts? How about a water filter for your refrigerator? We have it all at A-1 Appliance Parts! Call 1-800841-0312 www.A1Appliance.com

Avanti Polar Lipids is looking for full and part time employees.

Submit resume to jobs@avantilipids. com •Highly proficient math skills required.

•High school diploma required.

Mechanic needed.

Must have own tools and five years experience. Apply in person: 1105 7th St N, Clanton. Or call for appointment 205-7554570

Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience.

CDL Preferred.

Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007

HIRING EXPERIENCED FULL CASE ORDER SELECTORS $19.03 per hour plus production $$$ incentives. Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets. Great benefits including Blue Cross health & dental insurance & matching 401k. Pre-employment drug test required.

Apply Online: WWW. AGSOUTH.COM Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production, Clerical, Machine Operator, Quality, Carpentry, Welder, Foundry. Positions In: Calera, Clanton, Pelham, Bessemer, McCalla. Walk-in applications accepted.

Clanton (205)2800002. Pelham (205)444-9774.

64 September/October 2020

Bent Creek Apartments.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom. On-site Manager. On-site Maintenance. 3001 7th Street. North Clanton, AL 35045.

TDD#s: 800-5482547(V) 800-5482546(T/A) bentcreek@ morrowapts.com Office Hours: MonFri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer Immediate need for LPN’s. Full time LPN Position with sign on bonus. BMC Nursing Home. Responsible for patient care and supervision of CNA staff. Will also provide treatment and meds for residents. Apply online or call Human Resources at 205-9263363 bibbmedical center.com Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions. Starting pay $13.66/hour.

HomewoodLife.com

Must be able to pass background screen.

Please apply at www. bc.com Core Focus Personnel 205-826-3088 • Now Hiring Production Mill Worker, Jemison.

12hrs (days/nights), ability to pass drug test, background check, physical.

Positions working in outside temperature conditions. Previous manufacturing experience required. $11.75/hr to start.

Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com Lancaster Place Apartments.

Location, community & quality living in Calera, AL. 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments available. Call today for specials!! 205668-6871. Or visit hpilancasterplace.com

Marble Valley Manor.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. $2000 SIGN ON Many on-site services!

BONUS NEW 2115 Motes Rd, PAY SCALE TO Sylacauga. 256QUALIFYING DRIVERS EVERGREEN 245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) TRANSPORT, is accepting applications •800-548-2546(T/A).

Office Hours: Monfor local drivers in the Fri, 8am-4pm. Equal Calera and Leeds, Opportunity Provider/ AL, area. Must have Employer Class A CDL, good driving record, 1 yr verifiable tractor trailer Are you a motivated experience. Good pay professional? Are and benefits. Apply in you looking for a dynamic career? Are person at 8278 Hwy you ready to control 25 South, Calera, AL, your own level of or call for info 205success? See why 668-3316.

McKinnons’ is an exciting place to Industrial Coatings work and grow. Now Group, Inc. is accepting applications hiring experienced for Sales, Service, and -Sandblasters Detail Shop. Apply -Industrial Painters Helpers. Must be able with the receptionist.

205-755-3430 to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must Shake up your be willing to travel.

Professional references career!!! Are you looking for something required. Please new and FUN? Milo’s send resume to: icgsecretary@hotmail. is always looking for great managers com or call (205)688to come join our 9004 growing and dynamic

team. Apply online at miloshamburgers.com 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 Specializing in all your hair care needs SERENITY SALON Barber/Stylist Chairs Available for Rent 2 Convenient Locations •2005 Valleydale Rd. •Pelham •3000 Meadow Lake Dr. Suite 107 Call Nichole 205-240-5428 South Haven Health & Rehab NOW HIRING!!! •LPN’s & RN’s -$5,000 Sign-on Bonus for Full-Time shift •CNA’s Apply in person: 3141 Old Columbiana Rd Birmingham, AL-35266 Nursing assistant to care for high functioning quadriplegic home health patient in Jemison. Must have valid drivers license.

Part-time. Call Mr. Wilbanks 205-9083333

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

Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)6632822

Alabama Air Power Inc Now Hiring Industrial Air Compressor Technician Will cross train person with mechanical skills, Electrical and/or HVAC knowledge Blue Cross Health and Dental Paid Vacation Paid Holidays Apply In Person 1293 Hwy 87, Alabaster

Pop & Sons Demolition & Junk Removal (205)9488494 junkguys2014@ gmail.com •Junk Removal Services •Demolition•More!!

FREE QUOTES!! ALSO WITH THE MENTION OF THIS AD GET $20 OFF!!!

Exp•Pass D.O.T Physical/Background Check •Hazmat Endorsement Apply Online: www. drive4western.com EOE

Experienced Termite Technician or someone experienced in route-service work and wants to learn Service Tech, Inc. new profession. WorkHeating & Air Conditioning AL Cert# vehicle/equipment provided. Must 89282 Now Hiring drive straight-shift, Full-Time Certified Technician •Minimum have clean driving record/be 21/pass 5 years experience Acceptance Loan background/drug test.

•Residential, Company, Inc. Training provided.

Commercial and Personal loans! Let Insurance/401K Refrigeration •Ipad us pay off your title offered. M-F 7:00-4:30 Experience •On-Call loans! 224 Cahaba + 1 Saturday/month.

Rotation Apply at: Valley Rd, Pelham Become a Dental www.servicetechhvac. Pay $13hr. Send 205-663-5821 Assistant in ONLY resume to facsmith@ com 8 WEEKS! Please charter.net Pharmaceutical visit our website Grade Pharmaceutical Sitting Angels Home capstonedental University Baptist Care, LLC NOW Grade CBD Oil, a assisting.com or call Child Development ACCEPTING NEW (205)561-8118 and get unique concept for Center is pleased to sublingual absorption. PATIENTS Doctor your career started! announce that our Appointments, Helps pain, anxiety, First Class Preschool Bathing/Dressing energy & more.

Popeyes Seeking program was awarded Meal Preparation, Order from home friendly, motivated, Errands, Laundry,Light a New Classroom 205-276-7778. www. dependable Crew Grant by Governor House Keeping and CiliByDesign.com/ Members. OPEN Ivey and the State More. Lenette Walls, BrendaGlaze INTERVIEWS DAILY Department of Early Owner 205-405-6991 2:00pm-5:00pm 3300 Childhood Education. $Cash Paid For Used Pelham Parkway.

Our second classroom Immediate Openings! RV's!$ Motor Homes, The Harvest Place Christian Church Join will house up to 18 Travel/Enclosed Start work this preschoolers who us for worship every trailers, consignment week! Apply online: SUNDAY The Harvest are 4 years old by welcome, Cars and work4popeyes September 1, 2020.

Place Christian Trucks, Pick up kitchen.com Tuition is incomeChurch 14 Westside available, Mccluskey based and we provide Ln, Columbiana, AL Auto and RV Sales, GENERAL LAWN meals at no additional 35051 Bishop Wales LLC 205-833-4575 CARE Specialist in charge. Register Williams, Jr Chief large yards 2+ acres. at http://alprek.

Apostle •Morning Serving Chilton, Coosa Construction Worship Sunday 11am asapconnected.com Workers Needed for & many more areas.

•Life Enrichment Local Construction Bi-weekly, weekly or WE ARE NOW Classes Sunday Company. Must be one-time services HIRING Lead and 10:15am •Join experienced and available. SPRING Auxiliary teachers for Us Every Tuesday dependable. Job CLEANUP SPECIALS! First Class 4-yearNight at JOYFEST is five days a week.

Call Alex today for old Pre-K programs.

Salary based on skills. •Midweek Worshipdetails: 1-205-955School year positions Must have remodeling Begins at 6:30pm 3439 ~Military & with competitive pay. www.getyourharvest. experience. Call Senior Discounts~ Lead teachers must org Adam 205-863-9059 have degree in Early Childhood Education/ Western Development.

International Gas & Auxiliary teachers Cylinders, Inc Signmust have Child On-Bonus! Hiring Development SOLO & TEAM Associate (CDA) CDL Drivers •2yrs 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.

or 9hrs Early Childhood Education/ Development.

Experience in First Class program & bilingual skills a plus. For questions about registration or to apply for a teaching position, contact Lorrie Ozley: universitybaptistcdc@ gmail.com 205-6654039 HVAC Company with 43 years in business NOW HIRING EXPERIENCED TECHNICIAN Will train! Drug test required. Mon-Fri 8:00am-5:00pm Call 205-663-2199 BIRMINGHAM AREA HEAT & FROST INSULATORS LOCAL 78 Accepting applications for 4-year Apprenticeship Program. Applications will be accepted Tuesdays only, 8:30am-2:00pm at 2653 Ruffner Road Birmingham, AL 35210. 205-956-2866 205-956-8101 etx.3 craig@insulators78. org Applicants must be 18+, drug free, have dependable transportation, ID & proof of age, high school diploma/ GED. Applicants will be required to take math test & English comprehension test.

The Local 78 Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee is registered with The State of Alabama Office of Apprenticeship and is an equal opportunity employer.

HomewoodLife.com 65

MY HOMEWOOD MARY BIGGS

Homewood Middle School PTO President

Turn It Up

Steve Sills Most of you have heard about Homewood Life’s Best Local Personality winner, but have you “heard” him? DJing every event known to Homewood, his talents saved my sanity during the beginning of the pandemic. “Quarantine Turn-Ups” inspired nightly dance parties throughout our town and beyond. What a blessing to our students and our community.

On Broom

Homewood Witches Ride Ever since my friend Janie Mayer posted about the first HWR back in 2013, I was on board, or on broom, playing dress up with my favorite ladies and supporting the American Cancer Society. It tops my list of events in Homewood, and Janie just so happens to make some of my favorite jewelry as well.

For Swag

Off Central After stocking up on all the great spirit gear from HMS and HHS, my new favorite place for Homewood swag is Off Central. Marion Bloomston is always busy churning out fun inventory, great for gifts and great for my personal HWD collection!

For the Tuna Sticky Rice

Shiki Take out or dine in, Shiki is a local favorite of ours. Marty, Nara and their staff are just the best, epitomizing service with a smile! Check out their happy hour, patio, and the Spicy Tuna Sticky Rice. Just once you have try the Shiki Catfish, trust me!

Front Yard Living

Dixon Avenue My Homewood really started with our first street in town, Dixon Avenue. We learned all about front yard living and true neighborly love with friends who became family. And we are not alone, there are countless streets in our community with that same feeling of belonging somewhere pretty darn special. Pictured are my daughter Audrey and Mr. Quinn, one of our old neighbors who recently passed away.

66 September/October 2020

Fall is right around the corner

and now is the perfect time to purchase your next adventure. Fishing, hunting, or just enjoying the outdoors, Russell Marine is here for you.

Fishing boats from Bass Cat, SeaArk, Key West and Crevalle Boats. Off-road vehicles from BRP Can-Am. We also over Nautique, Godfrey Pontoon Boats, Scarab, Supreme, Sea Ray, Bryant and personal watercraft from Sea-Doo.

Industry leader when it comes to ATVs and Side-by-Sides.

Longest operating bass boat builder in the industry.

View all of our inventory from the comfort of your home at RussellMarine.net or visit any one of our 6 locations. Financing is available.

RUSSELL MARINE BOATING & OUTDOORS 256-397-1700 RIVER NORTH MARINA 256-397-1500 l THE RIDGE MARINA 256-397-1300 l SMITH LAKE 256-841-6365 KOWALIGA MARINA 256-397-1210 l REAL ISLAND MARINA 256-397-1200