Mary Ott has been blessed by seniors she’s served.
The lost art of hand quilting
A broken line is Stacey Putnam’s tell-tale mark.
A treasure chest of relationships
Preserving the core of school’s campus
Mary Ott has been blessed by seniors she’s served.
Brian Beck, Mary McWilliams still involved with Winston Home.
The
lost art of hand quilting
A broken line is Stacey Putnam’s tell-tale mark.
Preserving the core of school’s campus
Brian Beck, Mary McWilliams still involved with Winston Home.
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By Metrocreative
Giving back to one’s community can provide a sense of purpose and improve an individual’s overall well-being. Data from Volunteer Hub indicates that people who volunteer improve their health by strengthening their bodies, improving their moods and reducing stress. Volunteerism also produces additional benefits, including boosting one’s positive perception to others. A study from CareerBuilder found 60% of hiring managers see volunteerism as a valuable asset when making recruitment decisions. Furthermore, human resources executives attest that contributing to a nonprofit can improve leadership skills.
By understanding the value behind volunteer work - for the people or organization on the receiving end as well as the volunteer - more individuals may decide to donate their time and services. However, finding the right volunteer opportunity may take some trial and error. The following are some tips for finding the right fit.
— Consider skills and interests. Before choosing a volunteer opportunity, make a list of activities that you enjoy. This may help guide volunteer choices.
— Assess your skill levels. For example, if you are a certified public accountant, you may be able to volunteer by mentoring young accounting students, or doing taxes or bookkeeping tasks for the elderly or less fortunate.
— Think about commitment level. Figure out how much time you can spend volunteering. Maybe you only have the weekends or a few hours in the evenings? Understanding how much free time you have can help you choose opportunities that fit within these parameters.
— Define your goals. Have goals in mind when selecting opportunities. Defining a goal can help you maintain the motivation to volunteer and see a project through to completion.
— Start small. Wade into a volunteer opportunity slowly to see if it is the right fit.
Volunteering can bring joy to a person’s life, especially when individuals find an inspiring opportunity.
Mary Donna Ott found her passion for working in elderly care by chance after she’d moved to Florence from Fairhope in 1984.
Now a Life Enrichment director for The Renaissance senior living community, Ott stepped into the role at the facility in 1999 when it was known as Morning Star — and later Brookdale under previous owners — without actually applying for the position.
“I came out here before they put the walls up,” she said. “I came over here with a little lady named Mrs. Brown. She went to my church, and she wanted a ride over here. So, we came to check it out, and there were no walls. It was just studded all the way down.”
Mary Ott, lower, is pictured with her senior group who aids her in the garden at The Renaissance of Florence. Pictured are from left: John Hambrick, Betty Chasteen, Jimmie Butts, Geoff Keener, Lucy Thomas, Virginia Wilson, Peggy Ratliff, Emma Ginther, Bob Torbert, Paul Kollfrath, and Mary Donna Ott (kneeling). [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Mary Ott, left, and Dean Vickery stand together in the gardens at Merrill Gardens at Florence. [COURTESY]
Bill Watson shows peanuts grown at the gardens at The Renaissance of Florence. [COURTESY]
A melon planted and grown by Mary Ott at The Renaissance of Florence.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
A progress photo shows the gardens at The Renaissance of Florence. [COURTESY]
While Ott and Brown were walking the property, Ott said a man named Dave Jameson, who turned out to be a hiring manager, drove up in his car and greeted them. Brown then asked if he’d found an activities director for the new facility, and when he replied no, he hadn’t, she pointed towards Ott and said, “There’s your person.”
“It was a God thing,” Ott recalled. The request for an interview came unexpectedly, but Ott felt this might be her shot to find a job more in line with the kind of career she’d hoped to pursue while she was in college at the University of South Alabama.
“My parents had a recreational business. We had a riding stable and a skeet range, and it’s funny, I worked at The Grand Hotel as a junior hostess, so I was kind of doing this for kids already,” Ott said.
“When I was two or three years into college, my mother said, ‘You’re going to have to choose a career.’ I said I wanted to do recreation, but that wasn’t a thing back then. She didn’t understand that was a thing.”
Instead of finding work in recreation, Ott became a radiologic technologist, a health care professional specially trained in medical imaging like x-rays. She worked for a time in that field while living in Selma, but when she came to the Shoals, she knew she needed a change in scenery.
After that first meeting with Jameson on the grounds of what
would become a senior living facility, Ott was asked to return for the interview. That would become an opportunity to integrate Ott’s other passion for gardening.
“He said to me, ‘If I hired you, what could you do for the residents that nobody else can do?’ I said, ‘Well, my grandmother loves flowers. I’ll grow them flowers.’ And I kept my word.”
Mary Ott shows a form of leopard lily she planted at The Renaissance of Florence. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Hawaiian Luau at The Renaissance Senior Living, pictured from left – Gloria Smith, Betty Parker, Betty Chasteen and Louise McCoy. [COURTESY]
Twenty-five years and two name changes later, the gardens and courtyard at The Renaissance of Florence likely rival any other lush botanical display around the Shoals, and the planting isn’t all owed to Ott.
Over the years, she used her love for planting to help engage the residents who shared an interest in gardening and a green thumb. While many blooming annuals were planted more recently by seven of the residents
who are dedicated to the garden, Ott said some perennials, trees and shrubs were planted by residents who have since passed on.
“Everybody gives something to the garden,” Ott said this summer as she showed off several thriving plants and ornaments around the courtyard. “Ms. Sybil — she loved to order things, and she ordered that rose. It’s been here for 17 years. Years ago, one resident brought all
the hydrangeas — one for each of her family members.”
Ott said the garden blooms across three different seasons. In one area of the courtyard, residents had even planted tomatoes, cantaloupe, blueberries and other produce they’d gotten to enjoy throughout the summer.
“We have three or four fig trees, we have blackberries and gladiolas,” Ott said, checking off the plants as she walked by them. “They wanted to try some cotton, so we planted cotton. There are some green beans. We’ve already eaten some from the green beans.”
Since starting the landscape, Ott said she’s seen the project become therapeutic for some residents who say they find purpose and meaning in the work they contribute.
“They’ve just taken hold of this, and they feel like this is their home,” Ott said. “They feel a part of it all. Also, you have to remember, they are in their 80s and 90s. They’re getting on it. There is one resident, I can’t make her quit. I have to make her come inside out of the heat, but she just loves it.”
Mary Ott shows a form of coneflowers she planted at The Renaissance of Florence.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Mary Ott shows projects completed with seniors at The Renaissance of Florence.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
With an average of about 70 residents staying at The Renaissance at any given time, Ott said she also finds other ways to engage the seniors who might not be interested in botany or herbology.
A monthly calendar might include anything from participating in a Cooking Club, where participants get to prepare meals together, or a yoga class or movie nights and Bingo.
Ott said she’s enlisted exercise instructors, local artists and musicians, and community speakers to hold small events for the seniors in her care.
“I treat them as if they live at home,” Ott said. “They go to the theater if they want to go to the theater. We have exercise. We have picnics. I try to do everything possible. We’ve even done a Hillsdale College course, and they got to graduate from it.”
Ott said she couldn’t do what she does at The Renaissance without
help from volunteers throughout the community. If a resident asks to do a craft or an activity she isn’t familiar with, Ott does her best to find someone who can. So far, Ott said she’s gotten positive response from people willing to make a difference in the lives of seniors at the facility.
While all the activities and engagement are enriching for the
TreatYourself
residents, Ott said she’s the one who feels blessed for having the chance to get to know all her clients.
“I’ve had so many wonderful relationships,” she said. “These are my mothers, my grandmothers, my aunts, my best friends, you know? We all find some kind of fit, and I call this home. It’s just been wonderful.”
Julia Ann Griggs, Sylvia Hinton, Mary Donna Ott, Laura Bell Brown, Jessie Jordon stand next to the original beds at The Renaissance of Florence. [COURTESY PHOTO]
Putnam was inspired to take up quilting as a way to preserve some of those memories with her grandmother.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
THE LOST ART OF HAND QUILTING
Stacey
2
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–Friday,8
A broken line is Stacey Putnam’s tell-tale mark
By Chelsea Retherford Staff writer
As Stacey Putnam shows off the vibrant colors in a quilt that her grandmother made decades ago, she flips the quilt over to display the small, dashed lines that make up the stitching on the back.
These are the tell-tale marks of a quilt that was hand stitched.
“When you hand-quilt, you leave behind a broken line,” Putnam said, explaining the process of stitching through the layers of a quilt — the top quilt, usually made up of patchwork squares or an applique design; the batting, or the insulated filling; and the backing.
“It’s like a sandwich, and when your thread is stitched through the layers, it leaves behind a dashed
line with gaps in between,”
Putnam said. “When you quilt with the (sewing) machine, it leaves a solid line on the top and the back. It just looks different.”
The quilt made from recycled flour sacks may not feature
elaborate and seamless stitchwork, or even complicated geometric shapes in the patchwork squares, but it is one of Putnam’s most prized quilts.
It was left to Putnam after her grandmother, Ruby Austin Qualls,
Stacey Putnam shows one of her quilts.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Stiches show on the backing of a quilt by Stacey Putnam. Putnam says the dashed lines are a sign that the quilt was stitched by hand. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
passed away in May of 1994. It’s also the quilt that inspired Putnam to take up the craft about six years later.
“When she died — she had a lot of quilts — each of the grandchildren was given a quilt,” Putnam said. “When I got the quilt, it was a very simple pattern because she did string quilts with very simple, mismatched cloth, but it just meant a lot to me. It reminded me of my grandmother. She was very hardworking, and it reminded me of her way of life.”
Talking about her late grandmother conjures up memories of visiting her grandparents’ farm in Savannah, Tennessee, each summer when Putnam was a child.
“We’d get up in the morning; she’d make biscuits by hand, and I remember it being very hot,” Putnam said. “My dad’s family made do. I remember no air conditioning, and my grandma always wore
house dresses and had her hair in a bun. They hung clothes on the line.
“It was just a very different way of life. Very simple. Very quiet. My grandparents were very quiet.”
Putnam, now 51 and living in Florence, was stationed at the Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, Louisianna, when she
Do you have
got the news of her grandmother’s passing.
Though she was inspired to take up quilting as a way to preserve some of those memories with her grandmother, she had to put that hobby on hold for a short while.
“I started quilting years later, because I was still active duty and I
Stacey Putnam hand sews at her home. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
was going to school,” Putnam said. “It was just a very busy time.”
Putnam graduated from nursing school in 2000, and she purchased her fist sewing machine, which still sits in her kitchen today. Next, Putnam enlisted help from her aunt — her dad’s sister, Jo Anne Lutrell — to teach her to quilt.
“She taught me to use a needle and thimble,” Putnam said. “I like hand-quilting. I just prefer that look, and it’s rewarding. I’ve done both — machine quilting and hand — but I personally find the handquilting is more enjoyable. It is more time consuming, but I wanted to learn to hand-quilt.
“So, it goes back to my dad’s family,” she added. “My mom thinks I’m nuts. She called me the other day and asked, ‘What are you
doing?’ I was cutting 3,390 strips of material and sewing them back together. She just laughs.”
Though her mother doesn’t quite get the pastime, when Putnam moved to the Shoals, she found a group that does.
She and her husband, Brian, moved to the Shoals 17 years ago when Putnam started working in critical care at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital — now North Alabama Medical Center. After the move from Louisianna, Putnam said she found out about a quilt show, and that’s when she discovered the Batting Brigade Quilt Guild.
She attended the quilt show, held at Edgemont United Methodist Church where the guild meets every month. After meeting
several of the members, Putnam decided to join the club.
“They used to have these quilting bees and fabric exchanges, and those were treats,” Putnam said. “We meet every month at the church, and we have meals. They’re just a really good group of people. We share a common interest. We learn from each other. We have show and tell every month and, you know, the people you are friends with really appreciate your work.”
Though Putnam has been quilting for more than 20 years, she said she still learns something new from the group each month.
They’ve taught me so much,” she said. “Sometimes it’s something you don’t want to hear. I was having trouble getting my borders on, and one of the members said, ‘Well, get
A pineapple quilt pattern sewn by Stacey Putnam featuring Civil War reproduction fabrics. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Stacey Putnam hand sews at her home. [DAN BUSEY/ TIMESDAILY]
Stacey Putnam uses her first sewing machine at her home. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
your seam ripper and take them off. So, I was like, ‘OK, I guess that’s what it takes.’”
When asked about some of the techniques she’s been taught by the club, Putnam said one of the favorites she has adopted is applique, which involves needling pieces of fabric to a larger background to form pictures or patterns.
“I learned from Margaret,” Putnam said. “Margaret Miller was a member of the guild, and she sort of became a mentor. Margaret taught me so much about applique, and she did the most beautiful needle turn, where you turn the edges under. You don’t want a raw edge because the threads will start to fray.”
Among several finished quilt tops Putnam has at home that still need to be layered with batting and backing is a pineapple applique quilt that Putnam’s youngest son, Alex, has claimed as a favorite.
As Putnam’s unfinished projects begin to outnumber the completed
quilts in her home, she admits she may have to start turning to her sewing machine to catch up. Still, she’s set aside a few favorite top quilts she is determined to handquilt as she has time.
As for the quilts that are finished, Putnam smiles when she sees her husband wrapped up in one of her creations on a cold day, or whenever she sees her sons drape a cozy favorite across their lap as they snack and play video games.
Putnam even hopes the quilts that took several painstaking hours to hand stitch get day-to-day use in her house, or in the homes of others she’s gifted them to.
“It’s hard to say what you feel when you hold a quilt,” she said.
“When I put my grandmother’s quilt in my lap, I just look at her stitches and think about the hands that made it. This is something that she touched, and she made. I just have an admiration for that.”
Alex, left, and Spencer Putnam wear quilts by their mother, Stacey Putnam, while playing video games.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
BRIGADEBatting
Not your mother’s quilt guild
By Chelsea Retherford Staff writer
Linda Sherrod, 78, has sewn and quilted almost her entire life. It was something she said she picked up from her mother, who likely sewed more out of necessity than for fun, because not so long ago, quilting and sewing your own clothes and bedding was a way of life in the rural South.
“My mother was the oldest of five girls, and my grandmother taught all of them to sew in quilts,” Sherrod said. “They would make a quilt top, and they would gather at someone’s home and sit around the big frame that hangs from the ceiling, and they’d quilt.”
From left, Cathy Moor, Thelma Hodges, Sandy Watson, Linda Sherrod and Liz Linebrink stand for a portrait. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Thelma Hodges, 76, also remembers a quilting frame that once hung from the ceiling when her mother wasn’t using it. Frames like those helped to hold all three quilt layers taut as they were being stitched together.
“When I was little, we played underneath the quilting frame from the time they would set it up,” Hodges said. “My mother, Linda, sewed for the public when I was growing up. She and my grandmother used to quilt, and I just kind of picked it up.”
Hodges picked up sewing as a business like her mother as well, though, she gave up sewing and quilting altogether when she married and started a family. When her youngest children were old enough to start school, she said she turned back to quilting as a pastime.
Several women in the Batting Brigade Quilt Guild have stories similar to Hodges and Sherrod.
Linda Sherrod shows off one of her UFOs, or unfinished objects – a stack-n-whack quilt, which involves stacking fabric layers together, cutting them all at once, and then sewing them back together in unique geometric designs. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Cathy Moor, 77, didn’t pick up quilting until she was introduced to the guild, but she had grown up loathing needles and thread.
“My mother and grandmother and all of them sewed. When I was younger, my mother would make
all my clothes, and I got to hem,” she said. “Well, just before I went into the ninth grade — that’s when you’d take Home (Economics) and everything — my mother decided that summer that I was going to make some clothes.”
Liz Linebrink, left, lays out her quilt featuring Hunter’s Star quilt blocks. [DAN BUSEY/ TIMESDAILY]
Hands show an individual quilted square for a blooming nine patch quilt. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Sandy Watson shows the batting of quilting project she is working on. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Moor’s mother set her to working on some skirts and a couple of pairs of pants on her own to help teach her.
“I would sew, and she’d rip out a seam and make me do it again,” Moor said. “So, at the end of that summer, she said, ‘You need to take Home Ec.’ I said, ‘No, no ma’am.’
She said, ‘One day, you’ll have a daughter, and you’ll wish you would have.’
“I had two daughters, and I never wished.”
Though she jokes about the experience now, after Moor retired in 2000, she said she began talking to Phyllis Massenburg, who was a longtime member of the quilt guild and attended church at Edgemont Methodist in Florence, where Moor also attends.
Massenburg talked Moor into coming to an annual quilt show the guild held at the church. Moor said she decided to take on a quilt project.
“Just to see if I could do it,” she said. “So, I went to one of Phyllis’ classes, and through her, I learned to quilt. I’ve made about 60 or so quilts since then, which is unusual for me, but I love to piece the tops. That’s my favorite thing.”
The three ladies said the guild is open to anyone with an interest in quilting, whether they’ve grown up
sewing or even if they’ve never threaded a needle.
Sandy Watson, 71, joined the guild in 2017. She’d never quilted up to that point. She got involved after Hodges, who is her sister-inlaw, encouraged her to pick up the hobby.
“I came for months and would just sit and watch everything,”
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A quilt features a stained glass design. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Watson said. “The first thing I ever did was a little 18-by-18 kit that I got at Joanne’s Fabrics.”
After she completed the small project, Watson said she sat back again and just enjoyed the socialization she got from the guild meetings each month. Eventually, another project caught her eye.
“There was a lady, Joyce Butler, who came to the guild, and she did a quilt called ‘Turning 20,’” Watson said, explaining the quilt pattern that uses all of 20 fat quarters — or pre-cut pieces of fabric that are typically 18 by 20 inches — with no leftover pieces in its quilt top.
The pieces are called fat quarters because they are wider than a standard quarter-yard cut, which measures 9 by 44 inches.
When Watson saw the quilt, she thought it looked simple enough for her second attempt.
“So, I talked with Joyce after the meeting, and she met with me privately and taught me how to cut it and what to do,” Watson said. “That was really what got me started. It was that ‘Turning 20’ quilt. I’ve only been quilting about seven years now, but I’m enjoying it and learning new things with everything that I do.”
Like Watson and Moor, Liz Linebrink found a passion for quilting later in life.
“My great grandmother quilted, and I remember playing under her hand-quilting frame when I was like 10 or 11,” Linebrink said. “I’d always thought it would be cool to
do, but I never, you know, picked it up. That was it, and then we moved away, and I never saw her again.”
Linebrink, now 74, was about 50 years old and living in Picayune, Mississippi, when she walked into a quilt shop in December of 1999 because her son-in-law had expressed an interest in quilting. While she and her son-in-law were shopping for ideas and supplies, Linebrink met someone who was part of a quilting guild in that community. Linebrink attended her first meeting and was hooked.
She bought her son-in-law a quilting book and a sewing machine for Christmas that year, but she also picked up the craft
Cathy Moor discovered the craft of hand-dying fabrics about 20 years ago and began merging the process with her quilting passion. She shows off two quilts she created using fabrics she had previously hand dyed. [DAN
A Magic Tile quilt features oddly shaped tiles of bold fabrics separated by quilted “grouting,” which can give the final product an effect strikingly similar to stained glass. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
BUSEY/ TIMESDAILY]
and officially joined the quilting guild in Picayune. At that time, there were 13 members, she said.
The year she left the guild and moved to the Shoals, there were 85. “It was a big club,” Linebrink said.
“It was a lot of fun, and that lady helped me, and I went from there. It was easy to pick up, but my first quilt I ever made has never been quilted. I still have it on my longarm now.”
WE WE
ARE ARE YOUR YOUR
When Linebrink joined the Batting Brigade Guild, she found several members there have unfinished projects, or UFOs (unfinished objects) as Watson likes to call them.
“It’s so easy to start one and do several blocks on it, and then we’ll have another workshop,” Watson said. “So, you put that aside, and then you start another one. It’s so awesome. We all have UFOs in our closets. We all have a lot of that.”
For the ladies, who discover new techniques, patterns and even state-of-the-art equipment and gadgets that make modern quilting a cinch, it’s less about the project itself and more about the fun and camaraderie they feel within their group.
“I don’t care how long you’ve been doing this, you can always pick up new ideas,” Hodges said. “Every month, somebody comes up with something different in the meeting, and it’s real interesting. It’s just fun to be with this group.”
A detail of a quilt featuring a silhouette of a tree and a girl. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
From left, Gene Cleveland, Brian Beck, and Mary McWilliams stand for a portrait inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Brian Beck, Mary McWilliams still involved with Winston Home
By Chelsea Retherford Staff writer
Nearly 45 years ago, Brian Beck approached Mary McWilliams with questions about restoring the historic Winston Home in Tuscumbia.
At that time, the imposing antebellum structure located on the Deshler High campus, was used as storage space for some classes like home economics, but Beck had heard that the 1830s home was once a central part of school life.
“I took dual enrollment upstairs. At one time, they had an electronics class here,” Beck said, showing off the home this August.
“Allen’s Air Conditioning — David got his start upstairs in the bride’s room,” McWilliams chimed in. “The
Key Club members Sawyer Blankenship, left, and Brody Black help move furniture inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
The west wing of the Winston Home once served as a large dining room. Today, it’s used to host guests for small events, including an annual reception held for parents of Deshler High School graduates.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
A portrait of Robert Lee Armistead hangs in a sitting room of the Winston Home in Tuscumbia. Armistead was the greatnephew of William Winston and the grandson of Isaac Winston Sr., locally famed owner of the nearby Belle Mont mansion.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Brian Beck, left, and Mary McWilliams show a large hutch inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia.
[DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
HISTORY OF THE WINSTON HOME
The following is an excerpt from an article by Beth Garfrerick, published in the TimesDaily on April 15, 1982:
Built in the mid-1800s, the estate was occupied a number of years by William Winston and his descendants. The home and surrounding land stood vacant many years, however, before being purchased in 1947 and turned over to the control of the school board.
Classes were first held in the building during the 1948-49 school year and continued until 1952 when the school system’s central office moved its headquarters into the home.
In 1970, the last school board meeting was held there and since then the Winston Home has become a part of Deshler High School. Before the renovation project began, the home was in a state of decay and used primarily for storage.
The Winston home is adjoined to Deshler High, in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Bride’s room was heating and air conditioning, and David tells people that’s where he got his start.”
Beck said the house served as an administrative office for the school in the 1960s. After restoration efforts were well underway, the
Winston Home was bustling again with student activity before it opened to the public for private events like showers, bridal teas and even weddings.
Sometime in between all that, however, the home became a victim of neglect.
In 1981, Beck — then a senior — had just been named president of the Key Club, and he needed a community project. As a friend and fellow classmate of McWilliams’ daughter, Lisa, Beck knew McWilliams had an interest in seeing the home preserved.
“I like old houses,” McWilliams said. “I grew up going from farm to farm during the summer with aunts and uncles, and they had old houses on farms. I just loved it. There is just something that draws me, and I saw and watched this house.”
McWilliams also felt a personal connection to the home as she had graduated from Deshler, and all four of her children eventually became Deshler High alumni.
“So, I kept trying to find someone else interested in saving it. I mean, they were fixing to bulldoze it down,” McWilliams said. “I kept trying to get my kids involved, and they’d say, ‘No, kids will laugh at us.’”
A portrait of Maud Lindsey, an Alabama author, educator and philanthropist, is on display along with other memorabilia that once belonged to her in a sitting room at the historic Winston Home in Tuscumbia. Lindsey was the granddaughter of the original owner, William Winston (her mother was Sarah Miller Winston). [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Key Club members Hayley Hall and Laura Richards help clean for Mary McWilliams inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
When Beck expressed an interest, McWilliams said she was ecstatic. The two immediately enlisted help from other Key Club members and leaders around their community. Beck remembers exactly who his first call was to.
“I called Harvey Robbins, because he was an alumnus, and he owned NAFCO (National Floor Products Company, Inc.),” Beck said. “I told him what we were doing. He said, ‘O.K., I’ll give you $500.’ He said that without even
blinking an eye. So, that was our first seed money.”
McWilliams said the second generous donation came from former Lt. Gov. George McMillan, who she said kicked off his campaign for Alabama governor in 1981 from the front steps of the Winston Home.
“He asked me what I needed, and I said, ‘Well, windows are the next big thing we’ve got to have,’” she recalled.
When he asked her how much they’d need for the project, McWilliams admits she had no idea but spatted off “$5,000.” She laughs as she retells the story, but she said she was shocked when McMillan wrote a check for that amount on the spot.
The late Robert Clemmons, who served as superintendent of Tuscumbia schools, must have been shocked, too.
“Dr. Clemmons said, ‘Why didn’t you ask for $10,000?” McWilliams
Mary McWilliams and Brian Beck save old newspapers and newspaper clippings – like this one published by the Colbert County Reporter on Jan. 5, 1995 – detailing the progress they made on restoration and maintenance at the Winston Home from 1981 to the present. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
GHOSTLY TALES OF THE WINSTON HOME
Sincerestoration efforts began at the historic home on North Commons Street in Tuscumbia, strange sounds, unexplained occurrences, and even ghostly sightings have been reported around the Winston Home, according to Mary McWilliams and Brian Beck. They each nod to one of the house’s first occupants, Judith Winston, when retelling the spooky tales.
Judith Winston was the second wife of William Winston, who oversaw the completion of the home in 1833. The facts leading up to the strange tales begin with Mrs. Winston’s death on Nov. 22, 1874.
It’s said that Mrs. Winston was descending the winding staircase that day when a tornado struck and caused a fatal collapse. She lived through the ordeal but succumbed to her injuries a couple of hours later in one of the rooms of the home. Though she died 150 years ago, many believe Mrs. Winston’s spirit never left the house.
“Mrs. Winston has to make herself known every so often. Odd things do happen,” Beck said.
Students crossing the grounds on their way to class have said they’ve glimpsed a woman staring down from an upstairs window when the home should have been empty.
Visitors inside the home have reported disembodied knocks at the door, and even McWilliams and Beck themselves have experienced some chilling encounters that they can’t easily explain away.
One story Beck vividly recalls took place at an open house they were
hosting inside the home one December afternoon.
“The home economics class had put crystal out on the table. They had set it all up,” he retold. “The next morning, I came in, and there was one piece of crystal right in the center that had been crushed down. Just that one by itself.”
McWilliams, who has served as lead caretaker of the home for years since restoration began in 1981, said she has been called to the house in the middle of the night on several occasions because an alarm had been triggered from the inside.
She remembers being called at 2:30 a.m. once because the alarm company had detected “motion in the southwest room,” McWilliams said.
“I asked, ‘Well, has the back door been opened or the front door?’ They said neither one,” she recounted, adding that she was told to meet police officers at the property to unlock the house for them.
This spiral staircase had to be rebuilt after the original was destroyed by a tornado in 1874. Judith Winston was descending the staircase when it collapsed, leading to her death. [DAN BUSEY/ TIMESDAILY]
“I called Brian, and I said, ‘Get your pants on. I’m coming to pick you up on the way. I’ll be there in five minutes.’ And I did,” McWilliams said. “I whipped in, he hopped in the car, and here we came down here. I unlocked the door, and the police said, ‘Now, you stay back behind the wall here. Don’t you go in.’ They had their guns drawn, so I unlocked the door, and they went in to nothing. There was nothing. To this day, we still do not know what set the alarm off.”
Some of the ghostly happenings set in motion a peculiar ritual at the Winston Home whenever a party or special event is held inside the house.
After reports of “rattling chairs” and other creepy occurrences taking place at such events — especially weddings and receptions — McWilliams began instructing the party planners to leave Mrs. Winston an invitation to the upcoming nuptials.
Oddly enough, those who do leave behind a written invitation addressed to Mrs. Winston are left alone throughout the ceremonies and festivities.
Whether they actually take stock in the tall tales of the ghost of Mrs. Winston, Beck and McWilliams admit plenty of fun is to be had passing down the legends and lore that surround the iconic home at Deshler High.
Judith Winston. Some say Winston haunts the house to this day. [CHELSEA RETHERFORD/TIMESDAILY]
said, adding that she was grateful for all the donations they received for their efforts, no matter how big.
“Another time, one of our church members met me while she was checking out at the grocery store,” McWilliams added. “She had $2 change left, and she came around to where I was checking out and she said, ‘Here, put this on the Winston Home for me.’
“That’s how it all came together. It’s a community thing, and God just answered everything we needed.”
Two years after donations began rolling in and dedicated volunteers led by McWilliams and Beck got involved, the Winston Home was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Over that time, the home saw major improvements to its roof and gutters, completion of all electrical work, and newly sheetrocked walls and ceilings.
In 1983, Beck said McWilliams and the Key Club held a “Decorated
A plaque reads in loving memory of Betty Jane Flipper Bryson by the 1948 Deshler class inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
Show House,” that invited guests to come paint and stage the home. More donations in the form of furnishings began to roll in, and local residents volunteered to put the finishing touches on the walls throughout the home. By 1984, restoration was completed, but the work wasn’t done.
Beck, who attended college at the University of North Alabama, and joined the Key Club parent organization, the Tuscumbia branch of Kiwanis, remained close by to help with maintenance at the home as needed.
When work took McWilliams and her husband away to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a brief period, she said the effort was left to Beck and a
From left, Brian Beck, Mary McWilliams, and Gene Cleveland look over historic photographs inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
A photograph of Key Club members in 1983 inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
late Winston Home board member, Ann Christopher, who had been dedicated to the effort for years.
Eventually, Gene Cleveland, whose son, Joe, was a Key Club member alongside Beck, joined the crew and continues to help maintain the house and grounds.
Beck said work keeps him away most days now, and most of the maintenance falls to McWilliams and Cleveland, but he tries to make himself available anytime the home holds an event, or if major work needs to be done.
“People can call the (Deshler) central office when they want to reserve the home for showers or small events,” McWilliams said. “We do not do weddings and receptions anymore unless they are very small.”
From time to time, McWilliams and Beck will enlist the help of high school students and current Key Club members for some heavy lifting or other projects around the
house, but Beck said it’s proven difficult to find someone to pass the baton to after all these years. “They say, ‘I’m not going to do what you do,’ and that’s true,” McWilliams agreed. “I saw it from the beginning, so I’m going to take care of it and keep it going as long as I can.”
She and Beck both said they’re
Alabama AwningsCo.,Inc.
grateful to have been part of a long chapter for the Winston Home, and they are hopeful others will take interest in seeing it preserved for future use.
“It’s a proud accomplishment,” Beck said. “This is the centerpiece of campus. Everybody knows the Winston Home. It’s become part of the heart of this community.”
From left, Key Club members Sawyer Blakenship, Brody Black, Hayley Hall, Addison Oden and Jillian Wheeler are shown photographs of the home from 1983 by Mary McWilliams and Brian Beck inside the Winston home in Tuscumbia. [DAN BUSEY/TIMESDAILY]
All you need for a memorable night out
By Metrocreative
Anight out can be a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life. In fact, taking a break and heading out with friends can give people a sense of belonging and boost those feel-good neurotransmitters that keep us feeling happy.
According to a 2019 study found in PLOS One, an open access mega journal published by the Public Library of Science, social networks can influence health-related behaviors and have a positive impact on stress, attitude and self-assessed health perceptions. Human connection is at the core of what most people need to live healthy, satisfying lives. Therefore, regular nights out can provide a chance to laugh, let off steam and connect with others. Here are some ways to have memorable nights out with others.
SEND INVITATIONS
It pays to give people ample notice of an upcoming evening out so they can plan their schedules accordingly. Waiting until the last minute to see if people want to hang can diminish turnout. Send a text around a week or two in advance to
lock down the date and time. Better yet, make it a regular event, such as the last Thursday of each month.
DON T HYPE THINGS UP
Labeling a night as the best night ever or a party to remember can quickly tamp down the fun in a flash. It’s best to let the fun develop organically rather than putting a bunch of labels or expectations on the event.
HAVE AN ACTIVITY IN MIND
Certainly, there are some friend groups that simply go on impromptu bar crawls and make magic along the way. But developing a general framework of what s to transpire can help. Identify an
activity and go with it, such as a themed club night to dress up and listen to some different music. There are many options for theme nights, including 70s, 80s or 90s, as well as musical theater or movies, or specific genres of music.
ADD A TOUCH OF ADVENTURE
Experiences with perceived risk or adversity can elevate the sense of enjoyment and camaraderie. While no one is condoning doing something illegal or dangerous, incorporating a bit of adventure into the night can bring about growth and make the experience worth talking about in the future. This may be a reason why escape rooms have grown in popularity. One idea is to explore a new
city or town and let other tourists suggest places to visit. Don t stay in one place too long, so the adventure keeps evolving.
LEAVE THE DRIVING TO SOMEONE ELSE
Adults may want to imbibe during a night out, and the safest way to avoid driving under the influence is to let a rideshare service or taxi transport participants where they need to go. Plus, cramming into a car together and heading to another destination can be part of the fun itself. According to Thought Catalog, a community storytelling outlet, driving can create stress and put a cap on the amount of fun you can have. These are just a few components that can add up to a memorable night out with friends.
How nutritional needs change with age
By Metrocreative
Healthy eating is important at any age and can set the course for a life of vitality and wellness. Sufficient nutrition can help prevent chronic illnesses and make sure that growing bodies develop properly. As one ages, various changes take place in the body, making healthy eating even more essential. According to Healthline, nutritional deficiencies can effect aging individuals, which can decrease quality of life and lead to poor health outcomes. Individuals should pay attention to their vitamin and mineral intake at various ages so they do not miss out on important nutrients. As a person ages, here are some approaches to consider.
• Consume fewer calories: According to Connie Bales, PhD, RD, associate director of the
Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center at Durham VA Medical Center, people need fewer calories every decade. That’s because individuals are moving around less and have less muscle. This causes a decline in metabolic rate.
• Include more nutrient-dense foods: Even though caloric needs go down with age, it’s important to pack as much nutrition into the calories a person does consume. That means finding nutrient-rich foods like whole grains, fruits, nuts, beans, vegetables, fish, and lean cuts of meat.
• Consume more lean protein: Muscle loss and loss of strength can develop as a person ages. Healthline says the average adult loses 3 to 8% of their muscle mass each decade after
age 30. Eating more protein could help aging bodies maintain muscle.
• Eat fortified cereals and grains: The ability to absorb vitamin B12 can decrease as one gets older and with the use of certain medicines. Many health professionals recommend patients get more vitamin B12 by consuming foods enriched with this vitamin. Vitamin supplements may be needed in addition to food.
• Drink more fluids: Health.com says sensation of thirst declines with age. Drinking water and other fluids becomes a priority to stay hydrated. It also helps with digestion.
• Prioritize bone health: Osteoporosis is a concern for older adults, particularly women who have reached menopause. Osteoporosis occurs when bones become brittle and can break from only the slightest bump or fall, says the Mayo Clinic. Vitamin D and calcium help strengthen bones, and older adults may need more of these nutrients. Individuals should speak with their health care providers and nutritionists for further insight into their changing nutritional needs. Such professionals can help customize diets to address specific health concerns
By Metrocreative
As long as there have been homes for sale, there have been financial vehicles designed to alleviate some of the financial pressures associated with owning a home. A reverse mortgage is another way homeowners can borrow money based on the value of their homes, but it doesn’t need to be repaid as long as those individuals are still living in their residences.
ELIGIBILITY AND BASICS
The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Advice says a reverse mortgage is an option for those age 62 or older who can borrow money based on their equity, or how much money one could get for the home if sold after what is owed on the mortgage
REVERSE MORTGAGES EXPLAINED
eligibility parameters must be met, including a credit history analysis, income requirements, age requirement, and property stipulations. These criteria may differ from lender to lender.
which means that the borrower or the borrower’s estate cannot owe more than the value of the home when the loan becomes due and the home is sold.
is paid off. At least one owner must live in the house most of the year. Reverse mortgages may be paid as a cash lump sum, as a monthly income or as a line of credit that enables the homeowner to decide how much is desired and when.
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY
There is a misconception that a loan that requires no monthly repayment of principal or interest will not come with any eligibility considerations. Premier Reverse Mortgage says there are some things to know before doing reverse mortgages. To prevent homeowners using reverse mortgages to avoid downsizing due to financial shortcomings, certain
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL MORTGAGES AND REVERSE MORTGAGES
Unlike a traditional mortgage where payments are made to principal and interest and the balance goes down over time, with a reverse mortgage, borrowers do not make any payments right away. The loan balance goes up over time and the loan is repaid when the borrower no longer lives in the home. The homeowners or their heirs will eventually have to pay back the loan, usually by selling the home. However, as the loan balance increases, the home equity decreases with a reverse mortgage. This can affect a surviving spouse or other family members. The FTC advises homeowners to confirm the reverse mortgage has a “nonrecourse” clause,
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Due to fees and other requirements, a reverse mortgage may be a more expensive way to borrow money. Other ways to borrow against equity may be a better fit, such as a home equity line of credit. Furthermore, since reverse mortgages are for older adults, scams are prevalent. Some include contractors who approach seniors about getting a reverse mortgage to pay for repairs, or scams targeting veterans.
Borrowers considering reverse mortgages should first speak with a qualified financial planner. Homeowners in the United States can access information through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. All options, costs and interest rate information should be confirmed before signing on the dotted line.
