125th Anniversary

125 ALEXANDER CITY OUTLOOK

YEARS OF SERVICE

June 2017 A special supplement to The Alexander City Outlook and the Dadeville Record

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125 YEARS

JUNE 2017

ONE GOOD CELEBRATION DESERVES ANOTHER. We’re proud to honor Tallapoosa Publishers’ milestone in the same year that USAmeriBank is celebrating our own tradition. While we are commemorating our 10th anniversary, the heritage of our service in Alabama goes back 116 years. Our local bankers are grateful for the vital part that Tallapoosa Publishers has played in our community for generations.

CO N G RAT U LAT I O N S

TALLAPOOSA PUBLISHERS!

Mill Square (256) 329-7510

Alexander City (256) 329-7400

Dadeville (256) 215-7300

usameribank.com

Member FDIC #0047-201706-0001

JUNE 2017

125 YEARS

3

The Outlook A 125-year historical expedition

By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer

The Alexander City Outlook celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. To best understand how the paper began and how it has evolved since first being published, one has to take a look not only at the men who have owned the paper since its beginning, but also its contents and appearance.

The first newspaper in Alexander City, The Beacon, was published in 1884 by Adolphus Longshore. Longshore published The Beacon until 1887, when it was sold to John Williamson.

Upon acquiring the paper, Williamson changed its name to The Vidette. He remained in control for approximately a year, selling it to a group of citizens consisting of T.S. Christian, Sr. and R.N. Parker. Their acquisition signaled another change in the publication’s name, this time becoming The Advance until 1890, when it took on its fourth name, The Dispatch. Parker sold his share of the paper to Captain J.D. Dickson in 1892, when the name was changed for the final time, becoming The Outlook.

The publication continued to change hands over the next nearly 80 years, going from Dickson to the group of Fitz. O. Hooton, Joe Grimsley and Earnest Winder.

Hooton bought out his partners and was the sole owner of The Outlook for two decades. J.C. Henderson, commonly referred to as “the Ole Crier,” became both publisher and owner after that, owning the publication for much of the 20th century. In 1971, Henderson and co-owner Thomas D. Russell sold The Outlook to James B. Boone, Jr. and the Boone Newspaper organization. Current owner (and then-publisher) Kenneth Boone purchased Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc. (a group formed by Boone Newspaper that The Outlook had become a part of) from his father in late 1991.

Even though the paper has changed hands many times, the overall mission of the paper has remained the same. Its appearance has varied, but the goal of reporting the news to the public still holds firm, whether it involves major events or local social gatherings.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The Outlook carried what could essentially be considered a gossip column, referred to as both “Personals” and “Comings and Goings,” depending on when it was published.

Proclaiming itself as “Pleasant Mentioning of Prominent People,” this section carried brief notes of what notable locals and out-of-towners visiting Alexander City were up to. These lines were as simple as “Mr. Sim Thomas of Nixburg, was in town last week,” or as in-depth as “Judge R. A. J. Cumbee who has been on the road for several days circulating among his many friends, returned home this place today. The Judge is full of life and encouragement.”

While the paper has always kept a close eye on local events, it has also managed to effectively tell state and national stories as well, even finding ways to put a local aspect on a larger story.

For example, the local headlines announcing Arthur Surprise from North Carolina as the new secretary-manager for the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce and September 3 as the first day of school for the Tallapoosa County School System had to settle for sitting under a large, bold headline screaming, “JAPS SURRENDER: World War II Ends Tuesday; Glad Tidings Announced At White House By Mr. Truman,” in the August 16, 1945 issue.

On Wednesday, January 29, 1986, The Outlook carried a story about the Challenger disaster, interviewing a teacher at Radney Elementary School recounting how she explained the event to her children who watched the event unfold live and a chemistry instructor at Central Alabama Community College talking about how volatile the liquid fuel used on the shuttle was.

The issue of September 12, 2001 carried a photograph of the Twin Towers with smoke and flames erupting from the structures, while the articles surrounding it examined the situation both nationally and locally. On one side, the article recounted the major events of that Tuesday.

On the other side, the story carried comments from Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions along with Congressman Bob

Riley. Underneath the photo, the superintendents from both the Alexander City and Tallapoosa County school system, the Alexander City fire and police chiefs, and Alexander City Mayor Don McClellan talked about emergency and contingency plans for major situations.

Advertisements have always been a big part of newspapers, giving the public a heads-up about the latest sales and new store openings.

More recently, it has become more commonplace to have an inserted section full of the latest bargains at stores around the area, but advertisements that stretched across one or more pages were a frequent occurrence in the past.

Take for instance, the May 6, 1960 issue. Spread across two pages, Piggly Wiggly wanted customers to know they had some of the best prices in town to help make a great meal to celebrate mother. The large, bold print let readers see that ground beef (makes delicious meatloaf) was 39 cents a pound and Plymouth ice cream would only cost 59 cents for a halfgallon container.

A couple pages later, David’s Jewelry wanted Alexander City to know of its grand opening celebrations that Friday and Saturday, enticing potential customers in with gift giveaways and free Coca-Colas available all day both days.

So, while The Outlook has gone from printing in black and white to full-color and from a weekly to five days a week, the stories covered remain the same.

There may no longer be a column talking about local people traveling from town to town, and advertisements from stores like Belk and A&P may have been replaced with ones from Dollar General and Harbor Freight, but some things have stayed the same. For the past 125 years, The Alexander City Outlook has continued to provide its readers with the news they need and want in the best and most effective manner possible.

Shown is The Outlook from 1892, top, and the current look 2017, below.

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125 YEARS

JUNE 2017

Outlook blessed to be part of this community for 125 years I became publisher of The Outlook in 1989, the same year that the Berlin Wall came down.

Chicago’s “Look Away” was the biggest single of the year and the next three biggest songs were “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison and “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul.

1989 was also the year that the first written proposal for something called the “world wide web” was created.

Let’s just say it was a while ago.

I was 29 – young and green for a daily newspaper publisher having just left the managing editor’s job at The Selma Times-Journal – and I threw myself into the business of The Outlook, the news of Alexander City and Tallapoosa County and the task of promoting and working to improve our community.

In 1991, I purchased Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc., from my father’s company, Boone Newspapers, Inc. I have owned the company for 26 years now. Adding in a summer job here as an intern when I was a teenager and the few years when I was publisher but not yet owner, I think I’ve been associated with The Outlook in one way or the other for roughly 29 years.

I had two seven-year stints as publisher, 1989-1996 and 2009-2016.

Most of that time I was publisher and editor, but I wised up several times and hired good editors in an attempt to get eight hours of sleep each night.

For years, people would tell me they saw me at every event in town.

That was my goal … and it was a lot of hard work. But I enjoyed it and I saw the newspaper grow and thrive at a time when Russell Corp. was going gangbusters. That’s when Russell was a Fortune 500 company and one of best textile companies in America. Everybody here was on top of the world for a number of years in the early 90’s.

I was also sitting in the publisher’s chair when Russell Corp. was moving out of our hometown, a time when many thought Alexander City would wind up a ghost town.

That didn’t happen. We – a whole lot of us – worked very hard to rebuild our town. And somehow we succeeded.

I don’t know of any other small, rural Southern town that could have withstood the loss of a company that employed the majority of its working residents, yet today Alexander City has record low unemployment, new businesses are popping up every month and downtown looks substan-

Kenneth and Mary Lyman Boone pose in the pressroom at Tallapoosa Publishers. They are committed to being involved in the community and keeping a family atmosphere at The Outlook.

tially better than it did during the golden age.

One of my strongest memories and proudest moments as publisher of The Outlook was also one of the worst.

It was February in the 1991. That was Parade month back then. We – everybody in the building – had worked extra hard and produced a 100-page special edition newspaper.

Most of it was already printed and stacked on pallets on our pressroom floor, waiting to be inserted and delivered to our readers.

I didn’t think much about the storm that came through that night.

What I didn’t know was that underneath the concrete intersection of Cherokee Road and South Central – and in the storm drain underneath The Outlook’s building – there was a (not literally) beaver dam of sticks, brush and debris.

So when the storm dumped rainfall on the city, it filled the storm drains, then hit the clog and backed up in that creek that flows behind the library and under our building.

I got to The Outlook at 8 a.m. that rainy morning and walked back into the composing room. Billy McGhee was putting an ad together with wax and an Exacto knife when he looked into carpeted corner of the room and said, “What’s that?”

For a moment, it looked like a dark stain in the gray carpet. Then we noticed it was growing. Billy walked into the pressroom to investigate and came back hollering. The water had backed up over our parking lot and was pouring under the garage door into our pressroom. It was already up to ankle level, which was getting very close to the Parade edition sections stacked on pallets on the floor. At its peak, the dirty water was just below my knees in the pressroom and about ankle-deep as it flowed out through our front door.

That’s my worst memory.

The strongest and the proudest memory is how every member of The Outlook’s staff stopped what they were doing, rolled up their sleeves and their pant legs, and teamed up to save the parade edition

first, and then our whole newspaper business.

Advertising sales reps, writers, composition folks – everybody was hauling paper and equipment to higher ground, or using push brooms to sweep water through the building, or doing what they could to make a bad situation better.

We saved the Parade edition.

And once the water started to recede, we produced a newspaper for the next day and never missed a beat.

It’s hard to convey just how much employees like that mean to a new business owner.

That can-do attitude is part of the culture here in Alexander City.

I believe it’s the No. 1 reason that Alexander City is thriving today despite major setbacks.

For that I’m forever thankful and blessed to be a part of this community, and this business, for 29 years of The Outlook’s 125 years.

Boone is chairman of Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc.

JUNE 2017

125 YEARS

5

Thanks to our readers, our advertisers and our community H ere at The Outlook, we have much to be thankful for as we celebrate our 125 th year of service to the people of Alexander City and Tallapoosa County.

First and foremost, we are thankful for you, our readers, and we hope that you will continue to trust us to cover your community earnestly, truthfully and accurately.

In a time when some people think that Facebook is a great source for news, we are blessed to have a loyal group of people who still believe their day is not complete if they haven’t read The Outlook. We thank all those who have made us their source for local news.

Our advertisers mean the world to us all. We thank them for allowing us to help them grow and tell their story. We can never express just how much we appreciate you trusting us to help get word out to your customers about the good things happening in your business.

We are also thankful for the tenacity of the people in our hometown.

Alexander City has seen its share of tough times. However, this hardworking community appears to have put its broad shoulders to the task of rebounding and overcome deep eco-

nomic wounds that would have sent other towns belly-up into a future of foundering – if any future at all.

The wonderful part of the Alexander City story is that we feel there are even better days to come.

For that we are thankful.

We are thankful for everyone who has allowed us to share with us the ups and downs of their lives – allowing us to herald their wins and consoling them in their losses. You have shared your stories and your lives with us and our readers. We are proud of every article that was put under a refrigerator magnet or clipped and pasted into a scrapbook.

That is what this newspaper has always been about and it will remain the same for the years to come.

We thank you for 125 great years, where our readers have welcomed The Outlook into their home, gave a little bit of their valuable time to us so that we can help inform them and make their lives a little better. We hope that you will continue to allow us to make you laugh, cry, scratch your head a little and most of all make you think.

Thanks you all for a great 125 years and we look forward to a great future together.

Shown above is the April 29, 1958 issue of The Alexander City Outlook.

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125 YEARS

JUNE 2017

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125 YEARS

JUNE 2017

Outlook delivers local news While people and technology have changed, newspaper has adapted with the times

By MITCH SNEED Editor

When people receive their paper each day, it may not be apparent what all goes into producing those 12 or so pages that they hold in their hands.

While some people scan the pages and look for headlines or a picture that catches their eye, consider all the information that each edition of The Outlook contains.

On average, you will find 18 stories, articles or columns on the pages of each Outlook.

Each edition averages seven color pictures, seven cartoons, two puzzles, 163 classified ads, 14 display ads for local businesses, five pre-printed circulars and 42 calendar items and mentions the name of at least 76 local folks.

The Outlook is a business that has gone through a lot of changes over the years.

We have gone from being weekly, to twice a week, to daily. We now do much more than just our newspaper. We have two very successful, slick magazines that reach nearly 20,000 people per month.

We have websites and social media outlets that allow us to give people information how they want it, when they want it.

Our coverage now includes videos and live broadcasts that are viewed by thousands of people.

We’ve gone from a manual process to produce the paper to a sophisticated digital process that means we can print color pictures on every page of our newspaper and turn them around in seconds, rather than hours.

While we print a newspaper each day, we are a business that starts each day from scratch and produces a brand new product, one that is designed to give our readers an accurate and complete snapshot of what the day in Alexander City is really like.

Our office is open just nine hours each day, but we have employees on the job around the clock. Our reporters are armed with scanners and cameras ready to respond to news no matter when or where it happens. They can go live on social media so that our readers are always informed.

Get the picture? The Outlook is dedicated to being the information source, news and advertising, for Alexander City and all of the Lake Martin community.

“We feel privileged to tell the story, be the watchdog, keep the permanent record of Tallapoosa County and the people who call it home,” Outlook Publisher Steve Baker said.

“We produce an award-winning quality newspaper every day, and I consider myself lucky to lead such a committed team.”

The press at The Alexander City Outlook is the centerpiece of the operation. Top, Albert Thompson, Charles Stephens and Press Superintendent Jimmy Nolen look over papers as they come off the press in 1971, the year that the first color pictures were published in the paper. Below, today Press Supervisor Lee Champion is able to print color pictures on every page of the paper. Champion has been honored for three consecutive years for Press Production by the Alabama Press Association.

JUNE 2017

125 YEARS

55

125

people are employed

by Tallapoosa Publishers counting fulltime, part-time, and contractors. Each and every one of them play a vital role in making sure the paper that is in the hands of the reader is written, produced and delivered in a professional manner.

That’s the number of years The Outlook has been operating in Alexander City.

We publish a paper

5

13,926

days a week

people follow us on Facebook. We reach out to an average of

52 weeks a year

260

9

3,300 That’s how many Outlook’s are printed each day.

858,000

That adds up to

16,500

That’s how many papers we publish with That’s the number of the exception Alexander City Outlooks of leap year. that we print every year.

papers printed per week.

396,428 That’s the average number of page views that we have each month on alexandercityoutlook.com

72,556 people per week.

5,280 That’s the average number of readers who see our paper each day.

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125 YEARS

JUNE 2017

Alexander City Outlook continues to make a difference in community

T

he woman came in the front door and asked for our reporter by name.

Someone, likely Darlene Yates, stepped around the short wall that separated the reception area from the space occupied by the newsroom, then communicated the customer’s request.

The visitor, Darlene said, seemed a bit upset.

I always worried when that happened. Because unlike in bigger places, the people who work for The Alexander City Outlook don’t live lives separate from the folks they cover. Those folks were, and are, our neighbors.

They’re people who stop you in the grocery aisle and suggest a story. People who call and tell you how hard it is to see that picture of the fatal wreck on the front page and ask what the heck you were thinking by publishing it there. People who shout “take my picture” on the sidelines of a Benjamin Russell game or insist “don’t take my picture” when you’re trying to fill out the last slot in a “Man on the Street” feature.

Back in the day, back in

KA TURNER Outlook editor (1992-1998) my day, they might make that mean chicken salad sandwich at Carlisle’s or compete with Al Hartley to see who could actually grow the biggest and best tomatoes in town. Or know I’d pay the tab when my very young nephew up and ordered the biggest steak at Cecil’s. They took me fishing (a lot, but never enough) and let us call it work because the stories showed up in the Lake Martin Fishwrapper. They knew that good services were held every Sunday in the Fishpond community and that the Ole’ Crier was full of wit and wisdom.

They may even have stonewalled when asked about a hospital tax (yep, it was over-collected) or worried about winning the water war with Georgia. They made uniforms for Major League

baseball players and NFL football players, and sweatshirts and T-shirts for us all. They searched for people in rescue boats and saved people while wearing police or fire uniforms. They delivered papers in the middle of the night and turned around to preach sermons on Sundays.

They were, almost unfailingly, kind to me, and to the young reporters we sent out into our little part of the world to write their stories or take their pictures. They expected our best efforts and did not tolerate anything akin to “fake news.”

Most of all, they wanted Alexander City to prosper – a sentiment that Kenneth Boone communicated when he hired me, one that he and his family and those who worked in our merry band understood and embraced.

Our newspaper is an economic driver, putting people to work, pairing business owners and customers, buying supplies and services.

And it is something more. Then and now, The Outlook reflects the community – its warts and its winsome qualities, its dreams and

realities. It is, at its best, a catalyst that pushes people to act.

Which brings me back to that day, and that visitor, who had read a story in the paper that concerned her, and brought her to our door.

We’d written of a local couple raising four adult children (each with special needs) whose home had burned, the fire also robbing the family’s father of the tools he used to make a living for them all.

Was our information incorrect?

Did we make a mistake of fact, or commit an error or judgment or taste that had offended the family?

No, our visitor that day didn’t want a correction. She came into the newspaper office and pressed a $100 bill into the hand of the reporter who wrote that story because she knew of no other trusted way to get connect with the family.

It was just one day in a long history of days. It was a day in which The Outlook made a difference.

KA Turner is now a Senior Editor with Alabama Media Group. Turner was the editor of the Outlook from 1992-1998.

JUNE 2017

125 YEARS

11

Headlines and more from the past 125 years November 11, 1892

• The World’s Fair, Something big about this Exposition

May 28, 1897

• The political circus will open up in Tallapoosa County with a flourish of trumpets when all the candidates for probate judge get out.

April 3, 1941

• Alexander City has modern casket factory

May 1, 1941

• Frohsin’s celebrates half-century in Alexander City

December 18, 1941

January 5, 1900

• The New Light Plant in Full Operation

January 27, 1903

• New railroad, Trunk line from Brunswick to Birmingham

August 25, 1905

• Court Grindings, WS Ham vs. ID Nolen, judgment for the plaintiff for 27 dollars • Wanted, six young women to do work in knitting mill, light work, good pay, Russell MFG. Go.

June 19, 1908

• Cornerstone of our new school building laid

January 6, 1914

• People urged to pay road tax, must also pay poll tax by February 1 if they plan to vote in 1915

January 26, 1916

• Steverson and Russell purchase timber rights

August 23, 1916

• Boll Weevil playing havoc with cotton

November 8, 1916

• Bettie-Francis mill puts on night shift, mill recently doubled its capacity greatly enlarging its payroll

April 25, 1917

• Canning factory for Alexander City assured • Newsite item, A crowd of our young people enjoyed a singing at Mr. Booner’s Sunday.

June 12, 1922

• Central urges cooperation, will conduct crossing campaign

October 25, 1925

• Cherokee Bluff Dam to be dedicated Nov. 7

April 26, 1928

• Magnificent new theatre started with a bang in spite of downpour

August 3, 1933

• Gold mine here to open by Christmas to employ about 75, Operation of Hog Mountain Mine to be resumed

• Alexander City grief stricken at Russell Death • Sudden heart attack takes life of local industrialist and state leader • Many out of town friends at Russell funeral service

March 1943

• War Bond dinner and dance to by bomber ‘Spirit of Tallapoosa County’ • Classified ad for a ‘Good’ 1932 Chevrolet for $187.50

July 1944

• Gene Autry performs in “Gaucho Serenade” at the Strand Theatre.

August 9, 1945

• Battle begins on Alabama Income Tax Amendment

November 15, 1945

• The Outlook will be published twice each week beginning Nov. 27 • Avondale Mills place orders for new equipment

April 1947

• Carrollton Georgia vs. Alex City Millers Baseball at Byers field • 10 pound bag of flout for 93 cents • Ray’s Grocery and Fruit Stand on the Dadeville Highway had fish dinners for two for $1.50.

March 7, 1950

• Parking meter revenue will go to city schools, $12,000 to $15,000 annually to help pay 10 new teachers • False clues pile up in murder case

November 24, 1953

• School to bear Jim Pearson name

January 23, 1958

• Alexander City to be a ‘college town’

Jan. 1958

• Shoe Sale at Scarbrough’s, ladies’ dress shoes for $2.99 a pair, children’s for $1.99 a pair • Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandents” was showing at the Strand Theatre with 50 cent and $1.25 tickets.

July 31, 1961

• Thousands enjoy Wind Creek Park facilities at dedication CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

12

125 YEARS

JUNE 2017

April 2, 1964

August 8, 1996

• Horseshoe Bend Park is dedicated

• Fish study will turn Tallapoosa purple

July 4, 1967

• Wind Creek Park owner Omer McGhee reported 12,000 visited the park, 6,000 were campers and no tables were available after 9 a.m.

• 10 pound bag of potatoes was 59 cents at Piggly Wiggly.

August 24, 1996

• City plans boat ramp on Coley Creek

March 8, 1997

• Commissioner found guilty of fraud

September 1967

March 27 1997

• Goodyear Tires were advertised at $15 each.

• Cornell confident CACC programs safe

August 11, 1974

April 8, 1997

• Halfway house will help those who want to be helped

• Russell earns top honor from Sears

June 20, 1977

• County: Let’s try year round school

January 27, 1998

• Maxwell gunned down at funeral

Feburary 11, 1998

January 27, 1983

• 300 jobs lost as Premier Knits closes

• Coach ‘Bear’ Bryant dies

May 5, 1987

July 1, 1998

• Sportplex opening day big success

• Russell responds to rumor of move

November 17, 1990

August 26, 1998

• Blan’s plane found

• Russell to close No. 1 sewing plant

January 5, 1991

May 1, 1999

• Guard prepares for desert move

• City looking to attract new businesses

January 12, 1991

• Start using area codes Sunday

June 8, 1999

• 3-year-old cut in dispute over pacifier

February 1, 1991

• County ready to plan for new jail

January 12, 2000

March 7, 1991

• No date to finish U.S. 280 4-laning

• New landfill site debated

January 23, 2000

August 10, 1991

• Mamie’s Place to begin construction after three years preparation

August 21, 1991

• Russell consolidates local plants

• Foundry’s new process adds 80 jobs

February 5, 2000

• School board rehires 230 teachers, proration causes county officials to cut two teachers

July 1, 200

• Stillwaters makes cutbacks

August 29, 1991

August 11, 2000

• Toddler mauled by pit bulldog

• Traffic flow to get an assist from roundabout

September 12, 1991

• Scores of dead fish surface on Lake Martin

July 21, 2001

• Jobless numbers increase

January 2, 1992

August 7, 2001

• Governor to sign truce in water war

• Council uses funds to open economic development account

March 12, 1992

• New jail ready for criminal occupants

March 19, 1992

• Landfill plans include incinerator

April 21, 1993

• Mayor, council battle over pay increase

May 6, 1993

• Gap makes headlines for Enquiring minds

May 21, 1993

• Russell plans four-day shutdown

February 28, 1995

• Search for Chanty turns to search for killer

November 3, 1993

• Plane makes emergency runway of 63

May 27, 1994

• Officers seize $14 million in pot plants

August 30, 2001

• City tries to take on mosquitoes

September 12, 2001

March 14, 1995

• Local Habitat gets ‘right to work’

July 10, 1996

• ER docs treat fireworks injures

• Nation, city reel from terrorist attacks on U.S.

December 8, 2001

• Hometown pride: BRHS wins first state title

July 18, 1996

January 14, 1995

• Still no budget

• Officials: we won’t know E. coli source

March 1, 2002

Local girl to help ring closing bell with Hank Aaron, Russell

JUNE 2017

125 YEARS

OUTLOOK SPORTS:

13

Great area athletes graced pages of the newspaper

By LIZI ARBOGAST Sports Editor

Over the course of 125 years, there were bound to be a lot of athletes from Tallapoosa County to have gone on to do great things.

But for a few small towns in Alabama, this county has certainly made a great name for itself in the world of sports. From vintage baseball teams to Benjamin Russell making a mark on the high school wrestling world to a handful of players advancing to the big leagues, athletes from this area have made their mark over the last 125 years. In recent years, The Alexander City Outlook has added Central Coosa to its sports coverage, and many Cougars have also gone on to do great things. Here is a sampling of some of the best athletes The Outlook has covered in its history.

Terrell Owens Benjamin Russell Class of 1993 Between his controversial comments, flamboyant touchdown celebrations and his constant snubs for the NFL Hall of Fame, Terrell Owens is easily one of the most talked about athletes in Outlook history.

Despite having the second-most receiving yards and third-most touchdowns in NFL history, Owens wasn’t necessarily a shoe-in for the NFL after his time at Benjamin Russell High School. Owens didn’t start on the football field until his junior year. As a Wildcat, Owens was a four-sport athlete, also participating in baseball, track and basketball.

“Terrell’s most exceptional characteristics when he was at Benjamin Russell were his work ethic, his enthusiasm and his passion to play,” said Steve Savarese, Owens’ former coach, in 2015. “He was a latedeveloping student-athlete that only developed because of the strong support he had at home in his mom and the support of the coaches at Benjamin Russell, not just the football coaches, but the track coach, the basketball coaches, all of them.”

Owens was also a multi-sport athlete at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he not only played in the Senior Bowl,

he also performed in the 1995 NCAA Basketball Tournament and anchored the school’s 4x100 relay team.

Just a third-round draft pick, Owens has been selected for the Pro Bowl six times. His 15,934 receiving yards are second all-time behind only Jerry Rice, and only Rice and Randy Moss have more receiving touchdowns than Owens’ 153.

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Jimmy ‘Red’ Phillips Benjamin Russell Class of 1954 A member of Benjamin Russell High School’s first freshman class, Jimmy “Red” Phillips immediately jumped onto the sports scene as a Wildcat. He led the team to a football state championship in 1953, was named to the all-state team and lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track.

“I don’t think I missed but two days during my four years playing sports at Benjamin Russell,” Phillips told Lake magazine in 2007 Phillips’ resume continued to grow at Auburn University, where Phillips was a unanimous AllAmerican in 1957 after helping the team to a national championship. Phillips played tight end and defensive end, and now has a scholarship in his name established by the Lake Martin Auburn Club. An Auburn captain, Phillips was sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1957.

Success didn’t end in college for Phillips, who was drafted fifth overall by the Los Angeles Rams. He played seven years

for the Rams and three years for the Minnesota Vikings and was named to the Pro Bowl three times. He led the league in receptions in 1961 and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

“As a player, he may have been the first receiver that had that blinding kind of speed,” said Vince Dooley, a Hall of Fame former coach of the University of Georgia, following Phillips’ death in 2015. “He was a see-you-later alligator guy if there ever was one. Before Jimmy, there weren’t many guys like that.”

Justin Tuck Central Coosa Although his first love was basketball, Justin Tuck was a football standout from the start of his freshman year in high school.

After his senior season at Coosa, Tuck was named the Alabama Class 4A Player of the Year and lettered at both linebacker and tight end. For his career, Tuck had 492 tackles, 37 sacks and 17 fumble recoveries as well as 115 catches for 2,106 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was also a member of two state basketball championships.

Tuck continued his career at Notre Dame, where he still holds the records for sacks in a career (24.5), tackles for a loss in a season (43) and sacks in a season (13). Tuck was a third round NFL draft pick and won a pair of Super Bowl titles with the New York Giants.

Adalius Thomas Central Coosa

An eventual Super Bowl champion, Adalius Thomas was actually a standout in basketball at Central Coosa as part of the Cougars’ first state championship team in 1995. Thomas was named the Alabama Class 4A Player of the Year as a senior.

He was an All-State selection in football as well.

Thomas became a star defensive end at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors twice during his career. He was named a Freshman AllAmerican in 1996, and was a power forward for the Golden Eagles’ basketball team, making him the first player in school history to play both sports.

Drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, Thomas is a two-time Pro Bowler, one-time First-Team All-Pro selectionand a Super Bowl champion. He led the NFL in nonoffensive touchdowns in 2005.

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Kendall Graveman Benjamin Russell Class of 2009 Now the No. 1 pitcher on the Oakland Athletics’ staff, Kendall Graveman has had one of the most successful baseball careers for an Alexander City player, and it all started right here at the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex.

“When you venture out and go to other places and see different parts of the country like I have, youth sports are not a priority in some places,” Graveman said.

“When I go home and remember how everyone helps to put on a great atmosphere of just loving the kids and giving them a nice place to play, that’s special.”

A two-sport athlete at BRHS, Graveman led the Wildcats to both the football and baseball playoffs. As a senior, he posted a 6-3 record a 1.19 ERA to go along with 90 strikeouts in 63 innings of work. Graveman went on to play for Mississippi State, where he started all 10 SEC games during his senior year. Against conference opponents, he was 4-4 with a 2.81 ERA and 59 strikeouts.

In 2013, Graveman was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays and

worked his way through the minor leagues before earning a spot on the team in 2014 as part of a roster expansion. He was then traded to Oakland, where he became the A’s only consistent starter in 2016 and was given opening day duties in 2017.

“The first thing I take away is just treat everyone the same, no matter how big or small you feel like you’ve made it” Graveman said of his journey to the MLB. “To have that upbringing in Alex City that I was able to have, it’s not easy. There’s no shortcut; it’s always going to take hard work.

And to the parents, invest in your kid’s life, on or off the field.” a Reeltown assistant coach, adding another state title to his resume.

Lee Williams, Benjamin Russell

Lee Williams, one of the most decorated amateur golfers, got his start at Benjamin Russell High School.

As a senior in 2001, he was an individual state champion and helped the Wildcats to a team championship as well. Before turning pro, Williams already had impressive resume.

At Auburn University, he was a three-time All-American and twotime Academic All-American and he was also a runner-up in the NCAA Championship in 2003. Williams was a two-time Walker Club Team Member, a World Amateur Team Member and a semifinalist in the 2003 Amateur.

Williams has appeared in several U.S. Opens, with his best finish coming in 2006 when he tied for 40th.

Clarence Martin, Benjamin Russell

A standout at Western Kentucky, Clarence Martin started 113 games with the Hilltoppers, totaling 888 points, 684 rebounds and 198 blocked shots in his career. Martin was selected by the Utah Jazz in the third round of the NBA Draft in 1987 but played as a professional in Japan instead.

Willie Carl Martin, Laurel

Jackie O’Neal, Reeltown

A two-time All-State running back, O’Neal is more revered for his coaching days with the Reeltown Rebels. A college player at Livingston (now the University of West Alabama) where he is the fourth-leading rusher in school history, O’Neal scored 18 career touchdowns and still holds the school record for longest touchdown reception – a 94-yarder in 1974.

Prior to O’Neal being inducted into the UWA Hall of Fame in 2007, O’Neal returned to his hometown to become head football coach for 28 years, amassing a career record of 241-110.

He won two state championships as a coach and was named Coach of the Year in 1991, 1992, 200, 2001 and 2009. He also spent many years as

Most famously known for being the first black person offered a scholarship to Alabama, Martin was a decorated athlete at Laurel High School. He was a two-time All-State player and was named an All-American despite the Hornets finishing 1-8 in his senior season.

Bear Bryant offered Martin a scholarship, but he turned it down to go to a historically black college, Northeastern State. Martin then went on to the CFL, where he won two Grey Cup titles with the Edmonton Eskimos and was named to the All-Canada team several times in his career with Edmonto, Hamilton, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Martin returned to Alex City, where he was a coach at Benjamin Russell for about 20 years, including seven as head coach. He led the Wildcats to the 2001 state championship.

Johnny “Lefty” Watwood

A native of Alexander City, Johnny “Lefty” Watwood attended Auburn

University before becoming an outfielder in the MLB for 10 seasons.

Mainly an outfielder, Watwood entered the majors in 1929 with the Chicago White Sox. He also had stints with the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.

In the 1930s, Watwood posted career highs in games (133), batting average (.382), runs (75), RBIs (51), extra-base hits (31) and on-base percentage (.382) for the most productive season of his career. For his career, Watwood had five home runs and plated 158 runs in 469 games. In 299 outfield appearance, he finished with a collective .948 fielding percentage with just 40 errors in 766 total chances.

Holly Ragsdale, Dadeville The Class 3A Player of the Year in 2006, Holly Ragsdale holds career records at Central Alabama Community College with 53 wins, a 0.59 ERA and 547 strikeouts. She was named All-Central League Player of the Year in 2008 before continuing her career at Auburn University.

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125 YEARS Jamario Moon, Central Coosa

After one year at Meridian Community College, Jamario Moon went undrafted. He played in several NBA Development Leagues and competed with the Harlem Globetrotters in 2004 before signing a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors in 2007. Moon played a total of 286 games in the NBA, finishing with an average of 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

Mike Boyd, New Site

Mike Boyd was an all-state selection in 1970 and returned to New Site as a basketball coach for 30 years. In 2013, the Horseshoe Bend School gymnasium was renamed in his honor.

Lindsey Harrelson, Benjamin Russell

A member of the first girls basketball from BRHS to go to the state softball tournament, Harrelson went on to play for Central Alabama Community College and led the Trojans to the 2006 ACCC Championship. She continued her career at Auburn, where she started all 56 games as a junior and, after an injury, started 37 of 49 games as a senior.

Rex Barnes, Dadeville

Rex Barnes led Dadeville to a state championship in 1965 and was a twotime All-State selection. He went on to start at defensive tackle for Southern Miss and got the attention of Alabama coach Bear Bryant, who mentioned

Barnes several times on his Sunday replay show.

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Rangers during his MLB career.

an estimated 40 home runs in four years at BRHS.

Scottie Vines, Benjamin Russell

Kyle Caldwell, Dadeville

An Alabama Sports Writers Association Super 12 selection and Class 4A Quarterback of the Year, Kyle Caldwell threw for 5,729 yards and 50 touchdowns as a Dadeville Tiger. He also played baseball and basketball, serving as captain in all three sports, and threw two touchdown passes in the final two minutes of the All-Star North-South Game to lead South to a 37-33 victory in 2011.

Caldwell continued his football career at the University of West Alabama, where he was the runner-up for the Harlon Hill trophy in 2014. He finished his UWA career as the school’s all-time leader in total offense (9,090), passing yards (7,731) and touchdown passes (72). Caldwell returned to Dadeville, where he is currently the head baseball coach and the offensive coordinator for the football team.

Bill White, Benjamin Russell

A standout hitter in high school, Bill White was named to the All-State team as both a pitcher and outfielder.

He went on to pitch at Jacksonville State and was drafted in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. White pitched for the

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A three-sport athlete in high school, Scottie Vines was named the Regional MVP in baseball and won an individual Class 6A state championship in the high jump. He graduated from BRHS in 1998 before playing for the University of Wyoming and eventually starting at wide receiver for the Detroit Lions.

In his two-year NFL career, Vines amassed 468 yards on 43 receptions.

Richie Stowes, New Site

Richie Stowes was a first-team AllState selection in both football and basketball in 1991 and 1992.

Jerone Jackson, Benjamin Russell

A three-star sport, Jerone Jackson was an all-state quarterback before going on to be a three-year starter at the University of Georgia.

Rodney Crayton, Dadeville

Rodney Crayton was a three-sport star in the mid-1990s. He earned a spot on the All-State football team before taking his talents to the Auburn University secondary.

Russ Johnson, Benjamin Russell

A four-year standout at Benjamin Russell, Russ Johnson had plans to go to Jacksonville State University.

Instead, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh round out of high school. Johnson smacked

Brad Ford, Dadeville

Beginning his college football career at Fresno City College, Ford eventually transferred to the University of Alabama before playing 14 games as rookie for the Detroit Lions.

Larry Hill, Benjamin Russell

Not only was Larry Hill a star football player, he was also a three-time state champion as a heavyweight wrestler in the mid-1960s. He went on to be a three-year starter at Auburn University at guard.

Cal Jones, Dadeville

After being drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round in 2016, Cal Jones continues to be in the Royals’ system.

Donald Petrey, Alex City H.S.

A two-time All-State football player in high school, Donald Petrey attended Duke University on a football scholarship. He graduated from Alex City in 1935 and entered the military in 1942.

Greg Vinson, Benjamin Russell

Currently an elite fisherman, Greg Vinson earned All-State honors in both football and basketball at BRHS.

Abby Boone, Dadeville

Abby Boone was a first-team AllState selection from Dadeville’s girls basketball team in both 1996 and 1997.

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Lemuel Cunningham: A loyal subscriber since after WWII

By SANTANA WOOD Staff Writer

A

day in the life of 93-year-old Lemuel Cunningham is routine, but he likes it that way. He takes care of his family, tends to his garden and reads The Alexander City Outlook.

Cunningham is one of The Outlook’s longest continuous subscribers.

Cunningham comes down to The Outlook office each month to pay his subscription. He has been a loyal subscriber since the 1950s. According to Cunningham, one of the first things he did upon returning home from the war was subscribe to The Outlook.

Cunningham is a World War II Veteran who served in the army for three years. He was stationed in England, France and Germany.

“People sent me clippings when I was overseas,” Cunningham said. “When I got back home, that was one of the first things I did was go down and get a paper of my own.”

His daughter says his routine is always the same.

“He reads the paper on the front porch just about every morning,” said Mary Mayes, Cunningham’s daughter. “He can tell you everything in it, who died — everything.”

Cunningham said the sports page and police reports are his favorite sections of the paper that he looks forward to reading first.

The oldest living Cunningham in the family, Lemuel has lived in Alex City all of his life and still enjoys calling it home. The Cunninghams even have a street named after them—Cunningham Road is off Fish Pond Road.

Cunningham has three children, two of whom are still living, six grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.

Mayes said her father lives by himself, but she comes to check on him often. She said the family has encouraged him to live in an assisted living home, but he “won’t have it,” according to Mayes. She said he is independent and stubborn in that way.

Cunningham takes care of himself, but also does a lot for the people around him and his family, including his daughter Flora Graham, who is bedridden.

Mayes said her father helps Graham out all the time. He drives to town and picks up her prescriptions, groceries and anything else she may need.

Mayes said taking care of others is just in her father’s nature.

“He and my mother were divorced for 30 years,” Mayes said. “He had a common-law wife for several years and after she died, he and my mother got remarried and stayed together until she passed. He took care of her until the end.”

Cunningham said his favorite things to do are work in his garden and cut grass. He also has a dog that he has had for several years.

At age 88, Cunningham bought a new pickup truck and just recently renewed his license this year.

Santana Wood / The Outlook

Lemuel Cunningham is The Outlook’s longest subscriber. Mary Mayes, Cunningham’s daughter, said her father spends time each morning on his front porch reading the newspaper.

Mayes said he loves to drive.

“He’s the only 93-year-old man I know who wears dress shoes everyday,” Mayes said. “He won’t wear tennis shoes or anything like that. He loves to get dressed up, too.”

“I like to look sharp and young,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham’s garden is full of beans, squash, cucumbers, okra, peppers and tomatoes. His fridge is also stocked up with his homegrown vegetables.

“I just hope that I can live to be his age and be as active as he is,” said Jesse Mayes, Cunningham’s son-in-law. “I hope I’m able to do the type of things he does.”

Howard Shealey, Cunningham’s cousin and neighbor, often works with Cunningham in his garden and said he enjoys spending time with him.

“He’s just gonna keep on working in his garden and reading the newspaper,” Shealey said. “That’s what he does and what he likes.”

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The Outlook: Still a big deal in Alex City

Readers, employees express their appreciation for local newspaper STAFF REPORT TPI Staff

While newspaper readership across the country has fallen, that’s not the case in Alexander City.

The Outlook still enjoys a large base of subscribers and still has people scrambling to the racks and sales counters to get their day started with their newspaper.

What is different here?

Editor Mitch Sneed said it’s the people who call the area home and the fact that The Outlook covers local news.

“People in this town look at this newspaper as their paper,” Sneed said.

“We don’t have major television stations here covering the news every day. They depend on us to keep them informed. That’s a big responsibility and we work hard to give them a newspaper they can be proud of.”

Sneed said a trip to cover the opening of a new restaurant illustrates what it means to be “in the paper” to folks in this town.

“I was at the grand opening for Dairy Queen and there were more than 200 people in line, waiting on the doors to open,” Sneed said. “Towards the back of the line there was a father and his two kids sitting on the curb waiting. When I got out of the truck with my camera the first thing I heard was all three of them saying ‘I want to be in The Outlook.’

“That doesn’t happen in other places. But here it means something for the paper to cover your game or event. It means something to have your picture or name in the paper.

That’s why I love my job so much.”

Barbara Young is a long-time educator, a former mayor and an avid reader of the newspaper. She said the paper is important on many fronts.

“I have had a subscription to The Outlook as long as I can remember,” Young said. “Someone asked me why I didn’t go ahead and just pay a year at a time. I told them that I was 86 years old and I didn’t know if I was going to be here next year. So I told them that I would just hold on to some of my money and go six months at a time.”

Young said the paper is an integral part of her daily routine.

“I look forward to the paper coming,” Young said. “I get up and get my coffee, make my bed and have my breakfast. Then I sit down with the newspaper and read the news and work the crossword puzzle. It was just how I get my day going and it helps keep me informed and the puzzle helps me keep my mind sharp.

The paper is a big part of my day. I know there are people who don’t read the paper every day, but the paper means a lot to Alexander City. People depend on it to keep them informed.”

As far as the stories, she said she doesn’t always agree with what is written, but she appreciates the fact that the staff works hard to be everywhere. She’s even taken to the social media and loved the live news spots that reporters are doing now, including the streaming of the council meetings.

“I will tell you this, when I was mayor, the newspaper kept my phone from ringing every three or four minutes,” Young said. “The Outlook did such a great job letting people know what is going on that the people knew about things and didn’t have to call me to find out things. That can be so important from the city’s standpoint.”

Tippy Hunter serves as advertising director at Tallapoosa Publishers.

She’s an Alexander City native who grew up with The Outlook being in her home every day. Now that Hunter works here, she said knowing how the people of Alexander City feel about their newspaper makes it even more important to make sure it serves the community, readers and advertisers well.

“The thing about the newspaper is that for that day, the paper chose us to be in the paper,” Hunter said. “In this town, that was a big deal and it still is today. Having your name or picture in The Outlook, people still get excited about that.

“In getting ready for this section, I had to go back through a lot of old papers and I’d run into one that I was in or one that had a picture of a friend. They took me right back to that place and time,” Hunter added.

“The papers, they may turn yellow, but the memories that are captured in

“The paper means a lot to Alexander City. People depend on it to keep them informed.”

— Barbara Young

the newspaper they never fade. Even all these years later, I can look back at those clippings and it all comes right back.”

Hunter said seeing her children have the same feelings of accomplishment when they are featured is indeed special.

“It was great when it was me,” Hunter said. “But seeing your own kids in the paper, no matter for what reason – it always makes you proud.”

Longtime resident, educator and Main Street Director Richard Wagoner still has clippings from important moments in his life and from big headlines in the community. He recently found a copy of his birth announcement written by J.C. Henderson himself.

That pride rings out in the voices of former employees as well. People like Linda Thomas who worked at The Outlook for 30 years and Jimmy Nolen who started at the paper in 1950 at the age of 14, say the people who worked at The Outlook were some of the best folks that could be found anywhere.

“When I started we were a weekly paper and the paper was much bigger then,” Thomas recalled. “But the people in town depended on us. It wasn’t just for news, it was for important for the businesses as well.

“For a long time I was the only one that built the ads in the paper. I can’t tell you what it meant to see someone that you made an ad for and have them tell you how well it worked for them. Still to this day when I see Buddy King who had King Furniture then, he will tell me what a great job I did for him. Austin Holley and Fred Dobbs, they are the same way. Those were some good times and I smile when I think about those people and some of those times.”

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