Cullman Good Life Magazine - Winter 2018

CULLMAN COUNTY

Shane Quick discusses turning points on which his life has pivoted Stephanie Barnett’s faith leads her in cancer, Africa and at Good Samaritan Gardens spring from good dirt, and wisdom springs from gardens

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Sure, it’s a nice award, but ...

Clients come first for COUNTRY Financial® Hall of Famer Don Warnke

Ok, Don concedes, the Hall of Fame is a big deal when you consider the numbers.

COUNTRY Financial says it has 2,037 eligible agents and managers across 19 states, and

only 58 are active inductees. The company describes the Hall of Fame as its most prestigious honor.

Don Warnke CLU®, ChFC®, CASL®

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Few folks realize the rarefied air in which Don Warnke serves his clients as a COUNTRY Financial agent. That’s because he doesn’t brag about his induction into the company’s Hall of Fame or the handsome eagle sculpture award that came with it.

“If they didn’t give the award, that would be fine,” Don says. “It’s not the reason I do this. The ultimate compliments are the individuals who come back one day, grateful for the ongoing planning we did over the years.”

Don strives to provide his clients with consistent, quality service.

“That’s been my objective ever since I started this agency back in 1996,” he says. “I want to create an experience for my clients that goes beyond what they expect or might typically get from an advisor.”

Property and casualty insurance should be a part of everyone’s financial picture, and Don’s wife, Terrie – who’s worked with him since ’96 – aptly handles that. But for those who desire it, Don is eager to help individuals plan for their retirement.

“We establish and protect what you have while you’re building for the future,” he explains. “That includes thinking about your goals and objectives and how I can help you maintain your standard of living and fulfill your dreams in retirement.”

It’s a big challenge – so it’s best to get professional help navigating financial markets.

“I love it,” Don says. “Every situation is different. There is not a cookie-cutter, one-sizefits-all plan. But it’s always my objective when we meet to instill knowledge and insight into clients’ situations before they leave.”

Beyond his clientele, Don conducts free quarterly workshops for the general public on maximizing Social Security benefits.

In the end, his Hall of Fame induction is validation for an agent who gives his all.

“I don’t do this for awards,” Don says. “I do it because I enjoy helping people, seeing the process and end results of the plans we lay together.”

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Welcome Dad and Santa hit the bullseye with an extra Mattel Winchester

G

us Moore has been on my mind lately. He’s never really far from it ... for reasons good or bad, thoughts of our fathers are usually close at hand for most all of us.

With Gus, who died in 1990, the reasons for me are good. And working on this winter issue of GLM during the first weeks of October has kindled afresh thoughts of Dad. Invariably, these recent thoughts of him return to the Christmas of my second grade year of school.

This reeks of cliché, but it’s true: unless it was pouring rain or cold enough to freeze my lunch box handle to my hands, I walked about a mile and a half, each way, to school in the Bluff Park community south of Birmingham. I thought nothing of it, perhaps because it was not uphill both ways.

I walked with a buddy, Gregg Adair, and with Willie Shinn, a kid who lived about a half mile from us in a rundown house with more brothers and sisters than I could count. My family was by no means rich, but it was obvious that Willie’s family was poor. But he was fun to be with, which was the important thing.

That Christmas my little brother, Danny, and I were thrilled because Santa had come through – again – and brought us the toy, Mattel Winchester rifles that had topped our wish lists. To the smell of popping caps, we ran around the Christmas tree in the living room joyfully shooting each other and, for a brief time, the cats.

I was surprised a while later to discover another long, flat box wrapped and hidden behind the tree. I hoped it was mine, even if it meant, as I suspected, another rifle.

Nope, Dad said. Santa had left the present in hopes that I might give it to someone else.

When I asked who, Dad suggested I think about.

“Willie?” I asked.

“He probably didn’t have as big a Christmas as you did,” Dad said. “And Christmas is not all about getting.”

So later that cold morning I delivered a cool Winchester rifle to Willie. Their house was crowded, messy and dark, though they did have a scraggly tree with about 20 odd-sized lights on it.

Willie was thrilled. I’d brought my rifle along and we joyfully ran around his house and yard shooting each other and maybe some of his spare siblings.

On the way home I thought about it and decided Santa and Dad had a good idea about giving gifts. I had plenty of time to consider the concept. I had to walk home.

David Moore Publisher/editor 8

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Contributors Cullman County GLM has a new voice this issue – David Myers. The Louisiana transplant works as a NASA contractor and lives in Guntersville with his wife, Rose, a former writer for The Birmingham News. Together, they visit restaurants for us. No newbie to writing, David has penned five novels.

Hunter McBrayer is another new voice, at least in the Cullman GLM. A regional agent out of the Marshall Extension office, he’s pinch-hitting this issue for the transferred Tim Crow, who formerly wrote “Good ‘n’ Green.” Hunter’s tenure is a one-shot deal. He’s already gotten a new job – off to “Good ‘n’ Greener” pastures.

We can’t call Loretta Gillespie new to the magazine any more. This marks her third time to grace these pages, the second time this year. Though she lives over in Moulton, Loretta is well known to many here, having written for years for the Cullman Times and other newspapers and magazines.

Deb Laslie has written our “Good Reads” feature since the inaugural issue of GLM hit Cullman County in the fall of 2013. Gee ... not to say Deb’s old or anything, but that seems like a long time ago. She stays busy reading and selling the wonderful world of books from her namesake store in downtown Cullman.

Steve Maze has an amazing collection of memorabilia at his house in eastern Cullman County. His basement is like some sort of “American Pickers” gone wild. It was while shooting photos of snuff tins that are part of Steve’s collection that the editor decided that one day GLM needed to feature all of his ... stuff.

Last issue’s feature on Belinda Hyatt and her CrossFit training inspired many folks, one of them Sheila McAnear, GLM’s ad/art director.

Since reading about Belinda, Sheila has pumped up the tires on her bike and started riding again. She knocked out 20 miles one week and can’t wait until the weather cools.

For some reason, publisher/editor David Moore feels compelled to write something new in the contributor boxes every issue.

Sometimes it’s easy, but usually it’s harder than it looks ... at least for him. He’d understand his compulsion if he’d learned anything while earning his psychology degree at Alabama.

Augusta’s steaks are as good as a slam dunk at the buzzer.

First and burger from the goal – get ready to score big.

Bartender Ashely Humphries shows off the saying on the T-shirt of Debbie Bogue, a member of the serving team.

Winning food and great wisdom Perhaps you were too busy enjoying your prime rib, burger, shrimp or craft beer to notice. Or maybe you were caught up watching your team on one of the 20 big flat-screens.

But the team members at Augusta’s Sports Grill wear T-shirts with sports sayings on the back. For instance …

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because you’re character is what you really are, but your reputation is merely what others think of you.” – Coach John Wooden “The only place you find success before work is in the dictionary.” – Vince Lombardi “Well, it is a sports grill,” laughs Augusta’s owner Deb Veres.

Beyond a sports theme, such sayings reflect wisdom. Others Deb likes are: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan “Winners never quit, and quitters never

Three sliders on and curly fries at the plate.

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win.” – Vince Lombardi Deb was drawn to sports while at Cullman High School, but parental schedules limited her to participating in one sport. She chose swimming and diving.

“I figured that was the only way I’d get to swim in the summer,” she laughs.

Her and her husband Jeff’s kids were all heavily involved in high school sports.

It’s not a deal-breaker, but Deb likes hiring people who were athletes.

“I like them to have a team background,” she says.

Along with consistently delicious fresh food, teamwork is one of the reasons you always score a championship meal at Augusta’s Sports Grill.

SCOUTING REPORT: Deb is changing the menu at Augusta’s, but it mostly reflects seasonal availability of produce as opposed to a major overhaul.

“If it ain’t broke,” she laughs, referring to another bit of wisdom, “don’t fix it.”

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256-775-9445

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Paid Advertising

Inside 12 Good Fun

Tickets are on sale for Share Club’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes

20 Good People

Pepper Hoover talks about the heart of a nurse and excellence at Wallace State

24 Good Reads

“The Address” and “I Am Pilgrim”

27 Good Cooking

You don’t want to take the country out of Elouise Campbell’s cooking, even in town

36 Good Eats

Be hungry to visit Brandin’ Iron Steakhouse

38 Nell Dunlap

Christmas is a special time in the historic old house where she and Trystan live

46 Good ’n’ Green

Good gardens are founded in good dirt, and good wisdom is founded in gardens

48 Stephanie Barnett

Her’s is a story of faith, a story of cancer, a story of healing in Africa and at “Good Sam”

54 Up to snuff?

Steve Maze talks about “level headed” people another warning needed on snuff containers

57 Tom Ploppert

He’s honing his reputation as a top knifemaker

64 Shane Quick

The worldwide music promoter talks about major turning points in his life and career

74 Out ’n’ About

Veterans Day event draws army-sized crown

On the cover: Snow falls on nandinas. Photo by David Moore.

This page: Tom Ploppert of Cullman custom-made this replica of an old Case Bulldog knife with a 4.4-inch blade. He had the engraving done by Joe Mason of Brandon, Miss. Photo by David Moore

David F. Moore Publisher/editor 256-293-0888 david.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com

Vol. 6 No. 2 Copyright 2018 Published quarterly

Sheila T. McAnear Advertising/art Director 256-640-3973 sheila.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com

MoMc Publishing LLC P.O. Box 28, Arab, Al 35016 www.good-life-magazine.net

Mo Mc PUBLISHING LLC

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This handsome home features Craftsman-style columns, a deep front porch, a soaring stone fireplace and a wall of two-story windows. Interesting accents pleasantly surprise you at every turn.

An energetic family of five renovated this former metal building into living space that speaks of home.

Christmas Tour of Homes features a variety of décor and architectural styles

“Modern and masculine” is one way to describe this former downtown loft space that was completely renovated after the tornado of 2011 into a two-story home.

S

hare Club of Cullman’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes will showcase an array of architectural styles and décor. And all will be decked out in their own styles for Christmas.

Most of the homes display design elements and décor that are available locally.

The tour will be 1-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2. Tickets – $20 per person – can be bought at The Added Touch, The Added Touch Too, The Blue Eyed Rabbit, Hagan Real Estate, Cullman Savings Bank and Waldrop Chiropractic. Tickets will include addresses to each home along with pictures, descriptions and details to enhance your enjoyment.

With community support, since 1972 Share Club has been able to donate some $180,000 to the needs of numerous local charities. Proceeds this year will benefit Hospice of Cullman County, Good Samaritan Clinic and Restoring Women Outreach.

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An open floor plan combines a large den and kitchen area with breathtaking views of Smith Lake through the soaring wall of windows. Abundant porches invite outdoor living.

• Now – Lisbon, Seville and Madrid Plan now for this recently announced trip May 13-21 through the Wallace State Community College. Visit Castelo de São Jorge, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Seville Alcázar, Seville Cathedral, Prado, Royal Palace and, with extension, Parque Güell.

Package includes round-trip air and other transportation, seven overnight stays in hotels with private bathrooms (nine

nights with extension); regional style meals; full-time tour guide and entrance fees. Prices (subject to change and with $150 early enrollment discount): $3,320 for age 29 and under with triple/quad occupancy; $3,600 for 30 and over, double occupancy with room upgrades. Payment plan available.

For more information, contact Kristen Holmes at Wallace State: 256-352-8118; for detailed itinerary, visit: www. wallacestate.edu/abroad.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas ... and a whole lot of fun all winter long • Nov. 1 – register for Christmas Break Camp Held Dec. 26-28 and similar to Camp Cullman in the summer, Christmas Break campers will swim in the indoor pool, play games and relays, make crafts, watch movies and other fun activities.

Held 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center for ages 5-12. Cost is $100; registration opens Nov. 1. For more info: Cullman Parks and Rec, 256-734-9157.

• Nov. 9 – Window Display Contest If you haven’t decorated the windows of your business for Christmas,

you need to get it done if you want to enter the Window Display Contest sponsored by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce. Judging, by reps from a neighboring chamber of commerce, is 5-7 p.m.

Cash prizes will be given in three categories: retail, restaurant and serviceoriented. Rules are simple: you must use a Christmas theme that incorporates lights. You can be located anywhere in Cullman County, but to be eligible for a cash reward, you have to be a current chamber member. To register or for more info: call 256-734-0454; or visit: www.cullmanchamber.org.

Good Fun

• Nov. 13 – Feb. 15 – S.A. Maples exhibition “The abstract paintings of S.A. Maples are visual reflections of her soul.“ So begins the feature on Mandy – as she’s known by friends – in the 2018 spring issue of Good Life Magazine.

Now you can experience her intriguing work in person at an exhibition of her work at the Evelyn Burrow Collection.

The Birmingham native works from a studio at her home in Vinemont. Last fall, several of her works were included in an exhibit at the Carrosel du Louvre in Paris.

“My belief is, and always will be, that

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Maples was recently commissioned to paint “Intention I” and “Intention II” for 412 Public House.

She used alcohol and acrylic inks, acrylic paint and graphite.

She has other works hanging there that are for sale.

an artist should try to learn something new about themselves or their craft every time they pick up a tool to create,” says Mandy.

Her show will be in conjunction with an arrangement of the museum’s permanent collection titled “Setting the Elegant Table.”

Admission to the museum is free.

It’s open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday

and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. For more information: www.burrowmuseum.org; or 256-352-8457.

• Nov. 13 – Nashville Legacy Jason Coleman is the grandson of pioneer pianist Floyd Cramer, and Meagan Taylor is the niece of legendary guitarist Chet Atkins – predecessors who are synonymous with the Nashville

sound. The two young artists keep the music alive through their “Nashville Legacy” show, a performance of iconic country and pop hits from the Cramer-Atkins era and updated with the presentation of captivating multimedia presentation and storytelling.

Sponsored by the Cullman Community Concert Association, the concert begins at 7 p.m. in

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the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre on the Wallace State Community College Campus. Single tickets $30 at the door; students free with a paid adult. For more info: Kathy Scruggs, 256-339-4447; or visit: www. cullmancommunityconcertassociation. com.

• Nov. 16-17 – Arts and Crafts The annual Vinemont Band Boosters Arts and Craft Show will be held at the Cullman Civic Center 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Find more than 70 local and regional vendors with handmade jewelry, children’s and women’s clothing, UA/AU items, woodworking, metal art, candles, inspirational framed art and more great Christmas ideas.

Win a door prize or buy a ticket for a drawing for $1,000 at noon Saturday.

Concessions are available for purchase and local musicians provide free entertainment.

annual, free, community-wide pre-Thanksgiving meal starts at 11 a.m. Best not wait long, they’ve usually given out the last of some 1,200 meals by 1 p.m. The meal is not limited to people in need but is open to everyone, Mayor Jerry Bartlett.

Drive-through and sit-down dinners will be served by town employees, officials and volunteers.

Councilman Greg Brown is organizing the event, working with Emily Blankenship who secures the food through Cullman County School’s Child Nutrition. Purchase of the food is made possible through annual $1,000 donations from Good Hope Contracting, James R. Smith Trucking, Grandma’s Carwash, Pepsi, Scott’s Excavating, Premier Bank, Good Hope Pharmacy. Other businesses also contribute, which enables the town to hold numerous free events and meals.

• Nov. 21 – Good Hope PreThanksgiving Meal The town of Good Hope’s 10th

• Nov. 28-Dec. 23 – Night of Winter Wonderland Pack up the family or friends and

drive through Sportsman Lake Park to see the hundreds of thousands of lights, with new ones this year.

Visit Santa at the concession stand for free hot cocoa; get a photo with him for $5. Ride the park train for $4 (kids 2 and under free); or the big truck drawn sleigh for $3. Horse and carriage ride available some nights.

Admission is $10 per car or $15 vans (cash only). Unless it’s raining, lights will be on, 5-10 p.m. FridaysSunday, and 5-9 p.m. week nights (except for Dec. 4-5 and Dec. 11-12, when the park will be closed). For more info: 256-734-3052.

• Nov. 30-Dec. 1 – Holly Market Friday and Saturday Sponsored by Cullman Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism, the two-day event at the Cullman Civic Center features some of the best handmade items around, meaning unique Christmas presents.

Admission is free.

Over 80 vendors will be on hand 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. For vendor info and

Thank you for allowing us to insure what’s important to you.

Happy Holidays!

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Home • Auto • Farm • Business • Life • Boat • Motorcycle NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

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The lighting of Cullman’s official Christmas tree is a joy to behold. Photo by Jasef Wisener, CPR.

applications: 256-734-9157; Cullman Park and Rec on FB; or register online at www.cullmanrecreation.org/ programs-events/holly-market.

• Nov. 30 – Christmas in Cullman Parade and Festival Cullman welcomes the Christmas season with its annual parade and tree-lighting ceremony. The holiday weekend – brought to you by Cullman Parks and Rec – includes the Holly Market (see page 15); downtown businesses will offer sales and other specials.

The parade, sponsored by Mitch Smith Chevrolet, begins at 6 p.m. and runs along 1st Avenue in the Downtown Entertainment District from Busy Bee Café to Depot Park.

After the parade, join the festivities in the park, highlighted by the official tree-lighting ceremony, sponsored

by The Cullman Tribune. Featured performers at the ceremony will be Anthem Lights, a pop/rock group from Nashville.

If you would like to enter a float into the parade, applications are 16

available online: www.goo.gl/forms/ kriJyJsTRABujTxw1. There is no cost, but floats must include lights and be Christmas-themed. For more information on entering the parade, contact: Jordan Rodriguez, jrodriguez@cullmanrecreation.org.

• Dec. 2 – Community Band Christmas Concert The annual – and free – program this year will be at 3 p.m. at Northbrook Baptist Church on Ala. 157. Under the direction of Garry Traylor, the band will play both light and traditional Christmas music.

Cullman Women Sing with and without the band, and soprano soloist Carmen Underberg will also perform.

• Dec. 6 – Christmas Extravaganza The Wallace State Fine and Performing Arts Department’s annual concert features performance from the music, theater and, this year, the dance department. You’ll hear 90-plus minutes of Christmas music and singing. The free event is at the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre. For more info: 256-352-8277.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

• Dec. 14 – EPIC Christmas Sweater Party Normally, EPIC (Emerging Professionals Impacting Cullman) is open to 21-39 year olds, but their annual Christmas party is open to all comers – preferably wearing a sweater.

The party is 7-10 p.m. at All Steak. The price has not been finalized, but will be reasonable considering it includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, drinks, live music and more. For more info, contact the cosponsoring Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce: 256-734-0454; or www.cullmanchamber.org.

• Jan. 5 – Polar Bear Plunge Dive into the frigid waters of the outdoor pool at the Cullman Wellness & Aquatic Center for a chance to win a free twelve-month family membership. For more info: CP&R: 256-775-7946; or email wharbison@ cullmanrecreation.org.

• Jan. 17 – Relay For Life Kickoff The 5:30 p.m. event in the Cullman

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Rodeo action in Cullman. Photo courtesy of the Cullman Sheriff’s Office.

• Dec. 7-8 – Sheriff’s Rodeo Look for bucking thrills and spills at the annual Cullman County Sheriff’s Office Jimmy Arrington Memorial Rodeo. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Cullman County Agriculture and Trade Center on U.S. 31 North.

The 4L and Diamond S Rodeo Company will run the show again. Last year they drew crowds of about 4,000 that helped raise money for special needs students countywide. Pro cowboys will be doing bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, cowboy tie-down roping, cowgirl breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding and team roping. Rodeo clowns will keep you laughing, and there will be a ladies envelope scramble and a little cowpoke gold rush.

Tickets will be sold at the door; $10 adults, $8 students (ages 6-8). Come early to get a good seat.

First Baptist fellowship hall leads up to the 2019 Relay on May 3 to celebrate cancer survivors and those who contribute to the cause. Last year, those contributions by teams and sponsors led to raising $116,977.

The kickoff is open to all Relay team members and anyone interested in the fight against cancer. Food will be provided. For more info: Helen Allen, 256-709-4019; or www.relayforlife.org/cullmanal.

• Jan. 21-26 – Missoula Children’s Theater Auditions for the annual musical production will be held 3:30 p.m. Jan. 21.

Selected actors will practice the remainder of the week with shows at 2 and 6 p.m. Jan. 26. Practice will be after school, and all activities will be held at the Cullman Civic Center.

Open to ages 5-18; cost is $40 (if selected for a part).

For more info: CP&R, 256-734-9157.

The kickoff Jan. 17 officially begins the celebration of cancer survivors, which culminates with the Relay, above.

Photo courtesy of Cullman Relay for Life.

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• Jan. 25 – Spring Fever trip Today is the deadline for the “spring fever cure” trip to Pigeon Forge March 19-21. Among the inclusive attractions are the Smoky Mountain QuiltFest exhibition; dinner at the new Hatfield and McCoy show; the Smoky Mountain Opry show; a visit to The Island; time for shopping at the Outlet Mall; dinner at the Bullfish Grill.

The package also includes motorcoach transportation and two nights at the Clarion Inn-Walden’s Landing, baggage handling, taxes and gratuities. Double occupancy cost is $399 for Wallace State alumni and WaLLi members; or $499 for non-members. Payment due Jan. 31. Space is limited so register early. For more info contact LaDonna Allen: 256-352-8071; ladonna.allen@ wallacestate.edu.

Good People

5questions Story and photo

by David Moore

I

f anyone has a hand on the pulse of the nursing field, it’s Deborah “Pepper” Hoover.

As a long-licensed nurse with a master’s degree and certification as a nurse practitioner, Pepper spent early career years in clinical positions from staff RN to cardiovascular intensive care units. She’s taught nursing from UAB and St. Vincent’s Diploma School to Wallace State Community College.

On a bigger stage, in 2017 she was asked to join the review panel for the Center of Excellence designations given by the National League for Nursing.

But where she really feels the pulse of nursing comes from chairing the Wallace State Department of Nursing Education for the past eight years, during which time it moved into a world-class educational facility – including a simulation center designed to replicate a hospital – and rose to national recognition for its excellence in nursing education.

The pulse of nursing is the pulse of change, and Wallace’s nursing facility and faculty allow it to ride those waves.

“Nursing education has changed dramatically in the last few years,” says Pepper. “We have been able to take advantage of the changes in technology and integrate them into our new facility.”

A key example is the computer-aided mannequins students use in the center’s advanced simulation center.

“We have been told our simulation center is one of the unique facilities in the Southeast,” Pepper says.

Proof of that lies in the Center of Excellence designation the WSCC nursing department earned in 2016 from the National League of Nursing.

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Pepper Hoover She has her finger on the pulse of nursing and a department recognized for excellence “Having our School of Nursing designated as a Center of Excellence by the National League of Nursing is a feat of accomplishment for a community college,” says Wallace President Dr. Vicki Karolewics. “Pepper led it.”

T

he Wallace State nursing department enrolls some 450 active nursing students. Last year, 185 firstyear students were granted practical nursing certificates and another 150 students earned associate degrees in nursing.

They are taught by a faculty of 15 full-time instructors and about 50 parttime clinical associates.

As a top student while in school, Pepper knows the value of quality nursing academics. But she also worked as a nurse, and sees to it that Wallace students get some of that same critical experience.

“For clinical experiences, we take no more than a group of eight to a hospital unit or intensive care unit,” Pepper says.

“Students work directly with patients and nurses. We have an incredible roster of agencies that work with us to provide student experiences.”

The combination of sound academics, an excellent, state-of-the-art facility and hand’s-on experience in real healthcare settings pays dividends.

Nationally, 86.9 percent of nursing students passed RN licensure exams in 2016-17. In Alabama, the pass rate is 90.4 percent. The pass-rate for WSCC students, however, was 94 percent.

“And not only are we more affordable than most schools,” Pepper adds, “but our graduates are also very employable.”

A

s director, Pepper sets the standards and tone for the department that turns out these nurses. On a lighter

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

note – at least according to her husband, Dr. Jim Hoover – she also gets credit for him becoming a doctor.

“He laughs and says he went into medical school because I liked Dr. Kildare (from the 1960s TV series) and wanted to marry a blond-haired doctor named Jim,” Pepper says, a goodnatured “humph” implied.

If that sounds like they go back a ways … well, they do.

Raised in Montgomery, Pepper was 13 when 14-year-old Jim moved to town and began attending her middle school.

“We actually met at church,” she says. “His aunt lived behind me. He said, ‘I’d seen you for years. I always thought you were older because you were taller ...’”

They dated on and off in junior high, high school and college before marrying in 1974. That was one semester after she finished her nursing degree from UAB and between Jim’s college graduation and entrance into medical school.

“We are blessed to be married 44 years later,” Pepper laughs. “But we need to try another 44 to see how it goes.”

While Jim was in med school and doing his residency in Birmingham, she worked as a clinical nurse, as a nursing instructor and earned her master’s.

“I was a nurse before he was a physician,” she says.

A

fter his residency, Jim had opportunities in Birmingham and Montgomery, but …

“He wanted to move to a small town because he said we could make more of a difference,” Pepper says. “I had to think about it a while. I would have probably stayed at a university … I did not know about community colleges then.”

Small town won out. Drs. Bill

SNAPSHOT: Deborah ‘Pepper’ Hoover

EARLY LIFE: Only child of the late Sarah and William Salter; grew up in Montgomery; 1970, Robert E. Lee High School.

FAMILY 1974, married Dr. Jim Hoover. Three grown children: Jennifer Clark, Birmingham, attorney; Jacquelyn Hoover, Birmingham, cardiac nurse, UAB; James Barrett Hoover, Brevard, N.C., owns Red Wolf Tours, mountain biking. Two granddaughters.

EDUCATION: University of Alabama; 1973 UAB, nursing degree; 1977, UAB, MSN, nursing; 2004, UAH, family nurse practitioner certificate.

CAREER: Academic positions – 1974-79, nursing instructor, St. Vincent’s Diploma School, UAB; 1990-2010, nursing faculty, WSCC; 2010-present, chair, WSCC Dept. of Nursing Education. Clinical positions – 1974, nurse, CICU, UAB; 1976, unit coordinator, St. Vincent; 1980-90, mitral valve prolapse coordinator, Cullman Medical Center; 2005-2006, NP, Urgent Care Center and Cullman Internal Medicine.

FAITH: Long-time member, First Baptist Cullman, sings in choir; 2008, medical mission team, Vietnam.

INVOLVEMENT: 1987-1991, board of directors, Hospice of Cullman County (1990, interim director); 1988-92, AIDS Task Force; since 1991, volunteer for cleft lip/palate family support; 1997-2003, trustee, CRMC Foundation; 2004-06, volunteer and board member, Good Samaritan Clinic; 2017, chair, United Way of Cullman County; 2017, review panel, National League for Nursing Center of Excellence.

HONORS (partial): 1977 Outstanding Graduate Student, UAB; 1978-79, Favorite Instructor Award, UAB; 2005, Chancellor’s Award, Technical Faculty of the Year, Ala. College System; 201415, Healthcare Professional of the Year, Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce; 2017-present, Excellence Award, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19 21

Peinhardt and Phillip Freeman recruited Jim as an internist, he joined Cullman Internal Medicine, and the Hoover family moved here in 1981.

Wallace State, at the time, did not seem a good fit for Pepper, and she pursued other avenues for nine years. Among various projects, she established an education department at Cullman Medical Center for nurses and community education and, along with others, started Cullman County Hospice, serving as its interim director in 1990.

In January of that year, Pepper became a part-time clinical instructor at Wallace State. By fall semester she was a full-time instructor.

“Healthcare in Cullman grew to be a passion,” she says.

In 2003 she took a year’s educational leave for post-grad work and certification as a nurse practitioner.

“I would have made more money as a nurse and nurse practitioner (NP), but it’s not all about the money,” she says.

“I had to come back to teaching. I do enjoy education.”

P

epper is not a fan of the saying “those who can do, and those who can’t teach.”

“The real answer is that teaching requires a different skill set than clinical work,” she says. “I think the best nursing faculty enjoy both.”

Because healthcare changes quickly, she says it can pay professional dividends to take time out from instruction and work in a clinical arena.

“That way, you can actually understand what’s going on in healthcare.”

In 2010, when former nursing director Dr. Denise Elliott retired from Wallace, Pepper was asked to take the position.

She’d been supporting the new nursing facility Dr. Karolewics planned, and this was a pivotal time, because Wallace State was in the design phase of what would become the new nursing/ science center. The president sought input from Pepper and the nursing faculty.

“In other places, faculty may not be given the opportunity for input into their building,” Pepper says appreciatively.

22

Plans were approved in 2011, ground broken, and the nursing and science departments moved into the 125,000-square-foot facility in 2014.

1.

What has the School of Nursing and Center for Science meant for students and Wallace State?

Basically it has opened the “culture of possibility” for students with stateof-the-art technology in simulation, labs and computer resources. It has enhanced student interactive learning and enabled an excellent learning environment. This is evidenced by our NLN award for excellence.

The consultant who gave us guidance on the award – Gloria Jacobson – is from Chicago, and she was blown away. She was amazed at the facilities available in “rural Alabama.”

She has become one of our biggest advocates.

Our students are also appreciative of the resources and facilities. One of their favorite things is the study room with “write-on walls.”

I had a meet-and-greet with students recently who told me our facilities exceed those in other schools they considered in their selection process.

We are blessed. We have not always had facilities like this.

As consumers of our services, students give the best insights and ideas into what future developments are needed. I try to stay connected with the students.

2.

What does it take to be nurse? What are some of the common attributes you see in the students that come through the program at Wallace?

Our students have to persevere in order to be successful. The nursing program requires intense focus.

In addition to an interest in science and the human body, you need a desire to interact with people and make a difference in their lives.

Our mission statement says we emphasize integrity, compassion, resourcefulness and diversity. They’re all very important aspects of our mission.

Integrity is huge for us. Our students

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

are very resourceful. They embrace diversity.

They have to be willing to work with diverse populations, whether it’s with ethnic groups or people with unusual diagnoses. Nurses take care of people with hepatitis, Ebola and other serious infections. They have to be willing to put their lives on the line for others.

The heart of a nurse is probably compassion, partnered with knowledge.

Both skill sets are important.

We have a number of individuals coming here for a second career – mature students from a variety of backgrounds, some with a masters degree in another field.

They are not retiring; they want to switch careers and make a difference in people’s lives. I hear that over and over again – they want to connect with people and make a difference. They don’t want a desk job; they want to be involved with people.

It takes a special person to be a nurse. It is a difficult job. It takes someone who really does have a heart for people.

3.

Can you put into perspective the need for training nurses today in the local and national markets?

Census Bureau statistics point out that the job outlook for nursing is growing at a rate of 15 percent, much faster than the average job growth rate.

The larger employers are hospitals, hiring 61 percent of nurses. We also see nurses utilized in other acute care facilities, ambulatory facilities, longterm care and rehab as well as clinics and government agencies.

The North Alabama job market has sustained a large demand for nursing which, from my perspective, should continue.

Statistics show the number of people over 65 will almost double in the next 30 years. By 2050 the number will be over 83.7 million, almost double the estimated 43.1 million we had in 2012.

There will be an increased need for geriatric care.

We have endeavored to develop positive partnerships with agencies in Alabama, and in particular North Alabama, so our graduates will have

opportunities to interview at the facility they think is the best fit and feels the most comfortable.

My goal is that every one of our students will be prepared for whatever nursing job he or she wants to pursue.

4.

In September, you attended the National League for Nursing Education Summit in Chicago. What are a few of your takeaways?

Some 1,250 educators from across the country attended. We celebrated 125 years of nursing education excellence and discussed the tremendous growth and changes during that time.

Attending the summit reaffirmed to me that Wallace State is indeed affording our students state-of-the-art educational opportunities.

I’m on the National League for Nursing Center of Excellence review panel, and I am very pleased that we offer our students very innovative educational opportunities. Compared to other parts of the country, we are ahead of the game … we are way ahead of the game.

We are one of the few community colleges in the nation to receive this recognition. I’m the only community college representative to serve on the national review committee.

When students select a community college, they should have every opportunity available for an excellent education. I feel privileged that we are able to provide an unsurpassed level of student engagement and interactive learning opportunities at Wallace State. We are very competitive in our ability to offer excellence in education.

Another takeaway from the summit is the tremendous opiate epidemic, which we discussed among the deans and directors. I am actually looking at incorporating more mental health awareness and specific strategies for our curriculum to address the opiate epidemic.

5.

What’s something most people don’t know about Deborah “Pepper” Hoover?

I get asked a lot about “Pepper.”

That seems to be a brand or a name that people find easy to remember, but it is not the result of a hot temper or liking spicy food.

Salter is my maiden name. So, in the eighth grade, thinking they were funny, my now-husband and his little friend started calling me Pepper. Their funny nickname stuck not only through my school years in Montgomery and Birmingham, but also with our family’s move to Cullman.

Everyone has a dog or cat named Pepper. And there are a lot of “Debbies” my age. However Pepper seems to be unique for a person.

My granddaughter, by the way, is named Salter after my maiden name. So there might be a Pepper in her future …

People also don’t know that as a little girl I was so shy I didn’t speak much. My teacher even referred me to a speech class. My mother was like, “She can talk.”

That’s unusual for a person who now spends a lot of time talking to large groups of people. Of course, I am still shy.

Good Life Magazine

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23

Good Reads

New favorites: Dakota murder mystery spans two centuries

‘I Am Pilgrim’ warrants superlatives in thriller genre

he sight of a child teetering on the window ledge of room 510 turned Sara’s world upside down.” And so begins my new favorite book by my new favorite Author, Fiona Davis.

“The Address” is the story of a building in two “She was thirty years old. centuries.

Too old to change, to go In 1884 Sara Smythe, head housekeeper in to a completely different London’s Langham hotel, continent and start over. rescues the child of a New Yet, what she’d read York architect. about America in the Her efficiency and heroic actions are papers intrigued her … rewarded with a job offer she could stay at the of manageress to the yetLangham for another to-be completed Dakota, thirty years, then retire a multi-family first-of-it’s kind hotel for the rich and to this cottage … or she famous near the yet to be could try something new.” constructed Central Park in New York City.

In 1984, Bailey Camden is renovating her cousin’s apartment in the Dakota when she becomes curious about the mystery surrounding the murder of the building’s architect by the manageress 100 years previously.

Discoveries in both centuries take the reader on a most satisfying journey. I loved every moment I spent with this book. You will, too.

– Deb Laslie

n anonymous young woman is gruesomely murdered in New York City, her hands and face dissolved by acid.

A father is shockingly and publicly beheaded in Saudi Arabia.

Three charred bodies are discovered in a remote “… the one thing that area of Afghanistan. every intelligence agency A plan is hatched to fears most – a man with annihilate the population of no radical affiliations, no the United States via germ warfare. entry in any database, These events are all and no criminal history. connected by two men.

A cleanskin, a ghost. I am Both are wholly dedicated afraid that what follows to their beliefs – willing to make the ultimate sacrifice isn’t pleasant. If you want in the preservation of their to sleep easy in your bed, way of life. if you want to look at your One is former CIA, the kids and think there is a other a devout Muslim.

I am a voracious reader. chance they will live in a I read all of the time. And I world better than the one read most genres. we leave behind, it might “I Am Pilgrim” by be better not to meet him.”

Terry Hayes is, without a doubt, the best spy thriller I have ever read. I was hooked from the first page to the last.

Take it from me … If you like a thriller, you do not want to miss this book.

– Deb Laslie

“T

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Good Cooking

You can take this cook out of the county ... but you can’t take the country out of this cook (And why you would even want to?)

Story and photos

by David Moore

E

louise Campbell spent most of her life in Jones Chapel, 58 years of it married to her husband.

In August 2017, she and Charles moved from the country into town, in part because they were driving 250 miles a week to shuttle some of their grandkids to and from school. Well, actually they don’t live in town, per se. They live in Phelan East, a subdivision of about 37 garden homes on the south edge of the Cullman city limits, but it seems like town to them.

While they considerably downsized their property from an initial 25 acres to a garden home-size lot, their house was an upsize, from 2,260 square feet to 2,700.

The new house meant a new kitchen for Elouise. It has an eating bar, and there’s a new dining room, as well.

Sounds great, right? Maybe?

“I like it pretty well,” Elouise says of her new kitchen. “I can catch the TV from here, but I lost a lot of cabinet space.”

The subdivision is “maintenance-free,” with a homeowners association that, if you want, cares for your small lawn.

“The bad thing about living here is there’s no parking,” Charles says.

Family gatherings on holidays and special events draw from 20 to 40 hungry folks always up for Elouise’s cooking.

The vehicles overflow onto the circular road through the subdivision.

While Charles has enough room out back to raise peppers and tomatoes, it’s a far cry from the two-acre garden he kept at Jones Chapel. Probably half the size of the entire subdivision, it kept Elouise flush with fresh vittles to cook. But not to worry, at least for a while: they literally brought their garden to town with them.

In preparation of the move, for several seasons they packed their freezers with extra veggies, enough to keep Elouise – and those who love her country cooking – happy for several years.

It’s been a while since Elouise Campbell told Charles her $10 food allowance ran out. She keeps him well fed. It’s also been a while since their children were, well, children. They are Randall, manager at Sportsman Lake Park; Cynthia Parker, who works in the office at Cullman Middle School; Dexter, who owns Campbell Framing; and Trent, who does commercial sales for McGriff Tire. The Campbells have 12 grandkids and expect their seventh great-grandchild in December.

E

louise’s parents, JA and Icie Wallace, for years owned a mom-andpop gas station and grocery store with a gas station in Jones Chapel. (Her mom, Charles likes to joke, had the coldest name in Cullman County.) Her parents also farmed.

“We raised cotton and corn and had our own cows,” Elouise says. We’d go to the field and work when I was very young, like 5-6.”

Icie and especially Grandma Tilly introduced Elouise to the ins and outs of country cuisine.

“We grew up having to learn to cook,”

she says. “We couldn’t run to the fast food places.”

After meals, she and her two sisters formed a dishwashing assembly line, efficient enough to make Henry Ford jealous.

When he was young, Charles and his family moved all over northwestern Cullman County. By the time he left 10th grade to start working, he’d attended 13 different schools.

He moved to Jones Chapel at age 18.

Elouise, 15 at the time, recalls it clearly.

She, her sister and some friends were sitting on the porch and saw Charles walking up the road.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

27

FRIED EGGPLANT 1 large eggplant ¼ cup lemon juice Water 1 egg ¼ cup buttermilk ½ tbs. salt ½ tbs. pepper

½ cup cornmeal ½ cup flour Salt and pepper to taste Peel eggplant; cut into ¼-inch slices. Soak eggplant about 15 minutes in water-lemon juice mix; drain well. Mix buttermilk with salt

and pepper. Mix flour and cornmeal.

Put cooking oil into oven pan; in a single layer place slices in pan and cook at 400°; turn slices when brown, cooking on each side. Drain on a rack and salt and pepper to taste.

“Who is that?” she asked.

“He’s going to work for your daddy,” “Then he’s mine,” she proclaimed.

They dated three years before getting married.

“She went from riches to rags,” Charles quips. “They had a bathroom and running water and a TV and all the works.”

“Nothing,” Elouise said. “You’re $10 ran out at lunch.”

But they got by, with her canning and freezing lots of veggies.

“And we went to her momma’s to eat a whole lot,” Charles laughs.

Over the years, he was able to take his savings and purchase what became Campbell’s Shell, where the two of them worked.

During that time, Elouise kept cooking delicious and bountiful spreads of country food. Family favorites are cube steak, chicken and dumplings, chicken casserole and her creamed corn.

Among Charles’ top picks are her deep-fat fried chicken and catfish,

cornbread, pinto beans and the big butterbeans Elouise makes.

Her fried eggplant is to die for.

“I just made up a recipe with what I thought Charles would like,” Elouise says.

He’s not the only one. She once made a batch of the eggplant for a Master Gardener event. When one of the members commented that she didn’t like eggplant, Elouise suggested she really might want to try her recipe.

“She ate four or five of them,” she laughs.

Why would anyone want to take the country out of a cook? Try this sampling of her recipes and you’ll know the answer.

Good Life Magazine

L

iving in a furnished house, Charles worked 80 hours a week gathering eggs, earning $40, half of which he proudly managed to save. Elouise had a weekly grocery budget of $10.

One Thursday evening after work, Charles asked what was for supper.

28

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

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MOIST SUPPER CAKE 1½ cups Dr. Pepper 1 cup quick-cooking oats ½ cup shortening ½ cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1-1/3 cup flour ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda ½ tsp. nutmeg

Boil Dr. Pepper; stir in oats; let stand 15-20 minutes. Mix shortening and sugars well. Add eggs, beating until mixture is fluffy. Sift flour with salt, soda and nutmeg and add to existing mixture; add oatmeal mixture, mixing thoroughly. Pour into 9x9x2-in. pan, which has been greased and floured.

Bake at 375° for 40-45 min. or until done; remove from oven.

CUBED STEAK WITH MUSHROOM GRAVY 1 large pkg. cubed steaks 4 Tbsp. shortening Salt and pepper to taste Flour Two cans of mushroom soup Three cans water Cut steaks into serving pieces. Season each piece; dip into flour and shake off excess. Heat shortening in a pan; cook steaks until brown on each side. Put steaks into large oven pan. Mix two cans of mushroom soup with three cans of water. Pour over steaks, cover pan with foil and cook in oven for two hours at 325°.

BROCCOLI CASSEROLE 1 10.5-oz. package frozen broccoli, chopped 1 cup rice, cooked 1 stick margarine or butter ½ cup chopped onion 1 can cream of chicken soup ½ cup Cheese Whiz ½ cup milk Cook broccoli as directed on package. Cook rice; set aside. In large skillet, melt margarine; add onion; cook until tender. Add soup, cheese, milk and broccoli. Stir in rice. Bake in buttered casserole dish at 350° for 25 minutes.

WATERGATE SALAD 1 3.4-oz. package pistachio pudding 1 cup sour cream 1 cup chopped nuts 1 cup miniature marshmallows 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained 1 8-oz. container Cool Whip Mix pudding and sour cream. Add other ingredients. Chill several hours.

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Topping 1/3 cup melted butter ½ cup brown sugar 1/3 cup light cream 1 coconut, grated Mix butter, brown sugar, light cream and coconut and spread onto cake.

Place under broiler until bubbly and lightly browned. Makes 12-16 servings.

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MIXED VEGETABLE CASSEROLE 1 12-oz. pack mixed vegetables, frozen 1 cup chopped celery ½ cup chopped onion 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup grated cheese

1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. black pepper Topping 1 stack Ritz Crackers ½ cup melted butter

Cook frozen vegetables as stated on package and drain. Mix other ingredients and place into a buttered casserole dish.

Top with crackers and melted butter.

Bake 30 minutes at 350°.

SKILLET SUPPER 1 lb. pork sausage ¼ cup chopped onion 1 8-oz. package egg noodles, cooked 1 qt. canned tomatoes 1 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. chili powder 1 can mushroom soup 8 oz. sour cream, optional Cook sausage and onion in a large, deep skillet until meat is done. Drain off excess fat. Stir in cooked noodles, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and chili powder. Add mushroom soup, cover and simmer about 20 min. Stir and add sour cream if desired.

Note: This is great with cornbread on cold winter nights!

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GOOD CHICKEN CASSEROLE 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped 3 cups cooked white rice 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can chicken broth 1 cup mayonnaise ½ cup sliced almonds ½ cup onion, chopped Topping 1 stack Ritz crackers, crushed 1 stick margarine, melted Mix all casserole ingredients and pour into greased casserole dish. Mix crackers and butter and spread onto casserole. Bake at 360° for 1 hour.

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APPLE BARS

COCONUT CREAM PIE

Shortening 1 cup packed brown sugar ¼ cup vegetable oil ¼ cup milk 1 large egg 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cinnamon ½ tsp. ground nutmeg ¼ tsp. ground cloves 1½ cooking apples, peeled and chopped 1 cup chopped walnuts Topping ¾ cups powdered sugar ¼ tsp. cinnamon 2 Tbsp. apple juice (or milk)

1 cup coconut, shredded ½ cup sugar 4 Tbsp. flour ¼ tsp. salt 2 cups milk 2 eggs, separate yolks and whites 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring 1 9-inch frozen pie shell

Heat oven to 350°. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9x2in. pan with shortening. Mix brown sugar, oil, milk and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Stir in apples and walnuts.

Spread mixture in pan. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. Mix powdered sugar, cinnamon and juice (or milk).

Drizzle over cake and cut into bars.

Mix dry ingredients with a little of the milk; then add remainder of milk. Cook in microwave at 1-min. intervals, stirring each time, until thick.

Lightly beat egg yolks, then add small amount of hot mixture. Add the rest of the hot mixture to yolks. Cook 2 min. longer in microwave at 30-second intervals. Do not let it boil over.

Remove and stir in butter and vanilla.

For meringue, beat egg whites and slowly mix in salt and sugar until smooth and glossy. Cook piecrust according to instructions.

Pour filling into piecrust, spread on egg mixture and bake at 350° for 12-15 min. or until meringue is golden brown.

BANANA PUDDING ½ cup sugar 3 Tbsp. flour ¼ tsp. salt 3 cups milk 2 egg yolks 1 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp. vanilla 34

1-2 cups Vanilla wafers 3 bananas, sliced Cool Whip Mix dry ingredients with milk. Cook in microwave at 1-min. intervals stirring often until thick.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

Add mixture to egg yolks a little at a time.

Add rest of the hot mixture while stirring.

Let cool before adding vanilla wafers and sliced bananas.

Top with Cool Whip to taste or add separately.

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Good Eats

Brandin’ Iron proudly serves up thick steaks and a slice of Mayberry

Story by David Myers Photos by David Moore

Y

ou may be surprised to see longhorns on a country road in Fairview, but there they are … gigantic horns tearing through the façade of the Brandin’ Iron Steakhouse.

A big steakhouse is another thing I wouldn’t necessarily expect to see on a country road in Fairview.

But listen to me, my friend, when we got out of the car and were greeted by that grilled beef aroma, we knew we had found a good place.

For the past five years, Brian Stricklin’s restaurant has been drawing crowds to Welcome Road for flavorful steaks, smoky pork chops and a huge menu full of 36

appetizers, chicken dishes, sandwiches and most things in between.

“I built the menu off my roots,” he says.

“It encompasses the whole family.”

Apparently the family influence is a winning recipe because the Fairview location is his second successful Brandin’ Iron venture. Brian opened his West Point eatery off Ala. 157 a dozen years ago, a location he rode past many times as a child growing up in Moulton.

When Brian was looking for a second location for his popular steakhouse, the mayor of Fairview came calling with an aerial photo of the property on Welcome Road. He shared a 20-year plan that included a future ballpark nearby. Brian was sold.

“It’s good to know you’ve got people with vision,” he says. “It’s a great

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

community with great leadership. It feels like home.”

B

rian learned the business thanks to restaurant owners who gave him a job at age 16.

“I was blessed to work for really good people,” he says. “They mentored me and taught me a craft.”

A draftsman by trade, Brian spent two years designing the Fairview building to get it just right for his customers. Word of mouth brings in diners from not just the surrounding Cullman communities but Eva, Decatur, Arab, Guntersville, Albertville and elsewhere.

“It’s been a blessing,” he says. “It’s like our own little slice of Mayberry.”

Aunt Bea couldn’t cook up any better.

If you walk into Brandin’ Iron Steakhouse hungry, one remedy is the Big Ol’ Cut, up to 22 ounces of ribeye, upper left, or NY strip.

And/or you can order Brian’s Fries, lower left. Sundays pull big crowds at the newer Fairview location, above, and the original restaurant at West Point. That’s where owner Brian Stricklin fed the West Point football team for winning this year’s Brandin’ Iron Bowl and presented coach Don Farley with a trophy, left. Right, Brian and wife Misty take a breather from the usual flurry of customers.

Rose, my wife, and I each had a plate loaded with a marinated, grilled pork chop. Juicy and tender – with no offense to my wife’s wonderful cooking – it could have been the best chop I’ve ever had.

On the side was something new to both of us: sweet potato tots with a dipping sauce of cinnamon, butter and sugar. It made a heavenly combination.

We also highly recommend Brian’s Fries as an appetizer – a pile of perfectly crispy fries piled high with cheese, bacon and blackened chicken for an irresistible dish we had to force ourselves to stop eating so we could have dinner.

The chargrilled steaks are hand-cut.

Choose from the signature Delmonico, a 10-ounce ribeye; the Tenderfoot, an eightounce ribeye; or the Rattler, a seasoned six-ounce ribeye grilled to perfection. All are under $12 and come with a side and Texas toast. You can’t beat dat!

I

f that’s not enough choices for your

gang, you could go for The Strip – an eight ounce lean New York Strip; or The Pounder, 16 ounces of select sirloin for the truly hungry.

And for the folks who don’t get filled up easily, enter the Big Ol’ Cuts, which are special thick-cut NY strips or ribeyes that come in 14, 18 and 22 ounces.

Just try to eat dessert after tackling that hunk of beef.

A staggering 13 sandwich choices range from a Wild West BLT to a Monterey Chicken Sandwich and a Cowboy BBQ Burger.

If none of that suits your fancy, the list goes on to include smothered hamburger steak or beef tips, chicken quesadillas, kabobs, as well as fried or grilled catfish and fried or grilled shrimp. That’s a variety you don’t see on many menus.

We gave the grilled shrimp a try and both give it a big thumbs-up. Get a few with your steak for a nice combo.

Another nine chicken dishes and four

combination dinners round out the extensive menu.

For the truly bottomless, there’s a dessert list including apple, pecan, lemon icebox and chocolate mud pie, cheesecake and a warm walnut brownie. If only I had a bigger belly…

B

oth Brandin’ Iron locations are open Tuesday through Sunday 11 am – 9 pm.

Lunch specials feature six entrées for $5.99 and under.

Brian and his wife, Misty, a software engineer in Huntsville, believe in giving back to the community. They enthusiastically feed the local football teams and the bands.

They also host a Thanksgiving dinner every year for a veterans group called Saving Forgotten Warriors. They plan to keep sharing the blessings that are pouring in to them.

“We’ve never looked back,” Brian says.

“It’s been quite an adventure.”

Good Life Magazine

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

37

“The old girl has to have some upkeep,”

Nell Dunlap says of the house built in 1907.

And once a year she and Trystan have to get her ...

All dressed up for Christmas and the big party Story and photos

by David Moore

F

rom the first time a decorated tree dazzled her, Nell Dunlap has loved Christmas. But there is a “but.”

“But Christmas,” she says, “became more important to me as I grew older.”

“For me it’s a really happy time. For some people I know, it’s not. But this is Jesus’ birthday … and I’m a threat to celebrate a birthday. Just ask some of my friends!”

So Nell throws a big, annual Christmas party, lavishing enough decorations upon her old house to light the two-sizes-too-small heart of the Grinch. Last year, 130 folks enjoyed her festive decorations and party.

Her late husband, William Oscar “Bill” Dunlap Jr., instigated the parties in 1987.

As a 16-year-old, Bill had started working after school at the former Leeth National Bank, through his dad. By 1987, he was VP of what had become South Trust Bank of Cullman, and he and Nell threw the Christmas parties for a small group of close friends and customers. Not that Nell minded, but upon her befell the decorating responsibilities.

“Bill loved decorations, he just didn’t like to hang or set them up,” she laughs.

“He’d sit in his recliner while I climbed a ladder to the top of the tree. I can hear his deep voice: ‘Be careful, Nellie.’”

In September 2004 Bill learned he 38

had cancer. He died two months later.

Devastated, a Christmas party was the last thing on Nell’s mind for two years. Finally, in 2006, a friend kindly suggested it might do her good to resurrect the party.

“I thought about it,” Nell says. “All of my friends had been so good to me when Bill died, and I decided it was about time to start the party back for them.”

So, on the first Saturday of December, when friends gather in Nell’s house, as thick as elves at the North Pole, they’ll once again find it bejeweled for the Christmas season.

N

ell’s house on 5th Avenue SW was built in 1907 by William A. Schlosser, a German immigrant and Cullman’s first licensed architect and builder. He soon built a second house behind it for his daughter and her husband, Nettie Rose and John Allen “JA” Dunlap.

He moved out of the house about 1920, and JA and his family moved in.

He was making a name for himself. In 1932, JA was elected to his first of four terms as mayor of Cullman. In 1944, he became president of Leeth National Bank, where he’d worked since 1918.

JA and Nettie Rose had twins: Bessie Mae D. Annen and William “Oscar” Dunlap. Oscar went on to succeed JA as president at Leeth National.

It was 1977 when Oscar’s son, Bill, and Nell started dating.

The daughter of the late James and

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

Izetta Chappell, Nell was – and still is, she laughs – the baby of five children.

She has one living sister, Eula Johnson of Hartselle. Nell grew up on Eva Road and was in the first graduating class of Vinemont High in 1969.

She did a bit of college hopping, going to Auburn – where her heart still is – as well as Wallace and Athens State.

She also got married and had a son, Bret Weaver.

She was divorced and working at the old Watson Department Store downtown when she met Bill. They’d bump into each other at the bank or during lunch at All Steak.

On June 7, 1977, he asked her out.

They went to … All Steak.

“There weren’t,” she cracks, “a lot of places to go.”

Bill had lived in the SchlosserDunlap home since 1969 when his grandmother, Nettie Rose, died. Nell had seen the house when she was younger, but nothing about it grabbed her.

“It was just another house,” she says.

“I never paid any attention to it, not knowing Bill.”

H

aving been married once, Nell was in no hurry to tie a new knot, and The huge Christmas tree, decorated with ornaments collected over the years, has traditionally towered over a room off the living room.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

39

Deck the halls?

Nell takes that approach to the entire house, including the dinning room, above. It’s a bigger project than she and Trystan can handle. So she brings in the pros.

“I would never get any of the decorating done if it were not for Amy Wood and Deborah McAfee,” Nell says.

40

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

Trystan and Nell sit in the living room of their home, decorated for Christmas last year. Trystan Weaver, 21, studies horticultural landscaping at Wallace State. Nell, who went to work for the Department of the Army at Redstone Arsenal in 1982, retired as an executive assistant after 20-plus years. She chairs Hospice of Cullman County and serves as a board member of the Cullman Area Mental Health Foundation. She’s also on the Steering Committee of the Cullman Regional Medical Center Service Guild and the Wellstone Mental Health Board in Huntsville. She is a former board member of the CRMC Foundation.

she and Bill didn’t marry until July 19, 1985.

“I got it right the second time,” Nell says. “God blessed me the second time with a wonderful husband.”

Their wedding day is also the day she moved into the Schlosser-Dunlap house.

Basic changes followed rapidly.

“It looked like a bachelor’s house,” she laughs. “And it was at that time.”

A number of Bill’s mother and grandmother’s things were there – and still are. But the cluttered stacks of newspapers by his chair – he read four of them daily – were soon gone. Ditto for the laundry basket on the bedroom floor.

“We started using the drawers and dressers for our underwear and socks,” Nell says.

Her range expanded. She lobbied to replace the horrendous wallpaper in the kitchen, paint the ugly ceiling.

Bill relented but, after watching Nell try to hang wallpaper, made this helpful suggestion: “That’s what Richter’s gets paid for.” So she hired the pros at O.F. Richter and Sons.

Soon afterward, Bill called her at work one day, saying how great the kitchen ceiling looked. But the rest of the ceilings … not so good.

“What do you want to do?” Bill asked blindly.

“I fell right in there with it,” Nell says. “’I want to do the rest of the house.’”

O

ne of Nell’s friends, Maria Shultz – who worked, and still does, at

Richter’s – helped paint ceilings and repapered walls.

In the process, they wondered what was under the nasty, celery-green carpet throughout the house. They pulled up a corner of carpet and discovered a hardwood floor of pecan. Nell reminded Bill how nice the kitchen looked.

“So we pulled up the carpet and we mopped the floor and it looked phenomenal,” she says. “Bill worried about it being cold, so I put down a rug.”

Changes of a different kind began occurring at the house 21 years ago with the arrival of their grandson, Trystan Weaver. From an early age he often stayed with Bill and Nell.

“He and Bill were extremely close,” she says.

A teacher once asked Trystan’s class

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41

The above-ground pool, ruined in the 2011 tornado, was replaced by an in-ground pool with plenty of deck space outdoor living area ... meaning plenty of space for outdoor summer parties.

to draw a picture of a safe place. He drew a house that included his “Nanny” and “Daddy” – Nell and Bill.

The plan had been for Trystan to call Bill, “Daddy Bill.” It took the family a long time to realize that Trystan’s hearing was impaired; he did not hear ending sounds, so that Daddy Bill became Daddy.

He was at their house so much they added an above-ground pool.

“He took to the water like a little fish,” Nell says.

She and Trystan, 8 at the time, were devastated when Daddy Bill died. In early 2006 the boy moved in permanently with her. “He’s been my Godsend,” Nell says.

“We needed each other.”

D

rastic changes came, at least to the landscaping at the house, on the dark day of April 27, 2011. As the huge tornado ripped through the neighborhood, Nell hunkered in the basement with Trystan 42

and their dog, affectionately named Oscar.

“People talk about hearing a freight train,” she says. “We didn’t hear much but a real heavy thud. We really did not know how bad it was until we came out of the basement.”

“It looked like a war zone. We were basically encased in trees.”

The thud they’d heard was a tree now lying across the top of a dormer. It was but one of the huge, graceful oaks in the front and backyard – with trunk diameters of 59-65 inches – that the tornado had mowed down like weeds.

“The Corps of Engineers said the 65-inch trunk was the second largest tree to go down in town,” Nell says like she’d lost family. The upturned roots of that particular tree had ruined Trystan’s pool.

The house, however, had survived and was still livable.

“I was just thankful to God we were OK and nobody was hurt,” Nell says.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

Nothing was lost that could not be replaced. Still, it will take years for trees to grow that big again.

New memories, however, have been taking root through Trystan, who first visited the house at five days old.

“It feels like I was born and raised here, almost,” he says of what he long ago dubbed his safe place. “I am home, right here.”

“When Daddy was still alive, I remember we played ‘b-ball,’” he says, using his former kid term for baseball.

N

aturally, the house on Fifth Avenue holds Christmas memories for Trystan. There were the electric trains he got when he was young, and, in 2007, the sheepadoodle he named Angel.

“I can remember the first Christmas ornament I made,” he says. It’s a paper candy cane constructed in Sunday school.

Later, he began helping Nell with

In the early 1900s, after building the house where Nell and Trystan live,left, William Schlosser built a second house behind it for his daughter and her husband, Nettie Rose and John Allen “JA�

Dunlap. That house was later torn down and stone from it was used to build a garden area on the site. Stone used on both houses is identical to stone Schlosser used to build Sacred Heart and First Methodist churches.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

43

the decorating. In recent years, Trystan has decorated an Auburn Christmas Tree in the basement. He also helps Nell put up the big tree and the outside decorations, including the Santa at the front steps.

A new tradition began last year. After a disappointing trip to see his Tigers in the SEC Championship Game, he returned home and attended Nell’s Christmas party for the first time as an adult.

Before attending this year’s party, Trystan will help Nell pull out the decorations about Nov. 10 and start in. A few days before the party, the cars will be backed from the garage and it will be converted into what friend and partygoer Danny McAfee calls “the garagé,” with a woodland-themed Christmas tree and tables laden with food.

And so they’ll throw their annual Christmas party, Nell and Trystan.

“It is our home,” Nell says. “The old girl has to have some upkeep, but we love our home, we really do.”

Good Life Magazine Among the several nativities Nell and Trystan put up is this large, lighted one on the enclosed front porch.

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45

“It takes time to grow a proper garden,” writes Hunter McBrayer. “Nothing is instant.”

Good ’n’ Green

Of life’s changing seasons, and wisdom grounded in gardens

Story by Hunter McBrayer Photos by David Moore

J

ust as in nature, life’s seasons change. Whether you are planning for a cozy fall, a sedentary winter, a spring that brings new opportunities or a sweltering summer that seems to never end, many of us can relate to the ebb and flow of the seasons.

Along those lines, I am in for a change of season myself; I optimistically foresee a new career ahead, bright with blue skies but with the occasional thunderstorm. Yes, I am moving away from my career as an Extension Agent and on to new (not necessarily different or better) things.

Our Cullman County readers already know that Tim Crow, who 46

worked out of the office there with Tony Glover, has likewise moved on to another position, though he’s still with the Auburn Extension Service.

Given these changes, I’m making this a somewhat personal end-of-an-era article. Looking over the past years, I thought I could share life lessons that can be learned from gardening, or at least philosophies that are relevant to both areas. Enjoy, my friends …

It all starts with the soil Clay, loam, silt and sand. These are the components of soil that we, as gardeners, contend with, relative to our location. Without a doubt, soils are the foundation on which we build our gardens and harvest our bounty.

Unfortunately, there are few things

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

we can do to completely change the soils on which our gardens lie.

However, while we can’t change soil type, we can amend and improve the conditions in which we plant our seeds, and we can also destroy and deplete them.

Life is much the same – many of us are dealt a hand that we didn’t deserve, either good or bad. But with perseverance, a sprinkling of friends and a lot of work, we can improve our situation. At the same time, we can use up what we have been given, never taking time to replenish what we use, and can be left with nothing.

Don’t let the soils dictate what plants you grow, and don’t let your current situation take control of the rest of your life.

Clear out the weeds A garden is only as good as its gardener.

We have all seen those vegetable gardens that are spotless – free of weeds and ripe for the picking. Then there are those that are a little untidy, but somehow still productive. Lastly, there are those that are overgrown, full of pest and disease and seemingly good for nothing.

While I’ll be the first to admit that I tend to keep a less than spotless garden, I am normally able to apply the right care in the right place … just the right amount of fertilizer, water at the roots and enough sunshine to get me to where I need to go.

Remember not to envy the apparently spotless garden, as there’s a good chance that there are a few pests lingering that could bring the whole thing to a stop.

What about the over-grown piece of ground? Well, that one can be hard to handle by yourself. Be willing to ask for help from friends that have tillers, shovels and rakes … and if your neighbor has a tractor, he can probably bail you out.

It takes time to grow a proper garden Nothing is instant. We like to plant seeds, count the days until our fruit should be ripe and carry a basket out to gather all that we deserve.

But it takes time, commitment and maybe even a little luck to ensure that the seeds we plant turn into something that we are proud of. Plants can wither and die without water, grow large and bushy without a single flower if we over fertilize, or they can turn out just the way we planned if we treat them with the right amount of care.

Many things in life are this way, from children to jobs and all things between.

Very few things take care of themselves.

A diverse garden is a productive garden I have talked to people who have planted the same tomato cultivar for 30+ years, never taking a risk and trying one of the more than 10,000 commercially available types that are out there. Instead they settle for the same: It’s easy, pretty and doesn’t take as much work.

Unfortunately, things change and

‘I have talked to people who have planted the same tomato cultivar for 30-plus years, never taking a risk and trying one of the more than 10,000 commercially available types that are out there,’ writes the author. ‘Instead they settle for the same.’

these plants can become susceptible to disease or a new insect. A willingness to be flexible can make the difference between a harvest and a wasted season.

Trust me, not all of those 10,000 varieties are as good as others, but you will never know if you don’t try them.

This goes with life. I know a few folks who are unwilling to listen to other ideas. Nowadays it seems that a different

opinion is a wrong opinion.

I disagree whole-heartedly. We are built on new things, and while old ideas can still work, there is always a way to improve.

Fill your garden of life with people from all walks, and I assure you that your harvest basket will be full when you get to the end of the row.

Good Life Magazine

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

47

Stephanie Barnett has put her skills, compassion (and experience as a patient) to work in Africa and at ‘Good Sam’ Clinic Story by Loretta Gillespie

I

t was dark when she and her group got off the plane this past August. It had been a long flight, but the mounting excitement kept her exhilarated and alert.

“I knew God wanted me to do this,” says Stephanie Barnett. “God put me in a position where I could bring hope, and I wanted to tell everyone about Jesus.”

For Stephanie and her husband, Barry, this mission trip with Temple Baptist Church presented an opportunity to combine a medical trip with a missionary visit to Moshi, Tanzania, Africa. It was her first medical mission outside the United States – and it was one of the most profound experiences of her life.

“I saw the face of a woman whose heart rate actually changed as she was converted and accepted Christ,” Stephanie says. “Her heart was racing, she was tearing up, but when the Holy Spirit came into her life she calmed down, and I could see a look of joy come over her face.”

She and the mission team saw more than 600 patients, 133 of which made professions of faith.

“We also had to turn away about 500,” 48

Stephanie Barnett hugs a young patient she saw during her mission trip to Africa in badly, when she was alone, she says she clung to the words from Isaiah, eagles; they shall run, and not be weary,

she says sadly. “We saw tuberculosis, parasitic infections, HIV, lung diseases, heart diseases and skin diseases. The Tanzanian people have very little. Most lack running water and have holes in the ground for toilets, but they are a happy people – they have nothing, but they are happy.

“I think sometimes that we have so

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

much we take it for granted,” Stephanie adds. “God tells us that He will provide what we need.”

F

aith has seen Stephanie through many trials and tribulations in her life, and it has buoyed her up in times of despair.

In 2004 she discovered a small lump in

August. Smiling today, she faced tougher times during her battle with cancer in 2004. When she lost her hair, when she was feeling 40:28-31: “Hast thou not known? … They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as and they shall walk, and not faint.” Photo by Tiffany Green-Oldacre.

her breast. She was working at Cullman Regional Medical Center as a medical transcriptionist at the time.

She called Dr. Herman Ensor, who suggested that she have a mammogram.

Experts do not recommend getting the test until a woman reaches the age of 40, but with the discovery of the lump, she took the doctor’s advice.

The mammogram suggested a malignancy and she was referred to Dr. Donald Marecle, who performed a biopsy.

She was home with her three children, Brandon, Aimee and Amanda, when she got a phone call from Dr. Marecle with the diagnosis. It was cancer.

“I was painting my dining room when

he called,” she remembers. “I didn’t have time for cancer, but I knew that I had to hold it together because of the kids.”

During a follow-up at Dr. Marecle’s office, she pointedly asked what her prognosis was.

“Only God knows that,” he answered.

“I knew at that point that I would be OK either way,” she says. “If I didn’t

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

49

At the “Good Sam” clinic, Katey Hallmon often confers with pharmacy tech Stephanie Barnett about prescriptions, above.

Stephanie often consults weekly with Dr. Jeremy Stidham at his office at Cullman Internal Medicine, below. Stidham, who volunteers time as the medical director for Good Samaritan Clinic, praises Stephanie for her giving nature and strong clinical skills. “These qualities make her a perfect fit for our clinic,” he says. Photos by David Moore.

make it I would be in Heaven with God, and if I did, I’d be home with my family.”

S

tephanie says she also had wonderful doctors for treatments, Dr. Johnny Nacillla and Dr. Vince Karolewics. They saw her through the many phases of chemo and radiation.

“They saved my life,” she says. “I have no doubt of that.”

At her five-year mark of being cancer free, she says, God led her into nursing. Those who had cared for her proved to be a big inspiration.

“My nurses were so kind and inspirational to me,” she says softly.

“Even when I had chemo brain and my memory was fuzzy, and when I had hair loss, they were always encouraging me.

I don’t even know if they realize how much they did for me.”

“I knew that if I could just be half the person that they were, if I could help someone the way they helped me, that I would bring that hope to others.”

So in 2009, she enrolled in the 50

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51

nursing program at Wallace State Community College.

“Every time I passed a test I was amazed,” she laughs. “What got me through nursing school was God’s grace.”

After completing the nursing program at WSCC, Stephanie went on to attend UAB. “God opened doors for me to get there,” she says.

In 2015, Stephanie received her BSN at UAB, and in 2017 received her MSN. She is now a nurse practitioner.

L

ast April, Stephanie began working as the nurse practitioner at Good Samaritan Clinic in Cullman. Every day she strives to inspire patients at the free clinic with her positive attitude, her medical knowledge and her faith.

“Stephanie has such a heart for people and it really comes through with our patients,” says Jolanda Hutson, the clinic’s executive director. “Stephanie and I both know God led her to Good Samaritan.

She’s such a blessing to the clinic and our patients.”

Her job is her vocation, and it keeps Stephanie busy. According to Hutson, the clinic saw 872 unduplicated patients in 2017, resulting in 3,223 patient visits.

Funded by grants, private donations, churches, businesses and an annual fundraiser, in addition to being a United Way agency, the clinic is a 5013c, nonprofit organization and an asset to the community.

“Good Sam” – as Stephanie and others fondly refer to it – recently added a degreed social worker who volunteers her time to help patients with various needs, such as filling out forms.

The clinic also offers free medical screenings as the opportunity arises.

“We are grateful to the community for their support because without that support we could not continue to provide these services,” Hutson says.

S

tephanie says the staff is dedicated and often works long hours striving to provide the finest medical care to all patients.

Stephanie’s engaging personality makes her a favorite of the patients. She greets each one with a smile and a professional demeanor that ensures confidence and trust.

52

With her mother watching on, a young patients in Tanzania gets a checkup from nurse practitioner Stephanie Barnett. Photo by Tiffany Green-Oldacre.

“I love being a part of something that is helping decrease the inequality of healthcare,” she says. “I love being able to do what God has called me to do. And I love helping create a healthier community.

“I love my job!” she ads with

exuberance. “God has an enormous plan for our lives when we listen to Him. It’s fine to have head knowledge, but it’s our belief, our ‘heart knowledge’ that gets us into Heaven.”

Good Life Magazine

More about the Good Samaritan Clinic Good Samaritan Clinic is located at 401 Arnold Street in Cullman.

To qualify for free treatment there, patients must reside in Cullman County, be 19-65 years of age and not covered under

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

any insurance.

For more information: visit www.goodsamaritancullman. com; Good Samaritan Cullman on Facebook; Twitter at goodsamaritancullman; or call 256-775-1389.

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53

Up to snuff?

(Or: ‘Steve, what’s wrong with your eyes?’)

Among the many collections author Steve Maze has are “old” snuff containers. By old, they date back 50-60 years. Even so, some bare health warnings. Today’s smokeless tobacco products are required by law to include the following: “WARNING: This product can cause mouth cancer. WARNING: This product can cause gum disease and tooth loss. WARNING: This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. WARNING: Smokeless tobacco is addictive.”

Though not as bad as cancer, Steve would add, snuff burns your eyes like the dickens.

Story by Steve A. Maze Photos by David Moore

T

here was once a lady from our community who everyone referred to as “level headed.” The moniker didn’t come about due to her great intelligence or rational way of thinking, however. It was assigned to the lady because snuff ran evenly down both corners of her mouth.

Of course, many people dipped snuff in the Depression era when this lady was around, so there were probably a lot of “level headed” people in our area.

While children were lectured on the evils of dipping by caring parents who spewed a brown fog over them during the mild scolding, many preachers were afraid to issue a sermon about this particular “sin” since they and most of 54

their parishioners used snuff. That would have been considered “meddling” instead of preaching.

Women had to be a bit more discreet than men. Peer pressure dictated that those of the female persuasion should not be seen dipping in public.

So women felt led to sneak out by the barn or visit the outhouse whenever they needed a pinch of snuff. Some were more innovative, however, and sewed a secret pocket into their slip where a small can of snuff could be hidden from sight.

Most snuff came in five or 10-cent cans, bottles or glasses. The most popular brand was Levi Garrett, which sold for 35 cents. Other brands included Bruton, Topps and Skeetin’ Garrett.

Skeetin’ Garrett was sold in a brown bottle with bubbles or notches on them.

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One to four of these notches were imprinted on the bottom of each bottle and most people thought they represented the strength of the tobacco – one notch being the weakest and four notches being the strongest.

Some folks swore by the notches and dipped accordingly. Actually, the notches indicated the location where the bottle was manufactured and had nothing to do with flavor or strength.

B

oth of my grandparents were dippers, but I was around Grandma more because Grandpa was usually working the fields.

I always marveled at the way Grandma could shoot a stream of snuff juice between the V-shape of two fingers pressed against her lips. She usually spat

into the fireplace where the juice would emit a grownup as we sat together and spat into the sizzling sound from the hot coals. fireplace.

Grandma had deadly accurate aim, never missing the intended target. I think she could ne way snuff companies induced people have knocked a fly off the wall at 40 paces. to try their brand was to send out free samples She explained that she picked up the habit of their product in the mail. One day in the at an early age since mid-1960s, a sample her family used to grow reached my family’s tobacco on their farm home. I discovered the in northeast Cullman three-pack of Tops snuff County. The worst part of when Mother sent me to growing tobacco was the the mailbox. fact that Grandma and her The tall, colorful cans sisters were assigned the were just too tempting for job of pulling bugs from my little hands to resist. the tobacco leaves. The I hid them beside a shrub bugs really latched on to and rushed into the house the tobacco and would to hand Mother the letters sometimes burst open and bills. when pulled from the Shortly after, I ran out leaves, leaving a gooey the front door as Mother residue all over the girls’ yelled for me not to stay fingers. outside long because it After the tobacco was was windy and cold. I ready to be picked, the retrieved my stash and leaves would be washed scurried around the edge and prepared for use. of the house where I From 1980 to 2000, reports show Some leaves would be would not be seen. a decline in snuff use. But with a twisted and dried to serve Surely the snuff in ban on public smoking and a push as chewing tobacco. such attractive cans would in advertising/branding – unlike 50 Others would be ground taste as delicious as the into coarse tobacco for years ago – it’s increased since then. cocoa and sugar mixture smoking, while the rest Grandma had made me was ground into fine when we dipped together. tobacco for snuff.

I opened the red and white can first and held it up in front of my face. A gust of wind he raw tobacco was very strong and blew the powdery substance into my eyes, would provide a nicotine high in a matter immediately turning my baby blues into red of seconds. It was so strong, in fact, that the coals of fire. family often purchased regular snuff from the Temporarily blinded and even a little peddler to mix with their homegrown product nauseated, I fumbled to place the top back on to dilute it. the snuff can. Eventually, I was able to stagger Grandma switched from Bruton to Topps through the front door and hand Mother the snuff because one of her relatives ran a route sample package that I had “found” in the back with that company after the product was of the mailbox. introduced in the 1950s. It didn’t hurt that it “What’s wrong with your eyes?” she asked also came in glasses, which could be used to in bewilderment as I stuck my head under the drink out of once the snuff was gone. kitchen sink.

That snuff must have been the sweetest I told her – honestly, I thought – that the tasting stuff around because a smile broke out wind had blown something into them. on Grandma’s face each time she shook a little of the powdery substance into the corner of her hat was my first and last attempt at mouth. The label even proclaimed it was Topps dipping. My stomach still rolls and my eyes sill Sweet Snuff. burn whenever I think of that day from more Tantalized, I begged her to give me a little than 50 years ago. pinch of the brown powder. Instead, she made I guess you could say that the experience a mixture of cocoa and sugar for me to “dip.” was hardly “up to snuff.”

It resembled what she dipped, and I felt like a Good Life Magazine

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Tom examines a Dino he made with a blade of CPM 153 steel and “handle” scales made of rag Micarta. Look closely by the tip of his right index finger and you’ll see “Ploppert” stamped on the bolster. This knife will sell for about $1,500.

Ploppert knives Story and photos

by David Moore

T

om Ploppert is carving a name for himself into the top echelons of custom knifemaking. Not bad for a Cullman man who strives to make straight and perfect F’s.

Note: that is not a reference to report cards.

In Tom’s book, those F’s stand for fit, finish and function. And, like a bright stainless steel blade, the high standards of artistry he applies to the three F’s are reflected in the yearlong waiting list customers gladly endure for the

Tom Ploppert continues to hone his considerable knifemaking talents, driven by a passion to produce the best

opportunity to shell out $1,000 and more for a custom-made traditional folding knife with the name “Ploppert” stamped on the bolster just above the handle.

But don’t look for his name on a modern tactical knife or a thumb-assisted flipper.

“I enjoy the more traditional lines of knifemaking,” Tom says. “The kind your grandfather would have given you for a gift or carries in his pocket.”

Owner of Discount Pharmacy on U.S. 31 near the Cherokee Avenue intersection, Tom has been honing his growing reputation as a knifebuilder since 2006.

Built with passion, expert craftsmanship

and top-quality materials, many of his pieces end up in the showcases of proud owners, but he’s more thrilled when his knives are put to work.

“I build them to be functional working tools,” he says. “I build every one as if it’s going to be used.”

New from his shop, his custom knives are things of beauty, but Tom believes with use they keep getting prettier.

“I had a customer send me back a knife he had worn out – which is a good feeling,” he says. “I knew someone used it enough that, after years and years, it had to have the blades replaced.”

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57

Top is a Barlow, known by the long bolster between the handle and blade; bottom is replica of a Honk Falls Trapper. Tom put stag scales (handle coverings) on both.

The knife had passed Tom’s three F’s. If the fit had been poor – that is, improperly assembled – if the finish had not been tough and beautiful, the customer would not have sought new blades. And since the customer had worn out a top-grade steel blade, that was one obviously functional knife.

A

s a kid, Tom always had a pocketknife, even if it was a cheapie.

“I remember getting my first really nice one,” he says. “It was a Buck 113 from Mary Carter Paint Store. I don’t know what happened to it.”

Swallowed, no doubt, by the blade black hole.

“They do get lost,” he grins.

(Years later, Tom once lost a custom, $1,000 knife, made by his mentor, friend and legendary cutlery artist, Tony Bose. Narrowly escaping the blade black hole, it was eventually found tucked inside the lip of a front-loading wash machine. ) Son of Nancy and the late Tom Ploppert Jr., Tom the third grew up in Larkwood near Lake Catoma. His dad sold Snap-on tools for years, and predictably little Tom got tools for holidays and birthdays.

It was big Tom who encouraged his son to talk about career paths with Mike Isbell, who then owned Discount Pharmacy. It not only sounded like a good deal to young Tom, but Mike promised him a job if he got his pharmacy degree.

After graduating from Cullman High in 1983, Tom joined the Army, spent a couple years at Fort Bragg and got some college funding through the GI Bill.

“I was determined to go to pharmacy school,” he says. He did that by way of three semesters at 58

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

Most knifemakers share patterns, and Tom got Brazilian expert Ricardo Ramano. Tom used

Wallace State, before transferring to Auburn and getting accepted into the pharmacy program.

Tom graduated in 1990, returned home and gratefully took the job Mike promised. Six years later, he bought the business.

Also after he graduated from Auburn, Tom and his dad got heavily into drag racing (they did have all of the tools). Tom bought a 20-acre farm northeast of Cullman and the first thing he did there was to build a shop to work on their cars.

He later started raising cattle on the farm and built a house for his wife, Anita, their combined four kids and himself.

I

n the mid-1990s, Tom and a group of buddies began annual deer hunts in South Texas. One of the local guides carried a fine, custom-made knife that caught the eye of the man who’d always had a pocketknife.

When Tom inquired about the knife, the guide said his neighbor made it.

“Which sounded likely to be untrue, but I eventually got to meet him,” Tom says.

The knifemaker was Pat West of Charlotte, Texas, and Tom was fascinated.

“When I made my yearly pilgrimages, I would buy a knife or two from Mr. West. It was more exciting than hunting,” he says.

Then came the visit in the early 2000s that would change Tom’s life. Always handy with tools, he mentioned that he’d like to try his hand at knifemaking.

“Mr. West said, ‘Buy a grinder. I’ll help you grind steel.’”

Continued on page 62

the design for these Lock Back Dinos from man-made Micarta for scales on the top Dino.

Tom prefers making utility knives – such as this complex, five-blade Premium Stockman – as opposed to tactical knives. He also likes stag scales.

Tom made this beautiful Sowbelly Trapper from Damascus steel.

The stunning patterns in the blades is created by folding different types of steel during the forging process.

The result is a beautiful, strong steel an Elven bladesmith would envy. Tom bought a block of Damascus steel from Bill Burke, who forges it in Boise, Idaho.

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

59

Grinding has evolved into one of Tom’s favorite steps in knifemaking. He has several grinders and numerous belts in his shop.

His mastery of tools is part of what goes into his increasingly recognized craftsmanship.

Heralded knifemaker: Tom can be one of the best T

ony Bose says Tom Ploppert is already great at custom-making traditional knives and has a shot at being one of the best.

That’s extreme praise from an artist who’s already held in the highest esteem by collectors and makers of custom knives across the country. To put Tony into perspective …

Making knives since 1972, his legendary status was validated in 1998 when he was hired as a consultant by the W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., one of the premier mass-producers of traditional pocketknives. The company has several popular lines of Tony Bose-designed knives.

What’s more, Case collaborates annually with Tony to produce highlycollectible classic knifes in limited editions of 1,000. With near customquality levels and materials, they sell for $539 to $685.

60

Tony knows – and is known for – his stuff.

And he knows what he sees in Tom, his protégée from Cullman.

“Tom is the perfect storm,” Tony says by phone from his home in Indiana. “He’s gotten to be a very good knifemaker and has a chance to be one of the best.”

They visit several times a year, talk even more often. Tom is always up for learning from the master.

“He has a burning desire to learn, he’s very smart and mechanical, and he has the means to get what he needs (equipment and materials) to do what he wants.”

Tony is familiar with Tom’s three F’s (see main story) – fit, finish and function.

“He covers those,” Tony says. “If something isn’t right, he’ll tear it apart and make it again. He has the right attitude.

He doesn’t want his name on it if it’s not right.”

“Tom’s not afraid to tear into something new. If he has problems, he

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

sometimes calls me, but he already has it figured it out. He just wants to hear it from me.”

Making modern knives could make both men more money, but it’s not what they want. Both have a love for traditional folding knives, often called slipjoints in the trade. Tony helped nudge Tom in a direction he calls “bringing the old patterns back from the dead.”

“I try to teach him to make them true to the pattern,” Tony says. “If you put your touch on them, they look like inbred cats.”

T

om has already developed a good following. And, Tony reiterates, with Tom’s skillset, if he sticks with it and develops longevity, he’ll become one of the greats.

“I would put Tom in the top four or five slipjoint makers now,” Tony adds. “Most people around Cullman don’t know what they have there. But they will some day.”

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In the early stages of a knife, Tom uses purple layout dye on a piece of steel to etch out the shape of blades, scales and such. As with all precision work, a good micrometer is one of his essential tools.

Continued from page 58 Tom did just that. He also converted the drag car shop into a knifemaking shop.

A few years later Tom attended his first big knife show, The BLADE. Held in Atlanta, it’s billed as the world’s biggest cutlery show.

“It’s sensory overload,” Tom laughs.

“There are a thousand tables of knives at the Cobb Center.”

Tom, to his surprise and delight, met knifemakers who knew Pat West. One of them, Bill Ruple, gave him his first real lesson.

“He’s in Pleasanton, Texas,” Tom says.

“I flew out and watched him go through the process.”

I

n the beginning, Tom made fixed blade or hunting knifes, which he did for about three years. Around 2006 he made his slipjoint. Mechanically and geometrically more complicated than a fixed blade, a slipjoint or folder is a 62

traditionally styled pocket or EDC – every day carry – knife.

Speaking of complex, one of Tom’s proudest accomplishments was making his first five-blade knife, now owned by a collector in Louisiana.

After Tom’s father died in 2008, he further immersed himself into the world of grinder belts and carbon-steel blades, of scales (handle covering material) made from stag horn, bone, ebony and synthetics such as Micarta.

He began cutting back his hours to spend more time at his part-time hobby and revamped his racing shop for precision knife work.

In recent years, renowned knifemaker Tony Bose of Indiana has helped Tom refine his skills.

“He’s on a pedestal,” Tom says of Tony. “His knives bring thousands of dollars. He has the clout. He has helped me take my work to a new level.”

Besides The BLADE show in June,

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

Tom travels to a major knife show in the spring and again in the fall. He usually limits his display and sales to six or eight knives per show. In addition to show sales and orders on his waiting list, Tom’s knives are available through quality, online knife purveyors.

E

vermore driven by his passion for knifemaking, Tom made his pharmacy work part time about five years ago. He now spends 50-60 hours, Monday through Thursday, in his shop. A meticulous artist, he completes only about one knife a week.

“When you get down to it, I’m doing this just because I love to do it,” he says.

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Shane Quick Pivot points and leaps of faith: a look at the man who throws ‘the biggest party in the South’

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Shane Quick, founder and co-owner of Rock the South, stands on the runway of the stage amid an ocean of concert-goers between acts on June 2. The two days of country music drew a total of 62,000 people.

According to a study by The University of Alabama, RTS adds more than $6 million to Cullman’s gross domestic product, adds 121 jobs and accrues $208,260 in local sales tax. Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Dierks Bentley, Florida-Georgia Line, Alan Jackson and Thomas Rhett are just some of the stars that have rocked the RTS stage since 2012.

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Story by David Moore

F

ifteen-year-old Shane Quick had no idea he stood on the threshold of a major pivot point in his life when he heard his brother.

“Hey,” Chris called.

“I was walking out the door to go Christmas shopping,” Shane says of the scene he’s played out in his memory almost as many times as there are partygoers at his ubermusic festival, Rock the South. “I came back and he said, ‘I love you.’ Those were his last words.”

Three days later, Chris, 23, toppled down an old elevator shaft while at a construction job. Hospitalized, he lay in a coma six days before dying on Dec. 25, 1994. A Christmas Day devastation for his kid brother.

“He was a loving person, an outgoing extrovert,” Shane recalls. “He cared deeply about people and animals. In some ways he was like a dad to me, in some ways like an older brother.”

Big into music, Chris had been saved at a Christian concert a year earlier. And now he was, at least physically, gone from Shane’s life.

“When I lost him, it made me think about living life wide open, about going after my dreams,” he says. “I almost felt like I needed to live for him, accomplish some of his goals.”

And so Chris became a filter through which Shane learned about determination and setting goals. His brother has lived on in that mental way.

“Chris is really the untold story of my life,” Shane says. “To say he was a linchpin, anchor, turning point, fork in the road in my life would be a massive understatement.”

Chris’s memory lives on in other ways, too. Shane named his son Ethan Christopher in honor of his brother.

Then there’s Shane’s tattoo.

Not a big fan of tats, he does have Chris’s last words tattooed on his left forearm. It’s in Chris’s handwriting, literally, each letter copied from notes and verses he’d written in his Bible.

“I look at it everyday.” Shane says.

Rolling out his arm, rolling out Chris’s last words. “I’ll always cherish them.”

S

hane sits in a meeting room in the

66

Cullman office of Premier Productions, where everything is professionally casual with an undertone of electricity in the air.

This is one of Premier’s numerous offices across the Southeast, including Nashville and High Point, N.C. Since two partners founded it in 1996, Premier has promoted the top Christian bands in the business. The 4,000-plus concerts, festivals and events it has staged worldwide have drawn crowds numbering in eight digits.

Shane – the newest source of propulsion for this amazing music machine – logs 200,000 miles annually by air, domestically and internationally.

It obviously pays off. Since he became Premier’s third partner in 2006, the company has rocketed from producing 150 shows per year to 600.

Even without considering Shane’s success in the Christian music genre, many people who see only his Rock the South successes might get the wrong impression about him.

“People may think I grew up in Cullman privileged,” Shane says. “I’m not. I’m a high school dropout.”

Son of Joyce and Millard Quick, he grew up across the street form Hanceville High, mostly under his grandmother, Linnie Mae Quick’s roof and loving tutelage.

“She was a massive part of my life,” says Shane. “She was the anchor of our family by far.”

Millard built upscale houses in Birmingham and North Shelby County.

Shane spent most of his summer working at his dad’s construction sites toting lumber and such.

“I learned about work ethic,” he says.

At high school, Shane, who loved music, blossomed as a drummer in the marching band. Director Paul Anderson made him a section leader.

“He was one of the first to give me any responsibility over people,” Shane says.

All of that got lost in grief with Chris’s death in 1994. In ’96, his junior year, Shane quit school to help support Linnie – in whose house he lived – and pay his own bills.

H

ardly privileged living, for two years Shane worked odd jobs at Lowe’s, at Kmart, and for his dad. While hauling his own proverbial water, he began thinking

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

how cool it would be to work in the music business.

“I knew I desired a career that did not require a degree,” he says. “But I wouldn’t recommend dropping out to anyone. I hire college graduates.”

Actually, in 1998 Shane began taking some classes at Wallace State. He also got a sawmill job at Louisiana-Pacific in Hanceville. The air was choked with sawdust, temperatures felt like 130°, and he worked 12-hour shifts.

“It taught me a lot about being a dedicated and dependable employee,” he says. “It taught me I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life and needed to make a move.”

During breaks Shane waxed eloquent, if not ad nauseam, to co-workers about his big music industry plans. Finally, one of his bosses, Kevin Campbell, called him on it.

“When are you going to stop talking about it,” he asked Shane, “and when are you going to do it?”

“Until that point, I had gotten comfortable talking about it and wasn’t really active on making it happen,” Shane reflects. “Something happened when he said that. He challenged me.”

“After that I really started to dive in heavy. I made trips to Nashville, paying for lunches I couldn’t afford to get a little information out of a booking agent or an artist’s manager.”

Taking baby steps, Shane began promoting a few small Christian concerts.

Interestingly enough, between these forays into the music business and his long sawmill shifts, Shane began taking online classes through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as a way to learn more about the scriptures.

F

inally, on Sept. 19, 2001, eight days after the world-changing terrorist attacks, Shane pulled together his first big event – a See You at the Pole rally held at Wallace State’s Leeth Theater. He got support from Wayne Cook and Seventh Street and First Baptist churches. He brought in Kevin Derryberry from the Birmingham band Telluride.

It was the beginning of a five-year span that – in addition to marrying Kim, whom he’d dated since he was 16 – saw Shane take leaps of faith in business, some of which held painful landings.

Shane has fondness for his giant, antique megaphone. It resides in his Cullman office for Premier Productions. It also became a logo for his OUTCRY tours (see page 70).

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67

But not this time. See You at the Pole proved to be a positive pivot point.

“The rally was to pray for the nation,” Shane says. “Patriotism was running high.

The entire building was completely full.

Several teenagers got saved, and it made a huge impact on our community.”

“Backstage, I got down on my knees and surrendered to the call of doing Christian concerts.”

For his second big show, again at the Leeth, Shane went southern gospel 68

and booked The Steeles. He brought in 15-20 emergency responders statewide, volunteers of the recovery efforts at Ground Zero, and he and Sen. Zeb Little presented them with plaques.

Unfortunately, not many people saw the event. Shane’s first ticketed event flopped. He lost all but $5,000 of his savings.

W

ith his remaining $5,000, in 2002 Shane started Youthquake. The festival of

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Christian music at the Cullman County fairgrounds drew annual crowds that turned out for 12 years to see big acts such as TobyMac, Skillet and, notably, Casting Crowns.

The event opened the gates to Shane’s quest to impact the Christian music scene. And the gate key came in 2003, when he developed a rapport with Mark Hall, founder and lead singer for Casting Crowns.

Though still working at Louisiana-

Cullman Oktoberfest visitors check out a car show on First Avenue NE in the Warehouse District, overlooked by the old G.W. Ponder building. One day, the faded Ponder name along the cornice will be replaced by a freshly painted “Christopher Quick Building.” Now owned by Shane Quick, the 115-year-old is a cornerstone in his real estate business, Quick Developments. Started in 2016, it has added a real estate dimension to his career portfolio.

Two new – Ashley Mercantile and Lavish Boutique – occupy remodeled street-level space. In the future, Premier Productions, a worldwide promoter of contemporary Christian music concerts and other events, plans to occupy the top floor. It will be accessed by an elevator Shane wants to build on the north wall facing the Oktoberfest biergarten. Back when the building was the Alabama Produce Co., serviced by a sideline to the railroad, it had a large freight elevator. Shane had it covered over, because it was just such an elevator shaft that his brother, Chris, a former construction worker, took a fatal fall in 1994. Chris had loved restoring old buildings. “I was inspired by Chris,” Shane says. “I love old buildings, always have.” And so he’ll rename this one for his brother. Across and down the street, Shane built Mae’s Food Hall, named for the grandmother who essentially raised him.

“I feel like downtown is the future,” Shane says. “The strip mall is a dying idea. People are migrating back to downtowns around the world. Cullman was lucky to have people like Eddie Hart to be trendsetters and invest in downtown when it was unpopular.” Drone photo by David Warren.

Pacific, Shane cast his lot with Mark and the young Christian rock group, becoming their first promoter. The timing could not have been better.

That year, the group released its first album, the namesake “Casting Crowns.” It was one of Christian music’s fastest selling debut albums ever, soaring on to platinum in 2005 and launching the group onto eventual Dove and Grammy awards and 11 hit albums.

“Casting Crowns was a big, big

moment,” says Shane, who still does shows with the group. “They, in essence, took me with them.”

Since 2002, Shane had been booking shows through his own company, Real Life Promotions, named in honor of Chris.

“He told me, ‘Before I got saved I thought I had life, but now I have real life,’” Shane says of the origin of his company’s name.

He began promoting shows out of state with Casting Crowns and others, such as

Third Day and Mercy Me. He averaged about 30 concerts per year from then until 2006 – a year that provided multiple pivot points in Shane’s life.

For one thing, that’s when his and Kim’s son, Ethan, was born.

“When he was born I decided to go for it,” Shane says. “Go for my dream.”

So with a new baby and a mortgage, he finally left Louisiana-Pacific, stepped to the dizzying end of a figurative highdive board and, on faith, took a big leap

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

69

Shane spent six years praying and planning on how he might take his successful Youthquake idea to a new level, “the next big thing.” With input from others, he formulated OUTCRY. The idea was a melding of a revival in the power of the local church through uniting people, and through taking on tour inspiring worship artists and engaging religious speakers. Through Premier Productions, starting in 2015, Shane booked the most influential worship groups and speakers in the country and took them on the road to huge turnouts. OUTCRY’s spring 2018 tour featured the music and testimonies of Elevation Worship, Bethel Music, Mosaic MSC and Vertical Worship, with speaker Christine Caine. During April they did 14 appearances from Los Angeles, to Denver, to Cincinnati and Birmingham. The logo for OUTCRY became Shane’s giant antique megaphone.

into working full time with Real Life Productions.

S

hane’s full-time run with Real Life was short lived.

“God allowed me six months to take a leap of faith to do it on my own,” he says.

Then his career took a quantum leap with yet another 2006 turning point.

Reputation preceding him, Shane was recruited as a third co-owner by Premier Productions founding partners Gary Gentry and Roy Morgan, who hail from Kentucky and North Carolina, respectively.

With its national reach, Premier offered Shane the opportunity to promote the gospel through more and bigger shows. To Gary and Roy’s considerable success, he brought a vision that never shied from peering beyond the edge of the proverbial box.

And he loved it.

70

“To have the ability to think of something new, do it and see it happen, see it end and do it again … you literally see the fruit of your labor,” Shane says.

Premier’s fruits include: • Creation of an international touring platform, booking bands and venues, organizing logistics and marketing; • Producing a dozen of the largest Christian music festivals in the nation; • Managing artists; • Operating an in-house ticketing company; • Opening a Christian conference division; • Booking targeted cruises and vacations; • And, since 2015, producing the county’s leading worship event, OUTCRY. “I love it. This is my calling,” says Shane. “I love to see people have a good time.”

“There is something special about

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018-19

a concert crowd that doesn’t happen at any other time. You can’t get it listening to a CD or Apple Music. But put people together in a room experiencing a music event and something special happens.”

R

ock the South – described as “the biggest party in the South” and rated by Billboard as the nation’s sixth best country music festival – is a different animal. Separate from Premier, it’s owned by Shane and his two partners through a separate company, GSR; it’s produced by Nathan Baugh through his company, 46 Entertainment.

Though not from ashes like the mythological phoenix, the festival rose in 2012 from the debris the EF-4 tornado left in its wake on April 27, 2011. RTS’s conception, however, lies in a vision Shane had.

“I was jogging at Heritage Park one day and stopped and imagined a music festival there,” he says. “I

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enjoyed sitting in the Shane says. “Children and middle of a soccer field family have to be made a and envisioning me at the priority. There are certain end of a stage and people days I travel on, and coming from around the certain days I don’t.” country to be here for that That makes it possible festival.” to spend time with The vision would not Ethan. At the same time, have surprised Chris. He Ethan sometimes gets to knew how his little brother travel with Dad, hangout used to be. backstage and in tour buses “He felt there was – which, of course, is cool. something different about So Shane is living out me,” Shane explains. “He his dreams, for himself, for knew I was a thinker. I his family and for Chris. enjoyed being in my room But he’s quick to point out alone and writing notes.” he didn’t get where he is Foregoing idle talk like by himself. For one thing, he made at Louisianait was his calling. Beyond Pacific, Shane moved into that, he’s had worldly action. supporters.

He shared his “I consider myself festival idea with John incredibly blessed, that’s Hunt at Cullman Park for sure,” he says. “But and Recreation, with there is a laundry list of Councilmen Garlan people who have believed Gudger and Clint in me. And supported me.”

Hollingsworth, with Among them, he Peggy Smith at Cullman names Linnie Mae; Paul Economic Development Anderson, his old band Agency. director; Hanceville “They all looked at me friends David and Teresa “Ethan has grown up being backstage at shows,” Shane says. and believed I could do it, Thomas and Kenneth and believed we could pull it Tammy Cornelius. Shane “He rides a tour bus, goes back stage. I think he loves my work off,” Shane says. credits Kevin Campbell instead of feeling it takes me away from him.” He’ll turn 13 in And he and Nathan did. at Louisiana Pacific for January. On Nov. 27 in Nashville, Shane will marry Laura Bento, On the first anniversary challenging him. His exfounder and editor-in-chief of Good Grit Magazine. Of their of the tornado, they wife, Kim, was one of his meeting at a gas station, Shane says, “I felt compelled held a musical festival early believers, he says. to say hello.” Photo provided. celebrating the city John Hunt, Garlan Gudger rebuilding itself. The and Clint Hollingsworth crowd of 10,000 people and Peggy Smith were also had a blast. Afterward, believers.

Shane is far better off financially than Shane and Nathan hit high gear and 13 “That’s just a fraction of the ones when he worked in the sawmill. weeks later staged the first Rock the who believed in me, and I can look back “It’s afforded me a lifestyle to see the South. and see I would not be where I am today world,” he says, adding without a pause, RTS grew annually, with Shane and without them,” Shane says. “People have “and to help people.”

Nathan booking some of the nation’s to have early believers: parents, teachers, Beyond his RTS contributions, he top country acts. To call it a success is friends …

I had all of the above.” helps Premier sponsor some 20,000 an understatement. And since that first “I also have an office full of people children annually, providing food, shelter year, RTS has given back more than who believe.

Surround yourself with and education through World Vision and $500,000 to various local agencies believers and dreamers and people who Compassion International. and programs all striving for the bring their perspective.

And you have to “That’s huge,” Shane says. community’s betterment. have doers as well.”

But all the travel, all the good, all the “Dreaming alone is good,” Shane benefits, fun and excitement and glamor says.

“But dreaming with other people is ere’s another “duh” bear personal costs. powerful.” understatement … With his co“It’s not easy to run a world-class ownership of Premier Productions, Good Life Magazine company and be balanced in any way,”

H

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Out ’n’ About Whether you’re out ‘n’ about Saturday, Nov. 3, or not, attend the Elks Lodge’s huge, annual Veterans Day program at Folsom Field. It starts at 10 a.m. as thousands of people honor veterans of all wars, with a focus this year of The War on Terrorism (Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere). FYI, Cullman is home to some 7,000 veterans, according retired USAF Col. Ken Brown, an event planner. If you attended last year’s event, you know how impressive it was. Among the scenes from the day-long activities were: clockwise from upper left, going inside of a troop transport plane; seeing lots of veterans and active duty military, along with period enactors; examining Vietnam-era weapons; riding in helicopters; hearing Garlan Gudger interview veterans such as Medal of Honor winner Mike Rose, Special Forces; and exploring inside Humvees and other equipment. Photos by David Moore.

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