Cullman Good Life Magazine - Spring 2019 by The Good Life Magazine

CULLMAN COUNTY

New features – Good Getaways and Postcards start in this issue

Sure, doing laundry’s a hassle, but it was much worse in the good ol’ days SPRING 2019 | COMPLIMENTARY

Scott Waldrep embraces the world from 35 different counties (so far)

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Welcome

Even if you’re no bank robber, ‘Good Getaways’ are good to make

ou will probably notice a few changes in this issue of Good Life Magazine. “Well, I don’t want you to mess it up!” That’s what Diane, my wife, said when I told her Sheila McAnear, my business partner, and I planned to make some changes to GLM. Another man might have been affronted. Not me. I know how much Diane enjoys magazines, which makes her a good sounding board, I think, on what our readers like. From her feedback and that of countless readers, Sheila and I don’t think anything about GLM is broken. And we’ve all heard, “If it ain’t broke ...” But sometimes a freshening up is in order. And it seemed like a good time do it. Extension Agents Tim Crow and Hunter McBrayer have for several years written the “Good ‘n’ Green” features in our Cullman and Marshall GLMs, respectively. I can’t thank them enough. But when both moved on to good and greener pastures, it was an opportunity to replace that feature with an idea I’d toyed with for a while: “Good Getaways” ... something we all need. It will suggest day trips and over-nighters you might enjoy. Some will be woods and water oriented. Others will be city and town trips. I have to confess that I look forward to the grueling research this will require, but, hey, anything for our readers. Let us hear from you if you have some good suggestions. When I told Tony Glover at the Cullman Extension Office about it, he had several ideas off the top of his head. The other new feature is “Postcards,” which will be, well, old post cards. Back when Steve Maze published “Yesterday’s Memories,” he did something similar and told me how much folks enjoy it. I think you will, too. While we were at it, Sheila and I tweaked a few things in our format. I’ll let you find those. But, if it makes you feel better, Diane likes what we did.

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Contributors Joppa photographer Liz Smith shares photos of spring in this issue. In January, she spent a week in Jackson Hole shooting photos. On her birthday while there, she woke up one morning to a moose outside the cabin door in the snow. What a great birthday present for a photographer. Writer Seth Terrell is back in the Cullman GLM after taking a sabbatical to complete his MFA. With that under his belt Wallace State Community College hired him as an English instructor at its Oneonta site. His story in this issue pretty much took him around the world. NASA contractor David Myers was shutdownfurloughed in December-January. Nothing funny about it, but even before his wife, Rose, could hit him up with a honey-do list, he found plenty of projects around the house he enjoyed doing – including writing on a sixth novel. Regular contributor Steve Maze of New Canaan writes with (seeming) authority about washday back in the good ol’ days. Upon learning about the topic his wife, Brenda, got a good belly laugh. “The only thing you ever contributed to washday,” she told him, “was dirty clothes.” Leave it Deb Laslie –who writes our book reviews for the Cullman magazine and owns Deb’s Bookstore – to know a good quote from Mark Twain: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” But write a book herself? “I only write checks!” GLM’s Advertising/art director Sheila McAnear has been in advertising for as long as she can remember. Ditto with raising teenagers. But now, finally, after 35 years, no more teenagers. Her youngest son, Terry, turned 20 in January. Doesn’t mean he’s out of the house yet. He’s there while doing M&Ms – he’s a mechanic/minister. Everyone has a regret or two. One of editor/ publisher David Moore’s is not spending more time with his son – now 32 – as he grew up. There was a lot of newspaper work. That’s part of the reason Dad invited Hunter to do a little hiking recently ... even if it was for a story for this issue. David F. Moore Publisher/editor | 256-293-0888 david.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com

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

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Inside 10 | Good Fun

Spring is always a good time to plan a trip. We offer a few ideas.

16 | Good People

Dr. Jim Wright deals with trials and tribulations of youth at Childhaven.

22 | Good Reads

‘Heads You Win,’ and tails ... well, Edna and T-Rex have another tale.

25 | Good Cooking

Aaron Nichols cooks at 90 mph; enjoy his recipes at your own pace.

Jesse Ramirez

Gary Reid

Wayne Day

Billy Hulsey

Ramona Weeks

Josh Griffin

Dylan Curvin

Tiffany Hulsey

Darren Campbell

Jim Cheatham

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34 | Good Eats

Ninja Japanese Sushi & Steak House score big artistry from the cooks.

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36 | Good Getaways

Take off a day and visit Natural Bridge and (part of) Bankhead.

40 | The Welts

They “marched” far to build a traditional home on Smith Lake.

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48 | Calera McHenry

She finds wonderment and joy in the garden she and Ronnie made.

56 | Washday

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Sure, washers and dryers are no fun, it could be worse – and was.

59 | Brian Roberson

Cullman man is a steward of one of the nation’s treasured icons.

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65 | Scott Waldrep

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He might be anchored to East Side Barber Shop, but he loves travel.

75 | Out ‘n’ About

A visual celebration of spring by Joppa photographer Liz Smith. On the cover | Spring was just around the corner when Liz Smith shot this sunrise last year at the Corbin farm. This page | Scott Waldrep loves international travel. He also loves taking Busy Bee Café “global,” as illustrated on his T-shirt here. 8

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• March 2-3 – Mulberry Fork races The Alabama Cup kayak and canoe series will be raced in two events this year, the first this weekend on the Mulberry Fork near Garden City, the second April 6-7 on Locust Fork in Blount County. The Mulberry Fork races started in 1981 and are the longest running slalom race in the U.S. Locust Fork racing began in 1991. The course is about 100 yards long with some 25 gates to maneuver through class II/III rapids. You can watch from an easily accessible trail. Parking is $3, food will be sold, and water and portable toilets are available. The site is on Cullman County Road 509, accessible from Short Street in Garden City or from 509, off Ala. 91 south of Hanceville. For more information on visiting or competing, visit: www. alabamacupraces.com.

Bodie Light House, above, watches over the Outer Banks. Below is the George Wythe House in Colonial Williamsburg, photographed by Rob Shenk of Great Falls, Va.

Enjoy history and nature on this trip

Plan a trip, take in a show, think strawberries and St. Paddy

ign up now for the Wallace State Community College Alumni Association’s grand trip to the Outer Banks, Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg June 2-9. And you don’t have to be a member to join the adventure. The trip includes an overnight stay in Asheville, N.C., en route to “OBX” islands. There you’ll stay three nights in the Hampton Inn and Suites on the Atlantic beachfront of Carolla. Take a safari to see the wild mustangs there before visiting nearby Duck for shopping and lunch. Spend the afternoon at the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station and Bodie Island Light House before dinner at Kill Devil Hills. Also out on the islands, you’ll explore the Wright Brothers Museum in Kitty Hawk, climb aboard the Elizabeth II, a historic 16th century sailing vessel, visit Roanoke Island Festival Park, go antiquing in Manteo, and enjoy the Elizabethan Gardens and a Lost Colony dinner drama. From OBX, head to Jamestown, Va., 10

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

for two nights. Activities include a tour of the first permanent English settlement, a visit to Yorktown and another guided tour of areas relevant to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and a guided walk of Colonial Williamsburg with a special tavern dinner. Costs range from $1,439 to $2,079 depending on occupancy and alumni association membership. This includes motor coach transportation, accommodations, 14 meals, baggage

handling, tax and gratuities, tour guide and admission to all activities listed on the itinerary. Register at www.wsccalumni.org/ OBX19. For more information about these and other travel opportunities with the alumni association, contact Ladonna Allen: 256352-8071; or visit www.wsccalumni.org and click on the News & Events link and Upcoming Events.

• March-April – The Art of Porcelain As one of several local Alabama 200 bicentennial events, the Cullman County Museum will have a special display of porcelain on the second floor. It will be provided by the Decatur Porcelain Artists. Group members will present a free workshop noon-2 p.m. March 23 on painting porcelain. For more info: Drew Green, museum director, 256-739-1258. • March-May – Illuminations Though details are still being finalized, this exhibit at the Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College will tentatively feature illuminated manuscripts and other devotional and religious objects from diverse collections in a collaborative exhibition. The exhibit

will coincide nicely with Palm Sunday and Easter on April 14 and 21. The museum’s exhibit hall is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Admission: free. For more information: 256-352-8547; or visit www.burrowmuseum.org. For a list of the museum’s upcoming exhibitions, visit: www.burrowmuseum.org/ upcoming-exhibits. • March 9 – Stony Lonesome Birthday Bash Stony Lonesome OHV Park is celebrating its 10-year birthday with a band, bonfire, swap meet and lots of family-friendly fun. There will be free birthday cake and food vendors along with a night ride for no additional cost. “That’s to say thanks for

Good Fun supporting us over the last 10 years” says Doug Davenport, director of Cullman County Parks and Rec. “We will also be honoring the two ladies in the office that have been there since the park opened. They are wonderful employees.” For more info: 256-287-1133. • March 9, 16, 23 – Countywide yard sales Smith Lake Park will hold a yard sale March 9, followed by yard sales March 16 at Sportsman Lake park and March 23 at the Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center on U.S. 31 North. Times for all sales are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free. Vendors can rent spots for $10 or pavilions for $35. For registration times and more info, call: Smith Lake Park 256-739FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

2916; Sportsman Lake Park, 256734-3052; ag center, 256-739-4959. • March 16 – St. Patrick’s Celebration Join Cullman’s first St. Patrick’s Celebration on Saturday, March 16, in downtown Cullman. Plans are still gelling, but Cullman Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism is running the show, so you know it will be a hoot. Check out CPR’s website and Facebook page for details. • March 30-31 – Kennel Club Dog Show The North Alabama Kennel Club Dog Show – licensed under the United Kennel Club – is returning to the Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center for the fourth year. The club expects 60-70 dogs in categories of junior showmanship, guardian, scenthound, sighthound, northern, American Eskimo, herding, Belgian Shepherd, terrier, toy fox terrier and companion. Two overlapping events are held both days, starting at 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The events last until 3

p.m. or later. Food trucks will provide lunch both days. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend – as long as you leave your pet at home. A dog’s entry requires permanent registration with UKC and a fee. For details on entering: www. aguntcockers.com/nakc; or contact: Jennifer Swann, 265-654-7508.

walking tours every Saturday this month. A different guide will take participants to different areas of town each week. The free, hourlong strolls begin at 10 a.m. (rain or shine) in front of the Cullman County Museum led by local historians full of insights into the city’s past residents. For more info: Drew Green, museum director, 256-739-1258.

• April-October – Farmers Market, crafts Festhalle Farmer’s Market will be open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. You can buy fresh, locally grown produce in season, plus craft vendors are at market, too. Produce sellers and craft people interested in booth space can contact: info@cullmanrecreation.org and (256) 734-9157

• April 2 – Twin Kennedy Carli Kennedy on guitar and Julie Kennedy on fiddle have blended their classical training with their country roots to become a Canadian country music sensation. Their sibling harmonies and high-energy show have made Twin Kennedy a twotime Canadian Country Music Award nominee And Tuesday night they’re bringing their show – to be enjoyed by all ages, classical to country – to Cullman. A production of the Cullman Community Concert Association, it starts at 7 p.m. in the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre at Wallace State.

• April – Historic walks This year’s theme for the last of Alabama’s three-year bicentennial celebration – Alabama 200 – is “Celebrating Our Stories.” Cullman is participating with annual historic

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Tickets are $30. For more info: www.cullmancommunityconcert association.com. • April 6 – Colors of Cancer 5K Run Support the efforts of the Bosom Buddies and elevate yourself at this annual 5K run. Registration is 6:457:45 a.m. at the Veterans Pavilion at Sportsman Lake Park. The race starts at 8 a.m. and medal presentations follow. Day-of registration is $30. Preregister and save $5 plus be assured of scoring a free T-shirt. Registration forms are available at Options: 2201 U.S. 31 N., Cullman. For more info contact: Louise Cole, lcole7857@gmail.com; Becky Richardson, 256-347-1986 or brichardson1957@yahoo.com; Judy Grissom, 256-347-5993 or option5993@gmail.com. • April 6-7 – 35th Annual Bloomin’ Festival Held 9 a.m.-5 p.m. both days on the campus of St. Bernard Abbey and Prep School, this spring tradition

Twin Kennedy: from Canada with fun and music. draws some 25,000 visitors annually. A juried show, it attracts more than 140 booths filled with artists demonstrating and exhibiting their

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• May 11-21 – Visit Lisbon (at left), Seville and Madrid There is still time to sign up for this marvelous journey offered 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 baths; regional style meals; tour guide and fees. Prices start at $3,819 per person. For more info, contact Kristen Holmes: 256-352-8118. For detailed itinerary, visit: www. wallacestate.edu/abroad; or www.grouptoursite.com/tours/ portugalspain2019.

for the weekend to visit Ave Maria Grotto. Completing the weekend is the giveaway for the following prizes: 2019 Jeep Renegade; four nights at Orange Beach; an Apple Watch Series 3 GPS; Apple AirPods; and a weather radio. The St. Bernard campus is adjacent to the world-famous Ave Maria Grotto. The picturesque landscape of stone cut buildings on the grounds of Alabama’s only Abbey provides a backdrop for the out-ofdoors show that has been recognized several years by the Southeast Tourism Society as a “Top Twenty Event in the Southeast.” Admission donation is $5; children 5 and younger get in free.

early. Forms are available at the park or register online: www. cullmancountyparks.com. Day of registration starts at 6 p.m. – $25 and $30 the day of, children 12 and under are $15 (children 6 and under can race for free). Park admission: free. For more info: 256-734-3052.

• April 12 – The Sportsman Lake Rock & Glow 5K Rock & Glow 5K is 3.1-mile run that’s more about having a “glowing” experience than speed. Wear creative running gear – if it’s bright, blinks, shines, glows, or looks like something from another planet, it’s perfect. A DJ will pump out hits to keep you motivated. Afterwards, runners and walkers can dance the night away with local entertainment. Get a t-shirt if you register

• April 26-27 – StrawberryFest Celebrate Cullman’s agricultural history with the 80th anniversary of the state’s oldest Strawberry Festival, featuring arts and crafts, food, music, strawberries and more. It all happens at Festhalle and Depot Park in the Cullman Warehouse District. A week earlier than last year, the event kicks off that Friday with senior day, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (tentatively), sponsored by the

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

• April 20 – Sportsman Lake Park Easter Egg Hunt Bring the youngsters starting at 9 a.m. for a fun time at the park the day before Easter. Thousands of plastic eggs with candy will be hidden, but you better come early. The Easter Bunny is fast. Admission: free. For more info: Sportsman Lake Park, 256-734-3052.

Cullman County Commission on Aging, the Donald E. Green Senior Center and Cullman Parks, Recreation, & Sports Tourism. Saturday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m., enjoy arts and crafts, food, music, strawberries, and more. For more information: visit Cullman Strawberry Festival on Facebook; or CPR, www.cullmanrecreation.org. For info on booth space contact Cullman Parks and Rec: 256-7349157; or: info@cullmanrecreation. org. • May – Postcard exhibit Like old postcards? Be sure to visit Cullman County Museum in May for a big exhibition in conjunction with the Alabama Bicentennial. Hundreds of representations and cards will be included in the Dr. Wade Hall traveling exhibit from Troy State University as well as from the Cullman County Public Library System’s collection. The exhibit will be on the second floor of the museum. A speaker is planned, but details were not finalized by press time. For more information call: Drew Green, museum director, 256739-1258. Good Life Magazine

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Good People

5questions Story and photo by David Moore

etting fired is not generally a good thing. But Dr. Jim Wright’s case is an exception. Getting the boot as minister of a church 25 years ago landed him in the executive director’s chair at Childhaven in Cullman. Getting fired a quarter of a century ago feels to Jim like the boot of providence. Certainly he sees much good coming from it. Consider that … • At any given time Childhaven provides on-campus, supervised homes for 35-40 children and teenagers whose family lives are in tatters; • Besides food, clothes and shelter, the facility provides them with support and counseling; • Nearly 100 percent of the residents graduate from high school; seven this year are in college; • 80 percent of the residents will go on to less restrictive placements, back to their families if feasible; • By collaborating with other agencies in 11 counties, Childhaven serves some 250 people a day – in about 50 families – with intensive in-home services designed to help them work through issues, maintain family unity and keep the children from entering the foster care system. Back in 1962, Jim’s family moved to Huntsville where his engineering dad worked with Werner von Braun. “I don’t remember a time growing up that space was not a part of my life,” he says. Becoming a preacher – or heading a child services ministry – was not on his radar. “I grew up in the Church of Christ,” Jim grins. “I got drug to church and left at church. I was just there.” “But I grew up in large youth groups 16

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Dr. Jim Wright

For 25 years, meeting the tragic, growing needs of kids and teens at Childhaven there, and when I started thinking about what I was going to do, preaching was the calling I had.”

mentoring minister said Jim’s Bible knowledge was fine but warned that many preachers burn out on the heavy load of counseling. So Jim studied education, psychology and sociology in college and later got a master’s in clinical psychology. As a testament to his love of sharing the Word, after he left preaching Jim later earned a doctorate in ministry. Though his first degree was in education, he never taught in public schools. Instead, he preached at Churches of Christ in rural Tennessee. At one of them, two of the elders served on the board of a nearby boy’s ranch. Jim did an internship in counseling there, and his MA thesis was on selecting effective house parents. Coincidentally – or not – research for his thesis took him to Childhaven in 1980. Later, while preaching in Indianapolis, he developed strong ties with a children’s home, sometimes speaking and helping with fundraisers. Little did he suspect all of this was an impromptu internship for his job today. About 1987 he was called to a Church of Christ in Woodstock, north of Atlanta. After six years, Jim says, he was shocked to get fired. Shocked all the more because he was told his sermons were too positive. He interviewed at other area churches, had a job offer in education, but when he learned that Childhaven was seeking a new director, it piqued his interest. Jim met with the search committee on his first interview in Cullman. It went well and on his second interview he brought his wife, Debbie, a special ed teacher.

Jim’s mother, who has since passed away, taught in Huntsville. He didn’t want to get her hopes up, so on the QT he inquired about the Cullman school system and got a glowing report. That did bode well for the Wrights’ three kids.

“I

n a real sense,” Jim says, “God had prepared me my entire life to do this work. If I had not been fired, I would never have looked at it.” And so Jim landed at Childhaven in October 1993. The International Order of Odd Fellows built the four-story facility as an orphanage; it opened on Mother’s Day 1910. Occupancy grew to at least 97 children and much of the support came from cultivating its 250-acre farm. Occupancy actually fell during the Great Depression, and Childhaven was forced to close its doors in 1938. But concerned citizens bought the facility in 1948, made renovations and incorporated Childhaven as a nonprofit, Christian ministry offering child services. A fire in 1964 gutted the central building but it was restored, minus the fourth floor. When Jim arrived, Childhaven was not only working with at-risk young people but was at risk itself of again being shuttered. “I thought I’d stay three to five years, help them out a little bit and maybe go back to the pulpit,” he laughs. Those first few years Jim gave more than 100 talks annually, mostly in churches, explaining the need for residential group homes, maternity and teen mother programs, encouraging education and vocational training and setting up transitional homes. He reiterated the mission statement: “Childhaven exists to bring each child into a lifelong relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ by meeting the individual needs of each child.”

SNAPSHOT: Dr. Jim Wright

• EARLY LIFE: Born Oct. 10, 1954, Oak Ridge. “I’m Tennessee by birth but Alabama by rearing,” he says. • EDUCATION: Grissom High School, Huntsville, 1972; Libscomb University, Nashville, 1976, BA with combined majors in education, psychology and sociology; Middle Tennessee State, 1981, MA in clinical psychology; Amridge University (Southern Christian University), Montgomery, 2000, DMIN ministry. • FAMILY: Married the former Debbie Foote of Huntsville, Dec. 29, 1973. Three grown children: Daniel lives in Minnesota with his wife and two children; Beth Nichols lives in Dallas/Fort Worth area with her husband and four children; Richard lives in Roswell, Ga., with his wife and child. • CAREER: For 21 years prior to coming to Childhaven as executive director in 1993, he preached in Churches of Christ in Tennessee, Indianapolis and the Atlanta area. ACTIVITIES: Cullman Rotary Club; retired elder at Cullman Church of Christ; 10 years plus as chairman of the Cullman County Department of Human Resources Quality Assurance Committee; former board member and/or president of Cullman Caring for Kids, Cullman City Schools Foundation, Alabama Association of Child Care Agencies, and Network 127 (a national association of Christian children homes); served on the Governor’s Data Oversight Commission for DHR.

oday, more than 250 churches support that effort; some as far away as California but most are in Alabama with, not surprisingly, strong support in Cullman County. While not affiliated with any specific churches, most of the staff, house parents and children there attend Cullman Church of Christ. In addition to the central building, the campus includes nine rancherstyle group homes, a gymnasium, pool, maintenance shop and minister’s residence. In 1995 the central building underwent a major renovation thanks to Dr. Chester and Martha Hicks of Gadsden. They have a deep appreciation for Childhaven, Jim says, because Martha grew up there. “Most people think I am crazy working with needy, troubled youth, but I have the best job on this planet.” “It was providential that I came to Childhaven,” Jim adds. “No doubt about it.”

How have the needs of children changed over the years? Childhaven exists today because of addiction, the drug culture, and the violence that surrounds that. If America could solve our drug problem, it would go a long way toward closing a lot of Childhavens. Back in the day, kids came into care because their parents were in poverty and couldn’t look after them. That’s traumatic enough, but today they are also exposed to alcohol, drugs, violence. They’ve been raped and violated. The increased emotional needs of our children is one of the biggest emotional changes I’ve seen. Terminology has changed, too. Political correctness comes into play. Nobody in America has “orphanage” as part of their title or name. We’re “children’s homes,” “residential centers.” What hasn’t changed is that kids come to us because their families can no longer care for them. I taught some teen mothers several years ago in Sunday school. The lesson was on The Lord’s Prayer, which begins, “Our father, which are in heaven …”

I asked them what makes a good father. If you don’t know that, how can you understand The Lord’s Prayer? All of them said a good father is not violent, will not hurt you. It surprised me that “not violent” was in the top characteristics of a good father. Listening, loving, caring, merciful … but not violent? Then they described the beatings and violence they’d witnessed. Lots of children need a safe, caring, Christian place to live. But the trauma they face today is dramatically more severe than it was 20 or 40 years ago. They have more psychological and emotional needs than ever – the amount of sexual abuse, the severe physical abuse, being around addiction, drugs and alcohol. When I came 25 years ago, at Christmas 75 percent of kids had some place to go with family for Christmas. Today, 25 percent have that contact.

What is changing – or needs to change – in child welfare in Alabama and the nation to meet those needs? First, you have to learn to treat the drug and alcohol addiction, do something with opioids and crystal meth. Secondly, we’ve got to have more resources to serve needy children. The number of kids in foster care in Alabama has grown 30 percent in the last few years. And there are fewer resources to help them than there were three years ago. There are kids in Alabama tonight who will sleep on the floor of a sheriff’s office or DHR because there aren’t enough group home beds, not enough foster families. We need more places to serve our children. Thirdly we need more research into how to effectively deal with traumatized children who have such challenging social, psychological and emotional needs. For example, if I have a child, deeply depressed, who needs psychiatric services, it’s almost impossible to get them help. Even if he or she is a millionaire and not on Medicaid, there are not enough child psychiatrists. Resources are really, really thin. If you want a number four, put more

money into the whole system. Instead, these are the programs that tend to get cut. We serve foster kids in Alabama. The funding I receive from Medicaid and room and board payments from DHR make up about 12 percent of my cost. The remainder has to be made up by donations. We’ve operated that way since 1949. Odd Fellows went out of business because they didn’t have enough money. It is a tough thing to change. Children do not vote and do not donate money in the political arena. Children’s issues are not on the forefront of politicians’ minds People who do what we do spend a lot of time trying to raise money and awareness. I am blessed with a great team. Vicki Rhodes is our director of social services. She runs our day-to-day operations, frees my time to get funding. We make up the senior team here. Beyond us, we have four social workers, therapist, a campus minister and a licensed, professional counselor. We have 25 on staff all together. Over half of those are house parents who live in the houses and take care of kids. That’s where the rubber meets the road. They are the most important people here – the people who live with our kids

New: Deb’s Creole-style shrimp and grits!

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What advances have you seen in child welfare in the past 25 years? Broadening and expanding of our services. When I came, we basically served boys and girls. Today we serve pre-teens and teens and have one of the few pregnant and parenting teams. We have transitional and independent living. We have programs that transition into adulthood and go beyond foster care. For 10 years we’ve had a collaborative effort between three agencies in 11 counties called intensive in-home services. We work with highrisk families on the verge of losing their children into foster care. Our client is the whole family and our goal is to preserve the family so they will not lose their children into foster care. In some cases, these families may have lost a child into foster care and we can get that child safely back into the New: Melt-in-your-mouth, 12-hour ribs with Josh’s special rub!

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Open for lunch, dinner and drinks Tuesday-Saturday

Augusta’s has a new menu with some fabulous additions. One is shrimp and grits. Until now, the best owner Deb Veres ever ate were cooked Creole-style and served at a special event. “I’ve ordered shrimp and grits in different places but it never came close to that, so I started playing around with sauces in my kitchen at home,” she says. She tweaked about a dozen variations of tomatoes, onions, peppers, bacon and celery before everyone thought the sauce was perfect. “Initially it was a little too spicy,” she says. “You have to appeal to the general public. But you can’t go wrong with grits. This is The South.” Trial runs for the rub and -cooking time for Augusta’s new hickory-smoked ribs was fun work, too. Deb’s cooking son Josh eventually hit a homer with the rub. “It needs a little more pepper,” Deb’s other cooking son, Jason might say. “A tad more salt,” someone on staff would counter. The hickory smoking took some trials, too. “Our past experience had been with imported Danish ribs,” Deb says. “But now we’re using ribs that are a lot meatier.” They kept increasing the cooking time until they hit perfection: 12 hours. Homemade cheese sticks are new, too. InTry Deb’s Loaded Sweet house, they slice a 5-pound loaf of mozzarella, Tea ... with anything. bread it and fry it. Yum. Nothing frozen here. T-bones on the menu were replaced, but don’t be alarmed. Along with its other popular steaks, Augusta’s now serves a 22-oz. Porterhouse – king of cuts with a filet and strip. Fried green tomatoes are off the menu, but it’s only seasonal. Ditto with fish tacos, which await fresh mango for their salsa. But all of your favs are still served fresh at Augusta’s. They love keeping happy their ever- expanding clientele of regulars and friends, such as Debra Cooper of Hanceville. “Catfish is my favorite,” she beams. “It’s always light, crispy and not fishy.”

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home and reunited with their parents. That’s the best win-win for all. If you spend money early on intensive inhome programs when the child is young and get that family stabilized, you can have success. But in Cullman County alone the foster care population is around 200 children. Fifty homes across 11 counties is just touching the hem of the garment. Every time a child moves it is traumatic and changes that child. If they’ve been in five or six homes by the time they’re 16, and they need psychiatric treatment, you spend a ton of money. If you make an investment earlier, that child will be healthier and more successful in life. It’s a real challenge. I recognize that. But over the long run that’s money well spent and that’s cheap.

What are some Childhaven success stories? Ron and Mike McFarland are two brothers who grew up here in the ‘60s. The father deserted them. The mother picked cotton. They were basically homeless, poor, did not have enough to eat, didn’t have basic services. So their mom brought them here and checked them in. They ended up growing up here and both did very well. One is a retired minister, the other is with Delta Airlines. They would probably say the greatest act of love their mother had was to bring them to Childhaven. “Mary,” a woman who grew up here, struggled and spent a year at college getting a degree in cosmetology. She got exasperated and went back home to Huntsville. Then someone told her about an opening at UAH as a secretary or something. She realized she could go to school there as an employee for next to nothing. She got a degree in engineering and is a project engineer at NASA. She is happily married and has one daughter. The last time I saw her she said she would be speaking at a women’s event on her life story, growing up in foster care and at Childhaven and how she got to where she is now. At Childhaven, we put an emphasis 20

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

You can help

Childhaven does not charge the children and teens it helps from broken homes, but that doesn’t mean it can operate without funding. “We don’t exist unless we have donations,” says Dr. Jim Wright, director of the non-profit ministry. “If you are looking to help our children, you can’t do better than us.” He notes with some pride that GuideStar awarded Childhaven and its board its highest Gold Star ranking for transparency. If you want to donate, you can drop a check by the facility at: 1816 Childhaven Road Cullman, Alabama 35055 Or make a donation online at: www:childhaven.com.

on education. That’s a key factor in breaking poverty and child abuse cycles. One thing I see with kids here, there is a given that God put a bond between a parent and child, and it does not matter what the parent does to that child, the child will always want to be with that parent. So many of our kids resent being here and can’t wait to go home or do whatever they do next as they move through life. Then somewhere in their 30s or 40s our phone rings and they say, “Do you remember me? Man, I hated it there, but I don’t know what would have happened to me if I had not lived at Childhaven.” They get a little older, maybe have kids, and their perspective changes. We want to make the ground fertile for that perspective to change. If I didn’t have success stories, it would be tough. But sometimes it’s the failures that keep me in this business. They are my challenges. We once dismissed a strapping kid about 14 years old. While he was waiting for his ride, I talked with him. He said, “My life was great until y’all came and messed it up and took

me away from my mother.” She was a drug addict living with her boyfriend pimp, and one day the boyfriend showed up and started beating his mother with the bar from a chain saw. The boy stood between them and said, “If you beat my momma, you are going to have to come through me.” He turned and left. The boy went on to tell me they had been doing great, then we came and got him and messed everything up. I don’t know what happened to that boy. There was a lot of anger. I’ve been here 25 years and there’s probably two or three stories like that. They are the challenges, but most of our kids do well. Everybody has issues to deal with in life, but most of them are actively contributing members of our society.

What is something about Dr. Jim Wright that most people don’t know? Maybe about me and Debbie meeting …? I was 17 and bowling with a junior league team on a Saturday morning in Huntsville. I have no idea how I got interested in bowling. Debbie was 16 and at Butler High, our cross-town rival. Her PE class took a field trip to Plamor Bowling Alley on North Memorial Parkway, where I was bowling. They told her if she was interested she could join the junior league. That first Saturday I kind of took an interest in her, and we were assigned to the same team. We were just moderate bowlers, but I’m sure I showed off. I walked her to the car and carried her bowling ball. The next Saturday, after three games, I walked her to her car. It took me all three games to work up the courage to ask her out, and then I had to get her away from the rest of the team. We may have seen “Gone with the Wind” and gone out to dinner. Two years later we got married. We recently celebrated our 45th anniversary. But she said yes pretty quickly to that date … at least that’s my memory of the encounter. Good Life Magazine

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have a new favorite children’s book. Author Douglas Rees (best known for his Uncle Pirate books) and illustrator Jed Henry team up with a book for the ages … all ages – “Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken.” When Tyrannosaurus “I am big and fierce and Rex is ready for you should be afraid of me,” breakfast, all the animals scatter. But not Edna, the Tyrannosaurus said. very first chicken. “I am small and brave and you Edna stands her should be afraid of me,” ground and not only Edna told him. defends herself but all the other potential breakfasts in the land. Like most bullies, T-Rex is all bluster – though his breath is really, truly awful, as Edna can attest. She, like all heroes, is gracious, good-hearted and has real pluck (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself). Edna’s ingenious way of dealing with her foe is nothing short of hysterical (being bite-sized and feathered has its advantages). This book is a keeper: wonderful story with a happy ending by Rees, beautifully illustrated by Henry. You will enjoy reading this book to your children, your grandchildren, your spouse and very likely your neighbors. Don’t be afraid to laugh out-loud. It’s good for your soul. – Deb Laslie

effrey Archer never fails to entertain, and his latest book, “Heads You Win,” is yet another masterpiece. After his father is killed by the KGB for attempting to form a worker’s union on the docks, Alex Karpenko and his mother Elena escape the Soviet Union with the “Compromise is for those help of his Uncle Kolya. “All you have to do who have no courage, no now,” says Kolya, “is to morals, and no decide whether you want principles.” to go to America or to “Two hundred years ago, England.” Alex and his mother America was at war with choose to let fate make Britain. In the past century, the decision and they the two nations have twice actually flip a coin. united to fight a common “Elena could only wonder if they would enemy. Why shouldn’t spend the rest of their America and Russia lives regretting not have a similar aim?” climbing into the other crate.” And here is where the author lets the reader see what if. So begins the simultaneous stories of mother and son in New York, and mother and son in London. The twists and turns of their new lives in an unfamiliar culture, their struggles, successes, friendships and loves make for more than a mere story. This is an adventure, and I enjoyed every moment. – Deb Laslie

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Chef instructor at Wallace thrives on cooking at 90-miles per hour Story and photos by David Moore

Talk up Cullman

Good Cooking

hef Aaron Nichols did not go to Wallace State Community College to study in its culinary program – much less to become a chef instructor there. But several food service jobs, a dose of kitchen camaraderie, the rush of working wide open and a secret shopper changed his outlook. “I had intended to study environmental sciences at Wallace, transfer to Auburn and go from there,” says Aaron, 28. “But I had been working in the food industry, and I found out they had a culinary program here ...” So that was that. He’s been running wide open since then – and actually even before that. Growing up in North Jefferson County, Aaron graduated from Mortimer Jordan High in 2008. Prior to that, lured by a paycheck, he bused tables at O’Charley’s in Fultondale at the age of 16. “I grew to love the atmosphere of the kitchen,” he says. “Digging in the trenches. The 90-mile-an-hour pace. I thrived on the pressure. That’s when I do my best work.” His senior year, Aaron worked as a barista at Starbucks in Fultondale. “I wanted to go into bartending, but I was too young. That was the next best thing,” he says. One day, totally unknown to him, Aaron waited on a secret shopper. It was during a Christmas holiday rush. The other two employees were out sick. He was flying solo. An elderly lady in a grey sweater ordered a latte Americana. He chatted

Going 90-to-nothing teaching culinary classes at Wallace and attending school himself, Chef Aaron Nichols makes time for what’s important, like marrying the former Jamie Lively in May 2018. He also helps his step-dad, who’s known as “The Barbecue Man” in the Corner community. with her as he made a small but efficient show of preparing her drink before waiting on the next customer.

wo weeks later Aaron was called into the office with the store manager and HR director. He was hoping for a raise but instead learned he’d been graded by a secret shopper hired to gauge everything about her experience from the coffee’s temperature to Aaron’s communication skills. Ecstatically, his bosses said he was the only employee in the district to rate five stars. OK, he didn’t get a raise. But he got a huge boost in career direction. “I’m kind of good at this,” Aaron told himself. He started Wallace in 2008 as a student. During this time he worked at Applebee’s in Fultondale, his first job on the line, cooking steaks, burgers, shrimp … anything that went on the griddle. He loved it. “It made sense for me to say, ‘This is what I am going to do in my life. I

have a knack for this. I get along with people in the kitchen and the high-strung atmosphere.” So Aaron gave up environmental sciences and signed up his second semester for culinary classes, still cooking at Applebee’s. His second summer at Wallace he worked at Comer Boy Scout Reservation in Mentone, where the staff cooked and served up to 800 meals three times a day. When the head of the kitchen was fired, Aaron replaced him. He worked there two more summers, though in a more organizational role in charge of a $124,000 food budget, making the menu and hiring.

eanwhile, still taking culinary classes, Aaron and a buddy started Big Boys’ Bar-B-Q in Hayden. They made their own sauces, smoked their own meat inhouse, and cut all of their own produce. Not to over-cook his brain and body, but he still cooked part-time at Applebee’s. Under Chef Chris Villa at Wallace FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

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Yield: 1 qt. Serving Size: 6 fluid oz. Servings: 5 2 lb. 8 oz. yellow onion, paper-thin sliced 2 fluid oz. clarified butter 1 qt. beef stock 1 qt. chicken stock ¼ oz. fresh thyme Salt to taste Ground black pepper to taste 2 fluid oz. dry sherry French bread (Sliced ¼ in. thick, trimmed to fit the shape of the top of the serving bowl, toasted; use as much as needed for each serving bowl.) Swiss cheese, grated ( enough to completely cover the top of the bowl as the bread floats on the soup) 1. Sauté onions in butter over low heat. This will take a while to achieve the proper caramelized color without burning them. 2. Once a dark caramelization is achieved, add 8 oz. of the beef stock to the hot pan of cooked onions. Let the liquid deglaze the pan before stirring it in. Continue stirring and let cook until the liquid is almost dry. Repeat this process until the onions are very dark, even brown. 3. Once the onions are dark brown, add the remaining beef stock and the chicken stock and the thyme. 4. Bring to a simmer and cook for State, Aaron graduated in 2010 as a certified culinarian. He then signed up for a business management degree. Meanwhile, he and his BBQ partner split over financial disagreements and closed the restaurant. In the end, all was good, though. He dropped by Wallace looking for job leads. It just so happened that the sous chef had left. Aaron interviewed with Chef Villa, Dean Jimmy Hodges and President Dr. Vicki Karolewics and landed the position. Initially, Aaron was part time at Wallace. Never shy of work, he also started with Parkview Catering, handling large corporate parties at Regions Field in Birmingham. One of the chefs working with him was Matt Jett, a 26

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20 minutes to develop flavor. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the sherry. Serve in warm bowls. Top each portion with a slice or two (enough to cover the top of the soup) of toasted Wallace culinary grad and now on its advisory board. Aaron left Parkview in 2015 to work full time as a chef instructor at WSCC under the new head of the culinary program, Chef John Wilson, CEC, a graduate of the premier Culinary Institute of America. It’s been a boom for Aaron. “I just thought I knew something before I met him,” he says of John. “I’ve learned a ton of new things.”

fter earning his second AA degree at Wallace, Aaron also completed a general studies degree so he could transfer to Athens State for a BS in technical education, with an emphasis in culinary arts. Meanwhile, he loves teaching culinary

French bread and a thick layer of cheese. Place the cheese covered bowls of soup onto a cookie pan and into oven with the broiler function on high. Make sure the light is on so you can see the cheese melting and lightly browning. Serve while it’s hot. classes at Wallace. He has 30-40 students and covers six courses a semester with 2 to 3 of them changing every semester. Beyond the actual cooking skills he developed while “digging in the trenches” at 90 mph, he tries to impart something else to his students. “Many of them have families to support,” Aaron says. “I know that’s hard, but I try to instill in them how they really need to start working in the food industry before they leave here.” “They can’t tell me that’s impossible, because I did it.” You don’t have to cook 90-to-nothing, but you’ll find some of Chef Aaron’s recipes to try here and on the following pages. Good Life Magazine

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“I tell people they would be surprised at all the amenities Cullman offers, the rich quality of life we enjoy, and just how affordable it is.” – Rachel Eidson, owner, Elevate Barre and Yoga Boutique FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

POACHED FISH JULIENNE 3 6-oz. fish fillets Salt and white pepper to taste 2 cups of fish stock or vegetable stock 3 oz. white wine 6 oz. julienne cut carrots 6 oz. julienne cut celery 6 oz. julienne cut white turnip 6 turned and blanched potatoes (use thick, diagonal cuts if need be) 6 fluid oz. heavy cream, warmed 3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley 1 stick unsalted butter Parchment paper 1. Remove the pin bones from the fish if necessary. Season the fish with salt, a small amount of white pepper and set aside. Into a skillet (just large enough to hold the fish without touching the sides) pour in the stock and the wine

and bring to a simmer. Add the julienne carrots, celery and turnips to the pan and simmer 2 minutes. 2. Place the fish in the pan and bring the liquid back to the simmer. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the size and shape of the pan with a small hole in the center. Cover the paper on one side by rubbing it with a stick of butter. Lay the paper over the fish butter side down. Place into a preheated 350F oven for 6 min. or longer if using a thick cut of fish. 3. Remove the fish and vegetables from the pan and keep warm in the bottom warming area of your oven (probably where you have stored cookie sheet pans). With the remaining liquid left in the pan, turn the heat on high and reduce to roughly half a cup. (refer to step 4). Add the warmed cream and

bring back to a simmer. Continue to simmer until it begins to thicken. Season to taste. Finish step 4. 4. While the cream sauce is reducing, in a separate pan; sauté the turned potatoes briefly, just to heat through and to add slight color to the exterior. (Back to step 3 but do not burn potatoes.) Place the potatoes in a bowl and toss with salt, a small amount of white pepper and finely chopped parsley. 5. On a hot plate, line up a tidy stack of the celery, carrots, and turnips and lean a fillet up the side of the stack to gain height. Starting half-way up the fillet, pour a portion of the cream sauce down the fish to create a small pool at the base. Place two of the sautéed, turned potatoes next to the fish. Serve at once. Repeat for each fillet.

BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP 1 lb. beef top round steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 tablespoon canola oil 3 cans (14½ oz. each) beef broth 2 cups water 1/3 cup medium pearl barley 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 28

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

1 cup chopped carrots ½ cup chopped celery ¼ cup chopped onion 3 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley 1 cup frozen peas 1. In a Dutch oven, brown beef in oil; drain. Stir in the broth, water,

barley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. 2. Add the carrots, celery, onion and parsley; cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender. Stir in peas; heat through.

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RADISH AND CUCUMBER SALAD WITH A YOGURT VINAIGRETTE ¾ lb. English cucumber Kosher salt 5 oz. of radish, trimmed and sliced paper thin ½ red onion, cut ¼ inch dice, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained, rinsed and dried on paper towel 1 Tbsp. minced chive for garnish DRESSING ½ tsp. cumin seeds ¼ tsp. Cracked black pepper 1/3 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. lemon juice Kosher salt to taste

PASTA CARBONARA 1 lb. Fettuccine pasta 1 tsp. salt 1 lb. of ½ in. diced pancetta (or bacon) 4 egg yolks 2 whole eggs 1½ cups grated Pecorino Romano (Parmesan cheese is fine) 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley for garnish 2 cups of warm heavy cream 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season heavily with salt. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir constantly for the first 90 seconds. Allow to cook al dente’. 2. Strain the pasta when its texture has

reached just a slight bite and reserve. 3. In a large saucepan, cook pancetta over medium heat until crisp, about 7-10 minutes. Drain all but 2 oz. of the grease. If your pancetta does not create oil in the pan, add two Tbsp. of Olive oil. 4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, and 1 cup Pecorino Romano. Warm the heavy cream in a small pan on low heat. 5. Toss the drained pasta in the pan with the cooked pancetta. Once the pasta is very hot, while quickly stirring in the pan; pour in the egg and warm cream mixtures. 6. Serve hot topped with remaining cheese, freshly ground pepper and parsley to garnish.

1. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lay them cut side down on your cutting board and slice them on a diagonal into thin, half-moon shape slices, 1/8 in. thick. Place in a bowl and toss with 3/4th tsp. kosher salt and set aside for 10 min. 2. To start the dressing, heat cumin seeds with pepper in a small skillet over medium heat. Shake the skillet as you heat to move the spices as not to burn them. When cumin is toasty and fragrant, remove the spices. Grind if possible. Mix the spices with the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice. Salt to taste, set aside. 3. Rinse the cucumber in cold water, very well to remove salt. Taste a slice to ensure the salt is removed. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel. 4. In a large bowl, toss together the sliced cucumbers, radishes and onion. Add dressing and toss again. Taste and adjust seasoning. 5. Mound across 6 cold plates and garnish with a sprinkle of chives.

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ROASTED LEMON AND OREGANO CHICKEN WITH POTATOES 3½ lb. whole chicken 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered 3 cloves of garlic 2 bay leaves ¼ cup and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 Tbsp. dried oregano Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste ¼ cup olive oil

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

1. Preheat oven to 325F and place the chicken in a roasting pan. Spread potatoes , garlic and bay leaves around it. 2. Drizzle lemon juice all over the chicken and potatoes, season with oregano, salt and pepper. 3. Turn chicken over and drizzle with the olive oil. Pour ½ cup of water into the pan.

4. Roast the chicken for 1½ hours, until golden. 5. Turn the chicken back over, and stir around potatoes in the juices. Roast for 1 hour longer. 6. Transfer chicken to cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes. 7. Discard bay leaves, carve chicken and serve with potatoes and some of the juices.

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BRAISED BEEF CHEEKS SERVED OVER CREAMY MASHED POTATO

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3 Tbsp. olive oil 3 whole cloves (spice, not garlic) 3 lb. beef cheeks, (4 large or 6 small beef cheeks trimmed of external fat) 1 cup warm milk 1 yellow onion ½ inches, diced 1 celery stalk, cut into ½ in. pieces 1 carrot, cut into oblique shapes 4 garlic cloves, minced 6 stems of fresh thyme 4 dried bay leaves 1 cup beef stock 3 cups red wine (cabernet sauvignon or merlot) 2-3 tsp. salt, separated Black pepper 1.6 lb. starchy potatoes diced into ¾ in. cubes 2 Tbsp. butter Salt and pepper to season the cheeks before searing

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Looking out for their future Protecting your family starts with simple steps Looking out for their future Protecting your family starts with simple steps Looking out for their future Protecting your family starts with simple steps

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PLATING 1. Serve beef cheeks over the creamy mashed potatoes, drizzled with a generous amount of sauce. Garnish with any of the cooked vegetables and some finely chopped parsley, if desired.

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MASHED POTATOES 1. Place potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water and cook for 10 minutes or until fork tender. 2. Turn the stove off, drain potatoes and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then return to the pot. 3. Add butter and warm milk and use a potato masher to mash until smooth. 4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use more milk to adjust the consistency to your liking. I like it smooth but with enough strength to stand tall on the plate.

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add maple syrup. 12. Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

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and stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Bring wine to simmer for 1 minute. 6. Add remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later). 7. Put lid on and cook on the stove on medium low for 2-2 ½ hours or in the oven at 320F for 3 to 3½ hours until the cheeks are very tender. Turn at least once during cooking. 8. Open the pot and remove the beef cheeks. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves. 9. if you choose, you may use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth sauce – it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown. It’s perfectly fine if you do not. 10. Bring the sauce to simmer over medium heat until it turns a darker brown color and reduces by about ¼ to a third, to a gravy consistency. 11. Do a taste test and adjust salt and pepper to your taste. If too salty,

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

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BEEF CHEEKS 1. Remove all of the fatty membrane from the exterior of the beef. Marinate in red wine, three cloves of garlic and two whole cloves overnight and up to 2 days. Remove the beef from the marinade and reserve the liquid. 2. Pat dry then use 1 tsp. of salt and black pepper to season the beef all over. 3. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large, heavy-based pot or pan if you are cooking on the stove. Place on high heat. When the oil first shows any sign of smoke, sear the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. If your pan is not large enough, work in batches rather than crowding the pan. Remove beef cheeks onto a plate; loosely cover with foil to keep warm. 4. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil on medium high. Add garlic, onion and carrots. Sauté for 3 min. until onion is becoming translucent, then add celery and sauté for another 3 minutes. 5. Pour the wine along with the marinade into the onion mixture

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Marinate: 1-2 days Prep time: 1.5 hours Cook Time: 3-4 hours Servings: 6

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Good Eats Story by David Myers Photos by David Moore

Grill artists at Ninja Steakhouse deliciously blend wonderful flavors was wonderful and unique to both of us. We munched as we studied the lengthy menu. Sushi selections are divided into

e decided to sample one of the eight selections of “bento box” dinners, riday night supper for Rose and along with a hibachi combination. We me flamed up a notch when we almost had to add a second headed to Cullman’s stunning table. When our dinners came, Ninja Japanese Sushi & Steak they were massive and loaded House. It was a great dining with food. experience. There is nothing dainty The Asian atmosphere about the portions here. Plus, welcomed us as we stepped the dishes were a feast for inside the door and onto an the eyes. The bento box in its oriental footbridge crossing a divided red and black tray was brook that meandered through a piece of art. Each section the restaurant. A colorful sushi cradled a scrumptious bite: bar and warm Japanese décor Shumai, which are dainty invited us inside. shrimp dumplings, alongside California rolls, rice, tempura Sushi fan? Grab a stool and veggies and grilled chicken on watch the chef build your choice from about 60 rolls on the menu, a bed of vegetables. including a Cullman Roll. Or The pile of hibachi diners can sit around one of the included tender shrimp, chicken and steak glossy many hibachi grill tables that with sauce, along with rice, collectively can seat more than 100 people at once. That setting noodles and crunchy broccoli, is perfect for parties and a real zucchini and onion. Each favorite for the young crowd. piece was perfectly cooked by It’s a favorite of ours as well. one of a staff of grill artists. Ninja’s chefs are renowned The aforementioned “blend throughout the city for the of flavor” was a theme that “shows” presented as they presented itself throughout prepare more than ample dishes. the meal. The sauces, both “We have a variety of options those used in the cooking Sushi combination with California and Philadelphia rolls. for a variety of people,” explains process and those that arrived Maegan Rakestraw, one of the aside dishes for dipping, were house special rolls, sushi bar entrées, restaurant’s managers. splendid and served to enhance our sushi or sashimi a la carte, cooked, experience greatly. raw and vegetable rolls. Dinners offer ose and I took a booth and With regard to portions, let’s just choices of nine or 18 pieces of chef’s perused the long list of starters. Dazzled say we hauled home plenty for another choice sushi or sashimi, cooked sushi, or meal. by the list of soups, salads and about 25 a combo of sushi, sashimi with a spicy tempters, we reached out to our server. An extensive drink menu features tuna roll. A la carte picks ran the gamut She helped us out by recommending the specialty drinks like the Bahama from tuna, salmon and striped bass to the Mamasun, with coconut, pineapple popular Cheese Wonton. more adventurous sea urchin, eel, squid We were grateful she did when it and mango rum with orange and popped onto our table minutes later, with and surf clam. pineapple juice. Other libations are We decided those choosing sushi warm cream cheese flowing from the Wasabi Bloody Mary, Mai Tai, Shogun trays were much braver and “with it” middle of the light and crisp wontons. Margarita, Dragonball and a Saketini. than us. Still, I don’t think they could A sweetness elevated it to finger-licking A variety of Sake is served hot or cold, have enjoyed their food any more than status and the accompanying sweet chili along with a good selection of wine we did. sauce resulted in a blend of flavor that and beer.

Clockwise from above: Hibachi chef “D.J.” puts on a cooking show for Matt and Renee Collins and their children, Ellie, Jack and Bennett, who like to visit Ninja for celebrations. On this day, they closed on a new house. A Bahama Mamasun glows with taste. Speaking of taste, writers David and Rose Myers enjoyed the Cheese Wantons with Sweet Chili Sauce. They would have enjoyed the hibachi shrimp and steak as well.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

o surprise the Ninja Steakhouse was named Best Asian Restaurant in The Cullman Times “Best of the Best” contest 2018. The restaurant celebrated its sixth anniversary in December. Owner Mandy Lin, small in stature,

is a giant in the competitive restaurant world. She owns or is part-owner in eight food establishments in Cullman, Bessemer, Jasper, Hoover, Birmingham and out of state. The restaurant is located at 1702 2nd Avenue SW. Monday through Thursday,

lunch is served 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and dinner 4:30-10 p.m. On Friday, dinner is served 4:30-11 p.m. Saturday hours are noon – 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Reservations are recommended on weekends to avoid a wait. Good Life Magazine FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Good Getaways

Spend a day exploring the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, and (at least a little of) Bankhead National Forest 36

Story and photos by David Moore

t’s only an hour’s drive west of Cullman to the entrance to Natural Bridge of Alabama, which is right on U.S. 278. It’s one of those places that give you pause to wonder at the forces of nature over time. It can make you feel small and thrill you simultaneously. Underneath – or inside, as the case might be – you find yourself craning up at the bridge 60 feet overhead. The main section is 148 feet long with a second smaller span that’s reminiscent of a freeway on/off ramp. You have to figure the Native Americans held this place in special regard. And realize, too, that it was already ancient when the earliest tribes arrived here. The bridge was formed 200 million years ago when a prehistoric sea in the region washed away the surrounding sandstone, leaving the arches supported by veins of iron ore.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

If you go ... From Cullman drive west on U.S. 278. It’s 44 miles to Double Springs and another 7.5 to the entrance of the private park. Open daily. Find drinks and snacks in the gift shop where you pay your admission fee. The walk from there to the bridge is an easy few hundred feet. There are interesting trails if want to walk some more. It’s not handicapped accessible but is kid friendly. Admission: $3.50 ($2.50 kids) Natural Bridge of Alabama U.S. 278 W Natural Bridge, AL 35577 205-486-5330 FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

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Natural Bridge is a privately owned park that offers other trails and a scenic creek. Nearby Bankhead National Forest has more than 90 miles of hiking trails crisscrossing its 181,230 acres that includes some actual wilderness areas. One short Bankhead hike takes you 1.7 miles back to the scenic Caney Creek Falls. The hike has an elevation change of 232 feet. While not challenging, it’s enough to get a little woodsy exercise. Just so you know, the first section of the trail is through an area that was clearcut last summer because of, a sign says, pine beetle destruction. It’s sadly apocalyptic looking, but it makes it that much nicer when you actually get into the deep woods and drop down to Caney Creek. You do want to watch your step on the trail down into the little gorge. The pretty, 20-foot falls is fun to explore, and a little getaway to woods is always in order to help you sort your mind. Good Life Magazine 38

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

If you go ... From Natural Bridge Park, return on U.S. 278 to the main intersection in Double Springs and turn left (northeast) onto Ala. 33. Go 4.1 miles and turn left onto County Road 2. Go 3.7 miles and look for a dirt road with a pullout and a bar gate on the right. This is the trailhead to Caney Creek Falls. You wouldn’t want a toddler with you, but it’s a good, clean place to take the kids for a little adventure.

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1840 Lee Ave SW 256-775-8870 FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

The world of Smith Lake is divided into two kinds of people and ...

John & Jeanne enjoy the traditional view

Her family was stationed in Europe when she met the West Point grad; after moving far and wide, they welcome a ‘permanent station’ brother flying in A-6 Intruders as bomber/navigator. John received congressional appointments and entered West Point in awe of its storied history, its Hudson Valley setting and deep-seated honor code. “That mystique lasted about 15 minutes,” he laughs. “The first two months are called ‘beast barracks’ for a reason.” But he stuck it out. Though never pushed to the military, the Welts’ sons, David and Michael, graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado. “Like John,” says Jeanne, “they have a strong sense of patriotism and pride and recognize the need to protect our country. I think deep down there was a sense to serve.”

Story and photos by David Moore

he world – at least when defined as residences on Smith Lake – is divided into two kinds of people: those with second homes there and those who actually live there. John and Jeanne Welt fall into the second category, which is why their house is traditional in design rather than the “lake” look. But they landed there only after marching to the Army’s pinball orders – John is a West Point graduate – which over 22 years pinged them back and forth to 11 bases in Europe and the U.S. With military-speak irony, the Army refers to such moves as a PCS – “permanent change of econd Lt. Welt graduated station.” from West Point in 1974. The “It is a way of life, and we had next January found him PCSa wonderful life in the military,” ed to Germany – K-town, to be Jeanne says. “But there is life after exact. He was stationed at a Nike the military, too.” The Welts found the military to be a wonderful way of Hercules battery nearby. After John retired as lieutenant He met Jeanne a year later at life, but there’s life after that, too. colonel, they made a PCS on the officer’s club. their own to Madison in 1996. “She was dating my classmate, arch among the hydrangea. The sign reads There, as a defense contractor but that’s another story,” he laughs. “Gigi’s Happy Place.” for COLSA Corp., John worked for what “Love at first sight?” “We knew this was going to be our would be only his second employer in “Not at all,” she in turn laughs. home,” John says. “We wanted it to look 42 years. Jeanne taught and was twice John’s classmate told him only Jeanne’s like a home, not a weekend place.” named teacher of the year. Sons David first name, and John spent six weeks tracking her down. She was attending and Michael graduated from Bob Jones High School. eanne was already used to pulling up business classes through the University of Maryland overseas program and working Come John’s second retirement, the roots when she met John in Germany in nights at a commissary. Welts knew they wanted to live on a 1976. “When he finally figured out who I was, lake. Smith Lake won out over Weiss, Her father was in the Air Force and he called four or five times, and I always Guntersville and Logan Martin, and they the family had been pinballed to Florida, had an excuse. I finally felt sorry for him finally moved to the tranquil and wooded Georgia, Germany, Georgia, Oklahoma, and went out with him.” shores of Shadow Rock Estates in the South Carolina (she graduated high “And that,” John grins, “is all it took.” Sulfur Springs area. school in Charleston in 1973) and back to Married in 1977, they honeymooned When the weather’s nice they eat on Germany, Kaiserslautern to be exact, better in Europe and lived in a nearby village the back porch, peering down through the known as K-town. until new marching orders arrived in 1978: trees at the lake. In the 10th grade in Magnolia, Mass., advanced officer classes at Fort Bliss, “I like to sit by the fire pit, take a glass John heard an Army recruiter speak. Texas. In less than a year they were PCSof wine and think how it’s so peaceful “I walked into the kitchen that ed to Fort Lewis, Washington. here,” John says. “The water is hypnotic. afternoon and told my mother I wanted to At night the stars just pop.” go to West Point,” he recalls. Jeanne’s favorite seat is on the side of His desire was buttressed by mandatory wo years later the Welts pinballed the house, designated by a sign and an junior ROTC in high school and a to Monterey, Calif., with son David in

The Welts’ house encompasses just under 5,000 square feet, four full baths, two half-baths, three bedrooms, a double bunkroom plus extra bunks in the basement storm shelter. “We can sleep 14 people without air mattresses,” Jeanne laughs. They enjoy their outdoor living space off the main floor, at right, and often eat al fresco when the weather is pleasant. 42

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

The sun room, upper left, faces the lake with the kitchen located beyond it. The living room, left, which also has a leather sofa, has a cozy feel too, bolstered by the fireplace. Plantation shutters throughout the house add to the southern charm of the Welts’ traditional house. The master bath features a walk-in shower and claw-foot tub. Attached to the bunkroom for the grandkids, upper center right, is a playroom, above. tow. Fort McPherson, Ga., followed where Michael was born before they PCS’d to Fort Leavenworth, KS. In ’87 their “permanent” station was Kirton-in-Lindsey in England, followed two years later by Fort Stewart, Ga. While they were there, Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990, and John spent 11 months in Iraq as battalion executive officer with the 24th Infantry Division. They returned to Fort Bliss in ’92, then moved to Carlisle, Pa., in ’94. “I had done it all my life,” Jeanne says of moving. Though not that difficult, moving was still easier on the men than their families. “The guys love it. They move into a ready-made work environment,” she 44

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

explains. “The women and the kids have to recreate their lives every few years, find a new dentist, make new friends.” David liked moving more than Michael, who got attached to friends. Schools were sometimes an issue in providing educational tracts for the kids. “You have to become an advocate for your kids,” Jeanne says. “We had great luck with most places having good schools.” John commanded a Nike Hercules battery in Germany as well as a Vulcan “Gatling gun” air defense battery stateside. While in Monterey he earned his MS in systems technologies. As a major he served in England with

British Rapier missile battery. Stateside again, he commanded a provisional battalion and the Second Battalion, Sixth Air Defense Artillery as a lieutenant colonel. At Carlisle he attended the Army War College. The Army was drawing down in June 1996 when John was on Fort Bliss PCS III and decided to retire.

he Welts had no firm plans other than second careers and good schools for the boys. John researched and learned that the top second career destinations for those retiring from air defense were El Paso, TX, Washington, D.C. and Huntsville, AL. A friend told him it was pointless to try

to land a contractor job long distance, and the Welts knew some people in Huntsville, so they struck out for Alabama on faith. Within two weeks he landed a job with COLSA, a missile defense contractor. Jeanne had completed her business degree from the University of Maryland while in Germany, but volunteering while Michael was in pre-school prompted her to earn a degree in education in ’94 from the University of Texas. Now, living in Madison with David at Bob Jones High and Michael at Liberty Middle, she volunteered at the latter. She was hired full time in ’97, taught at Liberty until 2009 and was twice named the

Madison City School’s teacher of the year – once ended up as a state finalist. Meanwhile, she earned her MA from Alabama A&M and became one of few Madison City teachers to earn National Board Certification. In 2009 Jeanne went to Bob Jones, first working with teachers on best practice policies, then as assistant principal. After that she went to the central office as secondary instructional specialist and retired in 2015. She now works part time for the system preparing teachers for National Board Certification. Their rate of certification on the first try is 91 percent – more than twice the national average.

Meanwhile, their sons have their own Air Force careers. Today Lt. Col. David Welt flies F-16s out of Spangdahlem, Germany, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Maj. Michael Welt living in Okinawa with his wife, son and daughter, flies search and rescue helicopters.

ohn retired as a vice president from COLSA in ’15, the day Jeanne retired. In 2009, during their retirement home dreams, they bought a lot in Shadow Rock Estates, a small, new development on Smith Lake. “That,” Jeanne says, “was love at first sight.” FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Later, they hired Susan Twelkemeier, an architect in Hartselle “She designed the house we wanted and the layout Jeanne wanted. Actually,” John laughs, “it was the whole house she wanted.” Dexter Campbell of Campbell Home Builders in Cullman built the house. “He came out to the lot and looked at it closely,” John says. “He’s always been very honest about the cost and what would and would not work on the lot.” They made several modifications to their plans based on his ideas, including building a twostory front with bedrooms upstairs as opposed to digging out space for them under the main floor. Dexter started work in late 2012, and John and Jeanne moved to the lake the next August. “Dexter was a little worried about me moving to the country,” Jeanne confesses. “There were times I was not so sure. But it’s a much more relaxed and peaceful mode of operation and living.” “We have to plan trips,” John laughs. “It’s 20 miles to Lowe’s and 22 to (First Baptist) church.”

The Air Force guy took to soldiering in 2017, marching the Appalachian Trail 2,189.8 miles from Georgia to Maine, which is commemorated on a replica AT sign hanging with his hiking poles in an outside living area off the basement. Jeanne kept him going, mailing him supplies to 35 locations near the trail for him to pick up as he passed through. A basement wall by the door serves as a guest register, center. The pantry door message could be a mantra for the Welts. 46

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

solation has not deterred family and friends from visiting. The Welts have no problem filling four bedrooms and a bunkroom for youngsters. Two of their visitors have been Steve and Debbie Cellucci. A high school classmate of John’s, Steve went to the Citadel, a West Point rival, and spent 30 years in the Army. “They came to visit and fell in love with the place,” John says. They are now building the third house in the development – Dexter is their contractor – and will move here from Myrtle Beach, S.C. Since the world is divided into two kinds of people – those with second homes on Smith Lake and those who live there – the Celluccis will fall into category two. And like the Welts and no doubt others, they’ll discover a great advantage over the first category of homeowners … Visiting on the weekends you can spend a lot of time on chores otherwise spread over the weekdays. Living on the lake leaves more time for relaxation and fun. “John goes canoeing every morning,” Jeanne says. “I want to get a paddleboard when the water warms up. And we’ll take out the boat, too. I’m not a good first mate, but I am the entertainment committee.” Perhaps the words painted on the glass over the Welts’ pantry door best sums up this journey to lake living: Thankful. Grateful. Blessed. “Really,” Jeanne says, “that’s for our whole life.” Good Life Magazine

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Calera McHenry Cultivating gardens, a wonderment of the natural world, knowledge and, whenever possible, a positive attitude

Story and photos by David Moore

n a backyard patio area at Calera McHenry’s house stands a sundial with words on its bronze face proclaiming, even on a drizzly day, “Count Only The Sunny Hours.” Life, of course, makes that impossible in the absolute. Nonetheless, it’s an outlook on life that Calera strives to maintain, as did her late husband, Ronnie. That rosy attitude seemingly fits hand in glove with the love of plants the McHenrys cultivated. For 40 years they operated CalMac Nursery, propagating and selling beautiful, healthy, organically grown plants, including an array of herbs and unusual species of flowers; 30 of those years they lived and worked together just outside of Cullman, west of I-65. There, in addition to nurturing their plants with love, they applied their vast knowledge and a biodynamic approach to agriculture. They closed the business in 2012, and Ronnie passed in 2016. Still, Calera keeps an expansive garden. Still, she showers her plants with her own special, deep-rooted love. Still, she remains amazed at the intricately intertwining workings of the natural world. 48

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Calera picked out the sundial that Ronnie set up on the west side of their house. Most of their gardens are laid out in gravel-lined rows. One feature is dubbed the Horseshoe Garden, shown behind Calera at left. Herbs surround it, including garlic chives, several types of oregano and sage, paragon, lemon grass, lemon thyme and more. It can start with a simple handful of soil. “That’s potential,” Calera says. “I look at it and I’m grateful that I know what it does and what it is for.” But she’s concerned about how it’s treated, how people pollute the soil, the earth. Not just with industrial waste and vehicle emissions, but with pesticides and the like. “Look what we are doing to the earth,” says the 81-year-old organic steward

gardener. When I see some of the things happening to it, my heart just hurts sometimes.” A tear in her eye joins the drizzling sky. “Oh, I do love nature,” Calera rebounds. “I was out there walking this morning, checking my lettuce.”

he youngest of J.C. and Irene Caple’s four children, Calera grew up in the Bethel community of Cullman County.

Her father dragged logs for construction of nearby Clarkson Bridge, which she knew as Legg Bridge. Her maternal grandfather taught at the old rock school in Logan. Her mother loved learning, too, and it apparently filtered on to Calera. “I was always very energetic and a Tom boy in a sense and wanted to please Daddy, but I was Momma’s very best helper from the time I was about 4 years old,” she says. “I also asked a lot of ‘whys.’ ‘Why is that, Momma?’ Or, ‘Daddy, tell me about that.’” Money was scarce, but her parents subscribed to a Birmingham newspaper, Progressive Farmer magazine and The Cullman Tribune. Her mom cut patterns

from the magazine, and she and J.C. read the “funnies” to the kids. Once, her older sister needed a nice dress but there wasn’t money for one. So Irene took apart a good dress of her own and sewed her daughter a new one from the material. “We had loving parents who gave to others. They helped others,” Calera says. “Gardening is like that. We help animals; we help the earth; we help others.” Her interest in herbs was piqued early. An uncle at Auburn University sent home National Geographic magazines to her grandfather, which caught Calera’s eye. “Papa!” Irene admonished him. “She’s not supposed to see that.”

But it wasn’t just pictures of partially naked natives that caught Calera’s eye. “They would have baskets,” she grins, “filled with herbs.”

s a freshman riding the bus to West Point High, Calera met sophomore Ronnie McHenry. Bus chat evolved into high school sweethearts who married Easter Sunday 1955, the year she graduated. Ronnie, then taking classes at Florence State, faced getting drafted, so he joined the Air Force. From that point the couple were like two bees buzzing from bloom to bloom. Though Ronnie was in the service only four years, they moved 22 times in the FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

next 32 years, often for jobs, sometimes for health (Ronnie developed breathing issues from body surfing) and sometimes for education. Always fascinated by surroundings and circumstance, Calera worked during Ronnie’s service as an insurance clerk in San Antonio, in the registrar’s office of Kansas Wesleyan University and as a typist listing commodity prices for a feed broker in Salina, Ka. From 1959 to 1970 when Ronnie earned a civil engineering degree from The University of Alabama, they ping-ponged from Florence, back and forth several times from Huntsville to Tuscaloosa, even making stops in New Mexico and Texas during 1961. And any place they stayed long enough, she dug garden spots. In Florence in 1958, for the first time in her life, Calera’s internal sundial found no happy hours. That changed, however, when she got a job at Redstone Arsenal, to which she was able to return each time they moved back to Huntsville. “I have,” Calera says, “been so fortunate.” While in Huntsville they hung out at the former Dan’s Bookstore reading about nature as much as anything. So it was fitting when Ronnie became one of the first people hired by the Environmental Protection Agency after it formed in 1970. The job bounced them to Texas, Arizona, back to Huntsville, then to Arizona again before they moved in 1972 to Marietta while he worked at EPA’s regional Peachtree office. That two-year stint was interrupted by a four-month job Ronnie took with the National Park Service building a lift station on Okracoke Island in the Outer Banks. Ronnie returned to the EPA later in ’74 when he and Calera again began living in Marietta.

ver infatuated with the world of growing things, Calera was drawn during their first stay in Marietta to the Cobb County Extension. At the county agent’s invitation – more like insistence – she consented to speak at a bedding plant conference in Atlanta and later gave other presentations, sharing her ever-growing knowledge of all things green. The Extension also introduced Calera to growing blueberries, which had come into 50

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These violas were exploding early last summer in Calera’s garden, but the hearty annuals reseed and bloom even during the cold months. high demand. Thus was born CalMac Nursery in Marietta. “We propagated 40,000 blueberries every July,” Calera says. “That was a new thing. We sold them in fivegallon cans to nurseries all over. Also, nobody was growing herbs commercially then. It took off.”

It paid off, at least initially. Besides mail customers, they sold to Callaway Gardens in Georgia, and many other places in the Southeast. “I had these great opportunities come to me,” Calera says appreciatively. “I wasn’t pursuing them, they just came.”

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he and Ronnie also bought 23 acres of rolling land across the Alabama line in Cleburne County. They lined off orchards and planted organic blueberries, apple trees, and figs. While Ronnie helped EPA protect the environment, Calera protected their investment in Marietta at CalMac Nursery. She and Ronnie commuted 70 miles to the newly acquired Cleburne County property in an attempt to make this an additional retirement investment. “I’d go over there and work then hurry back home to have supper ready,” she says. The venture was not successful, thanks in part to the rough-neck remnants of a hurricane that literally washed orchards down the hillsides. What’s more, the McHenrys had been warned that their nursery was vulnerable to theft because they did not live on the land. And sure enough, four-wheeling vandals rutted and ruined the place. They stole blueberry cuttings and fig trees. “I sat down on the tailgate of our truck and bawled my heart out.” Calera recalls telling Ronnie, “Honey, I can’t take this anymore.” “We have the land,” he said, trying to comfort. “Let’s let it grow up again.” But by the time Ronnie retired in 1986 at age 50, they were ready to move on.

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Nigella’s common name is Love in a Mist, derived from the wispy tangle of fennel-like foliage around the seed pod. The flower is a favorite of Calera’s, who uses the Latin name in her email address. She also uses dried seed pods for Christmas decorations, at right. Among other things, the seeds are used as a spice in dishes from India. 52

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esiring to be closer to her aging parents, the McHenrys bought a house near U.S. 79 in North Birmingham. The basement, not surprisingly, Ronnie equipped with grow lights for CalMac to continue propagating stock. They attempted to buy more property in North Shelby County with the understanding they could open a nursery there. But when zoning nixed that plan, they decided to build in Cullman and moved to Ryan Road in 1987. It was to be their last move. In Cullman, CalMac Nursery enjoyed a long, popular and prosperous run. Many a sunny hour was counted. Calera and Ronnie loved what they did, experimenting and forever learning about the workings of nature. But it was hard work and not without weather challenges such as the ice storm and Hurricane Andrew of the 1990s. In 2008 they closed down their retail

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Let Doyle help with your next move Veronicas take the edge off a wet winter day. Of the many varieties, Calera has Goodness Grows in her garden, a gift, she says, from the Georgia men who developed the hybrid. operation and in 2012 shuttered their wholesale and mail-order business. Calera’s mom, Irene, passed that same year. And, after a four-day illness, Ronnie passed Aug. 30, 2016, at home in their bed.

“But I look at ‘successful’ differently than some people … “Health. I can do things I need to do. “Happiness. I am happy every day. I was happy when Ronnie died – I could see his soul leaving. You can be sad and still not unhappy. “Prosperity. To me that is being prosperous in our surroundings however meager or great they are. Having enough material things to meet our needs and share with others. It’s not just my world. It’s all of ours.” Health, happiness, prosperity – Calera’s daily manta. Her daily bread.

et Calera gardens on. It’s what she is. And gardening is such a wonder to behold. One cool morning her lettuce is fanning out. Another day, her “Love in a Mist,” Nigella is throwing open its unusual bloom. But it’s not just gardens. “My love of growing is for anyplace,” Calera says. “It doesn’t have to be in a designated Calera keeps a photo of area like a garden or a container on the porch. alera’s “daily bread” apparently keeps Ronnie from his Air Force I love seeing how nature presents us with her going, growing. days, perhaps another hedge opportunities” “Age doesn’t mean anything to me,” she against non-sunny days. For instance, birds and animals eat berries says. “I am energized. Old is a state of mind. I and seeds which then get scattered in their have the gist of living. I am not afraid of dying. I random droppings in the woods, on the patio, want to live as long as I am supposed to, but you somewhere unplanned. can live beyond life’s purpose. “That’s always fascinating to me,” Calera says. “God provides “I think there are better things after this life, on that next all of these things, but we must not always wait for someone else plane, whichever plane we might go to,” she continues. “Our to tell us about them. We have to educate ourselves … learn by soul’s purpose goes on forever. It does not die. Whether it is observing nature. Then our knowledge becomes applied.” reincarnating or doing something else, that’s OK. I am maturing Such knowledge, she might say, adds sunshine hours worthy but I am not in the final state of being mature.” of counting. Adds abundance to life. And so her garden grows in the hours of sun – and in the “I grew up in the country, met someone I fell in love with, hours of rain. and we were together and were successful,” Calera nutshells. Good Life Magazine

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ashing and drying clothes is one of the most unpleasant tasks a modern homemaker faces. Loading up automatic washers with armloads of dirty laundry and name brand detergent is quite time consuming. After the rinse cycle is completed, the wet laundry has to be transferred to an automatic dryer and spun dry. If that isn’t enough, the few clothing items that are not made of a perma press material, have to be ironed. Doing the laundry can sometimes be an all-day job for today’s homemakers … but years ago it was an all-day job for the entire family. Washday for most families took place on Monday, but my grandparents chose Friday to do their laundry. Grandpa and the kids did not work in the fields that day in order to help Grandma with the washing. (Dad said he would have rather worked in the fields.) Because my grandparents’ well did not hold a sufficient amount of water, the washing was done in a spring located near their home. They would load a couple of cast-iron pots, a pair of No. 2 metal tubs and some firewood onto the ground sled before heading for the spring. A return trip to the house would then be made to haul the dirty laundry back to the spring. In the meantime, the black cast-iron pots with short legs would be placed on some rocks to keep them level. A fire was started under the pots as soon as 56

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they had been filled from the spring. A little homemade lye soap (made from old butter, hog cracklings and lye), or Octagon soap purchased from the peddler, was used as a cleanser and chipped into the boiling water. The clothes were put into one of the pots containing boiling water. A “battling” stick (usually a piece of hickory about the length of a boat paddle) would be used to stir and punch at the clothes in order to remove heavy stains and grime. Not surprisingly, buttons sometime got knocked off a shirt during the process. That wasn’t a problem for Grandma since she always had an ample supply of buttons in a box at home.

f a pair of overalls was particularly dirty (it was normal to wear them three times before washing), they would be taken out and scrubbed on a rub board before being placed back into the pot for more “battling.” White shirts were hand-washed separately to keep other clothes from fading on them. Some folks added bluing to the water in order to make the white shirts even brighter. The clothes were then placed into one of the cast-iron pots where they were again stirred and punched in the soapy water to remove what dirt and grime remained in them. The steamy garments were then placed into one of the No. 2 washtubs for rinsing. Besides knocking an occasional button off a shirt, the battling sticks were the

source of other aggravations during the washing process. The stick was used to transfer the heavy wet clothing from the wash pots to the rinse tubs containing clear, cold water. After being washed and rinsed, the clothes were hand-wrung to get out excess water. The wash pots and rinse tubs were then emptied and loaded back onto the ground sled, while the clothes were placed inside the empty tubs to keep from getting dirty. The mule pulling the sled was led behind my grandparents’ home where the freshly laundered clothing would be pinned to a clothesline or hung across a barbed wire fence to dry. During summer rainstorms the clothes were hung on a temporary clothesline across the back porch. What didn’t fit on the temporary clothesline was taken inside and thrown across the tops of doors or laid across furniture. During cold weather, the clothes would freeze solid when hung outdoors. Even in warm weather, clothes were usually stiff and wrinkled after drying. A little water was sprinkled on them to make it easier to iron out the wrinkles.

lectricity had not yet arrived at my grandparents’ home at the time, and heavy steel irons were used to press clothes. Irons had to be heated to a moderately high temperature in order to work properly. The temperature was tested by moistening an index finger and touching it to the bottom of the iron. (The iron was

for years while some properly heated if the spit of her neighbors had sizzled when touched to the bottom.) owned hand-cranked They were heated in washers. Grandpa built the fireplace during the a washhouse for the winter and on the wood wringer washer, wash cook stove in the summer. tubs and soap. A hose Grandma used three was run through the wall irons at a time since they so the water from the would only retain the wringer washer could proper temperature for drain outside. a short period of time. Grandma also got When one cooled off it an electric iron that was was placed back on the much easier to use than stove while another took the old steel irons, but its place at the ironing the clothes still had to be Outdoor laundry chores were hard work. The sprinkled before ironing. board. The ironing board was coming electricity was a huge advancement, but If there was not enough not one of those newthose early days were still relatively primitive. time to complete the fangled contraptions that ironing, the sprinkled Photos from the collection of the author. pulled down from a wall. clothing would be shoved In fact, it wasn’t even inside a pillowcase or padded. Grandma’s ironing board was made by rolled into a ball and placed in the refrigerator wrapping several worn out bed sheets around (another appliance that became available with a wide piece of lumber. Two straight chairs, the arrival of electricity) to prevent mildewing. turned opposite to each other, were used to Overalls and dungarees would remain stiff support the “ironing board.” even after they had been sprinkled and ironed. The burdensome chore of doing laundry was At times, it seemed they could stand up by eased somewhat when my grandparents got themselves if leaned against a wall. electricity in their home in 1943. That enabled Grandma to get a new wringer washer. utomatic washers and dryers must have made laundry chores easier for today’s ven with the wringer washer, water still homemakers because I haven’t noticed anyone had to be drawn from the well (a new one was washing clothes in a steel pot lately. dug that held sufficient water) and poured into In fact, clotheslines have pretty much the wringer washer, but Grandma was proud of become a thing of the past. And I don’t hear too the labor-saving device. many folks complaining. She had been toiling away at the spring Good Life Magazine

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rom time to time Brian Roberson drives past the four-story Waterford Condominium at Big Bridge on Smith Lake, which he helped develop in the mid2000s. “I’m proud of it every time I go by,” he says. That pales, however, compared to the sense of pride he derives from his work today. From time to time this job takes him atop the three-story roof on the south wing of perhaps the most iconic building in the nation: the United States Capitol. Gazing west from that exclusive vantage point atop the House of Representatives on the south wing of the Capitol, Brian beholds Washington, D.C., and its long, geometric expanse of the National Mall, lined by the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art buildings, on of Etoile and the Brian Roberson manages the restoration of the south wing of the punctuated by the granite late Don Roberson, Brian Capitol where the House of Representatives meets, a project slated needle of the Washington grew up in the Hoover area for completion before 2020. Afterwards, the AOC could Monument and anchored at of Birmingham. He worked use Brian on any number of other projects. the far end, two miles away, at Bellsouth 1984-2005, by the Lincoln Memorial. heading press operations for Brian and Karen, his wife, the White Pages and Yellow still call Cullman their home, but they live in Washington where Pages directories. It was there he met Karen Storey of Calera. They dated a few years and married in 2002. he works for Architect of the Capitol. During that time, Brian earned his BS in management from A construction manager, Brian is actively engaged in AOC’s the University of Alabama at Birmingham, graduating cum laude ongoing, extensive restoration of the of Capitol’s south wing, in 2005. which has chambered the House of Representatives since 1807. It was 2004 when he and Karen bought a home on Smith The House project is part of the complete restoration of the Lake. Capitol’s exterior stone and metalwork. Funded at $51 million “I’d been visiting the lake for a long time,” Brian says. “My for exterior stone and metalwork preservation, this current project began in 2016 with the Senate’s north wing of the Capitol, moved brother and his wife had a home there, and we talked about doing on to the south wing and is on schedule to be completed by 2020. a development.”

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With restoration of the Capitol already funded, the work can continue even during a federal government shutdown, so Brian stayed busy during the one that began Dec. 22, 2018. Before any work can be done, AOC performs an up-close survey to determine damage to marble and sandstone – some of which is pretty obvious. Replacement work is meticulous – such as the special drill used on a rosette flower replacement in the center photo. “The AOC,” Brian says, “has done a very, very good job”. It was a major fork in his road. He took it. Brian left Bellsouth in 2005, and he and Marty and Brenda Roberson started Crane Hill Development. With Brian as general contractor, they developed the $9 million, 48-unit Waterford Condominium next to Trident Marina. ‘Twas a fair financial wind that filled their sails. “We’d already sold everything and were closing the project out in 2007, right before the residential market went south,” Brian says. “Of course the lake has rebounded tremendously. The condo recaptured all of its losses from the hit.” Among other projects and high-end 60

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homes, the Robersons developed the $12 million Windemere Lakeside Garden homes on Smith Lake. In 2008, Brian and Karen started Civicon LLC based in Cullman, where they lived. With Brian as general contractor handling up to 200 employees and subcontractors and Karen juggling countless documents as office manager, they managed numerous multi-million-dollar projects in Alabama. Among their local jobs was the $2.2 million Cullman High School stadium renovation and track construction. And two of their 15 state projects at Wallace State Community College were the $1.1 million roof retrofit

on the 13-story James Bailey Center and $3 million in emergency tornado repairs.

or the Fourth of July in 2015, Brian, Karen, daughter Casi, and granddaughter Brinly visited Washington, D.C. It was his first time to see the Capitol, and though they didn’t tour it, the historic building impressed him nonetheless. Their visit was about the time he and Karen grew dissatisfied with their work. For one thing, general contracting left them very susceptible to liability, but it went beyond that. They – and especially Karen – felt led to something more.

“Civicon had been very good to us, but it was not very fulfilling,” Brian says. “We were successful financially, but our desires changed for how we wanted to live.” Exactly what they sought and where they’d find it was a bit fuzzy, but they knew it went beyond making money. So it was that Brian happened to find himself poring over federal jobs openings and struck upon Architect of the Capitol. Funded through and responsible to Congress, AOC is entrusted with providing professional expertise on the preservation, design, construction and maintenance of architectural and artistic elements of the

facilities and grounds on and surrounding Capitol Hill. This includes 16.5 million square feet of space in 15-plus federal buildings and facilities, such as the Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress and congressional office buildings; plus more than 450 acres of land, including the U.S. Botanic Garden. Brian interviewed and was hired as a supervisory construction representative and for two years worked on various small projects for AOC. He was then assigned to his current oversight position on the restoration project on the south wing of the Capitol of the United States of America.

rian started the job in February 2016. Karen had to stay in Cullman another year, closing out the Civicon office and working with a new project manager on the $3 million contract they’d just signed to build the Crossville High School gymnasium. Finally together in Washington, the Robersons settled into a fully renovated, circa-1900 townhouse. Karen volunteered with a hospice agency, which Brian says takes a very special person to do. “Karen is doing now what Karen was meant to do,” he says. “I hear that from the people she visits and interacts with. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Restoration stonework is done at night so as not to disrupt government work at the Capitol. Scaffolding is now up around the House of Representatives, as it was previously for restoration of the dome and Senate wing shown here. While most of the work requires replacing deteriorated stonework, handrails and light ornaments made of steel and cast iron have also deteriorated. The meticulous attention shown to details is a source of pride for Brian.

“I think God designs your path, and if you’re obedient to that and follow that, He’s going to put you where you need to be,” Brian continues. “I’m not sure I was obedient all of the time – or that I am obedient all of the time now – but I do try to be.” Brian and Karen maintain a house on Eighth Avenue in Cullman, adjacent to where his mom still lives. “We consider that our primary residence,” Brian says. “But D.C. is a cool town to live in and work in. It’s a really beautiful place.” 62

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He and Karen ride bikes two miles to the stunning National Arboretum with its 446 acres of gardens and woodlands. Brian pedals to work when the weather is nice. While he generally works a day shift, his oversight responsibilities sometimes include work calls in the middle of the night. Such calls come because work on the Capitol is done at night so as not to disrupt congressional delegates and their staffs busy inside. AOC works through general contractors that, on large projects, hire

subcontractors. On the House wing project, Brian supervises three inspectors and some 200 general contract workers. Much of the work is artisan in nature, requiring expertise in the finer points of stonework and ironwork. The U.S. Capitol is anything but just another building.

ot counting midnight calls, Brian is at work by 6 a.m. – or earlier – and usually gets off by 2 p.m. Mornings generally allow him to catch up on progress the night before. “It’s good for me to get in early

and coordinate with the construction inspectors,” he explains. “To be sure the project is being managed the way AOC expects it to be, and to be sure the project is progressing as it should be, I try to be there as much as possible.” The Capitol’s stately beauty derives from its neoclassical design, from aspect ratios to stately pediments over rows of majestic columns topped with decoratively carved stoned capitals. Sculptures are carved into those pediments. Over the years, however, some of stonework has fallen victim to weathering, causing parts to fall off. “That creates a safety issue,” Brian says. “Not just that, but the deterioration itself can lead to faster deterioration of the building. We have to stop the deterioration first. Then replace the bad parts.” Much of the replacement work is for the decoratively carved stonework – especially on the capitals atop the columns and sculptures lining the bases of pediments. “Some of the faces of the sculptures have weathered away,” Brian adds. One can’t go to Walker’s, Marvin’s or Lowe’s for replacement parts. Old sandstone and the different types of marble have to be carefully matched and each decorative piece painstakingly recreated. While Brian might downplay his part in the work, overseeing such a huge project with such extensive detail work obviously requires not only a knowledgeable and skilled manager, but one with an appreciation of historical preservation and – ideally – a strong belief in freedom and democracy, which the U.S. Capitol represents.

Brian and Karen find they love living in D.C., and could well end up staying there until retirement. Now 52, Brian learned to fly when he was 27 and has a four-seater plane from his general contracting days. He hopes to find more opportunities to volunteer with Angel Flight Soars, which organizes air transport for patients with specialty appointments at distant medical centers. In the past, Brian might fly a patient – or, at left, even a patient, his dad and sister – to say, Houston, if he were flying to Cullman from D.C.

o, yes, Brian takes a great sense of pride in his work. That, in turn, makes the important work all the more rewarding. “Some days it’s more fun than others,” he laughs. “Some days I’m standing on the roof of the Capitol looking over this historic city. Some days I’m sitting in the office and looking over briefing reports to make sure the project is tracking on budget and on schedule.” He has his share of bosses, too, even beyond Architect of the Capitol. “As an entity we serve Congress ... Republicans, Democrats, Independents, it doesn’t matter,” Brian says. “We serve the

congressional members, their staffs and then the general public that visits these facilities. It’s the general public that owns these facilities.” Brian’s disposition and sense of stewardship, it would seem, are as perfectly cut out for his job as are the decorative replacement scrolls atop the ionic columns at the Capitol. “Not too many people get the opportunity to work on a project at the

Capitol with this much meaning,” Brian says. “Visitors from all over this planet look at that building every day and know this country is a free people, and it’s because of the laws that are made in that building. “I want to help restore and protect that building so that 200 years from now someone else can stand there with that same sense of pride.” Good Life Magazine FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

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Cullman barber Scott Waldrep made his first sojourn out of the U.S. in 2005. Visiting Iceland, the stunning views moved him – literally: he found himself with arms outstretched. An Icelander inquired of others in the group what Scott was doing. They said they didn’t know, but the local guy quickly figured it out. “He’s embracing the world,” the Icelander said. It was true then, and it continues to be true today.

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Story by Seth Terrell Photos taken or provided by Scott Waldrep

s you are reading this, Cullman barber Scott Waldrep is probably ready to pack off to Vietnam, his 35th country to visit. “It’s the fun of meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures – I guess I just like adventure,” Scott says, scrolling through the hundreds of photographs on his tablet while sitting in East Side Barber Shop on his off day. There are photos of Reykjavik, Iceland in early evening with the chilly waters of the North Atlantic gleaming beyond the streets. Pictures of the Turkish countryside where a smiling Scott stands outside the ruins of cities and underground churches from the Roman period. “Most people think of Iceland as being all ice and Turkey as being all sand, but they’re both really green and impressive,” he says, knowledge born of his adventures. When Scott is not taking the photos themselves, he is often front and center in them, with his arms outspread and a smile that stretches almost as wide as his reach. Friends call this stance Scotts’ “taking-inthe-world” pose. Over the course of 14 years, 35 countries and six continents, Scott has certainly taken in the world – finding himself far outside the walls of his family’s East Side Barber Shop, a family-run, historic fixture in downtown Cullman where Scott has barbered with his dad for 25 years.

t is there, in the barbershop, that Scott’s wanderlust first manifested itself in an undeniable way in 2005. The traveling bone may one day be proven to be genetic, perhaps passed down from generation to generation. Though in Scott’s case, it may have skipped a generation. His grandfather, Johnnie, first envisioned opening up a barbershop back home in the United States while he was serving in the Army during World War II and working as a barber while stationed in Japan after the war. The vision of the family-owned barbershop passed down to Scott after first being handed to his father, Bo, who has been barbering for 52 years. But it was Scott who inherited the taste for traveling to far-off places. While the barbershop typically closes 66

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down a couple weeks out of the year for the Waldrep family to take a stateside-based vacation, Scott is the only member of his family who is eager and willing to go out of the country. Yet the intertwining strands of family barbering and traveling are hard to ignore. Though few in his circle would dare fly to some of the exotic and thrilling places Scott has traveled, he most often travels

with a little piece of Cullman. Many of his “taking-in-the-world” poses in front of global landmarks are often accented by a Busy Bee Café T-shirt. The barbershop is next door to Busy Bee, and when Scott first started his travels, then owner Steve Spears asked if he would do his best to take Busy Bee “global.” And herein lies the essence of Scott’s Continued on page 70

Skógafoss is one of Iceland’s biggest waterfalls: 197 feet tall, 82 feet wide. Paired with its own rainbow, the photo is one of Scott’s favorites. Iceland, visited in 2005, was his first trip abroad. Among the wonders he saw – including Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon on page 65 – was Hallgrímskirkja Church, 244 feet tall. Interestingly, rural homes and barns have sod covering the roof for insulation. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Here are some tips on travel Thinking about visiting the far reaches of the globe but maybe have a few apprehensions? Scott Waldrep offers the following advice: • Start by traveling to places where you might feel more comfortable. Traveling can be overwhelming at first. Perhaps travel with a tour group first, or contact an agency that can have the basics in place before you arrive. • Common sense traveling – if an experience or location within a particular country makes you feel uneasy, then stick with what makes you feel safe and protected. • Be aware of the best times of the year to visit a place. If the location is best-known for its fall foliage then plan your travel in autumn. If the location is rather cold, you may want to think of traveling in spring or summer (and be sure to research when summer and winter fall in a particular region of the world; it can be totally opposite of the United States). • Be flexible. When traveling things may not always go the way you envisioned them. By all means make a plan, but be prepared as Scott says, “to roll with the punches.” • Take a photography class at Wallace State (where Scott is a proud alum). The class would help any travel journey come alive. But when you arrive at your traveling destination, only take a few photos because enjoying the experience comes first. “I used to take more photos but realized I wasn’t taking it in as much as I should have been.” 68

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Above is the famous Blue Mosque, located in Istanbul. On his 21-day trip to Turkey in 2013, Scott got to go inside. He was surprised to find Turkey is behind only the Netherlands in tulip production, Scott says. Scott also spent time exploring Ephesus, an ancient Greek and later Roman city on the coast of Ionia. Among the famous ruins there is the Library of Celsus, above. At the time about 225,000 people lived in what is now an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fascinating enough for one of Scott’s embracing-theworld gestures was Cappadocia region. Another World Heritage Site, it’s famous for its houses and churches carved into ancient volcanic formations and caves.

In 2010, Scott spent a week in Australia and New Zealand. The latter made his list of top five countries. The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed on the country’s stunning North and South Islands. Scott visited both islands; these photos were shot on a LOR tour on South Island. The stretch of highway above runs between Christchurch and Queenstown. The Hobbit-looking woods are on that same stretch. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Continued from page 66

Looking for Waldo? Or Scott Waldrep?

wanderlust: traveling is not simply an extravagant form of self-indulgence – he seeks to make his experiences ones that those closest to him can share in. In 1995, Bo hired a barber named Lowell Sterling, who had been a Navy man and had seen all parts of the world. The long days of staring at the back of heads and taking a few inches off the top were filled with memories and stories Lowell shared with his customers. Scott always listened in. Lowell passed away in 2009. But Scott never forgets his inspiration. When Lowell was alive, Scott made it a point to bring back gifts – many of them unique crosses – for Lowell and his wife Terri. The Sterlings’ home was soon filled with a cross from every country Scott has visited, each one unique to the culture where it was usually handmade. Now that Lowell is gone, Terri takes the crosses Scott brings home and places them at Lowell’s graveside.

Finding Scott Waldrep when he’s been on vacation from East Side Barber Shop over the past 14 years is a bit like finding Waldo and his red and white striped sweater in the fun children’s series “Where’s Waldo?” Here is where Scott has visited: China, United States, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, France, Italy, Colombia ,Spain, Poland, Canada, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Romania, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Honduras, Serbia, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Ireland, New Zealand, Panama, Switzerland, Bahamas, Belize, Iceland, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Australia, United Kingdom and (this spring) Vietnam.

These are Scott’s top five countries ... so far

oes Scott fantasize about his next out-of-the-country destination while cutting hair? He smiles while thinking of how to answer the question. “I try not to form expectations before I go,” he says. “I just like to let it all sink in afterward.” It is fitting that country number 35 on Scott’s list is Vietnam. Not only does Scott carry Lowell’s tales of Navy days as his travel guide, but several of the Waldreps’ customers are veterans of the Vietnam War. Scott will travel to Vietnam, hoping in some way his journey is an expression of thanks to those veterans and the many ways they’ve shaped his career and his dreams. Below the mirror that rests in front of Scott’s barbering chair is a small globe with a plane skimming the surface in mid-flight. Against the back wall is a map of the world. “To me traveling is all about getting a person out of his comfort zone,” Scott says, enlarging a photograph of himself striking his trademark pose as he sits up close and personal with a panda bear in China. “And the Great Wall of China 70

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Of all the wonders of China Scott experienced on his trip there in 2006, he was most impressed with the Terracotta Army, top, buried with the first Emperor of China 2,200 years ago. A four-day cruise up the mountainous passage of the Yangtze River – and a visit to massive Three Gorges Dam, then under construction –was also wild. So was climbing up the mountain on the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall of China. Far left is a photo of a night-lit palace inside the ancient city walls of Xi’an. Another highlight of the trip was the friend he met in Chengdu, the panda capital of the world.

But if you twist his arm, he might relax that rule for a return to any of his top five countries. They are, by the way, the countries featured in the photos in this story ... • Iceland – Scott’s first out of the country experience. “The Northern Lights were breathtaking to a young man from Cullman, Alabama.” • China – The Terracotta Army may not get the love and fame of the Great Wall, but there’s nothing to compare them to in the world. “Those really impressed me,” Scott says. “I wasn’t expecting that.” • New Zealand – Ice-capped mountains, sparkling oceans, rolling green pastures, pristine beaches, lush jungles – what more could you ask for? “The country,” he says, “is just full of natural beauty.” Turkey – The ruins of the cities of the Seven Churches of Asia: “I’m a history buff,” Scott says, “I just love seeing that kind of history.” • Poland – Besides the sheer beauty of the country, he suggests seeing some of the over 200 cathedrals and touring Auschwitz-Birkenau where the overpowering tragedy of the Holocaust is put into clear and sobering context. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

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And people like Lowell Sterling. Yet amid all that “comfort,” perhaps Scott Waldrep’s comfort zone will always reside somewhere far beyond the Cullman city limits. Good Life Magazine

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A rising sun brings the promise of spring over the Old Corbin Homestead, now owned by Randy Humphries, who lives next door in Joppa. Robin eggs and blooming Narcissus are other signs that spring is – or very soon will be – in the air. Photos on this page and on pages 76-77 by Liz Smith, @lizzypat.photos.

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www.cullmanpowerboard.com Monday - Friday 8 am - 4 pm After hours emergency service available

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Out ‘n’ About Spring, says Joppa photographer Liz Smith, is a time of anticipation and change. “In the winter, everything is dead, so spring is a time of renewal. The colors start coming back. People are more active.” And it’s a fine time for photography. Among subjects she found last spring were dogwoods abloom; sun-permeated jams at Festhalle Farmer’s Market, an army of tulips marching to their own colors at the Corbin Homestead; a horse enjoying fresh grass on the road to the Shrine of the Most Sacred Sacrament; a swing with a view waiting for someone to relax; and kids out at Heritage Park. 76

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

rattles & rhymes UPSCALE INFANT & CHILDREN BOUTIQUE 107 5th Street SE, Cullman, AL

256-735-4848

Wednesday - Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-4

Classic Children’s Clothing NB-4T The Beaufort Bonnet Company Dondolo The Bailey Boys Rylee & Cru Apple Park Proper Peony Angel Dear Specialty Gifts Baby Registry @rattles.and.rhymes

BOOK A TOUR TODAY

Postcards

Furnishing Cullman Area Homes For Over 40 Years

906 Perry Street SW, Cullman

256-734-6564

Southern GHOST GIRLS

Today the old Cullman orphanage is Childhaven, which provides residential and foster care. Please see page 16. Cullman Electric’s facilities today have changed far more than Childhaven’s. See page 14 for information on a big postcard exhibit coming in May to the Cullman County Museum. Specializing in historical haunted tours, ghost walks and interactive investigations where you get to use the team’s equipment. Investigate the paranormal with founder Lesley Ann. Lesleyhyde7480@gmail.com

205-305-5098

Book your group, private party or special event tour on our website www.southernghostgirls.com

Your Pampered Chef Consultant

Jami Russell jami.cooking@yahoo.com

256-348-1325

www.pamperedchef.biz/jamicooking

A Great Place To Buy & Sell! Vendor Space Now Available

201 1st Avenue SW • Cullman 256-347-4681 Check us out on facebook for new arrivals and secrete sales! Can easily work 24/7 Call today for more information and pricing

3330 AL HWY 157 • Cullman

256-734-3225

READY WHEN YOU ARE

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2019

Thank you, Cullman, for making us ...

DEALER OF THE YEAR! Alabama’s Largest

Dealership

2019 GMC DENALI 1500 from billsmithbuickgmc.com

CELEBRATING OVER

60 YEARS OF SERVICE Visit Us Today

1940 Second Avenue NW, Cullman Give Us A Call

256-734-4472 Home Of The Best Price Guarantee! We Have The Best Price — EVERYDAY!