The Local, Volume 3, Number 1

THE

LOCAL V O L U M E

T H R E E

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I S S U E

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STAFF Publisher Clay Carey Editor in Chief Olivia Halverson Managing Editor Rachel Williams Copy Chief Natascha Anderson

Summarizing the character of Birmingham is an ambitious task. The city is a medley of artists, entrepreneurs, collectors, athletes, hobbyists—you name it, and Birmingham has at least one or two.

In this book you will find a collection of stories documenting the past, present and future of those people, their communities, and the things they hold dear. The stories are different, but a common thread of preservation weaves its way through each tale. It’s easy to view things such as old paper books and radio talk shows as relics of the past. But they are very much alive and thriving in Birmingham today, alongside foods, history and other social and cultural markers that help us understand who we are and what we aspire to be.

There is nothing homogeneous about this place. Therefore, anyone who seeks a relationship with Birmingham will not find one in any synopsis of the city. The first step in getting to know our community is meeting the people who live, work and thrive here. On behalf of The Local, I hope this book serves as a proper introduction to the people who make up Birmingham’s vibrant, thriving community.

Olivia Halverson Editor in Chief

Photo Editor Emily Frazier Digital Editor Patrick Smith Deputy Digital Editor Dan Zhao Social Media Specialist Hannah Diamond

ON THE COVER Sam Fink flies his 1956 Cessna 182. Photographed

by Emily Frazier

The Local is an annual magazine published by students at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The stories and photographs that appear in The Local are produced by students in Samford University’s print and online journalism practicum program. The views expressed in The Local do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or of Samford University. Samford University is an Equal Opportunity Institution and welcomes applications for employment regardless of race, color, age, sex, disability or national or ethic origin.

| The Local

Editor’s Letter

Art Director Emma Pohlman

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Contents

05 The

Prologue String Theory Birmingham Oddities

19 From a Movement to a Monument

A Photographic Walk through Civil Rights history

By Emily Frazier

36 Dinner | The Local

Designs

2

Craft and Creativity Collide in a Magazine Test Kitchen

By Hannah Diamond

10 Bringing Asia

to Birmingham Exploring International Culture in the Iron City

By Dan Zhao

24 Bangor Café Club

“America’s Only Underground Nightclub”

By Emma Pohlman

42 Little Shop

of Wonders A Book Orphanage on Third Avenue

By Natascha Anderson

is the Church. This is 14 This the Steeple. Open the Door

and Where are all the Millennials?

By Rachel Williams

30 In Pursuit of Aviation

The Journey is the Destination

By Olivia Halverson

46 Reg’s Coffee

House Turns 21 Expanding Music Libraries One Song at a Time

By Patrick Smith

Welcome to Dawson! Dawson is a place where you can feel at home.

Besides finding a like-minded community through weekly Life Groups, you’ll also see that Dawson’s College Ministry is a ministry of service to the church, the community, and the world. Our college students and young adults are active in service across Birmingham and beyond. Please join us each week as we study God’s Word and serve together. Drop in and check us out anytime. You are always welcome!

Sunday Morning Worship: 8:25 a.m., 9:40 a.m., & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday Morning Life Groups: 9:40 a.m.

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String Theory

An unusual groove-worthy ensemble

By Olivia Halverson

A

musician guides her bow across the strings of a violin. She is tucked behind a conductor stand, embracing the instrument as if it is a beloved friend. Just a few measures into the song, she thrusts the bow with vigor.

The violin delivers a melody reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen’s charttopping, pop-rock anthem.

Have your ears deceived you, or is a conservatoire-trained musician playing rock ‘n’ roll hits on a violin?

It’s true. The musicians of String Theory, a Birminghambased instrumental ensemble, could soothe audiences with a classical baroque composition any day. But at their live concerts, they get crowds up on their feet and grooving to contemporary pop songs that have been arranged for string quartet, acoustic bass and

drums.

“We get a chance to play these instruments in a context that people aren’t quite used to hearing,” said Abe Becker, the band’s bass player and arrangement specialist. “If we can get people to dance and sing, we’ll call that a success.”

String Theory has been expanding the boundaries of a traditional string quartet since 2005, playing gigs and private events all over the greater Birmingham area. The group is made up of six musicians who are individually masters of violin, viola, cello, bass or drums.

The band prides itself on performing music from every genre. According to a biography on the String Theory webpage, the element of surprise is always part of the group’s eclectic performances.”

| The Local

Musicians of String Theory perform at TrimTab Brewery. Photograph by Rachel Williams.

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est. 1852 @phimuag phimu.org

Unite.

Empower.

Inspire. @samfordsga samford.edu/sga sga@samford.edu (205) 726-2868

BIRMINGHAM ODDITIES

FAVORITE ODDITIES

One man’s creative collection becomes a unique local business

By Emma Pohlman

a hunger for science and exploring the labs at school.

He opened Birmingham Oddities on 1st Avenue North in 2015, developing a new community within the Birmingham art scene.

Because his store is so different, the demand is high for his unique oddities.

While Williams has a day job building prosthetic limbs, his weekends are focused on the fascination he developed as a kid. Not only is he a collector, the Alabamian also repurposes industrial equipment, biological specimens, archaeological artifacts and other oddities for display. His art allows each collector to imagine the original purpose of the object, but to also have a household decoration unlike any other.

“I love the feeling of wonder,” said Williams. “It makes me go back to being a kid again.”

A human brain cerebellum sliced from 14 year old girl. The autopsy report said a tumor was the cause of her death – it can be seen in the specimen.

This pirate ship was made from matchsticks. Each match was burned and blown out to be glued together. It was made in a prison.

Every inch of Birmingham Oddities is filled with items on display, many of which are for sale.

This operating room clock has only seconds for helping surgeons perfect time sensitive actions. This was curated from Birmingham’s Caraway Hospital that closed in ‘08.

| The Local

“Take the word oddity and replace it with the word unusual. And that all of the sudden becomes anything,” said Adam Williams, sitting behind the counter of his small shop. He was surrounded by dinged up animal skulls, strategically placed human skeletons, specimen jarred like pickles, rusty old medical equipment and other oddities.

Williams, a Birmingham native, is an expert in all things unusual. What he calls home décor might be viewed by others as a scientist’s lab.

Williams’ fascination with natural history and science oddities bloomed at a young age as he searched for fossils and raccoon skulls, developing

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The artist explained that in such a buzzing world, such a buzzing world, as kids age to adults, they are “saturated” with noise, losing their sense of wonder.

But Williams believes with the boom in Birmingham the locals are getting more unique places to “tempt our wonder.”

And Birmingham Oddities does just that.

Adam Williams, Birmingham Oddities owner, behind the front counter filled with local art.

One of the many human skeletons displayed in the store stands in a coffin.

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| Spring 2018

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Jack Brooks, left, enjoys a Chinese pancake with his friends at the Asian Cultural Festival.

Bringing Asia to Birmingham

By Dan Zhao

| Spring 2018

Rose buns are one of the most popular desserts in southern China, with their natural rose taste wrapped in crunchy golden bread with

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no artificial additives. This pastry symbolizes union, harmony and happiness for the family, so it always appeals at family reunions.

From left to right: A Vietnamese vendor and a Chinese vendor sell their homemade foods. Chineses ties hang on a wall.

Hometown Supermarket and Mr. Chen’s Authentic Chinese restaurant in Homewood hosted its annual Asian Cultural Festival this spring. Vendors displayed homemade foods, snacks and artwork from a variety of Asian cultures. Near the rose buns, a Vietnamese vendor dressed in a traditional Vietnamese costume – an embroidered blouse worn with a batik sarong in bright colors – sells her homemade food to a bustling crowd.

As an international student from China, I had never had the experience of seeing so many pieces of Chinese artwork, or of tasting so many traditional Chinese foods at once in Birmingham. When I

moved through the crowds, I could not image that the most common foods in my hometown could almost move me to tears.

Nearby, two Japanese customers used their familiar way and language to greet each other. Although I could not understand what they were saying, I was deeply attracted by the bond of the citizens.

Being away from home can be difficult, whether we are students in America for a few years or immigrants trying to start a new life. Festivals like this relieve my homesickness and make me feel the slight warmth of my hometown.

Events like this are also the first opportunity for many local people to experience rich Asian

cultures. They stay at each booth and watch the process of making foods, tasting each with curiosity.

Chinese vendors demonstrate the process of making traditional dumplings, fried rice and Chinese ties. The Chinese tie is a traditional folk craft in China, distinctive for its complicated pattern woven separately from one piece of thread. It has been a symbol of good luck for more than a thousand years.

Nearby, Japanese vendors sell traditional kimonos and sushi to customers. Indonesian and Filipino vendors show their homemade steamed stuffed buns and barbecue, and teach customers how to make them.

A Japanese fortune cat waves at visitors.

A variety of tranditional Chinese artworks on display.

| The Local

A Japanese vendor talks to a customer.

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Fried bread sticks on a Chinese Pancake.

"My favorite breakfast was the Chinese pancake when I lived in China. It is kind of like crepes in America."

| Spring 2018

Jack Brooks enjoys an exotic breakfast.

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Jack Brooks is a Birmingham resident who traveled in China for six months in 2017. He longs to go back to China. Brooks especially misses the authentic food. Because of his traveling experience in China, Brooks is enthusiastic to learn about Chinese culture and to attend any local events that feature Asian culture.

"My favorite breakfast was the Chinese pancake when I lived in China. It is kind of like crepes in America," Brooks said. The Chinese pancake is a popular breakfast in northern China. The delicacy is a very thin pancake filled with eggs, sausages and a spicy sauce. Then it is folded over into sections. Not only does it provide endless stuffing possibilities, but it is also extremely easy to make at home.

Jack Brooks

A Chinese vendor makes a Chinese pancake for customers.

A Chinese vendor works through the process of making dumplings.

"I love the Asian Cultural Festival, and the interesting menus and wonderful meals that were perfectly served by different countries’ booths."

A local couple tastes dumplings.

Shuyun Liu is a Chinese native who now lives in Birmingham. She loves to make a variety of traditional Chinese dumplings and buns to reduce her homesickness.

Liu hopes local residents will take interest in Chinese culture as well as the other cultures across the entire continent of Asia. She believes that interaction, forming friendships and cooperation across cultures is the way to a more peaceful and tolerant world.

"I love the Asian Cultural Festival, and the interesting menus and wonderful meals that were perfectly served by different

countries’ booths," Liu said. "I would recommend anyone wanting to learn more about Asian culture to attend."

Not only does the Asian Cultural Festival aim to preserve Asian cultures and represent the interest of the Asian American ethnicity, but it also gives locals an opportunity to engage in a colorful, cultural activity. Through the exotic foods, customs, artworks and smiling faces, attenders left the event with a richer understanding of Asian culture, and a deeper appreciation for the diverse community that thrives in Birmingham.

| The Local

Shuyun Liu

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This is the church. This is the steeple. Open the doors and

where are all the

millen nials?

As a young man in seventh grade, Gabe Turner was invited to a small Methodist church in Palmerdale, Alabama. Turner fell in love with the church, and quickly wove religion into the fabric of his life. “I had a lot of friends that went there and was there multiple times a week. I was really involved from (seventh) grade until my freshman year of college,” he said.

In high school, Turner grew in his faith by helping to lead worship and small groups, and was allowed to write his own curriculum for the groups.

“I was under the direction and guidance of the | Spring 2018

youth pastor. Other than that it was free fall,”

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Turner said of his time leading the small groups.

By Rachel Williams

Stained glass windows line the walls at Trinity First United Methodist Church. Photograph by Emily Frazier.

“Church is boring” (31 percent) and “It feels like God is missing from church” (20 percent). In the same survey, 50 percent of millennials reported that they had not attended church in the last month. The study also asked millennials to select one of four images that felt most like present day Christianity – 37 percent of all millennials chose an image of a white, male finger and clenched fist pointing out over an open Bible. The statistics go on: Two-thirds of Barna’s surveyed millennials felt “churchgoers were hypocritical” and 44 percent said that the church felt “too much like an exclusive club.”

“Okay,” you might be saying, “I live in Alabama, the buckle of the Bible Belt, I pass six churches on the drive to my own church.” Sure, but what if churches weren’t thriving as much as we thought?

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2015, 16 percent of adults in

Alabama seldom or never attend church. Ten percent of adults say that religion is “not too important” or “not at all important” and 39 percent of Alabama adults reported “seldom/never” participating in prayer, scripture study, or religious education groups.

Johnathon Miller is the administrative and teaching pastor at Mosaic Birmingham, where Turner formerly attended. It’s a small church of 55 to 75 attendees in a unique situation: Most of the church body is comprised of millennials. With a few Gen-Xers to round it out, the church’s oldest members are in their early to mid-40s. Miller said he realizes young people are leaving the church, but he was also quick to offer realitygrounded suggestions beyond what research showed. “I think a lot of people want to throw the millennial tag on it, but historically speaking that age group has always been missing from the church,” Miller said. “You grow up in

| The Local

“(It was a) great time to learn, grow, bouncing things off of people, it was very dynamic.”

Six years after graduating high school, Turner, then 24, made a drastic change in his faith. “New Year’s Day (2016) I was lifting weights outside in the shed, just thinking and trying to blow off some steam.

The idea just popped in my head, and I’m a very impulsive person...I’m impulsive, but I’m also very passionate, so I believe if you find something you want to do you’ve gotta go for it, but you’ve gotta do it 100 percent. So, the idea popped in my head, ‘this religion is giving me too much stress right now.’ And I think it was me filing through my head, ‘what is something in my life that I can let go of, cut loose, that will immediately give me release, no more pressure?’”

And with that, Turner “flipped the switch” and has not considered himself a believer since that day.

Statistics show that Turner’s faith-flipping experience is not unique to those in his generation.

The United States is the most Christian nation in the world, according to World Atlas, but the nation’s small, local churches are dying, and millennials are leaving the church more than any other generation. It’s become popular practice to blame millennials for cultural shifts such as this – they’ve been accused of destroying everything from residential real estate markets to the breakfast cereal industry.

This is a tough-love letter, a wake-up call, and a challenge to do better.

In a 2015 survey conducted by the Barna Group, 30 percent of millennials said church was not at all important to them, citing reasons such as, “I find God elsewhere” (39 percent), “It’s not relevant to me (35 percent),

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| Spring 2018

your family, you stay a part of your faith, [then] you become a young adult, you’re working, you’re traveling, you truly have autonomy now ... it’s really not until you’re married and having kids that are school aged that you go back to church.”

Miller understands the problem first hand. His son Jameson is just under a year old, and his schedules conflict with his parent’s church responsibilities on Sundays – Jameson’s nap time is at 10:15, right at church starts, and his lunch is typically at 11:20 when the sermon is wrapping up.

With dad being the teaching pastor and mom being very involved in the church, Sundays are just a weekly break from schedule for Jameson and his parents. But not every family is as involved as the Millers,

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and those people may make the choice to stay out of church until their children are a little older.

Miller also noted that millennials crave authenticity and want to reject advertising and marketing campaigns, which makes drawing them back into the church an interesting task.

If bumper stickers with church names on them and witty social media posts won’t bring millennials back, what will? “I think most of (bringing people back to the church) happens here, in coffee shops, in the workplace, at dinner inside of your home,” Miller stated.

“I think most of it happens in a slow, natural way, not in a giant marketing campaign.”

These more authentic interactions are opportunities

to show that the church can still be relevant in people’s lives.

Reverend Brian Erikson is the senior pastor at Trinity First United Methodist Church.

Erikson said that he has always had a passion for the life of twenty-somethings, specifically millennials. He echoed Miller’s sentiments about authenticity being the key to bringing millennials back through the church doors. “I think authenticity is a tremendous issue. Millennials have no tolerance for show or being anything less than genuine. I think that can be really helpful for our churches, I don’t think Jesus wasn’t into [show] either.

We need less spectacle and consumer products and more to honestly engage in spiritual life and experience the living God,” he said.

Photograph by Emily Frazier

Erikson stressed that where the church had previously been able to “trick” other generations into attending church, this strategy would not work with millennials. He discussed how more than any other generation, millennials grew up in a world where connecting with others was easy-as-pecan-pie, but after the dine-and-dash connection was over, millennials were left hungry for honest, meaningful relationships.

“The church needs to think through (the question of) how do we facilitate people connecting with each other in meaningful ways,” he said.

Though intentional relationship building may go a long way in reaching individuals, there has to be an effort to stop the exodus before it begins. Miller feels that part of the solution is to stop catering to every age group and teach believers from a young age what mature faith

and worship looks like. “I think once you’re over fifth grade you need to be worshipping alongside adults. You need to see people other than your mom and dad that you respect and will listen to and receive insight [from], you need to see them worshipping, following Jesus, hear them talking about the struggles and difficulties they’re going through,” he said.

This way, when hard times and life changes inevitably come, people would have a genuine faith to fall back on, instead of leaving the church because faith doesn’t feel genuine.

He doesn’t consider himself a believer or attend church these days, but Turner still spends time nurturing the relationships he made before the switch flipped. “I believe that the people I’ve met in church are beautiful, incredible people, some of the most positively influential people in my life,” he said. “(They’re) people that love me, and each

other and people in and outside their families genuinely.

They’re people I want to be like.”

While the switch is off right now, Turner isn’t ruling out the possibility of returning to his faith. “I think it could be something I return to. I am not leaving anything out of the question. I don’t like saying definite anything because I could be 20 years down the road and learn a lot more than I know today.”

So, here is the modern day church. Here is its steeple.

But if you open the doors, where are all the millennials?

They are in your workplace, your local coffee shops, your neighbors houses, your local university dorms. They do not want the church advertised to them in showy displays; They are craving genuine interactions and conversation.

So, modern church, go out into the world and speak.

| The Local

The front doors of Trinity First United Methodist Church offer a grand welcome to visitors. Photograph by Emily Frazier

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From a MOVE M E N T to a MONU M E N T A photographic walk through America’s newest and Alabama’s only national monument.

By Emily Frazier

B

irmingham’s Civil Rights District was declared a National Monument on Jan. 12, 2017, an act that will protect and preserve its history for future generations. President Barack Obama recognized the district as “a nationally significant property associated with the climax of the civil rights struggle during the 1956-63 period.”

You can’t help but wonder what the martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement would think if they saw their efforts monumentalized. What would they say if they saw their children as beautiful memorial statues? What would they feel standing in a field of flowering buds, rather than blood-stained blades of grass? What would they hear from the pews if they were not trying to listen through the screeching threats from the streets?

For Birmingham natives and visitors, we can experience such feelings and reflect on these moments in history in the flesh.

The following photos show what is here, then and now. Many of the buildings that were central to the Civil Rights movement are still standing today, serving the same purpose in the community and speaking the same truths they spoke a generation ago.

| Spring 2018

Previous page: The 16th Street Baptist Church presides tall and remains faithful to its congragation that meets every Sunday morning.

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Clockwise from top left: Kelly Ingram Park statues commemorating the Childrens Crusade of Birmingham protest; a Civil Rights Institute exhibit that is one of many replicas of its kind; the 4th Avenue Historic District still rumbles with laughter and gossip from local businessmen on break; Carver Theatre, home to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Museum and a hub for the sounds of the South; Bethel Baptist Church’s original home still stands after years of history and bombings in Collegeville (not a part of monument); the Birmingham Jail where Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous letter, located in Titusville, just west of Interstate 65 (not a part of monument).

Next Page: Springtime in Kelly Ingram Park.

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| The Local

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of d e s t i n y .

Whatever affects one directly, affects all i n d i r e c t l y .�

M A R T I N LU T H E R K I N G , J R .

Delta Delta Delta Let Us Steadfastly Love One Another Est. 1888

Bangor Café Club

Bangor CafÊ Club opened in 1937 to bring Alabama’s elites a place to enjoy illegal gambling and booze.

Although it was quickly closed, Blount County still embraces its legacy.

By Emma Pohlman

A

| Spring 2018

rusty train rumbles through Blount County, Alabama. It screeches, stopping short in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods.

One thing stands out of place – structure built around a cave, defined by a stone façade, striped awnings and mumbling music. People file out of the train cars and disappear into the cave.

Colorful lights engulf each guest, a piano plunks while a trumpet wails out from the 20man bandstand, heels prance along the dance floor, spirits mingle from behind the stone bar and the chimes of slot machines echo off the rock walls.

The newcomers have just walked into “America’s only underground nightclub.”

It was June 1937, and the Bangor Café Club had just opened. Property owner and socialite J. Breck Musgrove had inherited the cave, located

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just a few miles from Blount Springs, a popular resort for high-society locals and businessmen. Musgrove and a group of investors funded the construction of the $70,000 nightclub, establishing a piece of history local residents would never forget.

Prohibition technically ended for the United States in 1933, but Alabama was still completely dry until the establishment of Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in 1937. Most of the state’s counties stayed dry after their establishment, including Blount County. But, that did not stop Bangor Cave from “sparkl(ing) with lights like Broadway,” as The Birmingham News reported before its opening.

In conservative Alabama, not every local was on board with the risqué spectacle. Gov. Bibb Graves was determined to shut the club down.

While the Birmingham News

Tours of the cave were taken in the mid-1900s, after its closing.

reported the anticipated opening, the sheriff at the time said there was nothing suspicious happening in the cave. The sheriff kept the cave quiet because his deputy was a Musgrove.

Graves threatened to replace the sheriff and did so within months. At the end of July 1937, Ed Miller was sworn in at midnight on the dirt road right down the hill from the cave. The newly appointed sheriff and eight Alabama State Troopers raided the Bangor Café Club minutes later.

In 1939, after a series of reopenings and raids, Bangor Café Club officially closed its doors. One year later, the wooden structures inside the cave were burned, leaving nothing but cold stone walls and the memories of the once lavish real-life Gatsby-like nights.

Trains still rumble by the cave, hidden away in an

overgrown patch of forest just shy of an hour’s drive north of downtown Birmingham.

But they don’t stop anymore.

Although Bangor Cave’s glory days are far behind it, locals in Blount County have not forgotten the site’s history.

Visitors and spelunkers have visited the barren cave to find signs of the once-thriving nightclub. However, vandals have drenched walls in spray paint and scattered loads of trash in the cavern’s chambers and the acres of woodland that surround it.

Left: Dirt steps guided guests between chambers in the cave.

Below: A dinning room in one chamber of the cave served full meals.

The cave was open for tours and used as picnic grounds for locals visiting Blount Springs, a popular vacation destination.

Photographs courtesy of Greg Burden and Blount County Memorial Museum

Bangor Cave Club menu offered everything from a glass of buttermilk to a steak dinner.

| The Local

The 1937 investment of $70,000 in the cave would be a $1,204,909.03 investment today.

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Today, the cave and sounding land are owned by 65-yearold Peter Keeku, a Wisconsin native who retired in the Heart of Dixie. Keeku was on the hunt for land with gold when he purchased the property in 2008. “It was love at first sight when I found this place,” Keeku said proudly.

“I had a dream about this (cave). When I came across it, it was love at first sight. I knew this was it.”

| Spring 2018

Peter Keeku

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Over the past eight years, Keeku has worked to ward off trespassers and clean up years of damage and destruction that had occurred on his approximately 60 acres. In some spots, the stone walls of the cave were hidden behind layers of graffiti.

In the first and second chambers, there is now no evidence of paint ever touching the rock. Keeku left one piece of graffiti: the word “Jesus” scrawled on the bandstand. “On graffiti, sometimes it’s history also,” said Keeku. The Milwaukee native covered all paint with cement, not wanting to completely obliterate the graffiti with a sandblaster in case a future owner would want to expose it.

He also cleaned up the stone façade of the cave that once welcomed guests, repaired steps once built into the dirt, Peter Keeku, owner of Bangor Cave, stands in front of the speakeasy entrance.

Warning signs are posted at every end of Keeku’s property.

Keeku points out interesting structures in the cave and where he has painted over graffiti.

Platforms were built for dancers to entertain the guests.

Rhudy, along with others who had visited the cave years ago to see it in its junkyard state, were excited to see what had become of the cave.

Among the curious Alabamians was Greg Burden, a lover of history and author of Blount Springs: Alabama’s Fountain of Youth, who first visited the cave around second grade with his family. “You could drive into the cave,” said Burden. “We pulled up there and had the headlights shining so you could look at the cave.” He could recall times he camped in the cave, visited with his Boy Scout troop and explored the land.

Burden had been looking forward to visiting the cave again one day. He keeps the memory alive through his website about the history of the cave and the Bangor Cave

Facebook page.

Burden and others on the tour swapped stories of when they were in the cave last and how run down it was. Their faces lit up to see the work Keeku had done and they praised his dedication to the restoration of the cave. All tourists were excited about the prospect of visiting again.

As Keeku continues his work on the cave and explores every nook and cranny, the historical walls sing out a deafening tune of music that once rang from the bandstand, sounds of shoes tapping on the dance floor and cocktails sloshing around in the casino. These days, there aren’t many souls around to hear the revelry, but the history is loud. Thanks to Keeku, it’s getting louder and louder every day.

| The Local

put in concrete steps to allow for easy access, and took down some walls splitting up chambers of the cave. He even planted roses at the top of the façade at the old speakeasy entrance to bring some life to the old relic.

Keeku cleaned up the trash scattered about inside and outside the cave. He had his grandchildren help him sift through the dirt to get all the shards of broken glass out of the cave.

“I don’t even consider it work. It’s not work when you have a passion for it. I’m still enthused about it after 10 years,” said Keeku.

While Keeku has allowed a few select people on the property, he does not intend to open the cave up for tours of any kind. With the treacherous footing and slippery clay floors, Keeku said he isn’t comfortable opening the cave for exploration. “I don’t give anyone permission” on the property, he said. “You get hurt, you’re trespassing.”

A few locals and history buffs have had the opportunity to visit Bangor Cave.

Earlier this year, one group, spearheaded by Blount County Memorial Museum Curator Amy Rhudy, had a chance to visit the property. Rhudy had been in contact with Keeku ever since he found and acquired his beloved property.

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A 1956 Cessna 182 at Shelby County Airport in Calera, Alabama. Photograph by Emily Frazier.

In Pursuit of Aviation The journey is the destination

T

he Vulcan statue isn’t the only one with his head in the clouds around Birmingham. Several sets of eyes overlook the city from vantage points so high and so spectacular that they transcend even Vulcan’s perspective. Taking a front row seat in the troposphere, pilots behold a total view of Birmingham. For young pilots in training at Shelby County Airport, the city’s landmarks are both spectacles and familiar navigation markers, sending welcome greetings from 3,500 feet below.

The Shelby County Airport is a public use airport and learning center in Calera.

Air traffic above the runway bustles with pilots earning flight-training hours, even though the United States is in the midst of a national pilot shortage. Simply put, there are more pilots retiring than there are pilots-in-training.

But in Shelby County, aviation thrives.

According to a July 2017 report from the research firm Cowen & Company, an estimated 42 percent of active pilots will retire by the end of 2026. The nation is crying out for pilots, but time and financial constraints prevent many aspiring aviators from

meeting the demand.

National legislation that took effect in 2013 increased the minimum number of required flight-training hours for commercial pilots from 250 hours to 1,500 hours. In addition to time, pilots invest a significant monetary stake in their profession. From first flying lessons to completing certification requirements, pilots spend an estimated $87,000, according to online reports from Coast Flight Pilot School. Specialty training certifications could potentially cost an additional $50,000 or more.

Time and money may be enough to keep some away from following a career path in aviation, but for those who truly love to fly, surrendering to gravity is not an option.

Sam Fink and Emma Percy are young pilots who burn up the runway at Shelby County Airport. These aviators are united in their mutual passion for flying and the unrivaled freedom pilots encounter in an open skyway.

Fink is a third-generation pilot and a full-time college student studying religion.

He logs flight-training hours in his 1956 Cessna 182. The aircraft was lovingly named “N1220 Charlie” after the

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By Olivia Halverson

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“For me, flying is very freeing.

There is something so peaceful about being able to just focus on my plane, the sky and absolutely nothing else.”

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Emma Percy

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wedding anniversary of Fink’s parents. Charlie is short for Claudia, the name of Fink’s mother.

Fink piloted the plane by himself for the first time at age 16. Now, at 22, he is working toward becoming a certified flight instructor.

Eventually, Fink plans to work in missionary aviation.

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to pursue my passion in a way that I can do it as a career and use it to further the Kingdom of God,” Fink said.

Percy is a senior at Hewitt-

Trussville High School where she plays piccolo and flute in the school band. Between school and extracurricular activities, Percy logs flighttraining hours on the weekends in her 1973 Bonanza V35.

Percy is one of the only female pilots who flies out of Shelby County Airport, and one of the very few certified female pilots in the U.S. Only 7 percent of pilots in the United States are female, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association 2017 Annual Report.

Percy acquired an interest in aviation from her father, Dwight Percy, who has been a certified private pilot since 1977. At 16, she took her first flight lesson at Shelby County Airport. After that, she said, “I was hooked.” In 2017, she gained her private pilot certification and plans to pursue a career as a regional airline pilot.

“For me, flying is very freeing,” Percy said. “There is something so peaceful about being able to just focus on my plane, the sky and absolutely nothing else.”

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Clockwise from left: Pilot Emma Percy prepares to take off in her 1973 Bonanza V35; Pilot Sam Fink makes adjustments on the panel of his 1956 Cessna 182, which was passed down to him by his father; This aerial photograph of Birmingham was taken from the back seat of Fink’s Cessna 182; Sam Fink stands with 1956 Cessna 182. Photographs by Emily Frazier.

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The sun streams through the window of Fink’s 1956 Cessna 182 as he flies 3,500 feet above Birmingham. Photographs by Emily Frazier.

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Nowadays, it is easy to take aviation for granted. Some perceive piloting as a pipe dream, or simply a means to an end, Fink explained.

“But for people who love

flying, the journey is the real destination.”

The pilots of Shelby County Airport have fostered a community in which aviation prospers and the dreams of

pilots are never too far out of reach. The sky may be the limit for The Vulcan statue, but aspiring aviators in Birmingham are soaring to new heights.

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TAU “Seek the Noblest�

ALPHA

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Dinner Designs Craft and creativity collide in a magazine test kitchen

By Hannah Diamond

T

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he smell of crispy bacon and chicken wafted into the hallway. The sound of knives chopping and water bubbling to a boil echoed down the corridors.

Anna Theoktisto ignited the flame on a state-of-the-art stovetop, heating up the bacon grease for our chicken and vegetable soup. The collard greens, carrots and bacon were already chopped and measured out into separate bowls.

As a chef, Theoktisto is part architect, part Dr. Frankenstein.

Her role as a recipe developer at Meredith Corporation, a major magazine publishing company, demands that there be a continuous balance between blueprints and bubbling test tubes. The constant flow of requests sent down by the editorial teams at Meredith keeps the staff in the test kitchen on their toes.

“Sometimes they’ll give us exactly what they want us to make, but other times they’ll say, ‘We need three lamb recipes,’ and that’s where we have the freedom to be creative,” Theoktisto said as she set the timer on the stove. With gray skies looming and a chilly breeze blowing outside, it seems appropriate that soup is on the menu today.

Left: Anna Theoktisto works on recipes every day in Meredith Corporation’s state-of-the-art kitchen. Photographs by Hannah Diamond.

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“If you don’t err on the side of creativity, then things get stagnant.”

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Josh Miller

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Theoktisto comes from a family who brought cuisines from all over the world into her home. Her grandfather, a Panamanian Greek, regularly made ceviche, a Latin American seafood dish spritzed with citrus juice and spices. Her mother, from Vermont, grew up on meat and potatoes.

After finishing her undergraduate agricultural education and communications degree at the University of Florida, Theoktisto made the bold choice to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York instead of going to graduate school. She worked her way through the New York food scene as an intern at Bon Appetit, where she shopped for groceries, developed recipes and assisted with photo shoots. Eventually she landed in Birmingham as a food editor for the Hoffman Media-owned magazine Southern Cast Iron before taking her current position.

Having a culinary background is not necessary to be a recipe developer,

though. “You can be of any walk of life and come to this field,” she laughed. Passion is the key.

Cooking Light’s food editor, Josh Miller, always cooked as a hobby, blogging occasionally about the recipes he prepared.

His enthusiasm and drive landed him a position as a food editor and eventually editor in chief of two other food magazines before he joined Cooking Light.

Miller’s editorial team draws blueprints for Theoktisto and the test kitchen staff, but it also realizes the importance of opening up the gates of creativity.

“When you’re working with talented people, you have to trust them to be talented,” he said. Wild concoctions are not uncommon in a kitchen. But what’s the weirdest recipe Theoktisto has ever made?

Upside down doughnut cake.

“I’m pretty sure I was the first person to try making this and it was a challenge to develop. The first time I made it, the doughnuts all floated to the top,” she reminisced.

“I had to thicken the batter

significantly so it weighed the donuts down, and pack a lot of doughnuts in.”

The finished photos for our chicken and vegetable soup won’t be published in Southern Living for another six months.

We look over the recipe’s fresh red ink, talking through the corrections that are supposed to make the fall soup thicker.

It can take as long as 11 weeks for a dish to go from a recipe developer’s idea to a plate ready for the camera.

Our soup is scheduled to go up for its final tasting on the afternoon I visited. If it passes, it will be seen by Southern Living’s 2.8 million readers.

Failure isn’t something to be afraid of in this job, though.

“You’ve got to fail sometimes, you’ve got to make mistakes.

If you don’t err on the side of creativity, then things get stagnant,” Miller said.

As a dish seesaws between the editorial team and the test kitchen, input from every angle is welcomed in order to improve and perfect the recipe.

“They ask for our opinions and ideas on how to change a recipe,” said Theoktisto.

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Previous page: The test kitchen pantry always keeps things spicy with flavors from around the world.

Above: Theoktisto loads in the soup’s key ingredients before tasting.

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Recipes will next go through a cross-tester (a second set of taste buds) and a final approval from the editorial department before going to be styled and shot for publication.

Getting the recipe just right for the reader is the highest priority for the staff, as Miller likes to tip toe the line between “aspirational and accessible.”

“The recipe has to be interesting enough that they feel like they’re getting

something new and they’re getting something of value that they can’t just find in a cookbook they’ve got,” he said, “but you have to be accessible too so that people aren’t turned off by it. It’s a fine line. It’s very, very crucial.”

Pots clang and pantry doors slam shut in the whirlwind of activity happening in each test kitchen. Every kitchen has four stations where chefs collaborate, share stories and

joke with each other as they prepare their dishes.

When the timer on the stove beeped, we poured our finished chicken and vegetable soup into a bowl for tasting. Today’s recipe is only one of thousands that Theoktisto will develop, as she constantly shifts between handed-down guidelines and independence to showcase her creativity, never knowing whether her hard hat or safety goggles will be of better use.

chi omega est. 1895

A view of the creative chaos found inside Reed Books. Photographs by Natascha Anderson.

Little Shop of | Spring 2018

Wonders 42

A book orphanage on Third Avenue

By Natascha Anderson

Among the high-rise buildings and trendy restaurants of downtown Birmingham sits a shop that specializes in the sale of opportunity and adventure.

When you step inside this shop, you will find yourself surrounded by thousands of children who find their home and refuge. These children are very welcoming and even long to be taken home. Some children sit neatly on top of each other. Others are delicate as they are more than 500 years old, and some are just making their debut within our lifetime. However, these

the DNA of any individual that has ever interacted with it. The oils of a person’s skin will soak into the pages and the two are forever bound as one. “If a book lasts a thousand years, they might be ready to clone you,” Reed laughed.

That’s part of the reason Reed will not throw a book away. To do so would be to disregard the people who once had that book, their personal journey with it, as well as the journey of the novel itself. Reed suggests it’s “not just a romantic notion [of saving the books] but also a certain reality.”

Reed’s love for books never

really began, he said. It was just always there. Reed had journeyed through several careers, including journalism and public relations, finding that the work made him unhappier and unhappier.

Then one day in 1985, he realized it was time to do something for himself something he wanted to do.

As he searched for a new professional pursuit, Reed returned to a constant in his life: books. “They have been friends to me since I was born,” Reed explained. “I had books when I was one year old.” Books were always Reed’s

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children aren’t living, breathing kids, but rather books.

Reed Books was founded in 1980 by Tuscaloosa native Jim Reed. Nestled in the heart of Birmingham, the shop offers thousands of books spanning every genre lining the walls, overflowing from the shelves and spilling out onto the floor.

While some may be aghast by this scene of scattered literature, Reed looks upon it with reverence: “Hoarders are the historians of the universe,” he quipped.

Microbiologists have shown that every single book holds

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Thousands of books line the walls and floors of Reed Books.

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Forgotten letters wait to be found.

escape, and his way to learn about the world. He created a sanctuary for stories to be told.

30 years later, people are still experiencing the wonder of Reed Books and the adventures it has to offer.

When Reed isn’t working in his shop, you can find him writing short stories, novels and blogs. However, this sanctuary is a counter-balance to the mass media and electronic age we live in today.

Some brick-and-mortar bookstores find themselves struggling to keep up with online markets and large supply chains like Barnes & Noble. Reed Books employs a variety of methods to ensure its books find worthy homes, including in-store purchases but also the sale of thousands of books online.

That being said, Reed says he still worries about the future of the shop in this digital age. But he hopes future developers of the community “will keep some

of the original [stores], to keep the original flavor, texture of the city.”

Just as Lucy steps into the wardrobe and finds herself lost and in awe of Narnia, upon stepping through the wood framed doors of Reed Books and hearing the electric welcome chime, you will find yourself lost within The Museum of Fond Memories, traveling through the experiences and memories of others while creating your own. The Museum of Fond Memories and Reed books are one in the same. They both beg visitors to engage and experience the art on display woven throughout the stacks of books. Featured pieces include old post office boxes that hold the letters and intimate details on abandoned postcards, photographs of brides, a cardboard cutout of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and numerous plastic santas. These knick-knacks

A collection of hundreds of records piled high inside the store.

Treasures within the Museum of Fond Memories.

Interactive art displayed inside the Museum of Fond Memories and Reed Books.

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and relics are on display throughout the store because when you are reading a book, “you’re not floating in a black hole” says Reed. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are surrounded by things that accentuate your reading experience. Reed explains, “Your memory of the book will also include a memory of what you were doing when you were reading that book.”

Although there is much to take in visually and many books to buy, Reed says that if a customer “leaves in awe, that’s good enough,” because while he is selling books, he is also providing an experience.

Reed Books is more than a local bookstore, it’s a haven for people, both tourist and local, to escape the monotony of their lives and take a bite of something much sweeter.

Walk into wonder and be greeted with a smile. Visitors are much more like the books than they may think. For some they are lost and looking for a home and for others this is their way to be found.

Once Reed recalled an old lady came into the shop and shuffled through a cabinet of pictures. She picked up a faded black and white image of a children’s dance company, posed to perfection. Her face began to glow as she pointed to a little girl on the front row and said, “I know this, that’s me!”

Leave the comfort of your routine, take a trip downtown and journey into a world of pure imagination. You never know what wonders await, and maybe, just maybe, you will be like the old lady and find yourself.

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Reg’s Coffee House Turns Expanding music libraries one song at a time

By Patrick Smith

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ost every Sunday, from deep in the heart of Good People Brewing Company on 14th Street South in downtown Birmingham, one man sits in front of a microphone and expands “your music library one song at a time.”

Scott Register has been following that motto for the past 21 years, and many Birmingham residents have made him a part of their weekly routines. But when Register talks about his specialty show, Reg’s Coffee House, it becomes clear he never expected his life to take this course. “It never occurred to me that (music)

should be my job because it was my escape, and so I didn’t want my escape to be mixed with my living. And damned if my escape didn’t get mixed with my living,” he said.

Growing up, Reg’s love of music was largely inspired by his family. “My mother had a lot to do with my musical tastes,” he recalled.

“She listened to everything from the classics to disco, so I was exposed to a lot of different types of music. My grandfather was Italian, so he listened to Italian music all the time. I can still hear him singing the songs at the top of his lungs.”

While in college at Auburn University in the 1990s, Reg double-majored in public relations and marketing and wrote about sports and entertainment for the campus newspaper, but he never took the disc jockeying course the university offered.

It wasn’t until his senior year that he realized he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life working in a newsroom. “I woke up on my desk one morning and realized that I didn’t want to be chasing deadlines when I was in my 30s and it’s just not what I pictured myself doing anymore,” he said. “I’m not sure what I pictured

Records and music collectables are found in abundance in Reg’s workspace, along with items straight out of pop culture. Photographs by Patrick Smith.

Rossi would eventually go on to suggest that Reg should host his own show.

“We conceptualized it and decided that we didn’t want it to be shiny,” Reg said. “We just wanted it to sound like your buddy showed up at your house on Sunday morning with a stack of CDs, saying, ‘you’ve got to hear this stuff.’”

Those encounters led Reg to his first experiencing hosting a radio show – a rarity for someone with no previous experience. He began hosting Reg’s Coffee House, then a one-hour program, in January 1997.

Fast forward 21 years and

Left: Reg sits in his office at the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. Below: Reg was recognized by Leadership Music in 2013 for his contributions to music promotion.

a lot has changed, but one thing has remained a constant: Reg’s Coffee House on Sundays, although it is now three hours longer than when it debuted. For Reg, though, the stress of hosting the show is now gone.

“I used to be a lot more self-conscious about it,” he said. “You know, about screwing up, worrying about little things that now they don’t even faze me. I think that’s part of the allure of the show, and it does keep it more real, like your friend is over, but things still go wrong and there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just keep going. It’s a lot less anxiety 21 years in. I guess it’s kind of like playing a sport where, when you do it long enough, when you’re out there it slows way down, and you don’t get as consumed by the speed of it.”

Reg’s Coffee House is aired on Birmingham Mountain Radio, a independently owned local radio station that focueses on an Adult Alternative Album and Classic Rock format. The station,which airs at 107.3 FM locally, airs a wide variety of shows throughout the day, so if you don’t like what’s on in

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myself doing, but it wasn’t that. Somehow it all came together.”

Luckily, Reg’s college studies allowed him to make use of his new skills and passion for music in a new job after graduation: working for a PR agency that did the marketing for the now-defunct City Stages, a Birmingham music festival.

“I used to do a lot of radio and TV for City Stages because I was doing their radio marketing. There were three of us that were allowed to talk to the cameras or mics and I did a lot of City Stages promotions, which was fun because a lot of the times it meant I got to go in and play music with the DJ and talk music with the DJ,” he said.

From his days marketing for City Stages, Reg met Don VanCleave, the first president of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, and Dave Rossi, programming director at the time for WRAX-FM in Birmingham. Rossi would ask Reg what he was listening to as a means to get suggestions for what should get played on the air.

Through those conversations,

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Reg’s office is adorned with posters, records, articles and pictures from his time as a radio host. Photograph by Patrick Smith.

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the morning, you are sure to find something you love later in the day.

Reg’s Sunday specialty show isn’t the only thing to change in the 21 years it has been around. The very community that BMR serves has evolved and changed into something entirely new.

“Birmingham has so much potential,” Reg said. “There’s so many good things going on here. There’s so many good people here. My kids are growing up in a totally different Birmingham. My baby, my 10-month old, by the time she’s a teenager, this town is going to be so different I won’t recognize it.”

Reg acknowledges that even the Birmingham music community has grown since he was a kid. “There’s always been some good music coming out of Birmingham. I can go back to when I was a kid and pick out some bands, but right now the community seems to have a lot of

synergy, people working together and pulling for each other.”

It would be hard to argue with a man who has spent much of his adult life bringing local artists like St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Banditos, Act of Congress and others and international acts that he enjoys to the attention of music lovers in Birmingham.

“It’s a really fertile time for music locally,” Reg said. “A lot of it has to do with the ease of connecting and creating right now. Anybody can do it.”

For many adults, it just isn’t as easy as it once was to find new artists to love while also keeping up with all the new music from artists you already know. Reg views his show as a filter to make that process easier: “a filter and a conduit to connect these artists to these music lovers that may not have another connection.”

Reg’s gauge for success

with each week’s installment is simple: “If you come out of four hours with one song or one artist that you didn’t know before that becomes your favorite or becomes important to you, then my job is done here.”

Listening to Reg host his now two-decades-old show each week, you would never guess that he fell into the business. “I didn’t want to be a DJ, and I still don’t think I’m a DJ,” he said. “I’m just some guy who somehow ended up getting a radio show and people are kind enough to listen to it.”

It is nice to know that Reg’s love for what he does each week hasn’t waned at all in the 21 years he’s been doing it. “I think at the end of the day, it’s just getting to do what you love, knowing when I’m going to be able to go and turn the mic on, play music and make a difference in people’s days. That’s probably the best part about it,” he said.

@samfordaoii| lauren sizemore: 205-789-8074