I live in the country about 4 miles from the city of Sylacauga, and I have lived here a very long time. I love living where I can hear the train comin’ round the bend way yonder in the distance like Johnny Cash. I hear the mocking bird singing when I wake up in the...
The fifteenth annual Magic of Marble Festival begins this week, April 11-22. Sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Sylacauga Arts Council, the Festival is an artistic and educational event where some 35 sculptors will gather at Central Park...
George Lewis “Fess” Simpkins December 2, 1908-March 31, 1981 Special guest columnist this week is Mrs. Faye Simpkins who wrote this beautiful story back in 1981 after her beloved father-in-law’s death. It continues the theme of my last two columns about Avondale Mills...
The story of Avondale Mills is a fascinating story of Governor B.B. Comer investing $10,000 in Birmingham in 1897. The trainer family of Chester, Pennsylvania were interested in moving their existing textile industry into the South, and Birmingham businessmen knew...
With all of the excitement about the Earth project and the renewal going on in the Avondale Mill Village in Sylacauga my mind goes back to the late fifties when I first visited Arrie and J.S. Clifton’s house on 30 Pelham Avenue, when I first sat on that screened...
One of the most beautiful and most photographed small church buildings in rural Alabama is the Sears Chapel Methodist Church on Highway 231 two miles North of Rockford in Coosa County. It is a pretty building, but people in the community, the church, still meet there...
My last visit to A & M Clothing was not February 11 for the Retirement Reception and celebration as I had planned. Sorry I missed that (Covid finally caught up with me), but my last visit with Betty and Polly Blades is still a memorable one. I try staying...
Commitment to responsibility is a tough word to illustrate today, but Betty Blades and family are a great example of what the word means. A&M Clothing has been in business for 48 years and is now closing its doors. As soon as I heard the news, I went down to...
Wednesday, February 1st, 2023-Matthew Downs “The Tennessee Valley Authority and Regional Development in North Alabama, 1933-1960” When we think of the Tennessee Valley Authority, we think of towering hydroelectric dams, churning out electricity and reshaping the...
So much about Christmas gives assurance to believers in in a world that is dark and gloomy. Christmas comes quickly when you are a senior adult. Anticipation of Christmas reminds me of how very long it seemed between Christmases when I was a child. The songwriter...
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