Month: August 2015

Cowboy Church

A new Sunday tradition

Story by Leigh Pritchett
Photos by Jim Smothers

As people gathered for worship time, the words of an old, familiar hymn floated through the church.

“I surrender all; I surrender all. All to Jesus, I surrender; I surrender all.”

The music and the male voice from the soundtrack had a decidedly western flair.

Of course, that was quite fitting because this church is a cowboy church.

Called St. Clair County Cowboy Church, it meets at St. Clair County Arena in Odenville each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. – rain or shine.

The first worship service was in December 2014 and, during the winter months, congregants met in a building on the arena grounds.

Rob Richey of Chelsea, who has preached frequently at the worship services, said a cowboy church is a “congregation of God’s people” where the “gospel of the Lord and Savior” is presented in a western atmosphere.

“It is a gospel church,” James Dailey, Jr., of Springville said in explaining why he goes there. “It preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it just feels like home.”

Gina Rich of Odenville has found it to be different from any other church she has attended.

“These people are just like us,” she said. “They’re just normal, everyday people. We have the same interest with horses and farming and things like that.”

Richey said a cowboy church does tend to appeal to people who have horses. But “we have people who come to the worship time who really don’t ride (and) don’t have horses.”

It does not matter what a person wears or where he is financially or spiritually, added Angie Cleckler of Springville. “It’s a church where you can come as you are … in everything.”

That casual atmosphere is one aspect that appeals to Clark Thompson of Moody and his wife, Missy. “We feel real comfortable coming,” Thompson said.

Jamie Kuhn even drives from Childersburg to go to the church.

Although it currently is not a member of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches (AFCC), St. Clair’s cowboy church operates on the same model, said Johnny Caradine of Springville.

Caradine was instrumental in establishing the St. Clair church. “Actually, God started it. He just used me to do it,” he said.

He explained that his family went to a cowboy church in Cleveland, Ala., four or five years. Then, Caradine began to feel God prompting him to establish a cowboy church in St. Clair County, he said.

This church that began with 10 to 15 people eight months ago has now grown to 45 or 50. Plus, visitors come to the worship time almost every week, said Caradine.

At many churches, a gymnasium is one means for reaching out to people in the community. For a cowboy church, the arena is a ministry tool.

That is why congregants of the St. Clair cowboy church will readily change their worship time in order to minister to groups using the arena for events, said Dale Stubbs of Odenville.

He gave as an example a Sunday that the arena was rented for a rodeo. Members of the cowboy church met that day at a time that would allow the rodeo participants to attend as well.

“That was neat,” said Stubbs, who has been part of the church since its first service. “We just changed our time on the church service to include them.”

Another feature of a cowboy church is that the arena does not have to be the only location for worship time. Caradine said members might decide to go on a trail ride and have their worship service at some place along the way.

“We’re flexible,” Caradine said. “We’re cowboys.”

On any given Sunday

On a Sunday morning in June, Don King of Cullman – an evangelist with a 40-year radio ministry in Arab – sat with his Bible open, going over his sermon notes once more. He was dressed in jeans, western boots and a white shirt.

Attendees took their places on the bleachers, and Caradine opened worship time with prayer requests. Before prayer, the males removed their hats in reverence.

No offering plate was passed. Instead, a saddlebag that was hanging on railing was where offerings could be placed.

Caradine’s daughter, Lily, sang a cappella: “My chains are gone; I’ve been set free. My God, My Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love; amazing grace.”

King’s sermon was about that amazing grace, which comes upon a person’s life when he asks Jesus Christ into his heart to be Savior and Lord.

Man, on his own, is unable to keep God’s commands, King said. Each and every person does wrong, and punishment is due for those wrongdoings.

Jesus Christ – God’s Only Son — was beaten, had a crown of thorns pressed down upon His head and was nailed to a cross to take the punishment for all the wrong that each person has done, King said. Jesus endured all that, shedding His blood and giving His life, to save people from their sin.

“It’s amazing what the Lord can do in a person’s life,” King said, explaining that God had pulled him from a “pit” of sin. God can straighten out any life, he said. “Without the Spirit of God (in you), you can’t go to heaven.”

As he shared his Bible message in the open arena, the sights and sounds of creation were all around. Trees swayed in the breeze and birds chirped their summer songs. Horses waiting patiently inside the arena occasionally gave a snort or stamped the dirt.

This particular Sunday just happened to be the day for the church’s monthly fellowship. So, after the worship service came a time to enjoy barbecue, potato salad and conversation.

Yet, that did not end the church gathering.

After dinner on the grounds, more horses were led into the arena, where some adults, teens and children rode them. Other young people honed their skills for different competitive events.

Many of the youths who attend the church participate in rodeos, team roping, obstacle challenges and other types of events.

Cason Davis of Odenville, one of those teens, said the youths generally practice after the worship service each week. “Everybody helps each other” and encourages one another, he said.

That is one of the great aspects of the cowboy church, said Colby Dodson of Remlap, another teen competitor. “People understand what we like.”

The fact that the church appeals to youths is a definite advantage, said Caradine. “If you can get the youth involved, the parents will come,” he said. “Our youths love to come to church.”

In June, the church added a Wednesday-evening Bible study to its ministry. The Bible study starts at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by an open-arena time for riding, roping, running barrels and the like.

Caradine said there is a special time for young people. “We have a youth message, then play in the dirt.”

Richey, who leads the Wednesday ministry, said everyone is welcome to attend the Bible study or come simply to ride.

Follow St. Clair County Cowboy Church on Facebook

The place for Fresh Produce

Kerry Joe is the man to see

Story by Sam Jackson
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

The first frost ushers in autumn, and the initial bloom means spring has arrived. But Pell City has a different kind of seasonal litmus test for summer: the opening of Kerry Joe Foster’s produce stand.

Pell City Produce, located a stone’s throw away from the Pell City Civic Center and Logan Martin Lake on Stemley Bridge Road, opened for the summer on April 1 this year. It will remain open until the end of September, with May through August typically acting as his busiest months. As spring turns to summer and into fall, he sells fruits, vegetables, Amish cheeses, local honeys and much more from his tent. If a food is grown in season, you can find it at Foster’s stand.

He hasn’t always been in the fruit-and-vegetable business, though. Foster previously worked with a construction company he opened with his father, but after suffering a heart attack, Foster was forced to step away from a 31-year construction career. In 2008, his outdoor produce stand opened its doors — figuratively, of course — for the first time. Since then, it’s become somewhat of a Pell City institution.

He doesn’t grow the products he sells, rather, he acts as a kind of farmer’s market conglomerate, buying fresh produce from close-to-home markets throughout Pell City, Vincent and Birmingham to sell under one roof at his stand in Pell City.

The array of growers he purchases from gives him a varied spread of 15 to 20 different kinds of products to offer on a given day.

These trips to purchase fresh goods aren’t monthly or weekly for Foster — they’re daily. His stand is open Wednesday through Saturday at 10 a.m., so Foster wakes up at 4:15 a.m. each of those days to make his rounds from market to market before arriving back at his tent. He usually drives about 100 miles each day when collecting products to sell, but the more miles he drives, the fewer miles his stand’s visitors have to log.

“(Customers) appreciate me being here,” Foster said. “They’d rather buy like this. You can hop out and get right back into the car. They like the openness of it.”

And how the customers do like it. A typical day at the stand sees more than 100 shoppers, many of who are repeat customers. Watching Foster in action, it’s easy to see why so many come back time after time. He jauntily smiles, chats and laughs with people and turns even the most routine transaction into a friendly interaction.

Jean Phillips, a weekly stand patron, sees his helpful demeanor and constant presence as an important part of his stand’s success.

“He’s always friendly and very helpful,” Phillips said. “He’ll even help you to your car with vegetables. I don’t think I’ve ever been by when he wasn’t there.”

It’s not uncommon to see customers purchase items in bulk, especially tomatoes, which Foster says are the most popular seller and his personal favorite product. Many people come from out of town to purchase them.

“A lot of people say, ‘We’ve heard your tomatoes are the best,’” Foster said. “That really means a lot to me.”

The stand’s notability draws customers from Pell City and the surrounding area, and Foster wouldn’t have it any other way. His favorite part of the job is meeting people from all walks of life, especially those who may come from farther away.

“I’ve had a lot of people from different states who are visiting — Oklahoma, California, Michigan,” Foster said. “They hear about (the stand) and have to come by to see what I’ve got. That’s always fun for me.”

Foster also loves that his job gives him the chance to remain outside and has always considered himself an “outdoors guy.”

Although his stand is only open from Wednesday to Saturday, Foster doesn’t take a three-day weekend. On Mondays and Tuesdays, he usually sells tomatoes to restaurants like nearby Good Ole Boys and The Shack and delivers unsold, though still edible, products to widows from his church. He says there is nothing wrong with these donated items, but he would rather give them away than let them go to waste.

This all may sound like a busy week for Foster to handle by himself, and that’s not far from the truth. Luckily, he has some help with the stand. Although Foster makes all product-purchasing runs on his own, Frank Boyanton, known as “Mr. B,” and Foster’s wife, Tanya, assist with some of the stand’s day-to-day operations. Mr. B is especially helpful, volunteering at the stand every Wednesday through Saturday.

In addition to his wife’s help, the stand’s family affair continues with his mother-in-law, Frankie Underwood, who makes a variety of fried pies to contribute to the stand’s product supply.

If you’re wondering how Foster maintains the will power to be around succulent fruits, vegetables and pies all day without being tempted to snag a bite or two, worry not. To prevent selling subpar products, he samples every item he displays.

This commitment to excellence comes across in the products he sells, Phillips said.

“I stop by because he has really nice vegetables,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten any that were not fresh and good.”

The fruits and vegetables on sale are impeccable. Banners advertising “fresh produce” are draped near a picturesque spread of colorful southern garden favorites.

The stand’s location is in the heart of Pell City. Yet it’s Foster’s charm and friendliness that make his stand the destination point for return customers.

The next time you see his truck drive past, overflowing after a morning farmer’s market run, you’ll know he’s bringing good food and Southern hospitality to what has become an iconic institution.

Mulligan Stew

A distinctly Skeeter Park tradition

Story by Jerry C. Smith
Submitted photos from Hazelwood Family

What’s Mulligan Stew? Well, it’s a big potful of boiling water, loaded with whatever meats and vegetables one has on hand, and cooked until safely edible. However, for St. Clair’s Skeeter Park folks, it’s always been a fine excuse to get together for a grand party on a creek bank somewhere near Eden, pig out on Mulligan and enjoy a tradition that’s occurred non-stop since the 1930s.

You won’t find Skeeter Park on any GPS, nor talked about in society columns, but hundreds of St. Clair folks will agree it’s a culinary and fellowship delight for lucky invitees. While the cuisine has varied over the decades, the camaraderie has remained.

There were actually two distinctly separate groups who held similar events in the same general area: one, a private annual reunion begun in the 1930s that’s still celebrated today, and the other a more frequent but less structured community affair that got together in the 1960s and 70s.

The original group was organized by two local residents, Frank Patterson and John Willingham. They were soon joined by Frank’s brother, Willard “Shanghai” Patterson, and their close friend, W.T. “Dubb” Hazelwood.

These fellows had hunted and fished around Wolf Creek as boys, often camping there overnight to rest and cook their prey. As the youngsters grew into men, their outdoor meals became well-known and, before long, friends started drifting in to share their rustic fare.

Dubb’s son, Ben Hazelwood, soon joined the fun, later taking an active role in food preparation, with help from his own son, Benjamin, then called Little Ben but now 36 years old. The elder Ben recently passed away, but younger Ben continues the Mulligan tradition in memory of good times with his father, and because it’s so much fun.

The official Skeeter Park venue is an unimproved clearing in the woods near Wolf Creek, on land always owned by the Jones family. The park is only about 40 yards wide and 50 yards long, but has a good spring for cooking and drinking water. Dubb’s daughter, Marion (Hazelwood) Hultgren, currently of Tucker, Ga., says the area was a wondrous place to visit any time of the year, abounding with wildflowers. Mulligan Stews became generally popular during the Depression, when roving bands of hobos and others seeking work would gather into camps, often alongside railroad tracks. They had little, but usually shared it for the common good.

Various campers might contribute a couple of onions or a few ears of corn “borrowed” from a nearby farm, a chicken of similar origin, maybe some potatoes and carrots. Separately, not much of a meal, but when cooked together, they became a nourishing sustenance for all.

The Skeeter Park guys found Mulligan easy to make and serve, universally accepted, and impossible to criticize because there is no official recipe. Cooked in 5-gallon steel lard cans which were bought new every year for the purpose, these versatile stews could contain anything edible, including squirrels, rabbits, chickens, turtles, even beavers, but they never added pork until later years when it became plentiful. Nor was venison used, as deer were quite scarce in those days.

Young Ben recalls camping out at the site overnight so he could clean out the spring and be ready the next morning to build a fire big enough to heat two kettles full of water. He says his father expected that water to be boiling when he showed up a few hours later to start the stew.

Ben remembers that, even in latter years, they sometimes used freshly-killed whole squirrels, including heads but without entrails or skins. Side dishes included Southern-reunion staples like cornbread, biscuits, white loaf bread, green beans, sliced tomatoes, and occasionally a potato salad and other party fare.

Dubb’s children, Marion (Hazelwood) Hultgren, Kent Beavers and Freddy Hazelwood, were quite specific about the way their father ran the proceedings. Everyone who handled raw food had to wash their hands vigorously and keep them clean during its preparation.

He was very particular about who handled food and stirred the pots, usually doing most of it himself. The pot had to be stirred in perfect figure-eights, lest it burn. Further, Dubb insisted that stirring sticks had to be hickory saplings of a certain diameter, with just the right size fork at the end.

The stew was boiled and stirred for hours, until all meat had fallen off the bones which, coincidentally, helped disguise the species of whatever animal was in the pot.

Kent said, “If you didn’t know what you were doing, you just sat over there in the shade and drank beer with the others.” Marion added, “If you really messed up and burned the stew, you got thrown into Wolf Creek.”

Attendance was widely variable — as few as a half dozen to more than a hundred, including several regional dignitaries whose names would be easily recognized. Mulligans drew visitors from the ranks of many noted St. Clair families, among them Beavers, Castleberrys, Bowmans, Footes, Bynums, Ginns, Hazelwoods, Robertsons and Cornetts.

For the first three decades or so, participation was limited to men and boys, but in the “liberated” 1970s, they occasionally allowed family ladies to attend. Marion, who was 25 at the time, recalls being among the first girls on the scene. She helped memorialize those days with her photos, some of which appear with this story.

Naturally, these fun-loving folks didn’t confine their activities to eating. According to Freddy and Kent, the guys played poker, took bets on football scoreboards, pitched horseshoes and washers, even shot a few dice. Singing and guitar playing was usually part of the festivities, although they didn’t bring instruments on very cold days, as it could make the strings break.

Alcohol was usually present, but didn’t cause the kind of problems one might think, because Dubb and Ben kept strict order. Lawmen occasionally showed up, but only for food and fellowship. Whether certain attendees fell into Wolf Creek or were actually thrown in to help sober them up is still open for debate.

It’s rumored that Shanghai once asked some poker players for a share of the pot to help finance their meal. If more than $30 was spent on supplies in the old days, it was considered an especially lavish party.

In later years, another group began meeting nearby, at first along the north bank of Wolf Creek, then under a pole shed that still stands behind a convenience store in Eden. This gathering was started in the late 1960s by the store’s owner, Troy Bannister. Longtime Pell City resident Fred Bunn recalls going there in the 1970s, and seeing the late Tootie Hare and both Ben Hazelwoods among others who frequented both gatherings.

Fred says these events were held at random intervals, averaging about once a month, and usually ran all day long, averaging about 20 to 30 people at any one time, with others drifting in or out as opportunity allowed. Fred adds that they didn’t restrict themselves to Mulligan Stew, often substituting more basic country fare like chitterlings, barbecue or local game animals.

Under the leadership of young Ben, the Hazelwoods still follow the Mulligan tradition, usually every November at the old Skeeter Park site. They’ve been selling printed T-shirts and ball caps among their group since 1992 to help raise money for basic expenses, with the surplus going into a mutual aid fund to help members with unexpected hardship.

Ben mentions one fellow who got his hand chopped off in a work accident. The Mulligan fund helped this man’s family through some rough times.

The family says this year’s Skeeter Park Mulligan will be an especially poignant one, as they recently lost their beloved father and brother, Ben Hazelwood. Your writer has been invited, and I’m certainly looking forward to it.

No, I will NOT say when or where.

Shel-Clair Farms

A world of cattle drives, scenic trails

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Mike Callahan

With the strains of “Rawhide” swelling inside their heads, 18 intrepid cowpokes slap their hands on their thighs, kick their horses and yell, “Head ‘em up, move ‘em out,” as they ride off to round up the herd.

“I’ve always wanted to say that,” one of the cowgirls remarks.

It’s all part of the annual cattle call at the Shel-Clair Farms, a 1,000-acre spread that straddles the borders of Shelby and St. Clair counties off U.S. 231 South. Owned by Ralph, Randy and Wayne Bearden, the farm and ranch is home to row crops, horse boarders, trails and fishin’ holes. It’s also home to 150 to 200 cows that have to be mustered for weaning, pregnancy checking and vaccinating every spring.

“I started the roundup in 2009 as a way to get the cows to the barn and have some fun at the same time,” says Randy Bearden, farm manager. “We skipped last year because someone got hurt in 2013. But we decided to try again this year.”

No one got hurt this year, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Twelve of the 18 riders were Shel-Clair boarders, who are accustomed to cantering among the cattle without incident. Rounding them up from the various fields and meadows and pushing them to the pasture near the old corn silo is another matter.

“Stay behind them, because they’ll turn the opposite way if you don’t,” Randy tells the group before it heads out one steamy Sunday afternoon in May. “Don’t run them, because some of them are pregnant.”

After these basic instructions, the weekend drovers take off in search of their hoofed subjects. Some of the cows are down in the hollows; others are in the woods cooling off. As soon as a few are spotted, the whooping and hollering begins.

“Woo-hoo, get on out of there, girls,” riders yell at the reluctant cows and calves. “Giddy-up, whoop whoop. Move along.” Once a few of the animals start moving, the others follow. A handful are insubordinate, however, and try their best to avoid the horses. They double back into the woods and stop in the streams to avoid capture, forcing mounted participants to split into teams to rally them.

During the three-hour event, riders pass an abandoned, barn-shaped house built during World War II that has almost been reclaimed by Mother Nature. They climb a ridge, where a bunch of folks watched Alabama play the University of Florida several years ago on a giant, flat-screen TV run by a gas generator. They stop briefly at the creek that was full of trout until the river otters ate them, then listen to cows bellowing from a nearby pasture. A slight breeze moves the tree leaves and tall weeds, making the humidity a little more bearable.

“The creek runs out of a spring where the water is crystal clear and never gets above 63 degrees,” Randy says. “It has a few bass and bream now.” The Beardens also have an 8-acre lake on the opposite side of the farm where they allow the public to fish for a fee.

It’s their day job and more

Randy cuts about 400 round bales and another 1,000 square bales of hay each year to feed the cows. If there is an abundance, he will sell some hay, but the herd uses most of it. The number of cows varies when some go to market or have babies. He tries to keep 150 mama cows and two bulls all the time. “Most cattle farms in the state have only 30 to 40 head,” he says. “But this is how I make my living. I don’t have an off-farm job.” He says the money he gets from leasing 110 acres for row crops pays the taxes.

He sells the cows at the Ashville Stockyard, and one obstreperous specimen is about to make that trip a trifle early if she keeps trying Randy’s patience. “That’s Number 36,” he says of the stubborn mama who insists on running away from the horses and the herd with her calf at her side. “She does this every year,” he adds, as disgusted as a mother who can’t control her toddler’s tantrums.

Randy’s family started farming in Shelby County in 1929 when J.E. “Ned” Bearden opened a dairy farm in Helena. Ned and his wife, Irene “Ma” Bearden, raised six children on that farm. Their son Ralph and Ralph’s sons, Randy and Wayne, started Shel-Clair Farms in 1972. Tired of getting up before dawn for milking or at 2 a.m. to repair a broken well pump, they closed their dairy business in 2005 and transitioned to a row-crop and beef-cattle operation. They added horse trails and boarding in 2007.

They have developed 12 miles of scenic trails that cover rolling hills, cross small creeks, ramble through forests and pass by a waterfall. The trails have names like Open Range, Ridge Mountain and Hurricane Mountain. The Haunted Swamp, part of the Hurricane trail, is so named because of the cow skulls hanging from trees and various bones scattered about. At least, that’s Randy’s story.

The trails are well-marked, unless the cows have knocked down some of the signs. Day riders, who are just as welcome as the boarders, can’t pass the farm’s Sycamore Sally without stopping for photos in the huge tree’s hollow trunk. That may change, though, because Randy found a snake inside the tree recently.

When he’s not rounding up cattle by horseback, Randy rides through the property in a red Ford pickup with a Blue Heeler named Blue on the bed’s tool box. Blue paces back and forth, trying to keep his balance. Randy says he has only fallen off once.

After the roundup, which took twice as long this spring as it normally does because some of the cows were less than cooperative, Randy treats riders to pizza and soft drinks at his new barn.

Sharon Jones of Leeds, one of the farm’s original boarders, is a veteran at the Bearden roundup. “I ride by myself a lot, so I really enjoy riding with a group,” she says, between bites of pizza. “It hypers my horse up, too, so he’s more fun to ride.” Madison Sharp, 18, a recent graduate of the Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile, is another boarder who has done several roundups. “It’s fun,” she says. “It’s interesting to watch my horse think.”

It was Jackie Cockrell’s first roundup, and she brought along her 11-year-old son, Colton. “It was very exciting,” says Cockrell, who keeps their horses at her own farm in Leeds. “I would do it again next year.” Colton agrees. “Yeah, that was fun,” he says.

For more information about riding or fishing at
Shel-Clair, visit its website @ shelclairfarms.com

Features

Playhouse Palaces

Where imaginations have room to grow

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Jim Smothers

What child doesn’t want a playhouse? What adult didn’t want one as a child? It can be a fort where rebels shoot Nerf guns at intergalactic enemies, a Victorian doll house where little girls have tea parties, or a cabin with a loft for sleep-overs. The use of a playhouse, whether in the trees or on the ground, is limited only by a child’s imagination.

“I doodle on the dry-erase board and do my homework in it,” says Abby Hays, 12, ab the treehouse her dad built. “I like to play with my Strawberry Shortcake dolls,” says her sister, 8-1/2-year-old Emily.

Like many modern-day tree houses, the Hays’ version is built on pine posts because its owners lack a sturdy tree with the necessary split up the middle. Theirs is nestled between two oak trees on their Springville property, resting three sides on 4-by-4s planted in concrete deck piers and attached to a red oak on the fourth. It’s a two-story affair with steps that make a distinct turn at a small landing.

The treehouse is wider than it is deep, with a child-size table and chairs on one side and a small cabinet on the other to house dishes and other playthings. The bow and arrows that Emily uses for target practice hang on one wall near the cabinet. The girls like to hold tea parties with their friends and plan to put sleeping bags in the loft once their Dad has installed its trap door. Each girl has her own side in the loft, and there’s a secret compartment between its floor and the ceiling below. The ladder is attached to the back wall.

“Dad designed it, but we told him some of the things we wanted, like the French doors on the front and the shelves in the loft,” says Abby. “He wasn’t going to put any doors on it.”

Perry Hays used cedar for the exterior of the treehouse and rough-cut poplar for the front doors and the interior. He zigzagged the steps because he wanted them to go around a large water oak, and he set the main platform 10 feet off the ground.

“I always wanted a treehouse as a child,” says Perry, a self-employed carpenter.

Alex Follett of Pell City had been asking for a treehouse for some time when his parents, David and Katheryn, decided to have one built. “My wife and I had been talking,” says his dad. “We decided he is only 8 once, so we dipped into savings and surprised him for his birthday, which was in February.”

The Folletts gave builder Jonathan Hayes of Hayes Construction a crude pencil sketch on lined notebook paper that represented what they wanted. Hayes took the drawing and ran with it, and the Folletts, parents as well as son, couldn’t be happier with the results.

“This is where I keep all my weapons,” says Alex of his two-story playhouse. “I have two air soft guns, four pistols and two swords.” He calls the first floor his warring room, “where me and my friends plan,” while the second floor is his “sniping room.”

Both levels are enclosed, with two ways to enter the second floor: via wooden steps and a rope ladder. The rope version can also be accessed through a hatch in the floor of the second story, making it Alex’s escape route when avoiding enemy combatants. Alex plays there two or three hours on sunny days, he says. A friend or two will often join him.

The covered porch on the upper level features a ship’s wheel that Alex refers to as his “Stargate wheel,” and both levels have simple openings covered by wooden panels that open and close, rather than window panes. Under the porch is a pea-gravel playground with a seated swing and bar swing. A slide to the left of the 13 wooden steps offers another way down.

The 16-by-10-foot structure rests on a platform that’s 8 feet off the ground and anchored with 6-by-6-inch posts set in concrete. The entire house is made of pressure-treated pine, and Hayes custom-made the steps and hand rails. Total cost was $4,200, including the pea gravel and minor landscaping.

Tony Smith of Moody bought 10-year-old daughter, Anna, a Victorian-style playhouse from Coosa Valley Sales in Pell City. “I liked it because it looks like a real house, with a shingle roof and a loft where she and her friends can put their sleeping bags,” says Smith. “Anna loves it.”

The pink house sits on concrete blocks in a sloping yard, and Smith wants to put a ramp and steps on the higher end and lattice around the bottom. “I may eventually run power to it so we can put a little heater in it,” he says. “Once Anna outgrows it, we’ll turn it into a shed. It has a small front door and a big door at the end that you can’t see from the front. We can store pool cushions in it when she has finished with it.”

James David Slay, 8, and his brother Jason, 6, sons of Josh and Jennifer Slay of Moody, were the lucky recipients of the fort their grandmother, Christy Finch, won in a raffle at Shops of Grand River last year. The raffle benefitted the St. Clair CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates), a volunteer child advocacy program. “We call it our Alabama War House,” says James David. The top half on three sides can be opened and propped up, and the boys enjoy “shooting” two wooden machine guns mounted at one end.

“I like the loft, the windows and the fireman’s pole,” says 8-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez, naming the main features of the treehouse he and his 3-year-old brother, Matias, share at their grandmother’s house in Ashville. “I can’t wait until NaNa gets the slide put up.”

Built by Gary Liverett of Alpha Ranch, the 8-by-10-foot structure is set on 6-by-6-inch posts that are concreted 30 inches in the ground. Their grandmother’s yard slopes, so one side of the porch is 7.5 off the ground, while the other is 9 feet. Liverett made the 10-inch rough-sawn lap siding at his own sawmill. He framed the Plexiglass windows with pine boards, allowing the boys to see out whether the windows are open or closed. He also built a long slat in one side that opens out and down, through which the boys can shoot their Nerf guns. He also put in a stationary screened window in the loft to allow air to circulate.

“I used Plexiglass for the windows because it’s less likely to shatter and is more economical than glass,” Liverett explains. “The house has a 29-gauge, low-rib metal roof, and we hand cut the pickets for the porch.”

Liverett is letting the pressure-treated pine age before applying a stain to protect the wood from the weather. He used a galvanized 2-inch pipe that he had on hand for the fireman’s pole. He said he went over the contract price of $3,000 by $700 because it took much more time than he had estimated. “It has a lot of detail in it, and took as much time as some larger buildings,” he says. “I wouldn’t build another one for less than $4,000.”

Matias and his grandmother, who happens to be the writer of this article, have held a tea party in the house, using the same Fisher-Price tea set his mother had when she was his age. Gabriel, his grandmother and his friend Walker Griffith of Ashville have slept in the house twice, the first time in November before it was finished. “We almost froze to death,” Gabriel admits.

Features

2015 Panther Run

Brutal fun at The Ridge

Story by Graham Hadley
Photos by Michael Callahan
and Graham Hadley

Starting with a yell and a cheer, the participants in the 2015 Panther Run at the Ridge were ready to face just about any obstacle.

It’s a good thing — because there were more than 30 of them between the runners and the finish line at the specially designed course on a Springville mountaintop in St. Clair County.

Normally an off-highway vehicle, nature and outdoor park — sometimes even a concert venue — the Ridge is converted once a year into a long, winding obstacle and mud-run course that attracts fitness enthusiasts from near and far, with some competitors coming from all over the country.

For that one day, July 13 this year, the Ridge, which is most famous as a top destination for off-road vehicles, is closed for riding and open for running (and climbing, crawling, rolling and whatever else it takes to get over the obstacles).

The Ridge started hosting the Panther Run three years ago, said park owner Jason White. What started out as a small event has reached epic proportions. With every entrant slot for the race sold out last year, they added more for this year.

And sold out again.

“We sold out. We sold out last year, so we added about 50 more slots, …” he said. “We had 800 tickets we sold, plus there were around 30 volunteers, and then there were spectators, too.”

White estimates they topped 900 to 1,000 people in the park for the race.

The Ridge is normally run by a handful of people — mostly White and his family and close friends — but it takes a small army of helpers and volunteers to get the facility converted from an OHV park to the grueling 5K mud and obstacle course that has made the Panther Run such a big draw.

“It takes over a month to prep the course, including building the obstacles. It takes a lot of work, but anything worth doing is worth doing right,” White said.

Particular attention is paid to the obstacles. Organizers spend days looking at what has worked at previous races, what has worked at other venues, and then they group brainstorm all of those ideas into what unique obstacles they can feasibly — and safely — build for the Panther Run.

“Everyone gets together and brainstorms. There are six of us whose job it is to go over all the ideas and weed out the ones too hard to build or that are too complicated,” White said.

“Though we look at what other courses do, we tweak their ideas, then make them different to try to make them unique to us. We want everyone to experience something different when they come here.”

That attention to detail, their location and the facilities at the Ridge create a special experience that White credits with making the Panther Run so widely popular.

“I think it has reached out to people. We are piling in runners from all over the Southeast. Word of mouth and positive reviews online and on social media are pulling people from farther and farther out,” he said. “We have been compared to big events like the Warrior Dash and the Tough Mudder.”

The competitors

One of the key components to the success of the Panther Run is that everyone who competes is a winner. The fastest man and the fastest woman get special recognition, but everyone who takes part receives a medal and shirt, regardless of when they finish or if they were able to complete every obstacle on the course.

And there are different difficulty levels, from beginner all the way up to special endurance passes that let those runners continue lapping the course as long as the event is going on.

“We had the unlimited pass at this race. We sold about 20 of those where they get to keep running the course. I don’t know why they did it, but they did,” White said.

Some of the runners come alone, but more often they are part of groups — many times made up of experienced obstacle runners, traditional runners and beginners.

First-timer Shawna Stokes of Birmingham smiled, pointed to her teammates, Alania Stokes, Miranda Fohner and Wendy Thompson, and said, “I thought it would be fun to watch, and then I got sucked into running it.”

Miranda said they were going to work together as a team, especially since not everyone had done this before — “We are not going to be pushing anyone down.”

Though Shawna said she had a more competitive perspective on things. “You’re not pushing anyone down,” she clarified with a smile, adding, “I tried to do this a couple of years ago, but none of my guy friends wanted to do it.”

A number of local businesses were on the scene to support groups of employees and staff. CrossFit and other exercise centers from Alabama and surrounding states were particularly well represented.

Jay Stackhouse from Priceville and Staci Clemons from Summerville were there, both running in the early elite heat. Then, they helped other competitors they brought from the gym where she is a fitness trainer.

“It was pretty brutal, with some extremely challenging obstacles. The netting was particularly hard,” he said.

“The two of us came as a team to compete; then we came back to the course to help everyone we have with us. They may hate us while we are pushing them to finish, then they love it.”

Pell City-based Northside Medical Associates had around 40 runners in the race, something they said was a good way for the co-workers to have a day out together while promoting the importance of exercise and fitness.

“This is our first year out here organized as Northside,” said Ronnie Harris, human resources manager for Northside, speculating that Laura Gossett and Dr. Michael Dupre would end up leading their heats.

As much as the Panther Run is a competitive event, the underlying theme is for everyone to come out and have fun — and for many runners, that meant costumes.

One team, the Incredibles, sporting outfits from the Pixar movie of the same name, was made up of four family members and two friends.

For Majesta Bishop of Huntsville, who learned about the event on Facebook, it was her first race, though she is a hobby runner. One other member of the Incredibles team had done the obstacle run before.

As they donned their costumes and got ready for their heat, the team kept pumping each other up with encouraging words — a common theme for the day.

Sporting brightly colored hair and face paint, John Archer from Albertville said he was there with Sand Mountain CrossFit. John, who did competitive swimming for nine years, said, “This is my first run and I am very excited. The face paint and the hair, I did it because I thought it would be fun.”

Another group of runners were facing off along more traditional Alabama lines — in friendly fashion — made clear by their team name: Three tigers and an elephant. Larry Turner, Cambria Ware, Sidney Ware and Brandi Turner were all there to support each other, though there would be some friendly internal competition.

After the race heats, the tired but happy runners gathered for food and company along the various paths at the Ridge.

Buddy Spidle, a loan officer from Birmingham, said his experience was “outstanding.”

This was the first obstacle race for the physically fit former U.S. Marine. “It certainly tapped all my physical resources. It was very demanding; it was very thorough. It was fun, and I will be back,” he said.
More to come?

The Panther Run has become so successful, White is considering doing another race in the fall.

“We might do a second race — not necessarily the exact same thing, but we are definitely looking at some kind of race in the fall.

Whether it is putting together that race or preparing for next year’s Panther Run, White said none of it can happen without all the volunteer help they receive.

“I want to say thanks to all the volunteers — from people who help build obstacles to volunteer fire departments. This would not be possible without everyone coming together,” he said, adding that many of the people helping make the Panther Run a reality are former participants who have stepped up to keep the event going.

“We build relationships with people, become friends with people who want to come out here and see the park stay open and the race happen,” he said.

One of those — Billy Findeiss of Odenville (sporting a kilt for the run) agreed. He is one of those runners who also volunteers his time to make the event happen.

“I have been here every year, every year helping build the obstacles. These are great people, Jason and everyone are great people,” he said before having to go make sure one of the water-wall obstacles was working properly. Then, he took on the Panther Run himself in one of the later heats.

Check out the Panther Run and The Ridge online and on Facebook

The Panther Run

91 photos

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