Honda steps up with SUV for workforce development program at Eden Tech
Story and photos by Graham Hadley
Once again, St. Clair County is leading the way for the rest of Alabama when it comes to workforce development programs in public education – and Honda Manufacturing is already stepping in to help.
The John Pope Eden Career Technical Center in Ashville, working with the St. Clair Economic Development Council, is taking a lead role in the Modern Manufacturing Program, a partnership between the Alabama Works initiative and local school systems, as the state continues its efforts to boost the number of qualified manufacturing professionals.
The program at is already well on its way to being another workforce development success story for the region. Now, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama has joined those efforts, donating a Honda Pilot SUV and more to MMP at Eden in late October.
“At the Honda Alabama Auto Plant we are excited about the opportunity that the Modern Manufacturing Program can provide for students and industry alike,” said Michael Gaines, division leader at Honda Alabama.
Handing over the keys
“Modern Manufacturing will provide the necessary skills for entry level manufacturing positions in our company, as well as other manufacturing companies in our region. Almost all industries in our area are experiencing manpower shortages, and this program will give students the basic skills they need before entering the workforce, helping to increase their career options, and hiring potential, while also helping local employers to fill open positions with individuals already advanced in work-based skills.”
Bob Johnson, who helms the program at Eden and a former HMA employee, expressed his gratitude to his former employer for its generosity. “The MMP program at Eden Career Technical Center is very thankful to Honda. This donation will contribute to ensuring that every student is prepared to meet future opportunities beyond high school.”
Students and guests attend the MMP presentation at Eden
And that generosity goes beyond just the Pilot. “Honda has contributed parts, materials and money and worked with the St. Clair County Board of Education to make this happen,” he said.
Jason Roberts, director of Industry and Workforce Development at St. Clair EDC, was credited with playing a key role in bringing everyone together. He said the partnership is essential to the success of the MMP program and was quick to point out that across the state, all of the major manufacturers, especially the big automotive companies – Honda, Mercedes, Toyota-Mazda and Hyundai – are stepping in to make sure the skillsets they need are being taught.
The donation is a first for Eden and for schools in the region, said Kristen Holder, executive director for Central Six AlabamaWorks. She, along with other officials, like Alabama School Board Member Marie Manning, EDC Director Don Smith and St. Clair Superintendent Justin Burns, attended the event.
“This is such an opportunity for our students,” Burns said. “I knew it would be a good opportunity when you partner with companies like Honda or Unipres, and Eden Career Tech is the perfect next step in the workforce development process. … I know this is just the beginning. Thank you for giving us the opportunity.”
Ashville Library celebrating five decades of service
Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Richard Rybka
When you consider what a public library has to offer residents, the most obvious answer is books.
If, however, you ask Paula Ballard and Gail Walker what the library in Ashville offers their community, they give a completely different answer. The most vital gift it provides, they say, is connection.
The McCain Memorial Public Library in Ashville, formerly known as the Ashville Public Library, turned 50 last month, and Ballard and Walker were among the many who celebrated its five decades of connecting patrons to information, book lovers to adventure and people to people.
“The town of Ashville is surrounded by rural communities, and people do come here to make connections,” said Walker, who lives in Shoal Creek Valley and is on the library’s board of directors.
Children’s reading area
Ballard, who has served as the library’s director for nine years and is only the ninth librarian in its 50-year history, said it’s not unusual for older residents to spend time in the library visiting with each other. “For some, it may be the only time they see other people that day,” she said. Ballard loves watching young mothers connect with each other while their children become friends during story time and other activities.
The library, one of seven in St. Clair County, moved to a new and larger location last year and offers nearly 18,000 items for circulation. In addition to books, there are DVDs, magazines, audiobooks, board games and learning tablets for children. They offer programming for adults as well as children, and many residents who don’t have access to a computer or who have spotty Internet service make use of the facility’s computer stations.
“We fill a lot of needs, so we’re more than just books,” Ballard said, adding that she provides computer assistance every day. “You can’t walk in and apply for a job on paper anymore; you’ve got to do it online. We scan, make copies and fax so people don’t have to drive to Gadsden or Birmingham. We have DVDs because not everyone has reliable streaming. We have people who sit in the parking lot to use Wi-Fi even when we’re closed.”
The first chapter
Although those who worked so hard to make the town’s library a reality in 1973 couldn’t have known the many ways the library would change lives in 2023, chances are good they would be pleased with the impact it makes. After all, their goal from the very beginning was to “improve the environment of our town.”
Members of the Ashville Garden Club got the ball rolling in the summer of 1972, according to a narrative written by Mattie Lou Teague Crow, who served as the Garden Club’s Environmental Improvement Program chair at the time and later became the first librarian. Ballard discovered the narrative in an old scrapbook during last year’s move.
Until then, the “library” consisted of several shelves of books provided by the Alabama Public Library Services, and they were housed in the Town Hall. One employee worked one afternoon a week, checking out books and writing overdue notices. The town clerk was responsible for the books the rest of the time.
“The collection had grown and was crowding the town’s office space,” Crow wrote. “The Garden Club had enjoyed a rewarding experience with our House Pilgrimage in 1972. Our bank account reached an all time high, and we were searching for a worthwhile activity.”
After meeting with the mayor and Town Council, it was eventually determined that the library could be housed in the previous Town Hall building, which had been empty for several years. Before it was over with, members of the community joined forces to make the project a success, and in a bit of foreshadowing, they built connections while they worked together.
According to Crow’s narrative, the town purchased two library tables, a desk, typewriter and filing cabinet, and the Garden Club members “reworked an old desk and chairs given by one of the schools.” They also provided new shelving, magazine racks and a card catalog cabinet. Local civic clubs bought sets of encyclopedias, and the mother of a soldier (James Robert Heard, Jr.) who was killed in Vietnam, donated the flag that was draped on his casket. In addition, local artists displayed their works at the library.
“By the time we were ready for our Open House, the entire town had become involved in our project,” Crow wrote.
Move-in day was Sept. 1, 1973. “The place had been made lovely with soft green walls, wall to wall carpet, new lighting and year-round air conditioning,” Crow added. “In a few days, all was in apple-pie order and the public began using the new library.”
Happily ever after
While that first library served Ashville well for decades, history has a way of repeating itself. In recent years, the library had begun to outgrow its space, parking was limited on the downtown square, and the city owned a building on US 231 that had been empty for a few years.
In addition to city funding, a generous donation from David and Louisa McCain, made in honor of the four generations of McCains who have called Ashville home since 1878, helped bring the project to fruition. The McCain Memorial Public Library opened in April 2022.
In addition to an ever-growing collection of books for adults, teens and children, there are study rooms and a computer lab. A grant from the Alabama Public Library Service, made possible by the Library Services and Technology Act, will allow the library to soon have six new computers for public use, a new staff computer, catalog station, and an iPad station for the children’s area.
Programming has grown, as well, with the library’s multi-purpose room. Larger events, like the annual Father-Daughter Dance fundraiser, are held offsite but having a dedicated space for programs has opened up a world of possibilities, Ballard said.
For adults, there’s a Book Club and weekly exercise classes. A group meets to crochet together twice a month, and adults and teens have enjoyed events like Harry Potter Trivia Night, ceramics classes, a beekeeping program, henna tattoo class and a hair tinsel tutorial.
In addition to weekly story time on Tuesdays at 10:30, children enjoy the summer reading program, which continues to grow in popularity. During the summer, kids enjoyed a variety of activities, including science demonstrations offered by the McWane Center, a visit from a llama, a rock painting activity and reading to dogs as part of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society’s Reading Buddies program. A monthly Lego Club is a big hit, and students’ creations are displayed each month between meetings.
“We’re proud of our new facility and what it enables us to do,” Ballard said. “We wanted this space to be inviting and cozy but look new and fresh. You want people to leave happy and wanting to come back.
Walker and Ballard, both avid readers, hope that children visiting the library today develop the same love for books they’ve enjoyed.
“I’ve always loved books,” Walker said. “My sister and I would each check out the maximum number of books, and then we’d share. It always opened up our imaginations. I think a love of reading is the single most important thing a child can have to be successful. If you can read, you can do anything.”
Ballard’s mother, Susan Kell, was the librarian at Ashville Elementary School for years, so reading has always been a part of her life. “I remember coming to the library all the time in the summers,” she said, adding that she feels fortunate that reading a wide variety of genres is now part of her job. “I read everything from young adult fantasy to psychological thrillers to romantic comedies.”
Knowing that Ballard is now guiding a new generation of readers would likely make Crow – Ballard’s great-aunt – proud. In fact, the words Crow wrote in 1973 still reflect the impact the library continues to have on the community she loved so much.
“Without a doubt, the library has improved the environment of this whole community,” Crow penned. “First it has furnished reading materials for inspiration and information and entertainment to people in every walk of life. It has brought civic groups together in greater harmony and cooperation. It has become one of the leading institutions for our small town, and our citizens are appreciative of the services.”
“Success is based upon a spiritual quality, a power to inspire others.” — Vince Lombardi
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Richard Rybka
Coach Pete Rich is one successful man. He must be; he has a stadium named after him.
The reason for that honor, though, is somewhat of an anomaly. His namesake stadium is home to the Pell City High School Panthers. He never lead his Pell City football team to the most wins of any coach. He did not even serve as head coach the longest. His fame is less about statistics and more about relationships.
His biggest victories are still being realized in the lives of the young men he inspired in his 34 years of coaching high school football. And those former football players, many whom are now retired from successful careers, say Coach Rich was a powerful force in shaping them into the people they are today.
Pell City High School jerseys, jackets and other memorabilia
On a Saturday afternoon, more than 50 former players and coaches gather at the Municipal Building. They’ve come from as far away as California and New Mexico to honor their former coach and mentor on his 88th birthday. Just as they did in the lock room decades ago, the men form a huddle and Coach begins their time together by leading them in prayer.
One of those in the huddle was Alabama State Senator Lance Bell, who played nose guard from 1987 to 1989. Senator Bell read a resolution from the Alabama Legislature honoring Coach Rich for his many years of service to the people of Pell City and the astate of Alabama.
“Coach Rich was like a second father to me. He taught us about discipline and about life,” the senator remembers. He recalled a time that he suffered a significant injury to his knee during a game. “The call from Coach,” he said, “was the first phone call I received checking on me.”
“He was a father figure for all of us,” adds former tight end Leslie Smith. “He is bigger than life. I mean, the man still lifts weights at 88 years old!” Coach Rich has had that weight room at his home since he started coaching Pell City football in 1969. And it has always been open to any of his players.
“Coach truly saved my life,” chimes in Bobby Watson, tight end and linebacker from 1975 to 1978. “He got me into weightlifting when I was 18 years old,” he tells. “That habit saved me later in life, when, in 2014, I suffered a bilateral quad rupture. I was told I’d never walk again.” Watson credits Coach Rich with teaching him the value of strength training through weightlifting. Weightlifting, rehab exercises and sheer determination, he says, helped him to regain his mobility. Not only is he walking again, he is now a strength coach and weight strength coordinator for the Trussville YMCA.
Sammy Brown, played defensive end during the ’74-’75 season and again the next year. He gets emotional talking about Coach. “He was always open to listen. I could go to his house and sit outside with him and when I left, it felt like a huge burden was lifted. He cared so much about others.” When Brown later had a wife and children of his own, he said Coach would often come to his home after his own family Christmas and share in the Brown family celebration.
A hometown boy, Pete Rich grew up in the Avondale Mill Village, played football for Pell City High School, and worked at the mill during the summers. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1957 and immediately started coaching football, baseball and basketball at Jones Valley High School.
He started coaching at Sylacauga High School in 1961, where he stayed for eight years. He returned to Pell City as head coach in 1969. After five years as head coach, Rich stepped down from head coach to spend more time directly with his players as defensive coordinator. Rich retired from coaching in 1991, having served on the coaching staff at Pell City High School for 22 years.
In total, he coached for more than three decades. In that time and since then, he has touched the lives of countless people, who consider him a friend and mentor.
His former players are devoted to him and, when you meet him, it’s easy to see why. When he’s involved in a conversation, he is committed to it. He does treat people as if they are the most special person in that moment. His sense of humor is part of his charm. He’ll often start a story off with “I ought not tell this …” and then chuckle as he tells it.
Former players talking with coach
Coach admits to working his boys hard, but it was second nature to him. “I made sure my kids worked hard. It was just the way I was raised,” he says. “My mama always made sure I worked hard as a kid. I remember coming home from school one day and mama said to get ready because I was about to be picked up to go out and help plow the fields.”
Although he had plenty of opportunities to advance in the world of coaching, he was committed to his community and remained with Pell City High School.
He and his wife, Gwen, raised their two children, Lori (Billingsley) and Brian, in Pell City. “We always had people around the house, either visiting my dad or using the weight room,” says Brian. “It was like Grand Central Station, but it was good. Both Mom and Dad are great. I feel like I won the parent lottery with them!” Brian did play some football and basketball, but tennis turned out to be his best sport.
Former player Jerry Posey was not quite as lucky in his childhood experiences. His dad suffered from alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Coach Rich, he says, was one of the first positive influences in his life. “I was from the housing project, and he was from the mill village,” said Posey. “He treated everyone the same. He was an unbelievable influence for me.”
As the lights come on and fans file into Pete Rich Stadium for Pell City home games this fall, just maybe some will think of the lessons Coach Rich taught. “Nobody’s more special than anybody else,” he said. “I’ve just always tried to make sure everybody felt equally special.”
Immersive outdoor program at Pell City’s Hidden Lake Farms
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Kelsey Bain
The day is cool and crisp. One by one, the cars arrive, children emerge, laughing and greeting each other. This is a group of homeschoolers, and they’ve come to the farm for a field trip.
But, this isn’t a trip to just any farm. This farm is the site of a new nature immersion school, and today, they’ve come to learn from nature at Pell City’s Hidden Lake Farms.
In their half-day visit, they’ve met Ham Solo and Princess Luau, a pair of eight-month-old Kunekune pigs. They’ve learned that while they are yet quite small, they will eventually tip the scales at around 200 pounds each. The students have learned that because of their shorter upturned snouts, this particular breed is not able to root as much as most pigs.
Students hold a delicate egg.
Meeting and learning about the pigs was the best part of the day for five-year-old Vivienne, daughter of Deanna and Jonathan Stanton. “I loved the pigs,” she beamed. “They are cute!” 11-year-old Miller agreed. The son of Frances Gauntt, he was fascinated by the pigs, but also enjoyed learning about the farm’s covey of quail.
“That was pretty cool about the quails,” says Miller.
As farm owner and nature educator, Bethany Milstead, described typical quail behaviors, daughter Allie entered the enclosure to collect eggs. She emerged with a handful of tiny eggs. The miniscule hatchlings, Milstead explained, will only weigh as much as a quarter.
A homeschool mom herself, Milstead knows the value of hands-on experiences in keeping the attention of a mixed-age group of students. She hands out quarters for the children to experience a weight similar to the quail hatchlings. Even the parents are hanging on every word. “I never thought about the babies being so tiny,” comments one adult.
Another child’s voice is heard asking to hold the eggs. The tiny eggs are handed out for the children to hold and observe. “Can you eat them?” asks one student. “Yes, you can,” answers Milstead, “but you have to eat a lot of them because they’re so small.”
The students also learn about beta-casein proteins that relate to the farm’s cows and the milk they produce. They work on a gene distribution and expression exercise called Punnett squares to figure out what types of cows would need to be bred to produce particular proteins in milk.
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.”
~Albert Einstein
Milstead is a firm believer in the strength of learning through experiences in nature. She believes in its value strongly enough that she is opening her nature immersion school in January. The school will be patterned after so-called “forest schools,” which originated in Scandinavia and gained popularity mostly in Germany and the U.K.. Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, forest schools in the U.S. have seen a moderate gain in popularity.
Hidden Lake Farm Nature Immersion School will have space for up to three classes of five- to 10-year-olds. The program runs September through June, with a break in July and August. Classes are three days a week from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be held outside each day beginning and ending at the 54-feet-by-45-feet pavilion.
A recreational vehicle is parked there for kitchen and toilet facilities. Administrators will monitor the weather and shuttle students to Milstead’s nearby home if storms are imminent.
Students will have opportunities to interact with and learn from the activities and animals on the farm. In addition to the pigs and quail, Hidden Lake Farms has horses, donkeys, dairy cows, chickens and turkeys – even a tortoise.
Milstead plans to incorporate the animals and land in her cross-curricular approach to education. Instead of concentrating on math or English at a particular time, she will integrate activities that support learning in multiple disciplines.
“There’s so much research on how important it is to be outside, yet children spend most of their time indoors,” explains Milstead. “There are so many benefits to being outside, including the development of large muscles, heightened immunity and learning opportunities that take advantage of natural curiosity. A nature immersion curriculum empowers children and fosters imagination and confidence.”
Research from Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit which studies childrens’ mental health and education, shows that being outside also supports creative thinking, encourages responsibility, reduces stress and promotes learning by fostering children’s natural sense of wonder.
Fostering that same sense of wonder that enthralled both Vivienne and Miller on that homeschool field trip will be a foundational tenet for teachers and administrators of this new school at Hidden Lake Farms. “We will be right here with the children making note of where their interests are,” adds Milstead. “We will then focus our studies there. We will all carry journals so we can document interests that emerge, and they can journal about what they’ve learned.”
The students will have plenty to journal about as they explore and learn about the animals and plants on the 60-plus acres of land that includes the school and Milstead’s home and farm.
A native of Talladega, she returned to the area to settle down with her husband, Rusty, and her three daughters and one son. From the time they purchased the farm, Milstead has had a vision of one day sharing it with others to help build their love of nature and learning. Ultimately, she hopes, that love of nature will extend to both students and parents. l
Editor’s Note: If you are interested in learning more about getting involved with Hidden Lake Farms Nature Immersion School or in field trips to Hidden Lake Farms, contact Bethany Milstead at hiddenlakefarmpellcity@yahoo.com.
When the doors open to the new Museum of Pell City in early 2023, the journey to that pivotal point cannot be measured in steps or miles but in a vision and outright determination.
“It represents a group of people whose love of history and preservation never wavered along the way despite the twists and turns of the road to get here, and it will be an historic day for our community because of their perseverance,” said Museum President Carol Pappas.
When the ribbon is officially cut, the community will welcome a museum that exceeds the expectations of cities of comparable size. It features the local exhibit from mill town to global marketplace and so many people, places and events in history in between.
Local exhibits from the Smithsonian tour are being adapted for the museum.
The Making of Alabama, the state’s bicentennial exhibit awarded to Museum of Pell City by Alabama Humanities Alliance, showcases Alabama’s 200 years of statehood and beyond. Within that exhibit are artifacts and little-known nuggets of Pell City history weaved into the story that unfolds.
Just like the whistle that sounded the beginning of shifts at Avondale Mills, formerly Pell City Manufacturing, at the turn of the 20th century, the museum will have its own replica of that whistle at the entrance to the exhibit, signifying the start of a new day.
Museum cases, made possible through gifts from citizens, are full of artifacts that bring the stories and photos of Pell City history to life. Hundreds of old photos are accessed on computer tablets for each period of history. A simple swipe across the screen reveals photo after photo of the days that were.
An interior room has been built to house music history, art and sports, and the national impact of Pell Citians on all three.
Another section tells the story of service with organizations and individuals dedicating themselves in public service, military and civic arenas.
The county exhibit that Miss Mays pioneered is featured as well as the places where memories were made – hangouts like the Rexall Drugs, Skad’s, Jill’s and Dairy Queen.
Alabama Power Foundation partnered with the museum on a project to build a working dam model to take visitors behind the scenes of Logan Martin Dam and the impact it had on the region. A $45,000 grant from the Foundation made the stunning exhibit possible as well as other aspects of the museum.
Pell City is no longer a mill town, and the Global Marketplace reflects exactly that – the evolution of Pell City as a player on the world stage in business.
The centerpiece of the museum is a Living History Studio, which will be used to record and produce oral history videos designed to capture recollections of events, people and places in history of the community.
A mobile video team will be dispatched on location for those who cannot travel, and a special project involving veterans of three wars – World War II, Korean and Vietnam – will make use of a partnership between the museum and the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in Pell City.
A control room adjacent to the studio is planned as a working classroom for students to not only develop an appreciation for history through work with these oral histories but to hone skills in video production, audio, lighting, interviewing and research.
Lawley is spearheading the ongoing program. “Since 1968, when my husband, Barnett, brought me to Pell City, I have been enriched by tales of an agricultural area with a Mayberry-paced town where everyone set their watch by the mill whistle. How quickly it began to transform with the damming of a river,” she said. “We are losing the voices that make you smile, laugh, cry or reflect with their wonderful stories. Our goal is to have a living museum; the oral histories will provide that feeling before more are silenced.”
From ‘what if?’ to ‘where and when?’
Museum of Pell City was a vision long before this 4,000-square-foot suite became its home. That vision took many forms. The late Mary Mays, long known as an advocate for historic preservation, spearheaded a movement to place museum cases full of artifacts in the county courthouse in Pell City.
Others worked toward restoring the Mays House in Cropwell. Still others created April Walking Tours of historic downtown Pell City.
Another group brought the Smithsonian and Alabama Humanities Alliance exhibit, The Way We Worked, to Pell City in 2014 at the Center for Education and Performing Arts, CEPA, and created an impressive local history exhibit. That display, melded with the Smithsonian’s exhibition saw more than 7,000 people tour during its three-week stay.
It is widely viewed as the spark, a tipping point that caught fire and convinced a grassroots group that Pell City could indeed have its own museum. “So many people who toured that exhibition approached us about establishing a museum,” said Pam Foote, who served as project director of The Way We Worked. “It was gratifying, yes, but it also represented a huge hill to climb.”
There was no place to house it. How could a single exhibit grow into a museum?
So, Foote and Deanna Lawley, co-chairmen of the 2014 event, along with Pappas asked the city to store it, realizing it could be the nucleus of a museum. For seven years, it remained intact in the basement of the municipal complex while they pushed for a home.
They enlisted Jeremy Gossett, a local businessman with a deep love for history and an extensive background in set and museum design, to bring the vision to life. He had assisted on the design of the 2014 Pell City Works exhibit. “We are so fortunate to have someone of Jeremy’s caliber, talent and creativity working with us,” Pappas said. “His work is truly amazing.”
There was talk of locating it in the long vacant administrative building, the single structure still standing on the Avondale Mills property, and that course was pursued for a few years. After the Pell City Library moved into its new quarters in the municipal complex, that vacant building was seen as a temporary solution on location. The group pursued its prospects as well.
Then, Councilman Jay Jenkins had an idea in 2021, and his ‘what if’ turned into the museum’s home – two floors up from its storage in the municipal complex. The museum occupies a massive suite on the second floor.
“The city has been a terrific supporter of this museum,” Pappas said. “We couldn’t ask for better partners than the mayor, city manager and council. They provided us the space, infrastructure support and best of all, moral support for this project. Without them, we never would have made it this far.”
After the public ceremony officially cutting the ribbon Museum of Pell City, plans call for the museum to be open Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by special appointment for groups.
Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Mackenzie Free
It’s difficult not to notice the white letters E-C-T-C on the giant Adirondack chairs at the corner of U.S. 231 and U.S. 411 in Ashville. Perched on a hill overlooking the county’s only traffic roundabout, the chairs were built by carpentry students at Eden Career Technical Center to bring attention to their school.
Despite such high visibility, the school has been called “a hidden jewel” by its principal, and “the best-kept secret in St. Clair County” by one of its teachers. Neither knows why that’s true, but it’s something they both want to see changed.
“People don’t realize the opportunities we provide to learn skills that turn into jobs that they can make careers out of,” says Trisha Turner, career tech director for St. Clair County Schools and principal at ECTC since 2018.
Part of the county school system, ECTC is celebrating its 50th anniversary during this entire school year. It was named after its first principal, John Pope Eden, who lobbied for a vocational school for five years. Pope died in November of 1972, nine months before the school opened at the Ashville Armory in August of 1973 and 14 months before it moved to its permanent campus in January 1974. The school was officially dedicated to his honor in February 1975.
Getting ready to weld.
The tech school started with 360 students and four programs — cosmetology, masonry, plumbing and electricity — which are no longer offered. Courses have evolved through the years due to demand in the world of trades and technology. Today, enrollment is at 315.
“When school started in August of 1973, we went to the Armory in Ashville,” says Dorothy “Sis” Wilson, 80, who retired this past May after driving St. Clair County school buses for 55 years, including 50 for ECTC. “That’s where we started the vocational and trade school. Then we hauled kids to help build the new school, and that’s the reason the office, horticulture and air conditioner (HVAC) programs are in brick buildings. (The others are made of metal.) When we got out for Christmas holidays, Mr. Griffin (Thomas L.), principal, said when y’all come back in January come to the (new) vocational school. There are no brick masons there now, but they had one (study program) there for a while.”
Those first three brick buildings were completed and furnished for $500,000, with 70% of that amount coming from Appalachian Funds, 30% from local monies, including a $20,000 grant from the St. Clair County Commission, according to a Birmingham News article from the early 1970s. When Eden began dreaming about a trade and technical school, only 12% of the county’s high school graduates attended college, the article states. Only vocational agriculture (vo-ag) and home economics were offered to the other 88% at the high schools.
County schools now offer 14 different technical programs, according to Trisha Turner, career technical director for St. Clair County Schools and principal of ECTC. “Eleven are located here,” she says. “Agricultural Science and Family & Consumer Science programs are offered at each of the five high schools. JROTC is offered at St. Clair County High, Culinary is located on the Moody High School campus, and there is a business program at Moody, too.”
Programs on the ECTC campus include HVAC (heating and air), welding, carpentry, drafting, business information technology, information technology (IT), collision repair, automotive service, health science, plant & animal science, and emergency and fire management services. JROTC is located at St Clair County High School. The latter is not a military preparation course, but a program that promotes ethics, leadership and respect for business and industry, according to Turner, who calls business and industry “the driving force behind careers in tech programs.”
To attend ECTC, a student must be in the 10th-12th grades and enrolled in a high school in the St. Clair County School System. Students are on campus at ECTC for half a school day and at their high school the other half. They are bused back and forth by drivers employed by the county school system. The courses are considered elective high school classes, but they earn credentials and certifications that enable students to get paying jobs in their fields.
“Virtual or online high school students enrolled in the county’s Virtual Preparation Academy can choose to come here for a program or two with their own transportation or take a bus from their school, if they can get to their school,” Turner says.
Career Coach Christina Puckett says the goal at ECTC is for the students to be career-ready when they graduate. “We also offer dual enrollment in two areas,” she says. “We are paired with Gadsden State for automotive and drafting and with Jefferson State for welding and for child development. In other words, the students can get college credits here for these courses.”
The automotive service program includes everything about car maintenance and repairs, from engines to tires. The collision repair program trains students to repair damage and to refinish vehicles. “The need for automotive service technicians is growing rapidly as people continue to keep their vehicles in operation longer than ever before,” a brochure about the school states.
The ECTC campus now has six buildings, with two classes held in most of them. A seventh may be forthcoming if tentative plans to build a culinary building come to fruition. “Right now, the old Moody High School’s lunchroom, which was converted to accommodate the program, is being used,” Turner says. “Chef Melissa Allphin is in charge and her kids always win in state competitions.”
Most people don’t realize they can have something built by the school’s carpentry students, like a shooting house or a tiny house, for a price. “Our xarpentry program also covers a little electrical, plumbing and masonry. HVAC covers a little bit of electrical work, too,” Turner says. “Kevin Self heads our HVAC program, and he just got some equipment that will allow them to cut ductwork. He’s passionate about getting skilled workers because he sees the need in the HVAC company he owns.”
Self is one of four teachers at the school who are graduates of ECTC, according to Sis Wilson. The others include Marcus Graves, carpentry; Jeff Parrish, emergency & fire management services; and Roger Peace, collision repair, who got the same job his father retired from several years ago.
Medical training is in high demand.
“We’re the best-kept secret in St. Clair County,” says Jeff Parrish, who started his career with ECTC night classes and began teaching there when he retired from 25 years with Pell City Fire and Rescue.
“I don’t know why” it should remain a secret, he says. Its merits are being discovered. Three state troopers visited his program recently looking for future recruits. “One trooper was from the State Bureau of Investigation, one from aviation (helicopter & fixed-wing division of state troopers) and the other was a trooper recruiter. They were pitching jobs. The Air Force visits our classes, too.”
The Health Science program, taught by Deanna Hartley, RN, and Amy Stephan, a nurse practitioner, trains students for their EKG (electrocardiogram) and CNA (certified nursing assistant) certifications and their BLS (Basic Life Support) instructor licenses.
“They can become monitor technicians for hospitals and can conduct stress tests, too,” says Turner. “They actually get practical experience that helps them decide what they really want to be. For example, some of them work in nursing homes and some decide that’s not for them. This saves the parents money on education, because kids sometimes change their minds about their careers after they’ve finished college or a trade school.”
Another feature that helps kids decide on a career is ECTC’s Summer Camp for students in sixth through eighth grades. Camp takes place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., for three days during Memorial Day week. Parents interested in enrolling their children may call the school at 205-594-2070.
The business information technology program is for students who want to pursue careers in business administration and management, whereas the Information Technology program is for those interested in careers involving information technology security, network analysis, planning and implementation, according to the ECTC brochure.
Noah Duke, a senior at St. Clair CountyHigh School who is enrolled in the IT program, was one of the guides explaining robotics to visitors at the school’s open house in the fall. “We participate in the BEST Robotics competition,” he says, noting that BEST stands for “Boosting Engineering Science and Technology.
Sponsored by Shelton State Community College, the multi-level competition has a different theme each year but always involves building a robot. “This year’s theme is Made2Order,” Duke says. His team built a long, wooden conveyor that the remote-controlled robot rolled on. As it moved, it picked up items and loaded them into a cart. Each team got one point for each item the robot successfully loaded, and the team with the most points won. ECTC’s team placed seventh out of 14 at the first level in Tuscaloosa in October.
“We are in the process of trying to begin a modern manufacturing program on campus, pending approval by the St. Clair County Board of Education,” Turner says. “If approved, it will be a partnership with the Alabama Region 4 Workforce, also known as the Central 6.”
The program will cater to the Honda plant in Lincoln and all the periphery manufacturing plants that supply it, and to the Mercedes plant near Tuscaloosa. “The state is divided into workforce regions, and we’re in Region 4, also known as Central 6 because it includes the six counties in the center of the state,” Turner says. “The goal is for every region to have a modern manufacturing program. We’re working with others in our region to develop this program. We hope to start it next school year.”
Career-oriented night classes for adults may be a part of the school’s future next year, too. Turner says they are applying for a grant that will provide for 12-week courses to train people to earn certificates and get jobs in welding, carpentry and HVAC systems. “The grant would enable us to provide courses for free, but some of my teachers want to start it and let people or their employers pay for it,” Turner says.
Joe Whitten, a local historian, was a friend of the school’s namesake. He says all who knew “Pope” were greatly saddened that he did not live to see his dream come true. “The reality of his dream has flourished through the years,” Whitten says. “I know if he could see it today, he would be joyful that he did not fight and labor in vain for a vocational school for the students of St Clair County.”
