GO-KOT

Building the bed you can take anywhere

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzie Free

Two large pallets sit shrink-wrapped and ready to go on the loading dock, just waiting for pickup. Dozens of similar shipments have started their treks from this location already this year.

From the simple facade in Ashville, you’d never know that within its walls is produced a product sought after by the military, by campers, by other countries and by your own neighbors. Owned and managed by two military veterans, the company, GO-KOT®, produces a foldable and packable cot and does it all in St. Clair County.

Mike and Teresa Downing bought the 43-year-old company in 2017 from O’Neal Behel and Pete Smith, who were operating it in Jasper. Several other buyers were interested but wanted to take the operation overseas. Behel and Smith were passionate about selling to someone who was committed to keeping the operation in Alabama. Equally committed to keep the product “Made in America,” the Downings bought the company, operated it in Springville, then moved it to Ashville just over a year ago.

Mike Downing demonstrates the gear.

American-made is also the reason they sell to their biggest domestic client, the U.S. military. “We are the only Berry-compliant, low-profile cot on the market,” explains Teresa. The Berry Amendment is a federal requirement that items purchased by the Department of Defense give preference to domestic companies who grow, produce and/or manufacture products in the United States. The cot’s fabric, aluminum, steel and hinges are all domestically made. “Everything about it is made right here in the USA. We’re very proud of that,” says Mike.

The fabric, an extremely durable Cordura brand 1,000 Denier, comes in 50-yard rolls, each weighing about 65 pounds. The frame is made of aluminum, and legs are steel. Both of those elements are shipped in. “Shout out to the best UPS driver out there, Tina Hopper,” Mike says enthusiastically. “She works hard for us.”

Their facility is capable of shipping out 4,000 cots a year, a modest number by major chain standards, but a challenge for a “boutique” local company. “Our competitors are big companies. They have lots of products. We have one product that we make really well,” Mike adds. “The big companies have massive budgets. And they don’t make it locally.

“The biggest challenge in current times is, predictably, shipping. Lead times for materials they need for production has more than tripled in the past year. “What used to take us 6-8 weeks can now take 6-8 months,” Teresa explains. “That means we have to order it way before we need it. That’s not typically good for a business plan.”

The pandemic has also caused some staffing issues. They have a small staff of mostly family and friends. One of their employees on the sewing line is a working mom who struggles with being able to work amid COVID-related school closings and exposures.

Greg Burckhard at the cutting table

Two days a week the Downings have help with the business, but both work hands-on with their product – Teresa on the sewing line and Mike in the metal shop. On those days, after the fabric is marked and cut, the leg holes are stamped out by a huge hydraulic press. Each of the four sewing stations completes a specific task in finishing the fabric and carrying bag.

Meanwhile, in the metal shop, aluminum tubes are being cut and hinged, and the steel legs are bent into the cot’s signature pattern. As the fabric and frames are finished, they are sent to the packing station to be assembled.

The company’s beginnings can be traced back to Pete Smith’s work with a Boy Scout troop. The boys needed cots, so Smith experimented with a product and began making them. The youths and leaders loved the cots, and subsequently the business took off.

Still, quality remained a foundational tenet for the company. When someone complained that the cot squeaked, founder Smith developed a technique to stop the squeak. It’s a technique that is still followed today. Each of the frames is assembled and rubbed end to end with a bar of soap prior to putting the fabric on. “He was such a perfectionist. He took any little comment he ever got and figured out how to make it better,” says Mike. “We don’t get returns. And we have a great product and a great warranty.”

Campers love the cot to get them up off the ground. It’s warmer and more comfortable. But it doesn’t stop at camping. “People also buy them for use at home,” says Teresa. “When my son was still at home, he’d have six or seven friends over, and we used the cots for extra sleeping.” Mike even says he sleeps on one occasionally to help his back.

Son, Gabriel, may be using the cots more in the future, since he’s a military man himself. A 2018 graduate of Moody High School, the 22-year-old is now a junior at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Gabriel is at least partially responsible for their involvement in the GO-KOT® business. “I owned a small boutique in Springville when Gabriel was in 8th grade. We just didn’t have any time to spend together,” explains Teresa. So, she decided to close the boutique and the couple got into the military supply procurement business, sourcing items for the government. They discovered GO-KOT® products in the process and contacted one of the owners about becoming a distributor for him.

He declined because he didn’t want to create a bigger need than he could fulfill locally. The 80-year-old Smith did, however, offer to sell it to them. They spent several months being mentored by him and learning the business. “I didn’t even know how to operate a sewing machine,” says Teresa. “The extent of my sewing skills was putting back on the occasional button.”

Mike and Teresa are quiet, unassuming people. They met when they were both in the Air Force. After tours in Germany, Georgia, Mississippi, Iowa and Ohio, they retired at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Now they’re working more than full time and say they are inspired by the opportunities their business success has afforded them in missions. They’ve taken several mission trips to Bulgaria, but their favorite mission is a local one. They produce a specialized cot for a homeless mission in Birmingham called “Ethan’s Heart.”

Mike and Teresa Downing

Teresa explains how she saw the story about Ethan Hill on the news and knew they had to help. “He’s a really good person,” she comments on Ethan. “He was just six years old and met a homeless man, used his own Christmas money that first year to buy things to help him and others.”

The couple invited Ethan to come to their operation and decided to support him in his effort to help the homeless. The specialized cots are printed with the words “Jesus loves me, this I know,” a message they hope will be encouraging to those who have found themselves in difficult times.

“Our thought process is that people who don’t have a place to sleep, (those words are) the last thing they see before they close their eyes,” Teresa adds. Since their meeting, the Downings and GO-KOT® have provided about 25 of these cots for Ethan’s mission each year. Ethan trains the recipients on the 60-second set-up procedure before he gives them to each person.

“They’re super fast to put together,” says Mike, demonstrating as he talks. He opens the bag, pulls out the cot and unfolds it. Then he pops the legs into holes in the frame and flips it over. It’s ready to use in seconds.

The cots come in two sizes and several colors. The standard cot is 74-inches long and sells for $189. The premium cot is 84-inches long and sells for $209. Cot accessories, like end kits (to keep sleeping pads in place) and side bags for cellphones and flashlights are also available.

They recently added a dog bed that is two-thirds the length of the standard cot. Go to campingcot.com for more information or to order. Teresa also invites locals to call (205) 384-4134 if they would like to purchase a cot.

For the local bargain hunter, they sell products with slight imperfections at a 25% discount.

The two pallets on the loading dock are headed to Japan, one of GO-KOT’s biggest markets. “They love things that are made in America,” explains Mike. “The Asian market is extremely big for us, so much so that we have three distributors there.”

Mike adds, “The shipping rates are good here, though, because of being in such an accessible location near Interstate 20.”

The Downings also credit the St. Clair County Economic Development Council with being helpful and accessible. “You can talk to an actual person to get help and answers,” says Mike. “It’s our life and our business. People tell you it’s just business. Don’t take it personally. But for us, as involved as we are, it’s very personal.”

Even as all-consuming as the business is, they see themselves continuing for years to come.

Ethan’s Heart and GO-KOT on a mission together

By Roxann Edsall
Submitted photos

Ethan Hill and his nonprofit Ethan’s Heart-Bags4Blessings handed out special editions of the GO-KOT® to some of Birmingham’s homeless population in December at the city’s Linn Park. 

Along with the cots, more than 200 Winter Survival duffel bags were given to those for whom the cold is more than just an inconvenience. These bags included food and non-food items donated to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit group through corporate sponsors, a GoFundMe page and an Amazon Wish List. Non-food items included sleeping bags, washcloths, hand warmers, raincoats and thermal blankets. 

At just six years old, Ethan was moved by his concerns for a homeless man he kept seeing under the freeway. “He wanted to know what was going to happen to him when it got cold,” said mom Ebony Hill. He was so deeply concerned that he asked to use his Christmas money that year to purchase supplies for “Mr. Marcus” and other homeless people living under the freeway in Birmingham. 

In the five years since its inception, the nonprofit has grown so much that the young philanthropist is frequently asked to speak on behalf of the homeless and holds fundraisers throughout the year to raise money and supplies for the next giveaway event.

Editor’s note: For more information or to donate to this continuing mission, go to ethansheartbham.org.

Retail bonanza for Pell City

Vacant hospital land sees
new life as shopping center

Story by Carol Pappas
Staff and submitted photos

In the 1970s, this land gave way to a new, three-story hospital for St. Clair County in Pell City. In the 1980s to accommodate this quickly growing city, a fourth floor was added. Ten years ago, the hospital saw its last patient moved to its new state-of-the-art hospital across Interstate 20 – again to accommodate the growth of a thriving city.

An abandoned building stood dormant for years then was demolished to once again make way for growth, this time in retail.

For five years, local developer Bill Ellison had been recruiting national retail brands, like Hobby Lobby and T.J.Maxx, to various properties around Interstate 20, but it wasn’t until McSweeney Automotive cleared trees on its development at the corner of I-20 and U.S. 231 that he saw the ideal spot. An unobstructed view left by clearing the trees revealed the old hospital property – visible from U.S. 231 and I-20. “That day, I saw the opportunity,” Ellison said. “That’s it!,” he told himself.

That act of clearing the land led to making it the perfect location for the retailers he was after and more. He approached county officials with the idea that it would be the perfect spot for retail development. It had all the right essentials of Interstate 20 frontage, plenty of acreage and the key – access and visibility from the interstate and U.S 231.

The St. Clair County Commission, which owned the property at the time, gave Ellison options on the land. Later, the City of Pell City assumed ownership of the property. Knowing the kind of retail the city and county needed, Ellison recruited a national commercial development company with a proven track record for this type of development.

Ellison had been making calls on the national retailers, but he was a local developer without the national relationships he needed to swing the deal, he said. He learned of the reputation of key executives of a development company that had those national ties, and he met them at a national shopping center conference in Las Vegas.

Those executives, now with Noon Development based out of Chattanooga, Tenn., began marketing the property, and in recent weeks, officials in Pell City announced the first two confirmed tenants with others to come.

Noon developed the Trojan Marketplace in Troy, where Hobby Lobby and T.J.Maxx are the anchor tenants along with Ulta Beauty, Five Below and Rackroom Shoes. 

Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but not deterred, the Pell City development is now becoming a reality. Officials announced Hobby Lobby and T.J.Maxx as anchor tenants on the 19-acre tract with more news on the way about other household name tenants committing to set up shop there.

“The two anchor tenants are confirmed,” said Pell City Manager Brian Muenger. While others have not yet confirmed, Muenger said other tenants frequently locate with anchor tenants and are “proven, name brands. We are very happy to see them committed to it.”

Muenger pointed out that there are four outparcels in addition to the 135,000-square-foot retail complex. The one closest to the interstate has been reserved for a restaurant. In the agreement with the city during adoption of tax abatement incentives, the city will provide the land for a national, sit-down restaurant provided the developers locate one there within two years. If not, it reverts back to the city. “Rather than simply filling the space, we specifically said a national restaurant has to be part of the development.”

For years, citizens have been asking for amenities that would improve the quality of life in the city – more upscale restaurants and quality retail. “The developers are confident they can deliver on that agreement,” Muenger said.

To further ensure the city gets the kind of development its population wants, there was a pre-approved list of retailers.

The “gap” going unfilled for the city, Muenger said, has been soft goods and a sit-down restaurant.

The city has solidified its opportunities by partnering with the St. Clair County Commission as well. All involved see it as a “game changer” for the region.

The city is filing a petition to validate the project with the court, which will review the development agreement to ensure it complies with state law. Once approved, “that’s when work will begin,” Muenger said. Groundbreaking is expected later this year – mid-2022. As a comparison, the Trojan Marketplace broke ground in December 2019. It opened in May 2021.

There is grading work to be done at the U.S. 231 intersection and clearing more trees at the interstate.

“We’re excited about it,” Muenger added. “This is the highest and best use of this property. It will establish Pell City as a viable shopping destination, keeping dollars in the community that frequently were spent somewhere else.”

Ellison agreed. “There is a natural progression in commercial development in a community. Brands follow brands. In the future, any retailers that looks to expand in St. Clair County, they’re going to look at Pell City first. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and it keeps local tax dollars at home to do some good in the community – providing funding for schools, infrastructure and a better place to live.”

The development, Ellison noted, “greatly expands our shopping trade area. People who would not ordinarily shop here will come here. While they’re shopping at the new stores, they’ll shop at existing stores, too. It’s a win-win for everybody. It makes us a stronger economic hub than ever before, building on our already firm position in the region,” Ellison said.

“This property has been a tremendous partnership between the city and county commission,” said Commission Chairman Paul Manning. “It began with us working together to construct a top-rated, new hospital but then continued with the redevelopment of the hospital’s old site.” 

Officials project the investment will generate more than $30 million in tax revenue over 20 years – $11 million of which is allocated to schools – and create a significant number of jobs. “This project will be good for the City of Pell City, the County Commission, and all of our citizens,” Manning said. “This project will provide both job and shopping opportunities that will help keep our families shopping local and attract more shoppers from outside of the county.”

St. Clair Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith echoed the essence of the development’s potential impact and talked of the partnership that helped bring it about. “The County Commission and Pell City have a long history of successfully working together on transformational projects. This project was no exception and would have been impossible without both entities supporting one another.”

Springville Is Booming

Emphasis on ‘good growth’

Story by Linda Long
Photos by Graham Hadley

“Growing like gangbusters!” That’s how Springville Mayor Dave Thomas describes what’s going on in his town.

To those who think of Springville as the quintessential small, quaint, Southern town with sidewalks and antique shops lining Main Street, that might seem a contradictory remark. But to quote Bob Dylan, “the times, they are a-changin.”

“The antiques have given way to boutiques,” said Thomas. “A portion of our population wants Springville to never change, but I’m afraid that’s not reality. We’re going to continue to grow. So, the best we can do is to properly plan and manage the growth. We just need to do what it is we want to do and can do with our community, and what we don’t want to do is just as important,” he said.

Pink Hill Organics

“It’s quite a juggling act. Sometimes, it feels like your juggling chain saws,” Thomas said with a laugh.

Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council, understands the mayor’s challenge. “Springville is not the largest city in St. Clair County, but that’s not their goal. Springville is focused on quality over quantity. It may mean they grow slower, but the growth they have brings tremendous value to the community.”

While Springville is not the largest of all the municipalities in St. Clair County, it does have the highest median household income in the county of almost $84,000, and the homes are probably among the most expensive.

“Their median household income is the same as Homewood even though Homewood is about five times larger,” Smith noted.

Calling it Springville’s vision for its community, Smith said, “they have always put their money and their efforts toward supporting small business and focusing on quality of life, safety and supporting their schools. Folks that live there in Springville take tremendous pride in making their community the best it can be,” Smith asserted, “and they are well on their way.”

“Personally, I think Springville is a hidden jewel in the region,” said Nikkie Posey, president of the Springville Chamber of Commerce. “As a community, it is very welcoming, and there are affordable options for shopping, living and visiting here. There is a great vibe in the city right now for small business with a lot of community following, which is one reason I opened my business downtown in Springville and got so involved with the Chamber.”

Springville Antique Mall is full of amazing antiques and collectables.

Posey, owner of Pinkhill Organics said she named her shop for the town’s original name, Pinkhill. “Nobody knows where the name came from,” said Posey. Because of many other businesses already using the word spring in their names, she opted for something different.

“So, I did some research and discovered Pinkhill and just ran with it,” she said. “Springville is becoming a place to come to stay, shop, to live,” said Posey. “People want that small-town feel that, as a community, we feel we have. As a community, that is something we want to maintain. We want to have good growth – controlled growth – without losing that small, hometown feel.”

According to Smith, in looking at new businesses or projects for Springville, “we always want a good fit. Many times, projects by residential developers have been turned away because they didn’t want to build the quality development that city officials wanted.”

The mayor remembers one such proposed development. “This young man, actually homegrown, wanted to do something in his community. He wanted to build, in his words, ‘high density, affordable housing.’ These would be on tiny lots just packed. I told him your business is not mine. My business is what’s good in Springville.”

Continuing, Thomas said, “I like to see opportunities available to locals, not just corporate chains, big box stores, and developers who are interested in nothing more than making their money and moving on to the next project.”

One project it seems almost everyone can agree is good for Springville is the Forever Wild Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve set to open just north of town. According to Smith, the preserve “checks all the boxes on what is a good fit for Springville. It will have walking trails, biking trails, horseback riding, kayaking and canoeing in Big Canoe Creek and will allow people in Springville and outside the area to come and enjoy outdoor activities.

According to Thomas, a lot of folks in Springville are concerned at how neighboring Trussville has, in his words, “continued to explode” in growth over the years with strip malls and more and more subdivisions.

“Now, I’m not knocking Trussville,” he said, “but we don’t want to be them. We want to continue to be Springville. Of course, we’d like to get more storefronts filled, and we’re working on that. Things are happening in that regard.”

He points with pride to a new restaurant similar to Vestavia’s successful Backyard Market that will be opening, as well as a new bottling operation. “It’s from the same folks who bottled the water at Blount Springs. Now they’ll be doing the same thing with Springville water,” said Thomas.

Nichols Nook

He said the group already has a contract with Publix to develop local label products to put on their shelves. “They’ll be using Springville’s finest bottled water as a marketing hook.”

Promoting small business throughout St. Clair County falls to EDC Retail and Marketing Specialist Candice Hill. Toward that goal, Hill is working with chambers of commerce with what she calls Relevant Roundtables.

“We hold these every quarter as a way to touch small businesses and provide educational opportunities,” she explained. The meetings cover topics like social media and accounting practices among others. Hill said the resource is for all small business whether they are continuing to grow or just starting up.

Remembering back to when he first moved to Springville some 30 years ago, Thomas said, “Springville was lined with antique stores. The town had a Norman Rockwell-esque feel to it. Well, the antique stores are mostly gone, but what makes downtown appealing hasn’t changed. It hasn’t gone anywhere. The essence is still here. Everybody shares the same sentiment. Springville really is exceptional.”

Architectural rendering of the Depot

The Depot construction begins

Another sign of Springville growth

Story by Linda Long
Photos by Graham Hadley and submitted

There’s yet another sign of ‘good growth’ in Springville these days. The Depot, a facility now under construction in Springville, gives new meaning to the term multi-use. The first two phases of the 60,000-square-foot project on 20.43 acres on U.S. 11 will open next fall. The complex is planning space for just about everything – from physical fitness and education to arts and worship.

Mike Ennis, pastor at Faith Community Fellowship Springville Campus, says the project has been under way for the past four years. “It started with the opening of our church campus here in Springville and realizing the community was very centered around athletics. It was birthed out of some of the challenges facing Alabama.”

Because Alabama ranks low nationally in economics and health, “We felt like rather than building a church, we’d rather build a community center. Something the entire community could use. Something that would hopefully improve both the economics and health of our community and provide athletic opportunities.

Explaining that the center is “not just for young people and not just people who are a part of our church, we really wanted to build something that would serve the community at large. That’s been the driving factor behind it from the beginning.”

The Depot includes a community café and catering kitchen, multipurpose areas, conference rooms, coworking spaces, a teen center and independent living.

The center also includes an auditorium which the church will use, Ennis says, but his church won’t own the building. It will be a tenant. “We realized to make a decent impact and provide the most opportunity, we needed to hand it off to a property management group,” he said.

Surgance, Inc., 501(c)(3) nonprofit group, is overseeing and managing the project.

Ennis, who served on Springville’s strategic planning committee, said the committee decided Springville needed a facility like this one, which will include two auditoriums, banquet and meeting rooms, school grades K-8 and a preschool called Esteem Academy. Surgance is also partnering with the St. Clair County Board of Education, providing space for its virtual academy.

Representatives of regional, state and national organizations have been involved with the childcare and education committees to help with planning. It will include early childhood education, virtual school, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) Academy.

“There’s really nothing like it on this end of the county,” said Ennis. “We’re hoping to reach out to Springville and beyond. We’ve had a super positive response from everybody we talk to. I think there’s a real need for something like this.”

Phase I of the project is a 10,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be completed by June 2022.

Grave Dowsing

Finding where the bones are buried

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

About 50 people gathered inside Reeves Grove Baptist Church on a fall Saturday, listening attentively as The Backwood Boys sang Ain’t No Grave (Gonna Hold This Body Down), Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and other old spirituals.

They heard a brief history of the church and received apples from the apron pockets of several women dressed in the fashion of the late 1800s, when the church was established.

But the main attraction was outside, after these presentations, when two grave dowsers approached the old church cemetery, dowsing rods made of wire in their hands. Dowsing has been used for centuries to locate water, graves, pipelines and other underground objects by watching the motion of a pointer – usually a forked stick or paired bent wire. At Reeves Grove, the group was locating graves as part of its ongoing restoration project at the historic church.

Backwood Boys Mark Willingham, Marlin Galloway and Adron Willingham play at grave dowsing event.

It didn’t take long for Wayne Gregg’s rods to cross, indicating a grave. According to the marker, that grave belonged to Elizabeth McCorkle, wife of the original owner of the McCorkle Plantation upon which Reeves Grove now stands. Something wasn’t quite right, though. The markers weren’t where they were supposed to be. His rods indicated the presence of a second body that wasn’t represented on the grave marker. “We think it might have been Elizabeth’s husband,” says Linda Moyer, chairperson of the Reeves Grove Historical Committee.

The group soon moved on to the slave section of the cemetery, where the graves have no stones. The committee wants to mark those graves and give the folks buried there the recognition they are due, even if their names are unknown.

Gregg, who is from DeKalb County, wasn’t the first dowser to notice the anomaly of an extra person in a grave, however. “I went up there one afternoon with some members a week before they had the official event,” says Frank Waid, a Springville grave dowser who studied under Gregg. “We laid out the McCorkle Cemetery and marked a bunch of graves with flags. (Moyer says they put ribbons on the graves of the church founders.) One kept giving all kinds of problems. I was getting readings of male and female bodies. I said, ‘Something’s wrong here. I think there’s two people in this grave, but I’m not sure, because I’m not as experienced as Wayne Gregg.’ So, when they had the special day and demonstrated dowsing for the people, Wayne started walking in the spot where I had been walking and said, ‘There are two people buried here!’”

The dowsing event was another effort to raise awareness and money for the restoration of the original church building. The church historical committee is restoring the sanctuary and its attached fellowship hall to be used as an event venue.

But restoration wasn’t uppermost in the minds of those in attendance on dowsing day. People were so interested in Gregg’s presentation on grave dowsing that their questions and his answers pushed his allotted 30-45 minutes on the program to an hour. “They were fascinated,” says Moyer. “They also enjoyed Macki Branham’s brief history of the church and Glenda Tucker showing off a fashionable dress from the McCorkle era.” The dress was once worn by Eliza Elizabeth (Moore) Keith, (December 16, 1827-January 8, 1891), the great-great-grandmother of Glenda’s husband, Harry Tucker.

The Backwood Boys – Gallant musicians Adron and Mark Willingham on guitars, Marlin Galloway on mandolin – continued to play as the audience filed outside behind Gregg and Waid for the actual grave dowsing. Gregg narrated while Waid demonstrated dowsing techniques.

“I use two wires I got from Wayne,” Waid says. “If they cross high, it’s a female; if low, it’s a male. Lots of times (during the 1800s) women died in childbirth and they buried mom with her baby on her chest. Wayne can tell that, but I don’t have that experience yet.”

Waid noticed that all the graves in the slave section were small and wondered whether they might be buried in a fetal position. “They wouldn’t have had the resources for caskets, so they probably wrapped the bodies in blankets,” he said. “Most of these slaves came from South Carolina, and they were Caribbean slaves, so some of their beliefs determined how they were buried.”

Waid took a grave-dowsing class from Gregg about three years ago at his wife’s urging. She is a member of area historical and genealogical societies and thought grave dowsing might add depth (no pun intended) to that type of research.

“He gave a long, interesting class that morning, we had lunch, then went to an old cemetery,” Waid says. “We started practicing dowsing. Somehow it seemed to work for myself and Joseph Williams, also from Springville and part of the Springville Preservation Society. It was amazing! There were some people there who couldn’t get the hang of it, or it didn’t work for them, but for Joseph and me and one other lady, it did.”

In a self-published booklet titled, Dowsing for Fun and Profit, Gregg writes, “In Peru, a rock carving more than 9,000 years old depicts a man holding a forked dowsing stick,” he writes. Modern dowsing begins to appear in records around the 15th century in Europe.

Members of the Reeves Grove Historical Committee placed white ribbons on the graves of the church’s founders.

Although most scientists are skeptics, Gregg says dowsing has been proven many times. “I recently read a German government 10-year report recorded by a physicist at the University of Munich,” he says in his booklet, which he published several years ago. “He described how dowsing was used to locate water sources in arid regions of Sri Lanka, Zaire, Kenya, Namibia, Yemen and other countries. The success rates by dowsers in 691 drillings was an amazing 96%, where a success rate of only 30% would be expected from conventional techniques.”

Gregg got interested in dowsing when he went to work for Southern Bell telephone company in 1963. “The older guys who repaired underground cables taught me,” he says. “We didn’t have the modern devices we have now.”

Although dowsing is sometimes related to spirituality and witchcraft, Gregg says he doesn’t have any special powers, nor is he gifted in any way. It has nothing to do with witchcraft, because “it works for the majority of those who try it, and I know we are not all witches.” At times he has thought he discovered what makes it work, such as disturbance of the earth’s energy fields, only to find it was not true, particularly when it comes to determining the gender of a person in a grave. “Albert Einstein referred to dowsing as quantum physics, yet unexplained,” he says.

Still, people for whom the stick worked were called “water witches” by our ancestors, who hired them to locate underground water. “Rods work for a large percentage of first timers,” Gregg says. “Forked sticks work for only a very small percentage.”

For grave dowsing, he uses wire rods, which can be made of any stiff wire. The most common are coat hangers. The rods are made by bending the wire into an “L” shape, with the handle being the length of the dowser’s hand and the long part extending in front of him for 12-18 inches. “Rods will work for a large percentage of those who try for the first time,” he writes in his booklet. “They will never work for some, no matter how hard they try. Excessive jewelry, cellphones and other items worn on the body will sometimes make a difference.”

In his booklet, he explains how to hold the rods (elbows at waist, forearms parallel to the ground). He cautions NOT to place one’s thumbs over the bend of the handle, as this will restrict movement. Don’t grip too tightly, he cautions, only enough to keep the rods parallel. Approach the gravesite walking very slowly. “The rods will cross in front of you when you are over the grave. Once you step off the grave, they will uncross.”

He says the rods will respond the same to any burial, including stillborn infants through adults, even animals. “It makes no difference if the body was buried wrapped only in cloth, in a wood or metal coffin, or a coffin inside a vault,” he writes. “The age of the grave makes no difference. It can be recent or hundreds of years old.”

He says in order to more easily find unmarked graves and determine gender, it’s important to remember that most cemeteries in the United States bury their dead in a Christian manner. Their bodies are laid on their backs with their heads pointing west and their feet pointing east, as if they’re looking east for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

“You will discover that unmarked graves in an established cemetery will be buried in the same rows as marked graves,” he writes. “In a cemetery with no markers, it will be necessary to determine east and west directions to know the position of graves. Locate unmarked graves by walking slowly across the area you suspect. If graves are present your rods will cross and uncross as you move from one grave to the next.” Above all, he says, practice, practice, practice to get good at dowsing.

At 80 years of age, Gregg doesn’t dowse as much as he used to. He doesn’t have plans to conduct another workshop, either, but his booklet, which also discusses dowsing for water pipes and buried cables, is available, along with two wire dowsing rods, for $10.

Several folks at the Reeves Grove dowsing event bought the package, and just about everyone came away with a new perspective on the subject.

“Through the years, the McCorkle property gradually got sold bit by bit to various people, and we found out the day of the dowsing event that the original cemetery probably extends into what is now the Fant property,” Moyer said. “Now we know where the graves actually are in the old slave section.”

Editor’s note: For more about the restoration project, go to discoverstclair.com/back-issues and scroll down to April 2019, page 42.

Call Gregg at 256-706-3262 for information on how to obtain the booklet and rod set.

Eric Bell: Auburn’s No. 1 fan

By Carol Pappas

For the Bell family and all who know them, it’s nearly impossible to think of the Auburn-Alabama rivalry without mentioning Jimmy and Yvonne’s late son, Eric.

Born with Down syndrome, Eric grew into arguably the biggest Auburn fan around. His Uncle Mack said, “When I think of Auburn, I think of Eric. When I think of Eric, I think of Auburn.”

At event honoring Bo Jackson and his Heisman Trophy at Auburn, fans could take photos with the trophy to look like a Sports Illustrated cover. Of course, Eric’s on the cover.

Jimmy and Eric spent years traveling to the Plains together in their motorhome, spending time in the Loveliest Village that are a cascade of memories – good ones. Jimmy’s description of those days sounds much like the title song of the television show, Cheers, “where everybody knows your name.”

Because of Eric’s natural, gregarious spirit, everybody knew Eric’s name. He got to know everyone around the stadium. “Eric even knew the trainers,” Jimmy said. “They gave him a helmet. Aubie (Auburn’s mascot) came over one day and sat at the motorhome with Eric. He got everybody’s autograph, even the people who cut the grass.”

Bar none, “Eric was the biggest Auburn fan ever,” said his aunt, Vicki Merrymon.

Jimmy said the highlight of his own life was seeing how much fun Eric had. “He had a good time. If you were an Alabama fan, he’d tell you, ‘Roll Tide.’ I learned so much from him. He had no hate.”

Even in an Alabama defeat, he found a way to comfort an opponent. Leon Clements, a local convenience storeowner and huge Alabama fan, was friends with Jimmy and Eric. For years, they parked the motorhome on a lake lot they owned near the store.

When Jimmy and Eric returned from an Iron Bowl game where Auburn emerged victorious, Jimmy explained to Eric that Leon would be upset about Alabama’s loss. Just tell him you’re sorry, his father advised. Otherwise, it would make Leon feel bad.

And Eric expressed remorse to his friend – his way. He put his arm around him and said, “Leon, I’m sorry Alabama sucks.”

Eric passed away in 2009 at the age of 31. His framed photo in traditional attire – an Auburn jersey – sits prominently in Jimmy and Yvonne’s living room, reminding them of his love for Auburn and their love for him.

Royals and Rebels

The story of Judge James T. Green and his family

Story by Robert Debter
Photos submitted

From its nondescript exterior, it looks just like many a building scattered throughout Alabama, just an old National Guard armory that has seen better years. But what or who – lies underneath – is the story here.

It may mark the end of an era for this St. Clair County couple, but it preserves the story behind the beginning of their life and lineage in the county, rooted long ago in royalty.

 James Thomason Greene was born on Feb. 2, 1849, to John Greene, who was born in Cork County, Ireland, in 1814, and came to America in 1832, and Elizabeth (Thomason) Greene, a descendant of Mary, Queen of Scots.

   Elizabeth’s father, James Thomason, served as St. Clair County’s first probate judge from Nov. 20, 1818–Nov. 20, 1819, and her brother, John Isham Thomason, also served a probate judge from Dec. 13, 1845–Jan. 15, 1848, and Jan. 30, 1850–June 8, 1850.

Her grandfather, John Duett Thomason, was a Revolutionary War soldier who held a commission in the Carolina Regiment and was wounded at the Battle of King’s Mountain. After the war he made his way through South Carolina and Georgia, he came to St. Clair County. He had acquired many acres in modern day Springville and St. Clair Springs through a land lottery for men with Revolutionary War service.

Gardner Greene

It was this patriot who married Elizabeth Stuart Diamond, and their final resting place is underneath the Ashville Armory. Elizabeth’s mother, also named Elizabeth, was born into the House of Stuart and was listed in Burke’s Peerage until her name was removed after she married a commoner named John Diamond.

Charles Dickens once said, “In love of home, the love of country has its rise.” It seems a fitting proverb for John Duett Thomason and one that was transferred to his granddaughter and great-grandson. Elizabeth was an ardent Southern patriot who, in the tumultuous and dark military rule of Ashville following the subversion of the Confederate government, raised the Confederate flag on a fishing pole line each morning. According to legend, she slept under the flag each night for she said that this gave her a sense of complete safety and security.

At the age of 13, James enlisted as private in the Confederate States Army and served until ill health forced him to leave service.

The young James was a public, spirited man and in 1871 and began reading law. The next year saw him admitted to the bar and also appointed to register in chancery, a position which he would hold until 1880.

From 1876–1881, he served as chief clerk to Judge Leroy Franklin Box, later state superintendent of education, at his office in Montgomery. Greene would go on to represent St. Clair County in the Alabama State Legislature from 1884 to 1886 and during his term was chairman of the Committee on Education.

He continued to serve the people of St. Clair County as probate judge, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle, from Sept. 14, 1887–Nov. 1, 1892. Judge Greene practiced law in Ashville from 1872–1876, 1881–1886 and 1892–1901. He also opened the “Law Office of Inzer & Greene” with Judge John W. Inzer in Ashville. His son, Gardner Greene, would one day study law.

On October 13, 1873, he married Margaret Ashley and to them were born 10 children: Otis, Claude, James Gardner, who be known for his heroism in World War I, Postelle, Evelyn, Ethel, Margaret, Marie, Nelle and John Benjamin. 

Judge Greene was a Mason and a member and Worshipful Master of Cataula Lodge No. 186 in Ashville, a member of Lodge No. 443 in Anniston; a royal host of Anniston chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Chancellor Commander of Anniston lodge, No. 46, Knights of Pythias. He was also an Elk and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Judge Greene died on April 10, 1910, in Pell City while trying to recover from a severe cold that had settled on his lungs. His obituary notes, “He was one of St. Clair’s most distinguished citizens and by his strength of character and kindly disposition had held the love of our people for several generations.”

His son, the gallant World War I hero Gardner Greene, was born in Ashville on April 16, 1878, and after finishing his primary education, studied at the Inzer & Greene Law Office, run by his father and Judge John Washington Inzer at Ashville. He was licensed to practice law in 1897.

At the age of 20, the young lawyer volunteered for the Spanish-American War and served with distinction as a private and non-commissioned officer. In 1900, he entered the George Washington University Law School, graduated in 1901, and soon after, he entered service in the United States Census Bureau. In 1908 he opened a law office in Pell City and continued to practice there until he entered service in the Army.

Greene organized the Pell City Guards, known as “Company C” Fourth Alabama in 1915 – before the regiment was demobilized, war was declared on Germany, and the Fourth Alabama became the 167th United States Infantry. It was one of the regiments of the now famous “Rainbow Division.” 

Captain Greene, in command of Company C, sailed for France and entered the trenches of the Toul sector early in 1918. He served continuously with his company until July 31, when he was gassed, but under skillful treatment recovered and returned to command his company in late August.

On September 12, 1918, while leading his troops into battle with the German forces in the Saint Mihiel sector, fire from a machine gun struck him in the forehead, and he died instantly. He was buried at the Saint Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France.

Greene was universally loved and respected and was popular in his regiment. He was a Mason, a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and one of the leaders of the St. Clair County Bar.

Nearly a century before, his ancestors would be laid to rest in Ashville’s first cemetery, where the armory stands now. On a corner of the building, a plaque commemorates the royalty – both of historic nobility and local legends.

It simply reads:

ELIZABETH DIAMOND THOMASON

1739-1829

7th Gen. from Mary Queen of Scots

John Thomason, R.S.

1724-1825

Editor’s Note: The name in all capital letters denotes her royal roots, niece of Queen Anne of the House of Stuart. The R.S. following his name signifies, Revolutionary Soldier. The plaque was dedicated in 1989 by the Broken Arrow Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution.