Officials break ground on 18-acre campus in Odenville
Story and photos by Carol Pappas
On a hilltop above Odenville a vision is rising up to meet the needs of the community and well beyond the city’s borders.
ONEeighty Church, just as the name implies, represents the degree to which lives can be turned around, and that’s the purpose of the 18 acres that hilltop overlooks. Officials have broken ground on a massive new campus near Interstate 59 on Alabama 174 at Odenville.
The church began in a vacant Ace Hardware building in Springville as a ministry of Clear Branch United Methodist Church in 2009. Two years into it, it grew to become a standalone church. Cam Price was pastor for a year and a half before Gresh Harbuck became the pastor, and she named it ONEeighty – symbolic of turning lives around. Four years ago, it launched as non-denominational and has now grown well past its walls.
Leaders were led to build a new church and other buildings on the acreage and even though it began in Springville, Harbuck said they never viewed ONEeighty as a Springville church. “It’s a community church – one gigantic circle of owners. They take ownership in the Great Commission. Members pay dues. Owners have responsibilities and are on a mission, winning one more for Jesus Christ.”
Pastor Gresh Harbuck motions toward the hilltop where the church will grow its new home.
When they were first looking for a new home, Realtor Lyman Lovejoy envisioned the ideal place as a piece of property that wasn’t even for sale. “They won’t sell it to me, but they might sell it to you,” he remembers telling them. He is credited with approaching the owner with the idea of transforming the piece of land into a place of worship and life-changing experiences.
The owners understood the vision, too, noting that it would be the perfect legacy for their father. And the deal was done.
“Our goal is to really focus on people who never would walk into a normal church,” said Harbuck, describing it as “very contemporary,” welcoming “all walks of life” to venture through its doors.
The growth has been evident. Easter Sunday, apparently all roads led to ONEeighty Church with people attending from Argo, Odenville, Pinson, Gadsden and Springville. “We’re not an Odenville church,” Harbuck said. “We’re not a Springville church. We’re a community church. We want lukewarm Christians to turn into purpose-filled Christians who will be the hands and feet of Jesus. We want to help the hurting and the broken.”
Of the church’s approach, Harbuck explained, “This is a great place to fall in love with Jesus.” Small groups are how they disciple people, giving them a more intimate, close-knit experience. The youth group is packed with activities and is “growing by leaps and bounds.” Celebrate Recovery – one of the largest in the state – continues to make a sizable impact on addictions throughout the region. It partners with Lovelady Center, Brother Bryan and jail ministries in Ashville and Oneonta.
Celebrate Recovery, coordinated by Ministry Leader Joyce Simonson, was 300 strong before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. They still feed 200 there every Friday night. “We view ourselves as recovery ministries,” said Harbuck, who once served as CR Ministry Leader himself.
Looking ahead to what that Odenville hilltop will become, Harbuck said, the new church campus will house the worship center, a sanctuary that can seat 600, lobby and children’s area in the first phase on top of the site. Second phase will be a dining hall, small group rooms and offices, and the third phase is a courtyard outside the worship area.
Beyond that, “God gives us the next steps,” Harbuck said. “We will look at the needs of Odenville. If the needs in the community change, we’ll change.
Johnny Evans and James Barker, who are active in the church and have a background in contracting, will oversee the project. Cline Construction is the builder.
“Even though we’re moving the building, it doesn’t mean the DNA changes,” Harbuck stressed. “We want to be a light to the community, helping the outcast and broken,” he said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Lay Leader John Rich called it “a big milestone for us. This is a community church – one group, all together. This means a lot.”
And it means much to the community that surrounds it. “Thank you for your vision,” Odenville Mayor Buck Christian told those in attendance at the groundbreaking. “We’re excited to see what the future holds. The campus will be explosive” in terms of growth. “Welcome to Odenville. We are extremely excited about what this will mean to Odenville. The growth potential is unlimited.”
Harbuck agreed. “God has been blessing us and growing us.”
County named for Revolutionary War soldier, American statesman
Story by Robert Debter Submitted Photos
On Nov. 20, 1818, the Second Alabama Territorial Legislature representing 20 counties, seven of which had been created by the Mississippi Territorial Legislature (Washington, Madison, Baldwin, Clarke, Mobile, Monroe and Montgomery) and the remaining 13 (Morgan*, Lawrence, Franklin, Limestone, Lauderdale, Blount, Tuscaloosa, Marengo, Shelby, Bibb**, Dallas, Marion and Conecuh) established by the First Alabama Territorial Legislature earlier that year.
The first county created by the Second Territorial Legislature was taken from the northern portion of Shelby County and would bear the name of St. Clair.
A county older than the state itself draws its name from far away roots in Scotland. On March 23, 1734, at at Thurso Castle, in Thurso, County Caithness, Scotland, William and Margaret St. Clair welcomed a newborn son and bestowed the name, Arthur. After completing his formal education, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and was apprenticed with Dr. William Hunter in England for a time. But like so many of his warrior ancestors, he heard the call of adventure and could not deny it.
Arthur St. Clair
In 1757, just in his early 20s, the young St. Clair purchased an ensign’s commission in the British Army and came to America during the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War. He served in Canada during this almost decade-long conflict and was present at the Siege of Louisbourg.
For his heroism, Arthur was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (originally known as leftenant). The year 1759 saw the young soldier at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec, where Lt. St. Clair seized the colors, which had fallen from the hand of a dying soldier and bore them until the day was won. In May of 1760, he married Phoebe Bayard of Boston, whom he had met while his regiment had been stationed there. They were joined in holy matrimony at Trinity Church in Boston. They would have 58 years and seven children together.
Two years after marrying, Lt. St. Clair resigned his commission and moved to Bedford, Penn., to survey land for the Penn Family. In 1764, the St. Clairs settled in Ligonier Valley, Penn., and through the establishment of several mills, St. Clair would eventually manage to become the largest landowner in western Pennsylvania. The parlor of his home, “The Hermitage,” remains preserved at the Fort Ligonier Museum.
He became surveyor of the Cumberland District in 1770, a justice of the court of quarter sessions and common pleas, a member of the proprietary council and justice, clerk and recorder of the Orphans’ Court.
In 1771, Gov. John Penn appointed him first prothonotary of Bedford County and deputy register for the probate of wills. Three years later, he was appointed magistrate and prothonotary of the newly established Westmoreland County. Penn described him as “… a gentleman … and in every station of life has preserved the character of a very honest, worthy man …”
Soldier, hero
St. Clair, commissioned as a colonel of a Pennsylvania regiment in 1776, raised and trained his regiment in the dead of winter and then marched six companies north to reinforce the American Army in Quebec. Unfortunately, St. Clair arrived to find the army in full retreat upon the death of Gen. Richard Montgomery, for whom the capital of Alabama is named. Col. St. Clair, through familiarity of the terrain and British strategy, saved the army from certain capture.
For his bravery, he was promoted to brigadier general and ordered to join Gen. George Washington and help him raise a militia in New Jersey. On Christmas night, St. Clair’s troops, now under the command of Washington, crossed the Delaware into Trenton and attacked the Hessians at dawn on the 26th. The Continental forces were victorious with 22 Hessian mercenaries killed, 84 wounded and 918 captured.
The empire struck back on Jan. 2, 1777, attacking Princeton and routing the small garrison that escaped over the Assunpink Creek to where Washington had posted several cannons. These cannons, along with musket fire, managed to stalemate the British forces.
That night, a council of war was called and many of Washington’s generals advocated for retreat. St. Clair’s lone voice championed attack. He proposed a daring plan to outflank the enemy and take Princeton. For this, St. Clair’s brigade was given the honor of marching ahead of the advancing army, and his battle plan resulted in a resounding victory for the Continental Army.
It was here that Arthur St. Clair and George Washington formed a strong bond that would last for many years. Even when some would later contest and question the Scotsman’s abilities, Washington, with one exception, always remained supportive and faithful to his friend.
St. Clair was promoted to major general for his “fierce bravery and loyalty” and given command of Fort Ticonderoga in New York. Previously a British stronghold, the fort had been captured in 1775 by Gens. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold “in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.” St. Clair arrived in early June 1777 and found the fort in disrepair. Worse yet, it was ill supplied and manned by a garrison of only 2,500.
Winthrop Sargent
Gen. John Burgoyne, “known more for his baggage train than his battles,” according to local historian Joe Whitten, laid siege to the fort with an impressive force of 8,000 British regulars and 2,500 auxiliary members.
Not seeing for the needless waste of life, St. Clair ordered the fort evacuated and later recounted, “I know I could have saved my reputation by sacrificing the army; but were I to do so, I should forfeit that which the world could not restore, and which it cannot take away, the approbation of my own conscience.”
The same cabal who endeavored to replace Washington as commander in chief with Horatio Gates lobbied strongly against St. Clair, decrying him as a “coward” and “traitor.” A court martial was convened, and the trial concluded with St. Clair being acquitted, “with the highest honor, of the charges against him.” Afterwards, naval hero Capt. John Paul Jones wrote to him, “I pray you be assured that no man has more respect for your character, talents, and greatness of mind than, dear General, your most humble servant.”
A leader
Following his vindication, St. Clair continued his active leadership. He commanded at West Point, suppressed a mutiny, continued raising troops and sending them south to aid Washington and Lafayette and served on the court martial that condemned Maj. John Andre, the co-conspirator of turncoat Benedict Arnold. He joined Washington at Yorktown four days before the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. In November, he was given orders to reinforce Gen. Nathanael Greene in his campaign to expel the British from the Carolinas.
Lawmaker
The general returned to Pennsylvania following the war and was elected to Congress in 1785. The Pennsylvania Herald reported, “Quorum having been formed in Congress, they proceeded to the choice of President for the ensuing year, when his Excellency Arthur St. Clair, Esq., was elected.”
During his 1787 term, the Northwest Ordinance was adopted, and the U.S. Constitution was drafted. In 1789, he had the great joy of assisting in the inauguration of his friend as the first president of the United States and had once been named as a possible candidate for the vice presidency.
From 1788 to 1803, St. Clair served as first governor of the Northwest Territory and named the city, Cincinnati, Ohio. His second-in-command, Winthrop Sargent, would serve from 1798-1801 as the first governor of the Mississippi Territory, from which Alabama was carved in 1817.
Return to duty
In 1791, St. Clair was once again called into action. As major general, he was tasked with suppressing Native-American resistance, and his force, originally consisting of 2,000, eventually dwindled down through illness and desertion to less than 1,000.
The combined forces of the Miami, Shawnee and Delaware numbered over 1,000 and on Nov. 4, 1791, ambushed the American force. St. Clair, ill with gout, suffered a devastating defeat, and the cries of cowardice and incompetence were once again revived.
Arriving at Philadelphia, St. Clair immediately requested a court martial to clear his name. This was denied by President Washington who called him “worse than a murderer” and demanded his resignation as commander of the Army. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives began an investigation and sided with Gen. St. Clair. They found secretary of war, quartermaster general and other officials in the War Department had ill manned, equipped and supplied Gen. St. Clair’s expedition. The Congress voted against a resolution on the committee’s report, so St. Clair was never officially vindicated.
He was allowed to remain governor – a position he found increasingly difficult following his humiliating forced resignation as commander of the Army. St. Clair, a Federalist, believed that the Ohio Territory should be admitted as two states instead of one to increase the power of his party in the federal congress.
He delivered a speech at the Ohio Constitutional Convention that railed against the Convention and President Thomas Jefferson, “acting like a father betrayed by his son, he used a paternalistic tone and discussed his contributions to the territory, outlining what he had accomplished in fourteen years ….” Jefferson responded by removing St. Clair from office.
Returning home
At almost 70 years of age, the old soldier returned to the Hermitage and facing debts from loans he had given out during the Revolution, attempted to rebuild his wealth. However, the stars in their courses fought against all his attempts to replenish his life, and sheriffs began to sell his property for all the debts he had incurred.
St. Clair beseeched Congress for money he was believed owed to him for his services to his country. The Hermitage was sold, and the St. Clairs moved to a log house called “Chestnut Ridge,” situated near Youngstown, Penn. Several months later, the legislature of Pennsylvania finally granted St. Clair an annuity of $8,400, and shortly before his death, he received from Congress $2,000 in discharge of his claims and a pension of $60 a month.
On his way to Youngstown to purchase goods, St. Clair was thrown from his wagon and found unconscious on the side of the road. He was tenderly carried back to his home, where he passed away surrounded by his family on Aug. 31, 1818, after a departing message of peace forevermore. By November of that same year, St. Clair County, Ala., would be created and bear his name.
Patriot
He was buried at the St. Clair Cemetery in Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Penn., and his monument, a gift from his Masonic brethren reads: “The Earthly Remains Of Major-General Arthur St. Clair Are Deposited Beneath This Humble Monument, Which Is Erected To Supply The Place Of A Nobler One Due From His Country.”
Always the patriot, in his own words: “I hold that no man has a right to withhold his services when his country needs them. Be the sacrifice ever so great, it must be yielded upon the altar of patriotism.” l
Editor’s Note: Of Alabama’s 67 counties, more than a dozen are named in recognition of those who have some connection as leaders, statesmen or soldiers to the American Revolution. Arguably, none gave so much and received so little in return as Arthur St. Clair. But his name lives on in this Alabama county.
* Originally “Cotaco [co-take-oh]” until renamed in 1821 for American Revolutionary leader, Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan of Virginia.
** Originally “Cahawba” until renamed in 1820 for William Wyatt Bibb, territorial governor and first governor of the state of Alabama, shortly after his untimely death.
Story by Roxann Edsall Photos by Mackenzie Free Submitted photos courtesy of DeLoach Farms
“Being married to a farmer is like being married to a professional gambler,” Kate DeLoach says. “There is so much investment to get a crop in the field.”
With variables like weather, labor shortages and the trade environment over which they have no control, keeping up their 840-acre farm is hard work. Kate and John DeLoach own and operate DeLoach Farms in Vincent, just across the St. Clair County line.
They have survived by taking lessons learned from the past and from the current pandemic and turning them into new opportunities.
The past two years have seen tremendous change in the farm, going from primarily producing soybean, cotton, wheat, hay and corn, to serving more of the needs of the local community.
John’s great grandfather used to deliver kids to school in this school bus, then load up vegetables to peddle on the courthouse square in Pell City.
Their decision to offer farmer’s choice food boxes came out of a desire to meet the needs of the community at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They would put together a variety of fruits and vegetables in each box and meet customers for pickup. They now offer a full farm-to-table food box option with deliveries around St. Clair and Shelby counties.
Kate says their son, Jess, developed the farm-to-table food box program. He is an accounting major at Troy University. He came home just a few months into college when the pandemic shut things down. He dreamed it up and started selling the boxes while he was home.
It has been wildly popular, and Kate says they are hoping to include meat and eggs in addition to the fruits and vegetables this year. There are several options offered and include things grown on the DeLoach farm and by other nearby farms.
The U-Pick strawberry patch was also inspired by Jess. They have nine acres dedicated to strawberries and grow several different varieties. Unable to keep up with the demand last year, they have more than doubled their number of plants from 35,000 to 75,000 this year.
Dozens of people are scattered throughout the fields on a sunny Wednesday enjoying the strawberry picking experience. A grandma holds the hand of a giggly little girl with strawberry-stained fingers and mouth.
Another customer checks out with her five gallons of strawberries. She’s making strawberry jam today.
Still another is from Michigan, visiting her cousin, who brought her here to enrich her Southern experience. They’re planning to make strawberry shortcake later in the day.
These are the people John works so hard for. “People and strawberries are my favorite,” he says. “Getting to see the people enjoy the fruits (literally) of your labor is pretty great.”
“We so appreciate people who support the local farmer,” adds Kate. “The local buyers help to insulate us from the global supply chain issues. We kind of support each other.”
Serving his community is a labor of love for John, whose ancestors bought the land on the banks of Kelly Creek back in 1820. For him, it’s also about respecting the land and his heritage.
The land is traced back to John’s great-great-great-grandfather, John Martin, Sr., who moved from South Carolina to what was St. Clair County (before the county lines were redrawn) and bought the land to start his life with his new wife, Sarah. His son, John Martin, Jr., returned to the farm from the Civil War after having his arm amputated due to injuries sustained in the war.
Fast forward to 1915, and Frank Harrison Lowe, John DeLoach’s grandfather, was born in the two-room house on the farm. The farm thrived for more than a decade, then fell into decay and neglect during the Depression. Frank returned to the farm after World War II and began working to bring it back to its former glory.
Kate feeds catfish at their fishing cabin
Tremendous progress had been made by the time John was born. John remembers being a young boy and working alongside his grandfather on the farm. Watching his grandfather help a cow struggle to deliver her calf is one of his earliest memories. When his grandfather died in 1988, John promised his grandmother that if she kept the farm, he would take care of it. He worked the farm every day after school. When he graduated from high school at 16, he took over the daily operations.
Over 30 years later, running the farm keeps him very busy. He’s up each morning by 4:30 and falls back into bed exhausted by 7:30 most evenings. While he has a handful of people who work for him, he does a lion’s share of the work himself.
Beyond the planting and harvesting work, he even finds time to make furniture, like the picnic tables in the strawberry patch, with materials sourced on the farm. He runs fallen trees through the planer in his sawmill to be able to use what would be wasted.
He built a small fishing cabin with salvaged wood from former structures on the land and with cedar harvested there. The ceiling beams are from an old barn on the property that used to house a live nativity during Christmas.
Being a good steward of the land is one of the reasons he was honored as Alabama Farmer of the Year in 2018. That same year, DeLoach Farms was named the 2018 Alabama Farm of Distinction. For that award, farms are judged on sustainability, success as a business and conservation mindedness.
John credits his grandfather with instilling in him the need to responsibly care for the land and the creatures that use it. “We do a lot of conservation on the land,” he says. “We have beehives and plant things like clover and partridge peas for the wildlife. We have deer, fox, bobcats and lots of birds.”
Twenty acres of property is set aside as wetlands. The area is filled with stately tupelo trees, an important food source and shelter for migratory birds. It is also equipped with a special pump system that fills and empties the wetlands seasonally to support the health and sustainability of the habitat.
They live in the 10-room farmhouse built by John’s great-grandfather in 1918. “My granddad’s name in still written on a shelf in one of the bedrooms,” John says. It identified his grandfather’s personal storage space in a house full of children. The house was lovingly dubbed the “Halfway House,” because people said it was “halfway between where you were and where you needed to go.” And, according to family legend, it was a great place to stop for supper.
The house was also home to the first telephone line that connected local townspeople with doctors in nearby towns. It was installed in 1915 to give residents a way to connect people to the doctor in Vincent or the one in Easonville, the St. Clair County town now under water when Logan Martin Lake was created in 1965. They just had to make their way to the house and John’s great great-grandmother, Eva, would patch them through.
John’s great-grandfather, John Marion Lowe, also served the area by buying a school bus in 1925 to take rural children to school. After dropping them off at school, he’d come back to the farm, load up fresh produce and take it in to Pell City to sell.
The farm is one of eight in the state to be recognized as a Bicentennial Farm, a program that honors families who have owned and operated their farm for 200 years or more. “That’s quite a big deal,” explains Kate. “It gets harder and harder each year to stay open. There’s a lot of pressure to sell as the city creeps closer and closer.
“We’d love for someone to be here 200 years from now talking about the family farm.” But Kate adds, “It’s a hard way to make a living. We’ve never placed any expectations of farming on Jess.” His business and marketing sense in directing the food box deliveries and strawberry U-Pick operation seem to support that possibility.
DeLoach Farms seems to be playing the long game. When the chips were down, they adjusted to meet the changing needs in the community. And they are growing again.
They have purchased adjacent property with plans to add a blackberry U-Pick operation in a year or two. There are also tentative plans for an apple orchard. This summer they look forward to opening a new area for picking sunflowers.
They will also have vegetables for sale all summer. If you are interested in the farm-to-table food boxes, contact them via Facebook, on Instagram or at www.deloachfarms.com. l
Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Mackenzie Free and Jolie Free
If you didn’t know Tanner Carleton, the 11-year-old boy who lost his life in a tragic accident at St. Clair County Arena, a single photo seemed to have the ability to capture the essence of his passion.
The youngster’s eyes peer out beneath the oversized brim of a cowboy hat, a wide grin crossing his face, telling you all you needed to know. Cowboy life fit him as comfortably as a well-worn pair of jeans. Life fit him just fine. There was no mistaking it.
Friends and family talked endlessly of his love of everything cowboy.
When the annual St. Clair Cattleman’s Rodeo was heading to St. Clair Arena, he wanted to be there, helping get things set up the day before. He was like that. Always ready to help. And it was there in one of the places he loved best – the rodeo – doing what he loved best – offering a helping hand.
“He was a real good boy, well mannered, always willing to help,” said Adam Stansell, president of the Cattleman’s Association.
It would have been understandable for the rodeo to be cancelled. But recognizing their son’s love for it, parents Lacey and Trevor Carleton encouraged the cattlemen to go on with the rodeo. Tanner would have wanted it that way, they said.
“Tanner Carleton has been a fan of rodeos from a very young age,” the Cattleman’s Association announced on March 9. “With his parents’ complete support and absolute insistence, we will move forward with the 3rd Annual St. Clair County Cattlemen’s Rodeo.”
The rodeo, the association’s largest fundraiser, did indeed go on, but not before a poignant tribute to the young cowboy.
Tanner had a zest for life. He put his all into every endeavor. He was as passionate about his baseball as he was being a cowboy. Countless photos show him in uniform year after year, one where he was even sporting a championship ring.
Dozens of fellow players from various teams he played with circled the arena the night of the tribute, a show of respect for their beloved teammate. The arena darkened, and a small line of fire began to light a path in its center, eventually forming the shape of a baseball diamond.
As the announcer began, the fire followed his words, symbolizing Tanner’s run of the bases – to first base, on to second, rounding third and heading quickly to home. Tanner, he said, “lived life to the fullest of his ability. He loved life. He loved his friends, and he had a passion for baseball. That young man was always swinging for the fence.”
As the fire blazed its path toward home plate, the announcer referenced the uncertainty of life and the absence of a guarantee of another day. “We don’t know if we are in the home stretch,” he told the crowd. “We might be. You need to hug your family, hug your friends and tell them you love them every chance you get. Tonight, Tanner has made that home run.”
And with a nod to Tanner’s passion for life, he said, “Take time to remember that cowboy smile.”
A rider on horseback galloped through the arena carrying an American flag to conclude the tribute and signal the beginning of the rodeo that Tanner would have wanted to go on.
Tanner’s photo – the one with the cowboy hat and that contented grin – hung above the gate as each of the rodeo competitors entered the arena. It was their personal reminder of that cowboy smile.
“He ran his race spiritually,” his parents said. “He ran home to the Lord. He was all about church. He loved being there, he even went on Spring break one time just to help plant flowers.”
That’s just the way he was. He loved helping others.
Across the community, an outpouring of love and compassion has enveloped the family in the days since, offering comforting remembrances of a special young man.
A sampling of social media posts from those who knew him help tell his story and his impact in a life cut too short:
We will never forget your smile. You just being you.
Playing baseball with the greats now! Rest easy, sweet boy.
With broken hearts, the Williams Intermediate School family is praying for Tanner’s family, friends, teachers and classmates. Rest in peace, sweet boy.
I knew the first time I ever met him that he was special. He was good, good like deep down in his bones, all the way to the center of his soul. He worked harder than most grown men and had more compassion in his little finger than some have their entire life. But the one thing that radiated out of him like laser beams was how unconditionally thoughtful he was … just good as gold and steady as a rocker.
I am so thankful to have known your kind heart, if only for a few short years. You taught me (along with tons of others!) what it means to put others needs first – before ourselves, to be selfless, the very essence of Jesus Christ.
What an example of a Christian, a son, a student, a cowboy, an athlete, a worker, and the list goes on and on.
From his parents, came their own heartfelt message:
We miss his smile, his laugh and so much more than we could ever imagine about you, son! We miss seeing you on the ballfield, and we miss seeing you with your brother.
God had a plan for your life, and it’s something we never knew, but prayed for His will to be done in your life. Your life brought so much happiness! Your life brought so much meaning. You made us parents!
It’s early in the morning of Saturday, March 2, and a diverse group of people are straggling into the grounds of Horse Pens 40. The air is crisp and cool, evidence that while spring is just around the corner, it hasn’t quite arrived.
Despite the temperature hovering in in the mid-40s, many of those assembled are walking around the grounds in T-shirts and shorts, specialty athletic shoes, and large, polyurethane mats strapped to their backs.
This group of outdoors enthusiasts is on site to compete in the 2022 Chandler Mountain Challenge. An annual bouldering competition at Horse Pens 40, the Chandler Mountain Challenge has become one of the most anticipated events among the rock-climbing community. The event is organized by Climbers For Christ, a Christian organization launched in 1989 in Yosemite Valley with a mission to equip, encourage and empower climbers to share the love of Christ with the climbing community.
“The mission that we have in Climbers For Christ is really just to show Jesus to the climbing and outdoor community through service and through conversation,” says Joshua Reyes, a member of the volunteer leadership team covering the southeastern United States.
Originally from New Mexico, Reyes now lives in Jacksonville, Ala., and is a technical advisor for AECOM/URS Corporation and a former nuclear submarine mechanic with the U.S. Navy. He explains that Climbers For Christ most often plays a support role at other climbing and outdoor events, giving the volunteer opportunities to share the Gospel.
“We have teams that go out and serve breakfast, cooking pancakes and stuff like that. With a bunch of hungry climbers, you go through a lot of food pretty quick, and they’re really appreciative of that,” says Reyes. “We like to connect by just serving like that and helping people out wherever they need bodies and people to do the heavy lifting, but we also like to establish those relationships and meet people and talk with them because we’re all about showing them who Jesus is – the truth of who He is.”
The Chandler Mountain Challenge brings climbers of all skill levels to St. Clair County each March, but the event also helps raise funds for a nonprofit or ministry doing important social work throughout the nation.
This year, the Chandler Mountain Challenge supported Orphan Voice, a ministry based in Lexington, Ky., with a mission to serve orphans, children with special needs, abused children and poor single mothers. Founded by Tony and Cindy Brewer, the organization has facilitated the adoption of more than 1,000 Asian orphans to parents in the U.S. and established several anti-trafficking ministries working to rescue children, mostly from Vietnam, who were forced into sexual or labor slavery.
Supporting causes like Orphan Voice’s mission through registration fees is just another feature that makes the Chandler Mountain Challenge an event so many in the bouldering world look forward to, whether they are people of faith or not.
Chris Wendell is an automobile customizer and active boulderer from Philadelphia. With his long hair, bushy beard and laissez-faire attitude, Wendell was straight and to the point when asked if Christian faith was an important factor in taking part in the Chandler Mountain Challenge. “Not really, no, but I can get behind a lot of the causes they support.”
Climbers For Christ works to encounter and minister to fellow climbers, whatever their spiritual opinions or experiences may be. “A friend of mine mentioned to me that the climbers she speaks with out west are more likely to be unchurched and kind of curious about what we’re doing, whereas folks back east, a lot of them have had really negative experiences with the church,” says Kristen McKenzie, a volunteer board member with Climbers For Christ. “We’re hoping to show them, maybe a different kind of Christianity than they grew up with, and just maybe if they see some Christians walking around not being hypocrites, they might reconsider Jesus.”
Wendell is exactly the type of person Climbers For Christ is focused upon reaching, fellow climbers who aren’t active in any religion but who have open minds and, perhaps more importantly, open hearts. “The best thing about (The Chandler Mountain Challenge) is we get everybody to climb just doing what we love and that turns into money that’s donated by someone else, and we take that money, and we donate it to a nonprofit to be picked for the year.
It’s just a great, easy cause for people to rally around,” says Reyes. “I was going to climb here anyway, but 20 bucks gets me a shirt and dinner and then I’m raising money for some kids somewhere? Count me in.”
Why Horse Pens 40?
It may come as a surprise to many people from St. Clair County but the boulders at Horse Pens 40 are well respected among the climbing community. The site is part of what is known as the bouldering “triple crown,” – a bouldering series that also includes Hounds Ears in Boone, N.C., and Stone Fort in Chattanooga, Tenn. – and is also compared favorably to a bouldering site 40 miles south of Paris, France, known as Fontainebleau.
At first glance, it’s difficult to see why. For starters, the boulders at Horse Pens 40 aren’t majestically high. In fact, most of them struggle to reach 30 feet. However, bouldering is a sport that, unlike rock and mountain climbing, utilizes no equipment. Instead boulderers rely only on special climbing shoes and chalk to help the climber grip the rock face and climb to the top. One of the most concentrated areas of boulders in the world, Horse Pens 40 is ideally situated to be one of the best bouldering sites on earth.
“It’s really unique in the formations. It has a lot of these rounded formations and when you get to the top of the ball that’s called doing the “top out” and those big, rounded hulls are called slopers, and you have really nothing good to grab onto to hoist yourself over the edge. It’s like your agave to squeeze,” Reyes says. “I tell people it’s like grabbing the size of a refrigerator and squeezing and holding yourself up.”
Additionally, Reyes says the Southern sandstone that make up the boulders at Horse Pens is world-renowned for its friction, especially in the winter time. “That’s the most popular season, because it’s like Velcro,” he says. “You slap these big, rounded hulls that you can’t normally grab, and your hand just magically sticks. It’s amazing.
“People come here from all over the country and actually internationally,” Reyes adds. “Over the years, I’ve met people from Sweden, Spain, Italy, France and, of course, Canada and Mexico. I mean people from everywhere come here just to climb at Horse Pens 40. So as a transplant local that helps me never take it for granted, I can come here anytime that I want. When I see people that have flown here from Europe. I’m like, ‘OK, I have to remember this place is really special.’”
Every sport has its own language, a vernacular that to the outsider makes not a lick of sense at first glance, but as you study the lingo, you start to get a glimpse of what the sport is all about.
To the sport’s passionate, true believers, that vernacular is more than just a way of communication, it becomes an art form of its own. Bouldering is no different. For the Chandler Mountain Challenge, organizers taped cards on the boulders throughout Horse Pens 40 with advice on solving specific challenges.
Out of context, you could easily see the text on these cards printed in a college literary journal. For instance: “Stand alert. Move to crimp, then jump to right-facing block. Be careful as block creaks a bit … continue up to easy mantle.” Or this one: “Sit start, then move to good chickenheads. Move to good right sidepull, then jugs.”
The jargon on these cards assists the competitors in solving what the bouldering community refers to as “problems.” Before charging ahead and scaling the side of a huge rock, a climber has to consider his/her options; how to attack the problem to ensure success.
It’s no wonder, trial and error is a large part of the process. “You’re trying these problems that are really hard, so you’re often going to fall off,” says McKenzie. “Bouldering involves a lot of failure.”
And, this particular challenge involves a lot of successes. Whether it’s for the world-class challenge, the scenic beauty or the opportunity to support a worthy cause, it brings people of all walks of life to St. Clair County for a day of bouldering and fellowship that helps bridge gaps.
“The climbing community is pretty close-knit and tied together, but quite diverse – race, gender and religious beliefs, political beliefs – it’s just across the spectrum,” says Reyes. “But it’s so neat because even with that diversity of thought and lifestyle, we all have that common thread of climbing. When we show up here, all that goes out the window.”
