Maddox Farm Road

Name reveals storied past of
Odenville entrepreneur

Story by Joe Whitten
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
Submitted Photos

Maddox Farm Road, named for John Luther Maddox Sr., lies off U.S. 411 about two eyeblinks north of Liberty Church. Who was this man?

A July 16, 1908, an article in the St. Clair County News, published in Odenville, states, “John Luther Maddox … moved to St. Clair County 21 years ago [c1887], where he … engaged in farming up to 1895. He then entered the mercantile business in a small scale but has been very successful…. Mr. Maddox is a self-made man and is successful in his undertakings … He is … interested in educational matters, good roads, the general upbuilding and development of Odenville and adjacent territory.” Maddox was founder, owner and editor of this newspaper.

He was born March 23, 1869, in Benton (Calhoun) County, Ala., to Chesley Benton and Annie Majors Maddox. John Luther’s great-great-grandparents, John and Rebecca Teague Maddox, had settled in the Blue Mountain area of Benton, now Calhoun County, early in the 19th Century. According to family historian, Dorothy Maddox Bishop, John Maddox fought with Gen. Andrew Jackson “… at Horseshoe Bend,” and indicates that John settled in Alabama because of serving with Jackson.

Just what prompted him to locate in St. Clair County isn’t part of family lore. However, rich farmland probably lured him here c1887. Also, the excitement of a new century lay ahead, and St. Clair stood ready to flourish. Springville, Ashville, Odenville and Ragland bustled with businesses. By 1905, the Seaboard Airline Railroad would connect Ragland and Odenville with Birmingham. Sumter Cogswell was developing Pell City, and by 1902, a railroad would connect that town with cities east and west.

John Luther Maddox married Sarah Elizabeth Jones (1870-1927) on Feb. 24, 1895, in St. Clair County. She was the daughter of Joel Wheeler Jones, who was born in South Carolina to Steven and Polly Jones. According to Dorothy Bishop, Steven served in the American Revolution and is buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Springville.

Joel Wheeler Jones bought 40 acres in July 1854 near Harden’s Shop, today’s Odenville. Sixty years later, his acres would be called “Jones’s Cut” because of the cut for Seaboard Airline railroad tracks nearby.

In 1858, Joel Wheeler Jones married Jane E. Simpson, and they had two children, James and Lorenna. In December 1861, Jones enlisted in the Confederate Army and fought in battles at Shiloh, Corinth, Tullahoma and Chickamauga. He was captured Nov. 25, 1863, at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, and imprisoned at Rock Island, Ill.

At Rock Island, the Union offered him release from prison if he would fight for the Union. He agreed and was sent with Union forces to quell Native American uprisings in the “Northwestern Frontier.” Dorothy Bishop’s research showed he was sent there, “because General U.S. Grant, among others, did not believe that ex-Confederate troops should be assigned to areas where they might have to fight their former comrades in arms.” Discharged from the Union Army Nov. 7, 1865, Jones headed home to St. Clair County.

According to Maddox’s oral history, Jones’ wife, Jane, not having heard from her husband for maybe three years, assumed him to be dead and married again. Working in the yard one day, she looked up, and Joel Wheeler Jones came walking down the lane toward her. Seeing him, she fled, leaving the children behind and never returned. Jones’ mother helped him with the motherless children until her death in 1866.

Joel Wheeler Jones married secondly Aug. 1, 1866, Mary Rebecca Bolton, daughter of Henry C. and Margaret Vandegrift Bolton. Joel and Rebecca had five children, one of whom was Sara Elizabeth Jones who was destined to combine both the Jones-Maddox genealogy and the Jones-Maddox farmlands which remain in the Maddox family today.

John Luther Maddox added store business to farming c1895. His daughter, Myrtle Maddox Kenney, in a 1990 interview recounted, “When my father started out, his first store was up there at Friendship in Miss Nancy Mize’s old house. It was a log house with a lean-to.” A descendant of Nancy Mize relates that they believe Nancy’s house was near the foot of Beaver Mountain between today’s Prison Road off U.S. 411 and Friendship Baptist Church.

John L. Maddox, Jr. and sisters Tennie Barnes and Myrtle Kenney

About 1900, he moved his store a few miles north of Friendship to Julian, a late 19th Century community where today stand the “Rock Stores” landmark. Of this community, Gary Pool wrote in a Leeds News article, Sept. 26, 1985, “There were only a few wooden frame buildings and one small post office. Even as towns were rated back then, Julian was … no more than a wide place in the old gravelly road.”

Maddox built a wood-frame store at Julian at today’s rock stores. His was on the right side going north. Will Dollar later bought that property. Maddox’s wooden building burned in 1926 and Will Dollar constructed the rock stores.

The Julian store flourished and was noted frequently in the Springville newspaper. The “Odenville” column of the Springville News reported March 17, 1898, “J. L. Maddox passed through our town first of the week on his way to the Magic City to buy goods.” An April 3, 1902, Springville News ad reads: “All next week we will be pleased to show you the largest stock of ladies trimmed hats, misses trimmed hats, and children’s hats all sizes … J. L. Maddox, Julian, Alabama.”

In 1902, excitement ran high in Odenville, for the Seaboard Airline had begun drilling the Hardwick Tunnel and laying train tracks that would run through Odenville and on to Birmingham. Always alert for business opportunities, Maddox now set his sights on Odenville and supplying the needs of railroad workers.

Myrtle recollected, “He built a store over there at the Hardwick Tunnel, and then he started the one down there where the Chevron Station is.” The Ridgeline Roofing Company operates at that location in 2021.

Wanting to move to Odenville, in 1904 Luther began construction of a family home there. “We moved in it in 1905,” Myrtle said. “It wasn’t finished on the inside. You see, everybody farmed back then, and the carpenters … stopped work when the crops came in.” After gathering crops, the carpenters finished the house.

About the same time, Myrtle continued, “He built a four-room house” in Odenville for Dr. C.C. Brown, the first doctor to live in Odenville. Both these houses still stand today. This house may be earlier than 1904 because Dr. C.C. Brown is mentioned in a Springville Item, June 11, 1903 issue.

The doctor’s house is sometimes referred to as “the house with two front doors.” Speculation is that one front door opened to Dr. Brown’s office and the other front door opened to his living quarters.

Over the years, several rooms were added to the first four. The original roof was wood shingles and traces of forest green paint was discovered on old trim-work. The historic designation of the house is the Maddox-Whitten House since this writer and his wife bought it in 1974.

In 1907, Alabama proposed building accredited high schools in counties that did not already have a state-supported high school. St. Clair County wanted a county high school, and Springville, Odenville and Pell City began to vie for location. Realizing the strength of a newspaper in campaigning for the school location, Luther Maddox founded the St. Clair County News, c1908, and built a newspaper office building.

In his efforts for the school location, Maddox wrote editorials in favor of Odenville as the best spot in St. Clair County for the new school. Pell City had no newspaper in March 1908 and made no public response to Maddox’s comment that Pell City was good, “a cotton mill town,” but “nature never intended it for an educational site.” (St. Clair County News March 5, 1908)

However, in May when Odenville was chosen for the school location, Pell City had a newspaper, The Pell City Progress, and the editor, McLane Tilton, wrote in the May 7, 1908, issue that he feared the state would come to regret having put a “Ten thousand dollar school building in a one thousand dollar town.”

As a member of the St. Clair County High School Building Committee, Maddox worked tirelessly to raise funds for construction of the building. Completed in 1909, the school’s first seniors graduated in 1912.

Maddox was among the first shareholders of the Bank of Odenville which opened in 1908. He was listed as vice president of the bank in a Southern Aegis ad May 6, 1909.

Civic responsibilities did not preclude Luther Maddox’s involvement in the church life of Odenville. The Methodist congregation had organized and met in the Odenville Elementary School from about 1906. Then in the April 19, 1909, edition of the St. Clair County News, the church announced the construction of their own Methodist sanctuary. Listed as a member of the building committee was J. L. Maddox. The article reported that the committee were obligated “for a generous donation of lumber to the new church.” The beautiful building, completed c1911, stands today and serves the Odenville United Methodist Church congregation.

Anna Lee (White) Maddox – Across Old Springville Road

Maddox caused excitement and newspaper reports when he purchased Odenville’s first automobile. The St. Clair County News reported Sept. 9, 1909, “Mr. J. L. Maddox purchased a fine automobile last week and Odenville can now take her place with the other towns throughout the country who have passed the horse and buggy stage.… The auto is made to carry about six passengers and has good speed.”

Two weeks later, the Sept. 23, 1909, issue of St. Clair County News reported, “A party of five went to Ashville Sunday in the automobile belonging to J. L. Maddox. Mr. Crow Harden, who knows more about the machines than anyone else in this area of the county, acted as chauffeur. The trip was made in record breaking time, one hour and ten minutes.”

In 1990, when the interviewer asked Myrtle about these newspaper articles, she laughed and replied, “That was the surrey with the fringe on top! My daddy guided it with a stick – steered it with a stick.”

She told another trip. “Coming home we got in Canoe Creek, and the old thing got wet and quit. Daddy had to pull off his shoes and roll up his pants and crank the thing to get it to start.” She remembers how the automobile’s “chug, chug, chugging,” scattered chickens near the road and frightened horses pulling wagons near Bethel. “The horses rared up and down. It scared me,” she laughed.

Luther Maddox prospered, and in November 1909, he entered into a partnership with W.L. Steed in the Odenville Mercantile Company. St. Clair County News reported Nov. 11, 1909, that “Mr. J. L. Maddox is president of the new firm and Mr. W. L. Steed Secretary-Treasurer.”

Economic downturns often swallow up the good, and Luther Maddox’s fortunes began to diminish. The July 12, 1911, Southern Aegis ran a legal ad announcing that on Aug. 7, 1911, the Sheriff, J.D. Love, would sell “at the courthouse door, Ashville, St. Clair County …” three tracts of J.L. Maddox’s land to satisfy a circuit court case in favor of J.L. Newton. The Southern Aegis of July 24, 1912, and Nov. 20, 1912, Sheriff Love advertised two more tracts of land to be sold on the Ashville Courthouse steps to satisfy J.L. Newton.

Despite these setbacks, Maddox continued his business operations in Odenville for a while. However, the June 23, 1916, issue of the St. Clair County News, published in Ragland, noted in the “Odenville News” that “Luther Maddox is moving out to his farm near here. Maddox has gone into farming and cattle raising.” Then in the July 23, 1916, “Odenville News” reported, “J. T. Newburn has bought the Maddox store and will run the business at this place.”

Myrtle recalled her father’s misfortunes: “In 1916, it rained, and they didn’t make any crops that year. That’s what put my daddy out of business. People just didn’t make anything, and he’d sold ‘em fertilizer on credit, and they didn’t even have corn to eat. They had to go in debt to keep themselves living. So, my daddy borrowed $1,200 and had to pay 6% interest on that. Yes, $72 a year…. That was 1917 that he’d borrowed to keep everything going.”

Maddox stood on the brink of disaster – the possibility of losing more land and the houses he still owned. However, family loyalty rescued Maddox. Myrtle recalls, “My brothers joined the Navy. They made their money out of the Navy – their little bitty bit of money – and they’d send it to Daddy, and he paid it off that way.” She paused, then added, “It was terrible.” The brothers were Chesley Benton and J.L. Maddox, Jr.

J.L.’s daughter, Mary Ann Maddox Moore, told how her father took none of his free time but instead did the laundry for his shipmates to earn extra money to send back home to help pay off the debt. Little by little, John Luther Maddox cleared his debt and saved his property. Since he no longer had business dealings in St. Clair County, the Maddox family moved to Florida.

Myrtle recalled the move, “My father closed out everything, and he just went to Florida after we got everything paid out. Daddy didn’t have money to try to get back in business, so he went to Lakeland, Fla. The boys got out of the Navy, and that’s where the boys got jobs.”

In Florida, Sarah Elizabeth Jones Maddox became ill with cancer and died May 1, 1927, and was buried in Liberty Cemetery, Odenville.

Myrtle recalled the Great Depression and that in 1932, she along with her father and sister, John Luther and Tennie, returned to Odenville. Renters lived in the family home, so they all lived in the house built for Dr. Brown.

Over the years four more rooms had been added to that house. “It was a great big place, and we were all there. After Mama died, Daddy took her insurance money and got back in business again. Store business was all he knew. He started again, and then he died in 1935.” John Luther Maddox, indominable entrepreneur of Odenville, was laid to rest next to his wife in Liberty Cemetery.

Maddox’s last store stood where the Oakridge Outdoor Power Equipment conducts business today on U.S. 411. “My sister Tennie inherited the store,” Myrtle recalled, “but everybody was in debt to her, and my brother, J.L. Jr., just came up here and closed it out.” Tennie went with J.L. to Florida where she married and lived out her life.

At John Luther’s death, Myrtle inherited the family home, Jack Maddox, the Dr. Brown house, and brothers Chesley Benton and J.L. Jr., inherited the farm. J.L. bought out his brother, and the farm remains in possession of J.L.’s children, Dorothy Maddox Bishop, Mary Ann Maddox Moore and deceased John Wesley “Jay” Maddox’s wife and children.

Bert and Mary Ann Maddox Moore and their three daughters moved from Mulberry, Fla., just outside of Lakeland in 1977 and built their home on the land in sight of where Joel Wheeler Jones built his home before the Civil War.

Bert and Mary Ann’s daughter, Lee Ann Moore Clark, loved spending time at the farm during summer visits from Florida. “Prior to living here, we traveled from Florida to Odenville during the summer to visit my grandpa Maddox’s farm.

“My sisters and I loved exploring the property and seeing the lightning bugs at dusk. We would catch and put them in a mason jar to light our room at night. A whippoorwill just outside my bedroom window would always lull me to sleep every night. Picking blackberries along the road was also the highlight of my summer except for the chigger bites. Licking the drop of nectar off a honeysuckle flower, was something our dad taught us, that we thought was the coolest thing ever! One time our mom found a perfect arrowhead on the farm which prompted a discussion about how it got there and how long it had been since Native Americans spent time on the property,” Clark said.

“We played in the creek that flowed through the property, caught minnows in a jar and always stopped at the spring for a quick drink to quench our thirst. Conveniently, there was always a cup left hanging on a limb close by. From there we could hear the rushing water over the waterfall, which was our last stop before climbing back up to the shady road lined with large trees,” she said.

“Names carved in the trees included my grandpa’s. Not only did we have fresh water to drink, but we also found a crabapple tree, something we had never seen or tasted before.

“My Maddox grandparents would come up from Florida and stay for a month in the farmhouse during the summer after we moved here. Grandpa always worked hard to remodel the farmhouse he loved so much. We often had lunch there, and our Grandma cooked all kinds of delicious things for us like chicken and dumplings and rice pudding. She also made watermelon rind preserves. Unlike folks today, she didn’t waste anything,” she recalled.

“These are just a few of my favorite childhood memories of a place that one day would become my home.” 

Life spans run out, and community leaders change from one generation to another. Without written records and recorded memories, people and names fade into forgottenness. Be thankful for St. Clair County road names like Maddox Farm Road that remind us of a man Odenville owes a great deal to, John Luther Maddox Sr.

A friend to those who served

Wayne Johnson strives to make a difference

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Wayne Johnson has thought a lot about his legacy and what he will leave behind when he has departed this earthly life. He wants it to be his work with veterans. Considering what he does for and with them every week, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Although he recently retired after five-and-a-half years as veterans outreach coordinator for the St. Clair County Extension office, Johnson still takes veterans to medical appointments, helps them access their government benefits and makes regular visits to the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in Pell City. “I never considered it work because I enjoyed it so much,” he says of his time with the extension office.

Johnson was one of the first people Frank Veal met after moving into the veterans home, and the pair have been friends ever since. A Korean War vet who served in the Air Force for 26 years, Veal is a native of Troy. He owns a van with a ramp that he lets Johnson use to ferry other vets to various appointments. The veterans home takes care of its residents’ medical trips.

“Wayne was here to help Frank celebrate his 91st birthday in August,” says Reshina Pratt, administrative support assistant at the veterans home. “They are very close.”

Johnson also is close to Veal’s next-door-neighbor, Tom Kelly, who is originally from Maryland but raised his family in Alabama. Another Korean War veteran, Kelly has been at the home since 2014. “Wayne visits us weekly, more if we have a need,” says Kelly. “Sometimes he brings us lunch, like barbecued ribs, and he has made trips to Montgomery with us.”

“He’s a good guy, and we appreciate him,” says Veal. “He’s a handy man to have around.”

It’s Personal

One of the reasons Johnson has such an affinity for veterans is that he’s a veteran himself. He grew up in Portsmouth, Va., and joined the Air Force right out of high school. He retired after serving for 20 years, then worked for a government contractor 14 years. Later, he was employed as activities director at the veterans home. He retired from his job with the Extension Service in April to help take care of his one-year-old grandson, Jaxson, and as of late August, ACES still had not found a replacement.

From the beginning, Johnson’s vision was to get out into the community to find veterans and widows of veterans who needed assistance, according to Lee Ann Clark, the St. Clair County Extension Service coordinator. “He worked hard and successfully accomplished his goal of making veterans aware of the benefits that are available to them and helped many obtain these benefits,” Clark says. “Not only did he reach the elderly and middle-aged veterans, but he also assisted younger ones.”

Although his retirement plans originally included relaxation, fishing and spending time with his grandson, he continues to be an asset to the veterans in the community in some capacity.

Wayne Johnson

Johnson estimates that he probably takes vets to appointments and helps them run other errands three times a week. “Some live in their own homes but can’t get out and get their groceries by themselves,” Johnson says. That’s where Veal’s van comes in handy. “I let him keep it at his house,” Veal says.

Johnson met his wife, Cheryl, when both were in the military and stationed in Kansas. She spent 10 years in the Air Force in accounting. When he retired, they decided to come back to Pell City because it was her hometown. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. One daughter, Jaxson’s mother, lives in Pell City. The other daughter, who has two children, lives in the Netherlands, where Johnson was once stationed while in the Air Force.

“Wayne does an awesome job with local veterans,” says Cheryl Johnson, who has been married to Wayne for 30 years. “We need more people like him because there’s a huge need with veterans in this county. So many are here alone, with their children in different states. He works well with people, and he’s still helping with some he was attached to. He picks up people as needed for appointments for a few who still reach out to him, and Lee Ann still refers people to him from time to time. He tries to direct them to the right resources if he can’t help them.”

His motivation, she says, is that he just loves reaching out to veterans. “When the St. Clair Extension Office had that opening, they wanted a veteran, and he was in a position to take the job,” she says. “It was part time, and he took it to have something to do. Then it got bigger and bigger because there was so much need out there. A news article would post, and the calls would continue to come in.” Cheryl says her husband connects with people. “He loves war movies and the history of wars, and loves the stories the veterans tell him,” she says.

Prior to its recent COVID-19 lockdown, the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home saw Johnson drop by at least once a week to participate in activities with residents. “He’s a great resource for us,” says Reshina Pratt. “One day a homeless vet from out of town stopped by and we called Wayne, and he helped him get the assistance he needed. He’s a kind, caring, helpful man. Even though he has retired (from the county extension office), we still call on him for assistance. I know he’ll be back here after the restrictions are lifted.”

The Rev. Willie E. Crook met Johnson about 20 years ago when Crook was a contractor building community churches. Johnson helped get Rocky Zion Baptist Church in Pell City built, according to Crook.

 “When I worked with him then, he had another job but came by and checked on the construction twice a day, before and after work,” says Crook.

“He’s a dedicated man. The Lord led me to build a ranch for underprivileged, inner-city kids. I talked to Wayne about helping me, and we started Gateway to Life Youth Ranch in Ohatchee 12 years ago. He’s president of the ranch, which hosts at-risk kids on weekends so they can enjoy the outdoors, fishing, woodworking and the animals at the ranch. We also mentor fourth- and fifth-grade boys’ classes at Saks Middle School in Anniston.”

Crook vouches for the fact that Johnson has befriended many veterans through the years. “Many times, he has come to the ranch to pick up or drop something, and he has had a vet with him,” Crook says. “He cares about them and would do anything in the world for them. He’s a giving man. We didn’t have any funds when we started that ranch, and he has gone into his pocket several times.”

A modest man, when asked why he continues to work with veterans, Johnson has a quick and simple reply: “It gives me a sense of satisfaction.”

Leeds business community growing

Story by Carol Pappas
Staff photos

It’s hard to miss the excitement building all around Leeds these days. From a flurry of business activity around the Interstate 20 interchanges to the commercial district on Ashville Road to the resurrection of downtown as a thriving center, the enthusiasm surrounding the growth is evident.

One of the best examples is found in historic downtown, where specialty shops, popular eateries, old favorites and professional services have found a home.

Leeds is a quaint, little city nestled just minutes from Birmingham and Anniston. Its historic downtown lends much charm with local shops, boutiques and architecture reminiscent of days gone by.

Visit the iconic Pants Store for clothing and shoe brands you know and love, a store that has been in business since 1950. For the past seven decades, shoppers from miles around have made it their destination point because of the selection, customer service and pricing. 

Neva Reardon shows off handbag collection at Mum & Me

This family-owned endeavor – still in the same family today – has expanded to Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Trussville, crediting its longevity to founder Taylor Gee’s philosophy – “always put the customer first and make sure of their satisfaction.”

Then stroll over to Merch Boutique for boutique women’s clothing in sizes XS-3X along with baby up to tween sizes for the kiddos as well as accessories, home décor and more. 

Head next door to Mum & Me Boutique for a shopping experience you won’t soon forget. Celebrating four years in business as a boutique specializing in local, Southern and American gifts and crafts, Mum & Me has a little something for anyone special in your life. 

Gifts range from baby and infant wear, baby shower gifts and registry, to bath products made in Texas and Virginia, Sorrelli dazzling jewels and a wide selection of jewelry made by American hands. An expanded boutique features beautiful, “wearable” ladies clothing. “We have jeans that fit a lady’s body like she was still 18,” said owner Neva Reardon.

Mum’s Unique Consignment Boutique is the latest sister store to mum & me mercantile. A quaint shop specializing in finer consignments of jewelry, purses, shoes, children’s clothing birth to tween, adult women and menswear – all sporting finer boutique brands. Are you going to a formal or getting married? Mum’s Unique is a first-stop must. And their collectibles are quite a draw.

Hungry or need to satisfy a sweet tooth craving? Stop in at the Three Earred Rabbit for a delicious meal with choices of homemade soups and sandwiches made from scratch, salads and fresh baked goodies that will make your taste buds go wild. 

One-of-a-kind cakes and other tasty desserts are made fresh every day.

Mills Pharmacies is your next stop with that hometown pharmacy feel, where everyone knows your name. But the features don’t end there. Mills carries a diverse collection of gift items and greeting cards in addition to filling all your pharmacy needs. Altogether, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

Overstock Mattress is growing in popularity, boasting the best prices around on quality bedding.

Your visit is not complete without a trip to Livery Square and the shop at LA Salon, Flowers & Boutique. This little shop has beautiful women’s clothing, accessories, home décor and gift items as well as offering tanning to keep you looking like you just returned from a well-earned vacation. You can also order floral arrangements for any occasion.

As you stroll these sidewalks throughout the downtown area, you will also find service organizations, a theater and art center, a dental center and all types of services needed in day-to-day life.

Nightlife is growing, too. Rails and Ales is fairly new to the roster, offering food and spirits at this craft beer and wine bar, featuring live music and games as part of its allure. Its entertainment line-up includes a number of local entertainers, and it hosts food trucks in its backyard on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Besides being voted one of the top suburbs for young professionals, Leeds has countless amenities to attract from near and far.

“We have things happening on all sides of Leeds, and we want to keep people coming downtown,” said Dona Bonnett, past president of the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce and a business owner herself. That’s why all sorts of activities are centered downtown, making Leeds more than a destination point at the interstate where Outlet Shops of Grand River, Buc-ee’s, Bass Pro Shops and Barber Motorsports naturally draw crowds.

“We want to introduce them to all Leeds has to offer,” said Sandra McGuire, executive director of the chamber. “We do that by offering all kinds of activities to generate the foot traffic needed to support our downtown businesses.”

She noted that every Monday is Food Truck Monday, attracting food trucks at the gazebo park that offer menus fit for any taste and rivaling traditional restaurant fare.

Every Thursday during harvest season, you’ll find 6th Street block just outside the chamber making way for fresh fruits, vegetables and homemade treats at the Leeds Farmers Market, a venue for local farmers and makers from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

In October, thousands come out for the trick or treat event for Halloween with games and candy for the kids, a movie and food trucks cooking up something special. And there’s a popular carnival in the fall, too.

On Nov. 13, thousands more are expected to turn out for a major car cruise-in by C&C Motor Co., “Cruising for Toys.” Admission is a toy for the cruise-in, which will provide Christmas gifts for kids in Leeds. Two hundred to 400 cars are expected. Food trucks, street vendors as well as a Christmas Open House with downtown retailers and other businesses open to greet visitors and shoppers to kick off the holiday season. A parade of cars is planned with Santa and the city’s tree lighting to round out the festivities. 

It’s all aimed at bringing people and businesses together, Bonnett said. The chamber’s Retail Development Committee meets regularly to generate ideas and create projects that can cross promote and help one another.

“We’re all in it together,” she said, noting that they can pool advertising dollars and resources. “If we work together, we can achieve more. It’s about how we can move forward and grow. We have a wonderful little town. There is a lot going on. We invite everyone to visit Leeds and see for yourself what people are talking about.”

Veterans Home

Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home
still a standout almost a decade later

Story by Carol Pappas
Staff photos

When the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home opened in 2012, officials knew it would usher in a new era for the region. The state and nation, really.

After all, this cutting-edge concept in state veterans homes was the pioneer, leading others to fall in line and follow suit.

It wasn’t just the breathtaking design – more like an exclusive mountain lodge and resort town than a nursing, assisted living and memory care facility. It was the realization that finally, veterans had a home worthy of their service to the country.

In the years that have followed, others saw it as a model, an idea that has grown and thrived around the country. Here at home in Alabama, the state is getting ready to open its fifth state veterans home in Enterprise. And it’s no surprise that the model in Pell City became the inspiration.

“If you ask veterans where they would rather be, their answer would be, ‘I’d rather be at home,’” said Rear Adm. Clyde Marsh, commissioner of the Alabama Veterans Administration just before it opened. “We tried to create a home they would like to go to and enjoy. We think the veterans will be happy here.”

He was right. Inside its massive corridors is like strolling through a downtown main street. Glass storefronts reveal what’s housed inside – a beauty shop, barber shop, pharmacy, library, chapel and a café.

The town center is an immense room anchored by a floor-to-cathedral-ceiling fireplace, sitting areas and nooks, a gathering place for residents and visitors alike. Courtyards and covered patios with rocking chairs add to the welcoming atmosphere.

Residences aren’t hospital-style rooms, they are neighborhoods with private rooms, a central kitchen, dining room and living room – just like the admiral said nine years ago, a home.

The home boasts several places to eat and relax.

The $50-million project did not miss its target, providing homes for 891 veterans to date, giving them access from assisted living to Alzheimer’s/dementia and skilled nursing services.

Hiliary Hardwick, director of the veterans home, has served there since the opening. She has played a role in every one of those 891 admissions, she said.

In return, the rewards have been many over the years, she said. “I get to know them and their families and take care of them. I get to know their stories.”

She knows the personal remembrances of D-Day, women who served in World War II, the liberation of Paris, landing on Omaha Beach or the fighting in Korea and Vietnam. They are eyewitnesses to history.

As World War II veterans have aged and passed away over the past nine years, the veterans home staff are seeing rapid changes. “We are having more and more Vietnam veterans,” Hardwick said. Veterans of the Gulf War are beginning to come there to live as well.

“They’re a lot younger – in their 60s and 70s – instead of late 80s and 90s,” and the staff are adapting to their needs. “It’s a different mindset on how to take care of them,” she explained. “They’re more tech savvy. They know about Wi-Fi,” and the changing needs are being met.

They’re more active, she noted, and consequently, activities for them are changing. As an example, she said there are a lot of golfers, so they partnered with the Alabama Golf Superintendent’s Association to design and build a putting green on the grounds. The community joined the effort as well with donations from Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and Pell City Rotary Club.

Community involvement like the putting green project is not unusual at the veterans home over the years, although activity has been significantly limited in the past year due to pandemic concerns.

But in years past, the community has ‘adopted’ the veterans home and its residents, making sure needs are fulfilled – from special events to visits to decorating for Christmas to entertaining or just being a friend.

Just like Rear Adm. Marsh said, it’s their home, and it should befit their service.

Hardwick agreed, talking about the sacrifices they made and the history they’ve experienced and are willing to share. “They’ve lived history, it’s not just something you read in a book.”

Rim to Rim

Pair of Pell City engineers ‘engineer’ a Grand Canyon adventure

Story by Scottie Vickery
Submitted photos

John Jones remembers reading a quote years ago that’s been on his mind quite a bit recently. The gist is that if you pick something to tackle, and it doesn’t seem impossible at the beginning, you didn’t choose something hard enough.

Jones and Dennis Vandegrift, his friend and co-worker, don’t have to worry that they set their sights on something too easy. Their idea to hike the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim in two days was a daunting one. Five months after achieving their goal, they’re still amazed at what they accomplished.

Dennis hiking along the North Kaibab Trail, Day 1

“A little over a year ago, (we) hatched an insane idea” Jones said in a Facebook post after returning home. “We thought we should try to hike from one rim of the Grand Canyon to the other and back over two days. 110,000-ish steps, 45 miles, 20,000 feet of elevation change, and I’m not sure how many training hikes and runs later, we did it. I’m honestly more than a little surprised we pulled it off.”

Not many people do. According to the National Park Foundation, a partner of the National Park Service, fewer than 1% of the Grand Canyon’s 5 million annual visitors even venture below the rim – and many of those just hike a few miles. The ones who hike rim to rim, typically over two days, are even fewer.

Then there’s Jones and Vandegrift, who did it twice. They hiked from the North Rim of the canyon to the South Rim in 12 hours, spent the night in a hotel, and hiked back from the South Rim to the North the next day.

“It was cool, but it was a little bit nuts,” Jones said. “The more it’s in the rearview mirror, the cooler it becomes.”

The planning stages

Both Jones and Vandegrift, structural engineers with Barnett Jones Wilson in Pell City, are avid outdoorsmen. Jones, 49, is a hiking and backpacking enthusiast while Vandegrift, 41, competes in triathlons and owns Off-Road Multisport, which hosts swim/bike/run/paddle off-road race events in Alabama and Northwest Florida.

The two are always up for a challenge, and Jones proposed this one. “I mentioned it to Dennis, and it took him five seconds to say, ‘We’re doing it,’” Jones recalled.

They had to work quickly since lodging sells out a year in advance. “We hatched this plan 54 weeks before we could do the trip, so we had to make a lot of quick decisions,” Jones said. “The first day we were eligible, we booked everything.”

Their goal was to hike rim-to-rim-to-rim, but they decided to arrange for a shuttle at the South Rim in case they got there and weren’t up to hiking back. “We thought it would be a cheap insurance plan,” Jones said. Because of COVID, though, there were fewer shuttle options than normal, and all were booked. “At that point, it was all or nothing,” he said.

They began training in earnest. “I felt like I was the weak link,” Jones said. “He could have shown up ready to do it, but I definitely had a lot of conditioning to do. I was more worried about my general fitness level, and Dennis was more concerned about his feet and knees.”

The Grand Canyon hike is different from most, Vandegrift said, and they kept that in mind while training. “It’s like a reverse mountain climb,” he said. “You’re doing the descent first and then the ascent at the end when you’re tired. Normally, you get to the top, and you have gravity to bring you home.”

Another issue is temperature changes. The North Rim doesn’t open until May 15 because it’s got a much higher elevation than the South Rim, and ice and snow can be issues. “The first morning, it was 25 degrees when we left,” Vandegrift said. “By midday at the bottom, it was 90.”

Training included lots of hikes at Mt. Cheaha, and Jones had a previously scheduled hike in Wyoming. He also headed to Clingmans Dome in the Smoky Mountains after planning a hike that mimicked the Grand Canyon one as closely as possible.

“It was about 25 miles with 9-10,000 feet of elevation changes,” Jones said, adding that he started high, hiked down first and then back up. “I figured if I couldn’t do it in the Smoky Mountains when it’s 50 or 60 degrees, I couldn’t do it in the Grand Canyon when it’s in the 90s.”

Hiking the canyon

The two headed to Arizona on May 22. They camped out the night before the first day of hiking, which Jones said was their only big mistake. “We should have stayed in a hotel,” he said. “We had to break camp that morning, which took a long time, and it was cold. We were shooting to leave at 5 a.m. but it was more like 6:30.”

Each carried only the bare necessities in his pack – a toothbrush, water, change of clothes and two days’ worth of trail food, Vandegrift said. They planned to eat dinner at the hotel once they made it to the South Rim that evening, and there were water stations every three to five miles, so they never had to carry more than two quarts of water. “The packs probably weighed 18 or 20 pounds starting out, which is light for a pack,” he said.

John on a bridge crossing on the North Kaaibab Trail

One of the first things they noticed before setting out was all the warning signs around the Grand Canyon. “Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is optional. Hiking out is mandatory,” one read. Even still, they were determined. “I think where most people get in trouble is when they don’t respect it and understand it going into it,” Vandegrift said. “We knew it was going to be hard as hell.”

By the time they reached the bottom of the canyon on the first day, they were feeling it. They stopped for lunch and a cold glass of lemonade at Phantom Ranch, which offers the only lodging below the rim of the canyon and is accessible only by foot, mule or by rafting the Colorado River. Although many hikers stay the night, Jones and Vandegrift still had the ascent to the South Rim ahead of them.

“At one point we still had to hike nine more miles and gain 4,400 vertical feet to get to the hotel room,” Jones said, adding that the distance included a three- to four-mile section they later learned is nicknamed Heart Attack Hill. “We both had heart monitors on our watches, and they were beating pretty fast,” he said with a laugh.

By the end of the first day, all they could think about was food and a hot shower. “Our hotel room had a claw-foot tub that you had to step into. When we walked in and saw it, we were like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” After a hot dinner and a load of ibuprofen, they went to sleep only to be awakened by horrible leg cramps.

Getting up to catch the 5 a.m. shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead was painful, and they started the hike in the dark with headlamps. A few miles in, they were rewarded with an incredible sunrise. “There are 360-degree views, and the sun just illuminates everything,” Vandegrift said. “It was incredible.”

Although they had seen some beautiful scenery and a full-size ram that jumped out of nearby brush the day before, they both agreed that the South Kaibab Trail, which is very steep, was their favorite. “In the really steep sections, you could look down and see as many as 10 switchbacks,” or zigzags of the trail, Jones said.

“You could see someone down below, and they seemed so close, like you could throw a rock to them, but they were probably an hour ahead on the trail,” Vandegrift added.

The views were spectacular. “If we had hiked that section and spent twice as much time there, it still wouldn’t have been enough; it was just so scenic,” Jones said. Vandegrift agreed. “You can take a million pictures and it doesn’t begin to capture it.”

Mission accomplished

By the time they made it back to the North Rim about 5 p.m., they were hungry, tired and had a 3-hour drive to their hotel ahead of them. They got a bison burger at a drive-through, turned in early, headed home the next day, and were in the office the day after that. “I don’t think we had that ‘we did it’ feeling until that first day back in the office,” Vandegrift said.

Although they were disappointed that they never saw a herd of bison, which are often spotted at the North Rim, Jones and Vandegrift said they loved the experience and the challenge. “The first three miles and the last three miles each day were the hardest,” Jones said.

Although they pushed themselves, they never considered quitting. “At the end of the first day when we still had a few miles left to go, I was feeling apprehensive about the second day,” Vandegrift said. “But you settle in, get down to business and start walking. It was two really long days of hiking, and there are times we were hurting, but it was never, ‘We’re about to die.’ We never thought that we weren’t going to finish.”

Jones said he was proud of their achievement and the determination that carried them through to the end. “My daughter runs cross country, and she would go to Cheaha with me and Dennis for some of our 13- to 14-mile training hikes,” he said. “She’d be running up the hills, and I was struggling to get up them.

“She saw me struggling in November with something that shouldn’t be that hard if you’re going to do what I signed up to do,” he said. “Then she saw what I did and saw what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it. That’s a pretty good feeling.”

Mud Factor

Run at Millcreek MX Park in Pell City

Story, photos and video
by Graham Hadley

Mud Factor bills itself as a “seriously fun, 5K obstacle run,” and it delivered exactly that.

Despite days of heavy rains leading up to the day before the race, organizers were able to put together a spectacular event at Pell City’s Millcreek MX Park just off the Eden Exit of I-20.

David Carpenter, one of the event organizers, said their run is supposed to be more family oriented than many of the more hard-core obstacle runs and tries to draw a diverse crowd of people who otherwise might not tackle such a challenge.

“We call ourselves a fitness-based entertainment event, very family oriented. Our obstacle course is more family friendly,” he said.

The early runs are for mixed groups of children and adults – people of all ages and athletic abilities. One lap is half the run, and there are no penalties if you opt out of an obstacle.

“One of our MCs says it best: ‘If you are staring up at an obstacle. And it is staring back at you, and you say, ‘Oh heck no.’ You can walk around it,’” Carpenter said.

There are also no 1st-place awards – but everyone gets a medal for finishing.

“The reality is that we are just trying to get people off the couch and have fun with their friends and family. Participants often help each other over the obstacles. There is no 1st place or last place. We are a fun run. No times are kept,” he said.

Don’t be fooled, though, this is still a challenging obstacle and mud run. And though one lap gets you through the entire course with all the obstacles, it takes two go-arounds to hit that 5K mark. Those runs are usually reserved for the afternoon.

Team Jamaica, Russ, Ronae, Sadike, and Sachell at the beginning

The course has the usual suspects of obstacles – mud holes, inclines and ladders, ropes and crawls, walls, and of course, water slides. All the extra rain this year made for some tricky spots – areas that are normally only a couple of feet deep required swimming in some spots. Like the rest of the obstacles, there were plenty of Mud Factor staff on hand, especially around the deep water, to help anyone who needed it.

Safety was always at primary concern. In addition to the staff monitoring the obstacles, there were water stations, places to store you backpacks and gear – the Mud Factor employees had every contingency covered.

For spectators and participants, there were food trucks, music, and the runners got bandannas and free stick-on tattoos.

Despite the weeks of wet weather leading up to the run, the actual day of the event was perfect – clear skies and warm but not sweltering weather – the perfect combination for the perfect outdoors event.

With the increase in COVID-19 cases, event organizers took extra precautions to keep everyone safe – there was plenty of room for everybody to social distance, but masks were required in the starting area where everyone was crowded together at the beginning of each run. Masks were encouraged, but not required, in any areas where people were close together. Nobody was required to run with a mask.

“Mill Creek is the perfect venue right now,” Carpenter said. The park is a top MX competition bike track that is privately owned. Some of the other venues Mud Factor uses are in government-owned facilities and have to follow very strict COVID guidelines. Millcreek did not have such stringent requirements, which made the run much more fun for the participants.

That’s not the only reason, though, that Carpenter likes the park so much.

“It’s ideal. It has good entrance and exits, there is plenty of parking, the track and surrounding areas are dirt with some great terrain,” he said.

But most important is the easy access to water.

“At other parks, we are a national mud-run company, so especially out West, we have to often port in our own water for the obstacles and the mud. That is a lot of water, a lot of work. Millcreek had all of that right there,” he said.

“We are celebrating 10 years this year, and the MX parks are ideal. The tracks are permitted for crowds, they have the parking … it makes it easy.”

Climbing obstacle at Mud Factor run at Millcreek MX park in Pell City

And true to the organizers’ intent, Mud Factor drew people from all walks of life and ages and from all over the region.

One trio was there from Madison because of a bet. Russ said with a smile that he was at the race because “Jamaicans run faster than Americans.” He had bet two of his friends from Jamaica, Ronae and Sachell, that America would win a track event they were watching on TV. “And there they went over the finish line, Jamaica, one, two, three, so here I am,” he said.

One of the things that made the race attractive to that group, who also brought young Sadike with them, was that the course was designed for athletes and non-athletes alike and was just a fun way to get out and get some exercise.

At the finish line, Team Jamaica Ronae and Sachell kept celebrating by throwing themselves back into the giant pool of water that served as the final obstacle, huge grins on their faces, as Russ filmed them from the shore with his phone, a grin plastered on his face as well.

That was the overall feeling from the other runners – a fun, athletic day in the sun and a chance to get out after a long year cooped up at home.

Nicole from Locust Fork said she had heard about the event on Facebook and that she liked the family-friendly atmosphere.

“This is great for kids, a good family event. We can go around any obstacles that are too hard for them,” she said.

A lot of the competitors were there in groups and said they often do these kinds of events together on a regular basis.

Candice, Jason, Lauren and Niles were one such group from Birmingham.

“We have done runs together before. We heard about it on Facebook and decided to come out,” Niles said.

Lauren agreed, “We saw it online, and it just looked like a lot of fun.”

The organizers enjoy the events almost as much as the runners, Carpenter said, and they have every intention of returning to St. Clair County for future mud runs.

“We have been doing this for 10 years. It is a lot of work. If we did not love doing this, we would not still be doing it,” he said. “I definitely see us returning here in the future.”

For people looking for additional Mud Factor races here, Carpenter did say that the events are usually named after the largest nearby metro area – so even though the race is held at Millcreek MX Park in Pell City, it is advertised as the Birmingham Mud Factor race.