Ed Gardner Sr.

Handed over the blueprints for success

Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
— Proverbs 29:18

For most, visions of economic development mean shiny, sleek sedans slowly rolling off assembly lines.

But Ed Gardner Sr. envisioned St. Clair County’s economic boom not just in big manufacturing, but in cozy convenience stores, fueled by gasoline, soda and snacks.

Local entrepreneur Bill Ellison remembers Gardner’s first retail project, a convenience store on the I-20 corridor. The area would later grow to include a Wal-Mart Superstore and a wealth of other retailers, restaurants and motels.

Ellison recalls a ceremony announcing the project, the biggest he’d undertaken.

“Ed Gardner got up there and basically, he said, this project was going to change the whole way of life as Pell City knows it. It was going to be so important to the community, it was going to be about a way of life. It was going to be about better city services. It was going to be about public parks. It was going to be about all the things they could do with that money (tax revenue) that would start coming in off of that development. They would have extra money to do things to make this a better community, and it actually turned out that way.”

Indeed, it did. And the seed planted by that small retailer, and the recruitment of big manufacturers across the county, would lead to public parks, better public access to Logan Martin Lake and the Coosa River, the CEPA Center, more money for education and emergency services. Higher wages and better benefits for the county’s people in turn boosted the real estate market.

Gardner, now 82, the recipient of the 2018 Chairman’s Award from the St. Clair County Economic Development Council, is quick to downplay his role. While he was honored by the award, he says it was undeserved.

The award is given annually to a person who has gone above and beyond in their support of economic development in St. Clair County. “These are private citizens – not public officials – who are out there trying to make this county better,” said current St. Clair County Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith.

“I’ve always looked at that as, I was paid for everything I did. Like when I was nominated Citizen of the Year, I didn’t think it was fair. The things that I have accomplished are what I’m supposed to be doing. That’s my job, it’s what I’m supposed to be doing. I get up every morning, every day with that in mind, that this is what I’m supposed to accomplish. Awards like that are for people who give of their time, not people who are paid for their time.”

He adds, “It’s a great award, and I’m extremely proud to receive it. And it certainly makes me feel good that the people that I’ve known for the 19 years that I’ve been here, feel toward me that they would want to acknowledge what I have done with a ceremony and a way to commemorate it. It’s a tremendous honor and one that I really don’t feel that I necessarily deserve.”

His resume’ and those who have known Gardner through the years would quickly disagree.

Consider just a few of his accomplishments: Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs in the second administration of then-Gov. Fob James, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the late Jack Kemp. He also served in regional leadership roles for HUD in Birmingham, Atlanta, Florida and Oklahoma City.

He played a key role in Alabama’s burgeoning automobile industry, helping continue the Mercedes Benz project in Tuscaloosa County, and later Honda in Lincoln and the industries that would spin off the auto industry, benefitting all of St.  Clair County. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Those who have come to know Gardner over his 19 years in St. Clair County are quick to disagree with his claim that the Chairman’s Award is undeserved. They contend he is the foundation for economic prosperity that St. Clair County has enjoyed in recent years. Its ranking as one of the fastest-growing counties in the state was built in large part, they say, through Gardner’s efforts.

And it came because he brought unity to the county’s drive for prosperity.  Former Pell City Mayor Guin Robinson said in the late 1990s, local leaders committed to work together, ignoring political turf wars that can kill the best-intentioned ideas in small towns and rural counties. St. Clair has had its share, thanks in part to its geography. Not this time.

 “Sometimes the stars align. We had progressive leaders, and we were all committed to do whatever it took to bring the county together around economic development.”

And the biggest piece of the puzzle, many say, was attracting Ed Gardner to St. Clair County.

“The Ed Gardner hire was the biggest the county ever made,” Ellison said. “Forming the EDC and hiring him, I can’t think of anything that’s been more important for this county. Ed always had the right words at the right time. He was an artist with words. He would pick the absolute right word. It was a work of art when Ed spoke.”

Longtime Gardner friend and colleague, local real estate executive Lyman Lovejoy, agrees. Lovejoy still pinches himself when he thinks of how the county landed Gardner for its point person on the economy. He knew how to build confidence and how to bring people together. Lovejoy was on the EDC board for 15 years and was part of the team that interviewed Gardner for the its executive director role.

“He’s got a pedigree that’s unreal. When he was in the interview, he got a phone call and said he had to take it, that it was from then-U.S. Rep. Richard Shelby. I thought it was staged. But it was Richard Shelby. That’s the kind of people he knew.”

The man that holds the job now, EDC Executive Director Don Smith, said that Gardner’s experience at the state and federal level paid dividends.

“It was critical in his ability to come here and have the patience and the temperament to bring everyone together, even if they didn’t want to,” Smith said.

Lovejoy, a past recipient of the Chairman’s Award, added, “He is the one that put us on the road to economic development here in the county. He brought our county together, the towns together, all working the same way for the same purpose.”

Gardner’s philosophy was as simple as the old adage of the rising tide that lifts all boats. A recent informal survey of the county’s major employers revealed that the workforce at each firm came from across the county.

“When you’re talking about jobs, it’s not zip code specific or city specific,” Smith said. “When a company’s expanding with 200 jobs, that’s good for all areas of St. Clair County.”

“He preached a sermon: “Just because they put something in Steele or Pell City, it benefits everybody (countywide),” Lovejoy said. “All the jobs don’t come from Steele or Ashville or wherever. His people skills were unsurpassed.”

And under Gardner’s leadership, St. Clair’s economic development blueprint became a model for other cities and counties.

“Ed validated economic development in St. Clair County,” Lovejoy says. “Other counties would call us and say, ‘How are y’all doing this? Show us what you’re doing.’ That’s going on today.”

Would economic development have transformed St. Clair into one of the state’s fastest growing counties without Gardner?

“It certainly wouldn’t have been as big,” Lovejoy says.

Gardner shies away from an individual spotlight. He will quickly tell you that economic development rests on a two-tiered foundation – teamwork and integrity, doing what you say you’ll do, without excuses.

He will quickly share credit with public and private sector leaders he’s worked with, as well as with his wife of 60 years, Betty, and his children.

And then there is his faith. In their retirement years, the Gardners travel to cities large and small, following their favorite Southern Gospel groups. Whether in Louisville, Ky., or Shipshewana, Ind., or towns near and far, he prefers performers who sing together for the glory of God, not singers who try to bring attention to themselves onstage.

“I’ve always liked gospel music, but I have never liked the demeanor of the most popular groups when they were performing on stage. To me, it ought to be a worship experience.”

Economic development is the same way, he says – perfect shared harmony. And every shared success is granted by the Almighty.

His career of success has also endured pain.

Gardner led the Oklahoma City field office of HUD. Days after he left that role in 1995 to return to Alabama, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in a horrific act of domestic terrorism. Some 168 people died, including 35 of Gardner’s HUD colleagues. Nineteen children being cared for at the America’s Kids Day Care Center in the building, were among the dead. He tries to block out the memory, but it never fades.

Asked how he was impacted by the bombing, Gardner took a long pause. His voice broke and tears came. Those that were lost, he said, “were some of the best people I ever knew. I try to let people know how I feel about them rather than waiting until tomorrow or next week or next month, because . . . because I know that I may not have another opportunity.”

With the Chairman’s Award, Gardner’s adopted home expressed its feelings for him. And while grateful, Gardner’s humility never ceased.

“The thing that I would want people to know is that I never promised anything that I didn’t think I could deliver. And I never committed to anything that I didn’t do my best to complete in an exemplary way.”

He adds: “There’s nothing that I can look back on that can make me look back and say I wish I’d taken this path rather than that path. I tell you, the Lord has been so good to me in giving me a great family that has supported me in times I wasn’t able to be there physically to support them. They never wavered. Therefore, I know I’ve done what I should have done. I am without any doubt, one of the most blessed people that has ever lived.”

And his greatest reward comes not through gleaming plaques or grand ribbon cuttings, but in something more tangible.

“What’s gratifying to me is that when I walk through one of these plants, whether its Honda or  Eismann (Automotive, North America)  here in Pell City or WKW, and I’m walking through there and I see a man or woman there that I had  seen in the past (making minimum wage) and (now) seeing them making a good hourly wage plus benefits, that’s what does more for me than anything else – knowing that their standard of living has really improved.”

Guin Robinson characterized Gardner’s legacy.

“You can have all the necessary things for success,” he said. “But it takes a leader. And it takes someone who can put all the ingredients together. You can call him an architect. You can call him a builder, but Ed put it together. … We all knew we had those things, but we needed someone to put it together. I’m forever thankful and forever grateful that that person was Ed Gardner.”

Cinertainment comes to Pell City

Story by Linda Long
Photos by Graham Hadley
and Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Heads up, Pell City and environs, Cinertainment has come to town, and there’s nothing else like it anywhere around. When people talk about the ‘wow factor,’ this place defines it.

Take it from Mark Vaughan, facility director of the 47,892-square-foot facility, which houses seven theatres with reclining seats, 12 bowling lanes, a café and bar, and an arcade complete with zip-line – all under one huge roof.

The name is a derivative of the words, cinema and entertainment, but that barely begins to describe the multiplex, multifaceted attraction. 

As Vaughan explained, the innovative concept is geared toward serving as a destination point, drawing patrons from Lincoln, Leeds, Anniston, Oxford and Talladega.

“Of course, we would love to draw from the Birmingham area as well, but those cities are where we expect to get our customers,” said Vaughn.

Ten years in the planning and construction phase, Cinertainment opened its doors in January to record crowds. As Vaughan points out, the facility was a long time coming but well worth the wait.

“We offer something for just about everybody,” he said.

Mayor Bill Pruitt, who cut the ribbon on opening night and took his turn on the zip line, echoed the sentiment, crediting multiple city administrations; St. Clair Economic Development Council; developer Bill Ellison, president of I-20 Development; and St. Clair County Commission. 

“This very well could be the single most important date in Pell City history,” Pruitt said, making a joke about Facebook and the years of discussions and comments from an impatient community. “This is the fourth administration to have this dream, he said, singling out former Mayors Adam Stocks, Bill Hereford and Joe Funderburg. “Joe worked diligently,” he said. Ground was broken on the complex just past the end of Funderburg’s term and the beginning of Pruitt’s.

“I deserve no credit for this,” Pruitt continued. “I am just honored to be a part of this and to be able to stand here tonight. After walking around inside and seeing this place, it was well worth the wait.”

The mayor also talked of Ellison’s role. He said Premier Cinema CEO Gary Moore told him how excited he was to finally meet Ellison a couple of years back. He remembered Moore telling him, “ ‘ Who in the heck is this Bill Ellison who keeps calling me about bringing this movie theater to Pell City?’ ”

Ellison, long known for his persistence in recruiting business to Pell City, recalled, “I stayed on him. I kept calling him and telling him about Pell City. We started building a relationship, and it progressed to the point that we could put the right people together to make it happen.”

Ellison noted that it indeed was a team effort of the city and county, noting that St. Clair EDC Executive Director Don Smith played a major role in “putting the package together.”

Moore agreed, saying Smith and City Manager Brian Muenger’s support for the project ensured its success. “Without their support and enthusiasm, this project would never have happened.” He added thanks to Funderburg as well.

So now the dream is finally reality. “It’s not only a great thing for Pell City,” said St. Clair Commissioner Tommy Bowers, “it’s a great thing for St. Clair County.”

Moore took it a step further. “This is a destination attraction. It will draw from counties from miles around. It is a lifestyle enhancement, we think, of great proportions.”

He’s right. From 12 state-of-the-art bowling lanes to seven “luxury experience” movie theaters, an indoor zip line and obstacle course, Cinertainment’s management take their night-out-on-the-town experience to a whole new level.

“We’re offering what we call the ultimate luxury in movie going,” said Vaughan.  “All the seats are reclining. The recliners are electrically powered in all auditoriums, complete with USB ports and swivel tables for dining. Movie goers may order their food. We’ll give you a buzzer. When your food is ready, we’ll buzz you and you go right to your theater door to get your meal.”

As Vaughan explained, “this way you can have your popcorn and Coke or a full meal right there at your own table.”

The expanded food and beverage options are expected to be a huge draw, with a full-service kitchen, a pub and full bar, offering four top drafts, four light beers and four craft beers from local breweries.

Food choices include pizza, hamburgers, grilled chicken, wings, onion rings, fried green tomatoes, chef salad and fried pickles.

For those who might want to work off some of those calories, Cinertainment offers a zip line and an obstacle course. And, of course let’s not forget the arcade.  “Our game room has about 46 different games. “You can redeem points here, then take them to the redemption center to see what you can buy,” said Vaughan. “We’ve got winnings ranging from trinkets to an Xbox.”

The facility also offers space for private events such as birthday parties and business meetings.

“We’ve even gotten a couple of churches interested in holding Sunday services here. Like I said, something for everybody,” said Vaughan. l

 

Cinertainment is located at 2200 Vaughan Lane in Pell City.
– Carol Pappas contributed to this story.

 

St. Clair Outdoors

From hunting to climbing to cycling:
Not one single reason to stay inside

Story by Loyd McIntosh
Submitted Photos
Discover Archive Photos

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
— Margaret Atwood

The promise of another spring is just around the corner. Time to shake off the fog of winter, as well as the handful of pounds many gained waiting for the wet, cold and gray misery of winter to finally come to an end. Spring is a time to put the remote control down, shut off the cell phone, get outdoors, learn a new skill, and, most importantly, have some fun!

St. Clair County is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, and there are a ton of local experts ready to help you take advantage of the many outdoor activities available just outside the front door. Regardless of your physical fitness level or knowledge of a new interest, the only limit is your imagination and willingness to try to something new. The following is just a sample of some of the activities you can do throughout the county.

Kayaking Big
Canoe Creek

More and more people are learning about the great kayaking and canoeing along Big Canoe Creek, a 50-plus-mile-long waterway snaking through St. Clair County and part of the Big Canoe Creek Watershed. 

One of the most ecologically diverse in the state, Big Canoe Creek is home to more than 50 species of fish and one of the healthiest populations of mussels in the country. The creek is also stunningly beautiful, and one of the best ways to experience it is in a kayak.

“Our creek has lots of wildlife on it,” says Randall Van, owner and operator of Yak Tha Creek, a small business providing kayaking experiences based in Ashville. Among the species of fish are alligator gar, crappie, brim and red eye bass.

Van says many of his customers are anglers who want to fish the creek from kayaks. “I have a lot of fishers that come to me and want to fish the day out there, fishing on the edges, and find them a little hole where there’s a deep spot to fish because our water goes from ankle-deep to 12 to 15 feet deep.”

Even if fishing isn’t your thing, kayaking Big Canoe Creek is a spectacular way to appreciate the natural wonder of St. Clair County.

The section of the creek Van runs his business on and uses for personal kayaking is very secluded, keeping the modern distractions from the natural habitats to a minimum. Even an expert like Van is surprised from time to time at what he encounters when on the water. “I’ve been down it many times with my wife and all of a sudden a deer will cross the creek in front of you,” he says. “We had a bald eagle visit the creek several times last year to go fishing itself. Lots of neat stuff like that can be happened upon while you’re out there.

“This is part of the thrill and why I enjoy it so much,” he adds. “You just never know what you’re going to kayak up to.”

Bird Watching

If you’re interested in something a little less strenuous or just want a more relaxed experience in the outdoors, bird watching might be just the thing for you. Thanks to the county’s diverse natural resources and location along the flight path for many interesting species, St. Clair County offers ample opportunities to see an array of birds on their way to and from locations as far-flung as the Arctic Circle to South America.

 “During the spring you’ll definitely get a lot of spring migrants,” says Joe Watts, president of Birmingham Audubon and the author of Alabama Birding Trails (alabamabirdingtrails.com). “There are several hundred birds that migrate through Alabama each spring and fall, and some actually stop in Alabama and spend the summer here.”

According to Watts, many birds that make their way to our neck of the woods launch from the Dauphin Island-Gulf Shores area when the wind is ideal, allowing them to make the trip several hundred miles north.

“Sometimes they’ll fly all the way to St. Clair and Jefferson counties to the first line of the Appalachian Mountains, and then they’ll settle,” explains Watts. “They’re going as far as they can until they’re worn completely out.” Among the birds you’re likely to see during the spring include the rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo buntings and hawks, which are plentiful during the spring and fall along the ridges of Horse Pens 40.

On Logan Martin Dam, wading birds are common sights, such as the black-crowned night heron and other similar species that feed on the fish along the rocky shoreline of the lake. The majestic bald eagle, with its wingspan of up to 7.5 feet, can also be viewed throughout the area.

Other areas around the county that are great for bird watching include Ten Islands Historic Park, where visitors can see blue-winged warblers, along with prairie warblers and white-eyed vireos beginning in March, and Neely Henry Dam, where a variety of gulls, such as Ring-billed, Bonaparte’s and Herrings, as well as cliff and barn swallows, are visible throughout the spring. To get started, all you need is a willingness to get outdoors and patience. A nice pair of binoculars is the perfect complement.

Bouldering at Horse Pens 40

One of the most physically challenging activities around the county has to be bouldering at Horse Pens 40. However, if you’re up to the challenge, your hard work will be rewarded. Increasingly, the nature park situated on Chandler Mountain is gaining a reputation for some of the best bouldering in the nation – if not the world.

Made up of rare combinations of sandstone with bands of iron throughout, the rock formations at Horse Pens 40 are tightly condensed and due to the uniqueness of the formation, provide a more challenging climbing experience. “A lot of places that people go to boulder you have to walk a quarter of a mile to get to the next climb, but here it’s all laid out back-to-back like it would be in a gym,” says Ashley Ensign, assistant manager at Horse Pens 40.

The rock formations at Horse Pens 40 pushed up from underground with evidence to suggest the formations were under water for millions of years. This process led to the tops of the rocks being rounder and smoother than most rocks, forming what is known as “slopers” in the bouldering world.

Slopers are more of a challenge to climb than flat top rocks, making Horse Pens 40 an attractive location for bouldering enthusiasts around the world. “We’re known as the sloper top out capital of the world,” says Ensign. “It’s like you’re trying to grip a ball to pull up on the top. It is a lot more challenging because you have to squeeze. That’s what I hear people say every day. You have to grip the sides and hug it.”

On a typical weekend, up to 200 people can be found bouldering on the 40 acres of rock formations at Horse Pens 40, many of them coming from locations thousands of miles away. They have heard about the great climbing and the park and made the trek to Steele, Alabama, to check it out. “Recently we’ve had people from Colorado, Canada and even from Japan. It’s just that well-known within the climbing world.”

For more on St. Clair Outdoors, check out the full special section in this month’s Discover St. Clair. 

David Foote

A master woodcarver at his craft

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

David Foote peered intently through the lighted magnifier attached to his kitchen table and carefully cut a miniscule section of a duck’s feather with a small knife. It’s that attention to detail that makes the woodcarver’s art come alive, whether he’s recreating feathers, a beak or the shell of a turtle.

“You’ll never find anybody who has put more love and consideration into a piece than I have,” said Foote, who has been carving wildlife – mostly birds – for 38 years. “You’re looking at somebody who no doubt loves what he does.”

Foote’s creations have been featured at the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, the headquarters of the National Audubon Society in Manhattan, and in homes and offices in 11 countries. He’s taking commissions two years out, and his carvings can fetch thousands of dollars. Despite the acclaim, the Pell City artist is always honing his craft.

“I’m just an old country boy,” he said. “I’ve gotten to go to a lot of places and meet a lot of people because of my artwork, but I never feel like I’ve reached a pinnacle. It’s a continual learning process.”

Foote has learned a lot about himself in recent years, largely because of health issues that have plagued him. Ten years ago, while in the hospital with double pneumonia, he had a heart attack at age 47. In 2015, he battled squamous cell cancer in his throat and very nearly lost his life. The experiences helped him grow as a person and an artist.

“I was on life support for three weeks and in intensive care for a few more,” Foote said of his cancer fight. “I left the hospital in a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk. The doctor said, ‘I can’t tell you what to expect, because I’ve never seen anybody come back from the dead.’ I thought I’d never carve again.”

Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Foote thanked God for healing him and for every bird he’d had the opportunity to create. “Even if I didn’t carve another one, that was fine,” he said. “I was at peace with it.”

Slowly but surely, however, he began to regain his strength. As he graduated to a walker and then a cane, he began to think about once again pursuing his passion. “Finally, one day I picked up a knife and took a piece of wood and just started carving,” he said. “I realized I could do a little more each day.” 

Foote, 57, first fell in love with carving at 18. The son of Wayne and Wanda Foote, he grew up on the river with his sister and two brothers, including an identical twin. His mother was a primitive antiques dealer, and his father, who had a long career in the iron industry, also built and restored furniture and log houses.

“My dad taught me a wonderful respect and reverence for wood,” Foote said, adding that he learned the different properties of wood make some types better for creating baskets and others best for making furniture. “He looked at wood like we look at different people.”

Foote also developed his love of nature and wildlife as a child. On fishing trips with his father, he spent more time feeding ducks than he did baiting his hook. “People ask me all the time why birds and why wood,” he said. “I’m a bird person; I notice them everywhere. And I like the unforgiveness of wood. You’ve got one shot. If you take something away, you can’t put it back.”

Not long after graduating from Pell City High School in 1980, Foote stumbled upon a craft show at a Birmingham mall and was mesmerized with one artist’s wood carvings. “We got to talking and he said, ‘You know a lot about wood, and you know a lot about birds. Have you ever thought about carving?’”

The man, Don Mitchell of Leeds, gave him his card and invited the teenager to visit his workshop. “I wanted to go the next day, but I waited two weeks,” Foote said. “He had an old garage he’d converted to a shop. When we walked in that door, that was it. Before I left there, he gave me my first carving knife and said, ‘Go carve a bird and when you get done, I want to see it.’”

Mitchell mentored Foote for about two years before he passed away. Later, Foote read everything he could get his hands on about birds and the art of wood carving, and he said he is largely self-taught. “My mother still has the first bird I ever carved,” he said. “My stuff was very crude back then, but my father gave me some good advice. He told me that there are no straight lines and nothing flat in nature.”

Foote’s art allows him to use another one of his talents and loves – painting. “I have always been artistic,” he said. “I was just always able to draw from first-grade on. The teacher would say, ‘Draw a bird, draw a house,’ and mine always got hung up on the board.”

He took art in middle and high school and said he was blessed to have accomplished artist John Lonergan, who lives in Pell City and is well known for his paintings and pottery, as his teacher. “He kind of took me under his wing,” Foote said.

For much of his career, Foote’s brush strokes provided the exquisite detail on the figures he carved mostly from bass wood. His recovery from cancer and brush with death, however, gave him the incentive he needed to try what he had wanted to do for a long time – take his skill to the next level and provide most of the detail through woodburning and carving rather than just paint.

Foote had experimented with the technique before cancer, but was afraid the extra work and time required would make his pieces too costly. “Everything back then was smooth and slick and didn’t have the intricate details,” Foote said. “When I got through cancer and saw I was going to be able to carve again, my whole attitude changed. I decided I don’t care if anyone buys it. I’m going to do it like I want.”

Foote, who now creates full-size, half-size and miniature works of art mostly from Tupelo gum wood, needn’t have worried. His customers pay anywhere from $1,000 for a small songbird to $5,000 for a full-size waterfowl. “What used to take 20-40 hours to complete now takes 400 or 500, so I’m averaging $8 or $10 an hour,” he said with a laugh. “I do what I do because I love it. I have never seen the face of a wood carver on the cover of a Fortune 500 magazine.”

 

Early career

Foote got his start in craft shows in his 20s and quickly began to win awards. The resident wood carver at Springville’s Homestead Hollow for 20 years, he shared his love with kids, many of whom were inspired to carve their own pieces. Perhaps the biggest surprise of his career, though, was when officials from the Alabama State Council on the Arts asked him to carve a yellowhammer for the White House Christmas tree in 2002. First Lady Laura Bush had selected a theme of “All Creatures Great and Small,” and the tree featured ornaments of each state’s bird handcrafted by local artists. The works were later exhibited at the Smithsonian.

Not long after, Foote was one of two artists worldwide selected to provide sculptures of endangered birds for the Audubon Society headquarters. “I consider that to be my claim to fame because they are the bird people of the world,” said Foote, who carved a pair of Virginia rails. “The other artist was a 10th-generation porcelain bird sculptor from Germany.”

While he appreciates the recognition he has received, Foote mostly enjoys doing what he loves for people who love it.

“It gives me great satisfaction when someone who gets up early every morning and works hard to put food on the table calls and says he wants one of my pieces,” he said. “This is a passion. I don’t know any other way to say it. As long as God gives me the strength in my hands and sight in my eyes, I’ll continue to do it.”

 

Eissmann Automotive

Countinues investment in St. Clair

Photos by Graham Hadley

Eissmann Automotive’s new expansion makes the German manufacturing giant the largest single employer in Pell City.

The auto-industry supplier, which opened its first American operation here in 2005, specializes in interior fittings and parts for high-end automobiles, including Mercedes, Audi, Bugatti, Bentley, the Corvette Stingray, Tesla, Lamborghini and others.

Eissmann’s latest expansion means a $14.5-million capital investment in its facility in the Pell City Industrial Park and will bring 200 new jobs to the region.

The company held an official opening of the new section and ribbon-cutting Oct. 15.

During the ceremony, Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt presented the key to the city to Claudia Eissmann, chairwoman of the Eissmann Automotive Advisory Council, before a large crowd of Eissmann employees, company representatives and local and state officials. Afterward, the new expansion was open for tours by the attendees.

“With this expansion, Eissmann has become the largest employer in Pell City, and we are excited to see them continue to grow in our community. We are very fortunate that they chose our community as their North American headquarters, and we hope they will continue to expand here,” Pruitt said.

“We are always excited to see our existing industries continue to expand in St. Clair County. The addition of jobs to St. Clair County allows our citizens to work closer to home and improves their quality of life,” said St. Clair Commission Chairman Paul Manning. “Eissmann is a tremendous community partner, and we look forward to growing with them in the future.”

The company already employs almost 400 workers at the Pell City facility and expects that number to reach upwards of 580 with the new expansion.

This adds to the growing number of foreign companies, like Eissmann and Honda, employing thousands of people in St. Clair and surrounding counties.

Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield noted that, two decades ago, not a single major automobile manufacturer was operating in Alabama. Now the state ranks fourth in automobile manufacturing in the nation.

“Today is indeed a celebration of the present and of the future to come,” he said.

The company’s connection to the Mercedes Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County just off Interstate 20 was the driving force behind the expansion.

“Eissmann has been in Pell City longer than I have,” said St. Clair Economic Development Council Director Don Smith.

“Eissmann is a solid, family-owned company that has outperformed even our greatest expectation in Pell City. They pride themselves on the highest quality craftsmanship in the industry, which is a perfect fit for the high-end automotive customers they serve,” he said.

“They have incredible leadership in management in their Pell City facility and we look forward to working with them on future expansions.”

Eissmann agreed. “From the first investment Eissmann Automotive made in Pell City, the community and elected officials have made us feel welcomed and supported. Our facility has grown within the community, and we look forward to continuing to work with the City of Pell City, the St. Clair County Commission and the Economic Development Council for Many years to come,” she said.

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Two churches, a single purpose

Story by Joe Whitten
Photos by Michael Callahan
Submitted photos

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a church started by freed slaves in Springville, exists today because in 1816 a North Carolina minister grew discouraged in the ministry and resolved to abandon preaching. Leaving preaching and North Carolina behind, Rev. Sion Blythe moved his family to what would become St. Clair County, Alabama, and settled along Canoe Creek.

Published writings referred to Blythe as “the reluctant preacher.” Born in Tennessee in 1781 and ordained as a minister in North Carolina, Blythe organized and pastored churches in Buncombe County, North Carolina.

When Blythe and family left North Carolina and headed west, he instructed his wife to tell no one that he had preached. No written record states exactly why he had become so disheartened; however, his friend and Alabama Baptist historian, Hossa Holcombe, hinted that the problem was a theological difference with North Carolina pastors concerning man’s free will.

But Pastor Blythe’s free will choice to stop preaching was over-willed by his integrity when in late 1816 or early 1817, a woman in the area where he had settled asked him point blank if he were not a minister of the Gospel.

Blythe wouldn’t lie to her, and when he admitted that he had preached, Holcomb records, “The old lady leaped, and shouted, and praised God that she had found a preacher in the wilderness.” At her urging, Blythe agreed to organize a congregation, and on March 22, 1817, in the settlement called Big Springs, a Baptist church was established and named Mt. Zion. The name referencing verse in Hebrews 12:22, “Ye are come into Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem …” and reminding them of their goal, Heaven, the city of God.

Until the end of the Civil War, both slave and master worshiped together — but separate — at Mt. Zion, for as Margaret Windham records in her History of Springville the “…slaves had seats in the rear of the church building and, like their masters, were members of the church.”

One wonders about the names of those slave members, but we have scant information. The oldest minutes of Mt. Zion fell victim to fire when the home where they were kept burned. Because Martha Terry Roberts had copied portions of the old minutes that mention slave names, we have some, as quoted here:

  • April Term, 1821—Received Brother James, a black man, by letter.
  • May Term, 1823—Received by experience, Littie, a black woman, and Lisha More and also Pike.
  • August Term, 1823—Received by experience, Sook, a black woman.
  • June Term, 1831—A charge against Fanny, a black sister, for having two living husbands. Case taken up and Fanny restored to her seat as usual.
  • October, 1844—Sister Jane, Nancy, Elizabeth, and Margaret (blacks) dismissed by letter.
  • September, 1854—James Thomason called for a letter of dismissal, and for four of his blacks: Alfred, Clark, Doctor, and Reny. Granted.

Sister Fanny’s case in June, 1831, is of special interest. This writer became acquainted with slave wedding vows several years ago when touring Rose Hill Mansion near Hilton Head, South Carolina. The guide, a descendant of the builder of Rose Hill, told that slave wedding vows had these words, “Till death or distance do us part”—meaning that if one partner in the marriage were sold, the wedding vows were dissolved. Ordained ministers rarely performed slave weddings, which were never legally binding, and he couldn’t have them say “Till death do us part,” due to their circumstances.

Usually a slave couple wanting to marry might have a ceremony in the slave quarters, but most often, the couple would simply “Jump over the broom,” and they were married. An online article published by the Caswell County, North Carolina, Historical Society discusses the jumping over the broom and also white ministers’ use of “Till death or distance do us part” in Antebellum slave weddings.

The fact that in the same June meeting Fanny was restored to her seat in the church fellowship makes this writer believe that this was Sister Fanny’s reason for having two living husbands and the church sympathized with her.

The expression “received by experience” means the candidate for membership had recently come to an experience of salvation. To be dismissed by letter means to be dismissed in good standing to another church.

From those minutes we learn the first names of several slaves and the name of one of the slave owners, James Thomason. Although it is meager, these nuggets of information can assist slave descendants in genealogical research.

 

Changing times

In time, some stout-hearted people of the United States began to take note of the injustice of slavery, and a distant rumble began to arise, like far-away thunder forewarning an approaching storm. The rumble grew until in 1861, it roared into a storm of civil war, which by 1865 had wreaked ruin on much of the nation and unshackled slaves and set them free.

But being declared free and grasping the reality of freedom are two concepts not comprehended quickly. Former slaves, now free to congregate and worship together, continued to meet with Mt. Zion until 1868.

According to oral history, in 1868 the freed slaves of Springville began meeting on their own to worship God. No written record seems to exist for this group of believers prior to 1883, the year they joined Wills Creek Baptist Association in Etowah County.

For white Mt. Zion, the war years took its toll on church membership through battlefield casualties and through the emancipation of slaves. Mrs. Windom records that by 1870 the membership of Mt. Zion had dwindled to 70. That congregation decided to construct a more modern sanctuary that might encourage more people to worship with them. They began meeting in the new building in 1871. In that same year, Mt. Zion changed its name to Springville Baptist. With a new building, it probably seemed to them a good idea to identify the church with Springville.

Oral history doesn’t record just when the freed slaves began calling their group Mt. Zion. However, in their History of Springville, Alabama, Donna Cole and Virginia Taylor wrote, “After the war, the Black congregation left to form their own church and they kept the original Mt. Zion name.” It’s possible that two Mt. Zion Baptist Churches existed for a while in Springville.

The name became official in 1883. The Tenth Annual Session of the Wills Creek Baptist Association met at the Ashville Mt. Zion Church in August 1883, and the minutes record: “Received Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Springville, on the AGSRR [Alabama Great Southern Rail Road], as a newly constituted church — delegates, Elder L.C. Thornton, R. Pruet. Sent for missions, 50 cents; minutes, $1.00.”

Other Wills Creek Association minutes give more Mt. Zion facts:

  • 1888, meeting at the Cedar Bluff , R.H. Vogal, Pastor; Emma Galbreth, Clerk; and 71 members.
  • 1892, meeting at Mt. Zion, Ashville, J.H. Kerley, Pastor; J.H. Hudson, Clerk.
  • 1896, meeting at Lebanon Baptist, C.C. Curry, Pastor; F. Thaxton, Clerk, and 45 members.
  • 1897, meeting at Mt. Zion, Springville, C.C. Curry, Pastor; L. Byers, Clerk; 53 members.

Building a church

The first church building was constructed on the same property where the Mt. Zion church stands today. We don’t know the date of that construction, but the minutes of 1896 report the value of Mt. Zion’s church property as $1,000. That value in 1896 probably included a building.

Deacon Mitchell Hammonds recalled the church building, for he attended there as he grew up. “The church, when I was born, was a wooden building. It had two bell towers. It had a bell in one. It had two front doors and had three rows of pews. That old building had, of course, the big pot-belly heater.” That church was taken down and replaced with the present structure around 1976.

On sun-lit days, light streaming through the “Life of Christ” stained-glass windows bejewels the sanctuary. The vintage stained-glass cross window gracing the front of the church was donated to Mt. Zion by First Baptist Church of Springville.

Estell Long, who was born in 1936 and grew up in the church, fondly remembers the bell ringing. “You had a rope up there. … Will Woods would go early Sunday morning and pull the rope and the bell would tone.”

She recalled that during revivals the seats at the front of the church were reserved for those who wanted to be baptized and join the church. At the end of the week, the church would have a baptism at Lee Laster’s Creek. Mitchell Hammonds recalled that he was baptized in the Cahaba in Trussville. Later, the church was able to build an outside baptistry on site.

Mrs. Long reminisced about the singing in the church. “They had people in the choir, and they sang the old-fashioned songs. Mattie Kelly was the pianist. She would play the piano, and they would sing. When she finished, she would always shout. She was one of the shouting sisters in church.” Another pianist was Mattie Jo Williams Herring.

Some of the choir members Mrs. Long remembered are Sarah Frances Newsome, Velma Eleanor Newsome, Casey Lewis, Elizabeth Shepherd, Ruth Pulliam, Katherine Newsome, Margaret Hammonds Woods, Leola Pulliam Herring, Josephine Pulliam Herring and Nellie Mae Newsome Boyd.

Nellie Mae Newsome Boyd also served as a missionary to other churches in the surrounding area — Attalla, Ashville and Branchville. She would take reports from church to church so they could know the work of sister churches in the region. On these visits, she could share needs from the churches in her circle of ministry.

The young people of the church weren’t neglected. In the 1940s and 50s, Mary Bradford instructed the youths of Mt. Zion in the Baptist Young People’s Union – BYPU. Part of her teaching was having them memorize different Scripture passages, such as the Twenty-third Psalm. She assigned the passage at one meeting, and at the next meeting she expected each one to quote the passage from memory. Miss Bradford made sure each had memorized the Scripture.

Harvey Lovell Newsome served as Sunday School Superintendent in the 1940s and 1950s, and after Mr. Newsome, Sammy Kelly served as Superintendent.

Mrs. Long and Mr. Hammonds recalled the following men who served Mt. Zion as deacons: Sammy Kelly, Henry Beaman, Brook Toles, Bob Woody, Milton Herring and Willie LaShore.

 

Present day Mt. Zion

At present, active deacons are Mitchell Hammond, Henry Wright and Willie Jones Sr. These deacons minister to the church and community. One way is the Brotherhood Breakfast that meets on the first Saturday of each month. This interracial meeting begins with fellowship and breakfast. Henry Wright is credited with organizing this monthly event, with the purpose of encouraging each other in Christian faith, the preferred devotional topic for each speaker is “Why are you a Christian and what is in it for you?”

Yearly events at Mt. Zion include the National Day of Prayer, summer revivals and Youth Month in June, which includes a youth revival. Each February, the young people learn of African-American history on Wednesday nights. A favorite summer event has been the church trip to Lake Winnepesaukah in Chattanooga for a day of fun and relaxation.

 

Pastoring Mt. Zion

Mt. Zion has an incomplete list of former pastors. A careful research of the Wills Creek Baptist Association’s minutes could perhaps furnish a complete listing. Nineteenth Century pastors include L.C. Thornton, 1883; R.H. Vogal, 1888; J.H. Kerley, 1892; and G.W. Burton, 1896-1897. The church also has names of 15 pastors since 1901. Pastors since1937 include W.R. Simpson; T.C. Williams; I.H. Henderson; Joseph Jackson; and currently, Larry Adams.

Adams has pastored Mt. Zion since 2011. During his seven years shepherding the flock, he has seen spiritual growth in his congregation. His preaching emphasis is the whole Word of God, preaching it in context. He recently said, “We don’t skip anything. Even in our Bible study, we go verse by verse.” Pastor Adams, a bi-vocational pastor, is sometimes out for a Wednesday evening Bible study. Therefore, he makes sure he and the one teaching for him are together. “Right now,” he said, “we’re studying the book of Hebrews on Wednesday night. And if some of my other ministers are doing the teaching, I give them an outline of what we’re teaching, and we follow that outline. We have everybody together. They ask questions, and I get excited about teaching the Bible. And I say, ‘We’re gonna teach the whole Bible,’ and I have.”

Pastor Adams gets enthusiastic telling about the church and its ministries. The Children’s Church involves a wide range of ages — first-grade through 12th. The older group mentors the younger ones as a part of the Youth Ministry.

The church’s music ministry consists of Men’s Choir, Women’s Choir and Youth Choir. The Mass Choir combines the Men’s Choir and the Women’s Choir together for a service. The organ, keyboard and drums accompany the singing.

 

History within history

A current need for the church is a larger building with classrooms and a fellowship hall. The congregation has discussed this need and is working toward the goal. One discussion point is whether to build where the church now stands or to build on the church-owned lot diagonally across the street from the present structure.

Mt. Zion purchased the 1920s-era Springville Colored Elementary School building from the St. Clair County Board of Education after integration closed the school. They have renovated the building located next to the church and use it as their fellowship hall.

Springville Colored Elementary School was a two-room, two-teacher school with grades one, two and three in one room, and grades four, five and six in the other. Mrs. Long remembered her teachers in the 1940s as being Miss Mary Reid the first three years, and Zora Quinn the last three years. Mr. Hammonds recalled names of other teachers: Pauline Hudson, Alberta Williams, Sarah McCray and Rosey Dial (Pauline Hudson’s sister).

Students desiring high school education had to go to the Ashville Colored High School, which was later named Reuben Yancey High School. By the time Mrs. Long was in the seventh-grade, a bus transported students from Springville to Ashville. However, they were required to meet the bus at a store located near today’s Dollar General. The students living in the Flat Woods, or Jones Village, had to walk up to Highway 11 to meet the bus.

Before the St. Clair County Board of Education provided transportation, the only African-American students who attended high school were those who could afford to ride the Greyhound Bus to and from Ashville. Mrs. Long said Claudie C. Woody and William Hammonds were the only two students who earned high school diplomas before transportaton was provided free to students.

Mr. Hammonds recalls fondly his teachers and their instruction at Springville Colored Elementary School. “Our teachers always encouraged us to be the best that we could. They encouraged us to reach high and to hold high standards.” He quietly reflected a moment on integration, then, added that in the old school, the teachers “… tried to instill values in us. You know, be the best that you could be. They wouldn’t accept less.”

So, the old 1920s school building serves an interracial church — a church outgrowing its current facilities and looking to the future.

Pastor Adams is excited that Mt. Zion Baptist Church and First Baptist Church are doing things together. Pastor Chipley McQueen Thornton and Pastor Larry Adams became friends early on and have worked together in the community. The two churches have a combined service and fellowship meal once a year at First Baptist. This year, an additional Thanksgiving combined service is planned for November 25, with lunch to follow. Both congregations look forward to these joint services.

The two pastors are together on missions. Pastor Thornton has twice taught theology to local pastors in Africa. In February 2019, the African pastors will meet in Paris, France, and Thornton has asked Pastor Adams to go with him to do some of the teaching. Pastor Adams recently said, “Pastor Chip asked me, ‘You got your passport?’ And I said, ‘I got it! I’m ready!’ He and I are going over what we’re going to teach to be sure we’re on the same page. Chip is a tremendous teacher.”

When asked for a comment about Pastor Adams, Pastor Thornton replied, “I shook his hand and sensed I was in the presence of a genuinely spiritual man, a man of God. He carries that aura. After hearing him so eloquently expound the Scripture, I thought, ‘Ah! Here is another Apollos (Acts 18:24)! We must go train others to do the same.’ I eagerly invited him to go with me to teach pastors. He eagerly accepted, praise the Son! Now off to Paris we go, trusting in the good will of God to guide us, come what may.”

 

Reaping rewards

The work that Sion Blythe began in Big Springs, Alabama, in 1817, flourishes today in two churches. Blythe never dreamed that the one church would become two when slaves gained freedom. But in God’s timing, a church of freed slaves formed, and today both First Baptist Church Springville and Mt. Zion trace their history to March 22, 1817.

Pastor Adams’ purpose for being a minister is to let people “know that God loves them and that Christ died for them.” And for his congregation, he desires they grow in understanding God’s Word as he shepherds them toward Zion, the City of God.

Folks familiar with long-ago church songs can hardly think of the name Mt. Zion without thinking of lines from Isaac Watts’ 1707 hymn:

We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion,
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful City of God.

And if we listen closely, we may hear Sister Mattie Kelly’s shouts of “Glory! Hallelujah!” still echoing down the years.