Saving the Old Rock School

A valiant effort and noble cause

Story and Photos by Jerry C. Smith
Submitted Photos

When Springville Preservation Society’s Frank Waid escorted me into the upper level of an old rock school building on Pine Street, I was immediately struck with its ambience of antiquity.

Even by flashlight, I could easily discern beautiful hardwood floors which were well-worn by thousands of young footsteps, as well as the aroma of stone, wood, blackboard chalk and paint, seasoned to a robust sensory patina by almost a hundred years of service.

Completed in 1921 by local stonemasons and a host of community workmen and volunteers, this fine structure replaced an even older one of wood that had burned to the ground.

Most of Springville’s core population has educational and emotional ties with the rock school. While its past was certainly illustrious, its present is in shambles. But if certain good residents have their way, it will arise from decrepitude and serve its people once again.

The school’s bones are of native rock, mostly immune to fire and other natural forces that easily erode and destroy lesser materials. Built upon a solid core of thousands of rounded chert “field stones” that make up its outer walls and foundation, it’s constructed in a manner that’s an art form unto itself.

It was an enormous job, even for master stonemasons like Jackson McFadden Riddle, who built most of the earlier fieldstone structures in St. Clair and its environs. He’s reputed to have supervised this job as well.

The usual method of building such walls is called “slip-forming,” wherein a long wooden box form is built at ground level, to contain stacks of stones imbedded in mortar. Only the stones show, as mortar is kept to the backside of the form, where it creates a flat surface for interior walls.

As each layer of stones and mortar harden into a solid mass, the form is loosened, moved up the fresh wall, and the process is repeated until the wall reaches a desired height. It’s very labor-intensive, requiring special skills and training.

Farmers and other citizens brought in thousands of stones by the wagonload, with horses and oxen laboring mightily to haul their weighty burdens uphill to the school site. In fact, how that hillside location was chosen is a story in itself.

Springville native and historian Donna Cole Davis explains that city fathers wanted to place it there so drivers on US 11 and train passengers could get a grand look at their local pride-and-joy – a fine new institution of education. Decades of tree growth has since blocked that viewpoint.

The early years

At first, the rock school had no indoor restroom facilities, relying on an outhouse, nor did it have central heat, instead using Warm Morning coal heaters. A coal-fired furnace and rock chimney were later added. This furnace still resides in the basement, but is no longer operational, and its chimney has since been removed.

The facility opened in 1921 as a high school, whose curriculum was scheduled on a trimester system; i.e. Senior I, Senior II, Senior III. 

Their yearbook, mysteriously called The Rocket, was first published in 1928, long before a national involvement in rocket science. In fact, the only real rocketry interest in those days was represented by Dr. Robert Goddard’s pioneering work.

He launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926, shortly before the Rocket yearbook was created. If this is the Rocket’s namesake, perhaps the folks in Springville were looking farther ahead than we realize.

For a small Alabama school in the Roaring 20s, Springville High was surprisingly urbane. Thumbing through the 1929 Rocket, you can find several academic and special-interest clubs, vocational courses, sports and a sizable faculty of well-trained teachers. The women’s basketball team was considered top-notch.

A 1971 St. Clair News Aegis photo of the Class of 1924 lists students and teachers whose surnames are still found in Springville and its environs: McGinnis, Futrell, Sterling, Jones, Gill, Davidson, Crow, Richardson, Perrin, Horton, Pearson, Martin, John, Moody, Wright, Taylor, Walker, McDuffie, Stevens, Meyers, Simmons, Woods, Vinyard, Robinson, Presley, O’Barr, Wilson and Box.

It served as a high school from 1921 until 1932, when a larger facility was built a few hundred feet away, then became a grammar school until the 1960s, when that function was also taken over by a more modern building in its very shadow.

Until its eventual closing for safety reasons in the 1990s, the building served variously for civic groups, clubs, Boy Scouts, band room, and a work office in the basement for the local water board. It was even used for a few years as a Halloween haunted house, whose ghoulish graffiti can still be seen on walls.

The next generation

Sandra Sullivan DeBerry, who attended grammar school there, was especially fond of a certain first-grade teacher, Margaret Byers, affectionately known by her pupils as Miss Margaret.

She was a dynamic, petite woman who would be called a Little Person in today’s world, but she made a huge impression on her students and the people of Springville. Sandy says, “You couldn’t ask for a sweeter person in the world than Miss Margaret.” But she wasn’t always a teacher.

Born 1901 and raised in Springville, Margaret attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, where she developed a love of music that led her to perform in several Broadway shows, including Babes In Toyland. After returning to Alabama, she studied teaching, thence to Springville Elementary.

Sandy mentions another teacher, Mrs. Crandall, whom practically every kid raised in Springville will remember because she was known as a strict disciplinarian who put up with no foolishness. Mrs. Crandall played piano for Sandy’s wedding.

Mrs. Crandall’s classroom was at the foot of the main staircase. Any footfalls or squeaks from the stairwell during class times would bring her running to check it out.

Other teachers remembered by Sandy, Donna and Frank were Mses. Marshall, Cash, Hayes, Walker and Wright, who’s the only one still among the living.

There was no lunchroom. Both Sandy and Frank recall walking about half a block down the hill on a well-worn dirt path, which Frank likened to a cattle trail, to use the dining hall at the newer school. He said that on really bad weather days a school bus would transport them, but most of the time they were expected to walk.

Sandy relates that during recess they played jump rope, jacks, used the swings, snuck off into nearby woods, even visited a cemetery close byS.

There were no electric bells to signal class change or fire drills, only a hand-bell rung by the principal — easy to hear because of the building’s compact design.

Today

The school’s present condition inspires mixed feelings. For one, visitors cannot help but marvel at the solidity of the old structure and obvious quality of materials and skills used by its craftsmen. If there was ever a building with reconstruction potential, it’s Springville Rock School.

On the other hand, floors are littered with a veritable snowfall of white flakes of ceiling paint and decades’ worth of other detritus. In some secluded spots, there is bat guano. Leftovers from several former users are piled here and there. Reconstruction materials are stacked haphazardly among the chaos.

The Springville Preservation Society has already purchased a number of windows, almost identical to the originals, and is now in the process of priming, painting and installing them. Clearly, several dumpsters will be filled once work begins on a larger scale.

Among their goals is a room partly furnished in the appearance of a classroom. They also anticipate meeting rooms and assembly halls for everything from weddings to civic and club gatherings to reunions.

The old school fairly breathes nostalgia, from its main staircase with steps that show the wear and tear of many children’s feet to its ancient fixtures and random educational trappings.

You can almost imagine the kids’ respectful silence and quiet shuffle of feet between classes as well as the hum of teachers teaching and pupils responding, as all those muffled sounds of education in progress might have harmonized in common areas.

One is struck with rightful dread that such a finely crafted and historically important edifice would have ever been considered for demolition. This place deserves to live on, hopefully as a proud venue for an almost unlimited variety of future community service.

In short, this fine lady demands respect. The Springville Preservation Society is the key to making this happen.

Formed in 2009 for the purpose of saving several Springville heritage sites, the Society now owns or controls the rock school, the old Masonic Lodge that until recently served as the town’s library, and a small white house near the spring basin that was once part of a local hotel. Much work has already been done on the Lodge and house.

Donna Cole Davis only went to kindergarten there in 1966, but both her parents attended it as a grammar school. Donna explains her reason for getting involved: “One of my father’s (Don Cole) final wishes was that the old school be saved so that others could enjoy its history. I knew this was something I really wanted to do in his honor. There needs to be a beautiful lady sitting up there on that hill once again.”

Building a future

When asked how interested people could help this process, both Frank and Donna’s answers were virtually the same: Get involved.

The Springville Preservation Society is currently led by Frank Waid, president; Millicent Yeager, vice president; and Sean Andrews, secretary and treasurer. They meet the fourth Saturday of each month at the Springville Museum and Old Library and Masonic Hall.

The museum itself is open on first and third Saturdays. It’s one of the Society’s work projects that clearly showcases their expertise and dedication to purpose.

Any of these highly-dedicated folks can help you get into the school project at any level you choose. Even if you don’t elect to participate directly, simply telling others about it will help make more people aware of what’s going on.

Citizens are invited to join work parties whenever they can, even if only for a few hours. It’s a volunteer effort all the way, but the Society’s small cadre of dedicated workers can only do so much.

The restoration project is a perfect opportunity for civic groups, Scout troops, historians and anyone else who values heritage to the point of working up a bit of sweat. The Society hastens to add that monetary donations and fund raisers are a vital part of the effort and remind us that much of this kind of support is tax deductible.

Most of the stories I’ve brought to our readers over the years have had clearly defined endings, sometimes even catastrophic ones. It would be a special privilege for me to see this one take on new life as well as a dynamic future of community service.

Let’s work together for Springville’s old school and for St. Clair heritage in general. 

Praised Colors

From Sweden to Ragland, artist’s life takes many a turn

Story by Leigh Pritchett
Photos by Michael Callahan

Marie Barber shooed chickens and a guinea to welcome a visitor one bitterly cold day.

Once inside her woodsy home with warm Gulf Coast decor, she smiled and said, “It does feel like Sweden out there.”

Living near Ragland and the Coosa River, this Swedish native quietly creates designs and artwork that are nationally known and have been featured in many books, magazines and retail outlets.

Her resume is extensive: she has been an illustrator for the magazines Paula Deen, Victoria, Tea Time and Southern Lady; a designer for Chapelle Ltd. of Ogden, Utah, and creator of cross-stitch designs that filled six or more books for Sterling Publishing Co. of New York. In addition, she illustrated leisure, etiquette and decor books.

During her 15 years as designer with Hoffman Media, she did “hundreds and hundreds of cross-stitch leaflets and cross-stitch designs for magazines,” and all cross-stitch chart conversions from the Disney movie, Pocahontas. Also through Hoffman Media, she fashioned fabric designs for the former Hancock Fabrics and worked on Hancock’s Paula Deen Collection.

A count even commissioned Mrs. Barber to replicate in his mansion some paintings of the Sistine Chapel.

Mrs. Barber spent three weeks on eight-foot scaffolds in Count Albert von Oldenburg’s living room to paint the scenes on a 37-foot tray ceiling. The palatial estate in Eastaboga in Talladega County was like a museum and a history book, Mrs. Barber said.

“When you went to his home, it was like you were in a fairy tale. You were not in Alabama,” she continued.

During those weeks, the count taught her etiquette in the presence of nobility and gave her keepsakes from all over the world.

That, Mrs. Barber said, “was probably the most memorable experience” she has had with her art.

Now working in the decorative art of needlepoint, Mrs. Barber produces “fun” designs and projects. She designs belts, pillows, eyeglass cases, phone cases, lampshade covers, jewelry, purses and bags, rugs and tapestries, and has done custom orders for dining room chairs.

The formative years

Marie Olsson spent her early years in Skåne (pronounced skone-neh) on the southern tip of Sweden. Skåne is about 20 minutes from the Baltic Sea. The region is flat and experiences snow four months a year.

“Sometimes, your eyelashes iced up,” she recalled.

Marie and her parents lived with grandparents in the countryside in a home without indoor plumbing.

When she was six years old, she and her parents moved to Tollarp to what she described as an elaborate home with an indoor sauna.

Each Christmas, she wanted art paper and markers. By second grade, she was an acclaimed artist, at least to her classmates who would ask her to draw Donald Duck, Goofy and Mickey Mouse for them.

Her father passed when Marie was 10, and her mother, three years ago.

Although Marie has no siblings, she does have 40 first cousins living around the world. One of them — Anna Steed — lives in St. Clair County not very far at all from Marie.

As a teenager, Marie applied to the American Scandinavian Student Exchange program to become an exchange student.

Interestingly, while in a music class in ninth grade in Sweden, she had sung the lyrics, “I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee.” But, Marie confessed, “I had no idea Alabama was a state.”

Nonetheless, that is exactly where she was placed as an exchange student. The girl from the southern tip of Sweden with a southern Swedish dialect found herself in the southern region of the United States.

Even though she was to be in Alabama only for Pell City High School’s 1983-1984 school year, Marie found she just could not stay away. One reason was Kinsman Barber, a Pell City native and Jacksonville State University student she met four months into her sojourn in the United States.

After completing the exchange program, Marie returned to Sweden, finished junior college and worked for a while in Stockholm. Then, at 19, she decided to attend art school either in Australia or the U.S. She chose the U.S., going first to California and then to Alabama by bus.

Marie traveled to Auburn University to stay with friend Wendy Bradshaw Weathers (who now lives in Ozark). Through an outreach ministry to foreign students, Marie heard about Jesus Christ, His love and the forgiveness He gives to all who will receive it.

“I utterly broke down and couldn’t believe anyone would love me in spite of all my unrighteousness,” said Marie. She asked Jesus Christ to save her.

A “long, winding road” brought her and Kinsman back into contact.

She enrolled in the Art Institute of Atlanta to study visual communication and, a week after earning her associate’s degree, she and Kinsman wed.

Marie, the artist, and Kinsman, the teacher and coach at Victory Christian School, have been married 27 years and have four children — Malin, 21; Peyton, 19; Daniel, 17, and Magdalena, 16.

They also have 18 chickens, three dogs, two cats, one guinea and an herb garden.

“I enjoy the simplicity of life,” said Mrs. Barber. To her, it is reminiscent of the childhood experiences she cherishes most. The years of living in the Swedish countryside as a child were simple and meager. But, “my best memories were in the country.”

In her Alabama country home nestled in the woods, she creates her art while listening to sermons by David Platt, president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and best-selling author.

“God has allowed me to work at home,” Mrs. Barber said.

A diverse talent

Mrs. Barber’s art spans many genres.

“I used to do Christian art — cards and prints,” she said. “I did that for a little while.”

One of her pieces hangs in her church, which is Hardin Chapel in Ragland.

From the large floral acrylic on canvas that accents her dining room to the vibrant needlepoint pillow she had just finished, all her pieces show her penchant and flare for color.

“I’m all about pink leopard with some fur,” she said with a laugh. “… I like color. I’m not traditional.”

When she formed her own art design company, it was appropriately named Colors of Praise.

“Most designers use their name for their design,” she said. She chose, however, to use the name Colors of Praise because its gives her opportunity to tell others who Jesus Christ is. She said all her accomplishments are small in comparison to what Jesus has done for her.

Getting to where she is now in her art was the result of another “winding road” in life that started with an economic recession.

In February 2009, downsizing at Hoffman Media claimed her position as illustrator and cross-stitch designer. Because of that, she sought a new direction for her art.

Mrs. Barber had seen Kaffe Fassett’s color schemes in his decorative arts designs and noticed that they resemble her own use of color. When her love of color was paired with her appreciation for the tapestries of Europe, Mrs. Barber found a new direction for her art – needlepoint designs.

That April, she sent her application to The National NeedleArts Association and was accepted to a trade show in Columbus, Ohio. Her first show was in June, during which she received $15,000 in orders.

Since then, she has shown her wares in trade shows in Los Angeles and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Dallas, Texas, and many other cities. The majority of her creations are marketed in Florida, California and the northeastern states. Locally, they can be found at Needleworks LLC in Birmingham.

Kinsman said his wife frequently gets ideas for needlepoint designs from sources like magazines and record covers.

And the designs are not “your grandmother’s needlepoint,” Mrs. Barber said.

“Her work truly is an original style,” said Judith Carter, owner of Needleworks LLC. “To me, she has captured the essence of a younger generation of needlepoint stitchers…She has been an exciting addition to our industry.”

One of the needlepoint belts Mrs. Barber recently completed boasts a spectrum of colors, flosses, textures, patterns and accents. Retail is estimated between $160 and $200.

She develops 200-250 designs for each January’s needle arts trade show and another 100 for the summer show.

“I like to design a lot of new patterns every year,” she said. “… I want it to be more of what they would have fun with.”

Plus, she has monthly trunk shows. “I sell to a lot of stores in California,” she said.

Her venture into needlepoint designs followed a different path from the norm, she explained.

“I am an illustrator coming in as a designer (who had to learn needlepoint),” she said. “Most are needlepointers becoming designers.”

To be able to do what she does, she had to become accomplished in the various needlepoint stitches and learn the difference in flosses and other aspects of the art.

Actually, her needlepoint enterprise has grown into a family endeavor.

“The girls are very creative,” Mrs. Barber said. “There are times I ask them for advice. Malin could run my business. She has done trade shows without me.”

The family sometimes travels to shows with her and, together, they see sights and tour landmarks. “That has been a fun, fun part of it,” she said.

Mrs. Barber is in an almost constant state of creativity, whether painting a canvas, stitching a needlepoint project or using seashells washed ashore by Hurricane Wilma to turn an accent mirror into a conversation piece.

“Taking away paint from me would be devastating.” She said it would be like telling her husband — who happened to be playing guitar in the background — to give up his music.

“… It’s my crazy world!” 

 

For more about Marie Barber and Colors of Praise,

visit www.colorsofpraiseart.com

Argo, Alabama

Blossoming town grows but never forgets its people

Story Paul South
Photos by Michael Callahan

Sometimes a dream – even a city – can begin with a story first told long ago and far away.

That’s how Argo started more than two centuries ago, before there was a St. Clair County, or for that matter, a State of Alabama. Survivors of the battles against the Native peoples of the Creek tribe in the War of 1812, returned home to Virginia and the Carolinas from the then-Mississippi Territory, with tales of bountiful land, crystal waters and plentiful game, the recipe for successful settlement.

Today, 200 years later, the descendants of those original settlers, are part of a still-flourishing community that, like the rest of St. Clair County, is growing. New families, moving from the Birmingham metro area now mingle with the families that have been here for generations, sharing a common work ethic, deep faith and shared values, grounded in that original dream.

If it continues on its current pace, according to the St. Clair County Economic Development Council, Argo could become the county’s second-largest city on the Interstate 59 corridor. It’s already the gateway to the burgeoning corridor, and with 106,000 people living within a 10-mile radius of the city, Argo’s possibilities appear boundless.

Argo Mayor Betty Bradley is one of the many folks who returned to St. Clair County after living in Birmingham. Neighbors helping neighbors, taking time for each other, was what drew her home. She was elected to the city council for one term, then last year, she was chosen as Argo’s mayor.

“I like the friendliness, neighbors talking to neighbors,” she said. “In the bigger cities, it’s a fast pace.” Here in Argo, “people take time for you.”

And she expects others will recognize the value and follow her lead. “I really look for people to start moving into St. Clair County in the next five years. I really look for more people to be migrating this way,” she said.

But before gazing into the future, it’s important to glimpse the past. Claude Earl Massey, a descendant of one of Argo’s first families, displays a treasured historical artifact of the city’s past in his home, an 1820 letter, signed by Alabama Gov.  Wyatt Bibb, commissioning Samuel Massey as Justice of the Peace.

Samuel Massey, one of the county’s original settlers, first came to the area as part of Col. Reuben Nash’s regiment of the South Carolina Volunteer Militia. Samuel’s son, William Duke Massey, married Ruth Reed, the first white child born in Jefferson County.

No one seems to know for certain the basis for Argo’s name. However, Claude Massey author of the book, Argo Through the Years, offers some fodder for speculation. On Nov.4, 1869, Sarah Elizabeth Hefner became the postmistress of the area’s second post office, which she named Argo. After numerous interviews and exhaustive research, three theories exist.

Earl Massey wrote: “Whether she had been reading Greek mythology, (in which appears the name Argo), named the post office after a friend, as some have said, or possibly named it after some ancestor on her father’s side is not known.”

Heart of a city

Like small cities throughout St. Clair County, railroads played a major role in growth.

The name’s origin notwithstanding, one of the pillars of Argo’s early economy remains today. The heart of the city’s economy remains home-owned, often family-run businesses, although more and more regional and national chains – like Dollar General and Southern fast-food mainstay, Jack’s, are coming with growth.

“If you drive through (Argo), there are a number of wonderful small businesses,” said Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council. He pointed to Buckeye Grocery, which has served locals for nearly a half-century, Argo Hardware and The Crazy Horse restaurant, a white tablecloth eatery diners might expect to find in tony neighborhoods like Birmingham’s neighbor Mountain Brook or Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. There is the father and son-owned Old South Firearms, a dealer in antique firearms and muzzle loaders, and Matthews Manor is also a popular spot for weddings and other special occasions. William’s Orchard draws visitors from neighboring counties for its produce and homemade jams, jellies and fried pies.

“We have things that are unique that you don’t find in a big city,” Bradley said. “We like to be unique.”

What’s made a difference for Argo in commercial and residential growth is improved sewerage infrastructure, Smith said.

“One of the drawbacks that Argo had was they didn’t have commercial grade sewer capability,” Smith said. “Argo partnered with another public entity to get sewer, not only to the residential areas, but to potential commercial areas. Once that took place, Jack’s opened up, Subway opened up. The Argo leadership has really been focusing on trying to solve the things that were limiting (the city’s) growth.”

The city has also renewed its focus on improving the overall appearance of Argo, Smith said. What was once a mosaic on plywood of flyers alerting residents to missing pets or upcoming events is now an inviting welcome sign. Money was raised locally to build the new sign.

“There’s really a focus on bringing local business owners together and on improving the appearance of the community,” he said. “They’re working to try to bring in larger national brand names to fill in areas that the locally-owned businesses weren’t able to do.”

Argo, which finds its footprint planted in both Jefferson and St. Clair counties, with only a small part in Jefferson, has a strong sense of “community buy-in” because of the locally-owned businesses, Smith noted.

“If you need volunteers, you don’t need to go to an absentee owner or some outside group. The folks that work there own the place,” he added. “They own the businesses. They live there. Their kids are there. It’s a really fantastic community because of that. You talk about why it’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the county over the past 10 years, and that’s why.”

Local real estate developer Lyman Lovejoy has witnessed the growth firsthand. He’s been in business in St. Clair County for more than 40 years. Proximity to Interstate 59 is a boost, he said.

“You can be on the interstate from anywhere in Argo in two to three minutes,” Lovejoy said. “That’s a big plus for them. Several houses are going up in Argo today.”

In a business where location is vital, Argo is in a prime spot. But the challenge is in finding available land, a priority for city leaders, Lovejoy said. However, two new subdivisions are developing. “They’re on the go for growth,” he pointed out. “You can be in Birmingham in 15 minutes.”

The future vision for the city includes better roads, investment in public safety and continuing efforts to enhance the quality of life. Bradley will travel with other county mayors to try to push for federal help to boost the I-59 corridor.

Argo sits adjacent to Margaret another community blossoming in St. Clair County. Bradley would like to see steps taken to ease traffic congestion from I-59, U.S. 11 and Argo-Margaret Road.

“We’re unique because we have an interstate right here in Argo,” Bradley said.

A city in its infancy

Gordon Massey became Argo’s first mayor when the city incorporated in the late 1980s. The Massey family arrived in what is now St. Clair County in 1815. And in 1987, Gordon Massey became the first mayor of the newly-incorporated city. He helped spearhead the construction of Argo’s first city hall and fire department. His business, Massey Paving, has been operating for 50 years, and has split into three businesses run by three generations. They’ve also invested in commercial real estate along U.S. 11.

“It’s our home” he said. “It’s a special place for us. We’re proud to be in St. Clair County.”

Talk to enough people about Argo, and it becomes clear that the city’s people care for each other from the time someone arrives until the time they leave. It’s a cradle to the grave sort of city. Consider Mr. Earl Massey, who’s tended to the family cemetery on the Old Georgia Road since the 1940s.

That’s even the case for temporary visitors. Camp Munger, a Young Women’s Christian Association camp, left generations of campers with wonderful summer memories.

But in this city that began with soldiers’ stories two centuries ago, Mayor Bradley has a modern-day story that tells more about the goodness of Argo and its citizenry than any statistic or historic date ever could. It’s part of what Bradley calls “a spirit of fairness, trustworthiness, respect and teamwork” among all the stakeholders in the city.

It seems a widower was walking along an Argo road, picking up aluminum cans. Bradley’s husband offered the man a lift home. The can collector was trying to generate enough money from the cans to pay for needed medicine.

 The man lived in a small plywood home, a place of which he was proud.

“He thought he had a fine home. He didn’t think he was disadvantaged. He didn’t want to take anything from anybody,” Bradley recalled.

But the encounter with the man indirectly ended up impacting the lives of many hurting people in Argo, through the creation of a local food pantry. Bradley serves as co-director of the pantry, after many years as director, both volunteer positions.

“He (the can collector) had a big impact on this community,” Bradley said. And to this day, the pantry has never failed to help its own.

“Every time we start to run low, a local church or a business steps up to help. To this day, we’ve never run out of food to help our clients.”

Bradley defined Argo simply: “Argo is a community of small-city charm, a safe, family oriented community that is a great place to live, work and play. It’s a place where community isn’t just a word, but a way of life.”

Shall We Dance?

Dale Owen shares music around the world

Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos

As a journalism student at Troy State (now Troy University), Dale Owen landed a job at an AM radio station near campus.

“They had a show on Saturday morning that played crooner music,” Owen said. “The station manager just wanted someone to keep the seat warm while the program aired. But I found out it was an incredible genre of music.”

His time “keeping the seat warm” sparked something more.

“It really lit a fire in me,” Owen said. “I decided that if I ever had control over my own show, I’d play that kind of music.”

Almost 30 years later, Owen’s love for the music of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald and countless other contributors to the great American songbook still burns.

And each week from a home studio in Pell City, he shares that love with the world. Owen records The Crooners with Dale Owen for Alabama Public Radio. The show airs from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Sunday evenings on the APR, but thanks to technology, is available to be heard ‘round the globe. Commercial radio may have forgotten the music of our parents, grandparents and beyond, but for Owen and APR over the past 21 years, the music and memories linger like the taste of timeless fine wine.

Owen’s post college path didn’t start as a stroll down a musical memory lane. The Marietta, Ga., native began his professional life as a producer at CNN, first in Atlanta, then at the network’s Detroit Bureau.

But after six years, Michigan winters drove him back South. Owen went to work at the University of Alabama’s Center for Public Radio and Television in Tuscaloosa as operations director for the Alabama Public Radio network of stations, which reaches not only across Alabama, but into Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. He also worked for National Public Radio as a local anchor for the network’s signature news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

In Tuscaloosa, he pitched the idea for The Crooners to then program director Roger Duvall. “I loved Sinatra and the crooners, of course, and fortunately, he went for it,” Owen recalled.

After 11 years at the Capstone, Owen would eventually relocate to Pell City, his wife’s hometown. And from Pell City, Owen crafts what APR music director David Duff calls, Owen’s “labor of love.”

“One of the missions of public radio is to serve underserved audiences,” Duff said. “Certainly, we do that with classical music, but we do that with specialty shows on the weekend like The Crooners. You’d be hard pressed to find that on most radio stations. We felt like it was a market we could serve and it’s proved to be very successful. It serves a niche that might not be served otherwise.”

Brittany Young, program director and content manager for APR, put it simply. “People love the show,” she said. “They just love the fact that he plays the classics. . .the music that lasts forever. You can play it today. You can play it 20 years from now, and it’s still amazing. It takes you back to a place where you first heard it. People love that.”

The Crooners has a devout following, Young said. “If you were to take it away from them, then there would be an uproar,” she said. “Those loyal listeners, they’ll let you know. . .They expect to hear it every Sunday from 6 to 8 and as long as it’s there, they’re good. But if you took it away, I’m sure we’d get a lot of backlash.”

The success of the program came quickly. What began as a one-hour broadcast was expanded to two hours after only a year. And listeners span the generations. Owen learned that quickly during a pledge drive for the listener-supported network while he was still broadcasting from Tuscaloosa.

“When I was still in Tuscaloosa in 2001, we would get calls from college kids, some in Auburn, some in Tuscaloosa and other parts of the state,” Owen said. “(They’d say) ‘I only have about $5 to contribute. I’m a college student on a fixed income, but I really love your show.’ The show has done well.”

What’s the attraction of the music that resonates even today, not just in the classic singers of yesteryear, but also in modern rock and pop stars, from Rod Stewart and Linda Ronstadt, to Annie Lennox of the Eurhythmics and Brian Setzer of The Stray Cats?

“It’s something different for every person that listens. But I think if you’re talking about standards and even torch songs, there’s a certain longing for love,” Owen said. “The songs that are written by the great composers – Rodgers and Hart, George and Ira Gershwin – they just found a way to reach down into that hole and just pull out the feelings and emotions so many people have about love and about loss.”

The recipe for timeless music combines a great voice, with great music and lyrics and a great arranger. Owen points to the classic Sinatra album, In the Wee Small Hours, arranged by Nelson Riddle, as an example.

“I think that music just created a bond with something that all people have to be loved and a feeling of loss,” Owen said. “When you’ve got great writers and lyricists and great singers like Andy Williams and Sinatra and Tony Bennett that can present that, it just all melts together. It’s like a perfect storm.”

There’s a set formula for a timeless classic.

“Most of your standard music has two elements that are crucial to great music and that is, a great vocalist and a great lyricist/composer. Those are the two elements you’ve got to have to make the perfect song,” Owen said. “Crooner music exhibits that time and time again. It comes together for that perfect storm that people say, “Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel about it.”

Lots of people love Owen’s Sunday night perfect storm of great songs. Some reach out on social media. Others send in requests for Sunday night dinner parties. For Owen, those are precious encouragements.

“That’s huge for me. It’s a real affirmation that (the show) makes an impact on people’s lives,” Owen said.

He said he feels a strong connection to his listeners.  For Owen, the fire for the music and for pleasing his listeners still burns. And audiences around the world can access the show any time. “I don’t know what people’s perceptions are of people on the radio,” he said. “But I hope they know I’m a real guy who loves this real music and wants them to have an experience when they listen. I want them to know they’re listening to a friend that has something very much in common with them.” l

Editor’s Note: You can tune in to The Crooners with Dale Owen on Alabama Public Radio at 90.3 FM every Sunday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Dry Creek Farms

Cattle during the week, weddings on weekends

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Michael Callahan

What started as letting a few friends “borrow” their barn to hold weddings has turned into a full-fledged event venue for the St. John Family in Pell City. Unlike other barns built specifically for events, this one is a cow barn that houses registered Hereford heifers and gets pressure-washed for special occasions.

“We went public in January of 2016,” says Locke St. John, one of two sons of farm owners Joy and Kent St. John. “As of the first of November, we’d had 12 weddings, and we had 250 people here to celebrate the (high school) graduation of my brother, Carter.”

Like the farm itself, The Barn at Dry Creek Farms is a family-run operation. Carter, 19, is a freshman at Jefferson State Community College, but has classes only two days a week. The remainder of his time is spent on the farm. Locke, 23, is there all day September through March, the months that he isn’t playing pro baseball for the Connecticut Tigers, a Detroit farm team. Mom and Dad, Joy and Kent St. John, do chores before and after work each day.

“Locke handles a lot of the marketing details and promotions from wherever he might be in the Minor Leagues,” Joy says. “I work all day but when there is an event at The Barn, I go after work and help clean in preparation for or after the event.”

The family lives up the road in a log cabin on 20 acres of land. They purchased another 50 or so acres four years ago to expand their cattle business, and it came with the red barn. They run 60-70 cows, selling the commercial (non-registered) ones at the Ashville Stockyards, and show some of their animals, too. “We do two to five shows a year at the state and national level,” Locke says. “We’ve shown our cows in Colorado, South Dakota, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Texas.”

The St. Johns painted the front of the barn when they started hosting weddings, but left the back side in its rustic, weather-beaten state. They keep mini-lights strung up inside the barn, and small round bulbs at the back, where tables are often set up for a reception or a band might play while people dance on the concrete patio.

“We own 14 tables and 80 chairs, and we’re buying 20 more chairs,” Locke says. “People can rent more tables and chairs if they need them, and they can use the hay loft for over-flows, and some use the stalls, too. One wedding party had a cloth down in each stall to designate various stations, such as a kids’ play area, a crawfish table and a drink stall.”

The Barn has a bathroom and dressing room. Decorated with banners from the shows in which the St. John heifers have competed, the dressing room has bar stools with farm-themed backs, a leather sofa, wide-screen TV, small refrigerator and a deer head on the wall. “One couple brought their small camper for the bride to change in,” Locke adds. When not being used for a wedding, the changing room makes a great hangout for Locke, Carter and friends.

“I would absolutely recommend The Barn at Dry Creek Farms to anyone who wants their special day to be beautiful, easy, and affordable,” one reviewer posted on weddingwire.com, an internet site the St. Johns began using for advertising recently. “They basically give you the key and it’s yours to use. They will offer ideas if you have any questions about how other couples set up for their ceremonies and receptions. On top of that, the barn is located on simply gorgeous property. Overall, just a perfect venue for couples wanting a rustic barn wedding without breaking the bank.”

Martin houses made from gourds flank the barn, a six-stall shed to one side houses farm equipment, trucks and a travel trailer, a second shed protects a John Deere tractor and round hay bales, which the St. Johns bale themselves, and a small grain silo stands between the sheds. Fence panels lying to one side of the barn and the cattle chutes on the other side bear testimony to the fact that this is a real, working farm. The pond, the Dry Creek Farms sign hanging between two bent cedar trees, and the swing next to the barn make picturesque backdrops for wedding, graduation or birthday party photos.

Peak seasons for 2016 were spring and fall, but any season, people have the choice of getting married at the barn or in front of the lake under an arch that was left behind by a wedding party. Rates are different during the week than on weekends, and some wedding parties will rent the venue for two days and hold rehearsal dinner there, too.

While people use their own wedding photographer and planner and do their own decorating and cleaning up after the wedding, the St. Johns move the cows and hose down the floors before the wedding party descends. “During peak seasons, we won’t have the cows in the barn as much so there is less pressure washing to do,” Locke says.

The St. Johns have a web page for their farm, DryCreekFarmsCattle.com, and the event venue has its own Facebook page, The Barn at Dry Creek Farms.

“The Barn at Dry Creek Farms was amazing,” another weddingwire.com reviewer posted. “It was an actual red barn and the pond in front adds so much. It’s a lot of DIY, which makes it fun and the way you want it to be. Many options for ceremony and reception. Also Kent and Joy are great to work with!”

Another reviewer said her party built a dance floor in the middle of the barn and used the stalls as stations for food and drinks and a photo booth.

Although his primary role in the operation is the day-to day farming side of it, Carter helps out with weddings when needed. “The farming side is where my knowledge is at,” he says. “But when there’s something that needs to be done for The Barn venue, I’m there for it.”

His mom says the family works together to do all the chores each day. “That usually entails getting up early to get things done, like checking cows, putting out hay and feeding, before everyone starts their own schedule for the day,” she says.

Working on the farm and helping to run the event venue is a lot of work, Locke says, but he vows that he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t love it. “They have taught my brother and me responsibility and the business part of life,” he says.

New Movie Theater and More

Buffalo Wild Wings & Theater Just the Beginning

Story by Graham Hadley
Contributed art

When it comes to the local economy, growth builds growth.

That is exactly what is happening along the I-20 corridor in Pell City. What started with a simple gas station at the I-20 and US 231 interchange has grown into something of a retail and dining mecca, now boasting big box stores like Wal Mart and Home Depot, a full shopping center and a number of restaurants.

The most recent of which, Buffalo Wild Wings, opened its doors in November and has continued to see a steady stream of business ever since.

According to developer Bill Ellison, that is exactly the kind of restaurant Pell City residents have been asking for — something he, along with the city, the EDC, county and other agencies have been working years to make happen.

And aside from giving people living in Pell City and surrounding areas one more quality dining option, Ellison said it is important in another way.

“This is a very big deal,” he said. When restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings locate in an area and succeed, it is a bellwether of the economic health of a region that other companies look at when considering places to locate.

When businesses like that come to an area, it puts it on the map for other businesses, like the movie theater and bowling alley under construction right around the corner from Buffalo Wild Wings.

“The fact that Buffalo Wild Wings was coming said something about the community, that there was enough business here to support that. It all works together,” Ellison said.

Following closely on the heels of Buffalo Wild Wings, Premiere Cinemas is in the process of building a massive entertainment complex consisting of a movie theater, bowling alley and arcade, entertainment space, café and concessions.

The multi-million-dollar project has been years in the making and is something that Ellison and others involved say the Pell City community had been hoping for over the past decade or more.

“This is going to be huge,” Ellison said. “I have seen the plans, and they far exceed anything we expected to be able to do for Pell City.”

It will not only stand as a major quality-of-life improvement for Pell City residents, “it is going to bring more people to Pell City; it is going to bring more people to spend their money in Pell City.

“It will keep people here. Kids won’t have to drive on Interstate 20 to go to movies or eat out. People can stay in Pell City on weekends to have fun.”

Premiere Cinemas is an excellent company to be working with, he added, and they are cutting no corners with this project.

“We are fortunate to have a company like this coming to Pell City. This theater is going to be as nice any anything around, any theater in Birmingham,” Ellison said.

And just like Buffalo Wild Wings, the theater and entertainment complex is expected to be another big indicator that Pell City is ripe for new business growth.

“I think there are at least 100,000 people out there who will come to the cinema and bowling lanes,” he said.

“Not every town gets a movie theater and bowling lanes. Getting that in here means there is a large enough population to support it. People will drive long distances to come to something like this.”

Ellison was quick to point out that neither of these projects would have been a reality if it weren’t for the receptive atmosphere of the economic environment in Pell City, from the cooperative efforts with local government to the passing of the seven-day liquor sales.

“This has been a three or four-year project. Everyone has worked hard … then it all came together. We all worked to bring it in. It is something the community has been asking for for years, and we all made it happen,” Ellison said. “Everybody is really excited, the whole community is. It’s fantastic.