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Last Call at Local Color

Springville’s ‘colorful’ music spot closing its doors, unless …

Story by Paul South
Photos by Susan Wall
and Jerry Martin
and courtesy of Local Color

Imagine a magical music box that when opened played music from virtually every era. And from the box wafted the sweet aroma of cornbread cooked in a black, cast-iron skillet and chicken and dumplings like your Grandmama used to make.

And imagine a place so intimate and acoustically perfect, you could, as Merle Dollar puts it, “hear the smiles” of the audience.

So it is with Local Color, Springville’s musical treasure box. But unless Dollar and her husband, Garry Burttram, find a buyer, this precious box will be locked after the iconic Alabama bluegrass trio, “Three on a String,” plays the venue’s final show on New Year’s Eve.

Dollar and Burttram taught in area schools until both retired. But instead of kicking back, the couple went to work. Burttram and a partner went into the barbecue business, which later expanded into a burger and barbecue restaurant. But Garry “got tired of all the grease.”

So in 2001, Burttram and Don Dollar, Merle’s former husband, decided to open a different kind of place. At the same time, Merle and her sisters were renovating the site of what’s now Local Color.

“The whole premise was to do really good food and have music. It would be a great place to do art stuff and have t

With a budget of practically zero, Garry and Merle scavenged for chairs and tables and poured do-it-yourself sweat into the place. And by the first weekend in October 2002, the doors opened, offering classic Southern cuisine.

It was not a sparkling opening night.

“It was a stupid thing to do,” Dollar said. “To open smack in the middle of the college football season was not a good idea.”

It became clear Local Color needed a hook. Sylvia Wade (Garry’s sister) and our cousin, Peggy Jones, had been singing together for 20 years, crooning tight Andrews Sisters’-style harmonies and became the “house band.” Soon, they brought in local musicians and storytellers.

“Everybody who plays an instrument in Springville or the surrounding area has played our place at least once,” Merle said.

Soon word got around. The first big-name to grace the Local Color stage was a Birmingham-based jazz singer Elnora Spencer.

“Elnora could blow the walls out,” she said.

Before long, Local Color, with only about 70 seats, became a hot venue for local, regional and national storytellers, singers and musicians performing all types of music from jazz to Celtic, even 19^th-century Alabama tunes set to jazz arrangements. Trumpeter Robert Moore, for example, traveled from his home in Portland, Ore., at least once a year to play Local Color. And Steve Young, writer of the Eagles’ hit, “Seven Bridges Road,” has also played the room.

And then there is Bobby Horton. Part of the iconic string band “Three on a String.” Horton earned national acclaim for his work in the dazzling documentaries of filmmaker Ken Burns, the scores he wrote and played for 21 films of the National Park Service.

The band performed at Local Color at least eight times a year, including a “Month of Sundays,” where each Sunday for a month, Three on a String brings a friend along to perform to sold-out Sunday shows.

Horton has played as part of the trio and has performed his solo act a number of times, including an annual performance of Civil War-era music and a musical history of Christmas.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve played there, but every time I do it’s very special. It’s just wonderful,” Horton said.

Horton can’t put a finger on what has made Local Color so wonderful and so popular over the years. Merle is the bubbly one who greets the public. Garry cooks great food and is sometimes “crotchety.” Horton loves them both.

“Garry’s the tension, and Merle’s the release,” Horton said with a laugh.

“They’re definitely a part of the Local Color family,” Dollar said

As far as its restaurant menu, diners make a reservation for the night, giving Local Color a classic “supper club” feel.

“We’re not fussy, not prissy, but we do try to keep it classy. Dinner is served from 6 to 7:30, then the lights go down and the performance begins. Quiet from the audience is expected.

“We frown heavily on talking and yakking during the performance,” Dollar said. “People are paying money to see a particular group and they are entitled to the best possible time they can have. Once the music starts, that’s when the magic happens.”

There is something magical going on. Even with a concrete floor, a metal ceiling and narrow walls, Local Color seems to defy the laws of physics and acoustics.

“There’s something magical about that room. It’s got a resonance that is so good,” Dollar said. “The audience is so close, and the musicians are so close performers can literally hear the people breathing. It’s just like they’re in your living room.”

Horton agreed. You can see every single person in the room and that is very fun,” he said. “You play in a big venue and you love the people, but you sure can’t see ’em.”

As for the acoustics, Horton said, “The minute you walk in and start to play, you just get the warm fuzzzies. It’s great.”

And, it’s a place to test the waters for new material, Horton said.

“We looked at it as one of the strong suits for playing there,” he said.

That intimacy no doubt plays a role in the packed houses over the years. But so do the dinners. Remember the chicken and dumplings and cornbread? That’s just part of a limited menu.

“It’s just great, old-time Southern cooking, which I love. You can’t find that very many places anymore,” Horton said. “It’s biscuits and stuff your wife won’t let you have at home because of your diet, but you can have ’em at Local Color.”

Springville is a very artsy part of St. Clair County,” Dollar said. “They love music. They love theater. We have several authors who live in the area. It’s just a hotbed for entertainment kinds of things. I don’t know why it is. Maybe it’s the water we grew up with. Springville seemed like an area where this would go over. We thought if we liked it, people would like it, too.”

Indeed, they have. But Merle and Garry have decided to close up shop, to enjoy retirement and do other things. It’s something they’ve kicked around for years.
“We kind of wanted to go out on top, and we have really good memories,” Dollar said.

Horton is grieved by news of the closure.

“If you wanted to copy that place, you couldn’t replicate it. It just sort of happened. I’m just so sad that they’re quitting. I can’t stand it,” Horton said. They’re going to miss it more than they know. And so will I.”

As Local Color’s last waltz nears, Dollar knows the tears will come. It’s bittersweet.

“I’m going to miss it like crazy,” she said. “At the same time, there’s so much life to be lived out there. We’re ready to take the next step.”heater and all the things that we loved to do,” Dollar said.

Features

Heart of Pell City

A Group Effort

Story by Paul South
Photos by Susan Wall

When it began three years ago, Heart of Pell City’s mission was to bolster and grow downtown businesses.

In its short history, the nonprofit organization has grown into much, much more. Heart of Pell City wants to put the town on the map as a destination location for visitors from Birmingham and beyond and not just as a lake town or a spot near the Talladega Superspeedway just down Interstate 20.

One of the key initiatives for the organization is to bring together similar local organizations and governmental leaders – like the Heart of Pell City, the Chamber of Commerce, Pell City’s Gateway Community Garden, Council of the Arts Inc. (Artscapes Gallery), CEPA (The Center for Education and Performing Arts), St. Clair County Economic Development Council and others — to move the city forward.

“We all need to be meeting and working together to build this downtown,” said Renee Lilly, one of Heart of Pell City’s founding members. “We’re going to bring these organizations together and start meeting and brainstorming to see what we need to do to put this town on the map to make it a destination location for Birmingham residents and others from outside communities as far as a 100-mile radius who want to come enjoy a small-town fun experience.”

The Heart of Pell City wants to showcase the historic downtown, said Urainah Glidewell, the organization’s acting president.

“If we can highlight those areas as far as tourism is concerned, that would be of benefit to the entire city. Yes, we are a lake town. But people like to do other things besides that,” Glidewell said.

One of the organization’s key goals is to be designated as a Main Street Alabama community. Main Street Alabama’s focus is on “bringing jobs, dollars and people back to Alabama’s historic communities,” and to revitalize city centers and neighborhoods, according to the Main Street Alabama website.

In that light, the organization also wants to explore more effective zoning and long-range strategic planning with positive input from all corners.

“Involvement is key. If we can bring different groups of people together and show that this is important for the city to help bring more commerce and tourism in to help revitalize and restore our historical district for the future generations of children growing up in this town, the benefits will be far-reaching,” Glidewell said. “It’s just a matter of getting it in front of them and showing them it is a really good investment in the town.”

Frank Lee, Heart of Pell City treasurer and director of multimedia, sees the potential of an entertainment and an historic district.

Creation of an entertainment district would help fuel growth, Lee said.

“In all the cities I’ve traveled, I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of historic preservation. Historic preservation is one of the key elements of sustained growth in a city,” he said. “When you have an historic downtown, that draws people in, it becomes your prime real estate in a lot of cases, especially when it’s fixed up and revitalized.”

He added, “What we’re trying to do is restore our past, revitalize it and show people the example of how other cities have used (preservation) as their springboard to economic prosperity and sustained growth.”

But along with showcasing history, the organization has helped spruce up downtown with small touches, like hanging baskets to adorn the historic areas.

In April, The Heart of Pell City, along with the Alabama Department of Tourism, sponsored walking tours of downtown. People flocked to the downtown area on Saturday mornings in April to learn more about its history, and it was a significant step in sparking interest into the city’s historic past.

Along that same line, the Heart of Pell City also celebrated the city’s historic ties to the textile industry with Avondale Mills Day. The city actually grew up around the mill beginning at the turn of the 20th century, with generations of Pell City residents working at the factory.

“It was an effort to tie the city with its past,” said A.J. Wright, the organization’s secretary. “This city was built around Avondale Mills,” she said.

The festivities centered on downtown with a puppy parade, doughnut-eating contest, even a Moon-Pie-eating contest and other entertainment. It culminated just a few blocks away at CEPA with the presentation of Our Town, a locally written play based on the city’s history and performed by the high school’s Drama Department.

Heart of Pell City has ventured into the political arena as a non-partisan civic venture. Partnering with the Pell City Rotary Club, the organization sponsored a candidates’ forum in advance of municipal elections at the Center for Education and Performing Arts.

But its main emphasis remains returning downtown to what its name implies – the heart of Pell City. “We have to preserve it and save it,” Lee said. “By investing in our history, it’s also an economic investment. We have a very rich history, and it needs to be promoted.”

Pell City already has certain areas designated for their historical significance, like the Mill Village. Downtown is in a nationally-designated historic district, as is the residential area behind the St. Clair County Courthouse and Cogswell Avenue. Historical markers aimed at drawing people from nearby Interstate 20 to the downtown area would help boost those districts.

“This is a great historic area, and we need to get a historical marker on the interstate to help bring people downtown,” Lilly said.

Glidewell agreed. “We are in beautiful buildings that have so much character,” she said. “Any new business that comes in brings more life to it. Being able to celebrate that and pass it on and share that with everyone is just a wonderful thing.”

Lilly, who has watched the organization grow from its earliest days, believes the Heart of Pell City has made progress in its short history. She also gives Glidewell high marks for her hard work and leadership as the interim president. The committee overall is working very hard. Lilly has been involved in a number of local organizations and currently serves as vice president of Gateway Community Garden, which will brings people together to grow gardens and reap their benefits.

“I think that it is on track and we’re growing momentum every day,” Lilly said. “There’s always going to be change, but it seems like we’re moving forward, and it’s exciting. I feel like we are moving in the right direction.”

It’s all about community. A newly created set of chalkboards on Cogswell Avenue between Gilreath Printing and Lilly’s shop, Lilly Designs, A Design Resource, is yet another example of that. In the days leading to Thanksgiving, the boards offered an opportunity for passersby to express what they were thankful for and share it with others in the community. l

Editor’s Note: The Heart of Pell City meets at 8:30 a.m., on the first Wednesday of every month at Toast Sandwich Eatery in the Old Gray Barn at 1910 Cogswell Avenue. For more information on The Heart of Pell City, call 205-533-5594. You can also learn more from its Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Instagram accounts, where it promotes downtown businesses and community events.

Features

Star Gazing Chandler Mountain

Chandler Mountain lures star gazers

Story and photos by Jim Smothers
Submitted photos

Every month members of the Birmingham Astronomical Society make their way up Chandler Mountain past Horse Pens 40 for a cliffside “Star Party” to enjoy their hobby and the company of other like-minded individuals.

Well, almost every month — if it’s cloudy, there’s always next month.

“Partly cloudy sounds like a nice forecast, but it can be an awful thing for our hobby,” said Preston Pendergraft, a club member and a security specialist with a regional banking group.

Members keep a close watch on weather forecasts and some of them use special-purpose apps that predict when the skies will be clear. They are helpful but not perfect.

Saturday nights closest to new moons give the stargazers the opportunity they need to stay up late with the darkest skies of the month.

“There is lower humidity at the site, so that helps,” said Sterling Deramus, a Birmingham-based attorney and president of the club.

It also helps to get away from the light pollution in the metro-area that creates a haze they can’t see through very well.

“Dark sky is a big deal for us,” he said.

Even from Chandler Mountain, the number of security lights throughout the area is becoming more noticeable. Lights that shine into the sky collectively create a haze that makes it difficult to see objects in space, and clouds can spoil everything.

Deramus said that at some star parties there will be 20 or 30 people on the mountain with their telescopes. It’s hard to predict.

For the October outing there were only two members there. A partly cloudy sky and competition from college football may have kept others from making the trip, and Deramus’s “clear sky” app missed the mark this time — patchy clouds made for limited viewing.

Pendergraft said a public television program about the Voyager spacecraft piqued his interest in astronomy when he was a child, and he has been interested ever since. He collected golf balls from a water hazard on a golf course near his childhood home in Las Vegas and sold them to save money for his first telescope.

Deramus said he was interested as a kid, but it was a college class in astronomy that got him hooked.

It’s easy to see why. The stars, planets and other objects in space hold deep connections to mankind’s past, present and future. Throughout man’s time on the planet, objects in space have stirred his imagination, with impacts not only on the understanding of the sciences and mathematics, but also on the arts, history, mythology and more.

People can enjoy astronomy as a hobby today in a number of different ways, and not all of them even involve telescopes. A simple star chart and a clear sky can be enough to start learning where and when the different constellations and planets can be seen. A pair of binoculars and a steady hand can work very well for viewing.

Some hobbyists barely look at the skies at all — an organization with a website called Zooniverse offers computer-based opportunities for amateurs to assist professionals with real-world scientific research. In astronomy, the projects include time-intensive viewing and comparison of photographs of objects in space. One project in particular is Planet Four, which involves thousands of images of Mars, and there are other astronomical studies on that site as well.

The club is active with a lecture meeting each month and two scheduled star parties — one on Chandler Mountain and another on Oak Mountain — plus outreach opportunities. Sometimes they will set up telescopes in public areas in town and invite non-members to take a look, and some of the members recently participated in a school program to introduce students to the hobby.

Lectures each month at Samford University feature a variety of speakers. One recent program featured a University of Alabama professor who spoke about galactic research, and another program was given by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Sometimes the lecture will be a “how-to” program to help people get more out of the time using tips and tools more effectively.

It’s all about the camaraderie, about spending time with others who share a common interest.

Party time

At a typical star party, individuals set up telescopes and seek the objects they are particularly interested in seeing. One may be looking for a particular planet.

“Saturn is a good one to see,” Deramus said.

Someone else might be trying to find separation between two stars that appear in the sky to be a single star. Others may be using photography to record deep-space galaxies. There are different goals and methods to explore the skies.

“There are different things to see in each season,” Deramus said. “There are always good things to see, good star clusters…Andromeda is a good one to find.”

Some hobbyists get started by looking for the Messier Objects, a list of about 100 bodies compiled by French astronomer Charles Messier in the 18th Century. Messier was looking for comets, and made a list of objects that look like comets — but are not — so that he could avoid spending time on them in the future. Finding and keeping a log of their locations helps hobbyists get started with learning their way around the sky.

“None of them are really that challenging to find,” Pendergraft said. “You can see a lot of them with binoculars. A lot of people go from there to the Herschel 400, which is kind of like the intermediate list. It’s a list of 400 objects that were discovered by William Herschel in the 1700s in England, and some of them were actually discovered by his sister, Caroline, as well. She was an accomplished astronomer in her own right, and she discovered some comets, too.”

Deramus uses a camera-equipped telescope to help find objects that can’t otherwise be seen. Using a series of long exposures and specific computer programs, he is able to find galaxies that can’t be seen through a telescope with the eye.

“Galaxies are a challenge,” he said. “I’ve seen some really good ones from up here, but they are very, very faint. That’s why I’m doing photography now. That was my first challenge, finding all the galaxies I wanted to see. May is the time to see galaxies because you have what’s called the Virgo and Leo clusters, which we are actually a part of — our galaxy is part of the Virgo cluster, on the outer edges of it. There are hundreds and hundreds of galaxies, it’s just amazing how many.”

Pendergraft said there is a scale for the brightness of stars and space objects. Vega is rated at 0, with higher numbers assigned on a logarithmic scale for decreasing brightness. The unaided human eye can see down to about 6, depending on the individual. With binoculars, stars down to about 9, more or less, may be seen, depending on the binoculars and how steadily they are being held. Some telescopes can extend that to 14 or 15 on a good night, and telescopes with cameras can get to 15 or 16. The Hubble telescope, by comparison, gets to 22 or 23.

“That’s probably the limit,” Deramus said.

At a typical star party, members enjoy spending time with others who share the hobby and share the excitement of seeing parts of the universe for themselves.

Some even make the trek to larger star parties in other parts of the country.

“I’ve been to one in Texas a couple of times near the McDonald Observatory,” Pendergraft said. “It’s kind of like the ‘Woodstock of Astronomy.’ Everybody who is anybody in astronomy is there.”

More places in the West have the dark sky stargazers need, and that event draws hundreds each year. It’s partly a trade show and partly a social gathering, and is a key event for hobbyists.

But there’s plenty to see from atop Chandler Mountain.

“Some people try to see the ‘Pup’,” Pendergraft said. “Everyone knows Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, but right next to it is a dimmer star everyone calls the ‘Pup.’ It was discovered in the late 1800s, not far from here, through a telescope at the University of Mississippi…there are always challenges for people to see faint objects. There are galaxies and nebulae. There are bright objects, which people want to see features inside them.

“It’s a hobby that you can take as far as you want to go, from the naked eye to custom built scopes that cost as much as your car.” l

Learn more about the Birmingham Astronomical Society at www.bas-astro.com or on Facebook at The Birmingham Astronomical Society of Alabama.

Features

Running

Cross Country in St. Clair

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

A methodical thud of a rubber sole hitting a dirt trail below – a dozen or more pair of them – emanate from the woods just beyond St. Clair County High School’s campus in Odenville.

It is almost like a cadence, interrupted and punctuated by the distinct inhales and exhales of determined runners. It’s a sound heard all summer long as the high school’s cross country team prepared for battle across the state.

At home, their arena is a 3.1-mile path cut through woods, up hills, around bends and under the canopy of towering hardwoods and pines.

“We’re proud of the hills,” said former Coach Mason Dye, who helped former Principal Brian Terry realize his dream of having a cross country track. “It’s a challenging course.”

“It’s unique in the county,” added Terry. “It’s almost unique in the state.”

The course twists and winds all around the campus. There’s even a pond runners make their way around, and its diverse landscape is perfect for non-competitors, too, who just want to take a walk in the woods. The trail is open to the public.

Terry has since retired from St. Clair County High School but is working in Georgia. “I run it when I’m home on weekends…for nostalgia,” said Terry, a track athlete himself in his younger days at Samford University.

On a hot, summer day, surrounded by young, aspiring cross country runners when Terry was still principal, he and Dye talked of the genesis of the course. The cross country program is now in its fourth year. “I started working on it six or seven years ago,” Terry said. He had a “vision” of what it should be, and he set out to make it happen.

Two miles were laid out courtesy of a Soil and Water Conservation grant to build a nature trail. Scooter Dorsett helped in the project.

“Cross country to me is a sport that attracts a group of kids who don’t have another niche. They’re loners. They’re bright. They’re not football players,” he said, noting that it gives them an outlet in which they excel.

“It brings in a group of kids who need to do their thing,” Terry added. “The kids tend to unify.” It becomes a team sport.

“They become like family running together,” Dye said, adding that it is co-ed.

When Dye, who also ran track in college, arrived on campus, the course was finished. “He put the vision into play,” Terry said of his young coach.

It has had a tremendous impact on athletics. Five students from St. Clair County High have already earned track scholarships. More than a dozen schools held a meet in the fall with more than 300 athletes participating.

And the Odenville course has been a catalyst for growth in other programs around the county. “Every school in the county now has a cross country team except Ragland,” Terry said. “Cross country is growing and evolving as a sport. It builds excitement.”

Parents and volunteers maintain the course, and the community is beginning to learn about its existence and about the sport itself. “The community as whole is unfamiliar with what cross country is,” Terry said.

But now, awareness is increasing and with it, there is heightened interest from middle school and high school students. “We don’t cut,” Dye said. “It is not limited to a set roster.”

By its very nature, it encourages more and more to become involved. And, like Dye and Terry, these runners see they can grow personally and physically, and they can compete for scholarships.

“Track and field paid my way through Samford,” Terry said, and he wanted to see other young people provided with the same opportunities he had. “It’s a great sport to be a part of.”

Joe Whitten

Historian, storyteller, teacher: A life well lived

Story and photos by Jerry C. Smith
Submitted photos

The usual love triangles pale in comparison with Odenville educator and historian Joe Whitten’s quadrangle of passions. In no particular order, they are St. Clair County history, Gail Elaine McGeoch, hundreds of grateful students and the Lord, whom he credits for bringing it all together.

Joe was born in 1938 in Bryant, Alabama, a Jackson County town that dangles near the edge of Sand Mountain, almost in Georgia. His father, Nathan Whitten, died that same year. Joe’s mother, Lorene Hawkins Whitten, remarried four years later to John Armstrong, a teacher and Cumberland Presbyterian minister.

Under his stepfather’s surname, Joe went to Glencoe High School in Etowah County until the 12th-grade, then was sent to Bob Jones Academy in Greenville, South Carolina, to complete high school prior to beginning college at Bob Jones University.

Graduating in 1960, his first degree at Bob Jones was a speech minor in English. While at the Academy, Joe reverted to his birth name of Whitten, as he had never been officially adopted by his stepfather.

Joe’s involuntary exile to Bob Jones became a godsend, for many reasons. Not only did he have his old name back, but he had also escaped a strict household where he’d never been able to make any decisions of his own. “I had a new name, new friends, a new place and never looked back,” he says.

After graduation in 1960, he sought employment suited to his education and ambition, but only succeeded in finding work at a sauerkraut factory in Seattle, Washington, that he wryly defined as “the most miserable job ever.” Vowing to do better, he returned to Bob Jones in 1961 to continue his studies.

This time, he specialized in education courses. After graduation, his mother, who worked at Jacksonville State University, urged him to explore Calhoun and Etowah counties for an entry-level teaching position.

After months of fruitless search, Joe had almost made up his mind to join the Air Force when he got word of an opening in a school that was being built in a tiny burg called Odenville in St. Clair County. He’d heard of the place, but had never been there.

Young teacher hired

At his interview with Principal Dodd Cox, Joe was told that the job was in a new grades 7-12 school currently under construction. “I’ll take it,” he quickly replied. The principal reminded him that he didn’t know a thing about the position and should probably hear the rest of the offer before making up his mind.

Joe says their conversation went something like this:

Principal: “You will be teaching eighth-grade English, ninth-grade English and seventh-grade Math.”
Joe: “I’ll take it.”
Principal: “But wait, the school isn’t even finished yet. …”
Joe: “I’ll take it.”
Principal: “It only pays $350 a month for 10 months a year. …”
Joe: “I’ll take it.”

And thus, on the day after Labor Day in 1961, at age 23, Joseph Whitten began a career that made him a living legend in Odenville education. In all, he taught more than three generations of St. Clair youngsters before retiring at the turn of the century and is a revered guest at every class year reunion.

“Mr. Whitten” was only 5 years older than some of his students, but Mr. Cox insisted his teachers control everything in their classrooms.

Joe relates, “The last thing you wanted to do was take a student out of class and march him to the principal’s office. You took care of it yourself. All us teachers knew it and, more importantly, so did the kids.”

Among his students were those who would one day make a difference in St. Clair County: Sheriff Terry Surles; Coroner Dennis Russell; practically everyone on the Odenville Water Board; Pell City businessman Connie Myers, who would later become principal of St. Clair County High School; and retired teacher Mary Kelley, who taught physical education and health at Odenville before being assigned to the Board of Education, where she served until her retirement in 1999.

“Mr. Whitten was different from any teacher I had ever met,” Mary says. “He was very talented, witty, educated and respected by his students as well as the community of Odenville. As an English teacher, his objective was for students to learn the information and participate in class discussions. These skills worked well – in school and in later life – by providing us with the self-confidence and ability to communicate well with others.”

As the school counselor, Joe’s door was open to students, teachers and support personnel. His professional knowledge provided students with advice and encouragement in the resolution of school and personal issues.

Of his demeanor in class, several respondents agreed that, while Joe was outwardly easy going and gentle, he had ways of getting attention when needed, and everyone knew when to shut up and listen.

Odenville’s Scott Burton tells of his shouting out during an unruly moment in his library class, “Silence, you vile wretches!,” and remembers a sign posted on Mr. Whittten’s desk that fairly warned one and all: CAUTION: DISPOSITION SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Both Mary and Scott said everyone wanted to be in his classes. They found his delivery quite entertaining as he acted out various passages from English literature. He always found ways to make education fun and still managed to help them learn and retain what they’d learned.

According to Scott, Mr. Whitten’s adherence to classroom decorum extended even to paperwork that students turned in. He would not accept sheets torn from a spiral-bound notebook because of their ragged edges, and was known to call kids to the front of the class, hand them scissors and demand they remove those “frizzy” borders. Scott also credits him with being the only English teacher who could make sentence diagramming understandable.

There are enough Mr. Whitten stories told by former students to fill a small book. A local favorite involves one of his Speech classes in which he asked various students to stand and speak on some subject with which they were most familiar.

One boy eagerly volunteered at the beginning of class and took his place at the front of the room. This boy was Odenville’s legendary Slow-Talking John, who was a master at taking forever to tell anything.

His chosen subject was “How To Build A House.” John began by drawing a rectangular set of lines on the blackboard, then said, “This … is … the … footing …,” then proceeded to describe in agonizingly slow, ponderous detail exactly how to dig a foundation wall, pour concrete, etc.

Joe says that by the time John’s house had reached its interior walls, the bell had rung, and he was too numb to do anything but dismiss the class.

While they were sitting on Joe’s front porch some 14 years later, Joe mentioned that day to John, who laughed out loud and explained that the other kids in class had taken up a collection and paid John to speak first so they would not have to recite their own work.

Scott says the one thing that really sticks with him to this day as a result of having Mr. Whitten for a teacher is a deep appreciation for the works of Charles Dickens, Joe’s favorite author. Scott recalls the kids acting out speaking parts while reading Oliver Twist and David Copperfield aloud in class. Scott adds that he would love to do A Christmas Carol today, with Mr. Whitten playing Ebeneezer Scrooge.

The creation of the Odenville/St. Clair County School System is a historical epic in its own right. From its very beginnings in 1864 as a one-room cabin at Hardin’s shop on Springville Road to today’s sprawling campus just east of town, its establishment was an uphill battle all the way.

The school’s history is far too complex to explore here, but the entire saga is neatly summarized in Whitten’s Odenville, Alabama, A History of Our Town 1821-1992.

Many local pioneers and other notables were heavily involved, including entrepreneur Watt T. Brown, Governor Comer and Judge John Inzer. They took special pride in the fact they had beaten Pell City for the honor of having one of the first county high schools in the state.

In 1960, the main building was razed, and a third-generation structure of impressive proportions and excellent design was built. Now grades 1-12 were all on the same campus, divided only by clever architecture. Over the years, he taught English, speech, mathematics, and also served as librarian and counselor for the grammar school. One might feel that Joe and the new school grew up together. As he once remarked, “I wasn’t born in Odenville, but I got here as fast as I could.”

Gail, a love story

A beautiful young lady in Miss Mabe’s Bible class at Bob Jones raised her hand to answer a question. Joe, who was sitting behind her and had wanted to answer first, grabbed her arm to try to lower her hand. This incensed her, and she reminded him in no uncertain terms that this school had a rule against opposite sexes physically touching one another.

Like many relationships, theirs got off to an unusual start, but Joe Whitten and Gail McGeoch of Cambridge, New York, quickly became friends and remained so for the rest of their stay at Bob Jones. They went their separate ways after Gail’s graduation in 1961.

After eight years of being completely out of touch, Joe received a letter which Gail claimed God had told her to write. She was in Pensacola, Florida, at the time. Joe phoned her, and they talked for nearly three hours. He said the long-distance phone bill was horrendous, but he never regretted paying a penny of it.

They married in 1971, thus beginning a long, beneficent, storybook life together that would warm everyone they met. Gail often defined their marriage as a “strange and wonderful relationship,” always adding, “You’re strange; I’m wonderful.”

Gail and Joe resided in a vintage house built by an Odenville newspaper editor named Luther Maddox. When Joe first came to Odenville, he lived at the Cahaba Hotel, which no longer stands. Later, he boarded with the Bartletts, who lived next door to Maddox. Joe said its restoration was a real challenge, but today it is of museum quality inside and out.

Gail taught school at Ragland for a while, then transferred to Odenville, where she taught in the elementary grades. Her classroom was next to the library where Joe worked at the time.

Every person I’ve interviewed admires the same things about Gail – her wonderfully warm smile, loving, benign personality and immaculate reputation. The Whittens were very popular with all the students. Together, they were a dream team.

Scott added that Mrs. Whitten loved the snow and always got all excited over the first flake that fell. He also tells a rather amusing story about her coffee habits.

Every day she would make fresh coffee, but first she would carry the pot to an open window on the second floor, holler YOO-HOO, then throw out the old coffee and grounds, never looking to see if anyone was standing below. Everyone quickly learned to avoid that area during morning hours.

Gail played piano and sang in the choir of several churches, as part of a musical family that included Joe on the church organ. Joe praises Gail for proofreading his historical works, and helping to make them the useful volumes they became.

She led an exemplary life, but her greatest moments were yet to come.

Joe, the historian

As if taking scores of St. Clair’s kids under his wing wasn’t enough, Joe also became an educational outlet for the rest of us. If you’re seeking obscure information about almost any historical aspect of St. Clair County, you will sooner or later work with Joe.

Between Joe and recently-retired County Archivist Charlene Simpson, there’s practically nothing one can’t learn about our history. I’ve used both resources for many stories you read in this magazine, as well as my own published works.

Both Charlene and Joe will hasten to say they learned at the hands of veteran chroniclers such as Rubye Hall Edge Sisson (From Trout Creek To Ragland), Mattie Lou Teague Crow (History Of St. Clair County and Diary Of A Confederate Soldier) and Vivian Buffington Qualls (History Of Steele, Alabama).

Joe has published several books of his own, as well as scores of historical society periodicals, papers, meeting minutes and surveys. He worked extensively with the late Garland Minor, who located and annotated hundreds of Civil War burial sites in our area, obtaining markers and other memorials for them.

Joe joined the St. Clair Historical Society shortly after it was formed in the early 1990s by the legendary historian and writer, Mattie Lou Teague Crow, in order to save the historic Looney House from demolition. Joe’s contributions include a nicely-done periodical called Cherish, which is still archived in many local libraries and is an excellent source of research material.

Charlene recalls his frequent visits to her St. Clair County Archives when it was in the Ashville Library building as well as two later locations on the town square. She says Joe was always pleasant, never declined to pause in his own work to help others and added much to the usefulness of that department.

Charlene says his favorite thing was going through archival copies of old St. Clair newspapers, looking for interesting, poignant or just plain funny wedding announcements, epitaphs and other bits of Victorian-era news for his two books, By Murder, Accident & Natural Causes and Wedding Bells &Funeral Knells, both of which are still available.

His first published books were a genealogical study of his Hawkins family, a history of St. Clair High School called Where The Saints Have Trod, a compendium of 18 local church histories called In The Shadow of the Almighty, and the aforementioned Odenville, Alabama – A History of Our Town. All these works still find heavy usage as research materials, especially from St. Clair youngsters working on yearly history projects for a statewide contest with finals in Montgomery.

All his reference works have proper indices, often a large proportion of the book itself. He considers a wasted effort any reference book that is not properly indexed, and totally useless if there’s no index at all.

Joe also serves as a board member for County Archive as well as Odenville’s Fortson Museum. Over the years, he’s donated countless display items and reference works to both places, including a wonderful old foot-pump organ that now graces the Fortson collections.

Joe, the poet

One of Joe’s favorite pursuits is writing poetry, particularly oddly-punctuated verse that doesn’t rhyme. He’s an active member of the Alabama State Poetry Society, and his works have fared well in regional contests. He’s printed several chapbooks of his poems, and at one time was the official Poet of the Year of Alabama.

Joe’s love of poetry goes all the way back to his high school days, when he often penned satirical works about his teachers, much to their chagrin and the delight of his fellow students.

One of his proudest possessions is a framed piece of sheet music with one of his poems, Evensong, as its lyrics. Written especially for Joe’s poem, the music got a lot of exposure as part of a Year 2000 millennium project sponsored by the White House Millennium Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Evensong can be found in Joe’s latest book of poetry, Learning To Tell Time.

Joe takes special pride in helping to connect an American family with a group in France working to erect a memorial to American flyers who had crashed there during World War II. One of those flyers was Richard Smith, whose family had contacted Joe for further information from an obituary he had collected. Smith’s family was invited to France for the dedication ceremony.

Dark clouds gather

A few years ago, Gail was stricken with cancer, marking the beginning of an epic struggle that gave courage to many others who were fighting their own battles. Her unflappable persona remained unchanged for the entire ordeal, always beaming that special smile that could not help but warm those around her.

Her passing in 2010 marked the end of 39 years of an idyllic marriage for Joe and Gail Whitten and brought hundreds into mourning.

Joe says she was cheerful until the very end. He recalls one of their last conversations on the day before her passing, when she was heavily infused with pain medicine and somewhat groggy.

He asked, “Do you know who I am?” She replied sweetly, “Of course I know who you are, Joe.” Some hours later, he leaned over close and whispered a final “I love you.”

Her answer: “I love you, too, whoever you are,” her eyes dancing as she spoke.

Finding peace

Joe says that God moved into their home after Gail passed and has kept him company through his years of loss and resolution. He’s since become involved in mission work to Ecuador as well as extensive world travel and plans to write a few more books.

Perhaps the first stanza of his signature poem, Evensong, tells it best:

The world is quieter now.
Mist rises to mist
and a quietness comes to me
like the quietness of an old house
that whispers long-loved contentment
to past and present.

Ashville, Alabama

Storied past; promising future

Story by Paul South
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
“Ashville, the county seat of St. Clair Co., Ala., is a dignified old town, seeming to possess the even tenor of its way at peace with all mankind.”
—Mary T. Whitson, The Southern Aegis, Feb. 9, 1910
When Mayor-Elect Derrick Mostella returned home to Ashville after six years in Memphis, he went to his father-in-law at Teague Hardware. There, he’d talk politics with customers, who’d share their ideas and concerns about the town. During slow spells at the store, he’d take walks and drink in all that made his hometown special. And there, he made a decision.

“I knew I wanted to make my impact in Ashville,” he said. “I had a sense of responsibility to come back and be part of something of a renaissance. I think we’re at that point right now. There’s a new feeling that’s taken over the city. We’ve got people that are active, involved and engaged and ready to see good things happen in Ashville.”

It indeed seems that St. Clair’s original county seat is on the cusp of a renaissance. The town is emerging from the housing recession that began in 2007. St. Clair County government and private entities have made some $8 million in investment in its buildings downtown, including $1.5 million in the administrative annex, transforming cramped government offices and meeting rooms into welcoming spaces.

Phase I of the expansion added 4,725 square feet of space on the east side of the Administrative Building. Cubicles were removed and nine new offices, along with a chairman’s office and a conference room, improved the functionality of the building. The St. Clair County Commission Chambers were also expanded, which allows major events, as well as Probate Court, to be conducted in more spacious surroundings.

A second-floor expansion provides more space for the Information Technology Department, the Revenue Commissioner and the Probate Office.

Two manufacturers, Valmont and Grooms Aluminum have also made multimillion dollar reinvestments in their plants, generating additional jobs. In total, the two firms invested more than $3 million.

Grooms – a family business — began operation in Ashville in August of last year. A favorable location, as well as Ashville and St. Clair County’s business-friendly climate, drew the Grooms family to open in Ashville, said co-owner and spokesperson Tammy Grooms.

“We researched and looked for land. We found a few different spots. Cost influenced it, of course, but Ashville and St. Clair County were just really good to deal with. They made the process easy. We found a location that worked for what we needed and what we do. It was great working with Ashville,” she said. “They’ve gone out of their way to try to help.”

Grooms receives and cleans scrap aluminum from customers, then melts it into ingots called “sows.” The sows are returned to the customer, who then sells it to other clients to be made into a product.

Other private concerns have invested in the historic downtown, providing yet another shot in the arm.

“As far as job creation, this has been an incredible last couple of years for (Ashville),” said Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council.

Unlike other municipalities, Ashville has taken a more practical approach to economic growth. With a population of less than 3,000, practicality is key.

“It’s been more of a refocus on working on what you can control,” Smith said. “Historically, Ashville has had some limitations as far as infrastructure and utilities to be able to handle large growth. That is being worked on now. I think there’s a renaissance of community pride and a focus on improving what can be improved, and do the things that can be done to help the community take that next step.”

Steeped in history

There is something of an eternal elegance to Ashville, a town that has preserved many of its historic landmarks that go back to the state’s earliest days. And when John Ash and his family first explored the area in the early 19^th century, a tragedy struck that would offer no clue as to the future. A tiny gravestone would be the symbolic cornerstone for the future county seat of St. Clair County.

In January 1817, John Ash, his wife Margaret and their three daughters and seven slaves were part of a party of a half dozen families on a wagon train en route to Shelby County when they decided to explore Beaver Valley. According to legend, wrote the late historian Mattie Lou Teague Crow, John Ash shot a deer. Ash was near the team of horses when he fired, and little Betsy Ash was thrown from the wagon and suffered a fractured skull. She died of her injuries days later. Reluctant to leave their little girl, the Ash family settled nearby. The Ash home still stands today. John Ash would later serve as a judge, county commissioner and state legislator.

St. Clair County was created in the Alabama territory in 1818. In 1820, the governor appointed Ash and other men to a board of commissioners. The board purchased 30 acres of land from a man named Philip Coleman for $10,000. Sixty-four lots were created from the purchase, including land for the courthouse.

Like other towns in St. Clair County, changes in transportation – the railroad, US 231 and the interstate highway system transformed the town. But the town lots, laid out in the first map of the town in the early 19^th century, remain unchanged, with its heart in the Courthouse Square. The first court hearings were conducted at the home of Alexander Brown, according to Crow’s writings.

And the descendants of many of the families who first built Ashville – Ash, Box, Inzer, Newton, Byers and more, remain in modern-day Ashville.

Across the years, history has rolled through Ashville, bringing with it harmony and progress, disagreements and disputes. The town, like the rest of the county, was divided over the issue of secession on the eve of the Civil War. Col. John Inzer had opposed secession, but went on to fight for the Confederacy. He would distinguish himself at the battles of Corinth, Shiloh and Chickamauga before being taken as a prisoner of war. After the war, he would go on to a distinguished career in public service in government and was also a trustee of Howard College (now Samford University). His home, the Dean-Inzer home is one of the town’s preserved treasures of antebellum architecture.

Asked how she would describe Ashville, Laura Lawley, clerk to the St. Clair County Commission called it a town “near to God’s heart.” And indeed faith has played a role in the town’s history.

Methodists have worshipped in Ashville since 1818, served by a circuit-riding minister in those days. The Masonic Lodge was shared by the Methodists and the Masons until 1892. Baptists constructed a new house of worship in 1859 and Presbyterians in 1879. The original Presbyterian church now serves as a Church of Christ congregation.

These days, churches are still growing in Ashville. Flow of the Spirit Church now worships in the former Burton Foods building, while First Baptist Church is developing plans to expand in anticipation of the anticipated growth in Ashville, according to local real estate executive and developer Lyman Lovejoy. He serves on the building committee of the Baptist church.

One of the gems of the town is Ashville High School. The first school in town was Ashville Academy, founded in 1831. It later became Ashville College and in 1910, Ashville High School.

Ashville has also had an impact in popular culture, both locally and on the world stage. The “Upping Block” is an important local landmark, marking where politicians and orators took to the stump. It’s also where ladies were helped up to their horses. World famous archer Howard Hill, married and buried in Ashville, made his mark in Hollywood, using his skills in a number of films, notably Errol Flynn’s 1938 classic, The Adventures of Robin Hood.

And, Ashville has been named one of Alabama’s coolest small towns by the online site onlyinyourstate.com, one of a dozen towns selected. Ashville was third on the list, behind Alabama’s seafood capital, Bayou La Batre and the Walker County town of Cordova.

Of Ashville, onlyinyourstate.com wrote: “Ashville, the county seat of St. Clair County, was established in 1822. This historic Alabama town offers a wonderful city park for family outings, in addition to Greensport Marina, the perfect place for boating and fishing.”

Preserving past with eye to future

But with all the changes, Ashville remains true to its history and traditions, preserving it as a family would hold dear to an heirloom quilt or pocket watch. Lunch at Shaw’s Barbecue, greeting strangers and friends on the street and church on Sunday are deeply woven into the quality of life.

St. Clair County Commission Chairman Paul Manning and outgoing Ashville Mayor David Thompson are optimistic about the town’s future and believe economic growth is on the horizon, both downtown and on the Interstate 59 corridor, but that Ashville will never lose its hometown feel.

“Ashville is unique,” said Charlene Simpson, who succeeded Crow in the role as town historian before her own retirement at Ashville Museum and Archives. “It still has one stop light. And the courthouse is still the center of town. It’s a place where people still speak to you on the street. It’s close to big cities, but it’s still a little country town.”

A number of historic homes – some nearly two centuries old — still thrive as residential or business properties in Ashville. For example, the Alameth Byers home, built in the 1820s, is home to Kell Realty. The Byers family came to Ashville from South Carolina, where they were indigo farmers, Simpson said.

Alameth’s brother, Amzi Byers also owned one of the historic homes downtown. The home was built in 1835, constructed by Richard Crow. The house was eventually owned by Judge Leroy Franklin Box, who presented it to his daughter, Stella Box Hodges, as a wedding gift in 1889, Simpson said.

The Bothwell home, owned by Dr. James J. Bothwell, one of the town’s first physicians, is also still thriving today. It was also built by Richard Crow in 1835. It was given as a wedding present by Judge Box to another daughter, Lula Box Embry.

“Ashville is a small, close-knit town,” Simpson said. “A lot of the houses were family-owned for a long time, and the families worked to preserve them,” Simpson said.

In the last several years, efforts have been made to preserve historic homes and buildings in Ashville, one of St. Clair’s two county seats.

“Hopefully, that’s going to continue,” Simpson said.

A strong foundation

To a person, it seems a universal feeling that Ashville is poised for a revival of sorts. Josh Kell, the owner of Kell Realty, says his firm has enjoyed its best year since the 2007 recession. Low interest rates, affordability and quality of life have driven the recovery.

The founder of Kell Realty, his father, Paul Kell, passed away in 2011 after more than two decades as a respected real estate executive and developer. A former president of the St. Clair Association of Realtors, Paul Kell was also involved in a variety of charitable, civic and church activities, including Relay for Life and The Children’s Place.

The family business is located on the Courthouse Square in one of Ashville’s many historic homes, the Alameth Byers home built in the 1820s. Among the historic buildings are the Looney House – listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as are the John Inzer Museum and the Dr. James J. Bothwell House. The Dean-Inzer house now serves as the John Inzer Museum.

The Dean-Inzer House also serves as the headquarters for the local Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Inzer family also donated the land for the historic Masonic Lodge and Mattie Lou Teague Crow Museum next door.

One of Ashville’s landmark business families, the Fouts family, has operated gas stations, a car dealership and now a tractor business in downtown Ashville for some 80 years, across four generations.

“It’s been some sort of family business for over 80 years,” said Fouts Tractor President Pat Fouts. His grandfather, C.P. Fouts, and great-grandfather, W.O. Fouts, founded the business.

Downtown revitalization, as well as the shift in population north from Jefferson to St. Clair County has boosted Fouts’ business.

“I think the future should be good. The main thing that’s helped us is the population growth from people moving out of the Birmingham area. It continues to come this way. The more people that come this way, the more customers you’ve got. So if you keep doing business the way you’re supposed to do it – the right way – you should be able to stay successful.”

Downtown revitalization of historic buildings and restoration of historic homes – like the Looney House and the Masonic building – also has had a positive effect, Fouts said.

“Anytime anything is redone, gets better or is improved, it’s got to be at the very least a positive impact because at least it doesn’t look like something that’s run down. There are several towns… where the downtown gets torn down and run down. “(Revitalization) gives you a sense of ‘Hey, this looks pretty good. Maybe I’d want to do stuff here, live here, buy stuff here.’ So it’s definitely been a positive.”

One of those positives is the renovation of the historic Rexall Drug location in the heart of town. Once in disrepair like a badly-aging debutante, the tall structure with a front full of glass now shimmers, thanks to local dentist Dr. Joseph Labbe.

Labbe had practiced in an office on a dead end street for about two years when the Rexall building became empty. He watched as years took its toll on the drugstore that once teemed with customers.

“I liked the building a lot and I wanted to build a new practice,” Labbe said. “I needed to remodel my building, but I really liked the (Rexall) building. I put in an offer and was able to buy it. I thought it would be great to be down in the town square. I thought the town square needed more businesses on it.”

When Labbe first came to Ashville a dozen years ago, the Rexall was the second building he noticed after the historic St. Clair County Courthouse.

“I thought it was really neat,” he said. The courthouse square and the drugstore sparked memories of his childhood in Selma.

“We had drugstores downtown when I was younger, and it kind of reminded me of that, Labbe said. “I hated to see a really nice building like that just fall in. At the time I was looking at building a new practice, looking at land down the highway,” he said. “When this building came open, I thought ‘That would be perfect.’”

Labbe was attracted by the possibility of more foot traffic to the downtown corner office, as well as the courthouse renovation.

He liked the shape of the front of it, a tall building right on the corner of a main intersection in town. “It had a lot of windows in the front and kind of took up the whole corner. It’s just a neat looking building.”

The move to the courthouse square in July has boosted his practice, Labbe said. “We actually have a lot more people walking in,” Labbe said. “Before we were on a dead-end street, and I don’t think too many people knew we were out there. It was mostly word of mouth and advertising.

“Once we started working on the building, people realized that we were here. And when we moved in, I think a lot of people wanted to see what the building looked like. We’ve picked up a lot. We have a lot more patients walking in who want to make an appointment.”

Bright future ahead

Blending old with new has been a good growth strategy for Ashville. “It’s an attractive place for people to live,” said Josh Kell. “We’re 45 minutes from Birmingham and 20 minutes from Gadsden, so while you’re not in an urban area, you’re under an hour in both directions from anything you need. It’s convenient. You can be to the Atlanta airport in less than two hours.”

And, along with homes in town, there are also larger lots outside town, as well as Neely Henry Lake, one of the county’s “best-kept secrets,” Lovejoy said. Ashville, he added, is a community on the move.

“It’s not where the rest of the county is, but for the first time since we went through the recession, things are looking better up there,” said Lovejoy, former chairman of the St. Clair EDC.” People are doing some renovation downtown that we haven’t seen in a long time. It was a little slower coming out of the recession than these other places were, but it’s definitely on the rise.”

Optimism is bubbling in Ashville, from county political and economic development leaders, to young attorneys like Meg Clements. She practices with the Robinson Law Firm, which has represented clients for generations in town.

“I really believe the sky’s the limit for Ashville,” Clements said. “I believe Ashville will be able to keep its small-town feel. I think Ashville can (grow) the right way, working around the interstate and in the industrial park, while keeping its small-town feel.”

Many believe Ashville will be the next community to experience significant growth. Clements supports the idea of slow, steady growth. She remembers when U.S. 231 was four-laned in Pell City. Growth occurred steadily over 25 years.

“I think that’s important,” Clements said. “I think there’s a lot of potential here.”

As a new administration takes office in November, preparation is critical.

There’s been a ton of money invested in our downtown. We’re seeing progress. It’s slow, but we’re getting there,” Mostella said. “At the end of the day, we have to create the kind of environment that’s conducive to growth. That’s what we want to do.” Whatever comes our way—residential, industrial commercial, we want to be prepared for it.”