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Pell City’s Rachel Baribeau

A legendary, lasting legacy, making her mark on air, world

Story by Paul South
Photos by Eric Adkins
Submitted photos

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Not so long ago, Rachel Baribeau connected with a long-time friend from St. Clair County, the place Baribeau has called home since sixth grade.

“You’re a legend around here, you know,” the friend said.

“I was like, ‘Whaaat?,” Baribeau said. “It blew my mind.”

The 36-year-old broadcast journalist’s reaction may come as a bit of a surprise. After all, Baribeau hosts a sports talk show and has a regular gig on Sirius XM radio’s College Sports Nation and a weekly column on GridironNow.com, covering big-time college football for a national audience. She’s a Heisman voter. She was the first woman to fully participate in a professional football training camp, suiting up for the Columbus (Ga.) Lions of the American Indoor Football Association. She has a clothing line. She’s a life coach and a motivational speaker. In the temporal world, that’s heady stuff indeed.

But in the tapestry that is Baribeau’s life, the real currency, the anchors of her life, are grounded in timeless values – a devout faith, hard work, putting others first and serving them and measuring life by the hearts she’s touched. As she tells it, she’s just “a grain in the hourglass.

“As I’ve gotten older, it’s really come full circle for me that people are my currency, and people are my richness,” the Auburn University alumnus said. “In that sense, I’m a millionaire because I’ve come to know so many wonderful people.”

To understand why Rachel Baribeau sees people, not material fame and fortune, as her source of wealth, it helps to know her family, especially her grandmother, Ophelia Maria Sifuentes Snow. For 60 years, “Opie” Snow served up cocktails and cold beer to unknown enlisted men and women and the world famous, like John Wayne, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Truman Capote at a watering hole on Victory Drive in Columbus, Ga.

Ophelia was a mix of humanity – a wondrous cocktail of Spanish, Mexican, Jewish and Mayan blood flowed through her veins. Today, that diverse DNA is visible in Baribeau’s dark hair and eyes and olive complexion.

“She really loved people and loved all sorts of people. She loved the soldier in Columbus and the politician and the movie star and the prostitute all the same. She just taught me that people matter and that life is about people.”

In Baribeau’s professional life, she sees stories of people that the herd of journalists may miss.

“I had a writing instructor tell me, ‘Rachel, when other people are looking one way, you look the other,’ ” Baribeau recalled.

One of her earliest broadcast partners, Max Howell, knows well Baribeau’s knack at finding stories off the beaten path. Howell has been a fixture in sports talk in the South, working in Atlanta, Memphis, Birmingham and other major markets. He recalled Baribeau’s concern over football-related concussions long before the NFL and the rest of the world took notice.

Baribeau offers a “unique voice” in covering the college football landscape, Howell said.

“She’s very compassionate and has a lot of empathy for the kids,” he added. “She was more concerned about the long-range people problems that evolved. To me, that was her strength. That’s what sets her apart from the other co-hosts I had.”

Lyn Scarbrough, a columnist and marketing director for Lindy’s Sports Annuals, has been a guest on Baribeau’s show over the years. Versatility is one of Baribeau’s strengths, Scarbrough said, both in her professional life and in her faith and charitable work.

“She can do radio. She can do television. She can do print. She is knowledgeable. She’s made journalism a passion. She’s willing to take a risk. She cares that it be right, and that it be professional,” he said. “In today’s culture, it’s not an everyday thing to find someone who has that combination of traits and beliefs and experiences. Not everyone has that combination.”

Baribeau, who has a deep religious faith, believes sweat, preparation and divine intervention help her find the stories she reports.

“My penchant for people has made people open up to me and to tell me these stories. I think there is a measure of divine intervention in that. The dots had to connect in a supernatural way,” she said.

One of those supernatural connections occurred two football seasons back, when Baribeau convinced her editors at Bleacher Report that Mississippi State University and its quarterback, Dak Prescott, were forces to watch in the 2014 season.

She traveled to Starkville a week after losing her father to cancer. Dak Prescott’s mother was waging her own battle with the disease. Before the interview, as Prescott opened up about his Mom’s condition, Baribeau began to cry, sharing her own story of her Dad’s passing. The two bonded, and Baribeau crafted a story larger than sport.

In January, Prescott was the MVP of the Senior Bowl. And Baribeau works with Prescott’s family to promote a foundation that helps cancer-stricken family members of student athletes travel to see their loved ones play, covering travel and medical costs associated with the trips

“Other than with Tom Rinaldi (of ESPN), Dak had never opened up like that before,” Baribeau said. “God really worked to orchestrate this meeting.”

There are so many layers to the Rachel Baribeau story. She was adopted at 18 months old by David Baribeau, a veteran of the first Gulf War. With her platform as a sports journalist, she is an advocate for adoption. She works with numerous charities, raising $90,000 for ALS research in the wake of her story on former University of Alabama great Kevin Turner, who now battles the disease. She climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for ALS research. The climb is the subject of a documentary, narrated by NFL Hall of Fame player and coach Mike Ditka.

And along with her work as a journalist, she and her mother partnered in early 2016 to form a clothing business. The Joyful Fashionista is crafting fashions for women, ages pre-teen to 85 and of every body type, sizes two to 26. A bricks and mortar shop – Pine Mountain Loft and Gallery in Pine Mountain, Ga., — and websites on Facebook and Instagram, feature the fashion line.

“What better thing than to be a partner with your Mom — your best friend — and help women feel beautiful and do it at a very reasonable cost. We’re not trying to break the bank for women who want to feel good about themselves.”

What shines through in Baribeau’s life is a boundless energy. Spencer Tillman, an analyst for Fox Sports, said Baribeau is “hardwired” for journalism.

“She pursues ‘the story’ because of her raw passion to win,” Tillman wrote on Baribeau’s web page. “She gets it right because she cares. She’s like that proverbial drip that can wear a hole in a rock. I’d want her on my team.”

That water of life has been passed across the years, from her grandmother to her Mom and adopted Dad. Powered by faith, the water is constantly flowing, methodically wearing away at the challenges of work and life.

And in an industry often driven by massive egos and major money, Baribeau’s life is defined by a desire to help others, a fire stoked by those who shaped her life from its earliest days.

Female sportscasters like Phyllis George, Jayne Kennedy, Linda Cohn and Lesley Visser may have shattered the glass ceiling. A new generation, including Baribeau, have followed in their path. And while like a gifted architect on a Starbucks bender, Baribeau has crafted a diverse portfolio in journalism, fashion and life coaching. And it appears she’s just getting warmed up.

But mileposts of accomplishment are secondary. Baribeau’s faith-based priorities are different.

“To move to act, to love, to forgive and to give. That’s what it’s all about,” Baribeau said. “You can have all the money in the world, all the accomplishments in the world. But at the end of the day, my eulogy is not going to be about the things I accomplished, but about the people I touched.”

Coyote Drive-In

Coming attractions: Drive-in, miniature golf heading to Leeds area

Story by Graham Hadley and Carol Pappas
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
Artwork from Coyote Drive-In

If you’re old enough to remember movie nights under the stars with plenty of popcorn devoured in the backseat of your parents’ car, prepare to reimagine those times as the Shops of Grand River in Leeds recreates the classic drive-in with plenty of new twists.

The four-screen theater complex aims its sights on being a recreational experience the entire family can enjoy — from the moment the gates open to the end credits of the last double-feature movie.

“We have been working with Christine Szalay, general manager for the Shops of Grand River, for about a year and a half — all the stars aligned and we are going to make it happen,” said Steve Wynn, chief operating officer for Coyote Drive-Ins. Wynn notes the company already has a successful, five-screen version in Forth Worth, Texas, which has been in operation since 2013.

The Leeds edition will have a restaurant with a full kitchen, a pizza bar where patrons can watch the pizza-making process from beginning to end, and a bar that serves beer, wine and margaritas. The restaurant will have air-conditioned indoor and outdoor seating and sits next to a controlled-entry, fenced playground. Parents can keep an eye on kids playing while dining with family and friends.

The restaurant’s pavilion will occupy about a 10,000 square-foot building that was part of the original Shops of Grand River complex but had never been occupied.

“It will be directly adjacent to the north end of the Shops,” Szalay said.

Along with the restaurant and playground, there will also be an 18-hole miniature golf course in the theater area.

As for the drive-in, there are four screens, with movies shown in high definition from top-of-the-line special projectors that are brighter and designed to throw high-quality images farther onto bigger screens. And, Coyote Drive-In shows are double features.

“There is a 30 minute intermission, then you can watch a second movie,” Wynn said.

Directly in front of the screens is a no-car, grassy park-like green space where families can have picnics, play football with friends or even walk with their dog. The drive-in is a pet-friendly theater. There is also outdoor seating for those who want to sit outside their cars and enjoy the movies out in the open.

“A lot of it is about the freedom. You can walk your dog, throw a Frisbee, and nobody is going to tell you to turn off your smart phone,” Wynn said.

Also planned on Fridays and Saturdays are musicians performing live music.

In Fort Worth, “people are coming about 90 minutes before the shows start,” Wynn said. “You can sit out in a lawn chair and watch the movie on a giant screen. It feels like an event – like movies in the park.

“I think it is a social element. This is what we see in Ft. Worth: People are reaching out on social media, saying, ‘We are all going out to a movie at Coyote.’ They come in large groups, bring the dog, move some picnic tables together, run and play, eat, then watch the movies. People like the social aspect,” Wynn said.

“The family crowd is our biggest pizza business. When a family film opens, it always outperforms our other genres, like more adult action-themed movies,” Wynn said. The drive-in is more open than a multiplex theater, but screens are set up to prevent line of sight from one viewing area to another. Even so, some movies will not be shown or will be shown later in the night.

“Some of the movies that are too risqué we will not play because a 5-year-old watching movies on one screen might see a movie on another screen. … In Ft. Worth, we did not play 50 Shades of Grey. It was a very popular movie, but the family-friendly environment is paramount,” Wynn said.

The theater will have room for a total of 1,100 cars.

The $6 million-plus project is expected to draw people to the Leeds area from possibly as far away as other states like Georgia and Tennessee, not to mention the surrounding Leeds community, Birmingham, Trussville, Pell City, Talladega, Anniston and the rest of north and central Alabama.

With the Shops of Grand River right next door, with stores generally open until 9 p.m., already drawing large crowds daily, the two ventures expect there to be lots of crossover business.

“Coyote Drive-Ins have thought of everything. It was one of the reasons when the discussions started we were enamored with their plan. It made such good sense for the Shops of Grand River,” Szalay said.

For the region, it means a recreation and tourism destination point, generating 100 new jobs.

“This makes the Shops of Grand River and Leeds more of a regional destination. People come from a large distance to shop here, and this works on a number of different levels, Szalay said. “We want that close connection to our customers from within the community, and this adds another reason for people who live farther away to come, shop and stay longer.”

Terresa Horn

A song to sing, a story to tell

Story by Linda Long
Photos by Susan Wall
Submitted photos

Terresa Horn was born to sing. No doubt about that on this Saturday night at the Dega Brewhouse in Talladega. The cowboy-booted, country music singing grandma belts out a rousing rendition of Ode to Billy Joe, a crowd favorite. Other requests come fast and furious, and Horn is happy to comply. She knows them all.

Horn stays busy singing at local clubs and special events in and around St. Clair County these days, but there was a time when her voice took her to the brink of the big time, a journey that started years ago from her from her home high atop Sand Mountain.

“I guess if there is any such thing as a music gene, I came by it honest,” she laughs. “My daddy could play just about anything there was – from the fiddle to the mandolin – and he had his own band. My brothers played bass and the drums and my mom? Well, she yodeled. Somebody was always making music at our house. It got pretty loud,” Horn recalled.

“People would ask my Mom how can you take this? She would just smile and say, ‘I know where my kids are.’ ”

One of Horn’s fondest memories growing up was Charlie B.’s Hootenanny, named for her father, Charlie B. Lang, and held every summer on a flatbed truck in her backyard.

“People came from all over the county,” said Horn. “It was an annual tradition.

Campers rolled in and stayed the whole weekend. My band would play and other musicians that we knew. We always had gospel quartets, and oh, my gosh, the food! Mom would cook dish pans full of chicken and dumplings and banana pudding. I remember one time daddy and them fried 300 pounds of catfish, not counting all the other food. Police officers would drop by and fix a plate, and politicians came to ask for votes. Everybody brought their lounge chairs and just had a real good time.”

As Horn recalls, her singing got its start in the family church. She was just four years old, but already familiar with gospel favorites. “I was nine when my Daddy put a microphone in my hand and got me up on stage for the first time,” she said. “We were at a square dance. I sang Silver Threads and Golden Needles, and I was hooked.”

That microphone was in her hand to stay. By the time she was 12, Horn and her brother had a weekly radio show. “It was live music, and we were on every Saturday morning,” she remembered. By the time she was 16, Horn was playing nightclubs from Birmingham to Atlanta. “I remember I even sang in one in Pell City back then.”

After a few years of life ‘on the road,’ Horn made her way to the mecca of country music, Nashville and historic Printer’s Alley, where country music stars are born. “Everything was going real good for me,” said Horn. “I did all the clubs along there (Printer’s Alley), including Tootsies. I sang with some really good people – Mickey Gilley, Marty Stuart. Tanya Tucker used to come by and sing with us, and I did one outdoor show that had some really big names. Willie Nelson played that one. I shared a tent with him, and that was pretty cool.”

Folks in Nashville began to sit up and take notice. As one promotional flier read, “Terresa Jhene (her stage name at the time), country gal, with super talent, debuts.” She signed a recording contract with C.B.F. Records and cut her first album, If This is Dreaming, which made the charts.

For Horn, it was “a dream come true…like a storybook. It just didn’t seem real. I went to the studio to cut a single, but when the producer heard me, he said, ‘Oh, no. This girl’s too good.’ He got the musicians in there, and we cut an album right there on the spot.”

In the meantime, another single, Sooner or Later, had climbed to number three on charts in Europe. “We were all set to do a European tour – radio shows, TV shows. They were all scheduled, and tour dates had been set.”

That’s when fate dealt a cruel blow with a phone call that put an abrupt halt to the tour and almost derailed her career. Her beloved Dad had suffered a heart attack and died a few days later.

“I came back home and thought I would just postpone the tour, but I kept putting it off,” said Horn, and just never went back. Instead, I stayed home to take care of my mother. I would do it over again because it was the right thing to do. My mom and dad were my biggest inspiration and my biggest fans. I don’t know. It seems like when my parents died, the music went out of me. It was a long time before I could sing again.”

Today, the music’s back. Horn says she is “really enjoying singing without all the pressures associated with the entertainment business. It was demanding, but I wouldn’t trade any of the memories. I did get to do a lot of fun things that other people don’t get to do. Still,” she said, somewhat wistfully, “you do look back, sometimes, and wonder what if, but I have no regrets.”

Horn sings with the Memories Band and as one half of the Just Two duo partnered with local entertainer Gary Blalock. When Horn isn’t singing, she can be found at her second career as secretary at Cropwell Small Animal Hospital.

These days, family means husband Bobby Horn and their blended family of four children and eight grandchildren. Their log cabin home by Logan Martin Lake sees a lot of music and a lot of parties – maybe not as big as Charlie B.’s Hootenanny, she said, but “we’re getting there.” l

Features

Adventure of a Lifetime

Father, son hike Appalachian Trail for ‘Julie’

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Bennett and Henry Fisher

It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For Pell City’s Henry and Bennett Fisher, the journey of more than 2,000 miles began with a bucket list, a keen sense of adventure and an inspirational 5-year-old. Then, they took that first step.

Henry, now a retired environmental engineer, began talking about hiking the Appalachian Trail a couple of years ago. His son, Bennett, said he talked about it all the time, and on birthdays and Christmases, the family would give him Appalachian Trail-related gifts – maps, books, whatever they could find.

It was at a trip to the beach that Henry began his usual ‘what ifs’ about the hike, and Bennett said, “I wish my parents were cool,” sparking Bennett to pause and imagine his dad’s adventure and his own as one and the same.

Henry realized it, too, and asked a question that would become a pivotal moment in both their lives. “Do you want to hike the trail with me?,” Henry asked. It didn’t take long for the answer, and the deal was done.

They settled on the hike beginning after Bennett graduated high school in May 2015, and he would delay entering college that fall.

With the potential for bucket list and adventure satisfied, enter their inspiration: Julie Grace Carroll, the 5-year-old daughter of friend David and Melanie Carroll. She suffers from Rett syndrome, a genetic mutation that causes muscular regression, and the Fishers had wished they could do something to help the family.

They decided they would hike for Julie, raising money for Rett research. And that, they did – for 2,189 miles over nearly six months from Maine to Georgia and raising $25,000 for the tragic disease.

On the trail

The journey had an auspicious start, beginning on June 30 at Mt. Katahdin, Maine, with a hike into the 100 Mile Wilderness. At 56 miles, Henry became badly dehydrated. He had pushed too hard too early. A cousin picked him up in New Hampshire and after a few days to recuperate, he found his will and his way again, averaging 14 to 15 miles a day with several days of more than 20 miles.

“Once you get used to it, you can really go,” Henry said. “By the end, I weighed less with my backpack on than I did without it when I started.”

He lost 43 pounds and grew a beard that many likened to ‘Santa Claus.’ They made friendships on the trail that will last a lifetime, and memories they will never forget.

As Henry and Bennett recount the steps of their journey, it is as if they share an inside joke where only the two of them know the punch line. They smile, they chuckle, they even finish each other’s sentences.

The bonding is evident; the recollections vivid.

They rattle off a list of animals they saw – grey fox, squirrels, weasel, chipmunks, eagles, a tiny snapping turtle and “a lot of snakes.” They saw “tons of deer,” heard lots of coyotes but didn’t see any, and they were intrigued by loons, orange salamanders and woodchucks. Mice were a large part of the trail hike, but it seems a fact they would just as soon forget. They even saw 14 black bears, one of which walked up behind Henry – within 15 feet – while he was taking a break in Shenandoah National Park.

What they remember most is that the scenery was magnificent, whether it was atop a mountain peak, fording a stream, watching the sunset across a valley or the moon and stars rising above their campsites.

Bennett talked of the day before they finished the hike. They were camping with friends they made along the trail – Rockfish and Solar Body, who had been with them the last 400 miles. Wondering about the unusual names? Everybody on the trail has a nickname. For Henry, it was Powerslide, stemming from Henry’s occasional inability to keep his footing on slick spots, and for Bennett, it was Jolly, because he was always smiling.

When they finally got the fire started that night, they began reminiscing about their 2,000 miles of rugged adventure. “We were eating dinner and looked up, and there was a meteor shower. It was something special.” Just like the hike.

“We were there, sitting in silence, and I thought, ‘Wow, we’re finally here.’ ”

It wasn’t always easy, of course, but there usually seemed to be something special that followed, making the hardships worthwhile. Soaking, rainy days took their toll. “You never get dry,” said Henry. But as they scaled Clingman’s Dome in Tennessee, having not seen the sun in days, a spectacular sunset descended. “It was so cold and windy up there, my pants froze,” added Bennett, but no one seemed to care. “It was the most beautiful, spectacular sunset I had ever seen,” Henry concluded.

Then there was the climb up Big Bald, north of Hot Springs, N.C., covered in ice and snow. “It was absolutely stunning,” Henry said. “As we went up, it was better and better.”

Henry’s wife, Vicki, met them when they reached Hot Springs for Thanksgiving Day.
“Eight hikers came and had Thanksgiving lunch with us,” he said.

Neither could conceal their amusement at what they termed, “Time Share Tuesday” or “Doughnut Gap Day,” signifying moments of celebrating simple things others might take for granted. Time Share Tuesday was a rare night in a condominium with a fireplace in Gatlinburg, Tennessee that David Carroll had secured for them.

They had gone 12 days without a shower. They invited fellow hikers from the shelter to come along, and a dozen eagerly accepted the offer. They all piled into two, one-bedroom condominiums with them. “There were two rows of shoes lined up in front of the fireplace to dry out,” Bennett said. “Time Share Tuesday was just great!”

“It gave me a whole new appreciation for plumbing, clean beds and fresh water,” Henry added. “I’m not a hotel snob anymore.”

Doughnut Gap Day was a treat from in-laws who had met them along the way in a gap, bringing doughnuts and chocolate milk. When hiking in those conditions, you need as many calories as you can get, Henry noted. For six months, they “grazed” on Little Debbies, peanut butter crackers, an estimated 400 Snicker Bars, Almond Joys and Tasty Cakes. Pop Tarts and Honey Buns were in the mix as were meal time staples like tuna or salmon, Ramen noodles, pasta and mashed potatoes.

It’s easy to see why Doughnut Gap Day is etched in their memory. Hiking hunger led to doughnuts devoured, and they were on the trail again.

Oh, and they couldn’t forget “Lovely Day.” That was the day they spotted a bear and an eagle, and a hiker’s music could be heard, playing the song, Lovely Day. They all walked down the trail singing along with the lyrics – and the sentiment.

“Trail Magic” was anything someone leaves behind on the trail for you. One day, it was a bag of Oreos, but mice and ants had partaken. “We said, that’s a shame,” according to Henry. “But it didn’t stop Bennett or the other guys.”

It’s the code of the trail, Bennett explained. “You can’t turn down food.” To underscore the notion, he added that he had accidentally dropped some Cheezits on the ground along the way one day, and the hiker coming up behind told him, “ ‘Thanks for leaving them for me, man.’ ”

Meanwhile, back in Pell City

Back home, friends, family and anyone who heard about the hike were rooting for Henry and Bennett. They kept track on Facebook and the radio.

“We are grateful for all the support,” Henry said, noting that Adam Stocks and John Simpson of River 94.1 radio in Pell City would air live reports when Henry and Bennett could call in. They were dubbed, “Tales from the Trail,” and the intro music was appropriately, These Boots Were Made for Walking.

Businesses were supportive, with their windows proclaiming, “Hike for Julie.” Care packages of food came in. Some sent money to buy a cheeseburger. Facebook was full of thoughts, prayers and words of support for the cause. “It meant a tremendous amount to us. We couldn’t have done it without the support of everyone,” Henry said.

Their own encouragement to others who imagine themselves hiking the Appalachian Trail are these sage bits of advice:

“Find your motivation. You’re going to want to quit. For us, it was Julie, knowing she can’t do it. It was knowing that the family can’t quit. Julie can’t quit. Her parents can’t quit.”
“Never quit in town. You are going to be warm and dry in a hotel room or hostel, and it is going to be very tempting to go home instead of back to the trail.”
“Never quit on a rainy day. Rain is temporary, and there will be many more bright, sunny days.”
“You can’t really prepare so be prepared to not be prepared. Don’t set unrealistic goals.”
“Have people meet you (along the way) rather than hiking faster to meet people at a certain point. It puts more pressure on your body to make those miles. It’s easier for them to drive to a spot where they will be waiting.”
“Listen to your body. Take care of yourself.”

But perhaps the best advice came from a New York marathon runner Bennett met on Instagram who picked them up one day and treated them to a cheeseburger. She raises money for causes through her runs, and Henry described her as “the most positive person I have ever met in my life.”

Her message was simple: “Never Give Up.”

And they certainly took heed. The pensive smile father and son share tell it all.

“The longer I’m away from it,” Henry said, “I think I could do it again.”

Features

Cecil’s Music

Mandolin maker’s special creations

Story by Jerry C. Smith
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Breakfast time at Jack’s Family Restaurant in Pell City is a busy, noisy affair, as dozens of loquacious locals begin their day with tater tots, sausage biscuits, cinnamon buns, and currently relevant chitchat. But 85-year-old Cecil Blount of New London can easily squelch the din with a few strokes of his fingertips.

Recently, he sat down among friends at one of the large center round tables, which are notoriously noisy, and unobtrusively began picking out a simple tune he calls “Spanish Two-Step,” on a mandolin he’d made for himself.

At first, only those around his table piped down to listen, but by the time he was halfway through his number, the quietness had spread in expanding circles until the whole room was mostly silent save for Cecil’s music. When the number ended, he was treated to a round of applause as various folks marveled at Cecil’s skills, as both musician and craftsman.

He’s made at least a dozen instruments, including several mandolins, a dobro, fiddle, steel guitar, and will occasionally build one to order.

Cecil doesn’t work in an elaborate shop like some of those craftsmen you see on TV, but rather uses simple hand and power tools and homemade wood-bending forms while working in fresh air under an outdoor lean-to shed he built himself. Rather than relying upon complex formulas and a fancy shop full of exotic tools, his emphasis is on skill, a feel for carefully-selected materials and a natural ear for music.

All his instruments have that certain home-crafted look about them, but also a precision that’s readily apparent to the eyes of other craftsmen. Each piece is unique, as only Cecil can make them.

A lifelong native of Delta, Mississippi, he moved to St. Clair County about two years ago to be near his kinfolks. Cecil lives in a house he and his son, Mike, designed and built on a lot near Coosa Island Marina. Mike lives next door.

It’s the perfect man cave, built for the needs and pleasures of a single man who claims that, “five wives was enough.” The decor is simple and easy to maintain, with certain masculine touches many women would not tolerate, such as a corrugated steel ceiling and polished concrete floor. The walls are hung with stringed instruments, many of which he made.

Cecil admits his home is a bit on the small side, but adds with a wink, “there’s always room for an occasional visitor.”

A painter by trade but musician by avocation since age 15, he’s played with several local and regional bands and stars, including Big River and Jack Curtis in Mississippi. He also plays in monthly sessions at a local senior center, the State Veterans Home, various nursing facilities and his church, Friendship Freewill Baptist in Pell City, where he sometimes jams with Mayor Joe Funderburg, Judge Alan Furr and the church’s pastor, Dr. Michael Barber.

Cecil’s most prized possession is a dobro he made that bears Merle Haggard’s autograph. Merle was playing a concert in Sturgis, Mississippi, when Cecil handed his dobro over the fence to a secretary, who asked the country and western superstar to autograph it during a session break.

If confused by all the various stringed instruments, and what makes each one unique to its type, Cecil helped cut the fog. For instance, a dobro and a regular guitar have the same number and size of strings, but they are tuned to different scale notes.

Also, a dobro has a special sound box, usually a circular affair of metal or wood, that produces the twangy, shrill notes peculiar to that instrument, whereas an acoustic guitar relies on the body of the instrument itself to develop its deeper, richer sound.

Mandolins have four pairs of strings, with both strings of each pair tuned to precisely the same note. The pick hits both strings in a pair with every stroke, giving a characteristic mandolin “pli-plink” sound.

What’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin? Cecil said that a violin might be a bit larger than a fiddle, but if someone asked him to make either, his product would be the same.

Discover photographer Wally Bromberg, who is no slouch on stringed instruments himself and jammed a bit with Cecil during the interview session, added, “You carry a violin in a case, and tote a fiddle in a sack.”

Cecil loves fishing, and lives within rock-throwing distance of Logan Martin Lake. In fact, he discovered his bit of heaven while visiting his son, liked the lake and neighborhood, and quickly settled in.

If one word could describe Cecil, it’s “imaginative.” His keen perception and active mind is reflected in everything around him. He has a small metal fishing boat that he converted to inboard style by mounting a five-horsepower lawn mower engine amidships, connected through a go-kart clutch and waterproof housing to a propeller underneath. It also has a yard tractor seat and steering wheel. It’s a poor man’s Chris-Craft.

Additionally, he’s built and sold several bicycles which he had converted to gasoline engine power, almost identical to the old Whizzer bikes familiar to any boy over 70.

Everything in sight is absolutely Cecil Blount. l

Features

Alabama Barbecue

When it comes to ‘cue, St. Clair joints are smoking hot

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

It was the Year of Alabama Barbecue, a year that had the state’s Tourism Department asking, “Whose ‘cue is best?” Its online contest pitted barbecue joints from across the state against each other in five categories. When the smoke finally cleared, two St. Clair-area restaurants were among the victors. Charlie’s BBQ of Odenville won in The Dives division, and Rusty’s Bar-B-Q in Leeds came out on top of The Mom and Pops category.

Alabama has more barbecue joints per capita than any other state, according to the tourism department’s web site. Everyone has his favorite, and the contest proved to be a competition between the fans of each hickory-sweet restaurant.

“Three years ago, we invited barbecue fans to post on our website their favorite barbecue place,” says Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Department of Tourism, explaining how they came up with the contest and categories. “We got about 300 suggestions. This past year, we decided to level the playing field between the different types of places so as not to have the single locations at a disadvantage versus the ones with multiple locations. We came up with five categories that ranged from Mom-and-Pops to the big boys, like Full Moon and Jim ’n Nick’s, and encouraged people to vote in each division. We were blown away with the number of fans who became engaged in the voting.”

Sentell says the competition demonstrated the depth of loyalty that each restaurant has. “Customers are so proud of their favorites and voted as often as allowed to show their support.”

Charlie’s a fan favorite

Scott Holmes didn’t even know Charlie’s was in the contest for several days. “We have a big Facebook and Twitter following,” he says. “The fans stepped up.” Charlie’s beat out nine other barbecue joints with 12,867 votes. The second-place winner had 9,644 votes, and the remaining eight garnered less than 4,500 each.

Holmes thinks his location at the corner of US 411 and Alabama 174 South, in front of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store and adjacent to a service station, probably placed him in the right category. “If you’re a barbecue place in Alabama attached to a service station, you’re probably a dive,” he says.

Charlie’s opened in November of 2008. Scott ate there twice a week, and tried to talk the original owner, Charlie Wiles, into teaming up for a barbecue venture in Moody. But Charlie was ready to retire. Both parties prayed about the situation, then Holmes bought the place and switched from painting buildings to cooking ‘cue.

“I like food,” he says, explaining why he made the move. “I was a commercial painting contractor, but when the economy tanked a few years ago, I wanted to open a barbecue joint.” Although Charlie taught him how to smoke ribs, he’s mostly a trial-and-error, self-taught chef who says he was fortunate to find an established restaurant with recipes, personnel and products already in place. The secret to his success, he says, is in the way he prepares his ‘cue. “We smoke our meats. Not everyone does. Others grill them. We don’t use rubs or injections on our pork butts.”

His biggest seller is the pork sandwich combo, which features meat, bread and two sides. Chicken tenders are a big deal, too. “Odenville is not big enough to support a barbecue restaurant,” he says. “So we also do ‘burgers and tenders. Thirty percent of our sales are in chicken tenders. We also do hamburger steaks and fried catfish. We have something for everybody, but we pour our heart and soul into barbecue.”

He features off-the-menu specials, too, such as briskets on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the Saint Burger, a nine-ounce, hand-formed, greasy ground beef patty named for the county’s high school football team, on Thursdays. “Briskets are our signature dish,” he says. “We smoke six a week. A brisket is the chest muscle of a cow, and it’s hard to do. We cook them up to 16 hours to get them tender.” There’s a different special every Monday, such as the popular Soul Bowl, consisting of a bed of garlic cheese grits layered with turnip greens, pork and a cornbread muffin on top.

Part of his chef’s education was a trip to Texas he took four years ago, when he tasted at least a dozen different briskets from Houston to San Antonio. “We’re unique at Charlie’s, because we have a little bit of every style of barbecue,” he says. “We have Texas brisket, Kansas City burnt ends (from a brisket) and Memphis-style barbecue, which uses a dry rub and no sauce.”

Another specialty is the St. Clair Cyclone, a soft-serve ice cream treat with chopped Reese’s Cup, Oreos or Butterfinger candies. “Our Otis Burger has a huge following, too,” he says. It’s a double cheeseburger with sautéed onions and Otis Sauce, the latter being a gravy sauce.

A person’s taste preference for barbecue styles and sauce flavors depends on what he grew up eating, Holmes believes. He makes five different sauces: hot, medium, sweet, vinegar-based and a white sauce. His primary barbecue sauce is made with both vinegar and ketchup. He makes all sauces in-house. He does his major smoking during the night, removing the pork butts and briskets each morning and throwing on chicken and ribs.

Charlie’s is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., and does catering as far away as Pelham to the south and Anniston to the north. Originally open weekdays only, he added Saturdays about three months after he took over, and now that’s his biggest day. “Iron Bowl Saturday we sold 120 pounds of chicken wings, which we marinate, smoke, then fry to order,” he says. “They were mostly to go.”

Rusty’s builds barbecue following

Rusty’s Bar-B-Q gathered 28,637 votes to second-place’s 21,369 votes to win The Mom and Pops category in the Alabama Barbecue Battle. The remaining eight contestants had less than 3,000 votes each.

Rusty Tucker started his restaurant seven years ago in a 1970s Jack’s Hamburgers location on US 78 in Leeds. His decor, which could best be described as “continuing customer donations” because that’s what they are, includes concert posters for Hank Williams and the Drifting Cowboys, the Blues Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Elvis and the Allman Brothers Band. Vintage metal signs proclaim, “Fresh Eggs 10 cents” and “El Rancho Motel,” while others display a pin-up girl beside a bottle of Pepsi or advertise Mobilgas. Thermometers take their places on Barq’s Root Beer, Royal Crown Cola and Buffalo Rock signs, and an American League World Series poster from October 1903 has a place of prominence.

An autographed photo of professional race car driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, whom Rusty calls a good friend, and his pit crew, dominates one wall, while other walls display road signs advertising 7-Up, Nichol Kola and Uncle Sam. A trombone and trumpet flank the top of the doorway leading to a hallway and restrooms, while his most recent “gifts,” Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki motorcycle gas cans, take up a countertop next to that doorway. “People bring them to me,” he says of all the vintage finds. He feels obliged to display them.

Tucker grew up cooking barbecue with his dad. He went to Johnson & Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts at its former Charleston, SC, campus, and gravitated toward fine dining in places like the Charleston Grill. Working his way back to down-home cooking, he was at Satterfield’s in Cahaba Heights before returning to his roots. “I love it,” he says of running his own business. He’s open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays,10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, serving lunch and dinner only. He does lots of catering as well, particularly for nearby Barber Motorsports Park events, UAB basketball and Regions Bank’s Traditions golf tournaments.

His most popular menu item, and his signature dish, is his ribs. He also does a lot of pulled pork and hamburgers, plus smoked chicken, turkey, briskets and sausage. “We do a more traditional style barbecue — open-brick pit instead of a smoker. We make four kinds of sauces, including a tangy vinegar that’s a variation of my granddad’s recipe, a sweet barbecue sauce, spicy and white barbecue sauces.” The white sauce is a mayonnaise and vinegar mixture that goes well with the turkey and chicken. “It’s a North Alabama specialty,” he says.

He also does chicken tenders, hamburger steaks and barbecue-topped baked potatoes.

“People come in and say they found us due to publicity from the tourism department contest,” Rusty says. “We were featured in its Delicious Road Trips documentary, and we’ve participated in events like the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival that promote Alabama tourism.”

He gets a lot of repeat customers, many of them in town for the annual Barber’s Vintage Festival, plus Indy car drivers. He has developed relationships with people from coast to coast, keeping up with them on social media. “There’s a group of about 10 guys from Japan that comes into town for Barber motorsports events,” he says. “I can’t talk to them, but they’re nice guys.” When he first opened seven years ago, he had a group of 25 guys from France, all Mustang enthusiasts.

What’s Rusty’s secret to attracting a following from across the globe to just around the corner? “We try to treat everyone like family.”