Category: St. Clair Christmas

Christmas in St. Clair

Special times at Howard Family Holiday Farm

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Mandy Baughn

It’s somehow fitting that the Howard Family Holiday Farm in Moody has quickly become a go-to destination for folks hoping to create wonderful family memories. After all, the farm, which opened in September and was a celebration of all things fall before getting decked out for Christmas, is the culmination of a dream that grew from the childhood memories of owner David Howard.

“When I was 14, I told my grandmother I wanted to start a business,” Howard said. “She asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, ‘I’m going to sell Christmas trees.’” He set up a stand at a gas station at Moody crossroads owned by a family friend, Clemons Macon, and got to work.

“He had an old produce truck that sat out front,” Howard said. “I would ride the bus there and sit inside that old produce truck and do my homework and sell Christmas trees until my parents (Charles and Mary Ann Howard) came to get me at 8. My dream was that I would become a Christmas tree farmer, and it stuck with me all my life.”

Forty years later, Howard has turned that boyhood job into a way of life. And the best part, he said, is that after living and working in other places for 25 years, his dream brought him back home.

“Moody helped create the foundation of who I am today,” he said. “To be able to come back and do this and bring something wholesome and family-centered to the community is amazing.”

All the holidays

Although Christmas trees, wreaths and garland are getting top billing now, Howard opened the farm as a pumpkin patch. More than 5,000 visitors came through between opening day on Sept. 20 and Oct. 26, when they closed for a few weeks to gear up for Christmas.

Fall visitors could pick their own pumpkins from the patch or choose from a variety of gourds offered in an assortment of sizes, colors and shapes. The hayride was a huge hit with the kids, and the cut-your-own-flowers field of zinnias and sunflowers was a big draw, as well.

The farm reopened for Christmas on November 22, and two days later, Santa Claus arrived in dramatic fashion. He landed at the farm in a helicopter just in time for “Ice Cream Sundaes with Santa,” something Howard plans to make an annual event.

Santa’s arrival by helicopter on November 24 is just one of many events planned

Guests had their pick of flavors, thanks to the Hershey’s Ice Cream bar located inside the farm’s country store. In addition to the 24 ice cream flavors, which Howard plans to expand to 36 next Spring, there is an array of toys, gifts and assorted jams, jellies, and other treats sold under the Howard Family Holiday Farm label, including pickled okra, candied jalapenos and peach halves.

“We have sold out of the apple butter so many times, it’s crazy,” Howard said. The peach butter, blackberry preserves and fig preserves are favorites, too, and the offerings also include muscadine grape jelly, red pepper jelly, green pepper jelly and peach preserves.

“We provide our family recipes, and a company produces it for us,” Howard said. “These are all flavors that I grew up on and helped can, pick or both.” They also offer GunRunner Gundog Honey, made by Howard’s cousin, Kenny Armstrong, a beekeeper.

The big draw now, though, is the Frasier Fir and Black Hills Spruce trees that were cut and shipped from farms in Michigan and N.C. Howard hasn’t given up on his dream of being a Christmas tree farmer, however, and he plans to plant a field of Murray Cypress trees so visitors can cut their own.

“It’s a variety of Cypress that’s specifically bred for Christmas trees,” he said. “We’re going to plant some real mature trees so we can speed up the process. We hope that in two years, we’ll be cutting 7-foot trees.”

The plans don’t stop there. They’ll take a break after Christmas and build an outdoor pavilion before reopening in March for the rest of the year. Howard said they’ll offer Alabama-grown produce, some of which will be grown at the farm. “Our first crop will be watermelons, cantaloupes, and various peppers, and then we’ll grow from there next year,” he said. “We’ll also plant Silver Queen corn, and ultimately, that will be a corn maze.”

Howard said they’ll offer seasonal potted plants and three acres of flowers, including zinnias, sunflowers, dahlias and peonies. “Folks can come pick flowers for their special events and have photo shoots in the field,” he said.

“We’re going to do anything we can that’s community-driven,” Howard said. “We’ll just see what the community will support, and that’s what we’ll morph into.”

The road back home

Howard and his partner, Gary Perkins, are thrilled to be back to their rural roots. Perkins, a pharmacist, grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, and they both were ready to get back to a slower pace of life.

After graduating from Moody High School and then college, Howard worked in the RV industry, in marketing and advertising, and owned a martini and sushi bar. He’s also worked in the residential construction and real estate industries. For the past 15 years, he’s owned Panama City Beach Properties, a full-service real estate brokerage company that he recently sold. “I would build five houses, keep one in my inventory of rental properties and manage properties for other people,” he said.

David Howard and Gary Perkins have Christmas trees ready to sell

While he loved his career, having a heart attack three years ago at age 51 changed his perspective. “Being faced with the possibility of something catastrophic, I felt like there is so much more for me to do,” he said. “At the beach, there’s constant tourism and everything is always ‘on.’ You can’t just go out to dinner without waiting at least an hour. Something just clicked, and I said, ‘I’m done.’ We were both done. I didn’t have to convince Gary; he was ready to make the leap to farm life long before I could get the words out of my mouth.”

Although his new venture is a far cry from the fast-paced world of real estate, Howard said he and Perkins couldn’t be happier. “We’re here to stay,” he said. “I’m back home. I think about that, and I get emotional.”

Family has always been important to Howard. “My grandmother owned multiple restaurants, and she instilled that entrepreneurial drive in me,” he said. “My first job when I was 12 was washing dishes in the restaurant because I wanted a dirt bike. When I sold the Christmas trees, I got a taste of making a few bucks, turning that into more bucks, and I was hooked. I’ve been working for myself ever since.”

Now he’s thrilled to be doing just that back home. “Moody helped shape me,” he said. “I love this city, absolutely love it. I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up anywhere else, and our commitment here is community.

“When we did this, it was a leap of faith, and we didn’t know what would come of it,” Howard added. “Seeing all the families and the smiles makes it all worthwhile. Everybody comes in and says, ‘I hope you’re successful.’ We already are, and we’re having a blast.”

Other Stories

Christmas in St. Clair

Cooking up the holidays: Area chefs share seasonal secrets

Story and photos by
Elaine Hobson Miller
Contributed photos

Christmas time’s a-comin’, and you can almost smell the aroma of holiday foods. Cakes, pies, scrumptious side dishes, standing rib roasts and turkeys take center stage, or should we say, center table, in homes throughout the world.

It’s not just homes that feature holiday dishes, though. Many restaurants, including several here in St. Clair County, also bring out holiday foods that add a touch of festiveness to their daily menus. Discover managed to gather up a few that their chefs were willing to share. Many of them, like those on our readers’ tables, were handed down from mothers and grandmothers, making them extra special at family holiday gatherings.

Special dishes The St. Clair’s signature

Chef de Cuisine Sean Fincher at The St. Clair in Pell City developed an amazing appetizer recipe called, “Spiced Red Wine Braised Sausage Rolls with Caramelized Onion Fig Jam.” In fact, it could be used a side dish, too. It takes a little work but is well worth the effort. Co-owner Rebecca Robinson says the item isn’t on the menu yet but may be during the holidays. Or, they may add it to their catering menu.

The restaurant and The Tavern at The St. Clair are the brainchild of Rebecca and Carson Robinson, business partners for nearly two decades. Their menu is a mix of steaks, seafood, game, chicken, lamb and pork and a variety of appetizers and salads. Offerings are upscale, but not pretentious. This white-tablecloth restaurant doesn’t care whether you dress up or wear jeans, and patrons can be seen in both.

Always something good at Greasy Cove

Greasy Cove General Store’s contribution, Cranberry Salad, is a recipe handed down from owner/manager Donald Reeves’ grandmother. “She made it at family gatherings,” Reeves said. He also said he may be serving it in his Gallant-area restaurant, affectionately known by customers as the Greasy Spoon, during the current holiday season.

“The store building was in our family, but it was falling in, and I wanted to do something difficult,” Reeves said regarding the development of his business. “I always wanted a general store with a produce market and kitchen in it. We opened in 2019, but it took another year to get the restaurant open.” Prior to running a general store and restaurant, Reeves was a machinist. “I like hole-in-the-wall places with really good food,” he said.

Head to The Grill for palate pleasing dishes

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts will make a vegetable eater out of hard-core meat and potatoes folks. Contributed by The Grill at the Farm, in Cropwell, it is part of a menu 75 percent of which was created by owner Wade Reich, his son/manager Eakin Reich, and Chef Patrick.

Wade Reich says part of his reasoning for opening The Grill (formerly Louie’s) was a lack of properly functioning synapses in his brain. This may be attributed to his having grown up in his family’s hotel business, which started in 1894 in Gadsden, as well as in the food business, with chefs out of New Orleans and 100-year-old recipes. “You get the food business in your blood, and you can’t get it out,” Reich said.

He wouldn’t have done it by himself, but his son joined him. “This used to be Louie’s Grill at the Countryside Farm,” Reich said. “We have 62 acres, and we’re trying to figure out how to develop the rest of the property.”

Besides its 100-seat restaurant, The Grill offers a 140-seat party room and a 40-seat sports or oyster bar. “Then there’s the Residence Inn and a barn we’re trying to do something with,” Reich says. “I also own Butts To Go on May’s Drive. The Grill at the Farm is at 230 Hamby Road, off US 231, then the Dam Road.”

What’s for dessert?

For a sweet-salty ending to your holiday meal, try Peanut Butter Pie, contributed by Scott Holmes, owner of Charlie’s BBQ in Odenville. In 2016, Charlie’s beat out nine other barbecue joints across the state to be selected Best Barbecue in The Dives division during Alabama Tourism’s Year of Alabama Barbecue.

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 said.

“Briskets are our signature dish,” he added. “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.

Look what’s cookin’ in Ragland

Anthony Soles and his business partner, longtime City Councilman Carl Byers, opened Chef T’s (for Tony) in Ragland in 2010, building on the success of their original Alexandria location. Chef T says he inherited his love of cooking from his mother, and he has used that “inheritance” for years as he worked his way up in the food industry.

For the holidays, Soles chose to share Apple Dumplings as the go-to favorite.

The mainstay of his everyday menu is the barbecue pork, and they offer a small-chopped pork sandwich for just $1.25.

The barbecue sauce is homemade and is described by Byers as a “sneaky heat, but not overpowering.” The signature Chef T’s burger is served with a steak knife holding it all together.

In addition to running a Southern, home-style eatery, catering is an aspect of the business and is supported by two food trucks. They cater for many of the large corporations and businesses in the surrounding areas.

If these recipes aren’t enough to inspire your holiday cooking, maybe you should pick up Christmas dinner at one of these St. Clair restaurants.

Holiday recipes

Spiced Red Wine Braised Sausage Rolls with Caramelized Onion Fig Jam
From Chef de Cuisine Sean Fincher at The Tavern at The St. Clair (Pell City)
Ingredients for the Braised Sausage:

8 – 5” Lengths of Conecuh Mild Sausages (or your favorite link sausages)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups dry red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir
1 cup beef broth
1 stick of cinnamon, whole
8 whole cloves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 orange, peel only
Salt

Directions:
Add oil and sausages in a small braising pan (or other pan with 2” sides) heated on medium-high. Brown links on each side, then add cinnamon, cloves and rosemary and saute lightly for 2 minutes. Deglaze with wine, adding the beef broth and orange peel. Cover with a lid and braise for 1 hour. Remove sausages and allow to cool to room temperature, then chill thoroughly. Reduce braising liquid by half and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve for jam preparation. While the sausages cool, begin making the jam.

Ingredients for the Jam:

4 red onions, thinly sliced (Julienned)
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 cups fresh figs, chopped*
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. sugar, or to taste if you prefer it sweeter
Reserved braising liquid

Directions:
In the braising pan after straining liquids out, add onions. Cook the onions on low heat, stirring often until they are caramelized. They should have a deep brown color to them. Deglaze with reserved braising liquid and scrape the bottom of the pan from all the fond (brown bits) that has developed. Add figs, balsamic vinegar, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a bare simmer for 1 hour and stir often. The mixture should have thickened with very little residual liquid left in the pan. Taste for salt and sweetness and adjust to your personal taste. Remove to a storage container and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve warm.

Bring it all together:
Ingredients:

1 package of puff pastry, thawed
1 egg + 1 tsp of water for egg wash

Cut puff pastry into 8 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Place each sausage in the center of the pastry horizontally. Lightly brush egg wash onto the back edge, furthest from you. Fold the pastry closest to you over the sausage and then onto the back edge, leaving the seam side down on the cutting board. After completing all the sausages, place them on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Brush each roll with the remainder of the egg wash. Bake at 400* F for 25 minutes or until the puff pastry has turned golden brown.
Enjoy the Sausage Rolls with the Jam
*When fresh figs aren’t available, replace with ¾ cup of fig preserves. Don’t add sugar to the jam because the preserves are going to have more than enough.

Clara’s Cranberry Salad
From Donald Reeves at Greasy Cove
General Store (Gallant)
Ingredients:

2 small boxes raspberry Jello
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 cups boiling water

Directions:
Put 2 cups boiling water in a large bowl and add Jello. Stir until dissolved. Stir in cranberry sauce. Let set in refrigerator until syrupy. Add cranberry sauce, pineapple, sour cream and nuts, and fold in. Put in refrigerator until set.

Peanut Butter Pie
From Charlie’s BBQ (Odenville)
Ingredients:

16 oz. jar of natural peanut butter
8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
¾ cup of honey
8 oz. Cool Whip
6 oz. chocolate pie crust
2 Tbs. semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ Tsp. shortening

Directions:
Beat together cream cheese and honey until well blended. Stir in peanut butter and mix well. Gently fold in Cool Whip. Spoon into crust. Heat chocolate chips and shortening over low heat until melted, drizzle over pie. Chill overnight or freeze.
Serves 8.

Apple Dumplings
From Chef T’s (Ragland)
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon divided
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg divided
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 (15 oz) packages refrigerated pie crusts
8 med apples of your choice peeled and cored
3 tbsp butter cut up

Directions:
Boil 2 cups water, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg in saucepan on med high heat stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low simmering and stirring occasionally for 10 min. This will turn to syrup. Once it does add 1/4 cup sugar and set to the side. In a separate bowl mix your leftover cinnamon, nutmeg and 2/3 cup sugar.
Cut pie crusts quarters and roll out into circles. Place an apple in the middle of each circle sprinkling each evenly with your cinnamon sugar mixture. Dot each evenly with butter. Fold dough over apples, pinching each closed. Place in lightly greased baking dish. Drizzle with syrup. Bake dumplings at 375° for 45 minutes.
You can always find a way to cut corners and use canned fried apples for a sweeter simpler dish.
Serve hot or cold. Goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Hope you enjoy this great dessert like we do.

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
From The Grill at The Farm (Cropwell)
Ingredients:

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, halved
2 pieces thick-cut bacon, such as Nueske’s
Applewood smoked bacon
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large-rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bacon on sheets and cook until beginning to crisp, about 7 minutes.
Remove bacon from oven and transfer to a paper towel- lined plate; reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings. Chop bacon into small strips. Discard aluminum foil and return rimmed baking sheet to hot oven.
Meanwhile, fill large stock pot with water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add Brussels sprouts and boil until leaves are dark green in color, about 4 minutes. Transfer Brussels and any loose leaves to a large bowl filled with ice water. Drain, pat dry and transfer to medium bowl. Add half of the chopped bacon, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, reserved bacon drippings and salt and pepper to the bowl; toss to combine. Remove baking sheet from oven and evenly spread mixture over sheet; cook Brussels sprouts until caramelized and bacon is crisp, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Transfer Brussels sprouts to a serving bowl and drizzle with remaining maple syrup and bacon.
Serves 6-8

Other Stories

At one special home, it’s always Christmas in St. Clair

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Kelsey Bain

When Christmas comes to the Logan Martin Lake home of Sandra Mullinax and Randy Royster, it comes in a mighty big way.

The halls are decked with at least five Christmas trees, and some years there have been as many as 13. Factor in all the other decorations, including snow globes, quilts, whimsical Santa figurines and stuffed animals, and there’s a whole lot of jolly happening there.

“When I was young, my mother did a lot of decorating, and I always thought it was magical,” Sandra said. “It gives me a lot of pleasure.”

For her, the joy begins in mid-November when she first heads for the room devoted entirely to her decorations, a space that’s filled to overflowing. Despite the thrill she gets when she opens each box, she starts slowly and doesn’t get into full Christmas mode for at least a few more weeks.

“Randy doesn’t want me to rush Thanksgiving, so I start in the rooms he doesn’t see much,” she said. “It usually takes three to four weeks to get it all decorated, so we’re a few weeks into December before I call a halt to it. I tell myself, ‘Don’t forget you’ve got to take it all down.’”

Although she’s always been full of holiday cheer, Sandra didn’t necessarily set out to have Christmas in every corner. “A lot of things have been given to me by family and friends who know how much I love Christmas,” she said. “Most people would think it’s out of control, but it’s all special to me.”

It started fairly innocently. Sandra has always loved Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters, so in the late 1970s or early ‘80s she decided to devote a tree to them. Although she had a few ornaments she’d gotten while visiting her mother, who lived near Disney World at the time, she needed more to make it work.

“There weren’t that many Mickey ornaments available,” she said. “This was before people started spending more on Christmas.” Instead of giving up, Sandra got busy instead. She found some wrapping paper featuring the famous mouse, cut out his face and made lots of Mickey ornaments with inexpensive gold frames. She also cross-stitched ornaments featuring several of the characters, including Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.

Many years and themed trees later, the Mickey tree remains her favorite. Now her whole den is devoted to the crew, with stuffed animals and figurines adorning the mantle and other areas while a display of snow globes has a place of honor on the coffee table. “It just makes you smile and gives you a lighthearted feeling,” she said of the collection.

That’s the same reaction she had when she saw her first David Frykman figurine. Sandra, a retired account executive for Levi Strauss, traveled a lot for work and was at a hotel gift shop in Arizona when she fell in love with a whimsical resin Santa. “I just loved his sweet face,” she said.

Since then, she’s collected more than 100 Frykman ornaments and figurines, many of which are signed by the artist. In addition to the tree devoted to them, there’s an assortment of mischievous Santas, as well as reindeer, polar bears and other creatures.

“I have two nieces, and every year for Christmas I would get them a Frykman,” she said. Although the girls, who were young children when she started the tradition, weren’t always thrilled with the gift, they love having a collection of their own now. “They’re older now and both have a child, so now they appreciate them,” Sandra said. “It’s fun to see them in their homes and see how proud they are of them.”

Chances are, they love the memories as much as they love the figurines, a sentiment Sandra knows well. Many of her decorations are touching reminders of trips they’ve taken or the friends and family members who have added to her collection, including Randy’s mother, Betty.

“She loved Christmas, as well, and she was generous to a fault,” Sandra said. “Anytime she’d go somewhere she’d buy something for one of my themed trees.”

There’s the white and silver tree in the dining room that features 25 or 30 Waterford crystal ornaments, a perfect complement to the table’s centerpiece of crystal Christmas trees and Lenox silver bells. A tree on the screened porch may be a salute to America one year and decorated with birds and nests the next. She’s also had a nutcracker tree and a Dalmatian-themed tree in honor of a dog they once had.

Perhaps the most special tree, though, is a “half tree,” which is flat on one side, hangs on the wall of the guest bath and is adorned with handmade felt ornaments that she and her mother, Mignon, crafted. “I made them many years ago when I was living in an apartment in New Orleans,” Sandra said. “I talked my mother into making some, and she signed the backs of them. Those ornaments are old and precious.”

Although Randy doesn’t want Thanksgiving to get lost in the shuffle, he loves the Christmas decorations – and the memories they hold – as much as Sandra does. He bought a farm in Clairmont Springs near Ashland not long after retiring and selling his trucking company, and that’s where they head the day after Thanksgiving.

“We always go there and cut two or three fresh trees,” Sandra said. “The more trees that are up, the more Randy enjoys it.” Not surprisingly, the farmhouse is decorated, as well. “The whole house is done in snowmen there.”

Although it takes weeks to set up her displays and just as long to take them down, Sandra and Randy love celebrating big. “There’s just something about Christmas,” she said. “It makes you feel younger and puts a smile on your face. Everyone has a nicer spirit, I think, this time of year.”

That’s why they will keep on decorating, despite the time and energy it takes. “We love sharing the holiday with family and friends, and they seem to enjoy the atmosphere and like looking at everything,” she said. “When we have younger children here, there’s just awe. So yes, it’s worth it.”

Other Stories

Holiday happenings around the county

New tradition being made at Pell City Library

It’s a tradition believed to be as old as Grimm’s popular fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, and it’s making its holiday debut at Pell City Library this month.

The Library Guild is presenting a children’s workshop Dec. 8 and Dec. 10. The object of the lesson and ultimate sweet tooth? Their very own gingerbread house.

Children will be able to decorate pre-assembled gingerbread houses for Christmas on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Christmas in Park brings community together

Returning to Lakeside Park Dec. 17, Christmas in the Park brings along with it an entire community.

From Rotary Club to St. Clair Realtors to Community Garden to high school sports teams to local book clubs and Sunday School classes to the St. Clair County Airport, it is a true coming together of community in service to community. They come from all corners, backgrounds and faiths to make sure that St. Clair County families do not go hungry at Christmas.

Two hundred and fifty boxes from the Christian Love Pantry are filled with holiday fare as well as essentials – flour, cornmeal, crackers, jam, preserves, fruits, canned vegetables, stuffing mix, dry pasta, sauces, soups, fresh produce and turkeys.

It’s 95 pounds worth of good food and good wishes.

In recent years, St. Clair County Airport has stepped in to provide toys for the children, and Debbie Parmenter and Sue Turton had high praise for Airport Manager Wendy Watson, who coordinates securing nearly 300 high quality toys for boys and girls of all ages and helping distribute them the day of the giveaway.

Bags of candy are also created by Seventh Day Adventist Church to be given out to the children.

It represents an opportunity, Turton and Parmenter said, to share the gift of food to those in need during the holidays and bring the community together to make it happen.

In November, the Love Pantry did likewise for Thanksgiving, packing and giving out 150 boxes of food to qualifying St. Clair County households. And at Easter, those in need are served as well.

Throughout the year, Love Pantry ensures St. Clair County residents who qualify are able to get help through their emergencies up to twice annually. “We provide enough food to them through crises,” Turton said. “It is not a grocery store.”

Instead, she noted, it’s an act of kindness and a helping hand when they are needed most.

Other Stories

Santa Has Come to Town

Story by Eryn Ellard
Photos by Kelsey Bain

Every year, millions of bright-eyed, mystified children are tucked into their beds on Christmas Eve, too excited to sleep, for it is the night that unites children across the globe.

It’s the night Santa Claus takes flight, his sleigh guided by nine reindeer who will be visiting their homes, bringing toys and treats, and on Christmas morning, children across the world rush to see what St. Nick has brought them.

Santa Claus is pure magic, and his visits create memories that last well into adulthood.

Santa and his helpers reenact Beatles’ Abbey Road cover in downtown Pell City.

For St. Clair County native Michael Gaither, his heart for St. Nick never left him after childhood, and he finds passion, purpose and joy each year embodying Santa for St. Clair County and the region.

Gaither will put on his red suit, black boots, belt complete with intricate embellishments for the third year this Christmas season and will be quite busy visiting children and adults alike – making his list and checking it twice.

Gaither is not only jolly St. Nick during the holidays, but a registered nurse for over 26 years, a paramedic and firefighter starting with the Lincoln Fire Department, and his desire to serve others as a paramedic and firefighter has spanned many stops over 34 years, including the Talladega Paramedic Department. He was a pioneer in opening the first ambulance service in St. Clair County. He is still a volunteer firefighter the New London Fire Department today.

When asked how the idea to become Santa first crossed his mind, he said it was from an old friend from his fire department days who also had experienced playing Santa. “Why do you look like Santa?” Gaither asked. The friend simply replied, “Because I am.” On that day, a spark ignited in Gaither’s heart. “The more and more I thought about it and after listening to how much (the friend) loved it, and all the joy it created, I was sold,” Gaither explained. “There was no turning back.”

The preparations that go into becoming Santa each year are no easy feat. “Growing a Santa beard happens during the hottest months of the year, and I have to add Santa pounds which is a perk I enjoy, putting on my Santa body,” Gather jokingly explained.

Gaither also expounded on the intricacies of creating and caring for his iconic Santa suit. He recalled that the benchmark Santa suit is the Coca-Cola Suit. The suit comes with an upwards of $4,000 price tag.

He explained that becoming Santa is an expensive endeavor if it is to be done correctly. A good, professional-grade suit costs in the neighborhood of $1,000. “That’s just the suit,” he explained. “When you add real boots, glasses, gloves and belt trim and accessories, the total cost is well over $2,000,” Gaither noted. He also said most people do not realize that it takes more than one suit to make it through a holiday season. In addition, the suits have to be specially dry-cleaned.

Reminiscing over fond memories of his own childhood and experiences with St. Nick, joy quickly took over his face as he recalled those emotions and fond memories of Christmases past. “The excited feeling of rushing to bed on Christmas Eve is one that a child cherishes for a lifetime, and I vividly remember we always read Twas The Night Before Christmas, and the fun of setting up the cookies and milk,” Gaither recalled. “I also remember standing in line to see Santa and thinking hard about what I was going to say and what I wanted. Visiting Santa is serious business when you’re a kid,” Gaither said.

Gaither recalled some of the funniest and quirkiest requests he has received from children over the years. These range from stop signs, ice cream trucks, cheese fries and a bag of concrete and chicken wire. “Once I had a young boy ask me to get his Dad out of jail because all he was doing was growing plants in the backyard,” Gaither recalled, laughing. “That was a good one – definitely caught me off guard.”

Children are full of imagination and should be completely innocent to the bad things that go on in the world. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Gaither said he has also had some heart wrenching requests. “Once a little girl asked me if I could make her sister be able to see the presents I brought her because her eyes don’t work. I also have many, many requests to make a parent come home from a deployment.”

Santa also admitted that out of all nine reindeer, all of whom he loves dearly loves – he does, in fact, have a favorite. “Rudolph takes the crown, hands down,” he said. “He is quite clearly the captain of the ship and the rest of the crew would be dysfunctional without his leadership. He loves traveling, he is a little shy, he loves to help others, and he is most definitely a natural born leader,” Gaither said.

Last year, Santa’s visits and getting to see children in hospital, nursing home and other settings looked quite different. “I did get to be Santa, of course, but it was hard last year,” Gaither said. “Santa had a mask just like you do, and I did visit a lot of healthcare facilities to say ‘Thank You.’”

Over the course of his career, Gaither said it has been one of the greatest blessings of his life. He has delivered babies, held the hands of people as they took their last breath. “Sometimes it’s as simple as offering a smile to someone in their darkest hours,” Gaither said. “To do healthcare you must have a servant’s heart, and it is not for the faint of heart.”

When asked about working on the front lines during the age of COVID, Gaither took a moment before humbly stating, “COVID really took some of the personal touch out of healthcare. In some cases, families could not be together in their darkest and last moments. This is something I would have never would have dreamed of happening,” Gaither said.

He has served as the director of Emergency Services for Grandview Medical Center. “Not many people get to say they have opened and moved a hospital,” Gaither joked. The year Grandview opened, Gaither was awarded Clinical Manager of the Year for his role in opening the Emergency Department and along with moving all the patients from the hospital at Montclair to Grandview.

Today, Gaither works for Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, the Tenet Corporation, as a patient safety officer and risk manager. He also holds a juris doctor from the Birmingham School of Law.

From health care to Santa care

Stepping out of his scrubs and into his Santa suit is one of Gaither’s greatest joys. “You can empower kids to spread love, joy and peace – and the true meaning of Santa by simply telling them ‘Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness.’” Santa Claus, he explained, is a symbol of the true meaning of Christmas – the reason for the season. His names come from the source of Christmas – Christ himself. Jesus Christ was a man who gave freely and represents the best that there is in mankind. “Santa is a symbol of the greatest gifts of Heaven and Earth,” Gaither said.

Although his schedule is quickly filling up, Santa is offering “new traditions” this year. These include in-home Christmas “tuck in” service – complete with story time, photos and cookie making.

He is also available for live video chats in addition to traditional holiday parties, photo sessions and retail events.

Editor’s Note: To find out more about these services, Gaither may be reached at (205) 329-3570 or via email, SantaMG@mail.com.

Features

Shop Local

Stores here have everything you need this holiday season

Story by Jackie Walburn
Submitted photos

When it comes to unique gifts and personal service, holiday shoppers win every time by shopping locally, say St. Clair merchants who offer suggestions for most-wanted gifts for 2020.

From clothes and statement jewelry to pets and guitars to gift cards and locally made candles and soaps, around-the-corner and down-the-street merchants recommend distinctive gifts and exceptional service available at local shops.

At Mum & Me Mercantile on Parkway Drive in downtown Leeds, owner Neva Reardon recommends shopping locally and buying locally and points to products made by local artists, including pottery, candles and jewelry.

A store specializing in handmade items and artworks from Alabama and across the South, Mum & Me carries pottery from local potter Susan Moore, handmade candles from Red Beard Redolence of Leeds, soaps and candles from Community Natural in Shelby County, candles and melts from Cahaba Handmade in Leeds.

Other regionally made items at Mum & Me include Zkano organic cotton socks from Little River Sock Company in Fort Payne; Bronnie’s Brittle, a peanut brittle made in Birmingham; lotions, bath and body items from K and C Bath Co. in Birmingham; and hand-stenciled kitchen towels made by Becky Denny of Digs Design in Homewood.

Gift ideas abound at Monkey Bizness in downtown Pell City, but owner Michelle Tumlin recommends that shoppers look at the shop’s new reading glasses with blue-light filters, perfect for all ages and less than $25, plus the store’s exclusive hand-poured candles. With fragrances, flavors and names developed in partnership with a candle maker in Franklin, Tenn., the handmade candles are popular and unique to the store. Monkey Bizness candles’ best-selling fragrances are Pell City Christmas and Panther Pride, named for the Pell City Panthers.

Specializing in women’s and children’s clothing, Monkey Bizness has added newborn clothes to its line of clothes for children, with boy sizes from newborn to 5, and, for girls, from newborn to toddler to children, tweens, misses and plus sizes, Tumlin says. “If you’re a girl, I can dress you.”

At Ron Partain’s World of Music in downtown Pell City, long-time owner and musician Ron Partain sees music as a holiday gift that keeps giving. Open for 42 years, Ron Partain’s World of Music specializes in musical instruments, including guitars, mandolins, banjos, violins and pianos and all essentials to go with them.

“Our featured items would be guitars for all ages, acoustic and electric, and gift certificates for lessons to go with a guitar,” Partain says, noting his favorite part of his job is “watching people’s eyes dance because they made music.”

Pointing to the popularity of online buying, even for musical instruments, Partain says folks looking for music instruments or accessories should check this local store first. “Truth is, we sell at internet prices, but our joy is helping people to love music.” And if you can find it online, they can get it for you in the store.

Jewelry is always a go-to gift at Griffins Jewelers, and Stephanie Smith, manager at the Pell City shop, points to Le Vian jewelry as tops for 2020 holidays. Known for original designs using their trademarked Chocolate Diamonds and colored gem stones, Le Vian’s styles in earrings, necklaces and rings are trendy and stylish with a high-quality standard. “These are truly statement pieces,” Smith says. Griffins is a local distributor of Le Vian, an internationally renowned family-owned jeweler with a history dating back centuries. They offer a wide variety of Le Vian pieces priced from about $800 up.

Another Griffins gift recommendation revolves around solar-powered globes that rotate inside a clear sphere, a gift that’s calming and scientific at the same time, priced at $170 and up. Gift wrapping is free with purchase at Griffins Jewelers, which is celebrating its 70^th year in business in 2020.

Known for its residential and commercial mailboxes marketed statewide and nationally, Alabama Mailbox Company in Ashville is also growing as St. Clair County’s headquarters for exotic animals and pets, says Kaitlyn Martin of Alabama Mailbox.

They have bearded dragons, hedgehogs, geckos, skinks and tortoises and all the items needed to care for and feed the unusual pets. “These are very unique gifts, and we have all the supplies, food, cages and bedding,” Martin says. The company’s pet offerings are expanding to include house pets, dogs and cats, organic pet food and treats. They also carry top line food and water dishes, leashes and diet supplements.

Visiting the store on Turkey Hollow Lane in Ashville, shoppers can see the pets and buy in-stock mailboxes, or they can custom order the best in mailboxes, light posts, signs and garden accessories, which come with experienced customer service.

Warren Family Garden Center and Nursery on Old Cedar Grove Road in Leeds gets ready for Christmas season early with fresh poinsettias and other Christmas plants, including lemon cypress, Christmas cactus and bulbs, says manager Michelle Warren, one of the family owners of the full-service garden center.

Gift items she recommends include wind chimes, pottery, house plants, floral decorations and garden art. Distinctive Christmas decorations are available too, along with fresh evergreen wreaths and garland and Christmas trees which begin arriving before Thanksgiving.

At Merle Norman in downtown Pell City, expect skin-care products and splashes of color as top gifts, says Joanna Darden, salesperson at the shop on Cogswell Avenue.

All the skin care lines at the nationally-known cosmetics shop are great gifts, she says, recommending a holiday makeup item called Starry Eyes Liquid Foil, one of Merle Norman’s holiday gift items. “It’s eye shadow and mascara in copper and silvery colors that are glittery but not too much. The look is eye-popping and perfect for the holidays,” Darden says. Merle Norman originally introduced the Liquid Foil set for spring, and it was such a hit that it’s been modified for winter and Christmas and New Year’s season.

At Hattie Lee’s Boutique on Martin Street in Pell City, owner Jo Ann Bain recommends casual clothing and loungewear as top gift choices. “Anything casual is great. Folks are staying home, working from home and doing virtual everything,” she says.

“Loungewear is really big,” she says, noting they are not basic sweatsuits, but comfortable, cute clothing, with fashion themes that include animal prints and creative camo prints. Shoppers and gift buyers are looking for “something they can get up and put on to work at home and still look good when you need to get out.”

Hattie Lee’s is also selling fashion-forward masks – in colors and designs to match outfits or mood. “Everyone has to have them,” Bain says about mask face coverings needed during the ongoing pandemic, “so they might as well be cute.”

At Uptown Girl, also known as UG Clothing, in downtown Pell City, the variety is such that owner Virginia Seales says a UG Gift Card makes the perfect gift.

“It’s loadable and reloadable,” and with new items coming in daily, a gift card takes the guessing out of gift buying. UG’s Facebook Live Shows, held on Mondays and Thursdays via the store’s Facebook page, are another way the shop reaches customers and makes shopping easier, Seales says. Held at 7 p.m. two nights a week, the live shows feature the latest fashions and gift ideas.

Begun during the initial pandemic shutdown in the Spring of 2020 as outreach to customers, the Live Show videos continue as holiday purchasing begins. Participants can purchase via the Live Shows and pick up the items or have them shipped. The first five Facebook users who respond to the Live Show announcement with a “Shop UG” comment win $10 gift cards.

Other Stories