Story by Elaine Hobson Miller Photos by Mackenzie Free
In January of 1969, a freight train derailed in Springville, hitting propane tanks and triggering massive explosions that created a fire that scared the heebie-jeebies out of local residents and destroyed the train depot.
In 2023, that explosion triggered the imagination of a local non-fiction author who loves to read mysteries and wondered whether he could write one. “What if that train wreck covered up a murder no one knew about,” Joel Dison’s thought process began. “And what if that murder was connected to a current murder and the investigator had to solve the old one to solve new one?”
That’s how the “conflict series” was born, and how Dison, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, went from daily technical writing and inspirational writing to the world of fiction. The series began in July 2024 with Conflict of Interest, followed by Moral Conflict (November 2024), Final Conflict (March 2025) and The Bookkeeper (July 2025). The latter was supposed to be the finale, but Dison says a fifth book is rolling around in his brain.
“When I finished the first book, I realized there was more to the story,” he says. “It stuck in my head and I had to get it out. I probably have one more to do only because I don’t like leaving certain things in the books unresolved.”
Raised in Chalkville, Dison is a 2011 graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Although he actually wrote his first novella in a long-lost notebook while in junior high, he started writing books a little after seminary graduation. “I did a lot of technical writing for work before that,” says Dison, a bivocational minister until 2023 when he moved to Springville to help take care of his ailing parents. By day, he’s an electrical engineer for PowerGem, LLC., having worked for Southern Company for 34 years before taking an early severance. He says hewas always good at tech writing. “There was a lot of writing in the seminary, too, and that re-ignited the spark that began in junior high,” he says.
All of his books are self-published. The first three were non-fiction, inspirational books. “The first was a study on the Book of James, and it was published on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles,” Dison says. “I didn’t get many bites on B&N, although I did sell some in the United Kingdom.”
Of the four murder mysteries, he has sold somewhere in the 600 range. “Not great but not bad,” he says. “The nonfiction books did okay, almost 2000 in the 2010-2014 time frame, but some of those may have been free giveaways. I was actually surprised to see the number that high when I checked it. I don’t do a lot of marketing.”
Dison holds up the book that started it all
Dison never thought he had the imagination for an entire book of fiction, much less four, but he surprised himself. “I really wanted to do fiction,” he says. “I love mysteries, and writing one became a personal challenge.”
At one point while writing that series, he asked himself why a pastor would write a murder mystery and whether he should.He came to a conclusion that satisfied him and enabled him to moved forward with the mysteries. “Evil is a reality in this world, and as believers (in Christ), how do we deal with that evil?,” he asked himself. “And how as believers do we approach it? I wanted this to be clean, without cursing or gratuitous sex and not too much grotesque violence.”
Book One ends and Book Two begins with a moral dilemma. The first dealt with a lot of internal doubts and overcoming one’s own failures. The second opens with the main character still dealing with some of those failures. The third deals with how all of those things create internal conflicts, although the story is about external ones.
Dison says he could have ended the murder mystery series at three books, but Book Four re-opens that over-arching theme of conflict between the main character and his nemesis. “It deals with concepts of justice, which does not always look like what you think it does,” Dison says. “There’s a possible fifth one in progress.”
His “conflict” books were written in the third-person. Then a prompt from his Springville writing group made him ask himself whether he could write sci-fi, and write it in the first person present. The latter proved to be more difficult than Dison thought it would be. “I kept switching to the past tense in the sci-fi book, the Cymbrian Protocol,” he says. “But some people think first-person is more engaging to the reader because it makes them feel they are present.”
His writing group, which has no name, often comes up with a topic, and each member writes 2,000 words in three weeks or more on that same topic. “Then we read, compare and critique,” he says. “In January, for example, the topic was a fairy tale.” The group is several years old, and Dison has been a member for about a year.
Dison self-publishes all of his books, a process that no longer carries the stigma it used to. “Self-publishing is becoming as viable and credible as traditional publishing,” he says. “But I would love to have an agent who could find me a publisher to edit and distribute my works. I’m not writing to be a best seller, but for the personal enjoyment and the hope that someone will read my books and enjoy them.”
Electronic publishing costs nothing, except for whatever an author decides to spend for editing and marketing. “So even with paperback it’s just my own printing costs,” Dison says. “It’s a low threshold, which is why so many people do it.”
He makes a couple of dollars on each book he sells, but says he’s not writing for money or fame. “I enjoy writing. It’s cathartic and calming, and exercises my brain. It’ a way of dealing with all the stress I’m going through, a coping mechanism. You lose yourself in your writing.”
Dison designed each of his covers himself, using a graphics editing tool called Canva, with a little help from ChatGPT. “Some images are AI generated,” he says, but he doesn’t use AI in writing his books. “That would be deplorable.” Readers can find his books by searching his name on Amazon, or by checking with Nichols Nook in Springville.
He hasn’t decided whether his sci-fi novel needs a follow-up. The first one came directly from one of his writing group’s prompts, which called for writing a short sci-fi scene. That led to the full book. “I want to find a good way to wrap up the Springville murders, then I’ll decide what’s next,” he says. He has thoroughly enjoyed the locally-set writing and would seriously consider that again in a different format, perhaps a historical fiction or maybe a ghost story.
Readers always wonder where a writer gets his inspiration. For Joel, who has always loved reading mysteries and sci-fi, it’s more about the challenge than the inspiration. “For the first book, the challenge was, ‘Can I write a murder mystery,’” he says. “For the sci-fi, it was, ‘Can I write a sci-fi and write it in the first person?’ I like to challenge myself.”
He has no aspirations of getting rich from his writing, but hopes people will read his books and enjoy them. “I want to provide the option of clean, enjoyable reading for those who like to read, but are bothered by the foul language, sex and violence in lot of popular literature,” he says.
Johnnie Mae Beavers Green may be 95 years old, but her dignified demeanor and perfect posture would make the biblical Queen Esther proud were she still around.
Having lived in the Pell City area for most of her life, Johnnie Mae’s memory is an encyclopedia of local Black history. Tonya Forman expresses loving gratitude for her help in assimilating local history for the Breaking Barriers section of the Museum of Pell City. “Mrs. Johnnie Mae is a treasured source of wisdom and history in our community,” Tonya said.
Johnnie Mae Green reading her Bible at Mt. Hillary Church
“Her memories and stories preserve the legacy of our families, churches and neighborhoods, helping to connect past generations with the present. She’s my personal historian. I can sit and listen to her talk and sing all day.”
Guided by faith
Known for her faith in God, Johnnie Mae’s life has been guided by the Holy Bible and her faith in the God of the Bible. She has a godly heritage reaching back 200 years in St. Clair County’s African American church history. In the 1895, A History of Colored Baptist in Alabama and North Carolina, Charles Octavius Boothe records a brief biography of her great-great grandfather, Rev. Jasper Beavers.
Born a slave in 1825 in Easonville, Beavers learned to read and to write and became a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to family history, Rev. Beavers preached the inaugural sermon at Blooming Light Missionary Baptist Church when it was organized on the first Sunday of July 1884.
Born July 18, 1930, to Herbert and Elizabeth Gibson Beavers, Johnnie Mae grew up in Tuscaloosa County until she was 13 years old. Her mother was native to Tuscaloosa County while her dad was native to St. Clair County. On Dec. 29, 1942, the family moved to the Crossroads community, south of Pell City.
‘Life was good’
“There were two boys and two girls in our family. I was the third child,” Johnnie Mae recounted recently. “We were share-croppers. We farmed. We raised pigs. We had a good milk cow. And life was good.”
A summer garden produced fresh vegetables as well as produce for canning for the winter months. “You know what we grew it with — fertilized it with? The manure from when they cleaned out the mule stables every year. And that’s how we fertilized the garden.” When a listening friend commented, “You had the best fertilizer in the world,” Johnnie Mae replied, “It grew a lot of grass! The animals ate the grass,” she laughed, “and we had to get it up.”
Charlie and Johnnie Mae Green
When asked about the best dish her mother cooked, she quickly replied, “apple cobbler. She could just naturally cook. No recipes.” Then she laughed and confessed, “And I’m gonna tell you the best thing she ever cooked, and that was opossum,” and she told how they prepared it.
“My dad would go hunting at night, and he would catch croaker sacks full. And he had a great big barrel he would put them in and keep them there about a week and feed them until they were fat enough. Then he would kill one. They burnt the hair off and then scraped it down so the skin was clean and pretty.”
After her mother had dressed all the innards out, she boiled it for a while before baking it in the oven with sweet potatoes.
Johnnie Mae declared her mother’s baked possum to be “Good eating,” then laughed and said, “One day me and my sister came home from school, and we ate the whole possum!”
She learned from her mom how to cook them, but by the time she had a home of her own, eating possum was out of style. “I don’t think any of my children ever tasted possum,” she said.
Continuing to reminisce about her mom’s cooking, she said, “Mom could cook almost anything because we had to make do with whatever they had.” One make-do vegetable growing wild in Alabama is the pokeweed that when cooked is called poke sallet. The Beavers family enjoyed it. “Poke sallet was a basic food,” Johnnie Mae recalled. “You could just go and gather that. Mom would clean it. Boil it good. Squeeze it out and rinse it, and then she put it in a skillet with onions. My daddy liked it with onions. Or you could mix it with turnips or other greens. That was a good dish.”
Quilting legacy
Mrs. Beavers also made quilts for winter warmth. And there was some make-do with that as well. When a garment was no longer wearable, Mrs. Beavers would use the garment areas that were still good. Nothing went to waste.
Mrs. Beavers made the girls’ clothes. Many dresses were sewn from colorful feed sack fabric. The girls would go with their dad when he bought feed and choose the sack they wanted for a dress. When enough feed sacks of the same pattern were accumulated, they would have a new dress.
Those vintage feed sacks from the 1940s today sell for between $20 and $45 per sack, depending on the design.
“Mom was a quilter,” Johnnie Mae reflected. “And she used every little scrap she could find. You know we had to find little strings of cloth about an inch or two wide. She would cut a newspaper square and sew the little strips. And when you made a block, you tore the paper off.” Those were called String Quilts and were quite colorful with a kaleidoscope of different fabrics.
Johnnie Mae quilted all her life until she was 90. Then other things took up her time, and “I filled my little quilting room up with junk,” she said. “And I just got it cleaned out so I’m quilting again, and I’m not stopping anymore until the Lord stops me. I can do one a week.”
Growing up
She still lives in the same community and has good memories of growing up there. “It’s a funny thing, but it’s true. All the Blacks were on the Mt. Hillary Church side of Blue Spring Road. And the white families were across over here in their neighborhood. And it was just like one big family. We borrowed, and we visited, and we played together. We didn’t have any problems. So, we named it the Black Crossroads and the White Crossroads,” she laughed, then added, “And the funny thing, we thought we had a little more than they did. And they thought they had more.”
The Crossroads children played games that are now memories to folk of Johnnie Mae’s generation. “We played Auntie Over—throw the ball over a building. We played hopscotch. And jump rope, but I never could jump rope. We played Dropping the Handkerchief. And the number one game was Hide and Go Seek.”
Crossroads was a peaceful community, but when feelings got hurt or a misunderstanding arose, there was a solution. “If you had a falling-out with your neighbor,” Johnnie Mae reflected, “before you went to bed, you had to go and beg pardon of that person. And I thank God for that.” This principle is based on the Bible verse Ephesians 4:26, “Do not let the sun go down upon your anger.”
Such a rule kept harmony among the members of the communities, and Johnnie Mae was oblivious of color differences until one day in Pell City. “Back in the day,” she reminisced, “my daddy would carry us up to town [Pell City] in the wagon. It was summertime, and I got thirsty. I said, ‘I want a drink of water.’ So, we went to where the fountains were, and it said White and Black. Daddy said, ‘Get over there and get you a drink,’ and pointed to the Black fountain. I said, ‘I don’t want no black water, I want clear water. I will never forget that,” she laughed. “I didn’t know anything about segregation until that day.”
After a pause, Johnnie Mae recalled a friend’s deprecating comment about another person’s ethnic background. Then she made a singular observation that deserves contemplation.
“I said, wait. Let’s talk for one minute. Do you think that when God spoke the earth into existence, and then he decided on making man, do you think He went and found brown dirt, red dirt and yellow dirt and made everybody?” Her speech tone was pulpit worthy. “No. He made every single one out of the same dirt. So, how can we put a separation between each other.”
There is silence as she ponders a few seconds and then she laughs, “I’m not gonna lie. There are some good people that are hard to deal with, but I love them … and love is what God teaches.” Again, she reasons from her knowledge of Scripture.
Education
When the Beavers family settled at Crossroads, the children attended The St. Clair County Training School in Pell City, and Johnnie Mae was in the 1947 graduating class. “It was the biggest class that had ever graduated from there,” she recalled. “There were 27 that graduated. What made our class big was that we had kids from Margaret and Acmar in our class.”
She was athletic and played on the Training School’s girls’ basketball team. “We had a great basketball team,” she recounted. “We won all of the little districts’ games. Maxine Jones was our coach. She was the principal’s wife.”
She remembered two of her principals. One was of short stature and without a strong personality. He could not control the students — especially the male students. If a student needed paddling, he would send for his wife who taught at Cropwell at the Greenfield school, and she would hitch up her one-horse wagon, come to the Training School, paddle the student and return to Cropwell.
To solve that problem, the Board of Education sent Professor Ruben Yancey to be principal of the Training School. “When Mr. Ruben Yancey came,” Johnnie Mae recounted, “he grabbed those boys by the collar, and it made a brand-new school. He taught them respect.”
Professor Ruben Yancey ended his career as principal of Ashville Colored High School. Professor Lloyd Newton and the Black community petitioned the St. Clair County Board of Education to rename the school Ruben Yancey High School, which they did in 1965. Sadly, Professor Yancey died shortly before the name change, but he lived and died well-respected by both races.
Life after high school
After graduating high school, Johnnie Mae attended Stillman College in Tuscaloosa for a year-and-a-half. However, she reflected, “The only reason I didn’t stay in college, I knew my parents were not able to send me. There were no student loans. I knew they didn’t have the money, and I came out.”
Determined and courageous young woman that she was, however, she enrolled at Ruth’s Poro School of Beauty in Birmingham and took the six-months course to become a licensed cosmetologist. “It was hard, but God knows I enjoyed it. Cutting and pressing and curling hair.” When she started, that process earned her about $3 per person.
When asked about the location of her shop, Johnnie Mae replied, “I went. I travelled. I did a lot of invalid people — the ones that couldn’t get around.” She paused a moment, then laughing, said, “A friend came to the house yesterday and said, ‘Well, you’re 95 years old, and you’ll soon be up there in heaven fixing mother’s hair.’ And I said, ‘I’m not gonna work when I get up there. I’m gonna sit down and praise the King.” Among the laughter, somebody said, “Amen!”
Kimberly Moore said of Johnnie Mae’s skillful work, “She was excellent with hairdressing. Just about everybody I knew growing up, she pressed and curled their hair!”
In addition to hairdressing, Johnnie Mae worked the looms in two cotton mills. She worked for two months at Avondale Mill in Pell City, then took a job in Talladega at Crown’s Textile. “I had about five less looms to run than I had at Avondale, and I made $5 more an hour. I retired from there.”
Then she explained why she retired. “I drove by myself for seven years. Just me. There wasn’t very much traffic on Highway 34 then. But one night I had a flat tire, and over here at what we call the Twin Bridges, there was an invalid white man lived right on the road. And he heard me out there with my flat tire. He was feeble and on a stick, and he had a big dog and came to where I was.
“Finally some Black folks stopped, and he said, ‘If you all will change the tire, I’m going back to the house.’ But he left his dog there, and he told the dog to lay by my door. Bless his heart! I’m telling you,” she said, with thanksgiving in her voice, “every time I went to work, I stopped and hollered at him. He was dynamic. And that’s why I quit work, cause I thought next time it might be worse.”
She retired from the cotton mill, but she didn’t retire from working. She worked in the kitchen at the Black and White Nursing Home for a while and then at the Rosewood Manor for about four years. She left Rosewood Manor and worked briefly at an assisted living facility on Dry Creek Road; however, that facility had a short life. “They closed down,” she said, “and after tha,t I came home. I stopped working.”
But not really, for she continued to go to women who were confined to their home and dress their hair beautifully. And in that ministry, she spread sunshine and the love of God to the women.
Marriage, family and faith
In 1950, Johnnie Mae married Charlie Darnelle Green from Perry County. They were parents to four children — three boys and one girl. The Greens also took sisters Linda and Wandra Beavers into their home when their mother went to New York to work. Jobs were scarce back in that day.
At home, Johnnie Mae taught her children about God and his love, and they grew up in Mt. Hillary being nurtured by godly ministers there. “I’m so thankful,” she testifies, “that I had good children. They may have fallen out, but they made up and got along.”
Celebrating 90th birthday with family
About rearing children, she commented, “I tell you, it don’t cost but just a little to train a child the way you should train ’em. And when they’re old, they won’t depart from it,” quoting from the Bible. Then, reflecting of current troublesome times, she added, “I don’t know about that now. But I don’t think they depart, they just were never trained. Maybe God will fix it one day.”
It is worth noting that the Perry County Green family knew Coretta Scott King, and Johnnie Mae knew her as well. Furthermore, Rev. T. D. Jakes has genealogical connections to the Green family.
Charlie Green was a miner. When he stopped working in the mines, he took a job at Anniston Army Depot, where he worked until he retired. “It’s been a good life,” Johnnie Mae reflected, “and I don’t regret any of it.”
Mt. Hillary Missionary Baptist Church became her home church about the same time the family moved to Crossroads. Having already been baptized in Tuscaloosa County, Johnnie Mae joined Mt. Hillary in 1944. She told of her baptism as a 7-year-old. “I was baptized in a creek. I was scared of the turtles, and there was a terrapin coming towards me. They had to catch me and put me back in the water!”
When asked if she had sung in the church choir, she replied, “Yes, I did. And we had a little quartet. A little group, The Rose of Sharron Gospel Singers. There were six of us — Mertis Truss — O’Neal was her maiden name — was our musician. Her sister Josie sang with us. I was one of them. Then we had Livi Threatt, Flora Threatt and Nellie Mae Threatt.”
The Rose of Sharron Singers would pray before they went somewhere to sing, for they felt like they were worshiping the Lord through singing.
As she approaches year 96, Johnnie Mae’s faith in God is strong. How has her faith sustained her all these years? “It’s the song I sing all the time, Amazing Grace.” Then she quotes in a strong voice, “Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come, God’s grace has brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home.”
A quietness settles over the room as she comments on her faith. “I told my church the other Sunday, ‘I have one thing to work on.’ They say, ‘What?’ And I say,’ My faith.’ I said, ‘The Scripture says if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can tell the mountain, ‘Be ye removed,’ well, I can’t move a stick. But I’m working on I,t and I trust Him. When I get up or when I go to the store, I say, ‘Lord carry me and bring me back.’ He is the only One I have.”
Although she may think her faith is small, her unwavering faith in God inspires many of her family members and friends. And the words of Andrae Crouch‘s hymn “Through It All,” fits her perfectly.
Through it all Through it all I’ve learned to trust in Jesus I’ve learned to trust in God Through it all Through it all I’ve learned to depend upon His word Oh, I’ve learned to depend upon His word.
Many lives have been blessed by Johnnie Mae’s life and faith and would say, “Amen!” to Kimberly Moore’s loving comments. “For as long as I can remember, my Aunt Johnnie Mae has always been a woman of faith and highly involved in the church. She is the rock of our extended family, and her strong belief in God is what I use as a model for my own life. She has taught me that no matter what happens God is in control … she often says that we have to lean and depend on Him and His word … her unwavering FAITH is a true testament of his AMAZING GRACE.”
Johnnie Mae Beavers Green. Keep on keeping on in your journey of faith. You are an inspiration to your family, your church and your hometown, for through it all you have learned to depend upon God’s Word.
It’s a tradition whose roots run deep in history, culture and the church. Some might think it’s simply fashion, but for generations of Black women, donning beautiful, often elaborate hats, it’s an expression of identity, dignity and faith.
Ernestine O’Neal and her niece, Sherrell O’Neal, posing with the hat and photo of Ernestine’s mother and Sherrell’s grandmother, Annie O’Neal
The hats they wore to church on Sundays were a reflection of who they were – their personality – and each was distinctive, just like the women who wore them.
At First Baptist Church South in Pell City, members of the church wanted to capture the essence of that tradition in their own church and planned to have some of the women wear their ‘crowns’ on Mother’s Day. It was an idea church member Paula Jackson had, and the Women’s Ministry followed through with an impressive exhibit.
Illness caused the church’s original plan to change, and Women’s Ministry Leader Jennifer Gover decided to expand the reach, contacting women throughout the community to recruit for its “Women Who Wear Hats” exhibit. With the help of her niece, Chrissa Posey, the momentum grew into an exhibit on May 2, May 3 and Mother’s Day, May 10, to pay tribute to these women and their hats with 91 hats displayed from the women of 14 different churches.
“My lifesaver is my niece, Chrissa Posey, who has artistic inclinations and decided placement of the hats and suits,” Gover said. “She even prepared and set up refreshments for the exhibit.” Her behind the scenes work contributed greatly to the success of the event.
Elic Smith with the stunning suit and hat of his mother, Blossie Smith
From feathers to jewels to embroidery and lace, the hats ranged from simple, but elegant to elaborate and billowy. “We thought it was impressive,” said Gover. “It shows how the personalities are different. It wasn’t just something they wear on their head, but something from the heart.”
Nearby, a table of framed photos of the featured women – most in their signature hats – seemed to watch over the room as if surveying the handiwork that brought the event to fruition.
Elic Smith displayed the hat and stunning, matching suit worn by his 86-year-old mother, Blossie Smith. He couldn’t disguise the smile as he recounted his mother’s Sunday attire. “Miss B – You would have thought she would have been first lady.”
It’s a tradition that spans generations from slavery to present day, explained Charlotte Crawford. It was an outward expression of who they were within – “a classy, dignified lady. Each hat represents how they carried themselves. Ruby Sawyer Fomby always wore hats,” she said of her own mother.
Janice Carter echoed the recollections of others as she talked about her mother, Elnora Carter. “Mama wasn’t going to church without a hat or a suit.” Her grandmother, Mary Singleton, would buy two suits just alike and take a cuff or a piece from one and fix the other “just the way she wanted it.”
Elnora was a singer with B.J. and the Countryettes. “When she was singing, she had her hat, too.” It was like her personal signature for every performance.
“I grew up in a church where older women wore hats,” recalled Ernestine O’Neal. “You never wore pants to church.” The hats of Ernestine’s mother, Annie O’Neal, were a part of the exhibit. Annie was Sherrell O’Neal’s grandmother, and she noted that hats only came in one size, so women would sew or fasten material inside to make it fit tight.
Charlotte Crawford, daughter of Ruby Sawyer Fomby
To demonstrate, Sherrell tried on one such hat – a dainty, circular piece covered in blue feathers with a piece of felt placed inside – a perfect fit!
Bobbie Jo Swain of First Baptist Cropwell had the largest collection in the exhibit. Some in the overall display were vintage – 50 to 60 years old. Estelle Forman pointed to the hats of her mother, Bernice Joiner, and mother-in-law, Lizzie Forman, whose hats were featured in the display. Like the others, they were perfect fits for the way they carried themselves, she said.
An opening reception attended by 50 ladies – some of whom donated hats along with family, friends and others – shared precious memories the exhibit evoked.
One of the women asked if she could peek inside a straw hat with pink flowers. The label said Jack McConnell, a well-known milliner active in the mid to late 20th century. The hat’s owner was Caroline Gover’s mother, Della Jordan Gover. Caroline recalled it was bought 25 to 30 years ago at a small hat shop in Birmingham.
These women were serious about their hats, and they invested to get just the right one. They often shopped at a store in Ensley called Cotton’s. Later, they bought their hats locally from Kenwin’s or Mays and Jones with prices ranging from $50 to well over $200.
“They were willing to spend money on these hats,” Jennifer Gover said, and with good reason. It was as much a part of their personality as their smile, a laugh or a word of advice remembered long after they are gone.
“Today, women do not wear hats to church services as they did in the past,” Gover said. “We dress more casual, except for special occasions. But there are still a few who hold on to the tradition of bold and beautiful hats to complement exquisite suits or dresses.”
Remember, she said, “a hat is an expression of a black woman’s soul. It is something she wears on her head but belongs to her heart. It is the keynote of her personality – the finishing touch.”
In the very home where Dr. Robert A. Martin once lived while ministering to the medical needs of early Pell City residents, a doctor of another sort works on a prescription for the souls of today’s people well beyond the streets of Pell City.
The treatment plan calls for an infusion of discernment, acute wakefulness and a hunger for spiritual growth.
“The phrase, ‘Keep the cookies on the bottom shelf,’ is an old educational philosophy often utilized in contemporary Christianity,” says Dr. Ed Glasscock. “That is contrary to my philosophy of ministry. If first-grade-level classes are all that is taught to students, they cannot become mature and productive adults. Christians must be progressively stretched to greater levels of understanding.”
A minister and educator, Glasscock is also published author, specializing in books designed to help modern day readers make sense of the lessons and prophesies contained in the Bible, specifically relating to the end-times.
In his latest book, Olivet Discourse, Glasscock underscores the need to stay vigilant (awake) and to live spiritually productive lives. The 300-page book is a deep dive into two chapters of the Bible within the Book of Matthew.
Matthew chapters 24 and 25 specifically address the questions posed by four of Jesus’ disciples pertaining to the signs of the second coming of Christ, the timing of the end of the age, and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem as prophesied in the Old Testament.
Modern day Christians face the same confusion, Glasscock writes, as did those disciples who questioned Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Glasscock goes on to emphasize that while no specific day or date is given in answer to the timing, the admonition is given to Christians to not grow lazy or apathetic about displaying what he calls “kingdom character.”
“I wrote a separate book on those two chapters because they’re really often misunderstood,” adds Glasscock. “They’re critical, I think, for us in getting a perspective of what Christianity means and how it all works out in the end. They help us understand what’s happening in the world and how scripture makes us aware of the spiritual realities behind earthly events.”
This is Glasscock’s third book and second specific to the Book of Matthew. His first book, The Gospel According to Matthew, was first published in 1997, then reprinted in 2025. A second book, a work of fiction titled, Deadly Beast – a Case for Mr. Parks, was published in 2020.
Olivet Discourse took nearly five years to write, says Glasscock, “mostly because I didn’t work on it seriously at first. I put it aside and did other things. About a year and a half ago, I decided to get serious about it.”
Glasscock’s wife, Gail, is his sounding board and manuscript reader. She has experience working at a printing house and holds a degree in print media communication. “She doesn’t just correct my punctuation,” Glasscock emphasizes, smiling. “She’ll come in and offer suggestions so that readers might better understand the intent of the text.”
Dr. Ed Glasscock and his wife, Gail
The two have been in ministry together for most of their 60-year marriage. “She has been a great pastor’s wife,” says Glasscock. “And she was an incredibly great faculty member’s wife.” Glasscock has over 22 years of pastoral experience and 18 years of teaching as a seminary professor at Chicago’s Moody Graduate School and Virginia Beach Theological Seminary, including six years in Birmingham as academic dean at Southeastern Bible College. He earned his doctor of theology from Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana.
This is all a far cry from the much younger Glasscock’s plan to be a professional musician. He was born in Sylacauga and raised in Leeds. He and Gail were high school sweethearts. A bass guitar player, he planned to make a living working in the music industry. But it was not to be.
It was the late 60s, and Glasscock and a drummer friend headed out west to find fame and fortune.
With the country entrenched in the Vietnam War, the draft was taking many young men, making it hard for them to find other band members. “I’d already been turned down by the army, so this last attempt to make a music career shattered my dreams,” remembers Glasscock. “I had to find a real job, which ended up being at a binding company in Birmingham.”
Inexperienced and headstrong, it wasn’t long before Glasscock faced another challenge, this time a physical one. He nearly lost one hand after it was crushed by a printing press. “When I got my hand caught in the printing press, that’s part of how I became a Christian,” says Glasscock. “I was setting up a machine. The boss checked on me, but I wanted to do it myself. So, I taped down a switch to allow me to feed the machine by myself. The doctors had to put my hand back together like a puzzle.”
Following the accident, Glasscock received a call from a younger cousin. “My cousin talked about how messed up I was and wanted me to talk to her pastor, so Gail and I hopped in our MGB and went to Tampa to see this pastor named Hank.”
The resulting discussions between the two men brought a complete turnaround in Glasscock, who says his life was forever changed. Glasscock says that from that moment, he knew he was called into the ministry.
An acoustic guitar sits among all the books as a reminder of Glasscock’s love of music
After retiring from seminary teaching, Glasscock started an independent ministry in 2009 called Xdoulos, the name meaning Christ’s Servant. The non-profit organization specializes in providing teaching resources and education, and publishing articles and books.
The focus of Xdoulos is to help churches equip Christians for ministry within their churches. His work is international, taking him to places like Uganda, Nigeria, Ukraine, Austria and the United Kingdom.
Christians often suffer persecution in those areas, and part of Glasscock’s message is that Christianity is not designed to “conquer the world with love and popularity.” We are called, he says, to have loving and respectful discussions about Christianity and the end of times.
At 80 years old, Glasscock still teaches three classes per week in his local church and has plans to open a Bible Institute in Pell City.
The author is not resting in his success. He says he has at least one more book in him and can’t wait to work out the details and get to work.
In the meantime, you’re invited to satisfy your hunger and grab Glasscock’s latest book, Olivet Discourse. It is a thought-provoking work and truly written with the end in mind..
Volunteer effort makes museum interactive train display a reality
Story by Roxann Edsall Submitted Photos
Two little girls, laughter echoing in the Alabama moonlight, hurry alongside their mother toward the train station. It’s the late 1950s in Pell City, a time when the whistle and hiss of the train closing in on the station was as predictable as the sun set.
Carolyn Hall recalls, “It was exciting! Mother would tell us to hurry because the train would be here any minute.”
Her sister, Nancy Jordan Spradley, smiles as she adds to the story. “Our mother or grandmother would carry us down there every night, and we’d wait for the train to come through. We’d wave at the conductor, then wait for the caboose and wave to that man, too.” For these sisters, that nightly ritual became a cherished memory, a blend of excitement and comfort as the mighty trains passed through their small town.
The evolution of the project
Pell City’s history is inseparable from the railroad tracks that brought it to life. Founded in 1887 by a consortium of railroad investors, the city was named after financial backer, George H. Pell, president of the East and West Railroad. A short line was created by that railroad to connect three larger systems – Seaboard Air Line Railroad, Talladega & Coosa Valley Line and Georgia Pacific Railroad – and a shared depot was built.
Even so, the town had an uninspiring start, sluggish at best. That is, until the railroad brought to town the man who would save it not once, but twice. Sumter Cogswell, a 29-year-old insurance agent, had no thoughts of saving a town in Alabama when he boarded a train near his own Kentucky home in March of 1890. He was headed to Talladega on business and was scheduled to change trains in Pell City. A missed connection left him stranded for the night.
Rather than an inconvenience, this delay became a turning point, not only for Cogswell, but for the future of the sleepy town. After a night at the Cornett House Hotel, Cogswell awoke, looked outside, and was struck by the potential of the area, specifically the proximity of three converging railroads, the nearby Coosa River, and the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
Seizing the opportunity, Cogswell purchased an option on a significant parcel of land, then negotiated a sale to the Pell City Iron and Land Company. Presuming the town was now on good footing, Cogswell left to resume life elsewhere.
The Panic of 1893 was a time of severe financial depression across the country, and it had devastating effects on Pell City. The Pell City Iron and Land Company went bankrupt, and by the time Cogswell returned for a visit in 1901 with his wife, Lydia DeGaris Cogswell, the town was all but dead. The Cogswells arranged to purchase the dying city for $3,000 and began to nurse it back to health.
It took hours of work to create this level of detail
Now 135 years old, Pell City is a healthy, growing city. A city of more than 17,000 people, it covers 27 square miles of land and water, a far cry from the original 8 blocks on the incorporation papers. Pell City has changed a bit since those early days, and though passenger rail travel is no longer available to or from the city, its impact is irrefutable.
To celebrate those early days and how the tracks once carved Pell City’s landscape, a group of six volunteers dedicated over a year building a train exhibit for the Museum of Pell City. The exhibit, opening this month, features an early 1900s to 1930s-era landscape of Pell City with exquisite detail, completed using historic photos from that time. The project was headed up by retired architect and model builder Malcolm Sokol.
Sokol worked with museum designer Jeremy Gossett to clear space within the museum and determine how large the exhibit could be. From that information, Sokol was able to create a design. A team of volunteers, which included Winston Greaves, David Smith, Max Jolley, and Erik Grieve, worked at Sokol’s house the first month to build the benchwork (similar to a table top) and the cork roadbed for the track. Colder weather and space constraints forced the team to move their operations to the Municipal Center for the rest of the build.
“We had all built model cars and things, but those were kits, and we were just kids. But with this project, Malcolm gave us specific tasks with instructions,” said Jolley. “He taught us tricks of the trade.”
Jolley’s specialization was painting all the people in the exhibit. “These people are smaller than your finger,” he adds. “I painted each one of them and to do that, I had to hold it still with tweezers and paint with a very small paintbrush.”
Among the buildings that were custom built were the courthouse, city hall, train depot and Cornett and St. Charles hotels, the First National Bank building, the Jake Garry livery, and Martin’s store. Others began with kits and were customized to look like the historical structure.
“We had homework from Malcolm each week,” recalls David Smith. “He’d send us home with a model to build each week and when we brought it back, he’d make suggestions, and we’d refine it until it was just as it should be.”
Smith was also in charge of 3D printing all the horses and wagons. The piece Smith spent the most time on was the water tower by the courthouse. The tower, whose many guy wires each had to be glued in place and painted, took a month to complete. The Cornett Hotel, which was built by Sokol, took six weeks to build.
Erik works on terrain
Sokol also produced each of the cars on the layout. He bought several cars and made molds of those cars so he could produce multiple castings of each car. Each of the cars represents about two hours of work.
Winston Greaves is a fellow model railroader and a friend of Sokol. Originally from Trinidad, he is a professional electrician by trade. He served as the project’s electrical specialist, and got everything powered so the train moves around the town. He also helped build many of the buildings.
Erik Grieve used to work with his grandfather on model trains. He had the opportunity to relive some of those memories while working with the rest of the team on the project. “It was incredible to see all the different techniques that go into bringing these scaled-down versions of real pieces to life,” Grieve said. “Malcolm showed us a spray-painting method that made the buildings’ bricks look amazingly realistic. Seeing how all the tiny details come together to create one cohesive picture was truly impressive.”
The team had all but a handful of pieces glued down when it had to be taken apart to move into the museum for the final work. It was reassembled in the museum space, and the team continued work and tweaked it for three additional months before unveiling the completed project. In all, an estimated 1,000 hours of work went into the project.
While the project represents many hours of work, the volunteers involved echo the sentiment that working together and getting to know each other was the greatest reward. As Smith put it, “For five grown men to be together and never any derogatory words spoken is a blessing. It was a bunch of men coming together and playing with toys, but creating something that, hopefully, generations in the future will enjoy.”
Museum designer Jeremy Gossett observes. Around the table are Winston, Malcolm, Museum Coordinator Erica Grieve, Erik and David
“This model is such a beautiful example of what can happen when a community comes together,” said Museum of Pell City Coordinator Erica Grieve. “Because of their dedication, we can give visitors a realistic look at our town’s early days and show how the railroad helped shape who we are today. It’s exciting to see projects like this continue to grow and strengthen the way we share our history.”
Ronald Sumner loves remembering the history of the area. He’s been a resident since his family moved to Pell City as a young boy. He remembers planes flying overhead announcing the end of World War II. And he remembers riding the trains from Pell City to Birmingham and back with his parents.
Spend time looking closely at the intricate details of the buildings along the train tracks, then close your eyes. You can almost hear the rhythm of the rails and how that became the rhythm of life for Pell City and her people. l
Editor’s note:The Museum of Pell City is open Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Much more than the history of Pell City on display
As Museum of Pell City approaches its third birthday, it’s hard to imagine a ‘down time’ for this quickly growing museum.
On Feb. 5, the museum will present its third edition of the Breaking Barriers series focusing on the Black community and its place in the city’s history. Headed by Museum Board Member Tonya Forman, its popularity has grown right along with the program itself.
This year’s theme is Education: Foundation for Success and pays tribute to the early Black educators whose guidance and compassion transformed the lives of Pell City students.
St. Clair District Attorney Lyle Harmon takes inaugural flight on simulator at opening
The day’s program, which begins at 11 a.m. features a reception and a film premiere of family and former students of these educators on the legacy of their impact. It will also mark the opening of an expanded Breaking Barriers exhibit.
Opening the next day, Feb. 6, and extending for two weeks until Feb. 21 is an art show by Sundi Hawkins. The show is a continuing series of the museum, giving the art community a home to display their works.
The museum board invested in a hanging system, and the exterior walls of the atrium just outside the museum have already displayed the creations of artist Nettie Bean and her students, a spectacular quilt show and Duran Jr. High’s art show. The quilt show will return in 2026, and more art shows are scheduled.
In December, the museum’s art gallery hosted the wood carvings of Eric Knepper, intricate, creative pieces of artwork crafted by the local artisan.
Upcoming are shows by Penny Arnold, Williams Intermediate students, a return of Nettie Bean and her students and the Helen Keller Foundation Art Show of Alabama.
In November, the museum opened an expansion of its military section and added a flight simulator, which is already drawing crowds of young and old alike. Designed by Jeremy Gossett, the simulator resembles the cockpit of a Boeing aircraft with a curved monitor that displays various flight patterns including Pell City and Logan Martin, Mosul and the French countryside.
The software is highly sophisticated and gives museum visitors a real feel of flight – from takeoff to landing. It was made possible by a special fundraiser providing nearly $7,000 to build and equip it.
In April, just a few days past its third anniversary, the museum is celebrating with the official opening of its long-anticipated model train exhibit – Where It All Began. Headed by retired architect Malcolm Sokol with a team of volunteers – David Smith, Max Jolley, Erik Grieve and Winston Greaves – it took a year to build.
The museum hosted artist Nettie Bean and her students
The 16-foot train runs through a replica of 1920s-30s Pell City and will be surrounded by artifacts, narratives and photos depicting the train’s history in Pell City. After all, that is where it all began – when founder Sumter Cogswell missed his train to Talladega in 1890 and spent the night in what is now Pell City.
Nationally known artist Dirk Walker has donated an original painting of a Pell City train depot that will be used as a fundraiser for the museum.
An evening reception is planned along with tributes to the museum’s volunteers and naming “Volunteer of the Year.”
“We are so humbled by the community support we have been given since our opening,” said President Carol Pappas. Our docents give their time every week to guide visitors through our museum. We could not operate without them, and we are so appreciative of their work.”
Pappas lauded the dedication of the team who built the train, which now will be a centerpiece of the museum’s exhibits. “They met every Monday night for an entire year to assemble each rail of the track, recreate historic buildings from scratch, hand paint and place miniature figures throughout the town and so much more. It is so realistic. It is a must see. We cannot thank them enough.”
She noted that the museum is in the midst of a capital campaign, and businesses and individuals have stepped forward with multi-year sustaining funds. “They are the very foundation of our museum,” Pappas said.
“Recognizing the importance of cultural arts in our community as educational, historical, an enhancement to quality of life and a boost to tourism, the City of Pell City and St. Clair County have been supportive with appropriations over the past three years. Without their support, we could not have come this far.”
When the museum opened in a 4,000 square foot space provided by the City of Pell City, its mission was to preserve and promote the rich history of the city. Billing itself as the “small city museum that thinks big,” in less than three years it has attracted over 5,000 visitors from all over the state, country and points around the world.
It has created innovative, interactive exhibits highlighting the people, places and events that have shaped the city’s history, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
In October, the museum will reach back to the city’s real roots – Avondale Mills – with an impressive, interactive exhibition to celebrate and pay tribute to its first industry. Never-before-displayed artifacts, photographs and exhibits will tell the story of those early days along with a special film of oral histories premiering at the opening.
“As they say, we’ve come a long way since then,” Pappas said, “and Museum of Pell City is honored to be able to share that story along with countless others.”
