Category: St. Clair Tourism

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.

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 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.”

Quilting is art, storytelling, therapy

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzie Free

It was 1863, and America was imploding, ravaged by the effects of the Civil War. Brother met brother in battle, homes were burned and cities destroyed.

In Bennington County, Vermont, 46-year-old Jane A. Stickle channeled her energy, creativity and wartime grief into creating what is now one of the most famous quilts in the world. She stitched into one corner of her masterpiece the simple, yet haunting words – “In War Time 1863.”

Stickle’s quilt, now called the “Dear Jane” quilt, is a sampler, meaning that each of the squares is unique. Unlike most sampler quilts which typically use blocks created by different quilters, Stickle created each of the elements herself. She created most of the patterns for the blocks herself, utilizing established patterns for less than a third of her quilt. She also did not repeat a patterned fabric in any of the blocks.

The Dear Jane quilt has been housed in the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont, for nearly seven decades. To protect the integrity of the fragile fabrics, the quilt is only displayed for one month each year, with thousands of quilters making the pilgrimage from as far away as Europe and Australia to view the piece.

Rhonda Humphries has not yet been to see Stickle’s Dear Jane quilt but has spent thousands of hours on her own replica. Humphries, a member of the Friendship Quilters Guild of St. Clair County, was encouraged in the project by other guild members and her friend and mentor, Brenda Franklin.

Undaunted by the 5,602 individual pieces it takes to make the project, Humphries worked for two and a half years until the 169 five-inch blocks, 52 triangles, and four corner kites came together in her own finished masterpiece.

Humphries used Civil War era reproduction fabric and followed patterns created by Brenda Manges Papadakis, who viewed Jane’s original quilt in the museum in 1992 and meticulously traced each piece.

Papadakis so admired Stickle’s work that she was inspired to write a book published four years later called The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt, which included the patterns quilters could use to reproduce the quilt. Many quilters are inspired by the Dear Jane Quilt, and many bring their finished pieces when they make the trip to the Bennington Museum to view the original.

Like the Dear Jane Quilt, Humphries’ quilt is hand-pieced and hand-stitched, an effort that took incredible patience, perseverance and precision. “The most difficult part,” says Humphries, “was one block with a star inside. It’s made up of 30 pieces and, by itself, took three days to complete.” She has been quilting for eight years and has made 40-50 quilts but hadn’t done many quilts at the time she took on this challenge.

“Most people who start this quilt do not finish. It’s pretty involved,” admits Humphries. The blue ribbon and people’s choice awards from her recent entry in a quilt show pinned to the top say the effort has been well appreciated.

Humphries’ quilt was on display recently in a special exhibit at the Museum of Pell City, along with dozens of other quilts made by members of the Friendship Quilters Guild. Looking at each quilt is like looking at fine art in a gallery. Each quilt tells a story, whether one of whimsey or of more important historical matters.

Naomi Kircus is the creator of The Underground Railroad quilt. Its blocks relate the story of the freedom seekers during abolition. Created with Civil War replica fabric, the quilt is made up of 16 blocks, each a reproduction of one that would hang in the windows of safe houses. “When the slaves were running for their freedom, people would have safe places for them to stay,” explained Kircus. “They would display quilts [in the windows] where each of the squares was a message they were communicating to those they were helping.”

The personal narratives and messages communicated through quilting continue to be a source of pride and precious history for families and communities today. Quilts are handed down from generation to generation, becoming treasured heirlooms.

The Friendship Quilters Guild occasionally offers classes in quilting for those wanting to learn the skills and process. The guild has been together for more than 25 years and meets on the second Saturday of each month at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Pell City.

Organizer of the quilt exhibit and guild member Deb Cearley adds that the group has a passion for service. They make covers for cancer ports, fidget quilts, hospital bedrail bags and full-size quilts that they donate to area hospitals, cancer centers and hospice groups. 

“Service is the main thing we do,” said Cearley. “I came to a program here for Veterans and saw many of them come in with their blankets on their laps in their wheelchairs, and that just inspired us to make more.” They also provide placemats for Meals on Wheels and pet beds for Pell City’s animal shelter.

Florence Kerr, one of the oldest standing members of the organization, adds one more benefit to quilting, beyond its artistic and storytelling value. “Quilting is therapy,” she says. “It’s therapy because you have to be in a quiet place and really focus on the process.”

Perhaps the process really is the heart of the matter for the quilt’s creator, though it is the product that inspires the rest of us.