Category: St. Clair Tourism

Beyond the Arena

St. Clair Agriculture & Multi-Event Center
is so much more than original rodeo venue

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Mackenzie Free
Submitted Photos

The St. Clair County Arena in Odenville has been home to rodeos and agricultural shows for many years, but today, it is so much more. Over the past 12 months, it has hosted a dog show, a vintage market, a circus and a county fair.

The Event Center next door is a pickleball mecca to rival any courts in the county.

In other words, the Arena ain’t just a place for agricultural shows anymore. The official title may give a hint to the depth of its overall scope: St. Clair Agriculture and Multi-Event Center.

“We wanted more than just an agricultural center,” says County Commissioner Jeff Brown. “And that’s what we have. We can do a dog show one day, a circus the next. I give (Arena Director) Ashley (Hay) a ton of credit. She’s easy to work with. The original board that ran it needs credit, too. It started from nothing.”

The county bought the Arena, 25.6 acres of land and an office building in 2010 from Randy and Michelle Spence for $551,197. For 11 years, it was used for rodeos and other horse-related events. During COVID, the county received a $1 million federal grant to build an emergency facility, called a Pandemic Center, that they could operate from in the event of a natural disaster. That grant changed everything.

“I came aboard in 2021, and the grant had already been awarded,” says Hay.

“The county commission looked for a way to use the grant to best help the entire county. Only the Arena was here then.”

Hay says that grant required a large, unobstructed space, restrooms, as well as storage to be utilized by EMA. The county commission looked for ways that the facility could be used for more than just emergencies, though. This led to the addition of a sport-court surface, bleachers, retractable basketball goals and equipment for volleyball and pickleball in the Event Center.

“This building was attached to an existing older building that had administrative offices and the cowboy church,” says Hay. “The concession stand with restrooms and showers was built a while ago.”

Both the Arena and the indoor, 12,000-square-foot Event Center are membership facilities available to anyone. “We have a lock box for daily use, or you can sign up online. We have about 100 members right now. The cost is $100 for an annual membership, but daily memberships are obtainable, too.”

Pickleball players have five days a week to play their favorite game. “They are pretty dedicated folks,” Hay says. “And they say ours is one of the nicest facilities within 100 miles. We have pickleball classes, but we don’t have programs, so we’re able to offer more open gym time.”

The Event Center offers summer membership for kids, too. The Center’s Facebook page is the best place to check out the schedules.

“We’re the only arena in our area that I know of that allows open rides as much as we do,” Hay says. “Horseback riders can come any time between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. When they register, they get access to opening the gates. We have 80 horse-riding members. One woman comes with her baby at 6 a.m. because it’s the only time she can.”

Early history

Originally, the county created a parks and recreation board to run the facility, appointing Lude Mashburn of Odenville, the late Hershel Walker of Argo, Don Smith of Springville, Brad Sanders of Odenville and Kenny Womack of Riverside as members. A couple of years later, Womack was replaced by Jimmy Hollander, also of Riverside. The board elected Mashburn as chairman.

“The county had a vision, and they appointed the board to run it,” says Mashburn, who was an agricultural science teacher at St. Clair County High School at that time. “They turned everything over to us, and we ran it. We put in the dirt for the Arena floor, bought a tractor to keep it compacted during rodeos, all that. But the county never funded it for the 10 years we had it, except for building the restrooms and the bleachers. Then things kinda changed when the county got COVID money.”

The board was officially dissolved on February 10, 2022, and the property and facility are now funded and managed by the St. Clair County Commission, according to County Administrator Tina Morgan. Board members at the time of dissolution were Chairman Lude Mashburn, Jimmy Hollander, Brad Sanders, Candi Jones and Donnie Smith.

The county covered the bleachers and Arena, added lights and industrial overhead fans. The bleachers seat 800, with extra seating brought in for rodeos, pushing that total to 1,200 seats as needed. The Arena itself is 22,000 square feet. “In March, April and May, then again in September, October and November, there’s an event every weekend,” Ashley Hay says. “We have had car shows, a community yard sale, barrel racing, ranch sorting, a pig squeal and a county fair.”

Youth timed events such as barrel and pole races and goat tying are still held there. “We have more equine events than anything else at the Arena,” Hay says. “We also have lots of banquets in the Event Center. We’re working on grants for developing the 12-15 acres at the back of the property, including a multi-use trail for walking, horseback riding and bicycles. We also want to do RV hookups so folks can park for the time they are in a show.”

Local youths take part in Pickleball Events Group clinic

Hay’s background is in parks and recreation, having worked for the city of Springville before St. Clair County. Originally from Kansas, she moved here in 2018 because her husband is from Alabama. “I was a high school volleyball and basketball coach, then got into parks and recreation after that,” she says. “I really enjoy it. I started and grew the parks and recreation program in Springville. Then they asked me to do the same here.”

Under Hay’s management, the facility has added a wash bay, industrial fans, lighting, an uncovered, warm-up pen behind the Arena, and everything inside of the Event Center. It has improved parking and upgraded the PA system, too. Hay added a Facebook page and advertisements on Radio Station 94.1. “I feel like things are running well,” she says. “We’re trying to expand the types of programs we have.”

Besides all the public functions, the Arena and Event Center are available to rent by individuals for volleyball and basketball games, for wedding receptions, banquets and other private events. “We have had a wedding, and they brought horses,” Hay says. “The wedding was in the back pasture, and the Arena was where they held the reception. It’s a $750 fee for two days’ rental, and that’s dang cheap in comparison to other facilities of similar size.”

The Arena hosted a circus in February 2025, and the Gala of World Horses in the Fall of 2024. “The Gala had never been to Alabama before,” Hay says.

At least two dozen trailers were parked outside the Arena for a recent Buckle Series, a barrel racing event. Several horses stood tied to trailers, munching hay from their hanging bags. Riders walked their horses in circles, getting them ready for the event. One of those riders was Emmaline Puckett, 9, of Ashville. She has been racing since she was five or six, and like most of the other competitors, usually comes early to put her horse through its paces.

“We’re members here, so if the weather is bad, we come over here to practice barrels,” says Emmaline’s mom, Christina Puckett. “We’re very thankful for this place.”

Tyler and Jayclyn Cobb of Blount County came to watch the barrel race, even though Jayclyn couldn’t compete as usual because her mare has been bred. “We love coming here, Jayclyn says. “It’s covered, shaded, not as hot as other places.”

“A lot of people have really done a great job with the Arena from the get-go,” says Commissioner Brown. “The board members deserve a lot of the credit. We (the county) had the ideas, and they made it happen.

“That board served for free, put in a lot of hours, even parked cars during events. They deserve all the credit.”

Features

Chandler Mountain

St. Clair’s place of sacred beauty

By Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzine Free

For many, the mention of Chandler Mountain brings to mind images of big, beautiful, savory tomatoes. But the roots of the mountain’s history run far deeper than those lovely fruits or even of those families that have farmed them for generations. Archaeologists are now calling the mountain a place of profound Native American cultural significance, having documented several sites on and around the mountain.

These sites, formally verified by archaeologists over the last two years, include pictographs, which are paintings on stone using the pigment, called red ochre, found in the dirt. There are at least eight documented sites containing pictographs, cairns, snake walls and other various rock formations attributed to the area’s Native American heritage. Next month, archaeologists are planning to visit an additional five areas that may also contain significant indigenous findings.

Those culturally significant Native American findings were instrumental in saving Chandler Mountain residents from the fallout from a proposed Alabama Power dam project. Alabama Power had planned to build a pumped storage hydroelectric facility that would have pumped water from Neely Henry Lake up the mountain to a reservoir and dam at the top, the intent of which was to created electricity by releasing water at peak use times to flow down the mountain to four dams below.

The building and operation of the project would have forever changed the landscape of the mountainside and residents banded together to fight. They created Save Chandler Mountain, a 501c3 non-profit, and began working to build a case to oppose the dam project. “The project was a net-negative program, meaning it would have used more energy than it created,” said Fran Summerlin, the organization’s president. “It was going to get rid of so much farmland and so many houses.”

Summerlin explained that the organization reached out to archaeologists and cultural heritage people and found common ground with the people who originally lived on the land, members of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama. Both current residents and the Indigenous people of the area were desperate to save the land and protect its features.

Seth Penn is a member of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama and was, at the time of the proposed dam project, the southeastern coordinator for the Indian Nations Conservation Alliance (INCA). Fighting to promote Native American culture and to protect sacred sites was his mission and that dovetailed well with Save Chandler Mountain’s mission. Penn, who has degrees in both cultural anthropology and natural resource conservation management, with minors in Cherokee studies and language, lives in north Alabama, but has ancestral ties to both Etowah and St. Clair counties.

“Chandler Mountain and that area was a place where multiple tribal territories came together,” Penn explains. “You had the Cherokee people, various branches of Muskogee, as well as Choctaws and Chickasaw too. This was a special place where various tribes would come together to trade and to talk through things and to try to work things out peacefully.”

A popular destination – Horse Pens 40 – for bouldering, entertainment, festivals and views

So, their work together began by inviting noted archaeologist David Johnson to visit the mountain. Johnson, who is from Poughkeepsie, New York, had successfully documented Native American sacred and ceremonial landscapes along the lower Hudson Valley, which was instrumental in saving Split Rock Mountain, a land sacred to the Ramapo Munsee Lenape Nation. “We were having a ceremony celebrating the saving of Split Rock Mountain and Seth Penn and his mother came from northeast Alabama,” said Johnson. “I walked him around that site and showed him the stone features. He said I needed to come to Alabama.”

“I made the drive down to Huntsville and met with Seth’s tribe,” Johnson continued. “Within the first two days, we found two ceremonial landscape sites that the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama knew nothing about.” It was at the presentation he gave to the tribe about his findings that he met some visitors who came up from Chandler Mountain. “They asked me to come look and I went down for two days for a quick look. What I saw was enough that I went back and have documented eight major sites there.”

The shape of the mountain itself is unique in that, unlike typical mountains that rise to a peak, the top of Chandler Mountain is a plateau, flat at the top with a dip, or bowl in the middle. The shape is a natural occurrence, formed during the creation of the Appalachian Mountains hundreds of millions of years ago. The flat top made the mountain ideal for the ceremonial and tribal activities, according to Johnson, with plenty of room for tribes to meet, to trade, to work through disputes, and to pray.

The mountain is known as the tomato capital

“You don’t usually find a lot of artifacts at this type of site,” says Johnson. “You don’t find a lot of broken arrows and firepits because that’s not what they did here. This was a special place, a sacred place.” Those types of artifacts, he explains, are found in habitation sites, archaeological sites where cultures lived and slept.

“There are ceremonially significant places on the mountain, as well as in the whole region,” Penn explains. “There are places where you see the presence of that confirmed through various rock formations, art, and things along those lines that are centuries old. It affirms the long-lasting presence of Indigenous people there.” It’s a place that local Native Americans still go to pray. “We go to these sacred places where we are able to stand in present time, but lock arms with our ancestors, the ancients, to pray.”

The land is sacred, too, to those who live and farm the land today. “There are places there with history, with stories, with blood, sweat and tears that have been poured into that land,” Penn continues. “If that dam project had happened, it would have erased the history of Indigenous people from thousands of years ago, but would also have erased a lot of history from the present inhabitants of that land and their families.”

Charles Abercrombie’s family is deeply ingrained in the history of the area. For more than 75 years, he has lived on land on the side of Chandler Mountain that was once part of the homestead of Joel Chandler, for whom the mountain is named. Chandler received the land as payment for his work as a soldier in the Creek Indian War. Abercrombie still has the land grant signed by Andrew Jackson. The land has been owned by the Abercrombie family since 1894, and Abercrombie says he would fight to protect his land from any threat. “When all this started, I went to an eminent domain attorney,” Abercrombie said. “I was willing to go to the Supreme Court, if I had to.”

He did not have to go to the Supreme Court. As a result of feedback from residents and pushback from Twinkle Cavanaugh, then Alabama Public Service Commission president, the application for the Alabama Power dam project on Chandler Mountain was withdrawn and the mountain, with its beautiful landscape and rich history was saved.

“Bringing these potential cultural losses to the forefront may have contributed to the demise of the project, but important political opposition is probably what made the difference,” says Terry Henderson. Henderson, whose family has been around the mountain and Canoe Creek since around 1850, has lived on the south brow of the mountain for two years. He is married to Linda Derry, a professional historical archaeologist, and worries as much about “unrestrained and uncontrolled visitation” in the area. “These properties, structures, and vistas should be protected through legal, enforceable, verifiable development and access restraints,” says Henderson.

Ben Lyon agrees. He was drawn to the mountain as a rock climber 20 years ago and has lived there for the past 12 years. His property contains red ochre drawings and other findings important to Native American culture. “I believe it’s as important as anything to preserve these,” says Lyons. “It’s one of the few examples of pre-Woodlands depictions in the Coosa River Valley.”

Lyon says saving the mountain and its cultural history is important for the future of the children and for the families who make their living on the land. “There’s a way of life on Chandler Mountain that would have been lost, and about a third of the mountain would have been lost,” said Lyon.

Chandler Mountain is a place of tranquil beauty, a place where families live off the land and spend time in the outdoors. It’s a land of history, of promise, and carries with it the burden of conserving it for future generations. Conservationist Aldo Leopold stressed the importance of that responsibility when he wrote, “The oldest task in human history is to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.” Together, the mountain’s current residents and those representing their Indigenous predecessors have made sure this sacred mountain will not be spoiled.

Features

Camino de Santiago

Pell City resident makes the journey of a lifetime

Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos

For the pilgrims who annually flock to Spain from around the world to walk all or part of the Camino de Santiago, the reasons for their journey are as varied as they are.

For the hikers, it can be a trek of faith, fellowship, revelry, reflection, exploration or a communion with God and nature. Known as the Way of St. James, it might well be a tour mixing all of the above, ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, where it is believed the remains of St. James the Great rest.

They made it! Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

For Jean Barnett of Pell City, her 70-mile, weeklong journey on a portion of the Camino Frances or French Way, was a moveable feast of all of the above. The spark for her journey was first ignited by her yoga instructor, Terri Sellers, a five-time veteran of the journey, who was organizing a Camino trip for a small group of friends.

“I heard her talking about walking across Spain, going on this pilgrimage, and I was intrigued. I’d heard of it many years ago, and I decided if I didn’t do it now, I might never do it,” Barnett said.

Multiple reasons fueled her desire to tackle the journey.

“The challenge drew me in,” she said. “But the opportunity to do it with friends who were like minded attracted me to it.”

It came at a time, too, when she had wrestled with family health challenges.

“(The Camino) was just something I felt like I wanted to experience – to get back out and spend some time exploring and doing something that sounded challenging but was doable,” she said.

And there was the spiritual side.

“People have a lot of reasons for doing it, and mine was somewhat religious,” she said. “But being out on the trail gives you a chance to really meditate and have an opportunity to just kind of be with yourself paired with many opportunities for fellowship along the way. But I took time to pray and listen to the sounds of nature, which was one of the things I really loved – the early morning walks, listening to the bird calls, just the sounds of the world waking up.”

She added, “To be out there in a place where you could just be by yourself and think.”

And there were times of fellowship with her group and with other travelers along the road.

Rainy walk with crowd of Poncho-clad pilgrims nearing Santiago

“There’s a balance there,” she said.

Barnett, a former runner who competed in half-marathons, moved at a more deliberate pace in her pilgrimage. Deep reflection, introspection and fellowship don’t move at a racer’s pace. Camino de Santiago is an opportunity to escape from the daily grind.

“It’s something of a distraction that takes you out of your role in day-to-day life and the chance to just kind of contemplate the world and your purpose,” Barnett said.

Amid the deeper moments, there are the earthlier concerns, from fatigue to blisters on the trail. “You just take every day as it comes and deal with it,” she said.

What is the Camino de Santiago?

In 820, a tomb was discovered in Galicia believed to be the final resting place of St. James the Great. According to “The Camino de Santiago Survival Guide,” while the details are a bit fuzzy, the “Camino” was the beginning of Christian pilgrimages. It is believed that in 920, a Frenchman, Bretanaldo, was the first foreigner to walk the Camino. Some 438,683 people completed the Camino via a network of different routes and via different means. While nearly 95 percent of travelers walk the Camino, others travel via bicycle, horseback, sailboat, on crutches or in a wheelchair.

One interesting note: Some famous people have made the pilgrimage, including the King and Queen of Belgium, television host Jenna Bush Hagar and the acclaimed actor Martin Sheen.

There are several different routes for the Camino, all ending at the Cathedral de Santiago. As they get closer to Santiago and the Cathedral, they merge into one trail, crowded with pilgrims. Here is a glimpse of the trails, taken from The Camino De Santiago Survival Guide:

The French (Frances) Way: This is the most commonly taken route of 780 kilometers from Roncesvalles to Galicia. This route passes through Pamplona, famous for the Running of the Bulls, written about in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

Barnett and her group began their 70-mile journey in the town of Sarria.

The Northern (Norte) Way begins in Irun and passes through Bilbao, San Sebastian and other towns before entering Galicia.

The Primitive Way: Beginning in Oviedo, this 321-kilometer journey merges with the French and Northern routes near the end.

The English Way (Ingles): The route, which begins in either Coruna or Ferrol and ends in Santiago is named for the pilgrims who originally traveled from the United Kingdom. The distance from Ferrol is 110 km. From Coruna, the distance is 75 km.

The Portuguese Way begins in either Lisbon, or more commonly in Porto. The inland route from the Portuguese capital Lisbon is 600 km, 620 km by the coastal route. From Porto, the inland trek is 230 km, 260 km the coastal way.

The Via de la Plata: The 1,000 km route begins in Seville, Spain and runs inland before arriving in Galicia.

Preparation and an early challenge on the trail

While others will travel all of one of the routes and “rough it” along the way, Barnett’s group traveled with a support van. Hotel reservations along the route were made in advance.

There were checkpoints along the way offering water and snacks and stops for lunch and dinner. Their luggage was also transported. It was somewhat akin to sherpas who aid hikers on an Everest journey.

One of the path markers outside historic church

“I’ve heard it referred to as “Pilgrim Lite,” she said. “We really did have a lot of support along the way, which made it really doable.”

The Camino requires preparation physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

“You know, I don’t think I adequately prepared for it, actually. I was so busy with everyday life and the things I had to do to make sure while I was gone my family was taken care of,” she said. “There was a lot I had to take care of before I could get away.”

At home, she’s also involved at her church, Pell City First United Methodist in trying to help it grow, and she was in rehab for a back injury for six weeks before the trip.”

“I wasn’t as adequately prepared as I needed to be – spiritually, mentally, any of that,” Barnett said. “The therapists helped me get to a point where I could do it without suffering too much.”

The biggest physical challenge came shortly after the long flight from the States to Europe. “On the first day, I got scared,” she said. There was swelling in my lower legs, and the trail was hilly with long inclines and declines. I had a hard time keeping my heart rate down because the swelling was putting pressure on my heart … I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it. I just had to take it very slow.”

A pair of compression socks saved her journey. Asked if that first day was the hardest on her portion of the Camino Frances, Barnett said, “Absolutely, it was. After that first day, it wasn’t a problem. But it was still very challenging. That’s a lot of miles, and it was hilly.”

That first day caused her to consider giving up, but the support and advice of her group kept her going. “I was ready to try again,” she said. “I didn’t want to give up.”

A favorite memory – moss-covered stone walls on a tree-lined path

For Barnett, the journey was part solitude, part introspection, part fellowship and more, a hybrid of all the reasons travelers make the pilgrimage. She and her group entered Santiago on the Thursday before Easter. After completing her Camino, she attended Easter Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady in Porto, Portugal.

“It was amazingly beautiful and spiritual to celebrate in Porto’s majestic ancient cathedral,” she said.

While that may have been the spiritual climax of her trip, Barnett also encountered inspiration in human form. A pilgrim in front of her was walking slowly, with difficulty.

“As I got closer, I realized he was walking on crutches and carrying a backpack,” she said. “It occurred to me, that whatever issues I had or have in my life, I don’t have crutches. For him to take the journey and make it happen, it just touched me. He was my hero.”

As she came alongside the man, she spoke to him.

“He had the most joyful, radiant smile,” Barnett recalled. “He had some age on him, but here he was doing something that most people on crutches would just consider impossible. And he was happy.”

There were other surprises on the walk. Musicians, alongside the trail, buskers who would happily take a Euro or two tossed into an open cello or guitar case, serenaded pilgrims. Groups of young people sang joyfully or laughed as they walked. Barnett encountered fellow pilgrims from around the world, on the trail and in bars and cafés in the villages along the route.

Nature offered signs of spring and of renewal, a pasture full of lambs or calves.

“It gave me another thought, to take this this time and think about the future and the importance of having this life and how you spend your time,” Barnett said.

As she passed centuries-old buildings, Barnett considered the early pilgrims in ancient days who made this journey.

“They did not have the modern conveniences we have – the high-tech shoes and gear – all the things that we access so easily. What did they do when they had issues? … We have so much.”

A favorite memory for Barnett is when she walked a tree-lined path along a stone wall covered in moss. “The moss was glistening, and it looked like carpeting in the shape of the rocks of the wall,” she said. “It was leading you from where you’ve been to where you’re going. It was a gorgeous, magical fairyland.”

She also warmly recalled the fragrance of a eucalyptus forest, ancient buildings, lovely murals. The Camino experience left her forever changed.

“It gave me a chance to focus on what’s important in life. We get so tied up in the daily routine, grocery shopping and cooking meals, and (the trip) gave me a chance for an inward focus, to think about the things that are important in life and relationships and this big world. There are so many places to go and people to meet. It’s eye opening.”

It helped her realize that “being on the Camino is a lot like life. You have to do what you need to do to get from Point A to Point B each day. But in this scenario, you are in nature all the time.”

And at each day’s end, as she laid down to sleep, she remembered the people, places and things she saw – welcoming people in breathtaking, yet peaceful places.

“It was a good time to take a pause in life, even though I was in motion most of the time. It was a pause for your mind to open up more to the spiritual aspect. Being outside. Communing with nature. Thinking about this wonderful world and God and what He has created for us and the responsibility that comes with preserving it.”

The Camino also impacted her perspective on the world.

“I wasn’t bombarded with news, but staying out of the daily news was good for my soul and good for my mind. (In the news), there’s always the bad and negative things going on. The Camino forces you to focus on the good and the beautiful.”

And when she arrived with her fellow pilgrims at the Cathedral of St. James the Great, she was greeted with cheers and applause. She wept with joy at the memory. They were there with pilgrims who had trekked the entire Camino de Santiago, but that did not dampen her triumphal entry.

“Oh my gosh, that was exhilarating,” Barnett said. “It was pouring rain off and on all day, and it was raining when we got to Santiago. But we were so excited to see the cathedral, to end the journey. About 10 kilometers out you could see the spires of the cathedral. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. It put more energy into our final few steps. … The energy level was amazing.”

It impacted her relationship with God.

“When I feel close to nature, I feel close to God. It’s an opportunity for a conversation with God. It was an opportunity to pray and to meditate while listening to nature.”

She thought of nature and art and history along the way – and the pilgrim on crutches.

“I felt blessed to speak to that man who was making his way at his pace with this huge smile on his face, and it made me think how blessed I was to be able to do this with a great group of people.”

Barnett offered a quote from Sellers, the yoga instructor who in part inspired her to tackle part of the Camino, a journey of beauty, discovery and the Divine. “It’s not about what you take with you, it’s what you leave behind.”

What did Barnett leave behind?

“I tried to leave stress and worry and take (home) the joy that I experienced.”

She offered counsel to those who may be considering the Camino de Santiago or any other challenge in life. “Follow your dreams,” she said. “If there’s something you want to experience, then make it happen. It’s a great big, beautiful world. Don’t shy away from something that, though it may be challenging, is an opportunity for growth.”

The trip, simply put, was “very nourishing for my soul.”

Quoting Sellers again, she described the magical, mystical journey: “As we venture away from our everyday lives and from the script of a typical trip or vacation, we are invited to open our eyes, hearts and minds to being a stranger in a strange land and see each day as unfolding minute by minute, step by step into a journey of challenge, renewal and hope. In other words, we are off on an adventure, and while it will offer times of comfort and awe, there may be times of challenge and obstacles. It comes with the Way.”

Features

Big Canoe Creek: Explore a world of biodiversity

Biodiversity abounds at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve. Just look around you.

Trees form more than just shade on a warm, sunny day. They represent the diversity of the preserve’s dense forest. Find beech, red and sugar maple trees as well as stands of river cane.

Among the hardwood and pine forests, discover native plants – wild azaleas, oak leaf hydrangeas, mountain laurels and buckeyes.

Want to go bird watching? There’s plenty to see! So far, eBird’s list of the species spotted there is up to 84, ranging from the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker to the Great Horned Owl and dozens in between. Even the Summer Tanager, the only totally red bird in North America, has made an appearance.

If you need help identifying all of them, just download the Merlin Bird ID app developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on your cell phone. It is a handy helper to determine which tweet is which. Don’t forget to take your binoculars!

And the preserve’s namesake, Big Canoe Creek, is home to more than 50 species of fish, including the rare Trispot Darter, discovered in 2008 in Little Canoe Creek. It is a species that used to be found in Alabama but had not been seen in nearly 50 years. It is now listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, as threatened.

Mussels, nature’s own water filter, were once in “great supply” in Big Canoe Creek, which has retained most of its species and has kept the creek pristine, underscoring its ecological integrity. However, the Canoe Creek Clubshell (Pleurobema athearni) found nowhere else but in Big Canoe Creek is listed under the Endangered Species Act, as recently as 2022 as “endangered”. There is an effort underway to assess the watershed and determine what steps can be taken to keep this species from extinction.

Big Canoe Creek has eight federally listed freshwater mussel species, and its 18-mile main stem stretch was designated a ‘critical habitat’ under the Endangered Species Act in 2004. l

The Railroad Auction House

Center of great buys and entertainment

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Mackenzie Free

“Hey, well, alright sir.
Here we go there and what are ya’ gonna give for ‘em?
I have a 600 dollar down here now ten and now 25 and
Now 35 and now there 50 now 60 will ya’ give me 60?
Now 75, 75 another 85 dollars and buy ‘em there.

It’s Saturday night at the Railroad Auction House in Steele.

General merchandise – thermal socks, gloves, cookware, purses and makeup bags, speakers and phone chargers, are displayed in boxes and packages on and around tables on one side of the room.

In front of the raised auctioneer’s booth, more tables display toys and tool sets, pet beds, jewelry and glassware. Others hold a pile of blankets, a heater, a drone, an espresso machine and more.

It’s like a going-out-of-business sale at Big Lots, except there are no price tags, and people bid on the items, hoping to get them at a price they want to pay.

Seller Linda Robbins holds up a drone from her stock of merchandise

Many of those people are regulars here, bringing their canvas shopping bags and their registered bid cards each week. Most of them leave with their bags full. But it’s not just the merchandise that attracts them. The whole affair is sheer entertainment, which suits the auction house just fine.

“I want everybody to have a good time,” says owner/auctioneer Henry Whisenant. “That’s my goal, to make it entertaining and fun to be here. We’re family-oriented, and we give people things to laugh about.”

Henry knows most of the regulars, calling them out by name. “You want two of these, Bernice?,” he asks one patron regarding aprons that go for $5 each. Speaking about another woman who places a bid on ear muffs, he jokes, “She says she wants ‘em so she can’t hear hubby snore at night.”

Tim Abernathy and his wife, Teresa, frequently drive from Sand Rock to shop and have fun. “We bought all our Christmas gifts here last year, spent about $600-plus,” Teresa says.

“We come here every weekend,” says Christina Lynn, the other half of the “we” being husband Charles. “We like the people who own it, and it’s a good place to buy stuff you need. I buy food, things that I want like home decorations. You never know what you will find. They have good products, and it’s a fun environment.”

25 dollar bid it now, 30 dollar 30
Will you gimmie 30 make it 30
Bid it on a 30 dollar will you gimmie 30
Who’ll bid a 30 dollar bid?
30 dollar bid it now, 35, will you gimmie 35
To make it 35 to bid at 30
Who would a-bid it at a 35 dollar bid?

Each person who wants to bid has anassignednumber, one that he keeps from week to week. Numbers are recorded alongside names so the house can collect payments at the end. The house makes its money by taking a percentage of the sales.

“We have different sellers each week,” Henry says. “Most of the time we have what we call a main hauler, who brings in most of the items for sale that night. They buy in bulk at other locations and sell individually here.”

Tonight’s “main hauler” is Linda Robbins, who brought a lot of personal-use and gift items. “Our prices are cheaper than the box stores,” she says. “It’s one avenue to get out surplus merchandise, and it’s lots of fun.”

John Whisenant (Henry’s son) acts as a sort of runner, going up and down the aisles holding up small goods as his dad goes through the bidding, which includes a description of the product. Carol Ditto or Corey Whisenant, John’s wife, type it into the computer. Once the bid closes, the high bidder gets as many of the items as he or she wants, then other bidders get a chance at what’s left.

“Say the seller wants $10 each for certain items, and the winning bid was $8,” Henry explains. “They will take care of the winning bidder and if there are multiples, high bidder gets what he wants first. Then they go back to second highest for next choice at $10 each. First comes the high bidder, then the backup bidder, then all who bid on it, then seller opens up what’s left to the floor.”

35 dollar bid it now a 40 dollar 40
Will you gimmie 40 make it 40
Bidin’ it on a 40 dollar will you gimmie 40
Who’ll bid a 40 dollar bid?
40 dollar bid it now, 45, will you gimmie 45
To make it a 45 to bid it a 45
Who would a-bid it at a 45 dollar bid?

While Henry is doing his selling chant, John will call out “821 for 3,” etc., referring to the number of the bidder and how many he wants to buy. As John holds up Bluetooth speakers shaped like toy cars with built-in AM/FM radios and headlights that actually light up, his dad tries to start the bidding at $35 each. He has to keep coming down before he finally gets a bid of $20. Then he gets it up to $22.50, then $25, then SOLD!

Allison Whisenant, Henry’s granddaughter and John and Corey’s daughter, entertains herself

Outside, a train roars by about the time Whisenant ends his

auctioneer’s chant, reminding folks of how the auction house got its name. Henry started this business in May of 2003, and now has a second building for his antiques and vintage collectibles auctions up the road at Steele Wholesale Auction.

“I grew up going to auctions and always wanted to be an auctioneer,” he says. “I’ve been one about 10 years. It took me a long time to get up in front of people. I’ve done different things in the meanwhile, such as mechanic, maintenance man, steel construction and truck driving.”

He went to an auction school to get some training. “The only reason I went was it was out of town and no one knew what I was doing,” he says, laughing. “At that time, I was driving a semi, and it just worked out.”

Henry says he got into auctioneering at an older age than most, so he isn’t as good as some of the younger folks. “We didn’t work a lot on chants in school,” he says of the famous way auctioneers carry on the process of bidding. “It was a nine-day course, and you learn more about how to put on an auction and the business side of it. As for the chant, you gotta run it together, so that, ‘What do you bid?’ becomes, Whattaya bid, whatta gone bid.”

45 dollar bid it now a 50 dollar 50
Will you gimmie 50 make it 50
Bidin’ it on a 50 dollar will you gimmie 50
Who’ll bid a 50 dollar bid?
50 dollar bid it now, 55, will you gimmie 55
To make it a 55 to bid at 55
Sold that hog for a 50 dollar bill

Jeanette Green of Centre, Brenda Leek and grandson Keem of Rome, GA, and Edith Taylor of Gadsden came to the auction together tonight. “They have good sales and some good people here,” says Green. “I bought a lighted bar for the back of my husband’s truck once. I also bought large speakers for cell phone music.”

Leek doesn’t have to worry about entertaining her grandson while at the auction. A child-sized table with games and crayons is set up in one corner, along with a couple of tricycles. So, the little tykes pedal up and down the side lanes during the auction, ignoring the chanting and the bidding.

In the fall, as Christmas nears, some of the regulars buy toys and clothes at the auction and put them in the house’s “Toy Box.” Some folks from Church of the Nazarene in Steele (pastor James and wife DeeDee Kilgore, and Rodney and Brenda Free) take them to the elementary school in Steele, where the faculty distributes them to needy kids at Christmas. If an abundance is left after Christmas, the teachers will award points for good grades, and the kids can use their points to buy what’s left. “The auction house also donates to the Toy Box, and some of the haulers, too,” Henry says.

The aroma of popcorn permeates the air during the auction, temporarily taking a person’s mind off the bidding. Donna Bellew, also from Steele, handles the concession stand, selling snacks such as hot dogs, cheesy nachos, popcorn and canned sodas.

Roy Phillips, Steele, comes for fun, and buys an item or two every now and then. “We sit over here and laugh and carry on,” he says, motioning toward the other two or three people who are on the “old-timers’ bench” with him. The bench alongside one wall was so-named by Henry, the auctioneer, probably because his dad, Henry Sr., of Steele, sits there. Often, they are joined by Ellen Jenkins of Chandler Mountain.

“We come every Saturday for the entertainment,” Phillips says. They talk about how old the building is, how it was a hardware store for many years with a post office in one corner. Paul Pope owned the building back then, and had a gas pump, sold tires, meat, and general merchandise.

Bidder No. 846, Gaynelle Sweatt of Ragland, says this is her first time at the auction. She learned about it on Facebook.

“We’ll be back,” she says.

Editor’s Note: The paragraphs in italics throughout this article are from the 1956 Leroy Van Dyke version of the song, “The Auctioneer,” which was written by Van Dyke and Buddy Black.

Remembering the Revolution

DAR places war memorial marker

Story by Joe Whitten
Photos by Mackenzie Free

All through the night, clouds took turns sobbing over Hopewell Cemetery’s tombstones, cedar trees, and leafless dogwoods, and dawn broke dank and damp. In stark contrast in the older section, the recently cleaned tombstones of Jacob Green, Robert Hood, Sarah Hood and John Hood stood white against the gloom, and a new gray granite marker at Jacob Green’s grave glistened from the rain.

The marker drew members of the Broken Arrow Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to New Hopewell Baptist Church Fellowship Hall on a Saturday morning in January to honor the tribute.

Event preparation began in 2024 when Washington’s DAR National Headquarters announced available grants of $500 to local chapters to celebrate the Semiquincentennial (250^th) celebration of the United States. The grant guidelines stipulated that not only must the Revolutionary War veteran’s grave be in the cemetery, but that some of his descendants must also be entombed there, for the marker is in memory of the veteran’s descendants in the same cemetery.

Broken Arrow member Ann Coupland suggested Jacob Green because she knew he was buried at Hopewell Cemetery, and that the Gadsden DAR chapter had placed a tombstone at his grave in 1937. Further, Ann also knew that his name and John Hood’s were not on the Revolutionary War Veterans marker behind the Inzer House.

Choosing John Hood was almost serendipitous. One day, Mindy Manners, Regent of Broken Arrow Chapter, was walking in Hopewell Cemetery near Jacob Green’s resting place. Just a few graves away from Green’s, she saw the tombstone for Robert Hood, “Born April 1793, Died April 12, 1858.” The 1793 date caused her to think Robert had Revolutionary War connections. Back home, she researched Robert’s ancestry and found his father, John Hood, and his service record.

Buried next to Robert is his wife, Sarah (1792-1855); and next to her is their son, Rev. John Hood (1820-1851); however, there’s no stone for John Hood there. Where is he buried?

John Hood lies in an unmarked grave which some writers and researchers have speculated is in the Ashville Cemetery. However, Hopewell Cemetery is more likely for three reasons. First, his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson are interred there. Second, Daniel Hood in his paper titled, “The Noah Hood Family,” states, “The Hood family has been associated with the Hopewell Baptist Church since its construction (organization) in July 1830. Five Hoods were charter members.

Indeed, in the Hopewell Cemetery, Hoods account for some of the earliest residents.” Third, from 19^th century obituaries that the community of Hood’s existed, for it is recorded as place of residence, as in Roland Hood’s obituary, Aug. 29, 1889, in The Southern Aegis. “Died on Aug. 25, 1889, at his residence near Hood’s this county, Roland Hood, age 71 years. He had lived in the neighborhood where he breathed his last all his life, except for two years.” So, there exists a strong connection with the Hood family, the church, the cemetery and the community.

Broken Arrow members were busy in the Fellowship Hall, where some decorated tables with patriotic colors, miniature stars and stripes, and flower arrangements, while others set out refreshments. One of those members is especially noteworthy, Emma Scott Milam. She is the only surviving charter member of the Broken Arrow Chapter which was established a little over 70 years ago. As soon as she turned 18, her aunt had her sign the papers to come in as a charter member.

Members of the Green and Hood families and other visitors gradually filled the room as the Fellowship Hall program hour arrived.

Following the opening prayer by Chaplain Emma Milam, the Alabama Society of the Sons of American Revolution Color Guard, in 18^th Century military attire, brought the flag to the front for the Pledge of Allegiance, then they placed the flag in its holder.

Next, the assembly read in unison The American’s Creed. Mindy introduced special guests: Rev. Johnny Wilson, host and pastor of New Hopewell; Joe Barker, commander of the SAR Color Guard; Kristi Averette, The Flag of the United States American State Committee Chair, Alabama Society Daughters of the American Revolution; and attending journalist.

Regent Manners related interesting facts about Alabama and St. Clair County Revolutionary War veterans, many of whom moved their families here, and records indicate that more than 700 are buried in Alabama.

Many of the grave markers have been weathered away or destroyed by the passing years, and it is believed that the last veteran to die was William Speer, who lived to be 101. He died in 1859 and is buried in Bivens Chapel Cemetery in Jefferson County.

After the Regent’s remarks, members of Jacob Green’s family were recognized and 8^th generation Josiah Jacob Evans, eight years old, read Jacob’s brief history written by his Aunt Beth Evans-Smith.

Jacob Green’s history resonates with America’s and St. Clair County’s early history. He was born in North Carolina in 1767 and was only nine years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed July 4, 1776. Official records show that an 18-year-old Private Jacob Green was “…paid with interest, on 21 June 1785 for duty done in the Militia in 1782.”

In 1787, 20-year-old Jacob married Frances “Fannie” Baker in North Carolina. Over the years, 10 children blessed their home.

Family records state that Jacob also fought in the War of 1812, and that at the end of the war, perhaps around 1815, Jacob and other men journeyed to Alabama to explore land along the Coosa River. Then in 1818, Jacob and Fannie, now living in South Carolina, resigned their membership in the Buffalo Baptist Church and began the tedious trek to Alabama.

Although the date they arrived in St. Clair County with their six younger children is unclear, Green family researchers believe the family arrived here between 1818 and 1820. The 1820 census records show that Jacob Green owned land in St. Clair County and that he formerly resided in South Carolina.

Jacob built the family’s first home on today’s Greensport Road, a little south of Canoe Creek where U.S. 411 crosses into Etowah County. This spacious home also served for many years as a stop on the Montevallo stagecoach route.

Mary Ellen Sparks wrote in an article, Stagecoach Stop, published Aug. 7, 2019, in the St. Clair Times, “Springer and Pollard Stagecoach Lines ran between Pulaski, Tenn., and Montevallo for a total of 133 miles. The mail was delivered semi-weekly at $25 per trip. There were 13 mail stops along this route. It traveled through six Alabama counties. The stagecoach would leave Ashville at 4 a.m. and arrive in Montevallo the next day at 9 a.m. It was a 29-hour ride amidst wild animals, inclement weather and probably hostile Indians and Outlaws.”

By the 1830s, there was a need for a ferryboat on the Coosa River to connect St. Clair County with Calhoun County. When the federal government approached Jacob about operating the ferry, he accepted the challenge. Therefore, he left the Stagecoach house and built another spacious house by the river at what came to be called Greensport.

Jacob successfully operated the ferry for some years as age crept up on him. The 1840 census records list a man about Jacob’s age living with Jacob’s daughter, Nannie Green Dill, and her husband. Jacob’s wife, Fannie, must have predeceased him. His name does not appear in the 1850 census.

When Alabama Power constructed Neeley Henry` Dam and Lake, the house was torn down and lake waters soon flooded over where it once stood. Today on Jacob Green’s Coosa River land is the Greensport RV Park and Campground, and the Greensport Marina, a beautiful and peaceful St. Clair County recreational center on Lake Neely Henry, operated by Jacob’s descendants.

John Hood

When the John Hood family was recognized, Anthony Hood read John’s brief history.

His birth date remains a mystery, but researchers think it occurred in the area of 1745 to 1750. He was the eldest son of Tunis and Elizabeth Harrison Hood of Frederick County, Virginia, now a part of Berkeley County, West Verginia.

The Hood families seemed restless, for in 1772 John was in Burk County, North Carolina, then c1775 they moved to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Tunis Hood, John’s father, and other members of the family relocated to Mecklenburg County around 1775, as well.

John’s American Revolution service was with the North Carolina Militia, Salisbury district, made up from Mecklenburg and other counties. Records also show that Tunis Hood gave material aid to Revolutionary forces. John’s brothers, Tunis Jr., Solomon and Robert, served with Mecklenburg County forces as well.

After the war, John moved his family to Greene County, Georgia, around 1792 and stayed there about 24 years before migrating to Alabama c1816. Hood descendants believe John died in 1835 and Sarah in 1837.

John married Sarah “Sallie” Austin in 1777, and they were parents to eight children: Austin, James, Amos, Isaac, Robert, William, Osborn and daughter Lovina. Robert is buried at Hopewell Cemetery.

There is a possible John Hood and Abraham Lincon connection as recorded by Anthony Hood. “John Hood’s mother was Elizabeth Harrison, daughter of John Harrison and granddaughter of Isaiah and Elizabeth Wright Harrison. Elizabeth Wright Harrison died soon after the birth of their fifth child. Isaiah married second to Abigail Smith, and they had three children, with Abigail Harrison being [their] daughter who married Alexander Herring. Abigail Harrison Herring is strongly speculated to be the great-grandmother of Abraham Lincoln, making John Hood a distant cousin to Abraham Lincoln.”

Of special note on other family ties, Elvis Presley is a direct descendant of John Hood. Elvis’s grandmother, Minnie Mae Hood Presley, is John Hood’s great-great-granddaughter. At the Tunis Hood plantation site at Hood’s Crossroads in Mint Hill, North Carolina, there is a plaque commemorating the Elvis connection. Minnie Mae Hood Presley is buried at Graceland.

Tombstones of Robert Hood, Sarah Hood, and Rev. John Hood

When the biographical sketches ended, the DAR ladies served finger foods, hot chocolate and coffee, after which the group reassembled at Jacob Green’s gravesite for the dedication of the memorial:

“COMMEMORATING THE SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL OF / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / WE HONOR THE REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS WHO LIVED IN / ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ALABAMA / AND WHOSE DESCENDANTS ARE BURIED HERE / IN HOPEWELL CEMETERY / JOHN HOOD / JACOB GREEN / MARKER PLACED BY BROKEN ARROW CHAPTER NSDAR / 18 JANUARY 2025.”

Regent Manners dedicatory remarks were thought provoking. “It is fitting that we praise especially here today no famous men. We come instead to honor those who fought and died without recognition.

“Their names and deeds are known only to those who were their comrades, families, and of course, known to God… These ordinary soldiers best symbolize such acts of quiet courage by ordinary people whose reward is that their nation and their freedoms remain secure for future generations.”

She ended her remarks with these words from General George Washington, who knew war and its conquests of exposure, wounds and death: “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.”

Chaplain Milam prayed the dedicatory prayer, followed by the SAR Color Guard firing three rounds with their muskets, much to the delight of the children in attendance.

As the musket smoke wafted away, Rev. Johnny Wilson read the lyrics of Taps, of which the poignant last stanza was a fitting end to the ceremony.

All is well… Fare thee well
Day has gone, night is on.
Thanks and praise, for our days,
‘Neath the sun, ‘Neath the stars, ‘Neath the sky,
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

As folk began drifting back to the Fellowship Hall or the parking lot, clouds drifted apart enough to reveal bits of blue sky above the gray, and feeble sunrays touched the tops of tombstones old and new.

And there in the silent quietness, one might think he heard from far away, the notes of Taps, echoing through the years, “All is well. All is well.”