Nature provides

Pell City Gateway Community Garden growing strong

Story by Paul South
Submitted photos

For more than a decade, on a small piece of God’s good earth, folks here have found sustenance for the body and solace for the soul.

The precious piece of ground is known as Pell City Gateway Community Garden, where a small cadre of volunteers tends to the one-acre field that yields a growing harvest to help the hungry.

The garden has a natural garden area where organizers have recently planted Alabama native plants. The nature sacred area, said Gateway Director Renee Lilly, “Is a really a big deal,”  “The Nature Sacred program is a national program created for people of all faiths by the Nature Sacred Foundation. They wanted to create places where people could be meditative.”

Riley Robinson, Savanna Rutledge, Mercedeze Glanze and Grayson Glanze explore garden’s bounty

Founded by an Iowa couple, Kitty and Tom Stoner, the aim is to create more green spaces in communities to ease the fatigue and clamor of modern life. The idea took root some three decades ago after the Stoners moved to the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. Now known as Sacred Places, the sites “serve as a kind of a healing poultice for people to regain balance as an antidote to stress,” according to the website, naturesacred.org.

The Pell City Gateway Community Garden was established in 2014 on the former Avondale Mills site near downtown Pell City. It later moved to land across from St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church at 3705 Mays Bend Road.

While organizers want the Gateway community garden to be the sacred space, it also holds fast to the mission of raising fresh food – like kale, collards and cabbage in winter. Everything harvested from the garden is donated to the local food pantry and senior center.

At the end of the year 2025 The Anniston-based Northeast Alabama Community Foundation provided an emergency grant to boost a food drive because last winter, the federal government put a hold on funding for the SNAP food assistance program. “They (the foundation) have been good to us,” Lilly said.

Food insecurity and affordability have added to the urgency of the work of the garden, Lilly said. It brings to mind the Victory Gardens that sprouted across the nation during World War I.

But the garden’s vision isn’t simply to grow food, but to grow gardeners as well. “We’ll still provide harvest for the places where we provide food, but it’s like teaching people to fish,” Lilly said.

Lillian Olin-Sanchez, April Sanders, Audrey Sanders, Charlena Miller, Riley Robinson and Tia Glanze learning to garden

“If we teach people to garden, they can provide for their own needs, making people self-reliant and showing them they can grow food in a very small space,” said Gateway Community Gaden President Rebel Negley.

The garden produces food grown without the use of pesticides, said Negley, who at one time worked in the food industry. “That will really open your eyes. There are so many chemicals that are banned in European countries that (the American food industry) continues to use. That’s why we’ve been passionate about growing fresh food,” she said.

“We live in a society, where increasingly, people don’t know where their food comes from. A lot of kids eat canned foods, and they eat frozen stuff,” Negley said. “There’s nothing wrong with that sometimes. But our mission is to teach people where their food comes from. Good nutrition is not as affordable, unless you grow it yourself. It takes a village to make a community garden work.”

That’s why organizers are looking for people to invest their time to make the garden and its sacred space flourish.

“We need people. We need volunteers. We need teachers who want to teach, and we need administrative people. It’s not just tilling the soil. It’s administrative work as well,” Lilly said. “We need social media and marketing help. If you can show up, we’ll find something for you to do,” Lilly said.

The garden has the support of two local churches, St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church along with First United Methodist Church of Pell City.

Gateway is also collaborating with similar successful programs like Sylacauga Grows community garden in Sylacauga.

Sacred Space bench lures visitors to find solace in nature

While food for the body is a critical part of the Gateway mission, so is nourishment for the soul.

“The sacred space is a place where you can reflect,” Lilly said. “There is a journal underneath a wooden bench in the garden where people can sit and write and listen to the birds and see the beautiful plants that are in the nature area. They’re also able to see all the growing vegetables in our growing garden. People need to see that it’s a special place.”

The garden now flourishes with cucumber plants, okra, beans, potatoes – sweet, red and white – heading toward a seasonal harvest. The garden has produced some 30,000 pounds of food in its history.

Volunteers like Lilly and Negley haven’t just learned lessons about working the land, but also about themselves.

“One of the most important things is that any one of us could be food insecure at any given moment,” Negley said. “It doesn’t matter where you live or how much you have. Things can change, and you can find yourself with food insecurity. And there’s so much satisfaction in growing your own food because you know where it comes from, and you have excitement through the efforts in growing a garden. It’s a stress reliever. It’s peaceful.”

Lilly, who knew food insecurity as a child, recalled last December’s food drive. “I spoke to every person who came through our line,” she said. “People that were educators, people who had lost their husbands or had just lost their jobs. The feeling that you are able to help people. We all need to love one another and take care of each other.”

Gateway Community Garden has a Facebook page, and donations may be sent to Pell City Gateway Community Garden, P.O. Box 17, Pell City.AL 35125.

“Come see us,” Negley said. “See what we’re doing and if you want to get involved,” Negley said. “It takes all of us just working together to make the garden work.”

From Pell City Gateway Community Garden, hope – like the flowers and vegetables – is blossoming, even in these difficult days. And so is something comforting to be found here, Lilly said. “There is good in the world, and there are people who are kind.”

Test of agility

Fast paced, exciting dog agility trial takes center ring at arena

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Bob Crisp

Four-footed competitors from across the Southeast headed to Odenville in April for an action-packed event at what has become a destination point for events as diverse and wide-ranging as the organizers who plan them.

St. Clair County Arena and Event Center has played host to everything from rodeos and circuses to vintage markets and truck shows.  And in April, dogs of all shapes and sizes took to the arena filled with jumps, tunnels, weave poles and what planners called “plenty of tail-wagging excitement.”

Spectators, dog lovers and handlers came together for three days of Greater Birmingham Agility Club’s Spring Into Agility Trial, a mixture of a qualifying run for further competition, fine-tuning skills or simply sharing time with other dog agility enthusiasts. Organizers billed it as “a weekend of fast dogs, great runs, and even better community.”

Dog agility is “a dynamic and fast-paced canine sport where dogs navigate through a timed obstacle course, showcasing their agility, speed, and teamwork with their handlers,” according to GBAC’s website.

“Yes, your dog can definitely participate in dog agility,” GBAC added, “and we welcome all breeds, both mixed and pure, to join the excitement and fun of agility training and competitions.”

Agility training involves obstacle courses, obedience drills and agility trials.

When the day is done, the final hurdle crossed and a clean jump through the ring is made, it comes down to connections – the bond between dog and handler. Through this sport, that bond is promoted, strengthened and on display for all to see.

The next Odenville event is Nov. 15-17 for GBAC’s Fall Trial. Club officials are already looking forward to it, noting that the 100 x 100-foot ring offers plenty of room for “exciting and challenging courses for the dogs to navigate.

“This event promises an exhilarating experience for both competitors and spectators, making it a must-attend for the agility community.”

“We’ve really enjoyed working with the Greater Birmingham Agility Club and have had a great response from them about hosting events at the Arena,” said Public/Recreation Asset Manager Ashley Hay. “We try to work closely with every group that uses the facility to make sure we’re meeting their specific needs, especially when it comes to footing and ground preparation.”

She noted that dog agility trials have very specific requirements, “and we’re happy to accommodate those details, just like we would for any group using the space. Seeing them choose to return is a great sign that the partnership is working.”

 The goal of the center complex and campus has centered on creating a facility that serves the community and evolves alongside the needs of the people and organizations using it.

“We want groups to know we’re listening and willing to adapt where we can,” she said. “In fact, groups like GBAC have helped shape some of our future improvements.” She credits their hosting of multi-day events and bringing participants in from outside the area with reinforcing the need for RV and trailer hookups, “which we’re now working to add.”

 Hay also talked of the overall interest in the Arena continuing to grow. “More people realize it’s more than just a place that hosts rodeos. We’ve had great interest across a wide variety of events, from dog agility and vintage markets to equestrian events and community gatherings. It’s been exciting to see people discover new uses for the space and reinforces our belief that the Arena can continue growing as a place that brings together a wide range of interests across our community.”

Editor’s Note: The St. Clair Arena and Event Center is located at 100 Arena Drive, Odenville. Learn more about the facilities at:  stclairco.recdesk.com

A greater understanding

Dr. Ed Glasscock writes with the end in mind

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzie Free

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..

Rhythm of the Rails

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.

Earnest Roots Farm

A success story worth sharing

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Mackenzie Free

Not long after they had their first child in 2017, Kiley and Josh Morrison started wondering about the food they were giving him. They worried about where it came from, the chemicals it contained, and whether or not it would affect their son’s future health.

After doing some research, they weren’t happy about what they learned. So they planted a vegetable garden, got a milk cow, and vowed to make changes for the good of their family.

Atticus is raising quail

Nearly 10 years later, what started out as parents’ intuition has morphed into Earnest Roots Farm in Ashville, which offers pasture-raised beef, chicken, pork, and other food that was “produced the way God intended.” No GMOs, antibiotics, hormones, or synthetic chemicals are used, Josh said. Instead, they practice regenerative agriculture to produce healthy soil, which produces better grass, leading to healthier animals. The result, he said, is nutrient-rich foods with superior flavor.

“What’s at the end of your fork determines your health,” Josh said. “If you know your farmer, you know your food. It’s not just about taste, it’s about what you’re putting in your body,” Kiley added. It’s a lifestyle they’re willing to bet the farm on because they’ve seen the benefits of a healthier food system firsthand.

“We weren’t always foodies,” Josh said. “We didn’t care what we ate. I drank Mountain Dew like it was going out of style.”

Josh grew up with migraine headaches, some so severe he had to be hospitalized. While in a neurologist’s office one day, he flipped through a health magazine because it was the only reading material available. “There was an article about how your body needs water for your organs to work properly,” he said.

Josh decided to give it a try and vowed to drink only water. “I started seeing changes within several months,” he said. “Within two years I wasn’t having any more headaches, and this was something that had plagued me for 30-something years.”

Although their original goal was to provide the best food for their family, the Morrisons quickly realized that other folks wanted to do that, as well. As a result, they’ve steadily grown their business and their desire to be local farmers that people can trust.

Much of that trust comes from transparency. In addition to offering farm tours “so people can see that we do what we say we’re doing,” they have a YouTube channel with videos about everything from their farming practices to recipes and instructions for cutting up a whole chicken or making homemade butter.

Andrew Jones offers a blessing before everyone eats at Market Day

In 2024, they started hosting monthly Market Days with educational demonstrations and local vendors selling everything from honey, jams and jellies, sourdough bread, tinctures and oils, soap candles, and all-natural dog treats. They also sell their chicken, beef, pork, lamb, and quail, as well as offerings like fresh eggs, bourbon pepper bacon, garlic pepper brats, and maple brown sugar breakfast patties.

Market Days were so popular that they now host a farm market every Friday in addition to their shipping and local delivery options. “We’ve just continued to steadily improve it,” Kiley said. “We’ve learned a lot along the way, and God continues to open doors for us. We couldn’t do this without the tremendous support of the community.”

Deep roots

Kiley, a third-generation farmer, grew up on the family farm where she and Josh are now raising 9-year-old Augustus and Atticus, 6. Her grandfather, Ernest Ostrowski, was a dairy farmer in Wisconsin before moving to Alabama and marrying Kiley’s grandmother, June, a cattle farmer. Phillip Byram, Kiley’s father, was 16 when his mother married Ernest, and he has lived on the family farm, where he raises beef cattle, since he was 10. Phillip’s wife, Sharon, who passed away in 2020, was a farmer, as well.

Although Kiley loved growing up on the farm, she had no plans to end up there herself. She and Josh, who grew up in Altoona, met online 20 years ago, and they both attended Gadsden State before marrying and pursuing civil engineering degrees at the University of Alabama.

Kiley and Josh found jobs in the telecommunications field – she was in management with an engineering company in Birmingham, and he started designing fiber telecommunications. She traveled a lot and loved her job, but the lure of a simpler life eventually began to take hold.

“I wanted to be home and have a family and be grounded,” she said. “It took getting away from the farm to realize what a blessing it was to be able to live on the farm. It’s not something I take for granted.”

She realized she wanted her kids to have the same experiences she had, so they returned to Ashville and bought her grandparents’ farm, which was 10 minutes from her father’s farm. Although the plan was to focus on homesteading and self-sufficiency, they soon began selling beef, chicken and pork at a farmer’s market in Gadsden, which they did for two or three years. Business was good, so they launched a website just about the time the Covid pandemic started.

Culinary students Braden Godwin and Max Smith; Joey Duke of Aquality Farms; Meigan Tucker of ECTC; Josh and Kiley Morrison; and Anna Warren of The BFIT Bakery

“All of a sudden, people didn’t want to go to grocery stores; they wanted to go to their local farmer,” Kiley said. They set up local pickup points so customers could place orders online and pick it up later at a convenient location. “We did that for the community, and a lot of people took advantage of that,” she said.

The shipping side of the business grew quickly, and in 2021 they sold Ernest’s farm and bought a farmhouse and 10 acres (they recently added another 40 acres) adjacent to Phillip’s 180-acre cattle farm. Kiley’s sister and brother-in-law, Molly and Andrew Jones, live on the farm, as well, and the five of them work together to make Earnest Roots a reality. “Kiley and I are just really the faces” of the operation, Josh said. “It’s very much a family endeavor.”

The farm’s name is a nod to Ernest and the family’s deep farming history. Ernest and June taught Phillip to farm, and they taught Kiley and Molly, Josh explained. When he and Andrew joined the family and “didn’t know jack diddly about farming, they taught us, as well,” he said.

They changed the spelling from Ernest to Earnest as a nod to the future. “If you look in Webster’s dictionary, one of the definitions for ‘earnest’ is a promise of things to come,” Josh said. “As we grow, as we learn and diversify, we’re adding more and more products for our family and yours,” he said.

Future fruits

Market Day at the farm

They’re also raising what likely will be another generation of farmers. “They’re the reason we started this,” Josh said as he watched their boys run across the pasture.

The days are long. Josh is still designing fiber telecommunications in addition to his work on the farm. Kiley homeschools the boys while juggling her many roles. The boys get up early every morning to feed the chickens while Josh milks cows.

And they wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love that we’re raising them here where I was raised and that they’re getting their hands dirty and learning that it doesn’t hurt to work hard,” she said. “Never in a million years would I have thought that we would be here. There were a lot of steps between our original goals and where we are now, but God was laying the groundwork. He put us where we need to be without a shadow of a doubt.”

Art for the Wall

The world is a canvas

Story by Paul South
Submitted photos

A self-described “military brat,” Bill Beebe plunged into art at a young age, painting his first mural on his Fredericksburg, Va., bedroom wall while listening to Nirvana’s Nevermind album. The seminal work by Dave Grohl and the late Kurt Cobain featured the hit, Smells Like Teen Spirit.

For Beebe, that spirit smelled like a plastic, even comforting aroma of acrylic paint as he found his place what for military families is an ever-changing world. “I’m not sure what initially drew me to large format painting. Maybe just the fact that people knew I could paint and asked me to,” he said.

“I started painting for friends and family in the late 1990s, then more as side work in the 2000s.” That side hustle is now a full-time job for Beebe. His company, Art for the Wall, has brightened once-empty walls and storefronts in northeast Alabama with large-format murals and eye-catching signage.

Bill Beebe painting a mural for the Theatre of Gadsden

Beebe spent a few of his teen years in Ashville and spent his early professional life as an electrical apprentice and later as a journeyman electrician. He went on to earn an associate’s degree in commercial graphic design.

Art for the Wall began in Charleston, S.C., but is now based in Ashville. “I’m still relatively new to Northeast Alabama after transferring my business from Charleston,” he said. “But I’ve done a couple (murals) in St. Clair County – the Historic Ashville, Alabama mural and for Gilrearth Printing & Signs’ new facility in Pell City…Most of my work can be seen in Gadsden – Downtown Gadsden, Inc., the Gadsden Museum of Art, the Ritz Theatre and my latest was the “You Belong In Gadsden” sign/mural I did next to the new Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services building in East Gadsden.”

Kay Moore, executive director of Downtown Gadsden, Inc., called Beebe and his work, “a huge asset” to the organization and to downtown Gadsden as a whole. “We have several wonderful murals that he has created in the historic district,” she said.

“I think the most notable one is located on the west side of the Pitman Theatre. When I talked to Beebe about my vision, he immediately took it and turned it into reality.” The mural’s message? Unity. And the background words focused on the downtown area’s message.

Other murals highlight Beebe’s other talents, Moore said. “He is very gifted and very easy to work with,” Moore said. He often gets feedback from townsfolk who stop to watch the artist at work.

Beebe often can’t hear their comments because of traffic or the music he listens to while painting. “I’d imagine people think I’m rude if I don’t engage in conversation,” he said. Ninety percent of the time, I can’t hear what people are saying due to traffic, being up high on a lift, listening to music, or simply in the zone, concentrating on what I’m working on.”

Outdoor and indoor designs match the clients’ business theme

As for projects in the pipeline or in progress, there is a small sign for the Gilbert Cummans Greenroom behind the Pitman Theatre in Gadsden, as well as signage in Ashville, window graphics and murals to come in Oneonta and more.

As for all outdoor muralists, weather is a never-ending challenge. “Definitely the weather,” Beebe said. “Wind, rain, heat and cold. Occasionally, lift logistics if I’m working up high. Time is sometimes a factor with rentals since there’s typically a certain amount of days I can have with the equipment.”

For Beebe, the rewards for his work are many. “I’m usually creating something that is timeless,” he said. “Painted signs in particular – they look good when they’re freshly painted, and they look good when they’re old and faded.”

He also gets satisfaction when his work comes out clean, even after being painted on a rough surface. Too, there’s joy in seeing a work come together after working so closely to a surface or seeing a design take root on a computer and then blossoming into a large format mural.

And, when the day’s work is done, Beebe enjoys a simple pleasure –“a delicious cold beer after painting all day.”

The positive feedback he’s received from clients across 16 years as an artist is what keeps him painting and making signs. And while he enjoys the ease of most projects, he takes joy in challenge as well.

Had life taken a different path, architecture or engineering might have been Beebe’s calling. “I love details from start to finish in projects,” he said. “Designing, scaling, measuring, leveling and organizing are definitely my favorite aspects of every project.”

Beebe hopes his work influences others who may want to take a similar path. “Being an artist has its challenges, but so does everything else,” he said. “It’s a rewarding and legitimate career path. If you take time to learn the processes and techniques and mold that into a business model, you can make some pretty decent money and have a fulfilling career as an artist.”

 Beebe finds it hard to explain his work, either as a storefront sign or massive mural. “I aim for precision, but I always want the viewer to know it’s a painting and not just some print on vinyl that has been stuck on the wall and heated up,” he said.

“Most of my stuff is logo painting, so it has to be spot on to the renderings I provide my customers. On a more personal level, I enjoy typography, so you’ll most likely see some kind of text in many of my paintings,” he added.

“I really appreciate simplicity in my work. I try to stick to the ‘less is more’ concept as much as I can.” If he could write a letter to his younger self, to that kid painting his first mural while jamming to Nirvana, what would Beebe advise? “Start your art career earlier (rather) than later,” he said. “Take more risks when you’re younger. It’s just paint. Everything is rushed when you’re an adult. Take your time and enjoy the process of every project. There are no failures in anything you do, just lessons.”