Serrell Fleming Tractor Man

Tractors line Moody Parkway between Odenville and Moody.

Saving ‘ageless iron’ from rusty oblivion

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller

Photos by Graham Hadley

If you want to see a child’s eyes light up, put them on a tractor. Better yet, take them by Serrell Fleming’s house at 8701 Moody Parkway, between Odenville and Moody, where they will have almost three dozen tractors to climb on. They can turn the steering wheels, push the buttons and play with the knobs and gear shifts without fear of reprimand. In fact, the tractors’ owner encourages such behavior.

“I take the batteries out of most of them so kids can push all the buttons without starting up the tractors,” Fleming said.

Serrell Fleming showing off one of his vintage restored Ford Tractors.

Old tractors are, as one writer put it, “the antique cars of the farm,” which makes Fleming an antique dealer extraordinaire. He has been buying and restoring old and rare ones for 45 years, simply because he likes them.

For the past 25, he has lined them up in front of his house during major holidays and invited any with an interest to drop by.

His current count is 35 standard-size tractors in his display, plus a few lawn tractors and some children’s pedal models. He puts them in his front yard for at least a week around Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day. Many are decorated with American flags. During the Christmas holidays, he displays them for more than a month beginning in early December and extending well past New Year’s Day, decorated with lights.

He replaces the batteries and puts as many as he can find drivers for in the Odenville Christmas Parade. “All of them will run,” he said proudly. During the parade, he also pulls a flatbed trailer with child-mounted pedal tractors behind his pickup truck.

Cases, John Deeres, Minneapolis Molines, Olivers, Allis Chalmers models, Fords, Farmalls and Massey Harrises cover Fleming’s yard like wildflowers, their ageless iron shining under new coats of red, blue, orange and yellow paint. There’s even a pink one, a Power King that Fleming painted to show support for the American Cancer Society, even though the color is usually associated with breast cancer awareness. “I saw one done that way at an International show at the Coliseum in Montgomery,” he said. After his wife’s death from COPD two years ago, he dedicated it to her memory. “Her favorite actually was the Oliver 440, but she didn’t want it painted because it’s more valuable like it is,” Fleming said.

Passion ignited

Fleming’s tractor passion started with buying used ones and restoring them for his own use.

Later, he began selling them, then decided to become a collector.

He often finds out about them at tractor auctions like the one on RFD-TV on Tuesdays and has been all over Alabama and parts of Tennessee retrieving them. He finds most of them within a 50-mile radius of where he lives. “I don’t find them, they find me,” he said.

When he buys an old tractor, it’s usually in pretty rough condition. “Most are basket cases,” he said. “They have been welded on and patched up and rusted so bad. The (Ford 2000) Hi Crop looked like it had been in a junk yard. I have to disassemble them, strip them (of any remaining paint) and replace parts.”

He has no trouble finding parts, sometimes through salvage yards, sometimes through Steiner Tractor Parts, a Michigan-based company that makes reproductions. A retired sheet metal worker (Hayes Aircraft), he, too, knows how to make parts when he can’t find what he needs. “When it’s using oil and smoking, I have to buy a part,” he said.

Every nut and bolt, manifold and carburetor is color-coded like the tractors: blue for Ford, orange for Allis Chalmers, green for John Deere, red for International. When the U.S. had a more agrarian-based economy, farmers bought whatever brand their local dealer had, and dealers usually specialized in one brand or another.

Fleming’s grandson, Chad Brantley, helped him research information on each of his tractors online, printed that information, encased it in plastic sleeves and attached it to the respective tractors for visitors to read. “It keeps me from having to answer so many questions,” he said. But he doesn’t mind answering a few and loves to talk about his favorites.

Tractors 101

The Oliver HG 68, for example, is a metal tractor that was used in apple orchards in Tennessee because it wasn’t easy to turn over. The Ford 2000 Hi Crop is a favorite because it’s so rare and unique. “I only know of two others, one in Leesburg,” he said. “I looked a long time for this one.” He bought it in 2018 and he’s only its second owner.

“My grandfather, Cecil Smith, bought this tractor for me to drive when I was 15,” said Mike Smith, in the printed information attached to the tractor. “It has remained in our family solely from 1964 to 2018.”

Another favorite and his rarest specimen is the Oliver 440, one of only 600 produced. He also has a rare Minneapolis Moline, one of only 137 built. “Honestly, my favorite is the one I’m working on at the time,” he said.

Then there’s the John Deere 40 All Fuel, so named because it has both a gas and a diesel tank. The one-gallon gas tank got the engine hot, then you flipped a switch to use the 10-gallon diesel. “It’s not loud, it’s a beautiful sound,” he said as he cranks up the engine and listens to it purr. “It was practical. It didn’t have a water pump because they wanted it to run hot to burn the diesel.”

Parade of visitors

Fleming is with his display from daylight to dark, watching the happy folks examining the tractors. They come from all over Alabama and nearby states, having seen the Tractor Man on Fred Hunter’s Absolutely Alabama (WBRC-Fox 6 TV) or read about him on his daughter’s Facebook page (Janice Fleming Brantley).

Others just notice his display as they drive by on Moody Parkway. This past July 4th, he even had a couple from North Dakota who were in town visiting relatives and read about the tractors in a local newspaper. He doesn’t have any way of keeping a count of visitors, because he doesn’t sell tickets, but for this year’s July 4th, he gave away all 500 of the tractor-listing sheets he had printed. He gives away bottled water during the warmer months, too.

“I plowed my garden with this one,” he told a visitor who was admiring an Allis Chalmers G. The G stands for Gadsden, where it was made in 1944. Whitt Davis, age 21 months, climbed all over the G while his mom, Jessica Davis, and granddad, Ron Chamblee, watched. “He loves tractors,” said Ron, a Springville resident. “We have to take a tractor or lawn mower ride just about every day.” Ron restores tractors, too, but not to the extent of Fleming.

Serrell loves to talk about his tractors. He knows just about everything about every machine on his property.

Abel Hilliard of Woodville, 15, visited July 3 with his dad and brother. “Dadread about it online,” Abel said. “I think it’s pretty cool. Dad has an old Farmall that he’s working on, too.”

Fleming loves watching the kids’ faces as they play on the tractors and enjoys hearing their parents’ comments, too. “Parents thank me for putting these out for them and the kids,” he said. “They say they appreciate what we’re doing here. One guy left a message on my answering machine saying he saw the tractors but couldn’t get in my driveway.”

Fleming also said the display, which is stored in a couple of sheds behind his house between holidays, is really a family thing. His daughter lives next door, helps with traffic and posts notices about the display on her Facebook page. His son-in-law helps drive the tractors out and back into the sheds, and on off days, he walks the rows of tractors, helping Fleming answer questions.A couple of neighbors keep him company under his sun tent. “There’s no way I could do all this without the help of my family,” he said.

He pauses, gazes out at the rows of tractors and the smiling faces of the visitors, and a broad grin lights up his face. “I’m so glad the young people are bringing the kids,” he said. “Tractor collectors are getting older, and we’re losing the heritage of these.”

The Tractor Man is doing all he can to maintain that heritage.

ROOdy, Springville Kangaroo

Story by Scottie Vickery
Submitted photos

Thanks to an ever-growing assortment of goats, pigs, chickens and horses, there’s always a lot going on at Caren and Danny Davidson’s Springville farm. These days, however, the place is really hopping.

That’s because the newest addition to the family, a red kangaroo named ROOdy, has stolen the hearts of all who have met him. “He makes people happy,” Caren said. “He’s got a great temperament.” Couple that with the fact that ROOdy loves to cuddle, still enjoys a good bottle and rocks the diapers he wears around the house, and there’s no doubt about it. ROOdy is definitely a cutie.

So why did the Davidsons, who host farm day experiences and goat yoga classes at CareDan Farm, decide to jump in with both feet and get a kangaroo? The credit – or blame, depending on when you ask – is all Danny’s. “He’s always trying to come up with something different,” Caren said.

Caren and Danny Davidson on vacation with ROOdy

ROOdy, who has grown by leaps and bounds in the six months he’s lived with the Davidsons, was a surprise Christmas present to Caren from Danny. A mere 11 pounds when the 7-month-old arrived at the farm, ROOdy tops the scales at about 25 pounds now. He won’t be fully grown until he’s 2 years old, though, and by then the Davidsons expect he’ll weigh about 200 pounds and stand about 4 feet tall.

“Red kangaroos are the largest kind of kangaroos – and of course, we needed the largest kangaroo,” Caren said with a laugh. In fact, red kangaroos are also the largest of all marsupials, which are mammals that continue to develop in the mother’s pouch after birth.

A soon-to-be giant marsupial was the last thing Caren expected as a gift, which she received on Christmas Eve. “It was a total surprise,” she said. Danny handed her what looked like a red duffel bag and said it was her present. “I thought it was going to be a trip or something,” she said. “I started opening the bag, those ears popped up, and I screamed.”

Her first thought was that Danny had gotten her a rabbit. “Keep opening,” he told her, a huge grin on his face. When she realized she was now the proud owner of a baby kangaroo, also known as a joey, “it took me a couple of days to wrap my mind around it,” Caren said.

 

One busy kangaroo

He may be a marsupial, but make no mistake, ROOdy is no pouch potato. In his first year of life he’s worn a lot of hats – or at least he would have if it weren’t for those ears. Since coming to CareDan Farm, he’s served as a social worker, human resources assistant, teaching assistant, wrestling team mascot and television personality.

His foray into social work came a few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was watching the news and saw how people weren’t able to visit their loved ones at nursing homes,” Caren said. “ROOdy makes everyone so happy, I wondered if we could take him to a nursing home and wave to people from outside the windows to lift some spirits.”

Friends who had contacts at nursing homes quickly made it happen, and ROOdy was an instant hit, earning him a spot on a local television news program. “They loved it, and we loved it,” Caren said of the visit. “It was a happy thing to do in a time of isolation and sadness.”

Caren, human resources director for a Birmingham law firm, and Danny, an algebra teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Moody High School, both worked from home during the pandemic, which gave them plenty of time to bond with ROOdy and watch him try out his other roles. He was quickly fired from his human resources position after he started tearing up papers, but he had better success in the virtual classroom.

After all, Danny’s students had loved hearing about the kangaroo’s exploits well before Alabama schools adopted distance learning for the remainder of the year. “They kept asking me to bring him to school,” he said. “They even started a petition, ‘Educate ROOdy at Moody.’ “An unofficial mascot for the wrestling team, ROOdy even traveled to Huntsville to cheer on the athletes during a February tournament.

Once coronavirus hit, though, the kids were thrilled to watch him online. Danny hosted three to four 45-minute Skype sessions each day to answer students’ math questions and to see how they were progressing with their assignments. “I got a lot of participation because they knew they’d get to see ROOdy,” he said. “They got to watch him grow up, and it was a lot of fun for them. The parents’ reactions were hysterical. ROOdy’s a great teaching assistant.”

 

Kangaroo care

Since ROOdy joined the family, Caren and Danny have turned into students themselves, learning everything they can about caring for him.

ROOdy lifting spirits at a nursing home

“I’ve always been fascinated with kangaroos,” said Danny, who got ROOdy from a petting zoo in Louisiana. “When they’re born, they’re about the size of a jelly bean. They aren’t fully formed when they get to the pouch, and they’re there for about six months,” he said.

ROOdy was seven months old when he came to the farm and was in the “in and out phase,” spending much of the time in one of his manmade pouches and the rest of the time exploring his surroundings. He came from the zoo with two cotton knapsack-like pouches, and a friend of the Davidsons later made him some larger ones.

“At first, he stayed in his pouch the majority of the day and got out for playtime for three to four hours,” Caren said. “Since then, he’s been transitioning from the pouch and mostly sleeps there at night.” These days, ROOdy hops around the house and yard pretty freely. “He loves to follow us around,” Danny said.

ROOdy took three bottles a day when he first arrived and was down to a nightly bottle and cuddle on the couch by spring. The Davidsons order a special milk that’s formulated for kangaroos and is made in Australia, and ROOdy also enjoys timothy grass and a dry kangaroo food that’s similar to dog food.

His sense of adventure is as big as his appetite. A week after arriving, ROOdy joined the Davidsons for a planned beach trip with Danny’s family. “We had rented a beach house, and they didn’t list kangaroos as a problem,” Caren said with a laugh. “He stayed in his pouch and our nieces and nephews loved feeding him bottles. We put a harness on him one day so we could let him hop around the sand. He liked the sand, but he did not like the harness.”

The Davidsons knew ROOdy needed to be neutered early so he wouldn’t be aggressive, and they were shocked and relieved to find the solution just a few miles away. They learned that Dr. Paul Taylor, an associate at Branchville Animal Hospital, had a little experience with kangaroos, helping to provide dental treatment to one when he was at a clinic in another state.

Neutering a kangaroo was a skill he had yet to master, however. “I always say you should do something every day that scares you,” Taylor quipped, adding that he consulted with veterinarians in Texas and Maryland, both of whom own kangaroos, before performing the procedure, which went off without a hitch. Taylor said he will continue to see ROOdy at least once a year for a check-up and shots, and he’ll do all he can to help the Davidsons care for him.

While ROOdy seems right at home in the Davidson’s house, he’ll soon have a bigger place to call home. The couple, with the help of friends, fenced off two acres for him to share with the goats. “Kangaroos are actually very heat and cold tolerant,” Caren said. “In the winter, they just need a covered shelter and straw for bedding, and in the summer, they need shade.”

Danny, especially, is looking forward to introducing ROOdy to those visiting the farm. “If people love feeding horses, goats and chickens, I know they’re going to love feeding a kangaroo,” he said.

“Our animals are our family, and we get joy out of sharing them with others,” added Caren, who admits she fell in love with the best gift she never knew she wanted. “Who knows, once ROOdy has been in his habitat for a while, and we know that he’s happy there, I could see getting one more kangaroo.”

You can find more info at myfarmday.com

St. Clair adapts

When ripples of the pandemic first hit St. Clair County beginning in late February and early March, it was almost as if overnight, the region transformed itself.

People sprang into action to help others. Businesses closed; others found alternatives to “business as usual” and stayed open with online shopping and ordering with curbside delivery.

Video conferencing and online access became the vehicles for communication in education, health care, business community and simply checking on family and friends.

City and county services didn’t stop. They just took a detour with essential workers handling the load in new and different ways.

Judge Bill Weathington conferences with lawyers.

In St. Clair County courthouses, judges conducted hearings and conferences by Zoom Video Conferencing. In the courtroom, in-person hearings took on extra precautions. The judge sat on the bench, lawyers and clients were seated at tables behind plexiglass, and the bailiff stood nearby, but all were careful to maintain 6 feet of distance as ordered by Presiding Circuit Judge Phil Seay.

Schools closed, and teachers quickly learned how to deliver their lessons online so that students and learning wouldn’t suffer.

Organizations whose mission it is to help and serve others filled all kinds of needs throughout the county – groceries, deliveries, restocking food pantries and providing meals for local frontline workers as well as school students.

Churches delivered sermons online, through live streaming and social media.

People dusted off their sewing skills and started making face masks that had been in short supply.

The governor issued a Safer at Home order, and for the most part, St. Clair Countians obliged. They kept their distance – at least 6 feet – and they minimized their exposure to others.

Customers gather outside El Cazador May 5 for Cinco de Mayo to go.

Grocery store shelves emptied quickly during the early days of the pandemic, and shortages occur to this day. Surreal almost sounds too cliché to describe the atmosphere from one end of the county to the other.

But there was a common thread, no matter what corner, what demographic from which you came. Everyone was in this crisis together. Still are. There may be varying degrees, but they nevertheless are in it together.

By May, it was almost as if it had become regular routine. Social distance, physical distance, donning face masks – they all were part of the order of the day.

The governor lifted the Safer at Home order in May, and little by little, the county began opening up again.

No one really knows where it heads from here. But it can’t be said often enough, “We’re all in this together.”

Artist finds her outlet

Anita Bice shares her work from home

Story by Leigh Pritchett
Submitted photos

When a pandemic evaporated Anita Bice’s art business and affected her creativity, she got … creative.

Normally in the spring of the year, the artist from Moody would be preparing for and attending arts festivals and outdoor shows in several states.

Educated at Samford University in Birmingham and American Academy of Art in Chicago, Anita operates an art production studio in her home. She has been an artist 35 years.

But stay-at-home orders in Alabama and elsewhere canceled one event after another.

“All my shows are being canceled. What do I do?,” she asked herself.

Because customers could not visit her studio store or attend the festivals, she would take her art to them. At times when she would have been at events, she would hold virtual art shows by digital means.

Rayder, the dog, has his own following.

“Virtual reality is for real … yes. The surreal has become all too real!,” states her email introduction to her art show in lieu of the 2020 Panoply Arts Festival in Huntsville.

“A virtual art show is not as good as walking from booth to booth in the beautiful town of Fairhope, AL (along with 250,000 friends!) but it’s the best we can do in these crazy times,” she says in an email after cancellation of Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival.

Not only did the shutdown affect her fine arts business, but it also curtailed demand for architectural renderings, which is Anita’s full-time job. “Right now, my architectural art is at a standstill,” she said.

This is not the first time she has experienced a standstill. When the housing construction rate plummeted during an economic downturn 15 years ago, Anita focused on fine arts. And that birthed the cottage industry that has since kept Anita, her daughter Dana, and Anita’s sister, Sharon Henderson of Pell City, quite busy.

Downloadable for coloring after with color added by line.

Little more than a week before the coronavirus shutdown, Anita’s mother, Sara Smith, went into assisted living. The stay-home order, the fact that the family could not visit Mrs. Smith for a while and the sudden curtailment of both art businesses seemed to stymie Anita’s creativity.

A keyboardist at Bethel Baptist Church in Odenville, she did what she has done in anxious times in the past: she played piano. From that came the idea for a video featuring an angel painting she had done; Anita would provide the musical accompaniment.

On Facebook, the video received views from Canada, Italy, Australia, India and all across the United States. The response amazed Anita. Seeing how art with music touches people, she decided to do more videos.

With newfound creative energy, Anita analyzed the possibilities in art and charted her course. “God is in control,” regardless of how uncertain times may seem, she said.

She saw this time as an opportunity to learn, to brainstorm, to plan, to branch into other areas.

“The downtime has allowed me to learn some things,” such as new features on the keyboards she plays. “… It has given me more time to think about future artwork,” one of which is a series based on music. “That is in my mind and about to be on canvas,” she said.

Being confined also gave her a craving to paint coastal scenes. Those art pieces join her other popular series of florals, cotton and Pots n Pans. Her repertoire also includes wood panel art pieces, tea towels, note cards, mini fine arts on magnet, Christmas on burlap, digital art and photo restoration.

As she paints, she posts on Facebook, which allows viewers to see her latest work. Several creations sold immediately upon completion. Anita has made available free, downloadable line art of some of her originals that people can paint or color. Her Easter download was very well received. “I am going to continue to do that,” she said.

Discounts and free shipping have been offered through her website anitabiceart.com, and she featured a grab bag of “goodies” for Mother’s Day.

Daily, she connects with followers, potential customers and prospective students through her website, Facebook, Instagram and email. (Viewers also get updates about Rayder, her dog that sits like a meerkat and has his own Facebook following.)

Art instruction videos, workshops and seminars are other projects sparked by the isolation.

The basics of art, Photoshop and tips for entering art competitions are a few of the topics she wants to cover. “If people have time now, … what a great time to offer those,” she said of the videos.

Anita added, “(Offering) online classes may be one of the next steps in my growth.”

In her three decades of art, Anita has seen “feast or famine.”

Nonetheless, each phase for her has fostered new possibilities.

“There are so many directions to go!” she said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Through June 10, 2020, Discover readers may get a 25-percent discount on items at anitabiceart.com. Use the coupon DISCOVER25.

Mustang Museum of America

St. Clair celebrates an automotive icon

Story and photos by Graham Hadley

The Mustang Museum of America is celebrating the one-year anniversary of
its opening in Odenville and cementing its place as a regional go-to attraction
for automotive enthusiasts from around the country.

It joins the likes of the Barber Motorsports Park and
museum in Leeds and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega
County.

For many automotive
enthusiasts, two car lines have dominated the highways in America.

One of them, the
Chevrolet Corvette, has had a museum all its own in Bowling Green, Ky., for
years.

Now, thanks to the
efforts of one family and backed by local businesses and the City of Odenville,
that other car, the Ford Mustang, has a museum right here in St. Clair County.

Housed in a huge steel
climate and humidity controlled building, the Mustang Museum of America opened
March 17, 2019, on Forman Farm Road in Odenville, and since then, the expansive
attraction had been drawing hundreds of fans of Lee Iacocca’s famous Pony Car
from across the country.

The museum is the
brainchild of Robert Powell, who says, “I had been thinking about a car museum
for 15 years” and finally decided to make it a reality.

Powell, who had been
working for Progress Rail, was nearing retirement — which he officially took
Feb. 1 — and started putting the pieces in place about five years ago.

“With the collection of
Mustangs I had put together, and the help of my two sons and their cars, we
started to figure out what we were going to do,” Powell said.

It was a natural move for
Powell — he had been the president of a local chapter of the Mustang Club of
America in Tampa, Fla. Even back then, they were thinking about the possibility
of a museum.

Powell grew up in
Alabama. In fact, he saw his first Mustang at a gas station in Odenville as a
teen. “I thought it was the most beautiful car ever put on the road. I was in
high school, so of course I could not afford one. But I started following the
line. Back then, I would get together on weekends with my friends in high school,
and we would drive around looking at car dealerships to see what they had on
the lots.”

When work brought him
back home from Florida, he and his wife and sons only thought it would be
natural to open the museum here.

“We think this could be
an anchor attraction for North St. Clair County,” he said. “I moved here when I
was 6. I grew up here, went to school here. St. Clair has been good to us. We
feel a loyalty to this area.”

With the support of local
civic leaders and business owners like Lyman Lovejoy, Powell unveiled his plans
for the Mustang Museum of America during a special community meeting in
mid-2016. They had already procured the necessary property, were starting on
plans for the building, and between Powell, his wife, Carolyn, and sons
Jonathon and Gary, already had upwards of 70 Mustangs in their personal
collection.

Plans called for the
museum to house between 100 and 120 Mustangs — a number they are already close
to reaching with 102 cars on hand. “We want to have one of every model year
through 2015, plus a police car version from every state that used them,”
Powell said.

Thanks to the generosity
of collectors and organizations dedicated to preserving Mustangs, who have
either loaned the Mustang Museum cars or donated them outright, there are only
a few gaps in the long rows of cars on display where they are still missing
models.

And alongside the
standard models are a number of specialty cars of historic note, including the
Mustang test bed used to benchmark the SVO Mustangs. It is one of the compact,
slant-fronted Fox bodies that marked the return of the Mustang as a dominant
force in American automotive manufacturing in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

That car looks rough, but
Powell says that is part of the history of the test vehicle. “I wanted it left
this way. It is part of what makes the car unique. This is the standard Mustang
that they ran against the SVOs in tests to see how they performed.”

They also have the
Fox-body Mustang Ford sent to California to be used to test the viability of
Mustangs as police — and much more commonly, state trooper — cars. That test
eventually opened the door for states across the country to adopt the Mustang
as a go-to law-enforcement interceptor vehicle.

Other cars that were
limited runs to promote brands, pace cars and race cars are also part of the
collection.

And though there was a
time when many die-hard Mustang fans would not admit that Ford’s smaller
Mustang IIs were part of the Mustang family, the museum boasts a large
collection of those, too. And that includes some of the sporty models that were
seen on TV shows, Charlie’s Angels in particular.

Times have changed,
Powell said, and most Mustang enthusiasts now consider the Mustang IIs as part
of the Pony Car family, with a number of people who specifically seek out and
restore them, helping with the museum’s collection.

In addition to the cars,
the walls of the museum are adorned with advertising, magazine articles and
other art – even an original, full-size billboard – that tell the story of the
Mustang.

“Lee Iacocca had to
really fight to get the Mustang built,” Powell said. Ford had just taken a big
hit with the failure of the Edsel, and when Iacocca said, “We need a new car
line,” he was told he must be crazy. But Iacocca, who passed away in 2019, was
known for his dogged determination, and the first Mustang was built — the 1964
1/2 model. The official launch of the 1965 Mustang would be Ford’s most
successful roll-out since the Model A.

The museum is a
non-profit effort overseen by a seven-member board of directors. Powell serves
as the managing director. His son, Gary, is the manager, and his other son,
Jonathon is the assistant manager.

Powell admits it has been
a learning curve for him, his family and everyone else involved in the project,
but their hard work is paying off.

Visitors from around the
country are making their way to Odenville, some just go a little out of their
way while passing through the area, others as parts of organized car clubs and
similar events. They even had a Honda Goldwing motorcycle enthusiast club make
it a point to put the museum on one of their routes.

That is exactly how
Powell had originally envisioned the project – not just as a museum, but as a
venue with large outdoor spaces and plenty of parking to host crowds and bring
events to St. Clair County.

He also readily admits
the business they are seeing now is just a small part of what the museum can
mean to the community. They did a soft opening and have gradually been seeing
business ramp up as word gets out about the museum, something Powell says will
be key to its success.

And he was quick to point
out that they are part of a much bigger picture – drawing motorsports
enthusiasts to the region. Races at the Talladega Superspeedway and events at
Barber Motorsports Park are part of that draw, especially since both of those
tracks also have museums on site, with more on the way at Barber.

Powell said the people at
Barber have been especially helpful.

“When I first started
thinking seriously about doing this, I talked to the people at Barber, and they
were very supportive,” he said. They have even talked about creating a regional
motorsports museum pass to cover several of the museums on one ticket.

His sons have been
bringing some of their cars to events at Barber and reached out to the venue
for guidance and the possibility of cross promoting their attractions. The
response and support have been more than Powell ever could have expected, he
said, lauding them for taking the big-picture approach to making the museums
and tracks regional and national attractions.

Other local businesses,
like BEI Electronics and Graphics and SVP are also important parts of the
community effort that have made the museum possible, helping with paint or
custom decals to return even the most worn-out Mustang to original condition.
Powell tries to keep cars in as close to original condition without restoration
as possible, but some vehicles need a full bumper-to-bumper rebuild before they
are suitable for display.

The Mustang Museum of
America is open Thursday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but Powell said they
will open pretty much any time to accommodate visitors; they just need to call
ahead and let them know they are coming. l

Keep up with the Mustang
Museum of America online

mustangmuseumofamerica.com

and follow them on Facebook

Greasy Cove General Store

This is their grandfather’s store … and more

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Kelsey Bain

Andrea and Bubba Reeves grew tired of the rat race, so they decided to build their future on the past. The couple, who live in the Greasy Cove community of Gallant, recently reopened the store that her grandfather, Jesse “Junior” Smith, ran for decades.

In the six months it’s been open, Greasy Cove General Store has once again become the place where neighbors can catch up on news, buy milk or eggs and find a sense of belonging. 

“This doesn’t feel like a job to me, it just feels like home,” Andrea said. “We’re bringing family and community back together. We have a lot of people who come in and get teary-eyed and emotional because they have so many memories from when they were young and used to come in.”

Andrea knows how they feel. Her grandfather, who always gave her a cold drink in a glass bottle and a Zero candy bar, closed up shop in 2015, about a year before he died. Bringing his store back to life has been even more meaningful than she expected. “I can imagine him sitting here and me and my brother running around when we were kids. Everyone comes in and says, ‘Your granddaddy would be so proud of you,’” Andrea said and grinned. “I think he’d be mad I messed with his store.”

While there are many nods to the past – the original pine floors have been restored, the old checkout conveyor belt serves as the lunch counter, and old cash registers and oil cans are part of the décor – there have been many changes, as well. For starters, the Reeves changed the name from B&B Grocery, which it had been long before Andrea’s grandfather took it over, to better capture the eclectic mix of merchandise they’ve offered since opening last September. 

A little bit of everything

“We try to carry something for everyone,” Bubba said. There’s produce, including oranges, apples, tomatoes, cabbage, rutabagas and 3-pound bags of peanuts. They’ve got the basics covered, as well, stocking items like Amish butter, hoop cheese, bread, corn meal, sugar and coffee. There’s also a line of jams, jellies, syrups, salad dressings and pickled foods that carry the Greasy Cove General Store label.

You’ll find gift items – many handmade – including jewelry, soaps, paintings, leather goods and wooden trays, puzzles and crosses. They carry typical convenience store items, like chips and candy bars, as well as a mix of the old, including Circus peanuts, wax bottle candies and old-fashioned stick candy. Antique coolers are filled with glass-bottle drinks, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and Grapico, and there are canned drinks, orange juice, buttermilk and bottled water.

Merchandise in the parking lot changes with the seasons. Fall mums, hay bales and pumpkins gave way to fresh-cut Christmas trees, wreaths and garland that Bubba brought back from the “World’s Largest Christmas Tree Auction” in Pennsylvania. Spring bedding plants, hanging baskets and herb and vegetable plants are making an appearance, and furniture such as Adirondack chairs, rocking chairs, porch swings and Bubba’s handmade cedar tables have been a huge hit with customers.

“If we can save someone a trip into town, we want to do it,” Andrea said. “This has been a tremendous leap of faith. We just jumped in with both feet and haven’t looked back.”

The Reeves aren’t exactly sure how long the store, which changed hands several times before Junior took over, has been a fixture in the community. Some say the original store opened in 1939; others say it dates back later than that. It’s been part of Andrea’s family history, however, since 1980 when her father, Carl Smith, started working there part-time as a high schooler, pumping gas, changing oil and fixing brakes.

 A year later, the owners put it up for sale. “I talked to Mom and Dad about buying it, and they co-signed with me on the loan,” Carl said. He planned to run the place himself, but his parents wanted him to finish school. He continued to work there after school and during summers until college beckoned, and his dreams began to change. “I’m kind of a wanderer, and I like to go and do,” he said. “If you’ve got a store, that’s not going to happen. Dad was content being out there at the store, so I kind of left it with them.”

The store soon became Junior’s baby. After retiring from the Navy, he did some “truck farming,” growing produce and selling it in Birmingham-area farmer’s markets, so it was a natural fit for him. “My dad was the kind of person who didn’t meet a stranger,” Carl said. “You’d stop in the store and by the time you got ready to leave, you were one of his best friends.”

Under Junior’s care, the grocery quickly became a gathering place for the “old-timers,” who swapped stories and tall tales, Andrea said with a smile. “If Granddaddy didn’t know the whole story, he made up the rest of it. Before there was Facebook (and pages like) What’s Happening in Gallant and What’s Happening in Ashville, it was ‘What’s Junior got to say?’”

Chances are, he’d be proud that Andrea and Bubba chose a family-centered lifestyle for themselves and their three boys, Eli, 14; Casey, 12; and  Colton, 8. They weren’t thinking about the store until Carl broached the subject. “It had been sitting empty, and it needed to be torn down or fixed up before it fell down,” said Carl. “I asked them if they wanted it.”

Bubba, who grew up on a farm on Straight Mountain, was working full-time for Carl, who now owns a machining and fabricating company. He was also farming on the side, running his produce stand in Ashville and longing for a simpler routine. “My whole life was flying away, and I wasn’t getting to enjoy it,” he said. “People are in too big of a hurry nowadays, and sometimes you just need to slow down.”

Andrea, a registered nurse, had worked for a hospital and rehabilitation facility and felt like she was missing her sons’ childhoods. “By the time we’d get home, they’d already told someone else about their day and didn’t want to tell it again,” she said. While they’d planned for Bubba to run the store while she continued working, she quit her job two days before it reopened.

“We’re happiest when we’re here,” she explained. “My kids get off the school bus here just like my brother and I did. It’s one of those things you just hope God will make a way for you, and He did.”

Labor of love

The community shared their excitement. “We started cleaning it out by the truckloads and people were stopping by and saying, ‘What are you doing to Junior’s store?’” They also shared their memories with the family, recounting the store’s many lives. “It’s been here since my Dad was a kid,” Carl said. “It used to be right up the hill, but when they built Gallant Road, they rolled that building down on logs and turned it to face the new road.”

Although he eventually quit selling gas, Junior didn’t make many changes to the store. “It was in bad shape,” Andrea said. “We pretty much gutted it and took it to the studs.”

Bubba, who also has a background in cabinetry and custom woodworking, rebuilt the walls with wood from fallen trees and added the front porch that houses produce, furniture and sleds. He built the front counter and the bathroom vanity and covered the ceiling in old tin that came from the roof of Junior’s mother’s house.

Antique wagons are used to display merchandise both inside and out. The original bottle opener is attached to the new counter, and an old door featuring handwritten party line phone numbers of neighbors, the Post Office and the Sheriff’s Department is propped nearby. An old corn-husk hat made by Andrea’s great-grandmother is framed and hangs in a prominent spot. “There’s a lot of history in this place,” Bubba said.

While Andrea and Bubba are happy to honor the past, they want to create new memories, as well. After paintings by Andrea’s mother, Cindy Smith, flew off the shelves, she began offering painting classes a few times a month. “When the ladies leave here with their artwork, they feel so accomplished,” she said. “It gives them a good two hours to come and visit and forget their troubles.”

Andrea, who is also a licensed cosmetologist, has been known to give a haircut or two in the front yard, and now they plan to update Junior’s fishing shack to make it a regular offering. They’ve hosted community events like Christmas in the Cove, complete with Santa, bluegrass music, arts and crafts, cookies and hot apple cider. They also have plans to open the kitchen and start serving soups, deli sandwiches and burgers soon.

Although she and Bubba have been fighting over who gets to do the cooking, Andrea isn’t sweating the details.

“We’re just going to wing it like we’ve done since this whole thing started,” she said. “This has been such a blessing, and the community has been so supportive. We’re loving every minute of it.”