Tag: Features

Tricky Fishing

Kayak fishing making a splash
at Neely Henry & Logan Martin lakes

Story by Loyd McIntosh
Photos by Jerry Martin

Spring time in St. Clair County: fresh air, blue skies, green grass and, of course, fishing — lots and lots of fishing. By the time the ol’ groundhog’s predictions have taken root, there will be – excuse the pun – a boatload of fishing tournaments on and around Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes.

That also means hundreds of noisy bass boats, speed boats and other motorized watercraft making waves all in an attempt to sneak up on the legions of fish that call the Coosa River and its lakes home. Fishing is as ingrained in who we are in these parts as barbecue and football are.

But a new way of angling is making its way from salt water to fresh water. It began off the California coast around 15 years ago, and now kayak fishing is heading to fresh water fishing hotspots around St. Clair County.

Kayak fishing is on the rise with a growing community of anglers spreading the gospel of the sport as an alternative to traditional fishing. Interested to see it or to try kayak fishing out for yourself? Then clear your schedule and plan to compete in the Coosa Canoe and Kayak Fishing Tournament, organized by the non-profit group, Coosa Riverkeeper.

Frank Chitwood, Riverkeeper and chief watchdog for Coosa Riverkeeper, hopes his organization’s efforts will ensure a healthier Coosa River and surrounding waterways for future generations. “Coosa Riverkeeper is a citizen group advocating on behalf of the Coosa River for clean water,” explains Chitwood. “We stand up to polluters and the government when their actions are not in the best interest of clean water and a healthy river.”

The Coosa Canoe and Kayak Fishing Tournament is a charitable event to raise money and awareness of issues facing the Coosa River through an innovative three-stage tournament. Proceeds from the tournament will go toward helping the Coosa Riverkeeper fulfill its vision of a fishable, swimmable, drinkable Coosa River.

The first stage, Lake Neely Henry Open, is scheduled to begin at first safe light on Saturday, March 30, and for many in observance, this will be the first time to see some of the tournament’s interesting rules. For instance, competitors are allowed to drive to any spot they wish within the tournament boundaries to put their kayaks in the water. There are also no live wells and no weigh-ins, keeping the negative impact on the fish to a minimum.

“You don’t actually keep the fish,” Chitwood explains. “You put them right back after you catch them, so we call it a virtual stringer because it only exists on your camera.” Tournament scoring is based on length, which Chitwood says is just as fair a competitive measure as other tournaments that are weight-based.

At the beginning of each tournament, every competitor is given a special fish ruler, and once an angler reels in a catch, he or she places the fish in the trough-like ruler and then takes a photo of the fish on a digital camera or cell phone camera. At the end of the day, anglers arrive with a “digital stringer” instead of live fish they may have kept in a live well for several hours. “So, generally it takes a minute or two to do all that once you reel it in, take a picture or two of it and put it back in the water where it came from as opposed to a bass tournament, where they might give you a poorly ventilated live well where the fish stay for several hours,” he says.

Chitwood says this method is less stressful on the black bass varieties – primarily large mouth and spotted bass – that are allowed during a Coosa Riverkeeper tournament. The goal, Chitwood says, is to create an alternative to traditional fishing tournaments by keeping mortality rates low and, thus, a healthier Coosa River ecosystem. At a poorly run tournament, in the middle of a hot summer’s day with poor live well conditions, fish mortality can be high, Chitwood says. “At kayak fishing tournaments, we keep fish mortality rates really low. Almost all of them will survive and become larger bass.”

The first two stages of the three-stage tournament – the Lake Neely Henry Open in March and the Logan Martin Open in June – are each one-day, three-fish-limit tournaments where only the three biggest fish are counted. “That way it gives people who catch a larger quantity of fish an advantage, but not so much that you can just go out and catch a bunch of little ones. Good combination of quantity versus quality.”

The final tournament of the year is the Coosa Classic, a two-day event Oct. 26-27 at the Coosa Outdoor Center in Wetumpka and is a four-fish stringer, with only the two biggest fish from each day counted for the final score. The Coosa Classic is the final event, where the Blackjack Lands Angler of the Year will be crowned at the end of the tournament. The grand prize is a Primo ceramic grill, donated by Blackjack Lands.

To learn more about kayak fishing, Coosa Riverkeepers or to register for the Coosa Canoe and Kayak Fishing Tournament, go online at www.coosakayakfishing.com.

Features

Big Guns

Alabama Artillery recreates historic cannons

Story by Jerry Smith
Photos by Jerry Martin

Stewarts is a historic little community on Mineral Springs Road near Pell City. It’s scenic and pretty quiet, at least most of the time. But just up the road on Bowman Circle, a four-man group called Alabama Artillery occasionally punctuates Stewarts’ tranquility with sounds unheard since the Civil War.

About a year and a half ago, John P. Church approached two of his sons with an idea. “Boys, let’s build a cannon!” Inspired by a smaller project completed by John’s 16-year-old nephew, Jordan Church, they reasoned that between them they had enough technical expertise and manual skills to construct and safely operate a working reproduction of a Civil War field artillery piece.

John, Mike and Doug Church spent weeks assembling materials and information before the actual metal and woodwork began. From their previous involvement in the coal industry in Pike County, Kentucky, plus other interests, the trio sports a collective resume of gunpowder handling, hydraulics, millwork, carpentry, blueprint reading, blacksmithing, steel erection, metal fabricating and federal safety certifications, so this project was virtually assured of success from the start.

John’s mechanical ingenuity was first evidenced in childhood. As one of 11 children born to a coal miner’s family in Buchanan County, Virginia, he built many of their toys, like seesaws, wagons, merry-go-rounds and swings.

John was in the 17th Airborne Division during the Korean War. Like many other paratrooper volunteers, he jumped out of the first airplane he ever boarded. John went on to Officer Candidate School and at age 19, became the youngest drill sergeant in the Army. He’s also been an ordained Baptist minister for more than 50 years.

While work proceeded on Number One, as they named their first cannon, the Churches were joined by a neighbor, Joe Johnson, who became a sort of d’Artagnan to “The Three Cannoneers.” A veteran jet fighter pilot who served in Vietnam and other theaters, Johnson had later worked in airplane propeller repair, so precision machine work and fine wood finishing were well within his purview. Joe also is an active member of the Ashville chapter of Sons of Confederate Veterans. When he came aboard, the now-complete cannon team assumed the sobriquet of Alabama Artillery.

To look at these fellows, one would assume all four are in their late 50s like brothers Doug, 58, and Mike, 61. But Joe is 79, and John, who rides a Harley Davidson Road King when he’s not working on shop projects, is 81. Both men are admirably fit for their age — actually, for any age.

The Alabama Artillery performs cannon firings and static displays for a variety of patriotic and general-interest events. When asked about the team’s mission statement, John replied, “I can tell you in three words: We honor veterans”.

And they mean what they say. The group works entirely at its own expense. While their weaponry and self-chosen uniforms bear a proper resemblance to Confederate Army accoutrements, these men have equally strong feelings of patriotism and pride for American warriors of all battles, from the American Revolution through Afghanistan and Iraq.

Cannon Number One is a freestyle facsimile of a Tredegar Mountain Rifle. Its barrel is about a yard long, has a 2-inch bore and is mounted on a beautifully crafted, large-wheeled gun carriage with matching limber.

A limber is a separate, two-wheeled cart that carries an ammunition chest full of gunpowder, cannonballs, spare parts and other gun supplies and is rigged to tow the cannon for cross-country transport. A truly authentic limber also has provisions to hitch a team of horses, but the Alabama Artillery is more likely to move its piece on a flatbed truck or tow it with a trailer hitch behind a four-wheeler.

Together, the limber and gun make up a complete field artillery unit. Limbers were also used in combat to tow caissons, which are similar two-wheeled carts with additional ammunition chests and, often, a spare wheel or two. A limber/caisson combo becomes essentially a four-wheeled supply wagon, totally flexible in the middle for easy travel over rough terrain. Ammo chests often doubled as seats for gunners when on the move, but in hilly or muddy terrain, they all walked to spare the horses.

The men recently completed a second cannon, called Number Two. Its cast-iron barrel was molded especially for them by Dixie Gun Works of Union City, Tennessee. It’s a 3/4-scale replica of what’s called a six-pounder — that is, its cast iron cannon ball would weigh 6 pounds. This was a common field artillery piece used by both armies during the Civil War and in previous conflicts as well.

All metal and woodwork was crafted in Mike and John Church’s home workshop, using a real blacksmith anvil and a combo metal and wood lathe that dates back to the 1940s. Johnson did the final wood finishing on both carriages in his own shop.

They invented some new methods for building carriage wheels with impressive results. Indeed, there’s evidence of constructive improvisation throughout every phase of both projects. For instance, for “live firing,” they use a 1 7/8-inch-trailer hitch ball instead of a much more expensive cast iron cannonball, and barrel swabs are tipped with fuzzy paint rollers instead of costly inlaid fur.

Both guns are mounted on wheeled carriages fabricated from actual Civil War-era engineering drawings, except they’ve been exquisitely finished in stained wood color rather than Army Drab. They’re real show stoppers in every respect. And yes, there will be a (much larger) Number Three.

Firing a field artillery piece is not a casual operation. Each man on a cannon team has a specific job to be executed in an exact way and sequence. Should any man not perform as directed, the entire operation could suddenly become quite dangerous and most likely would fail completely.

The basic field manual on artillery fire dictates a bewildering syllabus of exact instructions and commands, all set in stone and precisely repeated for each shot. During actual combat, especially in “batteries” of several guns, crewmen used hand signals instead of spoken commands because of the deafening noise.

Every cannoneer knew his own job and several others, which helped to compensate for casualties. Remember, the enemy was shooting at them from places of relative safety while the gun crew was totally exposed and unable to shoot back except with their cannon.

The loading drill was choreographed so that the enemy was never sure who’s carrying a live round. In fact, the man who carried powder and ball to the cannon’s muzzle was expected to shield the load with his own body, lest a stray bullet make it explode and kill the entire crew.

Alabama Artillery uses a four-man firing team, but a real Civil War combat gun crew would have numbered from six men to more than a dozen, depending on the weapon’s size and purpose.

Watching a field artillery piece being fired is an unforgettable experience, even if you’ve seen it before. The gun crew performs a customary setup and loading sequence, in full view of its spell-bound audience

Then, with every man in his assigned position and constantly alert to safety issues, the firing officer jerks a long lanyard attached to a primer cap in the rear end of the cannon. A second or two later, the cannon responds with a powerful burst of man-made thunder that’s guaranteed to get anyone’s undivided attention, even if you’re a half mile down the road.

Its muzzle blast kicks up dirt, grass and leaves in front of the weapon, and creates a huge cloud of fiendishly fragrant blue smoke extending many yards downrange. Those who witness a firing at dusk may also see cone-shaped shafts of orange flame boring a hole right through the center of the smoke cloud, comparable to shock waves often seen in supersonic jet engine exhaust.

Everyone reacts differently to the blast. At a recent home school benefit firing, several children screamed with delight, one lady dropped her video camera, and a black Labrador Retriever ran until he was out of sight.

Observers usually have lots of questions, especially after the first shot, and Alabama Artillery welcomes them all. After all, education, heritage and homage to veterans are what they’re all about.

Some of these questions can be quite funny. For instance, “Where’s the trigger?” or “Can you shoot a deer with it?” It’s great stuff from seriously inquiring minds — and as much fun for the cannoneers as the crowd.

Alabama Artillery does not normally load a projectile when firing at public functions, so there’s practically no danger of mishap as long as the crew does its job as proscribed by basic artillery protocol.

In September, artillery members fired their weapon to open a charity dove shoot near Montevallo, an event sponsored by local Masons to benefit Wounded Warriors. They’ve also provided static displays and firings at various school and veterans’ events.

Alabama Artillery requests that anyone who wishes a demonstration for patriotic, civic or school functions should call Mike Church at 205.405.1007 or Doug Church at 205.338.3373 for further information. The group is especially eager to perform for school children. Doug Church, patriarch of an entire family of teachers, will gladly provide a history lesson during the event.

It’s a real bang-up way to begin any celebration.

Features

Birmingham Sailing Club

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Group’s history in St. Clair predates creation of Logan Martin Lake

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin

Atop a shoreline hill overlooking a mile-wide opening of Logan Martin Lake stands a piece of history.

On Aug. 7, 1962, it wasn’t there at all, but neither was the lake.

Even so, a group of sailing enthusiasts thought it was the perfect place to build a clubhouse when the lake did come, and the Birmingham Sailing Club was born.

The late Sam Caldwell Jr., who worked for Alabama Power Co., the lake’s creator, began his search for that perfect piece of real estate long before the contract was signed on that late summer afternoon.

His children, Skip Caldwell and Marietta Williams, remember the long rides in the back of the family station wagon as their father — armed with geotechnical drawings of the proposed lake — would scour the countryside.

Marietta remembers “endless dirt roads while Dad looked at property and spoke with owners — farmers in battered frame houses; of Dad explaining, ‘This will all be underwater,’ and me thinking, ‘No way!’ ”

Skip recalls those days, too. “I can remember spending a lot of time driving in the car, and Dad would tell us when we were driving into an area that would be underwater, or if it was close to the shoreline. I was too young to really grasp the concept as I remember looking as far ahead as I could see on the road looking for water so we would not accidentally drive into the new lake!”

On that August afternoon, as the sun was setting, Caldwell and Herb Hager sat on the front porch of the land’s owner and his family. When they explained their purpose, the family seemed “dubious about the use of the property for a club, apparently thinking about a night club or honky-tonk,” the elder Caldwell wrote in a history penned 50 years later. One family member even suggested that the contract specify no dancing allowed on the premises.

Caldwell used a blank Uniform Real Estate Sales Contract and filled it out in pen and ink. Four acres fronting approximately 418 feet on proposed Logan Martin Reservoir, it said. Purchase price? $6,000 with $1,000 earnest money and $5,000 due on closing. And the initial deal was done.

Additional lots would be purchased by July 1963, giving the club 1,000 feet of shoreline. The clubhouse would be built along with boat ramps and floating docks as the lake began to fill. The first boats in the water were launched Thursday, July 16, 1964, “with the Commodore beating the Vice Commodore by about 30 minutes,” Commodore Caldwell wrote.

A report dated Aug. 7 of that year put the lake elevation at 460 feet, which is normal winter pool. It was thought the level would remain there until May 1965, when it would rise to its summer elevation of 465 feet for the very first time.

Today’s club
A lot of winter and summer levels have come and gone since that time, but the constant has been the Birmingham Sailing Club.

Caldwell’s children say it is still what their father and founding members envisioned when they built it. Caldwell didn’t want a yacht club, he wanted a sailing club. “He wanted a club that is open to anybody that is interested in sailing, not a country club on the water,” Skip said, noting that over the years, members continued with the visions of the founders.

That, he said, “has resulted in one of the premier inland sailing sites in the country. I recently found some of the original plans of the sailing club and with small exceptions, today’s club is exactly as the original plans show.”

A new day, same goals
Tate Beckham counts himself lucky to be a part of it all. A relative newcomer to the club of 165 members, he joined in 2007. He sailed a bit as a kid in Florida, but he grew up in Sylacauga not knowing the club existed.

When he grew older, he wanted to get back into sailing, and someone gave him a boat. He eventually found his way to the Birmingham Sailing Club after being introduced by Rick Scarborough. “When I went to the club the first time, people were sailing. There were all walks of life — doctors, lawyers, construction workers. They had the same wants and enthusiasm. That was it. I was there. The common denominator was they love sailing.”

Now, Commodore Tate Beckham talks of the club and its impact with an apparent longing to share with others the rewards he has known.

There are plenty of crewing opportunities, which is “a great way to get into it.” It is a chance to crew with people who know what they are doing and to learn the functions of the boat.

“Come out any time and 85 percent of the time, if you show up, someone will take you out sailing,” he said. It is a sport and a love to be shared.

There are “learn-to-sail” classes twice a year in the spring and fall. A junior sailing program complete with a summer sail camp gets the younger generation started early.

Major October regattas draw sailors and spectators from all around the southeast, and locals often find their perfect spectator spot on land and on water just to watch.

Just about every Sunday at 2 p.m., you can see a core group racing — puffed white sails, then colorful spinnakers bob along the horizon. An intermittent horn blowing its signals, and sails flapping and snapping in the wind seem to be the only sounds you hear.

It is quite a sight to behold for novice and enthusiast alike. It is like a secret, buried treasure one would ordinarily want to keep for himself. Only this one is best when it is shared.

Features

Welcome Home

Veterans Home in St. Clair opens doors

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin

It was like a family’s long anticipated arrival of troops deployed to faraway lands. Flags waved. Welcome signs appeared. Cheers erupted. After years of planning for this day, the first two residents of the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home arrived to a hero’s welcome.

William D. Gercken of Birmingham and Peter E. McConico of Vincent, both Vietnam veterans, made history at the new home with their arrival in late November. With their arrival, they ushered in a new era for veterans’ health care at the opening of this state-of-the-art facility, which has been hailed as a model for the nation to follow.

Both were residents of Bill Nichols State Veterans Home in Alexander City and are in the first wave of residents of homes there, Bay Minette and Huntsville who were given the option of transferring to the new facility.

Their families opted for the move so they could be closer to them. “My husband looks forward to my visits,” said Gercken’s wife, Dawn. “Now that I’m only 20 minutes away, I’ll be able to visit him more often.”

Shirley McConico echoed the sentiment, noting that the proximity of Vincent to Pell City will make her travel for visits easier.

“Welcoming our first two residents to the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home is very special,” said Kim Justice, state Veterans Homes executive director. “We look forward to giving future residents the same level of respect they so rightly deserve when we welcome them ‘home.’ ”

Just weeks before, officials from across Alabama cut the ribbon to dedicate the veterans home, named in honor of the nation’s most decorated soldier and an Alabama native. He was wounded 14 times and did five tours in Vietnam.

He earned the medal of honor, presented by President Richard Nixon, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

A display case of his military memorabilia begins a series of displays of all branches of service lining both sides of the corridor of the new home’s entrance way.

The corridor leads to a town center, where buildings connect to form neighborhoods that will be the homes of veterans living there. From skilled nursing to the first domiciliary in the state, this veterans home model has anything but an institutional look or feel. “It was built with the ‘wow factor’ in mind,” said state Veterans Administration Commissioner Clyde Marsh at the dedication ceremony.

Williams Blackstock was the architectural firm for the project, and Marsh noted that its design says style “from beam to beam and stern to stern.” He also thanked Doster Construction for delivering “a magnificent building. They stepped up to meet each challenge” for the state’s largest veterans home.

The size is impressive, with 240,000 square feet on 27 acres providing 254 private rooms. Eighty of those are dedicated to assisted living and Alzheimer’s and dementia care — also firsts for the state.

St. Clair Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith said he could talk about the economic impact, “but this isn’t about the economy. This is about the veterans.”

In 2008, he said, Pell City wasn’t even on the radar screen of plans for the new home. But a passionate group of St. Clair County officials put their plan and their plea together, making a compelling case for the campus shared by St. Vincent’s St. Clair and Jefferson State Community College. When they were through, “there wasn’t much question where it was going to be,” Smith said. And by the fall of 2012, only two words could adequately put a much-anticipated exclamation point on it: Welcome Home.

Features

For Their Service

[Show as slideshow]

New veterans home goes above and beyond expectations

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin

It may be an overused cliché when a sight is so mesmerizing, so impressive that it takes your breath away. But just inside the grand entrance to the Col. Robert L. Howard Veterans Home is a sight that … well … takes your breath away.

There is no institutional setting here — no hospital-like rooms lining the hallways, no dark corridors where the only light comes from an occasional window or door.

Step inside, and you think you are in a mall or strolling along a quaint downtown street. Vintage signs hang from the tops of a series of storefronts enclosed mainly in glass, not walls. Barber shop, pharmacy, beauty shop, library, chapel, Stars and Stripes Café. They line the stone-tiled corridor, beckoning one and all to come inside and have a look.

Once within, the light streaming through windowed walls overlooking an expanse of lush, green courtyards and meandering paths lets you know immediately this is indeed a special place.

“If you ask veterans where they would rather be, their answer would be, ‘I’d rather be at home.’ ” said Rear Adm. Clyde Marsh, commissioner of the Alabama Veterans Administration. “We tried to create a home they would like to go to and enjoy. We think the veterans will be happy here.”

Filling all of its 27 acres just north of Interstate 20 in Pell City, this sprawling town, as it could be known, has a main street, a town center, neighborhoods and homes all under roof.

Outside are courtyard gardens, and homes have classic back porches complete with rocking chairs.

The neighborhoods come together in what is called Town Center, a huge room with a towering stone fireplace heading upward to a skylight and pine cathedral ceilings. It has the look and feel of a Colorado ski lodge with fireplaces opening on two sides and cabinetry and large-screen televisions on the other two.

Floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the room in a warm glow — the kind of place where people will naturally gather. It can be used to hold events for the veterans as well, said Manda Mountain, who is the Alabama Department of Veteran’s Affairs director for the Col. Robert L. Howard Veterans Home.

From the town center are three neighborhoods with names like Victory Way, Liberty Lane and Patriot Place with three homes in each, enough room to accommodate 126 veterans.

Architects get marching orders

“Putting it in perspective, it’s a new design concept for state nursing homes for veterans,” Marsh said. Williams Blackstock Architects of Birmingham designed it “from the ground up.” There was no blueprint or model, just an admiral’s order to create a home worthy of veterans’ service and sacrifice, not an institution.

“We wanted it built with dignity, the comforts of home, serenity — all that in mind,” Marsh said. “We wanted a warm environment so people could enjoy it.”

That was no easy feat for 240,000 square feet on one level alone, said architect Joel Blackstock, principal-in-charge on the project. “Admiral Marsh really pushed us to make it state-of-the-art, not like any other.”

The concept was “ to provide a sense of community throughout for the residents because it really is like a small town or village,” he said. Lead architect Sean Whitt worked full-time on the site to oversee the construction process.

Existing facilities of this type are typically institutional in character, with nurses’ stations and rooms. Not here. It is divided into neighborhoods with three homes — each housing 14 veterans in their own private rooms. Once inside the home, instead of narrow hallways with rooms on each side, the centers are wide open and contain a full kitchen, a dining room and living room, with bedrooms on both sides — just like a home.

Meals are prepared in the main kitchen, but prepped in each home’s own spacious kitchen with all the amenities, so veterans can actually see and smell what is cooking before it is served in an adjoining dining room — all right there in their own home.

Each house has a living room, dining room and kitchen shared by a small group of residents. Three houses form a neighborhood with its own lobby, and there are private “family rooms” for out-of-the-way visits and overflow visitors. “The neighborhoods surround a town center, complete with a main street, similar to the small towns many of us grew up in,” Blackstock said.

Williams Blackstock interior designer Jennifer Tillman’s attention to detail is apparent — from the blend of aesthetic and patriotic paintings to a mix of leather and cloth sofas and chairs. They are the perfect complement to their homey surroundings. Private rooms feature tall wooden shelves with room for a large-screen television — all residents will have one — books, framed photos and other personal items. A stylish armoire holds a wardrobe.

While beds are equipped to move up and down like the hospital variety, headboards and footboards are made of wood, not metal, giving it more of a home-like look and feel.

Bathrooms are spacious — built for easy access — and huge walk-in showers are examples of the latest trends in home design. Every room has its own window with an exterior view.

A stroll down main street

Acting as tour guide on a walk down the building’s ‘main street,’ Marsh talks of how the Veterans Home got its name. Col. Robert L. Howard was an Alabama Army veteran, Medal of Honor winner and the most decorated soldier in history.

A glass display case built into the wall is dedicated to Howard’s life as a soldier. Five more cases line both sides of the main tiled avenue leading to the town center. They represent each branch of the service — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, and all the cases will have memorabilia commemorating their service to country.

Kim Justice, executive director of state Veterans Homes, points out features along the way. And there are plenty of them.

The first feature that dominates a stop inside any of the ‘shops’ is oversized windows that frame a courtyard scene. “Each courtyard is unique with a wandering path that gives it a different look and feel,” she said.

Just down the way a bit is the Stars and Stripes Café, a sports bar where veterans can gather for pool, cards, checkers and other games. They can watch events on a big-screen TV and be served their favorite soft drink or “mocktail,” Justice said. “It’s a place to gather and enjoy each other.”

Just across the way is Eagle’s Landing, the main dining room. Both the café and the dining room open out into the town center, the focal point of the complex with walls of stone custom cut onsite to fit.

From the wood-beam ceilings to skylights to an imposing stacked-stone fireplace, the concept is “a resort town center. We were trying to capture it all,” Marsh said. It was a challenge to have a building this big meet the needs but still achieve the atmosphere it obviously conveys. “We are one of the first in the nation to have a home of this size, style and of this concept.”

From the town center, you can head in any of three directions to the neighborhoods. Along the way are multi-purpose rooms, conference rooms and whirlpool bathing suites.

On both sides of a grand lobby in the entrance to the building are a two-story domiciliary wing for more independent living in small apartments called Freedom Court and an Alzheimer’s/Dementia unit called American Harbor. This independent living area is the only one of its kind in Alabama veterans homes.

It is a veterans home of comprehensive care, the first of its kind in the state and a sharp departure from traditional veterans homes across the nation.

Partnerships fuel progress

The $50 million project’s location in Pell City did not happen by accident. Some pretty enticing variables came together at just the right time that made the decision an easier one for Alabama’s fourth veterans home.

St. Vincent’s St. Clair, the county’s new hospital, located just across the street. Jefferson State Community College, known for its nursing program, is just down the block on the same campus.

The three have become partners in a win-win-win for all involved. Specialists from the hospital can be utilized by the Veterans Home. If a veteran needs hospitalization or emergency care, the proximity is ideal and the resources immeasurable.

Jefferson State not only gives the entire area a college-campus atmosphere, plans call for students from its nursing school to be involved in rotations at the veterans home, giving them real-life work experience. There will be opportunities for internships, volunteering and permanent employment.

It was a “perfect fit,” said Justice.

Along the way, the partnerships with the hospital and college along with the support of City of Pell City, the mayor, County Commission and Chairman Stan Batemon, and St. Clair Economic Development Council “tipped the scales” in Pell City’s favor, Marsh said. “They would do anything they could to help us build this home.”

And later this fall, veterans will be welcomed to a special place created just for them.

“Admiral Marsh wanted something of the highest quality — extra special,” Blackstock said. “It has been very rewarding. It is nice to see the Veterans Administration putting so much care and effort to see that it is a state-of-the-art facility, not only for the health of veterans, but just as importantly their quality of life. I don’t think there is anything exactly like it.”

Features

The Ultimate Pony Car and Other Cool Rides

[Show as slideshow]

Story by Graham Hadley
Photos by Jerry Martin

Want a car exactly like Steve McQueen’s “fast machine” from Bullitt?

Want to give your vintage Mustang Fastback the latest in modern suspension, engine, exhaust, add air conditioning and power seats and have it meet emissions regulations in all 50 states?

Want to turn your SVO into a street-legal racecar?

Or do you just want your 1964 1/2 Pony Car restored to show-room new (or your El Camino, or Fairlane or Lincoln Mark VII for that matter)?

Then you need to talk to Paul Becker and Jason Nance at SVP Unlimited in Odenville.

Paul and Jason have decades of experience working with cars — both sharing a love of vehicles since their teenage years — and have successfully turned that into a thriving custom-vehicle business located on at the back of a small business complex just off Highway 174 in Odenville.

One glance around the garage and surrounding lot, which is full of vintage and specialty vehicles in all states of repair and, in some cases disrepair as parts are pulled for other projects, and there is no question that SVP specializes in the iconic Ford Mustang. But Paul and Jason don’t draw any lines in the sand when it comes to cars — they will work on just about anything.

Paul is the owner, but quickly points out that the business is a partnership and that they both bring essential skill-sets and a dedication — or “obsessive compulsiveness” as he puts it — to detail.

“We may not do the fastest restorations in the business, but we want to turn out the best vehicles we can, and that takes time,” Paul said.

And for customers who are willing to wait — unless they have lots and lots of money on hand — that patience pays off with some of the finest custom rides produced anywhere in the country.

“If someone came in here and said money is no object, then we could probably turn one of these restorations around in a year, but the average is two to four years, sometimes more,” Paul said.

One of the vehicles they were rolling out that was nearing completion is a replica of a vintage 1967 Shelby Cobra GT 500 — a compilation of three different vintage cars combined with the most modern engine and suspension parts. They even had to cut special channels through the trunk for the performance exhaust. The price tag: around $130,000.

“We rebuilt the whole car; took it down to the welds. … It will pull 1.5 g on a skid pad, and when we finish tuning it, it will turn around 480 hp,” Paul said.

That is one of the multi-year projects, and it is a time frame that makes car modification and restoration projects possible for many of SVP’s customers. Custom car work can quickly hit the tens of thousands of dollars mark. By breaking down the work and the billing into smaller pieces, SVP does exactly what is in their customers’ budgets each month.

A few hundred dollars of work here and there, and gradually the project nears completion.

“Customers say what they can pay, and we schedule the restoration to what they can pay. That way, we can work with a wide range of budgets,” he said.

Often, SVP is hired just to do what Paul calls the “really hard work,” and will deliver a partially completed car to a customer, something perfect for one of those “father-and-son” weekend garage projects.

On top of what they do for their customers, Paul and Jason also have their own personal vehicles on site.

Among other vehicles, Jason is working on a Ford Fairlane and an El Camino. The latter is literally a labor of love. Jason’s father is a mechanic who taught him everything he knows. The first car he ever bought for his son was an El Camino. Jason is duplicating that car to give back to his father, who is too ill to work on cars anymore.

Paul did something similar for his father with a restored Lincoln.

His personal fleet on the lot includes a 1950 DeSoto Custom (complete with the original light-up hood ornament) that he plans to get running and road worthy, an older panel truck with wooden flooring that was once an ambulance, one of the classic Mercury Cougars with the sequential turn signals, and, of course, a whole host of Pony Cars — Fastbacks, at least one 1968 390 V8 (the same car used in the famous “Bullitt” chase scene), Mach 1s and several SVOs — which is where Paul got the idea for the name SVP.

Especially when it comes to the vintage vehicles, Paul keeps several “for-sale” projects in the works. He builds on the cars when he can, and they are always for sale. The price goes up on them the more work he does.

Paul has a special affinity for the Mustang SVO, which draws its name from Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations Department. They were made in limited production from 1984 to 1986 and at the time were the fastest Mustangs on the market. He has several of the specialty cars on hand, including one street-legal racecar that he sometimes drives around to get parts.

“People will look at you funny when they see you going down the road in a fully caged racecar,” he said.

It was his love of that particular vehicle that originally brought Paul to Odenville and Alabama. He had started the business in 1999 in Annapolis, Md., and focused mainly on supplying specialty parts.

He came to take part in a track days SVO event at the Gran Prix Raceway between Talladega and Munford in Talladega County and stayed with some friends in Odenville for the duration.

While he was here, he took time to visit around town and saw how people treated each other and how they did business. A few days later, his wife, who was home sick and having to work, called to see how things at the track were going.

“I told her they were going great. Then I told her, ‘We are moving here.’ She hung up on me,” he said.

But as soon as Paul got the chance, he flew his wife down here and she fell in love with the area, too.

Paul opened the first SVP in Odenville, over by the Post Office, in 2002, still focusing on selling parts, but doing some specialty car work.

Along the way, he met Jason at several car events dedicated to another car they both are fans of, the Lincoln MK VII, and soon brought him on board. Jason specialized in paint and body work.

By 2003, they were in their current location, which had more room and was better suited to their needs, and focusing more and more on custom cars. Though they still have specialty parts — and can track down more than what they have on hand, the business these days revolves around building the perfect car for their customers (or themselves).

Paul and Jason say St. Clair County and Odenville in particular have been good for their business, helping encourage and support them in their endeavors.

They are returning the favor, both by bringing in money to the community — SVP has customers all over the world; they even had a Mustang in the paint room that will eventually be shipped to London, England — and in more direct ways.

SVP is in the process of converting a surplus military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee — what eventually spawned the Hummer line of civilian SUVs, for use by the Odenville Police Department. When they are done with it, the Humvee will go from the camouflage military paint job it has now to a more appropriate black paint that is virtually indestructible and designed to be graffiti proof.

Paul said he gets up every day getting to do something he loves for a living and expects the business he and Jason have worked so hard to build to continue to grow and flourish here.

BELOW: To read what it is like to own this piece of automotive history,
check out the story in this month’s issue of Discover, The Essence of St. Clair

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