Setting the standard

St. Clair schools training for the future

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Mackenzie Free

It’s difficult not to notice the white letters E-C-T-C on the giant Adirondack chairs at the corner of U.S. 231 and U.S. 411 in Ashville. Perched on a hill overlooking the county’s only traffic roundabout, the chairs were built by carpentry students at Eden Career Technical Center to bring attention to their school.

Despite such high visibility, the school has been called “a hidden jewel” by its principal, and “the best-kept secret in St. Clair County” by one of its teachers. Neither knows why that’s true, but it’s something they both want to see changed.

“People don’t realize the opportunities we provide to learn skills that turn into jobs that they can make careers out of,” says Trisha Turner, career tech director for St. Clair County Schools and principal at ECTC since 2018.

Part of the county school system, ECTC is celebrating its 50th anniversary during this entire school year. It was named after its first principal, John Pope Eden, who lobbied for a vocational school for five years. Pope died in November of 1972, nine months before the school opened at the Ashville Armory in August of 1973 and 14 months before it moved to its permanent campus in January 1974. The school was officially dedicated to his honor in February 1975.

Getting ready to weld.

The tech school started with 360 students and four programs — cosmetology, masonry, plumbing and electricity — which are no longer offered. Courses have evolved through the years due to demand in the world of trades and technology. Today, enrollment is at 315.

“When school started in August of 1973, we went to the Armory in Ashville,” says Dorothy “Sis” Wilson, 80, who retired this past May after driving St. Clair County school buses for 55 years, including 50 for ECTC. “That’s where we started the vocational and trade school. Then we hauled kids to help build the new school, and that’s the reason the office, horticulture and air conditioner (HVAC) programs are in brick buildings. (The others are made of metal.) When we got out for Christmas holidays, Mr. Griffin (Thomas L.), principal, said when y’all come back in January come to the (new) vocational school. There are no brick masons there now, but they had one (study program) there for a while.”

Those first three brick buildings were completed and furnished for $500,000, with 70% of that amount coming from Appalachian Funds, 30% from local monies, including a $20,000 grant from the St. Clair County Commission, according to a Birmingham News article from the early 1970s. When Eden began dreaming about a trade and technical school, only 12% of the county’s high school graduates attended college, the article states. Only vocational agriculture (vo-ag) and home economics were offered to the other 88% at the high schools.

County schools now offer 14 different technical programs, according to Trisha Turner, career technical director for St. Clair County Schools and principal of ECTC. “Eleven are located here,” she says. “Agricultural Science and Family & Consumer Science programs are offered at each of the five high schools. JROTC is offered at St. Clair County High, Culinary is located on the Moody High School campus, and there is a business program at Moody, too.”

Programs on the ECTC campus include HVAC (heating and air), welding, carpentry, drafting, business information technology, information technology (IT), collision repair, automotive service, health science, plant & animal science, and emergency and fire management services. JROTC is located at St Clair County High School. The latter is not a military preparation course, but a program that promotes ethics, leadership and respect for business and industry, according to Turner, who calls business and industry “the driving force behind careers in tech programs.”

To attend ECTC, a student must be in the 10th-12th grades and enrolled in a high school in the St. Clair County School System. Students are on campus at ECTC for half a school day and at their high school the other half. They are bused back and forth by drivers employed by the county school system. The courses are considered elective high school classes, but they earn credentials and certifications that enable students to get paying jobs in their fields.

“Virtual or online high school students enrolled in the county’s Virtual Preparation Academy can choose to come here for a program or two with their own transportation or take a bus from their school, if they can get to their school,” Turner says.

Career Coach Christina Puckett says the goal at ECTC is for the students to be career-ready when they graduate. “We also offer dual enrollment in two areas,” she says. “We are paired with Gadsden State for automotive and drafting and with Jefferson State for welding and for child development. In other words, the students can get college credits here for these courses.”

The automotive service program includes everything about car maintenance and repairs, from engines to tires. The collision repair program trains students to repair damage and to refinish vehicles. “The need for automotive service technicians is growing rapidly as people continue to keep their vehicles in operation longer than ever before,” a brochure about the school states.

The ECTC campus now has six buildings, with two classes held in most of them. A seventh may be forthcoming if tentative plans to build a culinary building come to fruition. “Right now, the old Moody High School’s lunchroom, which was converted to accommodate the program, is being used,” Turner says. “Chef Melissa Allphin is in charge and her kids always win in state competitions.”

Most people don’t realize they can have something built by the school’s carpentry students, like a shooting house or a tiny house, for a price. “Our xarpentry program also covers a little electrical, plumbing and masonry. HVAC covers a little bit of electrical work, too,” Turner says. “Kevin Self heads our HVAC program, and he just got some equipment that will allow them to cut ductwork. He’s passionate about getting skilled workers because he sees the need in the HVAC company he owns.”

Self is one of four teachers at the school who are graduates of ECTC, according to Sis Wilson. The others include Marcus Graves, carpentry; Jeff Parrish, emergency & fire management services; and Roger Peace, collision repair, who got the same job his father retired from several years ago.

Medical training is in high demand.

“We’re the best-kept secret in St. Clair County,” says Jeff Parrish, who started his career with ECTC night classes and began teaching there when he retired from 25 years with Pell City Fire and Rescue.

“I don’t know why” it should remain a secret, he says. Its merits are being discovered. Three state troopers visited his program recently looking for future recruits. “One trooper was from the State Bureau of Investigation, one from aviation (helicopter & fixed-wing division of state troopers) and the other was a trooper recruiter. They were pitching jobs. The Air Force visits our classes, too.”

The Health Science program, taught by Deanna Hartley, RN, and Amy Stephan, a nurse practitioner, trains students for their EKG (electrocardiogram) and CNA (certified nursing assistant) certifications and their BLS (Basic Life Support) instructor licenses.

“They can become monitor technicians for hospitals and can conduct stress tests, too,” says Turner. “They actually get practical experience that helps them decide what they really want to be. For example, some of them work in nursing homes and some decide that’s not for them. This saves the parents money on education, because kids sometimes change their minds about their careers after they’ve finished college or a trade school.”

Another feature that helps kids decide on a career is ECTC’s Summer Camp for students in sixth through eighth grades. Camp takes place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., for three days during Memorial Day week. Parents interested in enrolling their children may call the school at 205-594-2070.

The business information technology program is for students who want to pursue careers in business administration and management, whereas the Information Technology program is for those interested in careers involving information technology security, network analysis, planning and implementation, according to the ECTC brochure.

Noah Duke, a senior at St. Clair CountyHigh School who is enrolled in the IT program, was one of the guides explaining robotics to visitors at the school’s open house in the fall. “We participate in the BEST Robotics competition,” he says, noting that BEST stands for “Boosting Engineering Science and Technology.

Sponsored by Shelton State Community College, the multi-level competition has a different theme each year but always involves building a robot. “This year’s theme is Made2Order,” Duke says. His team built a long, wooden conveyor that the remote-controlled robot rolled on. As it moved, it picked up items and loaded them into a cart. Each team got one point for each item the robot successfully loaded, and the team with the most points won. ECTC’s team placed seventh out of 14 at the first level in Tuscaloosa in October.

“We are in the process of trying to begin a modern manufacturing program on campus, pending approval by the St. Clair County Board of Education,” Turner says. “If approved, it will be a partnership with the Alabama Region 4 Workforce, also known as the Central 6.”

The program will cater to the Honda plant in Lincoln and all the periphery manufacturing plants that supply it, and to the Mercedes plant near Tuscaloosa. “The state is divided into workforce regions, and we’re in Region 4, also known as Central 6 because it includes the six counties in the center of the state,” Turner says. “The goal is for every region to have a modern manufacturing program. We’re working with others in our region to develop this program. We hope to start it next school year.”

Career-oriented night classes for adults may be a part of the school’s future next year, too. Turner says they are applying for a grant that will provide for 12-week courses to train people to earn certificates and get jobs in welding, carpentry and HVAC systems. “The grant would enable us to provide courses for free, but some of my teachers want to start it and let people or their employers pay for it,” Turner says.

Joe Whitten, a local historian, was a friend of the school’s namesake. He says all who knew “Pope” were greatly saddened that he did not live to see his dream come true. “The reality of his dream has flourished through the years,” Whitten says. “I know if he could see it today, he would be joyful that he did not fight and labor in vain for a vocational school for the students of St Clair County.”

Eye on the sky

Aviation Career Day much
more than just an air show

Story and photos
by Graham Hadley

It’s not every day that you get to see a Soviet-era MiG jet fighter roar down the runway and take to the skies over the St. Clair County Airport in Pell City.

But that was exactly what scores of visitors got to see Oct. 8. Children and adults pressed up along the ropes separating the viewing area from the runway as the powerful plane – and other vintage military and civilian aircraft of all kinds – took off as part of the St. Clair County Airport Aviation Career Day and Open House.

With the airport lined with unique aircraft, the event attracted people from all across the region. The lineup included military helicopters to an assortment of fixed-wing planes, including the Soviet-built MiG-17 fighter jet, a variety of World War II planes, a private jet, vintage and kit planes, not to mention the ever-present yellow sea plane that so often graces the skies over Logan Martin.

Precision flying over Pell City

Ant that was exactly the idea.

The Career Day has several purposes. It raises awareness about career possibilities in the aviation industry, highlights the importance the St. Clair County Airport plays to the local community, and ways the community and local governments can support the airport, said Ike Newton, a pilot, an event organizer and member of the airport board.

“We really wanted to shine a spotlight on why the airport is so important to the Pell City, St. Clair County and surrounding areas …,” he said. “We are the only general aviation airport in St. Clair County and a reliever airport for Birmingham,” and can handle a wide range of aviation needs, with the exception of large commercial airliners.

The St. Clair Airport not only provides hangars and fuel but is home to a flight school and related aviation businesses. It also handles some cargo flights and other related services.

According to a 2020 financial report, the airport had a $9-million financial impact on the region with a combined employment of over 100 people generating more than $3 million in payroll, and contributing over half a million dollars in local tax revenue, Newton said.

What’s more, the airport is a core service for the region, making it more attractive not only to people who own private planes, but also is one of the key things businesses and industries look for in any area where they are considering relocating. It also provides much-needed hangar space, something that is always in high demand across Central Alabama and surrounding areas.

And if what was on display at the Aviation Career Day is any indication, St. Clair County Airport is perfectly suited to the task.

“This airport we have here is a little jewel,” Newton said.

More than just an airshow

While all manner of unique planes lined the airport and flew in stunning aerial displays overhead – with regular overpasses by visitors taking rides in a helicopter – vendors lined the parking area and other parts of the property. Inside the airport building proper, presenters lined up to talk about careers in aviation and other topics of interest, like the roles women have played in the industry over the years.

Civil Air Patrol units from around St. Clair were especially on hand to help educate people, especially the younger crowd, about all the options open to them in the field of aviation and how to get involved.

Tomaze Jackson’s first time next to a jet

Major Richard Caudle with the Civil Air Patrol, with assistance from Cadet Staff Sgt. Luke Davis, manned the booth for the Springville Squadron 129 of the Civil Air Patrol. Touting the success of the program, especially the number of young members who have received their pilot’s licenses, the major showed off their displays of aviation information. It also featured tools, like model rocketry, they use in their training programs.

One of the key goals is to educate young people on the huge diversity of aviation careers available and the opportunities open to them for getting started with the programs from a young age.

And it’s not just airplanes and helicopters that the CAP and similar organizations are working with. Drone technology is becoming more important in both the civilian and military sides of aviation, and demand is high for people with those skill sets, they said.

While the vendors were busy talking to visitors outside, presenters in the airport were giving programs on all the career opportunities for people going into aviation, and there was something for everyone.

Holly Row, a retired air traffic controller and pilot, gave a class on Careers for Women in Aviation, followed by Lewis Holder, owner of Holder Aviation in Pell City, on Careers in Aviation Electronics. Other classes involved flying large commercial planes, aviation maintenance, military aviation and much more.

All about the aircraft

As much as the vendors and educators kept people informed, the biggest draw of the day was the aircraft – helicopters, seaplanes, personal jets and vintage aircraft of all shapes and sizes were on display – both on land and in the air.

As the various planes, particularly the vintage military ones, lined up and sped down the runway, people flocked to the dividing ropes to catch the takeoffs. Followed by demonstrations of formation aerial demonstrations, low passes just off the runway. It was particularly impressive when the MiG fighter jet did its flybys, followed by tight formations flying over the crowds, trailing streamers of smoke for all to watch.

Wave after wave of pilots showing off their very best skill held the constant attention of everyone on the ground.

For the planes on display, visitors got an up-close-and-personal view of some amazing aircraft.

Koley Thompson looks inside the Commemorative Airforce’s Fairchild PT-19 cockpit.

Tomazz Jackson of Pell City posed in front of a private jet on display and was quick to point out that was the first time he had ever been near a jet. The owner allowed people to walk through the small, twin-engine private jet and get a feel for what flying in one would be like.

Koley Thompson of Alpine got to see firsthand what a vintage open cockpit of a trainer airplane from World War II looked like up close and personal. The beautifully restored and maintained blue and yellow Fairchild PT-19 is maintained by the Commemorative Air Force unit in Birmingham.

Allen Pilkington and Andrew Kennedy from the Commemorative Air Force Birmingham Escadrille were thrilled to show off the plane, a great source of pride for both men. Compared to the cockpit of the jet or even some of the newer propeller planes, the controls for the Fairchild were about as simple as you can get – the bare minimum necessary to fly a plane. Because of that and what Pilkington and Kennedy described as one of the smoothest flying planes they had ever been in, the Fairchild PT-19 made for the perfect pilot trainer during the war.

As popular as the vintage planes were, one of the biggest draws of the day, especially for the youngest future aviators, was the UH-72A Lakota helicopter from the National Guard Unit in Birmingham.

The pilots had disconnected the batteries, and children were allowed full access to the military chopper, including the cockpit. The pilots said this helicopter is mainly used for scouting missions in the United States – everything from border patrol assistance to search operations and other support roles after hurricanes and other emergencies.

Looking to the future

Airport Manager Wendy Watson and Newton classified the day as a huge success.

“We had a good turnout this year. Every year we have been growing, and that is definitely the direction we want to continue,” she said.

Newton noted the event does an excellent job of highlighting the important role the airport plays in many aspects of quality of life for the area and in the economic success of the region.

Likewise, both cannot stress the important role the community and local governments can play in the success of the airport enough.

Aviation Career Day plays a vital role in doing all those things – in addition to being a great, family friendly way, to spend a sunny Saturday.

“It’s a win, win, win situation for everyone involved,” said.

And with everything it takes to put the event together, they are already looking ahead to next year, with expectations of an even bigger crowd. l

Little Art Tree

A place to ‘grow’ artists thriving in Ashville

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Richard Rybka

Jess Lauren Alexander sees art in everything. When she looks at coffee filters, she sees flower petals. Colorful yarn looks like the bristles of freshly dipped paintbrushes, and in her mind, plastic bottles have the potential to become sculpted human figures.

“I don’t think I’ve ever not done art,” she said. “My mother’s side of the family is very artsy, and I just took up with it.”

Alexander, who grew up in Ashville, wants children to have the same opportunities she did to explore different artistic mediums, unleash their imagination and develop their creativity. That’s why she opened Little Art Tree on the Courthouse Square just over a year ago.

Young artists showing off their work.

“It’s a need I don’t think is being met,” she said, adding that art is no longer a regular part of Alabama’s school curriculum. A former substitute teacher, Alexander always had students asking her how to draw different things. When she realized how many children had the desire to learn, she started an afterschool art program at the elementary school. More than 60 children signed up, but the class was short-lived because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She began teaching again in 2021 and opened the studio that September. “To me, art is not just something to do or a possible career. It’s therapy; it’s an outlet,” she said. “My middle school students deal with so much. Sometimes they just come in here and start drawing and talking, and it’s a release. It gives them a chance to just chill, draw and decompress.”

Alexander, who is married to Andrew and is mom to 12-year-old Dawson, teaches six classes a week to nearly 50 students ranging in age from 4 to 18. She also offers the occasional adult class – a group recently made door hangers – and she’s looking for another teacher to join her so adult classes can be a more regular occurrence. “It’s hard to switch my mindset from children to adults,” she said.

Besides, helping children and teens fall in love with art has become Alexander’s passion. “I teach techniques, but it’s mostly about giving kids space and a place to come and explore art,” she said. “Anyone can be an artist. It’s just finding the style and medium that fits your personality.”

She uses her own family as an example. Her mother, Beverly Burnett, paints landscapes with oils, makes quilts and crochets. Her great-aunt is an abstract painter in Birmingham and works mostly with acrylics. Alexander, whose style is “semi-abstract,” prefers to mix things up a bit, often combining watercolors, acrylics, and ink with non-traditional materials, such as coffee grounds, in her artwork.

To help her students discover their own talents, Alexander’s classes focus on a variety of mediums. “We do a little bit of everything – painting, drawing, mixed media, clay,” she said, adding that she hopes to add a kiln to her ever-growing list of offerings soon. “Some of the kids have just extraordinary talent for such a young age,” she said.

Alexander knows that art lessons can be out of reach for many families, but she wants to make them accessible to as many children as possible. She’s reaching out to individuals and businesses who may be interested in sponsoring a child for $100 a month, $500 for half a year or $1,000 a year. All the materials are provided, and classes are held August through May, she said.

Sparking imaginations

Alexander’s studio, in a historic building that has taken many forms, including a feed store and a beauty parlor, is the perfect backdrop to showcase the students’ work as well as some of her own. Paintings hang on an exposed brick wall, and Alexander loves knowing that the building has a history of inspiring budding artists. Christine McCain, whose family owns the building, was an artist and once taught art classes there, as well. Alexander’s mother was one of her students.

“I fell in love with the building,” Alexander said. A colorful mural of flowers, mushrooms and a tree that Alexander painted on the back wall is a nod to the studio’s name, as well as its mission. “We grow artists here,” it reads.

Detail work on a sketch of a flower

The classes have proven to be a big hit with the young artists. “I like art,” 10-year-old Jayden said in one recent class. “You can paint and use your imagination.”

Her sister, Kadence, 12, said drawing is her first love, but she loves painting and learning other skills, as well. “I love doing stuff like this,” she said, using a palette knife to paint the black markings on the trunks of birch trees. “I’ve never done this before, and I love creating stuff. When I was little, I loved to draw. I have notebooks full of drawings.”

The same can be said of Alexander, who found her inner artist with a how-to-draw horses book as a child. “I would take paper and that book and sit and trace and copy for hours,” she said. “I did it so much I got to the point where I didn’t have to trace anymore.”

Alexander said she’s studied pretty much all forms of art over the years, including painting, drawing, sculpture and pottery. “I’m always taking classes and workshops to learn new things,” she said.

Although she loves introducing new techniques to her students, Alexander also allows them free time to work on whatever they want. Some paint, some draw, some sculpt with clay and they have access to all of the art and craft supplies she keeps on hand.

Alexander has three cans marked “Theme,” “Description” and “Color” the students can use if they get stuck. They can draw an idea from each of the cans to give them a direction or starting point. Alexander recently drew “fish” for the theme, “stressed out” for the description and “warm colors” for the palette.

“It’s usually something silly, but it will spark an idea for them to work on,” she said, adding that watching them explore is one of her favorite things to do. “Everyone has a medium they’re better at and they enjoy more, and I want each of them to find their thing. When they do, I get teary-eyed. It just gives me the most joy.”

Houston Project

Helping area veterans and honoring a military son’s memory

Story Paul South
Photos by Graham Hadley
Submitted photos

Even as a kid, Houston Lee Tumlin “lit up a room” when he entered. The moviegoing public saw his light in the movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, where Tumlin played Walker Bobby, the oldest son of Ricky, played by Will Ferrell.

He played the part to the hilt, his mom, Michelle, remembered. But when the cameras stopped rolling, the then-13-year-old went back to his St. Clair County raising.

“They would be filming, and he would just be cussing people out. But when they would go to break, he would say, ‘May I have a bag of chips?’”

The astonished cast and crew wondered where the on-camera kid with potty mouth had gone. “They were all wondering where those manners came from,” Michelle says.

Houston Tumlin in uniform

But that was Houston, a class clown and sometimes “hot mess” who loved to make people laugh, who would defend bullied classmates, and competed in sports at Victory Christian Academy, especially football.

Competition began for him as a toddler — baseball, soccer, wrestling, even dabbling in mixed martial arts.

After high school, he joined the Army, earning medals and commendations and numerous training certifications, serving stateside and in South Korea in the storied 101st Airborne, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Among his honors: the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Medal and many others.

“He was a badass,” his mom says with a laugh.

But in his last military posting, life took a tragic turn for Houston Tumlin.

“The year in Korea was not good for him,” Michelle Tumlin says. “There was a lot of bad stuff that happened. “

But on March 23, 2021, the light turned to the deepest darkness. Suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and what researchers at Boston University later determined was CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), Houston took his own life. For Michelle Tumlin, “It was the worst day of my life. The thing that I hold onto is that the doctors said to me that the CTE took away his impulse control. He had an on-off switch, and his flipped that day.

“You add the brain damage and some personal stuff and then you add the bad stuff that happened in Korea, and it was literally the reason he got out of the military.”

Daily, 22 past or present American service personnel commit suicide, their brains shaken by the blasts of battlefields, souls shredded by nightmarish memories, or concussions caused in competition. In Tumlin’s case, between sports and military service and two car accidents, he suffered an estimated 22 concussions between the ages of 14 and 28, Michelle Tumlin says.  Those injuries triggered personality changes, alcoholism and changed Houston. His light was gradually fading to black. Depression, alcoholism, multiple head trauma: the recipe for CTE.

“He suffered the last four years of his life,” she says. “It was confirmed after a brain study at Boston University that he had CTE.” Among other contributing factors, “That’s the reason he committed suicide.”

CTE triggered his symptoms – headaches, happy one minute, sad the next, anger from out of nowhere and a descent into becoming what his mom called, “a straight-up alcoholic.”

“When he was drinking beer with a group of friends, he was fine. When he drank liquor, he would turn into the saddest, most depressed person who never thought he was good. He became a completely different person. That had a huge impact on him doing what he did. It was his kryptonite.”

The Tumlins are one of  a growing number of military and NFL families that have donated their loved one’s brain for research at BU. CTE can only be determined after death.

While the Tumlin family’s grief will never die, a year to the day after Houston’s death, Michelle opened the nonprofit Houston Project. Proceeds from the sale of patriotic hats, T-shirts, popcorn, candles and “a little bit of everything” at the store go to help vets and their families. Every cent goes to veterans and their families.

In the Cogswell Avenue storefront, Michelle Tumlin fights a quiet battle. Armed with smiles and encouragement, she wants to give veterans hope.

“I started Houston Project because I needed something in my life that felt good, but to also raise awareness for mental problems, PTSD, alcoholism, CTE – all of the above – mental health, period. Raising awareness was important to me.”

She adds, “I wanted to do both of those things and honor my son.”

While the focus of the project is on veterans, the Houston Project is working with other area organizations to help in the fight against mental illness.

“Mental health is important, whether you are a veteran or not,” Tumlin says. “My platform is to be my son’s voice here on this earth. I’m here to tell his story and to try to keep others from doing what Houston did and help give them awareness before it gets to that. That’s why I exist.”

In other times in other wars, PTSD went by other names: shell shock, soldier’s complaint, combat fatigue or war neurosis. The historical record dates such illness as early as 2,600 years ago. And while researchers and medical professionals know more about PTSD, Tumlin believes veterans aren’t receiving adequate help.

 “When (service personnel) get out of the military, they need a way to get back to who they were before they joined the military,” Tumlin says. “The military teaches them to be strong and to be tough and to be soldiers. It was hard for Houston to feel normal again. Not being in the military, he just didn’t feel right, if that makes sense.He couldn’t find his way.”

Houston missed the camaraderie of the military.

“He struggled with depression, nonstop. He was a happy person and a funny person. But he couldn’t find his right place.”

While Army Specialist E-4 Houston Lee Tumlin is gone, he is far from forgotten. While at the time of his death, sordid celebrity news outlets centered on the “Child Actor Commits Suicide” angle, so many others – in Pell City, in the Army and elsewhere – remembered him as so much more – son, brother, fiancé, a soldier who served his country with honor.

The family takes a stroll on the beach.

Houston Tumlin packed a lot of living into 28 years.

“He walked into a room and took it over. He had the most beautiful smile. He could make people laugh. I mean, the people that started reaching out to us after he passed – from all of these soldiers from all over the map – messaging us, calling us, telling us it was his goal to make people happy,” Michelle says.

There is another story that the Tumlins heard about their son, from a girl recounting the story of a date she had with Houston in the cold of winter.

“She said they were driving in downtown Birmingham,” Michelle recalls. “Houston stopped the car and told her he’d be right back. He got a coat from the back of the car, locked the car, and took the coat to a homeless man across the street. Hearing these stories just filled my heart. I could not be a prouder Mom.”

The Houston Project, created by a grieving family to help veterans and to honor their fallen son, not only helps vets with things like household repairs and moving expenses. It recently helped a veteran’s family in a poignant, particular way, a fitting tribute to the kid who lit up a room.

It paid the family’s utility bill and kept the lights glowing.

Editor’s Note: The nonprofit Houston Project is open Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The store is located at 1916 Cogswell Ave. in Pell City. Find the store on Facebook. Every cent of sales goes to help local veterans and their families.

Kayaking Big Canoe

Big Canoe Creek becoming a top draw for paddle enthusiasts

Story by Loyd McIntosh
Submitted Photos

We’re standing on the bank looking out onto the Big Canoe Creek checking out the water levels. It’s Saturday, shortly after noon, right around the time the morning Yak Tha Creek tour of Big Canoe Creek would be ending for the day.

Today, however, they had to cancel due to the water levels being too low, an issue the small Ashville-based company has faced all summer long. Today is one of those days. The water at its lowest point is only a foot and a half, too low to safely get the kayaks in the water.

“We don’t like to run under two feet,” explains Madison Vann, the daughter of Yak The Creek’s owner and founder, Randall Vann. She instituted that rule recently after eight of Yak Tha Creek’s Perception sit-on-top kayaks were damaged one weekend after putting in water below two feet in depth. It’s a shame because this five-mile stretch of Big Canoe Creek is spectacular in its scenic beauty, is home to some amazing wildlife best experienced on a kayak. In total, Big Canoe Creek is a 246-mile watershed spanning the northern edge of St. Clair County. Originating in northeast Jefferson County near Zamora Park Lake, Big Canoe Creek flows into the Coosa River in southwest Etowah County ending its run in Neely Henry Lake.

According to the website, The Friends Of The Big Canoe Creek (bigcanoecreek.org), Big Canoe Creek is home to more than 50 species of fish, including the trispot darter, a species that was found in the waters near Springville in 2008.

Prior to its rediscovery, the trispot darter was thought to have disappeared from Alabama waterways as early as the 1950s. It’s surprises like these that kayakers are treated to barely a stone’s throw away from the busyness of the area’s highways and interstates.

“There’s all different kinds of fish. We even got some alligator gar out there. If you kayak real slow, they’ll rise to the top. It’s so cool,” Vann says. “We’ve got groundhogs, raccoons and lots of lots of turtles. Oh, my goodness, we have an insane amount of turtles. And there’s a ton of mussels.”

In fact, there are eight federally listed freshwater mussel species known to be living in Big Canoe Creek. Additionally, a section of the creek stretching for 18 miles was designated “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act in 2004 and a new species, known as the Canoe Creek clubshell, was recently identified living in one of the Big Canoe Creek watershed tributaries.

Yak Tha Creek

For the past seven years, Yak Tha Creek has been taking people on kayak tours on a five-mile portion of Big Canoe Creek. Originally launched by Randall Vann, the director of Maintenance at Spartan Invest in Birmingham, the business has been turned over to the next generation of Vanns. “It’s me, my dad, and my brother Mason. Dad kind of lets me and Mason run a lot of it since we’ve been doing it so long,” says Madison Vann. “Every once in a while, we’ll hire some high school kids to help out because hauling those kayaks can be kind of rough.”

Yak Tha Creek paddlers enjoying a lazy day on the water.

Yak Tha Creek uses nine-and-a-half foot, sit-on-top kayaks, which Vann says don’t hold water like the more traditional sit-inside kayaks. It has other benefits, too. One doesn’t typically find wildlife hiding on sit-on-top kayaks. “I’d rather not stick my leg in there and find a snake in there,” Vann says before erupting into laughter. “Someone the other day told me he had left a fish in there all summer long; I don’t know what I would have done. Probably thrown the kayak away!”

Yak Tha Creek operates weekends, typically between Memorial Day to Labor Day but may extend the season depending on demand. They put in on Doss Lane just off Pinedale Road with the exit point five miles away on state property in the shadow of the U.S. Highway 231 bridge less than a mile from downtown Ashville.

Each Friday, the Vanns work their stretch of the creek, clearing trees and other debris. The route typically takes three to four hours to complete and is suitable for the beginner learning the ropes and the expert looking for a more relaxing, low-key day on the water.

“It’s a good, easy beginner’s creek, though. There’s nothing rough about it unless the water is high,” Vann adds. “It’s a super easy kayak for beginners. I have seven year olds come out here and do it.”

Even though she says maintaining the creek is hard work, she never grows tired of kayaking Big Canoe. “There’s so much stuff out there to find. I’m a treasure hunter. There’s crazy stuff out there,” Vann says.

Among the items she’s uncovered over the years include cellphones, teacups, and a complete set of Mason jars buried in the dirt, most likely holding some forgotten-about moonshine from an old still hidden in the bank along the stretch of the creek. “There was a guy out here one day sifting for gold up the stream a little farther,” Vann says. “I don’t know if he ever found any.”

Big Canoe Creek Outfitters

Approximately 30 minutes southwest in Springville is another family-owned kayak business – Big Canoe Creek Outfitters. Owned and operated by the Shaffers, a family originally from Mountain Brook with a short stop in Trussville in between, they bought the property earlier this spring, accidentally becoming business owners in the process.

“The kayak business came with the purchase of the house,” says Robert Shaffer, the patriarch of the family. “Honestly, we didn’t know there was this kayak business when we first looked at the property in April.”

The natural beauty of Big Canoe Creek

Much like Yak Tha Creek, the Shaffers turned the business over to their teenage sons, Thomas and Lyons. Essentially a summer job for the Shaffer brothers, Big Canoe Creek Outfitters opened for the 2022 season on Memorial Day weekend.

Lyons, a student at Auburn University, says the previous owners left the kayaks and other equipment in good shape, so all that was necessary was some cleaning and general maintenance – as well as learning how to run the business. “We were learning as we were going in the beginning because we did not know a lot,” says Lyons.

For example, Lyons says he was surprised at the biodiversity of Big Canoe Creek. “I did not realize how much wildlife there would actually be in just a simple creek, but there are so many different types of fish,” he notes. According to the Big Canoe Creek website, the 3.85-mile section on which the Shaffers offer tours is home to many interesting species of birds, including great egrets, barred owls and bald eagles.

With the first summer under their belts, Lyons says he believes they can expand Big Canoe Creek Outfitters’ offerings in the summers to come. “We definitely would like to expand and get some boats so we can accommodate bigger parties,” Lyons says. “We just needed to learn what we were doing first so now we can actually grow.”

Meanwhile, back in Ashville

As the conversation with Madison Vann started to wind down, a pair of kayakers row to the exit point having just completed a long morning on Big Canoe Creek. Van Lyvers, a resident of Pinson, and Bart Albritton, from Odenville, are friends who have kayaked many waterways throughout Alabama but had never kayaked Big Canoe Creek until today.

They’re all smiles as they pull their boats onto the bank and load them into the bed of Albritton’s pickup truck. The guys say they enjoyed the creek even if the water was quite low in some places. “We’ve seen worse, but it was kind of low,” says Livers. “If it had just a little more water it would have made all the difference in the world.”

“What you see is what it is. There are no rapids, and it’s just leisurely and fun,” says Albritton. “We saw some high-legged woodpeckers, some kingfishers, but unfortunately no snakes.

“I highly recommend it,” adds Albritton. “It was beautiful, scenic and just awesome.”

Knitted Knockers

Trudy Mayoros’ knitting gives breast cancer survivors a lift

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Meghan Frondorf

Mentioning “knitted knockers” usually elicits raised eyebrows, sly grins or outright snickers from people who haven’t heard the term before. Among breast cancer survivors who are familiar with the term, it elicits smiles and sighs of relief.

Knitted knockers are soft, comfortable, handmade breast prosthetics for women who have undergone mastectomies or other breast procedures. Unlike traditional prosthetics, knitted versions are lightweight and gentle on scarred or sensitive skin.

Trudy Mayoros has never had breast cancer. But she has been knitting since she was five years old. So, when she learned about the volunteer organization that provides knitted and crocheted alternatives to expensive, heavy breast prosthetics, free of charge, she was touched. She jumped on the bandwagon immediately.

Trudy makes several knitted knockers each week.

“I’ve been doing this since 2016, when Lee Ann Clark, county extension coordinator for Alabama Cooperative Extension Services for St. Clair, held a big Pink & Teal Awareness luncheon that October and introduced people in this area to Knitted Knockers,” Trudy says. “October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and pink is its color. Teal is for ovarian cancer, and Lee Ann’s sister died of ovarian cancer. After the luncheon, some of us formed a Knitted Knockers group.”

 Initially, several women met to knit and crochet the knockers, and their inventory grew well beyond the requests received. So, they sent their inventory to Knitted Knockers headquarters in Washington state. “Currently, we knit as we receive orders and usually specifically for the size and color requested,” Trudy says.

Since its inception in 2011, Knitted Knockers has provided 1,876 handmade knockers to registered medical providers (to give to their patients), 447,871 knitted knockers total and has 4,756 groups involved in the knitting, all on a worldwide basis.

Although her monthly numbers vary now because she makes them upon request, Trudy has knitted at least five dozen pairs, as well as singles, over the past five years.She also knits and crochets about half a dozen blankets and 10-15 hats each month for other charity organizations. Topping her list are the Warm Up America Foundation, a Texas-based organization that supplies blankets, hats and scarves to the homeless; Ann’s New Life Center for Women, located in Cropwell and Leeds, which supplies blankets, booties and caps to new mothers; a couple of Native American charities and the Jimmie Hale Mission in downtown Birmingham.

“I love doing this,” she says. “It’s my thing, my mission.”

She has been a knitter since she was five, when she made a pair of socks for her father. “He was thrilled, but I can imagine what they were like,” she says, in a voice as soft as the pima cotton with which she knits the knockers, and that retains a hint of her Swiss accent.

Born in Switzerland, it makes sense that she knits European or continental fashion. In this style, the yarn is held in the left hand and a subtle movement of the left index finger is used to help the needle pick up the yarn and form a new stitch. “American style involves holding the yarn in your right hand and ‘throwing’ it over the needle to form the stitch,” she says. She uses four needles for the knockers, knitting with two, dropping one, then picking up another as she forms the triangular shape. It takes about an hour and a half to knit one knocker.

Most of her orders come from individuals who learn of her service by word of mouth or from their oncologist. When she gets an order, she tries to turn it around in one to two days. “I let them pick the color,” she says. “Beige is the most popular choice, but pink is popular, too. It’s the only time they can pick their size! Believe it or not, most of the time they go smaller (than before surgery).”

Women to whom she has given knockers often send thank-you notes, and sometimes they include a donation. In keeping with the tenets of Knitted Knockers Foundation, she doesn’t charge a cent for her work. If she gets a donation from a grateful wearer, she turns it back into more yarn.

Knitted Knockers can be colorful or simply beige.

Commercial breast prostheses usually are made of rubber and can weigh 1.5 pounds. They cost more than $100 and make women sweaty, so some just stop wearing them. Knitted knockers, on the other hand, are made from exceptionally soft cotton stuffed with PolyFiberFil,which is non-allergenic. They can be hand or machine washed and hung to dry.

“I order the yarn from a place out West, and they get the cotton from Peru,” Trudy says. “Lion Brand now has a soft yarn called Coboo approved by the Knitted Knockers organization as soft enough for the knockers. It’s a #3 weight, and Walmart is carrying it, so it is a lot less expensive than the yarn I’ve been ordering – about a third of the price.”

She has a dedicated craft room over her garage, where she keeps several WIPs (works in progress). Baby blankets and caps are stacked next to her sewing machine, finished except for weaving in the yarn ends – a dreaded task for most knitters and crocheters.

Along one wall, a stack of plastic, see-through drawers keep her yarn organized by color and weight while also storing magazines and knitting tools. A clear bag houses large foam blocks that fit together like a puzzle. She uses those for wet blocking many of her finished pieces.

Two recliners face a small television that she often watches while knitting. The crocheted antimacassars on the backs of the recliners are her own pattern. She makes up most of her patterns as she knits or crochets, and only learned to read printed ones a few years ago.

“I probably spend two to three hours a day minimum knitting, more if I’m working on special projects,” she says. “I may go up to my craft room around 1 p.m., and work until Emery (her husband) reminds me it’s time for dinner. Then after dinner, I’ll knit while we watch TV together in our family room downstairs.”

Like the dozens of hummingbirds at the feeders on her patio, Trudy can’t sit still and do nothing. Apparently, she can’t walk and do nothing, either, as evidenced by the treadmill in her craft room. She tries to walk half an hour a day at the No. 2 speed setting and works while she walks. She knits items that involve a lot of repetition and don’t require her to count stitches.

“I feel I have a gift in serving other people,” Trudy says. “When God blesses you with so much, you don’t sit on your gifts.”

Editor’s Note: For more information on the free Knitted Knockers program, including a prosthesis pattern and list of accepted yarns, see knittedknockers.org. Trudy is on their knitter list, and you can contact her through their website.