Pell City Growing

Story and photos by Carol Pappas
Photos by Graham Hadley

Driving around Pell City these days is like being on a tour of a boom town. Rooftops are going up. Steel framework for major businesses is being erected. Construction in various phases is under way in many parts of the city.

And the benefits aren’t lost on people like Brian Muenger, city manager of Pell City.

“We are now seeing through a combination of factors economic properties becoming available that are desirable. They’re coming onto the market, and we’re seeing a lot of focus on investment on US 231 and properties adjacent to I-20.”

In just the northern tip of Pell City on US 231 and I-20 thoroughfares, Town & Country Ford, McSweeney Automotive and Northside Medical Home are looming large on the economic landscape.

The old hospital property fronting I-20 is getting more than a second look of late. “Interested parties are looking that we didn’t have before. Now they’re showing interest.”

Just across I-20, market movement is being seen in the Vaughn and Hazelwood Drive areas. “Property transactions are taking place. People are ready to develop those areas,” Muenger said.

What once would have been a devastating blow – Kmart closing a little further south on US 231 – has the potential to rebound better and stronger than before. A trio of retailers is coming in – Tractor Supply Co., Martin’s Family Clothing and Bargain Hunt. Tractor Supply will occupy the end and outdoor portion of the 90,000-square-foot Kmart space, and Martin’s will bring its regional reputation and department store to 40,000 square feet of it. “Three retailers will almost exceed employment and sales of Kmart. It is a great thing for the community, and it says a lot about our retail community,” Muenger noted.

He turned his attention to Bankhead Crossing, where a new theater, bowling alley and entertainment complex is expected to begin construction soon. The project was delayed due to design revisions, but it appears ready to deliver on its plans.

With a burgeoning Walmart shopping center and surrounding businesses, it is easy to see cause for excitement. I-20 Development President and CEO Bill Ellison, who developed those areas and is continuing to do so, predicted that “the Premiere Entertainment Center will trigger the next tier of retail development along Highway 231 and the I-20 Corridor. I think you will see the addition of more restaurants and retail box stores. It will help expand the tax revenue for the City of Pell City.”

Already, businesses in that area are two of the top three revenue generators for the city, Muenger said. With the rerouting of Hazelwood Drive just across US 231 for improved access to St. Vincent’s St. Clair and the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home, development in that area is opening up new growth. That project is in the design phase and readying to enter the acquisition phase.

Muenger points with particular pride to the city’s recent Standard and Poor rating of AA Stable. “That’s a top tier” for a city the size of Pell City, Muenger said, and it underscores a strong economy, budget, management, liquidity and weak debt.

“We expect existing business to continue to grow with new business coming into the market,” Muenger said, a prospect that bodes well for the future.

“St. Clair County is often one of the top five counties in Alabama in population growth and median household income. Pell City’s leaders have taken a very thoughtful approach to growth by focusing on job creation, quality of life and safety. When you create a safe community for young couples to start a family and career, it will then become the perfect environment for retailers. We are seeing this more as the Birmingham market continues to grow to the east,” he said.

“Specifically, Pell City has understood that infrastructure is the key to future development and they have always invested wisely in water, sewer, and transportation infrastructure. Many people have already forgotten that at one point the bridge over the interstate had only two lanes. Pell City was willing to invest in its future.

“We believe that, with continued strong leadership from the Mayor, Council Members, City Manager and the entire community, Pell City will continue to grow and prosper.”

LAH Realtor Dana Ellison couldn’t agree more. She and LAH commercial broker Austin Blair have listed what has long been thought of as prime development property on the southern end of the city.

What is known locally as the Cropwell intersection, where 19th Street, Alabama 34 and US 231 South intersect, sizable acreage is being marketed and is expected to fuel substantial growth in that area.

Ellison talked about the potential in terms of convenience for anyone living south of the Kmart development. “It pulls from several counties, like Talladega and Shelby, as well as the residential areas of Logan Martin Lake and southern St. Clair County.”

She noted that when grocery giant Publix decided to locate nearby in what is now the South Park development, “they looked at the demographics of that area.”

And decision-makers liked what they saw.

“We have some key pieces of commercially zoned property on the market at that intersection, providing an opportunity for users needing from one acre up to parcels large enough for an entire shopping center,” Blair said. “It’s a real opportunity for growth.”

Nearby Pell City’s Civic Center and Sports Complex and Lakeside Park draw substantial traffic. Lake residents like the convenience of shopping and doing business in the area, and Ellison sees the properties that are available now as prime spots for medical offices, hardware, convenience stores, restaurants and office space.

“We’re seeing new rooftops,” she said, and demand is resurging. Household income is increasing, and interest in the lake is on an upward trajectory.

All those signs point toward major growth on the southern end of the city, and coupled with the growth on the northern end, Pell City appears to be in just the right spot heading into the future.

“You can get to Pell City from downtown Birmingham in just over 30 minutes most any time of day. Pell City is easy to access via free flowing I-20 compared to other growing areas near Birmingham,” Blair said. “That should continue to promote positive growth.”

 

Northside Medical Home Opening

Expansion creating a special place in Pell City

Story and Photos by Carol Pappas
Photos by Graham Hadley

It is hard to imagine that from a small office on John Haynes Drive, a mere 3,000 square feet, that a sprawling medical home could rise a decade and a half later.

But on Pell City’s north end, the construction seems endless as Northside Medical Associates continues expansion after expansion.

Founded in 2001 by Dr. Rock Helms, Northside has evolved into 80,000 square feet of patient-centered facilities, the latest of which doubles its size and significantly enhances its scope. Northside Medical Home opened in October, fulfilling the next step in Helms’ vision of health care. Official grand opening and ribbon cutting are set for Oct. 24.

At the center of what he envisions is always the patient – comprehensive care, access to cutting-edge diagnostic technology, expanded specialties and an atmosphere where doctors talk to one another for better outcomes for its patients. And all of it is conveniently located close to the patient on a single campus.

“It has always been good to provide a place for patients where they can obtain a full range of medical services at one patient location. This is the next step toward that goal,” Helms said. “We encourage collaboration between primary and specialty care because it enables better quality care.”

The two-story, 50,000-square-foot Northside Medical Home, fronting Interstate 20 on one side and the existing facilities on the other, represents a sizable next step – diverse specialties all under one roof.

In the new wing will be Alacare Home Health and Hospice, VisionFirst Eye Center, Birmingham Heart Clinic, Alabama Oral & Facial Surgery, Southeast Gastro, Eastern Surgical Associates, an expanded Northside Apothecary, and Northside CARE Team with expanded Health & Wellness department. It even has a café coming in January.

Northside Medical Home’s expansion also will include bone density and body composition, infusion suite, and health and wellness classes in its new training center. According to Chief Operating Officer Laura Gossett, the tenants have already expressed interest in hosting events for the public to educate and promote specific health-related topics. “Our training center will be the ideal venue for these types of events.”

Doctors Helms, Michael Dupre and Hunter Russell, along with their nurse practitioners and clinical staff, will relocate to the new building. Doctors William McClanahan, Bob Whitmore and Steve Fortson, along with their nurse practitioners and clinical staff, will expand clinical services in buildings I and II. Also expected are new timeshare specialty physicians from Birmingham and surrounding areas joining the Northside campus Timeshare medical staff soon.

“We want this to be a medical home for patients,” Helms said. “It’s exciting. It’s a more convenient, relaxed setting” than driving to larger, crowded metropolitan areas.

And the end result is an unrivaled collaboration coming together to put the patient at the center of everything they do. Here’s what Northside Medical Home’s newest residents had to say about the new venture:

 

Birmingham Heart Clinic

With the expansion from a time-share rotation space to a full-time 9,000+ square-foot clinic, it will give Birmingham Heart Clinic the capability of offering full service cardiology to the Pell City area. BHC will have anywhere from one to three physicians seeing patients in its new office every day starting in October. 

In addition, the new office space will give BHC the ability to perform a wide range of diagnostic testing in-house, such as nuclear and exercise stress tests, cardiac and vascular ultrasounds, Holter and event monitoring.

“BHC responded to growth in the Pell City area more than eight years ago by opening a clinic, and initially, that volume of patients was served with clinic coverage roughly one day per week,” explained Dr. Jason B. Thompson. “The area has seen remarkable growth and has outstanding primary care with both fueling the development of the clinic space set to open. BHC Pell City will be able to accommodate three full-time providers and offer an array of diagnostic testing, allowing patients to keep their care locally.”

 

VisionFirst Eye Center

VisionFirst’s Dr. Sara Clark Cleghern is looking forward to quadrupling the amount of space her clinic now occupies. It will have its own waiting room, which features an area for children, complete with toys and an iPad bar.

“More” is the operative word at Pell City’s VisionFirst – more examination rooms, more equipment and the ability to do more procedures in-house. With services from primary eye care to surgeons represented, “it will allow us to do more,” she said. And there will be an expanded, comprehensive line of glasses.

Birmingham-based VisionFirst affiliated with Northside in January 2015, and Cleghern came on board in August 2015.

“We love how it integrates patient care. So many of our patients have doctors there. We can talk things over with their doctors.” If there is a problem with eye care that is associated with their primary care, often the answer is just down the hall. In other communities oftentimes that kind of ease in communication between doctors isn’t the case.

As an example, she pointed to a patient with an acute eye problem. The primary doctor referred the patient to Dr. Cleghern, the patient had an MRI in Northside’s Imaging Suite before seeing her, so they were able to have access to all they needed before the exam and diagnosis. No delays.

“It’s really incredible,” she said.

“There is a good community within the clinic, good relationships and the facilities are better,” she added. Outside the clinic, “we love the community of Pell City, it’s close-knit. I love getting to meet patients and see them year after year,” building better relationships and becoming more familiar with their history – medically and personally.

This new clinic will have full vision care with access to comprehensive services – from ocular disease to surgical care.

 

Alabama Oral Surgery

Dr. Chris Rothman of Alabama Oral & Facial Surgery called the move to Northside Medical Home “a natural fit.” He has been practicing in Pell City for 15 years, but was having trouble with infrastructure.

“We needed a new state-of-the-art building,” he said.

They found it at Northside in a 2,000-square-foot suite the practice will occupy. “We like the people. It’s good for us. There is a pharmacy on-site, and patients can have their surgery, go through the drive through to pick up their prescriptions and be on their way home.”

He talked of the strong relationships developed with Northside’s key people. “(Chief Operating Officer) Laura Gossett is fantastic to work with, and (CEO) Rock Helms is great, too.”

 

Eastern Surgical Associates

“Our relationship with Northside Medical is paramount in our quest to service patients in East Alabama,” said Robin Smith, practice manager of Eastern Surgical Associates, which is based in Trussville and expanded to Northside. “Our practice has continued to grow in East Alabama due to the patient, physician and staff relationships garnered while working in the Northside Medical Building.

“We have been able to provide much-needed surgical assistance to patients that otherwise would have had to travel extensively for care.”

 

Northside Apothecary

 Northside Apothecary will be moving to the end cap of the new building with expanded room from its location in Phase II. “We are very excited about moving into our new space,” said Pharmacy Director Bradley Pate. The pharmacy will continue its hours of 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. “Being back on the end cap, we are able to offer drive-through services to our patients once again. We are adding a second pick-up window, so you definitely won’t be wasting time waiting in line to pick up your prescriptions or other needs.”

Northside Apothecary will continue to be a full-service pharmacy with a full line of OTC, home-health and compression therapy products. “We will have more retail space and are going to introduce a gift section, which will include items from Willow Tree, Melissa and Doug, an array of gift and greeting cards, and many other boutique and seasonal offerings. We have a wide array of items coming in and changing often, so you are sure to find something for everyone on your list,” Pate said.

Additional space in the pharmacy allows it to expand its compounding services to provide unique and individualized medication options for patients. “We can compound just about anything, from our popular arthritis cream to veterinary medications. Northside Apothecary has always been innovative and continues to integrate technology to better provide for our patients.”

Northside Apothecary has its own mobile app (currently available for Android users and will soon be added to the Apple App Store) that will allow patients to request prescription refills and transfers, set up refill reminders, and connect on Facebook and Instagram. Patients also have the option to sign up for free, weekly e-newsletters, which incorporate health-related articles and medication information.

“Northside has become a destination for health care in St. Clair County, and Northside Apothecary wants to become the premiere pharmacy in the area,” Pate said. “Our relationship with the practitioners at Northside allow us to always provide exceptional care for our patients. We love our patients and will continue to be the pharmacy that fills all your needs.”

 

Alacare Home Health & Hospice

Alacare Home Health & Hospice has been part of the St. Clair County health care community for more than 35 years. “The decision to move into the new Northside Medical Home complex was guided by a question we at Alacare ask ourselves each day, ‘How can we deliver the best care possible for our patients?’” according to Alacare CEO Susan B. Brouillette.

“Alacare’s ability to work more closely with Northside Medical’s “Patient-Centered” care model allows us the opportunity to improve the continuity of care and communication with other healthcare providers.

“The new Northside Medical Home complex that Dr. Helms has developed will facilitate a working collaborative health-care environment enabling us to improve patient’s outcomes and reduce the likelihood of a patient having to return to the hospital unless absolutely necessary,” she said.

“Across the nation and especially in Alabama, our aging population and increasing healthcare costs will make a person’s own home an important place for health care whenever possible. By coordinating with the patient’s physician, hospital or outpatient clinic, Alacare Home Health & Hospice can provide the necessary care in the best possible place, the patient’s own home.”

 

Northside CARE Team

The newly created Northside CARE Team is a chronic-care management team of health care providers who treat patients at the clinic or at home if needed. It began with four patients in April and has already soared over the 200-mark.

Its aim is to reduce hospitalizations and enhance quality of life by focusing on the relationship between the primary-care provider and the patient, identifying barriers to their patients’ health and executing a plan to navigate around those challenges.

“We want them happy, healthy and out of the hospital,” said CARE Program Director Dianna McCain.

The CARE Team offers assistance with medications on a weekly basis at patients’ homes or daily calls to remind patients to take their medications.

Because of a growing shortage of primary-care physicians, Helms envisioned a program that could take the best care of patients, whether it is at Northside or in the patient’s home.

Its new space will allow the program to grow and better serve its patients.

 

Editor’s note: To learn more about Northside Medical Home, go to northsidemedicalhome.com.

Battle for St. Clair High School

1908 battle for location of county high school lands in Odenville

Story by Joe Whitten
Photos by Graham Hadley
Submitted Photos

When Braxton Bragg Comer was elected governor in 1906, among his goals was upgrading Alabama schools. In 1907, legislation passed to establish county high schools in counties where there was not already a state-supported high school — for white students. It would be 60 years before integration of schools in the county.

Most of St. Clair County was excited about a state-accredited high school being established in one of its towns. Location committees were appointed by the state to review the towns and their resources.

A review of local newspapers of the day shows that Pell City, Odenville and Springville wanted the school. Ashville was not interested, and their newspaper, The Southern Aegis, consistently at odds with Gov. Comer, commented in its Feb. 26, 1908, issue that it seemed Comer was “… making a vigorous campaign for his future aspirations” and that “… he is taking advantage of the high school appropriation at the public expense.” The writer concluded, “He may fool some people all the time, but not all the people every time.”

Odenville published a newspaper, The St. Clair County News, and its editor, J.L. Maddox, set to work composing florid prose in praise of his town. Pell City had no paper, but was in the process of establishing The Pell City Progress, but it would not come into production until March 1908. So, it was Odenville’s newspaper that announced in February that the Governor’s Location Committee would come to Odenville on Saturday, March 7.

Location, location, location

An Odenville editorial of March 5 boasted reasons why Odenville was the perfect location for a state high school. It had:

  • A central location.
  • A prosperous agricultural community.
  • Sixteen wells in the area.
  • Ideally suited with good public roads leading to all areas of the county.
  • On the Seaboard Airline railroad (making it convenient for boarding students).

Maddox’s final point was that “Pell City has every advantage for cotton mills, but nature never intended it to be an educational site for the St. Clair County High School” — an incautious observation that could not go unnoticed by Pell City.

The date arrived for the governor and his Location Committee’s visit, and the day dawned clear and bright. Folks began trickling into Odenville before seven o’clock. By 9:30 the crowd was reported to be “a multitude,” for a special train had picked up and delivered citizens from Ragland, Coal City and Pell City. The papers estimated the day’s crowd to be between 2,500 and 3,000.

The meeting with the governor and committee took place at the elementary school in Odenville. Watt Brown of Ragland made a talk expressing his faith in Odenville’s future. Brown’s Odenville Land and Development Company had laid out Odenville’s town limits in a circle with a 1-mile radius from the center of the bridge over Beaver Creek on today’s Third Avenue. As a businessman dealing in real estate, Brown would not have been investing in the town had he not believed he would get a good return on his money.

After a lunch with Dr. and Mrs. C.C. Brown, the governor and committee journeyed to Pell City to hear their presentation of Pell City as the better location for the new high school.

Governor Comer’s comments to Pell City were not recorded in print, but it is clear that Pell City was offended by Comer’s observations.

On April 23, under the headline, “What’s Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth?,” the Progress reported its assessment of the governor’s attitude.

Pell City had presented their town and the Coosa Valley area as the logical choice for St. Clair County High School. Their stated points were:

  • 30 percent of the county’s voters lived within 5 miles of Pell City.
  • 40 percent of the county’s cotton grew in Coosa Valley.
  • 30 percent of the cotton was ginned here.
  • 50 percent  of the county’s industrial wage was paid there.

They offered these facts to the governor and committee “… to fortify the figures of the county superintendent of education that over 30 percent of the county white school children lived within this same area.” Pell City saw these figures as logical reasons why Pell City was a better location than Odenville for St. Clair County High School.

The Progress observed that “Mr. Comer did not accept the argument” as presented. Rather, “He took it as proving that we were selfish in the Coosa Valley, that we had no concept of what this high school was to be, and that we were making political threats.”

The editor continued, “If it so happens that Mr. Comer himself believes in his accusations, we wish, taking advantage of the last word, to enlighten him.

“The Coosa Valley is not selfish, howsoever much individuals may say. The Coosa Valley does know what a High School is, and she knows it well enough to welcome every child who comes to it. … A High School is not a boarding school, [for] the large majority of its pupils will come from that territory within which the boys and girls may attend school and eat both breakfast and supper at home. … Pell City has more school children than Springville, Ashville and Odenville combined. … On the principle that Mahomet went to the mountain, Pell City claims the school and so here endeth the last word.”

And the winner is …

Having presented their best, Odenville and Pell City entered a busy waiting period as they anticipated the state’s decision. It was the county high school, and the state expected the entire county’s financial help with construction, therefore towns formed committees to collect pledges and funds.

In April, Progress reported that folks in Ashville and Springville claimed “inside information,” and were of the opinion Pell City had “no chance” of being selected. But rather than losing heart, Pell City published that they had “the best chance” based upon the facts submitted in connection with the state’s proposal for location.

 In hopes of winning, they continued collecting funds.

Then on Friday, May 1, 1908, the state announced Odenville as winner of St. Clair County High School. Whereupon, the town fathers set about to accomplish the awarded task —constructing a high school building.

Pell City Progress reported their loss in the May 7 issue, saying their loss showed “what comes from organized effort and what can be lost for lack of it.” They offered this opinion: “It is feared that our friends at Odenville have bitten off more than they can chew with comfort.” Then, perhaps still chaffing over Odenville’s “mill town” assessment, Tilton prophesied that the state would come to regret having “put a ten-thousand-dollar school building in a one-thousand-dollar town.”

With that parting zinger, Pell City turned her singular attention toward establishing their own high school and having it ready for occupation by September. The chairman of the Pell City school committee, McLane Tilton, announced in the Progress that “Coosa Valley may rest assured that a High School is going to be located at Pell City, and accomplished with or without the help of the state.” Tilton announced that “Donations to the [county] High School are hereby declared void.” Anyone wanting signed pledges returned should call at the Bank of St. Clair County (became Union State Bank in 1918), where he served as president, before May 15. After that date, notes would be destroyed. Tilton expressed faith that the town could raise “not less than four thousand dollars” to build a high school and that Pell City would “have the satisfaction of owning our own school, built and maintained by ourselves.”

In Odenville, Mr. and Mrs. John Newton, Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Hardin, and Watt Brown had donated land for the school. Now, the school committee set about collecting funds and redeeming pledges. This proved to be a slow process, for some outside Odenville were not forthcoming on pledges. However, one elderly woman, Nancy Turrentine, deeded 20 acres of her farm to the new high school. The Odenville paper noted that she offered to give 20 more if they were needed to raise the required amount.

On Saturday, July 18, 1908, Judge John W. Inzer laid the cornerston for St. Clair County High School. The St. Clair County News reported that “a crowd” from across the county was present for the event. Watt Brown was master of ceremonies. Gov. Comer and other state dignitaries made speeches. Judge Inzer, in laying the cornerstone, expressed his hope that wounded feelings would be laid aside and that every community would “stand united to advance the interest of our county.”

In the fall of 1908, the high school met in the Odenville Elementary School, for a new building would take months to construct. But despite setbacks and delays, in 1909, St. Clair County High School would occupy a two-story brick building.

The citizens of Pell City also coalesced to establish a high school. On May 7, 1908, the editor of the Progress reported that “the Town of Pell City has two thousand dollars which it contributed to the [County] High School fund and now goes back into the [Pell City] treasure.” Tilton suggested that the money should be used for the construction of the Pell City High School, which he speculated would cost about $3,000.

To spur on the town and surrounding area, he wrote, “The same arguments used to locate the County School here now demand of us that we show what we can do alone and unassisted.” The editor issued a trumpet call by saying, “Progress demands of the Council and School Board to hold a called meeting,” and concludes that city fathers could “… create a public sentiment that will result in the action desired without delay. … We must have this school by September 1st.”

The City Council and School Board accepted the call, met together, and in the June 4, Progress could report that “The Council and School Board each appropriated one thousand dollars” and that the “two thousand in all…will be at once utilized to build the high school addition to our present building.”

As the months progressed, meetings, suggestions and decisions were regularly reported in the newspaper. Just as in Odenville, there were setbacks and delays, but a Pell City High School was assured. An Aug. 13 article reports: “The new addition to the school is rapidly nearing completion and will be ready by the first day of the term. This addition will cost in the neighborhood of $3,500, including furnishings, and will give us a ten-thousand-dollar modern structure second to none in the State.”

The new addition would add four rooms and an auditorium “fitted out with orchestra chairs.” The auditorium would “hold about 400,” and the stage would have dressing rooms and be “electric lighted.”

Exciting days! For the completion of the brick addition with a metal roof would give “… Pell City and south St. Clair a primary and high school sufficient for our needs for several years to come.”

Thus, Pell City High School was born, and the Progress’ headline on Sept. 17 proclaimed: “OUR SCHOOL BEGINS,” noting, “The high school is open to all the children of the county, several having already entered from Seddon and Eden.”

A win-win situation

As years have waxed and waned since 1908, student numbers have increased in each school, validating the work of both towns over 100 years ago. In the 2016 school year, St. Clair County High School served 587 students, and Pell City High School, 1,105 students.

Most of the time, battles end with only one winner. In the battle for the location of St. Clair County High School, both Odenville and Pell City won. The loss of the county high school proved to be the impetus needed for Pell City to organize its own high school. Pell City High School and St. Clair County High School today cherish the past, yet each looks to the future and the challenges of their second century.

Moody, Alabama

From cattle crossing to boomtown

Story by Paul South
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Moody Realtor Paula Krafft grew up in nearby Leeds and has a vivid, fond childhood memory of the city when it was literally a no-stoplight town.

“We used to come through Moody on the way to the lake,” Krafft said, recalling family vacations on Logan Martin. “There was no stoplight, no stop sign. The only thing that stopped the traffic was a couple of times during the day, cattle would cross the road.”

The cows wouldn’t recognize their old stomping ground today.

Moody is one of the fastest growing cities in Alabama. According to 2016 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moody is the 14th fastest growing city in Alabama. Estimated growth – compared to 2010 census data – is 1,097, nearly 10 percent. Average household income exceeds the national average.

At its heart, Moody’s growth can be attributed to the old real estate mantra: Location. Location. Location. With Interstate 20 and US 411 bisecting the city, as well as proximity to Birmingham (15 minutes from downtown) and the Honda plant in Lincoln (20 minutes in the opposite direction), Moody’s geography is key.

Add to the equation, good schools, low crime, a mixed economy of industry, retail and agriculture, and available land and infrastructure for family-friendly residential development, and you have a formula for success.

Moody’s history also tells a story of a city with an independent streak. North Carolinians, led by Epps Moody, began settling in the area in 1820. During the Civil War, according to Mattie Lou Teague Crowe’s History of St. Clair County, the majority of citizens, non-slaveowners, were pro-Union. Some locals were forcibly conscripted into the Confederate army, but deserted and fought on the Union side.

In the post-war period, Moody rapidly grew and was home to a gristmill and other retail establishments, a harbinger of its present-day economy. Today, because of its proximity to Birmingham and Interstate 20, Moody has experienced population and rapid economic growth, St. Clair County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Don Smith said.

 Retail has helped spark the boom. Well-known chains like Love’s Travel Stop and the regional grocer Publix, along with locally-owned concerns like Carpenetti’s Pizza, have made a difference in Moody’s bottom line.

“It absolutely makes a difference,” said Mayor Joe Lee. “The presence of one travel center here (Love’s) changed the way we do business.”

He added: “With the Love’s Travel Center coming here, we were able to tear down and revitalize a shopping center and bring Publix in; without the travel center, we wouldn’t have been able to lose that shopping center for a year while we rebuilt it.”

Growth came rapidly to Moody, Lee said, in part because of rezoning. Younger families have gravitated to the town, and the median household income is $59,000, Lee said.

Another economic driver is the proximity to the Talladega Superspeedway and Barber Motorsports Park. Moody’s hotel rooms – some 200 – fill up quickly for race weekends at the two tracks, said Andrea Machen, executive director of the Moody Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re kind of unique because we’re sandwiched in between Barber Motorsports on one side and the Honda plant and Talladega Superspeedway on the other.. Barber generates a lot of tax revenue for the city.”

A comparison of the city budget from 1992, when Lee became mayor until today is jaw-dropping.

“When I became mayor, the budget was about $900,000,” Lee said. “Today, it’s close to $11 million. It goes back to location you know; everybody wants to locate close to I-20.”

The mayor sees the growth firsthand with every new day.

“When I first moved here in 1978, there were four acres and no one around me,” Lee said. “Now I have 600 neighbors.”

Safe City

That bottom-line population and revenue growth has meant improved infrastructure for the city, meaning better fire, police and EMS protection and better parks and recreation. But with seven new subdivisions online in Moody, keeping pace with that growth is hard work.”

“That’s the biggest challenge,” Lee said. “The biggest difficulty is providing the services and staying up with the growth.”

Moody leaders are paying attention not only to the numbers, but how the city grows, with ordinances governing signage, construction standards and the like.

Growth has also impacted emergency services. The Moody Fire Department is in the process of buying a new fire truck and down the road, building a new fire station.

Chief Joe Nobles said that these improvements in the fire service may lead to a higher fire protection rating, which means lower insurance premiums for home and business owners. The size of the fire department was only two people on a shift only a decade ago. That number has doubled and there are 11 part-time firefighters available to serve. Medical response service has also grown.

“We’re trying to keep up with the growth,” Nobles said. “Hopefully, in the next couple of years we can add another station and increase personnel.”

The department offers CPR and first aid classes. The department has also placed three AEDs (Automatic Electronic Defibrillators, two at the park and one at the civic center) to respond to cardiac episodes at those popular venues.

From a law enforcement perspective, Police Chief Thomas Hunt pointed to Moody’s ranking as one of Alabama’s 10 safest cities in each of the last three years. Though the growth has meant more calls, the actual crime remains unchanged. It all goes back to Moody, its values and its people, Hunt said.

“One thing I always tell our guys is to treat people the way you would want to be treated,” Hunt said.

Over the past three years, the police department has conducted a Citizens Police Academy, aimed at maintaining positive relationships between law enforcement and the community it serves. The department is also active in developing relationships with Moody’s schools and their students

Recreation reigns

In recreation, Moody was one of the first communities in Alabama to build a Miracle League field, opening the door to playing baseball to special needs children and adults of all ages. Parks and Recreation Director Mike Staggs said that while finding space is a concern, increased population means increased participation in recreation programs. That translates to opportunities to grow revenue. A new civic center opened last fall.

“We’re able to provide our citizens with more space and more opportunities,” Staggs said. Directly, some 1,200 residents participate in programs ranging from flag football to adult softball. During peak soccer and football seasons, some 3,200 people are in the park.

The new civic center has also boosted youth basketball from about 125 participants to more than 200. Fitness classes – yoga, jazzercise, etc. – anticipated 800 participants in the first year. But more than 1,200 have registered for classes. There’s also state of the art cardio facilities.

For the future, walking trails, bike trails, Frisbee golf and other sports may be part of recreation offerings, Staggs said.

“With the growth we’ve experienced in the last couple of years, we’re getting citizens that are expecting particular services we haven’t offered in the past,” Staggs said. “They look for those hiking trails and Frisbee golf, things we hadn’t considered several years ago. We always need more athletic fields, but we want to be sensitive to what everybody else wants.”

He added, “It’s not just little boys and little girls playing baseball and softball anymore. People want a variety of options. That’s something we’re sensitive to.”

A new library is also part of the landscape.

Moody’s allure: A town for all

Along with the draw from nearby auto racing, Moody also attracts big crowds for annual events, like Oktoberfest in the fall, fireworks in July, a spring car show and the Christmas parade each December.

When visitors come to Moody, Chamber Executive Director Andrea Machen said, she wants there to be a “wow factor,” as they arrive.

Another city leader who wants to see more people fall in love with the town is Mayor Pro Tempore Linda Crowe. She was elected to the council in 1996 and mayor pro tem in 2003.

“We try to accommodate the citizens of Moody,” she said. “We strive to do that.”

A lifelong resident of Moody, Crowe has seen it move from an agricultural area to a multi-use municipality.

“My thing is planning and zoning,” she said. “We want to do that as best we can and then keep up with the growth.”

 Widening US 411 is pivotal to managing the growth, Crowe said. The towns of Moody, Odenville and Margaret are like pearls on the asphalt strand on the roadway that can see traffic tie-ups, especially during the school year.

“I just don’t want to see it become another (US) 280,” she said. “But it’s going to be another five years before we can get that done. “She added, “You’ve got to get your traffic flowing. If people are stopped, they’re not going to be happy.”

Like Machen, she wants to see more retail and restaurants.

Family is the touchstone that kept Crowe in her hometown. She taught government and economics at Moody High. Except for a few years in Washington, D.C., while her husband was in the military, Moody has always been home.

“We’re growing, but it’s still that small-town feel,” she said. “That’s what makes Moody click.”

When tragedy strikes, like when Moody Police Officer Keith Turner was killed in the line of duty, or when tornadoes struck in 2011, people come together.

“That’s what makes our town great. People just came and said, ‘What can I do?’”

 In the last century in neighboring Birmingham, four large buildings occupied the four corners at the intersection of First Avenue and 20th Street, earning it the nickname of “The Heaviest Corner in the World.”

Today, at the four corners that bound Moody Crossroads, there is a stoplight. And while it may not be a ‘heavy” corner with impressive brick and mortar buildings, Moody’s main intersection speaks volumes about its heart and spirit.

Don Smith illustrated the point, using the old Moody Crossroads.

“At the heart of their community, they have city hall, fire and police protection, he said. “In another quadrant, they have an incredible sports park with baseball, football and soccer fields … and one of the first and only “Miracle League” fields in the state. You also have small business, Carpenetti’s and a hair salon (on another quadrant). Then on another quadrant you have a church, The Gathering Place.”

He added, “If you look at (Moody) just at those four corners, it really speaks about the strength and the heart of the community: Families and children, small business, city government, police and fire protection and the church.”

Expanding LakeLife

Stickers, clothing, websites and more

Partners by Design Inc., a Pell City-based multimedia marketing company in historic downtown, has expanded its LakeLife brand with new products, an online store and retail outlets.

It started out as a way to promote Logan Martin Lake, and we did so with our website, loganmartinlakelife.com, and social media accounts. That led to the sale of vinyl, die-cut stickers, T-shirts, caps, visors and boat totes bearing our registered logo designed by Graham Hadley, our vice president for the Creative Division,” said Partners President and CEO Carol Pappas. “And more products are planned,” she added.

“We quickly saw that LakeLife, in general, is a way of life to promote as well, and we continue to build that brand on our newly launched national site, thelakelife.net,” she said, which includes information on Alabama lakes and a blog written by Pappas called LakeLife 24/7. Coincidentally, the site’s Twitter handle is lakelife247, and its Facebook page is at LakeLife.

The national site also features LakeLife Cooking, an online store, photos and other lake-related information and links, and content continues to be a work in progress. “We invite the LakeLife community – no matter where it is – to submit photos to be featured on the site,” Pappas said.

“In the meantime, Logan Martin LakeLife, continues to grow with our stickers, apparel and accessories selling well,” Pappas said. Logan Martin LakeLife products may be found in St. Clair County at Magnolia’s Gift Shop in Cropwell, The Dam Store and Country Store at Dam Road near Logan Martin Dam. In Talladega County, find them at Griffin’s Laser Engraving and in Jefferson, stickers are being sold at Rocky Ridge Hardware in Vestavia.

Logan Martin LakeLife products also are on sale in our online store at loganmartinlakelife.com, where Neely Henry stickers are also for sale. “St. Clair is blessed with two lakes,” Pappas said, “and we are hoping to expand our footprint with more Neely Henry products as well.”

Partners by Design was founded in St. Clair County in 2009 by Pappas and began official operation in 2010. Her colleagues at the time, Hadley and Brandon Wynn, have since become shareholders and partners in the organization. Wynn is vice president of Online Services for the company.

In addition to the LakeLife brand, Partners publishes Discover, The Essence of St. Clair Magazine, Chamber magazines for Leeds and Moody, Mosaic Magazine for Alabama Humanities Foundation, produces brochures, newletters, enewsletters, designs and rebuilds websites, and offers graphic design, advertising, communications consulting and photography services.

Find us online at loganmartinlakelife.com and thelakelife.net and on Facebook

Rocket Man

Hydroflying comes to Logan Martin

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Susan Wall

Jeremy Deason soars a good 40 feet in the air above Logan Martin Lake, and passersby can’t help but take notice. After all, his hydroflight is something to behold.

He is perfecting his hobby of hydroflying on a FlyBoard, which involves a personal watercraft he controls remotely with an 80-foot hose attached to it, propelling pressurized water through it to a pair of boots equipped with jet nozzles.

The nozzle provides the thrust. And Jeremy’s strong pair of ankles does the rest. “Holding yourself up is all in the ankles,” he explained. “It’s all within a couple of inches,” he said.  “You can either do it or you can’t. It’s not a middle kind of thing.”

Jeremy can definitely do it. He moves through the water at first, with only head and shoulders showing as the jetted water propels him. “It pushes you through the water like a boat in front of the SeaDoo.” Then, it’s up, up and away, with the pressurized water streaking beneath him like an aircraft or rocket’s contrail.

Constantly in motion, he goes straight up, darts to the left and circles to the right while the unmanned personal watercraft weaves in the water below him.

The pressure is enough to propel him 40 feet in the air. It’s also enough to provide the “dolphin dive,” where Deason dives headlong through the water as much as eight feet, emerging seconds later with head up and then submerging once again. The series of moves looks exactly like the movement of … well, a dolphin.

“If there’s anything out there, he’s going to try it,” said his grandmother, Margaret Weatherby of Leeds.

It used to be motocross. But as his buddies and he grew older, got married and “life got in the way,” he traded his dozen or so motorcycles in and “searched for something to do on my own.”

As she watched Jeremy perform his moves, his Mrs. Weatherby remarked, “He’s always been adventurous. That’s my boy,” she said, a hint of pride unmistakable in her voice.

And 30-year-old Jeremy, who owns and rents property as a career, doesn’t disappoint. He soars, he dives, he does a back flip. He even heads straight up like a rocket, thrusting both fists in the air as if he is on top of the world. From his vantage point, he probably is.

“When you’re up there, and you watch the sunset, that’s cool,” he said. It’s quite an experience to watch the fish from high above, too. Hydroflying “draws all the fish up, and you can see a bunch of fish on top of the water.”

But sunsets and fish aren’t the only things being watched. The sight of him jetting upward naturally draws onlookers from boats passing by. They tend to get a little too close, he warns, noting that the personal watercraft is unmanned, so there is no control except for his own going up and down and his speed. He doesn’t mind the attention, but for safety’s sake, he urges boaters to keep their distance.

Jeremy has no plans to try the sport competitively. It’s world cup caliber in Dubai and a huge sensation overseas.

But here at home, he is content to use it simply as a stress reliever. “I work a lot,” he explained. “I have to have something to play, relax and have a good time. This is my something.”

For more about happenings on Logan Martin, Neely Henry and other lakes, visit us at loganmartinlakelife.com and thelakelife.net and on Facebook

 

Fly Board Skier
Fly Board Skier
23 photos