Tag: Other Stories

Alabama Bicentennial

Alabama Humanities launches Bicentennial exhibit in Moody

Story by Jackie Romine Walburn
Photos by Michael Callahan

Forward thinking and a prompt application helped St. Clair County become the first stop for the 18-month tour of Making Alabama. A Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit, an impressive blend of state history, culture and humanities.

After its debut in Montgomery in March 2018 at the state’s capitol, it begins in April of 2018 in the City of Moody and Lee and Wilcox counties and continues through November of 2019 en route to all 67 Alabama counties and the official 200^th anniversary month of Alabama’s statehood.

That St. Clair County is a year older than the state – having been created as a county by the Alabama territorial general assembly on Nov. 20, 1818 – is a happy coincidence that local planners had in mind when they quickly applied to host the traveling exhibit “as early in 2018 as possible,” says St. Clair County Bicentennial chairman, District Judge Alan Furr.

The timing means that the county will be celebrating its bicentennial as it hosts the state’s first 200^th birthday party. Alabama officially became a state on Dec. 4, 1819.

“Because St. Clair County was formed prior to statehood, we believe our hosting of the state exhibit as it begins its trek throughout the state is significant,” the judge says. “And, because we are celebrating our county bicentennial during 2018, being able to host the state exhibit during 2018 enhances our own local celebratory efforts.”

The new Moody Civic Complex met all the venue requirements and will be the site for the exhibit. It is being presented by the Alabama Humanities Foundation with support from the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, corporate sponsors, individuals and organizations across the state.

Making Alabama will travel to each of the state’s 67 counties, where local exhibits created by host communities will showcase each county’s role in their own story of Making Alabama.

Planners in St. Clair County anticipate that the St. Clair story will include information and artifacts relating to Andrew Jackson’s residence at Ft. Strother, an 1813 fort – now a series of archeological sites west of Neely Henry Dam near the Ten Islands Historical Park in Ragland.

The fort near the banks of the Coosa River was used as a military supply depot and operations center for Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee Militia during the Creek Indian Wars and as a local theater of the War of 1812. Other aspects of the St. Clair local exhibit may include construction of the first brick courthouse in Ashville, the county’s mining operations and the importance of the Coosa River to the county and its communities.

“St. Clair County has a rich and diverse history,” Furr says. A subcommittee including Furr and Ashville Archives Director Robert Debter, representing the county, plus Councilwoman Linda Crowe of Moody, Sherry Bowers of Pell City, Dr. Robert Harris of Springville and Nancy Sansing of Ashville is already working on locating materials and artifacts to tell the story of St. Clair County, an early Alabama county named for General Arthur St. Clair, who was president of the Continental Congress.

Created from a portion of Shelby County when it was founded in 1818, St. Clair would eventually be divided several more times to create surrounding counties, first Jefferson in 1820 and Cherokee and DeKalb counties in 1836. Then Etowah County was born of a northeast section after the Civil War.

In announcing the order of the bicentennial exhibit, the Alabama Humanities Foundation noted St. Clair as the first stop, followed by Wilcox County in the Alabama Blackbelt, then Lee County in east Alabama, a triangle of counties in distinct sections of Alabama.

“These three communities stepped forward early to become part of this historic event, and we thank them for their eagerness to get involved in the celebration of our becoming a state,” said AHF Executive Director Armand DeKeyser.

As a partner in the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street Program, AHF recognizes the value of exhibits like this coming to communities in Alabama, DeKeyser says. “It’s an opportunity they and their citizens won’t soon forget.”

In addition to developing the local exhibit, the St. Clair Bicentennial committee that Judge Furr chairs has a list of tasks to make sure the exhibit’s up to three-week engagement in St. Clair runs smoothly and is staffed by local volunteers to serve as exhibit docents.

Plus, committee members – representing St. Clair’s towns and communities – have related tasks and projects to complete in the next year. These include documenting historic markers, local festivals and historic tours, developing a local speaker’s bureau and bicentennial T-shirts, planning a gospel sing and establishing and publicizing a calendar of events surrounding the county and state celebrations.

A cross section of residents in St. Clair County make up the Bicentennial Committee in addition to the subcommittee. They are: Shirley Phillips of Argo, Charlene Simpson, Rena Brown, Loretta Moore, committee secretary Elizabeth Sorrell and Eloise Williams, all of Ashville; Gaye Austin and Patsy Spradley of Moody; Joe Whitten, Brenda Riddle, Ann Coupland and Jennifer Forman, all of Odenville; Danny Stewart, Deanna Lawley, vice chair Gaston Williamson, Latoya Orr and Andy Eden, all of Pell City; Marie Manning, Pat Ford, Gerri Bunt, Sandi Maroney and Jerry Sue Brannon, all of Ragland. Gary Hanner of Riverside; Nancy Tucker and Carol Waid of Springville and Rosemary Hyatt and Sharon Ingle of Steele.

Making Alabama: A Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit will feature eight periods of history that defined Alabama as a state and the decisions and turning points that shaped what the state would become and will be, according to the websites promoting the Bicentennial celebration.

They are:

Pre-history to 1700, natural environment and an introduction to the exhibit.
1700-1815: The Creek War and Statehood
1815-1860: Settlement and Slavery
1860-1875: Secession, Civil War and Reconstruction
1875-1940: Political Power and the Constitution of 1901
1940-1965: World War and Civil Rights
1965-1990: Economic and Social Adjustment
1990-2020: Our Alabama

On May 5, the three-year Bicentennial celebration kicked off in Mobile, near the site of Alabama’s first state capital, St. Stevens, with another historic first – an introduction by Gov. Kay Ivey, Alabama’s first Republican female governor. “Why is it Alabama is sweet home?,” she asked the crowd. “Because of the innovation and fortitude of our people.”

That innovation and fortitude will be honored and celebrated throughout Alabama over the next two and half years. In 2017, the theme will be “Exploring Our Places.” In 2018, Alabama will “Honor Our People,” and in 2019, the state will “Share Our Stories.”

Alabama Humanities Foundation and St. Clair County will follow suit with celebrations of their own through this traveling exhibit.

Through interactive displays, historic photographs, art and narratives that delve deep into Alabama’s history and the people – some known, some not-so-famous – Alabamians and St. Clair Countians alike who helped shape that history.

The state exhibit is expected to tell the stories behind the stories about the people, places and cultures that made a difference in Making Alabama.

“St. Clair, a county older than the state, is an integral part of that story,” Furr said, “and we are proud to be a part of launching this historic exhibit.”

Editor’s note: For more information and resources associated with the exhibit, go to www.makingalabama.org. For more on the Bicentennial celebration activities throughout the state as well as resources, go to www.alabama200.org.

Other Stories

Springville Museum

Quest to Preserve Past a Labor of Love

Story by Jackie Romine Walburn
Photos by Michael Callahan

Designed and curated by history-loving volunteers, the Springville Museum takes visitors on a tour of people, events and artifacts of the St. Clair County town named for its natural springs, known for its historic downtown and a famous son who had a TV pig named Arnold.

Located at the 1903 downtown building that once housed Masonic Lodge No. 280, the Springville Museum opened in the fall of 2015. Volunteers with the Springville Preservation Society staff the museum when it’s open to the public the first and third Saturdays each month and on special occasions, says Museum Director and volunteer Kathy Burttram.

“We are very proud of the museum and want everyone to come see what we’ve accomplished,” says Burttram, who adds that Springville volunteers and expert advice from the Alabama Department of Archives and History helped get the museum ready for visitors.

Two Masonic Bibles, an antique Masonic emblem and signs from the turn-of-the-century building are displayed behind the museum counter and gift section. This section also features artwork by artist Clay Allison, including intricate watercolor and line drawing prints of the town’s many historic building and homes, plus note cards and Christmas ornaments that are sold to benefit the museum and the Springville Preservation Society. Allison, a volunteer himself, also designed the exhibit signs and museum of city history signs out front on Main Street.

The society owns and operates the museum plus a recently refurbished 1800s cabin they call the White House, which will be the city’s welcome center next to city hall, and the 1921 Rock School.

Initially called Big Springs about the time the first church was built in 1817, the town’s name changed to Pinkhill in 1833, when the first post office was established, and officially became Springville in 1834 and incorporated as a town a generation later in 1880, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Museum sections include a children’s area, a vintage kitchen, a music room, plus exhibits on famous Springville folks of note, military veterans, businesses and schools, including the first grade to college academy, established in 1861 and later called Springville College, that attracted college students from throughout the southeast until it was destroyed by fire in 1912.

The CHILDREN’S exhibit is an interactive space with rotary phones and their corded touchtone cousins, plus manual typewriters, vintage board games and children’s books. The Preservation Society wanted an area where children could experience things from the past and stay busy while adults tour, Burttram says. The museum plans to continue the “Children’s Day at the Museum” program started last summer by society president Frank Waid, with interactive activities and stories on a summer date to be announced.

The KITCHEN exhibit – designed by Sally Golsby, Sandra Tucker and Carol Tucker – is centered by an antique Norge refrigerator, on loan by Frank and Janis Price. Antique dishes, a wooden ironing board and iron complete the display that looks like your grandma’s or even great-grandma’s kitchen.

A LIVING room exhibit, also called the music or church area, was developed by volunteers Gail Hammonds, Sara Trotter, Kathy Burttram and Donna Davis. They created a nostalgic music parlor highlighting an antique piano and organ, surrounded by antique velvet furniture and hymnals, song books and sheet music dating back a century or more.

The upright piano was originally in the Forman Street home of James L. Forman and his son, the late St. Clair probate judge Ward Forman, and is on loan from Forman descendant Lew Windham. Next to the piano is an ornate organ, circa late 1800s. The organ was originally in the parlor of the McGee family from Lamar County and is on loan from a descendant, Evelyn Criswell of Springville.

A CAMERA exhibit, developed by volunteers Clay Allison, Donna Davis and Ed Bruchac, includes a display case of vintage still and video cameras on loan or donated by local folks. These include 35 mm and the wider 110 mm cameras and the film and film canisters that were commonplace before the advent of digital photographs.

A 1921 one-tube radio rests on top of the camera display.

Appropriately, on the wall near the camera display case are framed play bills from the Springville Theatre, a movie theater that changed movies every two days back in its heyday in the 1950s. Donated by local resident Janet McBroom and preservation society volunteer Carol Pearson Waid, the posters show the movies that were at the downtown theater with original play bill artwork. Some posters include notations handwritten by a young Mrs. Waid, who noted who she went to the movies with. Teasing her about her teen-age record keeping on the movie posters, Burttram says, “Somebody told Carol, ‘I didn’t know you dated so many different people.’”

Carol Pearson Waid and her husband, society president and Vietnam veteran Frank Waid, helped put together the MILITARY exhibit which includes armed services uniforms dating back to World War I plus some Civil War documents. “We have been so fortunate that as word got out about the different exhibits being put together, people would just bring items to loan or donate,” said Burttram.

This was true of many exhibits, particularly the military ones, which includes a wide variety of armed services uniforms, plus battlefield letters to and from home and other sentimental items from military families.

Frank Waid, who was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and served in combat again in the Desert Storm conflict, loaned Vietnam era items. These include a tail rotor blade, signed by servicemen, from a UH1N twin engine Huey helicopter used by special operations forces in Vietnam. Waid also loaned for exhibit his Vietnam Flying Squadron party jumpsuit worn at celebration parties after successful completion of exceptionally long or difficult missions. The unofficial jumpsuit, with its star-spangled peace sign patch, was from the 20^th Special Operations Squadron at Cam Rahn Bay in South Vietnam.

At museum center is a full-sized metal traffic light from downtown Springville, complete with bullet holes. The ragged bullet holes in the light’s thick metal frame came courtesy of a nearby resident who got frustrated with the red-yellow-green lights shining in his windows and tried to shoot them out more than once.

A BUSINESS exhibit includes an antique cash register and scales and one of the “premium” bowls customers could earn by trading at Bud’s Dollar Grocery store. The bowl was shared with the museum by the Joe and Helen Sarusce family. The Pearson sawmill, founded by Carol Waid’s grandfather, is featured as being the largest employer in Springville during its peak period prior to its closing in the 1960s. Pearson Hardware, the Simmons sawmill and an old barbershop pole, on loan from the Ricky Hill family, are highlights of the business exhibit designed by Kathy Burttram and Donna Davis.

An exhibit on the Springville Skating rink, includes a giant rotating disco light and sign from the skating rink ceiling. Skates are on loan from Carol Waid and Carol Tucker.

A MEDICAL section features Ash Drug Store, pharmacist Dr. Harold Bettis, and local physicians, Dr. Robinette Smith and Dr. James McLaughlin, and includes a syringe kit from about 1900 and other antique medical items.

The Springville Museum name drops with a FAMOUS PEOPLE exhibit. Noted Springville natives include Hank Patterson (1888-1975), an actor who portrayed Fred Ziffel on TV’s Green Acres, a character known for his pet Arnold the Pig, and had a recurring role on Gunsmoke.

There’s Margaret Byers, an actress, musician and “little person,” who starred on Broadway, including playing a munchkin in a Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz. Miss Byers later taught first grade back home in St. Clair County. And, there’s Springville-born cartoonist Milton Caniff who created the Steve Canyon comic strip.

Springville natives who made their mark in the sports world include Arthur Lee “Artie” Wilson. Wilson was a shortstop and left-handed hitter whose .402 mark with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 is thought to represent the last time anyone at the top level of professional baseball broke the .400 barrier.

Springville sports notables include Brandon Moore, who played baseball at Auburn University and played and coached on a number of professional baseball teams, including the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox organizations. He also had a coaching stint with the Birmingham Barons.

The exhibit also includes native son Randy Howell who brought fame to St. Clair County when he became the 2014 BASSmaster fishing champion.

In politics and public service, Springville’s Marilyn Quarles was the first modern day female member of the Alabama House of Representative when she was elected as a Democrat in the 1970s. She was also a teacher, and her family owned the town’s Dairy Dip and Springville theater.

Noted among local politicians is James Clarence Inzer, an attorney who served in the state senate and board of education in the 1920s and 30s and as Alabama lieutenant governor from 1947-1951.

Also featured is current state senator for District 11, Dr. Jim McClendon, a Vietnam veteran, retired optometrist and member of an original Springville family.

The museum also recognizes Springville families with FOCUS FAMILY Tree display that rotates every three months. Recent focus families are The Charles Lovett and Mildred Terry Herring family and the James Shelby and Emma Tucker Jones family.

Another display tells the story of a train derailment in 1969 that shook the town and destroyed the depot. On January 16, 1969, a train carrying propane tanks derailed at the Springville Depot and hit additional propane gas tanks that then exploded. Firefighters from from as far away as Birmingham and the National Guard responded to help fight the blaze. Although damage to the town was considerable, and 400 people were evacuated from their homes, no one was killed.

SPRINGVILLE SCHOOLS display, designed by volunteer Donna Davis, features a 1929 yearbook for the Springville High School Tigers and pictures of classes from the 1950s and earlier.

UPSTAIRS at the museum, volunteers work organizing reference and research materials to be used for genealogy searches. New Springville resident Paulette Kelly is helping to organize materials, including ledgers and vintage books for the upstairs section. Springville native Sandy DeBerry is another volunteer helping to ready the archives and reference areas.

“It’s fun learning the history of Springville as we go along,” Paulette says

“I love history and love the small town I grew up in,” says Sandy DeBerry. “Preserving history is important work.”

A plat map cabinet upstairs, donated by the Tucker family, will be used to store maps, large ledgers and bound copies of the St. Clair Clarion, a weekly newspaper that operated through the late 1980s.

To learn more about protecting the artifacts and treasures displayed and available for reference upstairs, museum volunteers visited the state’s department of archives and history, where Museum Services Director John Hardin was particularly helpful, Burttram says. In turn, state Archives staff visited the new Springville Museum.

That relationship helped the museum volunteers know to apply for a small grant from the state archives. The grant helped purchase a dehumidifier, tinting for front windows and archive supplies to store scrapbooks, ledgers, journals and old photos.

Projects taking shape upstairs also include work on a book about veterans of St. Clair, the design of a display using the electronic bell from the Methodist Church that still chimes, and creation of a music display featuring donated albums and sheet music. Two types of pews original to the Masonic Lodge are upstairs along with a quilting frame still to be developed into a display.

Burttram says anyone interested in volunteering or helping with or participating in the St. Clair veteran booklet can contact her at kpburttram@hotmail.com.

Other Museum volunteers who have helped with bookkeeping, cleaning, remodeling, painting and more include Millicent Yeager, Glenn Miller, Crissy Sharp, Harold Riker, Tami Spires, Sandy DeBerry and Society secretary-treasurer Sean Andrews.

Other Stories

Workforce Development

Learning the job on the job

Story and Photos by Graham Hadley
Photos courtesy of Garrison Steel

When he was growing up, John Garrison’s greatest challenge was to work his way up from high school student to one day owning an industry-leading metal fabrication and erection company.

Today, that company, Garrison Steel, employs more than 200 people in Pell City.

Now he has a new challenge – finding skilled workers from a dwindling workforce to fill the jobs at his company, which has been responsible for the construction of buildings across the Southeastern United States.

So Garrison has come up with a plan to help his company and the workforce grow by building a training classroom at his facility.

The problem

For decades, people working in skilled trades, everything from metal fabrication to construction, plumbing to welding, were usually trained, almost apprentice style, by the previous generation.

But as the focus in secondary education turned more and more to two- and four-year college prep, fewer and fewer people were training in these essential skill areas, Garrison said.

That focus, combined with a general social impression that factory and construction jobs were dangerous and somehow less desirable than professional employment, has resulted in a serious drought of skilled workers at a time when the economy is expanding, particularly in this region, and exactly those trade skills are needed the most.

Existing skilled employees are gradually aging out of the workforce and, for the past couple of decades, few people have been stepping up to fill those positions — despite drastically improved work conditions and good pay, Garrison said.

“I am one of the last. My generation is the last of the people trained by skilled union laborers in our jobs,” he said.

Over the last few years, backed by the National Center for Construction Education and Research formed at the University of Florida, St. Clair business leaders like the Economic Development Council and education officials from Jefferson State Community College and the Pell City School System have made great strides in workforce development, offering high school and college students training in exactly those skills that are needed most.

And they did not do the work alone. Businesses across the board, from manufacturing and construction like Ford Meter Box, Goodgame Construction and WKW Automotive to medical offices and other companies have stepped into the partnership to provide the training and jobs for the students.

Taking the program in-house

From the beginning, Garrison and other industry leaders recognized they needed partnerships with local educators, both at the secondary and post-secondary levels — and they found exactly what they were looking for in Jeff State and the Pell City School System, he said.

Forming that partnership has been a struggle to get similar programs off the ground all over the country, but not in St. Clair, Garrison said.

While that partnership laid the foundation for initial job training — teaching students how to weld, construction techniques, OSHA safety standards and the like — the basic tools they would need to get their foot in the door after high school, Garrison wanted to take the process a step further.

“So in June of 2016, I asked Jefferson State to meet with seven area high schools to discuss a pilot program to take up to 25 high school students in dual enrollment and begin teaching out of the NCCER Ironworking curriculum. They all agreed and in January began the first ironworker program four hours per day, five days a week for 16 weeks,” he stated in a press release.

“Money for books and a classroom at Jefferson State Pell City for the first eight weeks was funded with Federal Perkins Grants, and the second eight weeks were at a newly built training center at Garrison Steel, where students learned theory and hands-on with welding, cranes, rigging, fabrication, oxygen and acetylene cutting, and much more.”

The first class finished up at the new facility at Garrison Steel as school wound down for the 2016-2017 year, and Garrison sees it as nothing but a great success and a huge step forward for the workforce development initiative he and the other business, education and industry leaders have been working toward.

“Our classroom is set up to do half theory and half practical. We integrate practical in nearly every day’s classroom experience, which breaks the monotony and adds to the connectivity in what they are reading.”

He said that appeals to students who are interested in learning the theory behind the work they are doing with their hands, but also is an ideal environment for those students who may not like a traditional classroom environment.

“Many kids don’t like book-work because they cannot see the connection between theory and practical. So, as a teacher this year, my goal was so that when they read, and there was a lot of reading, that we stopped often enough to see real-world applications and for them to connect.”

The only thing Garrison said they were not able to do this year, and that they will have next year, is a steel tower where students can practice and learn with safety and other rigging equipment in a real-world environment.

“The students will be training off the ground with safety equipment.”

What’s next

This is only the first step, for Garrison’s teaching center and for the students.

Now that they have cemented a relationship with local schools, he wants to reach out to people already in the workforce who have the skills training but not the theory behind what they are doing.

“This year our program captured those students who are available because they are in school. We have figured out how to utilize those students and train them. The next challenge for the fall classes is to figure out how to integrate what we call incumbent workers, those who are out there, already with jobs, sometimes at distant job-site locations, that have only the practical side of learning and virtually no theory to their learning.”

And those students won’t necessarily have to come to Garrison Steel or Jefferson State. Garrison has plans to use the Internet and distance learning to help train workers at their job sites.

The students have received their entry-level training this year, but there are many more classes and options available to them down the road.

“The theory is this — these guys who are going to graduate high school want to get out and get a job in the workplace, but that is just a start. In describing it, I try to play a movie in their head: ‘You get really good at what you know how to do skill-wise. Then you become capable of managing those skills of others, learning another new role in the company.’

“As the company grows, we need new managers. As time goes by, older guys like me age out, and we fill those positions from the bottom up. That is the theory, the process we tell these guys,” Garrison said. “We want them to be able to work all the way up to owning their own company one day.”

And as you learn one skill, more open up to you — in the workplace and in college.

“Just because you start out a welder does not mean you have to be a welder for the rest of your life,” he said.

“I have explained to my students that you know more technical aspects of our business than many of the people who have been working in the field for six years or more. They have a practical advantage over you, but you are learning the more challenging part, which is theory, and you will get the practical experience once you are hired.

“Now you have a distinct advantage over the incumbent workforce and have a pathway to higher positions later in your career.”

Payoff for students
and business

The move is not entirely altruistic. Garrison readily admits that having a skilled workforce at his disposal can save money and cut down drastically on job time. It also creates an overall safer work-site environment.

“The cost of labor is driving up the cost of construction. The cost of labor does not necessarily mean higher wages,” he said. The longer it takes to complete a job, the more expensive the project is.

“What a skilled workforce can do in three months might take an unskilled workforce four months to do. The problem is not a lack of workers; it is a lack of skilled workers.

Students who have enrolled in the program and are working for Garrison are similarly reaping the rewards of their efforts.

David Graves, who has previously talked about his experience at Garrison Steel soon after his graduation, has taken part in some of the classes and continues months later to move down the career path he has embraced.

“When he added the welding school, I took that. I was in processing before, now I am in welding, and that is going in the direction I want to be in,” he said.

“I want to learn more about fabrication, and welding is a step in that direction. …”

And it is the combination of classroom instruction and hands-on that is making all the difference.

“It really helps going through the class, giving you an understanding, but it won’t teach you to weld by itself. You learn that on the floor, learn from trial and error, grinding out your mistakes.”

Down the road, Graves hopes to move up to a supervisor or quality control position.

“There are classes for that at college. That opens doors like project manager.”

Matt McCrory is another employee who has benefitted from the multifaceted training program.

He has been at Garrison for two years now and has worked his way to an office position, lotting, where they break down the different design drawings into their components, which makes fabrication easier and more organized.

He originally took the welding course at Jefferson State and has continued his training at Garrison.

“That class helped me read the drawings. That is the biggest thing: Since I mostly read drawings, how things are applied, how they are used, how they are built,” McCrory said. “If I don’t know how to read the drawings, I can’t do my job.”

He plans on continuing to work at Garrison, but also sees more college in his future at Jefferson State, focusing on business administration.

“The lessons I have learned here will help in college,” he said, adding that he definitely has a better idea of what he wants his career path to be now that he has been in the workforce. Something he said was very much lacking when he was a senior in high school.

One graduate of the class, Alex Bowman of Pell City, is still in school but is already on the job.

Bowman is a 17-year-old who just finished his junior year and is working at Garrison Steel.

And he already can see his path ahead.

“I am looking at doing this for a career, definitely something as an ironworker with Garrison Steel,” he said, pointing to the owner as an example. “Seeing Mr. Garrison’s investment in us makes me want to work harder, to one day get to the level he is at. It’s very inspiring.”

Studying in the class and working at Garrison has been ideal for Bowman, who readily admits he is not a fan of traditional classroom environments.

“I am not very good in a classroom. You can learn the idea of what you want from a book, but hands-on, you actually learn how to do it,” he said.

And because he now has some certification under his belt, he has options.

“NCCER was a huge step up for us when it came to the ironworker program. It means, when you graduate, you have jobs waiting for you. Having your core training shows a lot of employers you have the ability and intentions to step up and get ahead in the game.”

Return on Investment

“I know for a fact that a one-dollar investment in training returns three in productivity. … It’s not altruism; it’s survival,” Garrison said.

He is quick to point out that he is not the only one investing in the program — support he could not have made the new classroom work without.

“Red-D-Arc Welders are a major contributor to our program with welding equipment donated. The additional supporters of our program are NUCOR Steel, Cobb Wire Rope and Sling, NEX AIR, and Lincoln Electric and Service Construction Supply (SCS),” he said.

Between that kind of support and the growing partnership with education, business and organizations like the EDC, Garrison sees a bright future for workforce development in St. Clair County.

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Big Head’s Bait Shop

A special store on the shore of Neely Henry

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

The front door of a nondescript building fronting US 411 near Ashville on one side and Canoe Creek on Neely Henry Lake on the other doesn’t prepare you for what you’ll find on the other side. The door swings open, and “Boss, AKA Big Head,” sits patiently waiting for your response.

It may be a gasp at just how big his head is – he’s a mastiff – or if you’re a dog lover, the natural instinct kicks in, and petting is surely on its way. At least, Boss seems to hope so.

Welcome to Big Head’s Bait Shop. Amy Jean Pruett owns it. But make no mistake about it, Big Head is the Boss. He’s everywhere. He swaggers around on four legs, checking out the customers. His face (the shop’s logo) can be spotted in any direction on anything that advertises the business.

But the real story stands behind the counter, Boss just plays a role in it.

In another life, Amy was operations manager for an investment company for 18 years. “I loved my job and the people I worked with. That was the hardest thing about doing this,” she said, motioning around the cozy bait shop full of mementos – signs and fish-themed knick-knacks people have given her.

She had a dream to follow, though, and when the bait shop went up for sale, she couldn’t resist the lure.

“I have been dreaming about this since I was 4 years old,” she said. “I was in an out of bait shops as a young girl with my dad. I loved the bait shop atmosphere … the stories … they were right up my alley.”

To the little girl, the fishermen were “laid back. I loved talking to all those old fellas,” she said.

She caught her first fish on Neely Henry, said her father, Paul Pruett, who helps out around the shop and acts as a fishing guide. And now she’s back where she started, barely over the toddler stage.

Originally, she thought she would open a bait shop on the coast, but “this place in particular tugged at me.” She had promised herself that before she was 40, she would have a bait shop to call her own. “Forty came and went, and I made peace with it,” Amy said.

Then, she was going to work one day and stopped to get gas across the street from the bait shop and noticed the ‘for sale’ sign. “I worked out a month and a half notice at the investment company,” and she headed toward living out her dream.

“I signed the papers on my 44^th birthday. I laughed thinking about my 4-year-old self” and the promise she made about age 40. “I thought, she wasn’t too far off.”

That was a year ago. Now, Amy said, “I feel like I’m aging in reverse. I still wake up looking for my business clothes. I can wear a bathing suit now if I want to.”

She spent the early days figuring everything out and getting used to a newfound calm that has overtaken her, the slow pace of just selling bait over the demands of the investment world. Her greatest challenge in her new life was figuring out how to keep the bait alive.

“I felt like the mad scientist.” She rounded up old deep freezers people had thrown out, rigged up a thermostat for each, and the minnows seemed quite content swimming in the chill of winter in their balmy, 70-degree water. Her friend, Scott, helped with the thermostats for the tanks.

That’s not the only bait she sells. Check out the chalk board out front, advertising everything from the usuals – Shiners, Toughies, Night Crawlers, Crickets – to Rooster Livers and Live Shad. Don’t be fooled by her petite look. She casts for and catches the shad herself.

And don’t be surprised that a ‘girl’ in a typically man’s world knows her fishing. She encounters a few male skeptics at first. But it doesn’t take them long to discover “I know what I’m talking about. I tell them what to fish for, where to go, what to use, and they come back over and over again. My nephews think I’m the coolest now. They think it’s the most awesome place in the world.”

Her advice for others living their dream? “Don’t let it consume you. Set hours and stick by them. Get your plan together and stick by it. Listen to your customers’ suggestions, but don’t feel like you have to have everything all at once. Every day is a learning experience—learn.

She’s quick to point out that she hasn’t done it all on her own. She talks about the help and encouragement from her dad who works with her, her friends – Shelby Little and Shane Moland — who help out on weekends – and then, there’s Boss.

“He really saved me,” she said. A friend had texted her the photo of this giant rescue who had been in a crate for six months, and she set out to Bardstown, Kentucky, to claim him. “When I saw his face, I just knew I had to have him.” She was going through a difficult time in her life, and “he motivated me. He got me out of my funk.”

Together, they run quite a booming bait business and seem to savor every minute of it.

What’s the next dream? “By 50, I want to catch an alligator with The Swamp People,” she said, noticing an episode flash across the TV. “I’ll be 45 this month. I guess I better get on the ball, huh?”

Big Head Bait Shop

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Living on the Lakes

There’s a saying around these parts: “You never know how many friends you have until you own a lake house.” It’s true. The water seems to have a way of drawing people in, and Realtors on Logan Martin and Neely Henry know why.

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
and Michael Callahan

With thousands of acres of water forming their back yard, both lakes are hot properties for housing. From cabins to mansions to everything in between, Logan Martin and Neely Henry Realtors say they have just the right spot to fit any lake lover’s budget.

The best amenities, of course, are of the natural kind.

“The crappie fishing is great on Neely Henry,” said Realtor Lyman Lovejoy of Lovejoy Realty. “And it’s a scenic lake. There are some places with high rock cliffs that are more than 100 feet high. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

He noted that Neely Henry is not a flood control lake like Logan Martin, so levels stay the same all year long. “It never floods. You can build right next to the water.”

If he had to rate it, Lovejoy said buyers can find a “pretty good lot” at $65,000 and a “good lot” at $100,000. Lovejoy Realty has just opened a new subdivision on Neely Henry in the Canoe Creek area, Canoe Harbour. Located on the grounds of an old Baptist camp, it has 40 lots for sale – 10 off water and 30 waterfront. They are level lots with deep water, and part is on a peninsula with water views from both sides.

While Neely Henry is not as developed as Logan Martin, it does have its advantages – less crowded, being one of them. “You can be at Publix in Rainbow City in 10 minutes. You can go by boat to restaurants like Top of the River and have dinner.” He also noted that the new Canoe Creek Park opening this summer will be an asset, which will give more public access to the lake, will be state-of-the-art and will bring more major fishing tournaments to Neely Henry.

“Neely Henry’s the best kept secret in Alabama, and that’s the truth,” Lovejoy said.

Logan Martin isn’t as much of a secret, according to Realtor Dana Ellison with LAH. Development has been ongoing over the years.

Ellison has been selling real estate on the lake for nine years and knows the value in the investment there. “I’ve helped buyers, listed homes, helped stage, I’ve done it all. I love working with buyers,” she said. Many of her lake buyers are retirees who have moved out of Jefferson County who want to “live where they play, that’s what they tell me.”

She sees more and more Georgia buyers, who find Logan Martin closer and more easily accessible than lakes in metro Atlanta. “Logan Martin is that happy medium between Georgia the mountains and the beach, and it’s more affordable than Lake Martin, Smith Lake and Lay Lake,” she said. “You get more bang for your buck.”

She noted that interest rates are still relatively stable, and this is a good time for those looking to buy a home on the lake.

The bestselling price range she is seeing is in the $375,000 to $500,000 range, she said.

Ellison encouraged would-be homebuyers to get pre-approved. “It speeds up the process much more quickly. In 45 days, you can close and enjoy the summer.”

Broker and owner of ReMax Hometown Properties in Pell City, Sharon Thomas, agreed. “If financing is needed, get pre-qualified by a lender before starting the search. Do your homework. Decide what part of the lake you want to live on and what amenities are important.” Her advice can apply to both lakes. “Try to use local sources that are experts on lake property. Choose a local Realtor and use them as your resource for all your lake home purchasing needs.”

Thomas has seen her share of markets during her 17 years as a Realtor. “As recovery continues from the recession, not only lake homes but residential homes as well, are steadily increasing in value. We are seeing the market normalize,” she said.

Pricing can go from $170,000 to more than $1 million on Logan Martin. “In the past six months, I have more and more homes in the $400,000 range.”

But, she added, “There are still homes on the lake available in the $250,000 to $350,000 range.”

Lot prices vary according to location and size and whether or not there is year-round water. “I have seen them as high as $350,000+ on Lake Logan Martin.”

If you’re selling a lake house, Thomas offers this advice: “Declutter your home. Pack away things you don’t use. Spruce up flower beds and give it curb appeal. Touch up paint or repaint, whichever is needed. To get top market price for the home, the home has to be move in ready.

“Spruce up the waterfront and make it appealing. Many people see their dream home while riding in a boat!”

Josh Kell, a 12-year veteran Realtor at Kell Realty, knows the value in a lake home. His company is developing a subdivision on Neely Henry called Willow Point as well as maintaining a number of listings. Willow Point is a lakeside neighborhood of garden homes – smaller lots, less to manage. But even though they are smaller, they are approved for boathouses, he said.

Willow Point originally had 30 lots but only a handful remain. A new construction house in Willow Point is listed at $269,900.

What draws would-be lakeowners to Neely Henry? Kell said one of the main benefits is the consistency of the water level. He also noted that the southern end of the lake in St. Clair offers large, open water that particularly benefits recreation.

And, of course, “there’s very good fishing.”

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Dam to Dam

It’s not an easy trip, but you can do it. Many have. And the adventure of it is a memory they won’t soon forget.

By boat, you can travel from Logan Martin Dam to Neely Henry Dam or vice versa. The lakes are easily recognizable. They’re the ones with the traffic. But between Riverside on Logan Martin and Ragland on Neely Henry, it’s seems like it’s just you and the Coosa River.

The wildlife, the pristine waters, the wooded landscape – it is all a sight to behold. Pell City’s Randy Royster calls it “the survival trip,” a trek he and a group of friends used to take annually in the fall.

But it’s worth it, he says. “The scenery is spectacular, and it just gives you a feeling of the great outdoors. We always went in late September or early October while the water is still up, and it is just so beautiful that time of year.”

By road, it’s more than 30 miles from one dam to the other through St. Clair County. That’s about a 30-minute drive. By water? Better pack a lunch … and a depth-finder. Alabama Outdoor News reports it as a 50-mile stretch, and there are plenty of shallow spots along the way. Come May 1 or before mid-October, when Logan Martin is full pool of 465 feet above sea level, the trip is a lot easier than a time of winter pool.

It’s not an easy trip in terms of time. “It takes us all day to get to Neely Henry, turn around and come back to our home in Pine Harbor,” which is about 20 minutes from Logan Martin Dam,” Royster said. “We have had a great time along the way with good friends, beautiful scenery and a boat load of memories.”

You can find a handy guide of the river between the two dams in the Maps and Guides section of loganmartinlakelife.com.

Neely Henry by the numbers

Neely Henry Dam was the first Alabama Power Co. dam on the Coosa River, which also saw the construction of Weiss, Logan Martin and Bouldin and the redevelopment of Lay Dam.

It was put into service June 2, 1966, and its concrete is 605 feet long and 104 feet at its highest point.

The lake’s elevation is 508 feet above sea level. It has 11,200 acres of water. The shoreline is 339 miles, and its maximum depth of water is 53 feet. It is 77.6 miles long, heading toward Weiss Lake.

Logan Martin by the numbers

Logan Martin Dam was the second dam built along the Coosa River. During its planning stages, its name was Kelly Creek, a familiar name around these parts.

Logan Martin went into service Aug. 10, 1964. Measured in concrete, its length is 612 feet. Its maximum height is 97 feet.

The lake’s elevation at summer pool is 465 feet above seas level. It has 15,263 acres of water. Winter level is 460 feet, although the US Corps of Engineers granted a variance Winter 2017 to keep the level two feet higher because of effects from the drought. It is 48.5 miles long heading to Neely Henry Dam.

Points of interest along the way

Starting out at Logan Martin Dam, heading north, don’t miss the public park just to your right of the dam. Built by Alabama Power on the Talladega County side of the lake, Logan Martin Dam Picnic Area offers a covered pavilion and places to swim and fish.

Birmingham Sailing Club

Up next is Birmingham Sailing Club. Founded in 1963, the year before the lake opened, it sits atop a hillside with a panoramic view of the lake on nine acres of land. On Sunday afternoons, you’ll find boaters and porch dwellers alike watching as the main channel fills with sails for regular regattas all year long. Monthly, one-day regattas are held during spring and summer, and invitational regattas attract sail clubs from all over the southeast.

Pell City Lakeside Park

Lakeside Park is a destination point for residents and tourists alike and is a recreational bonanza, whether your come by boat or by vehicle. It is located on 65 acres next to the Pell City Civic Center and Sports Complex. Picnic areas under the trees are available at not charge, and a pved 1.1 mile non-motorized nature trail is a walkers and runners’ favorite.

Kids Kastle is a playground the community built in a single weekend. The newest addition is a massive splash pad, which opened in 2016 and drew thousands of squealing kids during the season.

While at Lakeside Park, don’t forget to check out the Wetlands observation platform to get an up close view of dozens of indigenous species botanical experts have identified in Logan Martin’s wetlands. And the native plant walking trail nearby is a real outdoor classroom courtesy of the Pell City Garden Club.

Come back July 4 just after dark and enjoy one of the most spectacular fireworks displays in the state. Come by boat, by car or by foot to the park or to the channel leading to it to get the best views of fireworks lighting up the nighttime sky over the water.

Did you see what I saw?

Goat Island is a boating favorite for landmarks and usually gets double takes from new boaters passing by. The island sits near the main channel in an inlet with a semicircle of homes in the Riviere Estates area of Pell City. Years ago, owners of the homes placed goats on the island to keep things nice and trim and open up the view. It’s worked! And it is an enjoyable stop-off to see the goats on a day out on the lake.

Ahoy, Mate!

But, of course, the most coveted spot on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, is anchored near Pirate Island. With a chest full of coins, beads and other ‘treasures’ for the kids, Pirate’s Island – complete with towering pirate flag – is a must see, must stop, must stay kind of place. The shallow waters around it make it perfect for standing in the water on hot summer days, taking to newfound friends while your kids swim and play on the specially placed ‘lily pad.’ Owned by private citizens, they open the island up for boaters to enjoy.

Splish, Splash

The Rocks, or The Quarry, is a hundred foot rock formation, and the deep waters below make it a great place to gather in boats and on personal watercrafts to enjoy the sun and an impromptu show. It is not unusual to see people jumping off the rocks as they would a diving board or demonstrating their Tarzan-like moves with a swing from a rope and a drop into the water, drawing a round of applause from those gathered below.

Lakelife icon

You may not be able to see the building from the water, but the historic Ark Restaurant, known virtually around the world for its catfish and Gulf Shrimp sits atop US 78 near the bridge. You can access it by boat from a small pier located on the main channel.

Open during prohibition, The Ark has a storied history on how it got its name. Its original home was on a barge, anchored some 30 feet from shore, making it neither Talladega County nor St. Clair County’s jurisdiction. Patrons accessed it by boat or long gangplank, and coincidentally, it was immune from prohibition because of its locale. It still sells libations today … legally.

Riverside Landing

On the other side of the bridge, Riverside Landing is a fairly new addition to the lake. The city built it a few years back in a slough that fronts the main street running through town and widens to the main channel on the other side. You can get gas on the water 24/7, launch your boat and pick up some supplies there.

Bridge over beloved water

As you come out of Riverside Landing, look to your right and spot the old railroad bridge. You can still see the hinges where it used to lift for barge traffic. Just across the way, check out what remains of Lock 4, when the Coosa River was a series of locks and dams and open to ferry traffic.

Skiing, anyone?

Riverside has a slalom water ski course that is a permitted ski course by City of Riverside, Alabama Power and Alabama Marine Police. It is removed in the fall and returns in the spring.

What’s biting?

Don’t forget some of the creeks running through that area, like Broken Arrow and Blue Eye. They are some of the best fishing around because of freshwater springs.

‘Twixt and ‘tween’

As the lake begins to narrow, it’s like entering a new dimension. Racing bass boats, large homes and plenty of traffic give way to a peaceful ride through woods, occasional wildlife and beautiful scenery, especially in the spring and fall.

When it opens up, you can see an imposing Neely Henry Dam, but there’s plenty more to see around this lake.

Civil War roots

Ten Islands Park has been called one of the most historic sites in St. Clair County. Discover Magazine once wrote: “The intriguing name is that of an Indian village that existed before the settlers moved in. It was called Otipalin, a Creek word meaning Ten Islands. The islands may no longer be visible, but the location and the story of the 1864 (Civil War) battle live on.” You can read all about it here: discoverstclair.com/traveling-the-backroads/ten-islands/

No planes, just birds

Today, Ten Islands is listed on Alabama Birding Trails as a top site for bird watching. In the winter, you may find “gulls and rafts of diving ducks, some loons (look for Pacific), grebes (watch for Eared or Red-necked), geese, and the occasional soaring Bald Eagle. Swallows, Chimney Swifts, and Purple Martins zip over the water in the warmer months,” according to alabamabirdingtrails.com.

Spotted on or near the islands are: Field Sparrows, Eastern Towhees, White-eyed Vireos, Gray Catbirds, Prairie Warblers, Yellowbreasted Chats, Indigo Buntings, Common Yellowthroats, Orange-crowned, Chuck-will’s-widows, Whip-poor-wills. Eastern Screech-Owls, Blue-winged Warblers, Prairie Warblers, White-eyed Vireos, Brown-headed Nuthatches, Pine Warblers, Worm-eating Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, American Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, Barred and Great Horned Owls.

If birding isn’t your thing, the park offers parking, trail, picnic area, boat launch and fishing.

Greensport Marina

Opened in 1967, and it holds many a story and childhood memories just at the mention of its name.

It is open all year long for fishing and boating, and it is open May 1 – Oct. 1 for swimming, picnicking and island parties.

It has a marina with launching, covered boat storage, swimming, picnicking and a covered pavilion on the island for large parties.

Next big thing

Canoe Creek Park is ‘the next big thing’ on Neely Henry. Located in the Ashville area, it is being built by the St. Clair County Commission at the old Canoe Creek Park site. Engineer Kelley Keeton Taft of the Kelley Group outlined what will be in the park when it opens this summer.

The site will have spacious make ready lanes, four lane boat launch, parking for 100 rigs, two 100 foot floating piers, fixed shore perimeter boardwalk piers and lighting. These amenities will provide a targeted venue for large fishing tournaments and events.

Catch of the day … or night … or weekend

Logan Martin and Neely Henry boast some of the best fishing around. On St. Clair County’s lakes, you can cast for Bluegill Bream, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Crappie and Catfish.

Dave McKinney of Dave’s Guide Service knows fishing. He rattles off Logan Martin and Neely Henry’s creek names like others might list the alphabet.

You’ll find crappie and bass at Canoe Creek and crappie, bass and bream at Palmetto Creek on Neely Henry. Shoal Creek on Neely Henry is a good spot all year long as is Greensport.

Choccolocco Creek on Logan Martin is a favorite fishing hole any time of year for bass and crappie.

And catfish? They’re in deep water most of the time. You can find them in the creeks, McKinney said, but usually, they’re in deeper waters. These can be monster fish. Just how big? McKinney’s largest was about 75 pounds.

If you don’t want to try it on your own, just ask Dave. He has trips of four, six and eight hours, guaranteed to get you some action.

His trips include pushing, shooting docks, tight lining and short pole. Don’t know the lingo? Here’s the abbreviated version:

Pushing and Pulling—pushing minnows and jigs against ledges or trolling by pulling jigs in deep water.

Shooting Docks—technique used for crappie fishing where you use a short pole, pull it back and let it go and shoot up under the dock.

Tight Lining—Throw your line out and then reel it as if it is a pendulum swinging back and forth back toward the boat.

What’s that up ahead?

Last stop on this trek is Neely Henry Dam. Fishing is good below and above it. Its mere presence has meant much to many.

Alabama Power says it, like Logan Martin, began as a story of energy. “It continues today as a story of flood control, recreation and economic opportunity, irrigation and drinking water, and fish and wildlife habitats. Power was just the beginning.”

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