More industry growth

Allied Mineral Products breaks ground on $23.5M expansion in Pell City

Allied Mineral Products President and CEO Paul Jamieson didn’t expect to be standing where he was on June 11, addressing a crowd of over 100 people to break ground on a $23.5 million expansion. At least not this soon.

It is the company’s second expansion in five years at the Pell City plant, adding a 200,000 square foot production facility, which will generate 13 new jobs and boost the employment roster to 100.

“Our partnership with Alabama is strengthened yet again with the expansion of this plant which we built in 2019,” said Jamieson. “Our theme for this event is ‘Growth Propels Us.’ This is true for Allied globally, but nowhere more apparent than here in Pell City,” he told the crowd.

“Locating our facility in Alabama was part of a long-term strategy to expand our manufacturing presence in the South to be closer to our customers. Because of the quality of this workforce and the local support here, our growth in Alabama has been faster than we planned,” Jamieson added. “We are excited to be expanding our facility so soon and are confident this will help us to continue that growth.”

County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon

“Since its founding over 60 years ago, Allied Mineral Products has grown into a global company, serving multiple industries and registering sales to more than 100 countries,” said Alabama Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair. “With a worldwide presence, the company could have selected another location for this investment, so this expansion in Pell City is truly a testament to the workforce there.”

Jamieson, too, talked of the quality of Allied’s employees, which ensured growth in Alabama quicker than planned. “The global standard is being set right here in Alabama,” he said.

The employee-owned stock company produces a variety of heat containment refractory products used in industrial applications. Construction on the new facility, now under way, will be competed in late 2025. In addition to the new building, the expansion will include installation of new manufacturing equipment including cranes, drying ovens and mixers.

Allied will increase the Pell City facility’s production capacity, improve efficiency, prepare it for growth and increase its ability to serve the company’s Southern region.

Joining Commerce to support the project were the Pell City Industrial Development Board and the Alabama workforce development agency AIDT, which will provide services including skills training on automation technologies for company workers.

“We are happy that Allied Mineral chose its Pell City facility for this new investment. It is always good to see our growth in our industrial base and is a reflection of the quality of the workforce in St. Clair County,” said Stan Batemon, chairman of the St. Clair County Commission. “it validates that we’re doing something right in providing a quality workforce.”

Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt also cheered the company’s growth plans. “The City of Pell City is proud to see the continued growth and success at Allied Mineral Products,” Pruitt said. “New investment and job growth will stimulate the local economy and highlight the fact that Pell City is a great place for business.”

Besides Pell City, Allied has U.S. locations in Brownsville, Texa,s and Columbus, Ohio, where it is headquartered. The company also has facilities in Canada, South America, Europe, India, China, South Africa and Russia.

Planet Fitness coming to Pell City

Latest national chain to open location in St. Clair

Another national brand is heading to Pell City. Construction is already underway on Planet Fitness on Vaughan Lane, further populating the commercial stretch that runs by the expansive Walmart Supercenter shopping area known as Bankhead Crossings.

That district already includes Home Depot, Holiday Inn Express, Buffalo Wild Wings, Premier Cinema and Entertainment Center, Hampton Inn, Comfort Suites, City Market, Freddie’s Steakburgers, Zaxby’s, Krystal and Wendy’s. Under construction next to Home Depot is TownPlace Suites by Marriott.

City and company officials project an opening date in December for Planet Fitness. “It’s such a big name,” said City Manager Brian Muenger. “It will pair very well with business travelers. It’s a very welcome amenity to our community as a whole, but it will be attractive to business travelers, too.”

The two-story complex calls for massage and training areas, tanning beds and more. With more than 2,500 locations, Planet Fitness says its goal is “to provide a clean, safe, welcoming environment for anyone who walks through our door, and all the equipment, amenities and support you need once you’re here.”

Membership allows you access to other locations in addition to your home club.

“It’s exciting to see another building coming out of the ground and filling Bankhead Crossings,” said Muenger, referring to the commercial district.

And it is another sign of more growth for the future of Pell City overall.

A new subdivision is being developed nearby on Florida Road, where 200 homes are expected to be built. Sewer, curb and gutter work is “moving right along” on what is to be called Oak Village, Muenger said. Planet Fitness and other developments should be quality of life amenities attractive to residential growth.

Just across the interstate, Pell City Square is performing well. In the first eight months since opening, “it is substantially ahead of projected numbers. It is performing above expectations.”

Pell City Square is home to Hobby Lobby, TJ JMaxx, Ross Dress for Less, Ulta, PetSmart, Old Navy and Five Below. Under construction nearby are Whataburger and Outback Steakhouse.

What else can Pell City expect? Muenger hints that more growth is up ahead. “A lot of sites are getting interest.”

Childhood

– Mackenzie Free –

Childhood sure has changed a lot over the last 40 years. In fact, it’s been almost completely rewritten over the years.

If a great childhood, by today’s standards, is now defined by expensive toys, designer clothes, lavish vacations or a million pre-planned, carefully curated, activities … my kids won’t have one.

But I will give them a childhood filled with simplicity, freedom and boredom.

I’ll give them the gift of simplicity … the opportunity to slow down, unplug and enjoy life. We threw away nearly all mainstream toys years ago and realized less really is more. Kids really don’t need the constant bombardment of “things” to be content. Too much ‘stuff’ creates imagination stagnation. It stifles their creativity.

I’ll give them freedom … to roam, to play and get dirty. I will give them the freedom to climb trees, play in the creek, catch fish and poke ant hills with a stick. Freedom to get bug bites, bloody knees, splinters, holes in their clothes and to learn lots of lessons the hard way. I’ll give them the freedom to be kids.

And I’ll give them boredom …  perhaps the best gift I can give them. Because a great imagination is born from boredom. And a great imagination gives way to ideas and innovation as they grow up. So, I encourage boredom often because their best ideas will be found there. I let them wonder, wander, try and entertain their own ideas.

The best gift we can give our children is their childhood.

Wife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama

Chandler Mountain: Save the Mountain effort focused on history and the future

Top Photo: Keith Little Badger, Cherokee tribe of Northeast Alabama, surveys area

Story by Mackenzie Free and Carol Pappas
Photos by Mackenzie Free

Charlie Abercrombie has a history on this mountain, dating all the way back to the War of 1812 and a man by the name of Chandler.

That’s why today’s fight to save it meant so much to so many. For Charlie, it was personal.

Many joined the fight along the way and for varying reasons – from newcomers to old timers. It was personal to them, too.

Mackenzie Free, a photographer for Discover Magazine, joined the effort and was a vocal advocate in the Save Chandler Mountain movement. She lives in the mountain’s valley on the same land her husband’s family raised generations. Mackenzie and her family stood to lose it all – just like Charlie – if Alabama Power’s quest to build a hydro dam there succeeded.

Charlie Abercrombie on the dam on family’s land

It didn’t. 

This is but one story among many, painting the picture of how history could be lost so easily. Here are excerpts from Charlie’s story that Mackenzie shared on social media at the height of the fight to save the mountain:

This is Charlie Abercrombie.

Out of all the folks I’ve met since moving out to the Steele/Chandler Mountain area 10 years ago, he might very well be one of my favorites.

I “think” he said he’s 77 years old, but I might be mistaken because he’s far too sprightly and agile for that to be correct.

He’s very charming and intelligent and has a memory that far exceeds mine.

He is also humble, hardworking and takes a lot of pride in his land.

You see, this land he calls home is special.

Very special …

His property was part of a presidential land grant from the U.S. government to Mr. Joel Chandler (yes, Chandler… as in ‘Chandler Mountain’) for fighting along with Andrew Jackson in the war of 1812.

A short while later, in the early 1840s, a grist mill (grinding wheat to flour and corn to meal) was built here.  It was powered by water… this dam and Little Canoe Creek.

One of the pictographs found on the mountain

Mr. Abercrombie’s great grandfather later purchased this property and grist mill from the daughter of Joel Chandler in 1896. Let me reiterate that … 1896!!

(*To put that in perspective this property has been in his family longer than Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii, have been a part of the United States!!!)

This land is more than just his home… its history!

It’s his heritage.

It’s sewn into the very fiber of who he is.

It’s his legacy.

And you’ll find that is a common theme for most of these families (mine included) that stand to lose everything their forefathers fought so hard to protect. 

It’s more than land … it’s bigger than that.

It’s not money either …  it’s about history, heritage and the American dream.

Land has always been a staple of the American dream. From the Mayflower Compact of 1620, to the Homestead Act of 1862, all the way down to the ongoing battle we face to preserve what we have today … land has always been a integral component and driving force for the American way of life.

Mr. Abercrombie’s family worked their entire lives to earn, maintain and preserve the land they have for the next generation.

He is a steward of this land and the natural wonders around him … just as his great grandfather was.

He stands to lose it all.

The same sentiment played out across the mountain and down in the valley. They treasure the land, and they want to preserve it for future generations.

People like Fran Summerlin, Ben Lyon, Leo Galleo and a host of others led what did indeed become a movement to stop the project. The Alabama Rivers Alliance lauded them with an award for what was called a valiant battle.

The consensus was that the mountain isn’t just a geologic formation, it stands as a monument to history and heritage. It still stands because people cared enough to get involved in a fray most didn’t think they could win. But, they did.

Native American groups stepped in with support for preservation of land their ancestors once lived. Twinkle Cavanaugh and Chip Beeker of the Alabama Public Service Commission visited the mountain, heard the group’s pleas and decided their votes on Alabama Power’s proposal would be ‘no.’

Within days, Alabama Power announced it was cancelling its plans.

Weddings: How the Lakeside wedding came to be

Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos

In seemingly every forever love story, there’s tradition – a band of gold, a diamond engagement ring, family, friends and joy.

But while some things never change, every couple puts their own stamp on their special day.

Hallie and Hunter Craton were no exception.

But the couple added in bits of themselves. Think a down home rehearsal dinner, a bit of espionage and a trip South of the Border.

And just as Logan Martin Lake provided a breathtaking backdrop for their wedding, the ageless body of water was home to another courtship milestone.

Popping the Question

As a small-town young  man raised with small town values, Hunter had already asked Hallie’s folks for her hand. But to borrow a word from college football television analysts, he had to resort to a little “trickeration” to pop the question.

“I spent a lot of weeks prior trying to sneak around town looking for rings and stuff,” he says. “Once I got the ring, I went over to my best friend’s house trying to come up with a date. I was so nervous, just talking about it.”

Hunter, along with his co-conspirators – his friends and hers – made sure she was dressed for a special night out and got her to a friend’s lakeside dock, decorated with a table, candles and pictures.

“She thought she was going to eat with her friends, and they brought her over there. When she came around the house, Hallie saw me standing on the pier.”

The couple’s parents hid nearby, to watch the big moment go down.

“I was shocked, not that he asked me. I had an idea,” Hallie says. “I expected it to happen two weeks later, on our six-year anniversary. I didn’t expect it to happen when it did.”

She initially thought someone was working on the dock when she recognized Hunter.

“I actually saw my Mom hiding in the bushes before I saw him,” she says.

Hunter said a few words that will belong to the couple alone, Hallie recalled. But the moment was emotional.

“He asked me to marry him. I was shaking, so excited. It was beautiful.”

And both wept, just as they would almost a year later on their wedding day.

The Vows

Just as the couple will keep the words of the proposal to themselves, so it was with their vows.

“We did private vows between the two of us before the wedding,” Hallie says. “Hunter isn’t much of a public speaker and we wanted to share them in private. It was very sweet and very intimate.”

The Rings

In another nod to tradition, Hallie’s engagement ring is a solitaire round diamond on a thin gold band. Her wedding band is a thin gold band with diamonds across.

“I wanted something that would be appropriate through the ages,” she says.

Hunter’s wedding band is the timeless gold band.

“Hallie talked me into it.  I originally wanted a ring that was gold or wood with antler laid into it because I’m a big hunter and fisherman. “But Hallie was having none of it.”

Perhaps a bigger chore than picking a ring was buying it without Hallie finding out.

Hunter’s red pickup is easy to spot in Pell City and Hallie – her Mom says – is “nosy, always up in everybody’s business” and tracks her loved ones with her Smartphone. So, the trick for Hunter was to buy the rings without Hallie finding out.

What They Wore

Hallie’s Robert Bullock-designed dress in the Lilac Dream style was crafted from a luxurious crepe material. The form-fitting frock has a strapless bodice and features a square neckline, adding to the sophisticated look, as well as a cathedral style veil.

For the reception, Hallie added a bow to the back of the gown.

Hunter was clad in a traditional, timeless black tuxedo.

A Pulled Pork Party

While the wedding rehearsal was at the site of the wedding, the after party was celebrated at Hallie’s grandfather’s next door.

Hosted by Hunter’s Mom and stepdad, pulled pork from Butts to Go in Pell City, along with the eatery’s delicious baked potato salad and baked beans.

“Hunter’s Mom and her friends really came through. They decorated it up, and it was very nice,” Jennifer Hannah says.

Members of the family and the wedding party delivered speeches, celebrating the happy couple.

“It was really sweet and sentimental to have that special time with our closest friends and family before the wedding,” Hallie says.

In a nod to her younger years, Hallie and her bridesmaids had a sleepover at her grandfather’s house. Some of Hunter’s groomsmen did the same at his house.

A Mexican Honeymoon

Enjoying the honeymoon

The couple celebrated their honeymoon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, at the all-inclusive Hotel Xcaret Arte.

“We had the best time,” Hallie says. “We ate at a new restaurant for lunch and dinner every day. The beach was beautiful.”

Along with lounging at the pool, the couple went scuba diving and swam through miles of caves under the turquoise water. On land, they rode ATVs.

“It was a great, great honeymoon,” Hallie says.

Hunter and Hallie worked with a travel planner. The bride likes laid back vacations. Hunter is a go-getter. The couple found middle ground.

“I like to sit on the beach and rot, I like to say. Hunter likes to do stuff and be very active. We tried to find a place that would satisfy both,” she says.

Two final notes

Hunter Craton isn’t only a gentleman, but an Auburn man to his heart. The wedding was the same day as the Tigers’ matchup with rival LSU.

“I couldn’t miss an Auburn game, even on my wedding day. It was the only thing I asked for.”

The solution was a big screen TV at the reception. Auburn lost. But no one would disagree, Hallie and Hunter won – big.

This, Hallie says, is a man with priorities. “It just tells me how lucky I am.”

And in a distinctly Logan Martin Lake love story moment, Hunter tells about when the wedding photographer wanted to get some shots of the newlyweds as the lovely sun sank in the west.

“We had to wait for a bass boat to pass before we could take the picture.”

Weddings: Newlyweds

Couple shares their love story

Story and photos
by Mackenzie Free

“I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That’s getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition. “
– George Banks in Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride was one of my all-time favorite movies growing up. It was wholesome and funny, and it played into so many girls’ pre-Pinterest ideas of what a dream wedding looked like.

But George, the father of the bride (played by the eternally cool Steve Martin), wasn’t wrong. Getting married and having a wedding are two very different things.

No one knows this better than newlyweds and, of course, their photographer – me – who shot their wedding celebration the second time around. This St. Clair County couple – Zach and Gracie (Bright) Walker – became newlyweds twice, opting for a ‘real wedding’ after an initial elopement.

I have been shooting weddings for years and honestly, no two are exactly alike. Here, at Discover, we thought we would take you behind the scenes for Zach and Gracie’s special day in a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Walker.

The two began dating in February of 2023 and to say they fell in love fast would be an understatement. By June of the same year, they decided they were ready to get married and eloped to the courthouse.

However, having a celebratory wedding was never officially off the table and after a few months, these newlyweds decided it was time to start planning their big day.

How we met

We’ve really known each other forever. I was his daughter’s daycare teacher, and he messaged me asking if he needed a babysitter for Addalynn, would I do it?

The Highlands Chapel at Howe Farms wedding venue

I never talked to him until I was Addalynn’s teacher, and we would just talk about her when he’d pick her up, but I was always friends with Dalton and Derrick, his brother and cousin, so it’s crazy how I ended up with Zach.

Getting together

We started dating February 2023 and got married at the courthouse June 2023. We literally got matching tattoos a month after being together.

The planning

Zach said “because my wife is a bright person,” I did NOT want a fall wedding because I couldn’t stand the thought of a dark wedding. It’s just not me. The flowers and bright colors really do match my personality.

I also wanted it to be fun for Addalynn. I remember asking her what colors she wanted, and she said pink, blue, purple … and brown. I said, ‘How about brown (chocolate) cake?’

I just thought flowers would be simple and fun, and I wanted everyone to be able to wear whatever color they wanted.

Mother of the bride, Susan Bright, watches her husband, Travis, and only daughter, Gracie, during the father daughter dance

Mom said the florist told her she was so happy I chose color because she gets tired of everyone just wanting white bouquets. She was super sweet.

The big day

I wish we would’ve had the wedding closer to home so more people would’ve come and so everyone would’ve stayed longer. But then again, the chapel really was perfect.

I’m so thankful Addalynn was included in our vows. She made the whole wedding. It was her day, too. I love how she gave her very own speech. We had no idea she was going to do that.

I didn’t know Dalton was giving a speech until day of either. So, I think the thought of an open mic at a wedding would be super fun.