The Homewood Star | December 2011 |
www.TheHomewoodStar.com
Volume 1 | Issue 9 | December 2011
neighborly news & entertainment for Homewood
Cross country -pg 19
Brownies give back- pg 11
Homemade gift guide - pg 8
And an angel appeared to them Iconic star
Artist Thomas Andrew Findlay paints angels to give to strangers who are suffering during the holidays. Photo courtesy of Thomas Andrew Findlay.
By KATIE STEWART The letter said a former University of Alabama football player’s entire family got into a terrible car accident. Not everyone survived.
December Features Editor’s Note
2
Mayor’s Minute
4
City Council
5
Pinwheel Press
10
Lauren Denton
11
Pianist Michael Dulin
12
Business Spotlight
16
Restaurant Showcase
17
Sports
18
School House
20
Calendar of Events
22
Homewood Happenings
23
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How do you even begin to cope with that as a father and husband, especially at Christmas time? Homewood artist Thomas Andrew Findlay doesn’t have an answer
when he receives a letter like this, but he does deliver an angelic ray of hope. “When I hear these stories, I just hope my angels can bring some light back into their lives,” he said. Starting five Christmases ago, Findlay has delivered angel paintings unannounced on strangers’ doorsteps. He wants people to know that they are loved, cared for and are continuously being thought about. By Thanksgiving around 100 letters arrive addressed to Findlay that nominate someone who is going through, or has experienced, tremendous hardship within the year to receive a painting. “The stories that are sent to me are so heart-wrenching,” Findlay said. “I’m just happy that the response is so great because then I am able to do something good for these people who are so deserving.” It was Jim Smith at the Art Alley in Homewood that first suggested Findlay paint angels after many efforts to get other galleries to display his western paintings. “I was literally a starving artist,” Findlay said. “I was going to Sam’s Club to eat the samples in order to save money and still eat. Smith was the one who gave me the shot. After he realized westerns weren’t working for me, he recommended
See ANGELS | page 9
rededicated
Photo courtesy of Virginia Jones.
By KATIE STEWART Frank Young, the owner of Sikes Children’s Shoes, has a front-row view of the star each year. “Ever since I opened up shop that star has been here,” Young said. “It just has become a part of my life during the
See STAR | page 8
Booksmith thrives in shaky times for print By MADOLINE MARKHAM Jake Reiss needs a ladder to reach books off his floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in his home. Not a single book is unsigned by its author. “I don’t do anything but read,” said Reiss, owner of the Alabama Booksmith. “Literally all I do is read.” He goes through about 225 books a year, scouring for the best for his First Editions Club, which has selected 11 Pulitzer Prize Winners and seven National Book Award winners since it started in 2005. The club was also ranked as having the greatest value of 12 other clubs in the country according to Bookthink.com. Reiss knows books and he knows the book business. In an age of eReaders and defunct bookstores, Alabama Booksmith, located on 19th Street in Homewood since 1999, is thriving in the business of the printed word. “Last year was our biggest year in sales, and this year we are up 30 percent,” Reiss said. “We could probably challenge any bookstore in America to per capita book value of a book on a shelf.” Riess, a former tailor by trade, hit on a niche in signed first editions that will typically increase in value. Signed first editions of The Help, for example, originally
Alabama Booksmith owner Jake Reiss with signed first edition books; these books grow in value as time goes on and have made his business increasingly profitable. Photo by Madoline Markham.
retailed at $24.95 but are now worth $1,000. Alabama Booksmith was also the first bookstore outside of her hometown of Atlanta to host author Kathryn Stockett for a signing. Unlike a movie or ebook, a printed book is lasting, Reiss said: “Book people understand how nice and comfy it feels to see that book on their shelf.” Reiss sees the role that ebooks play too; it’s just not one he ever sees taking the place of his store’s niche.
Fabric of Homewood
“Many people read ebooks for easy transportation and then decide they want a first edition signed copy as a keepsake,” Reiss said. “You may not want to keep every book you read.” Alabama Booksmith also specializes in its expertise. “We are more like an adoption agency than a bookseller,” Reiss said, noting how they match books to a reader’s taste.
See BOOKSMITH | page 15
A Father and Sons Operation Mon-Thur: 7-7 Fri: 7-6:30, Sat: 9-4 1915 Oxmoor Rd. • 871.6131 hunterscleaners@gmail.com