Village Living neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook
Volume 5 | Issue 6 | September 2014
Fashion forward
Rock on
Coming Sept. 27
PreSchool Partners event to feature acts from around town
By MADOLINE MARKHAM
Superintendent Dicky Barlow is returning to the lineup this in this year’s show. Photo courtesy of Major Colbert.
Teachers, students to show off fall designs to benefit schools By MADOLINE MARKHAM Backstage, students freshen their makeup. Next to them, their teachers, principals and moms do the same, preparing to step out on the runway. This certainly isn’t school, but it does benefit their education. For the second year in a row, models from Mountain Brook schools will don the styles of area boutiques for the Schaeffer Eye Center Fashions for the Foundation event at The Club on Sept. 16. “It brings everyone together,” said Anne Womack, Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation executive director. “You are going to see principals, teachers and
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Memphis, TN Permit #830
See FASHION | page A23
Come Sept. 27, Crestline Village will rock again. Preschool Partners is bringing back its local music festival, Crestline Rocks, in a slightly amended form. Ticket prices have dropped, more local bands will be on the lineup, and the venue is moving from Church Street to the grassy lawn in front of the Emmet O’Neal Library. “We are hopeful that offering an opportunity to all ages to play and lowering the ticket price will bring out a good crowd,” said PreSchool Partners Director of Development Allene Neighbors. In fact, most of the lineup of local bands will be determined by an online vote this month, with the Hams and Rollin’ in the Hay as headliners. “Our goal is to bring in musical talent from various communities to show off the talent Birmingham has,” Neighbors said. “We have gotten a great response and have talked with several bands.” Starting Sept. 2, you can vote as often as you like for bands to be in the lineup for the Sept.
INSIDE
Touch-a-Truck Local Bands The Hams Rollin’ in the Hay
27 concert. Each vote you cast is a $1 donation to PreSchool Partners, and there is no limit on number of votes during the twoweek period. YouTube videos of the bands as well as the voting will be posted on preschool-partners.org. The festivities kick off Thursday, Sept. 25 with movie characters and other familiar faces walking around Crestline Village for a Character Crawl. Families can eat at local restaurants and mingle with characters from 5-8 p.m. Kids can also take part in the second annual Touch-a-Truck event on Saturday from 3-5 p.m. Fire trucks, Bobcat equipment, cranes and more will be on display for them to play on. “That was a huge hit [last year],” Neighbors said. “It was neat seeing all the city service trucks come together, and the kids went crazy because the
See CRESTLINE | page A23
Sponsors .......... A4 City...................... A6
Business.......... A8 Community ....A12
School House ... B11 Sports ............... B15
Faith ................. B17 Calendar ......... B18 facebook.com/villageliving
Here to stay
Wine ‘n dine
Jack King will be servicing cars at the Crestline Shell for years to come. Learn how inside.
Come out to the Birmingham Zoo for Western’s annual food and wine festival in support of the Emmet O’Neal Library. Find the details inside.
City page A7
Community page A18
CALL THE MAIDS AND GET THE SPOTLESS CLEANING CUSTOMERS TRUST AND RECOMMEND.
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Referred for a reason.
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About Us Please Support our Community Partners
Photo of the month
Pine Haven Drive neighbors gather on the first day of school. Pictured are Julia Mather (kindergarten), Whitmore Smith (kindergarten), Charlie Smith (third grade), Sam Smith (first grade), Will Mather (second grade), Spencer Weathers (kindergarten) and Anna Alton Weathers (second grade). Photo courtesy of Kate Mather.
Send your submissions for Photo of the Month to jennifer@villagelivingonline.com
Editor’s Note By Jennifer Gray What do you get when you bring in musical talent from Mountain Brook and the surrounding areas, offer special deals and sales at local shops, block off the area in front of the green lawn at the library, and invite the whole community to come out an enjoy? Crestline Rocks! This is the second year for this event, and you won’t want to miss it. Enjoy Crestline Village shops and restaurants, the Touch a Truck experience with your kids, and family friendly entertainment all while benefiting a great non profit organization, PreSchool Partners. We have all the details in this month’s issue. The Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation is also kicking off fall with
Fashions for the Foundation. Come out and see friends model that latest in fall fashions from area stores, enjoy lunch and support our schools. Event information can be found inside and on our cover. For all of you college football fans, we want to help you kick off the season with some fun. How big of a fan are you? Are you an Auburn or Alabama fanatic? Take our quiz and find out. We found several residents who are big fans and had them try out our quiz. See how your friends did, then take it yourself. You can submit a fan picture along with your score for publication consideration in a future issue. War Eagle and Roll Tide! Other local events that you won’t want to miss this month are the Emmet
O’Neal Library Food and Wine Festival, Antiques in the Gardens, Cahaba Village Race for the Cure and Mountain Brook Community Church’s Sweet Repeats consignment sale. With the rise in popularity of the young adult genre of books such as The Hunger Games series and The Book Thief, you might be interested in local author S.L. Duncan’s new book series. The first book in the trilogy, The Revelation of Gabriel Adams, was recently released. We spoke with Duncan about his journey as a writer and his plans for this series along with his inspiration for the story. Find these stories and much more in this issue.
Village Living Publisher: Creative Director: Editor: Managing Editor: Sports Editor: Staff Writers: Editorial Assistant: Graphic Designer: Advertising Manager: Sales and Distribution:
Contributing Writer: Intern: Published by:
Dan Starnes Keith McCoy Jennifer Gray Madoline Markham David Knox Katie Turpen Jessa Pease Sydney Cromwell Madison Miller Emily VanderMey Matthew Allen Rhonda Smith Warren Caldwell Michelle Salem Haynes Morgan Robinson Nathan Pearman Kari Kampakis Olivia Burton Village Living LLC
School House Contributors: Catherine Gasque & Catherine Bodnar - Cherokee Bend, Lisa Stone - Crestline, Kathleen Woodry - Brookwood Forest, Suzanne Milligan - Mountain Brook High School, Hilary Ross- Mountain Brook Elementary, Elizabeth Farrar - Mountain Brook Junior High Contributing Photographer: Image Arts Contact Information: Village Living #3 Office Park Circle, Suite 316 Birmingham, AL 35223 313-1780 Dan@VillageLivingOnline.com
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Living is designed to inform the Mountain Brook community of area school, faith, family and community events. Information in Village Living is gathered from sources considered reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All articles/photos submitted become the property of Village Living. We reserve the right to edit articles/photos as deemed necessary and are under no obligation to publish or return photos submitted. Inaccuracies or errors should be brought to the attention of the publisher at (205) 370-0732 or by email.
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A Little Something (B16) Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center (B16) Alabama Outdoors (A15) Alabama Power (A17) Amy Smith (B10) Architectural Heritage (A11) Batts’ Chimney Services (B3) Bedzzz Express (A2) Birmingham Botanical Gardens (B2) Birmingham Festival Theatre (B15) Birmingham Speech & Hearing Associates (A10) Bromberg & Company, Inc. (A10) Brookwood Baptist Church (B17) Canterbury Gardens (B3) Case Remodeling (B17) Children’s of Alabama (B11) Cowboy’s (A21) Crittenden Partners (B8) Dish’n It Out (A8) Etc. (B1) Exvoto Vintage (B13) Fi-Plan Partners (A6) Fred Smith Group (B9) Home Care Associates (B14) Homewood Toy & Hobby (B14) Hufham Orthodontics (B13) Issis & Sons (A22) Iz Cafe (A19) John-William Jeweller (A12) Just Happy Hounds (A13) King’s House Oriental Rugs (A13) Kirkwood by the River (B9) Korduroy Krocodile (A8) Lane Parke/Evson Inc. (A9) Lane Parke/Daniel Corporation (A23) Morningside at Riverchase (A22) Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce (A5) On Time Service (A23) Otey’s (B9) Phone Restore (B12) Please Reply (B15) PreSchool Partners (B6) RealtySouth (A24) Renasant Bank (A3) Sew Sheri Designs (A21) Sherwin Williams (A19) Simply Ponds (A8) Swoop (A9) Taco Mama (A11) The Blue Willow (B10) The Fitness Center (A16, B6) The Maids (A1) TherapySouth Crestline (A7) Total Fitness Consultants (A18) Town and Country (A12) Tutoring Club Cahaba Heights (B2) UAB Medicine (B5) Village Dermatology (A5, A18) Vitalogy Wellness Center (B7, B20) Weigh To Wellness (A14) YMCA of Greater Birmingham (B5)
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Village Living
City CRIME REPORT
Traffic builds up at the Montevallo Road-Cahaba Road intersection in Mountain Brook Village.
Traffic improvement study to begin By MADOLINE MARKHAM Mountain Brook residents are most concerned with the maintenance of streets and traffic congestion, according to a recent survey, and now the city is taking steps to address it. The city entered an agreement with the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB) to conduct a citywide traffic study at its Aug. 11 meeting.
The study, to be conducted by Skipper Consulting, will ultimately determine eight intersection project locations to conduct low-cost improvements. The city is hoping to secure an Advance Planning Programming & Logical Engineering (APPLE) grant to pay for $40,000 of the approximately $45,000 project. RPCGB will hold a public involvement meeting to solicit public input on the intersections, but a date has not been set.
July 25-31 Burglary / Residential On July 24, a residential burglary occurred in the 3400 block of Overton Road. The resident heard a loud noise and then saw a person walking in a hallway of the residence. The suspect saw the resident and immediately left the home. The resident said that due to the lighting in the home, it was hard to be sure if the suspect was male or female, but he or she had forced entry to a door of the residence. Theft of Property On July 24, a theft occurred in the 2800 block of Cahaba Village Plaza. An unknown suspect stole a laptop computer. Unlawful Breaking Entering Vehicle On July 24, a UBEV occurred in the 2700 block of U.S. 280. Unknown suspect(s) forced entry into to a vehicle and stole clothing. On July 23, a UBEV occurred in the 1400 block of Lane Park Court. Unknown suspect(s) entered an unlocked vehicle and stole a firearm and a radar detector. Aug. 1-7 Theft of Property On Aug. 4, a theft occurred at a construction site in the 4300 block of Old Brook Run. Unknown suspect(s) stole a propane tank and other items.
Burglary / Residential On Aug. 1, a burglary occurred in the 3300 block of Brookwood Road. Unknown suspect(s) forced entry to the residence. There are no items missing. It is likely that the alarm activation caused the suspect(s) to leave before any items were taken. Theft On July 31, a victim was contacted by a person claiming to be an out of state attorney and asking for bond to release a family member arrested in California. The victim purchased $2,500 in Pay Pal cards as instructed to make bail but then became suspicious and contacted the police department that supposedly had arrested his family member, only to find that it had been a scam. This type crime is becoming more common. If you receive a similar phone call, please contact Mountain Brook Police Department before you send any money to an unknown person. The department will assist in checking the validity of the information. Case Update Mountain Brook detectives conducted an investigation and obtained warrants for burglary and theft on Edward Lewis Fears, age 45, for a June 15 incident on 2500 block of Beverly Drive. -Submitted by Mountain Brook Police Department
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A7
Crestline Shell to stay in business
The Crestline Shell station is located at 80 Church Street. Photo by Madoline Markham.
By MADOLINE MARKHAM The Crestline Shell is now here to stay. A group of investors purchased the station’s property on Aug. 20 and will lease it back to Jack King. King has run the store at 80 Church Street for the past 36 years. Grantland Rice, a member of the investment group, said that he thinks it’s not important who purchased the property but rather that King will be staying. “We are thrilled he gets to stay and be a great part of the fabric of the village,” Rice said. “It was a group of mainly Crestline residents who liked the flavor of the villages and want to keep independent businesses there.
There are too many people who rely on Jack and his service.” Rice said residents will see a few cosmetic changes to the property in the future to spruce it up, but what’s most important is that King will be able to continue to service vehicles. The previous property owner, McPherson Oil Products, sent King legal notification on May 29 stating that he must purchase the property by Sept. 3 in order to remain in business, but he said he was not in a financial situation to buy the property. “Once they heard there was a chance of losing the property, [the group of investors] got together and came to me,” King said.
Community joins together for new All In organization
Parent Renee Fenn, Cherokee Bend Assistant Principal Jennifer Galloway and Mountain Brook Board of Education president Jane Menendez are among the All In board members who were featured on a promotional video for the organization. Photos courtesy of Leo Ticheli Productions.
The former Mountain Brook Anti-Drug Coalition now has a new name and a broader mission. All In Mountain Brook has formed as a community-based non-profit organization to enhance and protect the lives of Mountain Brook youth. Uniting representatives from schools, worship communities, the city and wider community, it plans to address not only drugs and substance abuse in youth but also emotional
and behavioral problems and preventable accidents. A video introducing the organization is scheduled to be shown at the junior high school and high school open houses this month, and elementary schools will receive the video to show as well. For more information, visit allinmountainbrook.org or email allinmountainbrook@ gmail.com.
Additional roads to be paved The city plans to repave five roads in 2014 in addition to a previously released list. Due to a surplus in city budget, the roads listed below were approved at the July 28 city council meeting, although City Manager Sam Gaston noted that the list is subject to change due to how the funding is finalized. }} Pump House Road- city limits to the U.S. 280 bridge }} North Woodridge- 3600 block }} Overton Road- North Woodridge to U.S. 280 }} Green Valley Road- Whole Foods to city limits }} Mill Springs Road The original list of streets to be paved in 2014 is below.
}} Cherokee Road from Overcrest to Old Leeds Road }} Overbrook Road from Cherokee Road to Mountain Brook Parkway }} Cahaba Road from English Village Lane to City Limits }} Fairway Drive behind City Hall }} East Fairway Drive }} West Jackson Boulevard }} Matthews Drive }} Randolph Road }} Greenway Road }} Caldwell Mill Road from Caldwell Mill Lane to Dolly Ridge Road (joint project with Birmingham Water Works) }} Brookwood Road from Shookhill to Overcrest Road }} High School Athletic Complex
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VillageLivingOnline.com
Now Open 1
Women’s clothing store The Impeccable Pig is now open at 2812 Cahaba Road.
874.7008. theimpeccablepig.com.
News and Accomplishments 2 Robin Owings has been awarded the Certified
Residential Specialist (CRS) designation by the Council of Residential Specialists. She is a sales associate with RealtySouth’s Crestline office at 105 Euclid Ave. 879-6330. realtysouth.com.
3 Ollie Irene, 2713 Culver Road, has been named
one of the “100 Best Restaurants in the South” by Southern Living magazine. 769-6034. ollieirene.com.
Business news 4
Taco Mama, 63 Church Street, is opening a new location in Huntsville this month.
to share? 414-9413. tacomamaonline.com.
Hirings and Promotions
5 RealtySouth’s Mountain Brook Cahaba office, 2807
Cahaba Road, has hired Jeannette Walls as a new Realtor. 870-5420. realtysouth.com.
Coming Soon
Anniversaries
6 David C. Hufham Orthodontics, 120 Euclid Ave., is celebrating its 13th anniversary on Sept. 12.
871-8881. hufhamortho.com.
Expansion Business news
to share? If you are in a brick and mortar business in Mountain Brook and want to share your event with the community, let us know.
Village Living iving Email dan@villagelivingonline.com
Coming Soon
Expansion If you are in a brick and mortar business in Mountain Brook and want to share your event with the community, let us know.
Village Living Email dan@villagelivingonline.com
September 2014 • A9
Business Spotlight
Ex Voto Vintage
Read past Business Spotlights at villagelivingonline.com
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Ex Voto owner and designer Elizabeth Adams finds inspiration in vintage pieces found as far away as New York or Paris. Photo by Olivia Burton.
Around the time that Adams began making and selling jewelry, she read an article about ex votos, physical expressions of gratitude to saints or divinities that often represent miracles or answered prayers. She thought “Ex Voto” would make a fitting name for her business. Although Adams said the definition is anything but simple, she usually explains to customers that an ex voto is the symbol of an answered
2402 Canterbury Road Mountain Brook Village 538-7301 exvotovintage.com Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
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By OLIVIA BURTON Timeless, but with a modern twist, Elizabeth Adams’ Ex Voto Vintage jewelry reflects the idea that old, forgotten or imperfect things are perhaps more beautiful because of their imperfections. Located next to Gilchrist in Mountain Brook Village, the Ex Voto showroom reflects the classic, warm feel of its pieces with rich wood paneling and a stone exterior. Each piece, from simple bracelets of gold chain and pearl to elegant necklaces with cameos and lockets, seems to have a story to tell. Adams’ story began at her childhood home in Montgomery, just blocks away from the former home of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. “Growing up, I was always making something,” Adams said. “I was always encouraged not to just sit around and watch TV but to make something and be productive.” Adams did not always know she wanted to run a jewelry business. She studied mass media and creative writing in an arts magnet program in Montgomery before attending Auburn University and studying architecture, then education. But after her three-year-old child passed away from an inoperable brain tumor in 2007, Adams needed something to do with her hands. She started creating mixed media collages using old pieces found at flea markets. As she began adding freshwater pearls and old lace, her collages appeared more and more like jewelry.
Village Living
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prayer or an offering of thankfulness, a sign that something broken or old has been redeemed. “A lot of my pieces have been worn, and they’re not shiny anymore and they may have a tooth mark where a baby bit into it at some point,” she said. “But I don’t see any of that as a defect, just added interest to the piece.” Adams’ designs, inspired by vintage jewelry she finds as far away as New York and Paris,
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reflect the idea of an ex voto in that she takes old, forgotten pieces of jewelry and reveals their beauty again. Ex Voto’s patented toggle design, based on the head of an old key, allows wearers to wrap long necklaces, connect necklaces to make new styles or even add a bracelet to a short necklace to make it longer. The versatility of her pieces allows customers to show off their individuality and wear them with anything from white T-shirts to ball gowns. Customers can choose their own charms and pendants, from the popular Camille Cross to tassels, lockets and keys. Some objects may be engraved. Ex Voto also offers the One of One collection where each piece is a one-ofa-kind necklace. Adams will even take family heirlooms and add them to a necklace. “People like to be able to wear things that are special to them,” she said. The upcoming fall collection will feature new jewelry cast from pieces Adams found in Paris, new cuff bracelets and a deerskin clutch. It will also offer stacking rings based on Victorian wedding bands and a line of 14-carat gold, rose gold and sterling silver everyday necklaces. A portion of all proceeds from Ex Voto goes to The Cure Starts Now Foundation for pediatric brain cancer research. The Couture to Cure line includes some of Adams’ most valuable and interesting pieces, and all Couture to Cure proceeds go toward the foundation.
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A11
Something old, something new for Little Hardware By SYDNEY CROMWELL When customers walk into Little Hardware’s new location in October, they might think they’ve been transported back to its 1946 opening. The Park Lane building, formerly inhabited by Kathy G’s, is being completely remodeled to show off more than 60 years of history. Park Lane Grocery opened in the late 1940s, right around the time Little Hardware was starting out in Ensley. The building was also home to a restaurant and Kathy G’s before Michael Mouron of Capstone Real Estate Investments bought the property earlier this year. After signing a lease agreement with Little Hardware owner Frank Davies III in April, Mouron decided to gut the interior and rebuild it. “He’s going all out to make a new home for Little Hardware,” Davies said. Mouron’s goal is to make Park Lane look like “an old-timey hardware store.” The storefront will have a new patio, decorative lights and cypress beams supporting the awning. Inside, the kitchen, raised seating areas and even the ceiling has been torn out. The building’s original brickwork and metal trusses will be exposed, and new LED and vintage lights are being installed. Lumber from Park Lane’s former sub-ceiling is being re-purposed to create baseboards and the front of the store’s mezzanine. “We’re going back to what [the
(above) Frank Davies III stands in front of Little Hardware, which has been located in Mountain Brook Village Shopping Center for 55 years. (right) Park Lane owner Michael Mouron gutted the building to make as part of his renovations for Little Hardware. The store’s brickwork, ducts and metal trusses will be exposed as part of the building’s vintage feel. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
store] was originally,” Mouron said. Behind the 8,100-square-foot store, Little Hardware will also have a dry storage shed for small engine repairs and storing bagged goods such as concrete and pine bark. The shed will feature seven storage bays with roll-up doors, and Mouron is installing a fence to separate the shed from nearby homes. Mouron said neighbors have been very supportive of the renovation process; architect and nearby
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resident John Carraway even designed the storage shed. “Little Hardware is so popular and everybody in Mountain Brook and Homewood seems to shop there, so the neighbors were thrilled to have Little Hardware come in,” Mouron said. “We had great support from the neighborhood, which is not often the case.” Little Hardware can begin moving into Park Lane on Oct. 15, but it will
take a few weeks before the store is open for business. Davies said he’s looking forward to reorganizing the store’s layout, but almost everything else will stay the same. “We don’t really plan on changing much. All the customers want us to keep everything like it is,” Davies said. “It’ll allow us to make minor improvements where we see best fit.” After 55 years at the Mountain Brook Village shopping center, Davies
said it will be hard to say goodbye to his neighboring shop owners and break decades-old habits. He’s excited about Little Hardware’s opportunities in its new location, but it will take some time to get used to it. “My car is probably going to drive itself to this [Mountain Brook Village] parking lot automatically. I don’t know how I’ll ever change my habits of where I go in the mornings,” Davies said.
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Village Living
Community Linly Heflin to hold scholarship luncheon and fashion show
Annual Gardens picnic to benefit Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Kelly Taylor of Brookwood Medical Center, Picnic Chair Mary Goodrich, Halle Gibbs of Jim ‘N Nick’s and Symphony 30 President Caroline Reynolds work to plan the Symphony 30 Picnic at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Gus Mayer President Herman Heinle, Linly Heflin Co-Chair Kate Cotton, Linly Heflin Co-Chair Sue Ellen Lucas and Gus Mayer Store Manager Nichole Cummins.
Local clothier Gus Mayer will present the latest fall and winter designs at the 56th Annual Linly Heflin Scholarship Luncheon and Fashion Show. The event is scheduled for Oct. 1 at noon at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel Ballroom. Gus Mayer’s Michael Tatum is set to produce the show, and Wendy Garner will serve as emcee for the event. The event is the primary fundraiser for the organization’s scholarship program, which
benefits women seeking higher education in Alabama. Through the years over 3,000 scholarships, totaling more than $5 million, have been awarded to deserving Alabama women attending colleges and universities in the state. Currently 100 scholars are enrolled in 14 different schools. Tickets are $50 and available by calling the Linly Heflin office at 871-8171. For more information go to linlyheflin.org.
Symphony 30 will host its annual Symphony 30 Picnic on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. This year’s family picnic will be held once again at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, with the proceeds benefiting the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s education, outreach and children’s programs. Along with dinner provided by Jim ‘N Nicks and a symphony concert including family favorites such as Carmen’s Hoedown and excerpts from Star Trek, the picnic will include a raffle and children’s activities such as an art table where children can make their own musical instruments. Symphony 30 is a non-profit organization comprised of approximately 100 young women who are committed to the legacy and future of the Alabama
Symphony Orchestra. It has raised close to $360,000 for education programs at the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Planning this year’s event are Symphony Picnic Chair Mary Goodrich, Symphony Picnic Co-Chair Ensley Darnall and President of Symphony 30 Caroline Reynolds. The Annual Symphony 30 Picnic is supported by its title sponsor Brookwood Medical Center. Other local businesses sponsoring the event are Jim ‘N Nicks, Brasfield & Gorrie, Protective Life Corporation, Dunn French Foundation, Circa Marketing, Royal Cup and ServisFirst Bank. Tickets are $25 for an individual or $75 for a family. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit symphony30.org.
JOHNWILLIAM JEWELLER.COM
CHURCH STREET
81 Church Street
CRESTLINE VILLAGE
870-4367
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A13
Troop 63 Scouts complete Philmont trek
Boy Scouts from Troop 63 backpacked in New Mexico this summer.
A crew of Boy Scouts from BSA Troop 63 at Canterbury United Methodist Church recently departed on a two-week backpacking trek in New Mexico. As a part of the trip, they hiked more than 75 miles through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch. Louis Wade (crew leader), William Wade, Ford McInnis, Clay Higginbotham, Connor Hart, Jack Ferguson, Ricky Feig, and John Corley, along with adult leaders Crawford McInnis and Phillip Corley completed the trek. The group of Scouts and their advisors carried everything they needed to survive on their backs while hiking from camp to camp. During
the trek, Scouts endured challenges including backpacking in bear and mountain lion territory, steep climbs and inclement weather. By completing the Philmont trek, Eagle Scouts Louis Wade and Jack Ferguson both earned the Triple Crown award for their participation in the High Adventure programs at three National High Adventure Bases operated by the Boy Scouts of America. Philmont covers 214 square miles of wilderness with trails that climb from 6,500 to 12,441 feet in elevation and is the Boy Scouts of America’s premier high adventure camp.
Jackson DeWine earns Eagle rank Jackson DeWine, a member of Boy Scout Troop 63, has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He will be recognized at an Eagle Court of Honor at Canterbury United Methodist, the host church of Troop 63. The troop is led by Bubba Wells. For his Eagle project, Jackson built bookshelves for the teacher supply room at PreSchool Partners and held a supply drive in Crestline to fill those shelves. Jackson served as senior patrol leader of Troop 63 last year and was elected to the Order of the Arrow, the honor society of scouting. He earned 21 merit badges on his path to Eagle and logged 51 nights of camping. He is the son of Thomas and Lane DeWine, brother of Harper DeWine and grandson of Bob and Anne Jackson of Anniston and the late Tom and Nancy DeWine. He is the second Eagle Scout in the family, joining his cousin Steven Riddick of Huntsville. Jackson is a junior at Mountain Brook High School, where he is a member of the track team and the Interact Club.
Jackson DeWine
Thomas awarded Eagle at Canterbury William Henry Thomas was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on Jan. 6 at a Court of Honor ceremony held at the Scout Building at Canterbury United Methodist Church. Thomas is a member of Troop 63 under Scoutmaster Harold Wells. As a Cub Scout, Thomas earned the Arrow of Light award. He has been a member of Troop 63 since 2006, and during that time he earned 28 merit badges, seven more than the 21 required to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. Thomas’s Eagle project was to build a retaining wall and landscape a median at Mountain Brook High School. The project involved stacking 400 blocks for the retaining wall and planting 90 plants. Thomas is the son of Susanne and Jeff Thomas of Mountain Brook.
William Henry Thomas
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Village Living
Suicide survivor to speak at event in Crestline By MADOLINE MARKHAM “Did he say anything to you?” “Did you see the signs?” “He didn’t say anything to me, or else surely I would have told him not to make this mistake.” In February Harry Miree heard the chattering begin again. In the days after his cousin had fatally shot himself, Miree was reminded of being in the same hospital seven years earlier. That time the chatter was about his own suicide attempt. In those moments this year, he recalled his realizations from 2007. “Most peoples’ attempt at making sense of their loved one’s suicide is so informed by their own non-suicidal thought filter that they can’t see through the lens of the fellow who did commit suicide,” he said. “That’s fine. In fact, it’s to be expected. But when this thought pattern leads us to blame ourselves for our loved one’s suicide, I’m going to want to fight that perspective. I think blaming ourselves is unhealthy and somewhat self-destructive, but the bigger issue is that it’s just unrealistic. Maybe we’re giving ourselves a little too much credit by thinking something we did or didn’t do is the total reason our loved one took his or her own life.” Mulling over these thoughts, Miree dug up his journal from seven years ago and offered his family the perspective he had had when he was in the same position as his cousin, a Mountain Brook resident. “No one can speak for my cousin except for my cousin himself, but I thought that sharing what that experience was like for me would at least illuminate the point that my suicide isn’t necessarily about you, it’s about me,” Miree said.
Community Suicide Prevention Event Featuring Speaker Harry Miree Tuesday, Sept. 9 6 p.m. Crestline Elementary Field
Harry Miree shares about his experience with suicidal thoughts on a YouTube video. He will speak in Crestline Village this month.
Reading his journal, he recorded a Youtube video that has now received more than 6,700 views. Since then he has heard from not just his cousin’s family but others who have lost loved ones in the same way and seen his video. “I didn’t know this video would be heard beyond my own family’s circle, and now I’m in touch with families throughout the world who have found comfort with the message as well,” he said. “This has honestly been the first true feeling in my life of ‘mission accomplished.’” Now Miree, who lives in Nashville, is returning to Crestline Village to discuss his personal
struggles with suicide and common misconceptions about the issue. The date is set for Sept. 9 — the seventh anniversary of his own suicide attempt. “I’m no psychologist. I’m not even a suicide expert. I’m just a normal dude who really, really wanted to die for the majority of my teenage years and happened to survive it,” Miree said. “All I can do for Aware is share my story and hope that it helps this community empathize with that mindset.” The community organization Aware will host the event, which is also scheduled for the day
before World Suicide Prevention Day. Food trucks will arrive at the field starting at 5:30 p.m. “We hope the community finds the location more open and inviting and persuades more to take advantage of the information and experiences made available,” said Billy Bromberg, a member of Aware. “We want it to be a warm homecoming for Harry Miree in his first ever speaking engagement.” To see Miree’s video, search “Journal of a Suicide Survivor” on Youtube. To learn more about Aware, visit the group’s Facebook page.
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A15
Annual Patriot Day Ceremony to be held in Vestavia Hills Thirteen years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, reminders stand across the country. This month, residents will gather to honor both local and national heroes. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills are joining together to host a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and
Patriot’s Day Celebration on Thursday, Sept. 11. This year’s ceremony will be held at the Vestavia City Center and will begin at 8:45 a.m. The event is hosted by the Vestavia Hills Fire Department. “This is a day to remember,” Vestavia Hills Mayor Butch Zaragoza said. “We will never forget this day.” During last year’s ceremony,
Orchid show to take place at botanical gardens
Vestavia Hills and Homewood joined with the City of Mountain Brook in dedicating a beam from the World Trade Center as a memorial. Erected outside the Mountain Brook City Complex, the steel stands in the shape of the Twin Towers to solidify the memory of that tragedy and the thousands who lost their lives as a result.
Fire fighters participate in last year’s Patriot Day ceremony at the Mountain Brook Municipal Complex. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
Coronets Dance Club introduces officers
barbecue battle competitors
Richard Healy with an orchid plant.
Coronet Dance Club members Edna Alderman, Carolyn Delk, Jean Hendrickson, Linda Gooldrup and Shirley Palmes. Photo courtesy of Shirley Evans.
The Birmingham Botanical Gardens will host the 30th Annual Orchid Show and Sale on Sept. 19-21. On Friday, Sept. 19, the event will kick off with a sale from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 20, a sale will take place from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. along with
A joint board meeting of the Coronets Dance Club was held at the home of Coronets president Jean Hendrickson on Aug. 1. At the meeting, Hendrickson introduced new officers and board members and called for their reports. Officers and board members are Vice President Carolyn Delk, Secretary Linda Gooldrup, Treasurer Shirley Palmes, Assistant Treasurer Nelle Freeman, Parliamentarian Edna Alderman, Hospitality Chair Nell Larson,
a show from noon to 6 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 21, both a show and sale will take place from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission to the sales and shows are free. For more information, visit bbgardens.org. -Submitted by Ruwena Healy
Wanted:
Publicity Chair Shirley Evans, Scrapbook Chair Bettie Davenport, Yearbook Chair Nancy Becker and Telephone Committee Chair Joy Wilkes. The chairmen for the Fall Dance in October are Edna Alderman, Redonda Broome, Cindy Edmonds, Susan Stofel and Jackie Webb. Spring Dance chairmen are Cele Miller, Sally Stanley and Shelly Watkins. Others present were Carolyn Edge and Marti Buck.
Barbecue masters are wanted to participate in an upcoming Big Bad BBQ Battle. Organizers are looking for 10-20 competitors to showcase their home barbecue recipes to win a trophy, $500 and bragging rights for the barbecue BBQ in Mountain Brook. All funds raised at the event will support Relay For Life at Mountain Brook High School. The event will be held Nov. 1 in Crestline Village, and the deadline to sign up to compete is Oct. 1. For more information, contact Paul Roth at 382-701 or paul.roth96@gmail.com or Katie Reiss at 447-4197 or Katiereiss19@gmail.com.
A16 • September 2014
Village Living
Sweet Repeats Consignment Sale
Clothes line the Mountain Brook Community Church for its biannual consignment sale.
Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12 and 13 Mountain Brook Community Church By OLIVIA BURTON One of Ashley Powers’ favorite memories is watching a family with several children come in with only $20 and buying clothes for the coming school year. “I think my favorite part about it is just how many different ways it touches families,” she said, explaining how Sweet Repeats benefits consignors, buyers and the church itself. This month the Mountain Brook Community Church (MBCC) gym will transform into a massive consignment store for children’s clothes and toys. The biannual Sweet Repeats consignment sale offers gently used clothing in infant through junior sizes. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds support MBCC missions, while the remaining 75 percent goes to the consignor. Sweet Repeats began as a way to raise money
for scholarships to send people on mission trips, according to Powers, one of the four main organizers of the event. It rapidly grew, however, and the proceeds of the sale now cover almost the entire mission budget for MBCC. “Our total sales have more than doubled since our first sale, enabling us to give more to missions in our community and around the world,” Powers said. While the first Sweet Repeats sale in 2012 included about 90 consignors, this year’s event will have around 200. Sweet Repeats will be open on Friday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 9 a.m.-noon. On Saturday, many items will be reduced to half price. Registration for consignors and volunteers began on Aug. 1. “It’s definitely a fun environment,” Powers said. “One of our main goals is to keep it pretty laid-back for shoppers and consignors.” To learn more about Sweet Repeats, visit their blog, find them on Facebook or visit their page on MBCC’s website at mbcc.us. You can also request more information by emailing mbcc.sweetrepeats@gmail.com.
Cahaba Village for the Cure
Cahaba Village goes pink one day each September to support Susan G. Komen.
Thursday, Sept. 18 Cahaba Village By OLIVIA BURTON If you’re looking for something to do on Thursday, Sept. 18, think pink. Cahaba Village merchants and the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce are hosting the fifth annual Cahaba Village for the Cure event to support the North Central Alabama affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Sept. 18 from 6-8 p.m. “It is a great way for our Cahaba Village merchants to band together and create a community atmosphere that evening,” said Paige Gilliland, director of sales and marketing at Newk’s Eatery and one of this year’s event organizers. Attendees can look forward to specials from Cahaba Village merchants, including special pink yogurt and an appearance from the Yomo Man at Yogurt Mountain, pink hair extensions from Tonya Jones SalonSpa, and family entertainment.
Newk’s Eatery will offer rosé wine tasting, samples of their pink strawberry cake and special pink cups. “We try to keep everything with the pink theme,” said Gilliland. The event will also feature a tent where attendees can sign up for the Race for the Cure, donate to the Susan G. Komen organization and receive educational materials. The Race for the Cure, which is the Susan G. Komen organization’s biggest annual event, will take place on Oct. 11 in Linn Park. Since 1982, Susan G. Komen has worked to fight breast cancer by spreading awareness and raising money to support research, outreach and advocacy. “We’ve raised thousands over the past five years for the organization,” said Gilliland. For updates on Cahaba Village for the Cure, visit the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce’s website, welcometomountainbrook.com, or the Facebook page for Newk’s Eatery in the Birmingham Metro area.
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A17
Royal flower supplier to be featured for Antiques in the Gardens By OLIVIA BURTON Antiques at the Gardens will be a royal affair this year. Shane Connolly, who directed the flowers for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011, will give a lecture and sign books at the event, as well as Mario Buatta, “The Prince of Chintz.” Connolly has held a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH Prince of Wales since 2006, and New York-based interior decorator Buatta’s clients include Barbara Walters, Mariah Carey and members of the Ford and Forbes families. Event co-chairs Katie Baker Lasker and Barbara Burton wanted to make this year’s Antiques at the Gardens an event to remember in celebration of 50 years of the Botanical Gardens. Gala in the Gardens, a black tie event, will kick off Antiques at the Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 2. Attendees will be treated to a preview of the designer showcases, dinner catered by Kathy G. and dancing to live music. “All of the designers and dealers are there, so everybody gets an opportunity to meet one another and celebrate before the show starts,” said Lasker. Appealing the under 40 crowd, 40 guests will join Margot Shaw, editor of Flower magazine, for Tastebuds, in which speakers Paige Albright of Paige Albright Orientals and Jennifer Boles of blog The Peak of Chic will share tips on how to express personal style. Lunch will be provided by The Pantry. At the general event, for the third year in a row, tastemakers will curate themed areas in order to showcase their talent and ideas at the event. Previous themes have included “Return to Mecca,” “Fireside Chat” and “A Year in
Event Information Public Show Thursday, Oct. 2, 1-5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. General admission $10, free for members (some restrictions apply) Gala in the Gardens Thursday, Oct. 2, 7-11 p.m. $150 per person Tastebuds Thursday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m.-noon $15 per person Red Diamond Lecture Series Mario Buatta: Friday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. Shane Connolly: Thursday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m. $30 includes admission to the show Gala in the Gardens will kick off Antiques at the Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 2. Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Provence.” “They have to comply with the theme that’s been given, so it’s challenging and fun,” Lasker said. “They enjoy it because they’re enthusiastic and they want to display their wares that are going to be for sale.” For many areas, multiple designers and architects will work together to curate their space. Kinsey Marable of Charleston, who has created private libraries for clients such as Oprah Winfrey, will create a library space with popular lamp designer Christopher Spitzmiller, whose
lamps can be found in the White House. Interior designer Ware Porter of Ware and Co. in Mountain Brook Village will be working with Marable and Spitzmiller on the showcase. Richard Keith Langham, a New York-based decorator from Alabama, has been the show ambassador for the past four years. “It’s great that he comes back to Alabama to highlight and support this show,” Burton said. According to Lasker, Antiques at the Garden has begun to attract guests of all ages from outside of the Jefferson County, including people
from Nashville, Memphis and Mobile. “I think last year we had a real increase in the younger generation that came,” said Burton. “I think our tastemakers brought in the younger generation with more emphasis on decorative arts as well as antiques.” Since 2006, Antiques at the Gardens has raised more than $2 million for the Botanical Gardens. For more information and updates about Antiques at the Gardens, visit bbgardens.org/ antiques or call 414-3950.
A18 • September 2014
Village Living
Wine down and support the library
Fall Wine and Food Festival Friday, Sept. 26 6-9 p.m. Birmingham Zoo $60 in advance
By OLIVIA BURTON With more than 600 wines open for sampling, Western’s annual Fall Wine and Food Festival at the Birmingham Zoo is the biggest wine-tasting event in Alabama. Since 2004, the event has raised over $115,000 for the Emmet O’Neal Library. The library has used some of the funds to bring in guest authors such as Khaled Hosseini of The Kite Runner, Carl Hiaasen of Skinny Dip and Hoot, and Alexander McCall Smith of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. “It was because of Western that we were able to keep ticket prices reasonable [at these author events],” said Susan DeBrecht, library director. This year’s festival, which will take place on Friday, Sept. 26, from 6-9 p.m. at the Birmingham Zoo, will offer a variety of foods with an emphasis on locally grown products such as Fox Valley crabcakes, local beef, Alabama goat cheese, breads and spareribs. Chefs from the Jefferson State Culinary Institute will prepare and serve dishes featuring local foods, and wine experts will be available to answer guests’ questions about the wine offerings. Attendees can enjoy the carousel and animal walkabouts, where zoo
Western’s annual Fall Wine and Food Festival features a variety of food and wine selections at The Birmingham Zoo. Photos courtesy of the Emmet O’Neal Library.
employees will bring some of the animals out among the crowds. The festival will also offer raffle prizes and one-night-only wine deals. “It’s kind of designed to be a fun and educational event with people getting ready for the fall,” said Darwin Metcalf, president of Western Supermarkets.
Metcalf said that the event will help people find wines for fall and winter events, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and corporate parties. Western has hosted some form of the Fall Wine and Food Festival for 25 years. Previous beneficiaries of the
event have included Camp Smile-aMile and Magic City Harvest. “We chose the library because it’s very Mountain Brook, it’s a library we admire and we think they do a very nice job,” Metcalf said. Tickets are $60 in advance at all Western locations, at the Emmet
O’Neal Library and on Western’s website, while tickets at the door will cost extra. A group discount for 10 or more tickets is available at $50 each. For more information, call 8791746, email wine07@westernsupermarkets.com, or visit eolib.org or westernsupermarkets.com.
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A19
Building a foundation Program connects volunteers with tutoring Birmingham children By MADOLINE MARKHAM Diana Plosser tried drawing on butcher paper. She tried singing science songs. She led experiments. But her students did not learn seventh-grade science. Many of her students at Kingston Elementary, a Birmingham City School, in the 1970s were bright and enthusiastic, but most could not read at grade level. Some couldn’t read the word “the.” Forty years later, Plosser, now retired from teaching at Mountain Brook High School, is helping break a cycle of illiteracy with kids at a younger age. Through Start The Adventure In Reading (STAIR), she tutors a second grader in reading one-on-one for two hours a week. “In kindergarten through second grade you learn to read, and starting in third grade you read to learn,” said Jeannette Watford, STAIR board member and volunteer coordinator for St. Luke’s Episcopal’s STAIR site. “This is a mantra you now hear everywhere. We want to get [these students] prepared.” In Mountain Brook, St. Luke’s works with students at Lewis Elementary in North Birmingham, and Canterbury United Methodist partners with Avondale UMC to work with students from Avondale Elementary. Like all the sites, some tutors are from the area around the schools and some are from Over the Mountain areas.
Retired Mountain Brook teacher Diana Plosser works with her STAIR student at Lewis Elementary in North Birmingham. Photo courtesy of STAIR.
STAIR staff members work with reading teachers and classroom teachers in the schools to find students who are reading below grade level, and those students are assigned to two tutors, each of whom they work with for two hours a week. The result of hours work with phonics, sight words, alphabet review and games is marked improvement in students’ reading. In the 2011-12 school year, students who completed the STAIR program showed an average rate of improvement of 106.5 percent in the standardized reading test
given by the schools. “It’s a lot about encouraging the children,” STAIR incoming executive director Liz James said. “This provides them needed one-on-one time to reinforce things they have learned in school.” The national program began in Birmingham in 2000 as a ministry of Independent Presbyterian Church and now operates as an independent nonprofit organization. This year it will serve more than 200 children in 10 schools. Its reach is only limited by the number of volunteers who
are willing to commit from October to April. Tutors come in the form of junior high students, retired teachers and virtually anyone who can read. “Teachers always feel frustrated in the classroom because they can’t give individual attention to the students who need it,” STAIR outgoing executive director Anna James said. “These are the children they couldn’t stop for before.” The program is about more than learning though. It’s about building relationships with the students and encouraging them. “It’s altogether serious, and it’s altogether fun,” incoming executive director Liz James said. “So much more happens than tutoring — birthdays, fears, parents reaching out who need a little help.” Last year IPC held a coat drive after a tutor noticed children getting off the bus with no coats in the winter. St. Luke’s has a Thanksgiving feat and pancake supper for the kids in the program each year, and twice a year they give them a book. “Being a STAIR tutor is much more than school work,” said the Rev. Richmond Webster, rector at St. Luke’s and former STAIR volunteer. “It’s about a relationship. In the course of the year, we discover that the hopes, fears and dreams of these children are no different than ours.” As they enter a new year of tutoring, STAIR organizers are hoping to recruit more volunteers. “We seldom get out of our comfort zone, and this is such a clear window into the lives of our neighbors who are 10 minutes away,” Watford said. “Mountain Brook is full of personal capital, and people wan to use it to help but don’t necessarily know how.” To learn more about volunteering visit stairbirmingham.org or call Program Director Evelyn Puckett at 933-3684.
A20 • September 2014
By SYDNEY CROMWELL
Historic sites of
Village Living
The remnants of nearly two centuries of history lie beneath Mountain Brook’s homes and shopping centers. Every day, residents walk and drive over a Revolutionary War veteran’s farm
and the foundations of the original city, among other historic locations. Many of these sites are no longer visible, but roadside markers have been placed throughout the city to preserve their memory. Use these historic markers as a starting point to explore Mountain Brook’s rich past.
Early Mountain Brook Village Intersection of Cahaba Road and Petticoat Lane (in front of RealtySouth)
An architectural drawing of Robert Jemison, Jr.’s planned Mountain Brook development, c. 1920s. Courtesy of City of Mountain Brook.
The land that would eventually become Mountain Brook has been inhabited since the first settlers arrived in the 1820s. However, it was originally known as Watkins Branch and would take another century for Mountain Brook to become a reality. Real estate developers Robert Jemison Jr. and Will Franke bought 400 acres of land in the 1920s to create “Mountain Brook Estates.” This development included homes, shopping centers, a grammar school and riding trails, but it maintained the natural beauty of the area. Jemison is now called the “Father of Mountain Brook.”
Today, the center of Jemison’s development has become the shopping centers on Cahaba Road and Petticoat Lane. Photo by Keith McCoy.
The Old Mill
2780 Mountain Brook Parkway The Old Mill may be most recognizable as part of the official logo of Mountain Brook, but the mill actually predates the city by more than 50 years. From 1867 to 1887, John Perryman operated a gristmill on the site, grinding local farmers’ corn. When Robert Jemison, Jr. began his development of Mountain Brook Estates, the gristmill became part of his plan. In 1927, he constructed a new building and named it the Old Mill tearoom. Operated by Frances Bomer, the Old Mill became a popular place to eat for many
years. “It was really a showplace, you know, to introduce people to Mountain Brook, which was a new thing back then,” said Jim Bennett, the newsletter editor at the Jefferson County Historical Association. The 1927 building still stands today, but the Old Mill has been a private residence for decades. Though visitors can no longer take tea at the Old Mill, the building and nearby Jemison Park are dedicated to preserving the memory of the man who built Mountain Brook.
The Old Mill under construction in the late 1920s. Photo courtesy of City of Mountain Brook.
“Jemison was very foresighted, he was really a visionary,” said Jim Baggett, director of the Birmingham Public Library department of archives and manuscripts. Today, the style of Mountain Brook’s villages can be traced back to Jemison’s original development plans. Many of Jemison’s building concepts can also be seen in the storefronts around Mountain Brook. “When Robert Jemison Jr. designed Mountain Brook, he wasn’t just designing a subdivision, he was creating a kind of community,” Baggett said. “It’s significant because we’ve come back to that.” The same building still stands today, but it now serves as a private residence. Photo by Keith McCoy.
First Tuberculosis Sanatorium Fairway Drive (across from Tonya Jones SalonSpa)
Very little is known about this tuberculosis sanatorium, the first of its kind in northern Alabama. In May of 1910, the Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Jefferson County set up a cluster of tents near present-day Cahaba Road and Fairway Drive to treat victims of tuberculosis. George R. Eaves, originally from
Stratford-upon-Avon, England, started the association after his own struggle with the disease. The sanatorium was moved to a larger site on Red Mountain sometime in 1912. Today, the shops and restaurants of English Village have replaced the sanatorium’s original site.
The site of an early sanatorium is now covered by English Village. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Oldest house in Shades Valley/Irondale Furnace Commissary The Cummings-Eastis-Beaumont House is believed to be the oldest house in Shades Valley and was built sometime between 1820 and 1830. The original owner, William Cummings, sold the house to Wallace McElwain, the owner of Irondale Furnace, in 1863 to serve as the company store. The store provided residents of Shades Valley with supplies. Although Union General Wilson and his armies destroyed Irondale Furnace, the commissary store remained unharmed. In the 1870s, the Eastis family moved into the house and lived there for 80 years until the Edward Beaumont family purchased the home in 1951. Today it is lcoated near the Montevalllo Raod-Euclid intersection.
Although the establishment date is uncertain, the oldest house in Shades Valley is speculated to have been built sometime between 1820 and 1830. Photo courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives.
4150 Montevallo Road South
The oldest house in Shades Valley/Irondale Furnace Commissary still stands today on Montevallo Road. Photo by Keith McCoy.
VillageLivingOnline.com
Mountain Brook
September 2014 • A21
Canterbury United Methodist Church changed names and locations several times. This photo was taken around 1950 as the congregation was building its present-day facility. Courtesy of Birmingham Public Library.
Canterbury United Methodist Church 350 Overbrook Road Canterbury United Methodist is the oldest existing church in Mountain Brook. It began in 1867 as Irondale Methodist, named after the nearby furnace that employed many of the residents, then moved to Hollywood Boulevard as Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church in 1874. The church was renamed Canterbury Methodist Episcopal Church in 1928 after it was renovated as part of Mountain Brook’s
development. After a few more name and location changes, Canterbury United Methodist Church arrived at its present location in 1952. At its first service, the church hosted around 900 people. Today, the church has expanded and several thousand people from the Mountain Brook area flow through Canterbury’s doors each week.
Canterbury’s present location is host to several thousand people at its weekly worship services. Photo by Keith McCoy
Lane Park was built during the Great Depression and was home to the Allen Gray Fish Hatchery for several years. Courtesy of Birmingham Public Library.
Lane Park 2630 Cahaba Road (across from Birmingham Zoo) Lane Park is currently home to the apartments, Birmingham Zoo and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, but it was first a war veteran’s farm and a pauper’s cemetery. William Pullen, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, received the land from the federal government in 1822. It was a farm until 1889, when Pullen’s heirs sold the land to the City of Birmingham. The New Southside pauper’s cemetery, later renamed Red Mountain Cemetery, was located there until 1909. Jim Baggett, director of the Birmingham Public Library department of archives and manuscripts, said that while many of the 4,700 graves were unmarked, a few gravestones are still standing in the woods near
A new apartments complex named for its predecessor, Lane Park, have been under construction in Mountain Brook Village. Photo by Keith McCoy.
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Hermosa Drive, the former site of Shades Valley High School. During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded a project to build a park on the cemetery site. The project was called Lane Park in honor of Birmingham mayor A.O. Lane. The park was home to a fishery, a stone quarry, a baseball diamond and a golf driving range at various times. The Birmingham Zoo and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens along with the new Evson Inc. Lane Parke development were built on top of the cemetery’s graves. Today, new roads and buildings cover almost all of the cemetery and Pullen’s original farm.
A22 • September 2014
Village Living
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • A23
CRESTLINE
FASHION
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Sept. 2-16 Band Lineup Voting preschool-partners.org
Thursday, Sept. 25 Character Crawl Crestline Village 5-8 p.m. Free
Saturday, Sept. 27 Touch-A-Truck 3-5 p.m. Library Parking Lot $5 donation
Live Music Noon-10 p.m. Field Next to Library $20 in advance, $25 at the door preschool-partners.org
firemen let them have free rein on the fire truck.” Once the music kicks off at noon, attendees are welcome to bring their own coolers, blankets and chairs to the grassy lawn in front of the Emmet O’Neal Library, and organizers are encouraging them to eat, shop and drink local. Money raised from the event will support PreSchool Partners, which was founded more than 19 years ago to provide quality preschool education for at-risk children in the Birmingham area. The program serves to support and educate both the students and their parents
Mason Music student bands perform in last year’s Crestline Rocks. Photo by Madoline Markham
through its highly structured learning environment. Students in the program receive more than 800 hours of instruction and enrichment annually, and their parents attend more than 100 hours of classes on topics such as child development, money management and family literacy. Iberiabank is the title sponsor for the event, and Otey’s and Taco Mama are presenting sponsors. To learn more about PreSchool Partners, visit preschool-partners.org or call 951-5151.
Fashions for the Foundation organizers and sponsors Kathy Houston of Village Dermatology, Hannon Davidson of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce, Foundation President Alice Womack, Dr. David Hufham of David C. Hufham Orthodontics, Dr. Craig Martin of Liberty Animal Hospital, Foundation Executive Director Anne Womack, event co-chair Nicky Barnes, Rob Walker of Rob Walker Architects, Dr. Susan Salter of St. Vincent’s, Dr. Jack Schaeffer of Schaeffer Eye Center and event co-chair Lori Robertson. Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha.
coaches outside their normal context, and that’s really fun.” Superintendent Dicky Barlow, Mountain Brook High School Principal Amanda Hood and other “Mountain Brook celebrities” have already committed to walk the runway for the show, Womack said. The event filled the ballroom at The Club last fall, and this year will feature more merchants, more models and more attendees, all to benefit the Foundation. “This school system does so much for our children, and the event is a good way to give
back,” said Nicky Barnes, who is co-chairing the event with Lori Robertson and modeled for it last year. “We benefit from a public school system that functions like a private school system, and the Foundation makes that happen.” The Foundation’s projects include iPads; a model interactive classroom at Mountain Brook Junior High School; new books, magazines, software and supplies in all six school libraries; a summer learning conference hosted at the high school open to all system faculty and administrators; math coach salaries; and
a new Mountain Brook Center for Innovation where faculty can research ideas relevant to their field and the classroom. Tickets are $50 or $800 for a table of eight. For more, contact Foundation Director Anne Womack at 414-0042 or mbcsfoundation@bellsouth.net, or Hannon Davidson or Suzan Doidge of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce at 8713779. Learn more about the Foundation at mtnbrookschoolsfoundation.com.
IN HONOR OF OUR VETERANS Because we treasure our freedom and owe a debt of gratitude to those who have secured our liberties, RealtySouth is extending FREE Pre-License classes to all Veterans interested in becoming a Real Estate Agent. If you know of a Veteran who would be interested, please share this opportunity. Call 205.325.1397 for more information.
Village Living
Meet Velouria
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Deanna Medina, a fellow MBHS graduate, is a vocalist for the band. Photo courtesy of Paul Hosier.
Register, host of the Sunday morning radio show Reg’s Coffeehouse on BMR, referring to their first single, “Speak.” Velouria recorded “Speak” with Nuby, and after hearing the final product, they recorded the remaining four songs of “Smile Until It Hurts.” As their first EP caught the attention of music
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They’re not in high school anymore
By OLIVIA BURTON Velouria is not a high school band. You can tell by listening to the haunting vocals, reverb-soaked guitar and emotional yet mature lyrics of their first EP, “Smile Until It Hurts.” “No one wants to hear about how I’m comfortable,” said Michael Harp, vocalist and guitarist for Velouria. “Our Facebook page says we play emotional dream pop/indie rock. [Our music] has a lot of reverb, a lot of delay and a lot of dramatic vocals. It’s kind of theatrical sometimes. It’s angry. It’s sad.” Vocalist Deanna Medina does, however, assure fans they have a happy song coming soon. The band began when Harp and Medina, both Mountain Brook students, met at MBHS’s Relay for Life talent show in 2012. Since then, Velouria has transitioned from an acoustic coffee shop duo to a five-person layered wall of sound, performing in venues such as the Bottletree Cafe and Iron City Birmingham. “We kept adding members because we weren’t loud enough,” said Harp. Velouria made the leap from popular high school band to a local Birmingham favorite when they won recording time with Lester Nuby III (MBHS class of 1992) in the Birmingham Mountain Radio (BMR) Jam at Stillwater Pub in early 2013. “At the time, [BMR Jam] was a way to showcase local talent and have some fun. They just had a song that stood out from all the other stuff that had come through the contest,” said Scott
School House B4
lovers around Birmingham, Velouria began to play more and more shows. “At first only our friends would come, but eventually we saw people we aren’t friends with or who would come to see the band itself, not us as individuals,” said Harp. On May 16, Velouria opened for Welsh
alternative band The Joy Formidable at Iron City’s one-year anniversary celebration. “We’ve been through a lot of practices, a lot of bad shows and a lot of good shows,” Harp said. “For that show to also be right before our oneyear anniversary as a band, it was a reminder that all this time, money, energy and effort is worth it.” In between concerts around Birmingham and a five-day tour in July to Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta and Athens, band members have been working on recording their next album. Velouria’s summer tour was called “The Incredible Sulk.” The two newest members, guitarist Zane Lake and bassist Stephen Wills, have been a creative influence on the new album due to their experience in other local bands. Harp said that the sound of the new album is “bigger, even a little more atmospheric” than their first EP. While the album does not have a name or a set release date, Velouria has already begun playing some of the new songs at their shows. “Obviously, there’s tons of room for development,” said Register. “It’s just going to come down to hard work and luck at the end of the day. They’ve got to keep writing and touring and growing as a band, and if the pieces continue to fall into place, then they’ve got a nice career ahead of them.” Velouria’s concert schedule and merchandise can be found on their Facebook page. To listen to Velouria’s music, you can find them on Bandcamp or purchase “Smile Until It Hurts” from their Facebook page.
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B2 • September 2014
Village Living
Crash course on teamwork Woodlawn teens experience Cherokee Bend’s FOAC By OLIVIA BURTON There’s something in the water at Cherokee Bend Elementary. Or maybe there’s something in the woods. As 22 Woodlawn teenagers sat at the picnic tables in Cherokee Bend’s courtyard in early June, Rick Hedrick, director of Cherokee Bend’s Fair Oaks Adventure Curriculum (FOAC), explained what they could expect. “Some of the exercises I’m going to ask you to do are going to frustrate you,” he said. “You’re going to get really mad, and that’s OK because we all need to know how to handle those things.” Minutes later, the teenagers were balancing on wooden platforms, trying to use two short planks to travel from platform to platform without touching the ground in an activity called “islands.” Frustration grew as the group had to start over whenever a person or a board touched the ground. “Generally, a lot of starting over causes, at some point, a conflict,” said Hedrick. But Hedrick is not trying to avoid conflict. Rather, by putting students in difficult situations, Hedrick exposes group dynamics and allows students to see how their strengths and weaknesses are helping or harming the team. Since 1996, the Fair Oaks Adventure Curriculum (FOAC) has given Cherokee Bend students the chance to learn about teamwork in a challenging yet supportive setting. Three rules make up the foundation of FOAC: do your best, be safe, and value yourself and others. Cherokee Bend Principal Betsy Bell sees the effects of the program in her students’ everyday interactions. “I definitely see a spirit of cooperation,” she said. “I also see kids that want to lend a helping hand to a fellow student or kick into gear to solve a problem if one is presented.”
In an activity called “Islands,” CREW members had to use two short boards to move from platform to platform without touching the ground. Photos by Olivia Burton.
Most FOAC activities include physical and mental challenges that can only be overcome if the group works together. Hedrick calls for “circle ups” for the students to reflect on how they are doing as a group when conflicts arise. “When I’ve had outside groups come in and observe the students working, they are absolutely wowed by the students’ abilities to stand in a circle and communicate,” said Hedrick. This summer, the curriculum reached far beyond Cherokee Bend as students from the YWCA CREW (Creating Responsible Educating Working) teens program participated in a two-day FOAC course. The team-building and problem-solving activities at Cherokee Bend Elementary’s ropes course with Hedrick made up the core of CREW orientation before seven weeks of work and activities. The CREW program was created in 2011 to provide meaningful summer experiences for teenagers in the Woodlawn area who otherwise
would have little to do. “We wanted to create something that would give these kids an opportunity to see outside of Woodlawn,” said Angie Eddings, program director of CREW. After orientation, CREW members’ teamwork skills were put to the test when they were split into four teams at different worksites at the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Summer Camp in Bluff Park and Woodlawn. Selected from over 70 applicants, the 22 high school students receive job training and work experience on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Thursdays are enrichment activity days with trips planned to local businesses and attractions such as Yellowhammer Creative and UAB. Each student receives a cash stipend on Thursday afternoons for hours worked on Monday through Wednesday. In order to teach personal finance, UCP CREW members must pay a small fee for transportation and Woodlawn CREW
members must pay a small fee for lunch on Mondays through Wednesdays. “This isn’t a summer school program, it’s really a soft job skills program,” said YWCA Chief Housing Officer Jennifer Clarke. Throughout the program, CREW members will work on “soft skills,” such as interviewing and communicating. They will also learn marketable skills such as CPR and first aid training through the American Red Cross. Not only does Hedrick believe that the lessons learned in FOAC are valuable to elementary school students and even teenagers, but he also claims that those same lessons are important for people of all ages and backgrounds. “Those are the issues that we work on, just basic people-to-people skills that help us in our everyday lives to get along with each other,” said Hedrick. For more information on CREW, please contact the Birmingham YWCA at 322-9922.
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September 2014 • B3
The show must go on By JESSA PEASE Broadway will always have a special place in Kristi Tingle Higginbotham’s vocal studio. Framed on the wall where she teaches lessons to Mountain Brook girls and boys hangs the handwritten manuscript of the Hugh Martin song “The Boy Next Door” from his musical Meet Me in St. Louis. On his messy paper, Martin signed, “You would always be my Esther.” His words remind Higginbotham of the role that could have changed her life. During her senior year at Birmingham-Southern College, Martin asked her to perform in his new musical Wedding Day at the Town and Gown Theatre, now the Virginia Samford Theatre. He and his partner Ralph Blane planned to test the show in Birmingham before attempting to take it to Broadway. Once they were done, Higginbotham thought she would never hear from the Martin or Blane again, but a few months later Martin called. He told her producers in New York were not interested in Wedding Day — it was a very southern play — but they would back a Broadway performance of Meet Me in St. Louis. Martin wanted her for the part of Ester in the production, but as the lyricist he couldn’t just give her the role. She would have to audition. “So that started a two-year — maybe year and a half — process of me flying back and forth to New York, and going to a cattle-call,” Higginbotham said. “Broadway shows take forever to mount and millions of dollars.” Even so, Higginbotham said she remembers feeling like the stars were aligning for her. The character Ester was one of four sister roles who all needed to be descending in height differences, and Higginbotham was the exact height requirement for the part. The decision was down to the final four
Higginbotham’s favorite role was Eva Patron in the true story of Evita.
women when the auditions came to a standstill. Higginbotham filled her time with a show at Children’s Theatre, but she never expected what would happen when they took the show to Troy Dec. 1. Walking back to her cheap hotel from dinner at Pizza Hut, a car hit her. “We were crossing the street — [I and the] girl that was my roommate for the tour,” Higginbotham said. “I looked at her, and I just saw headlights. I screamed, and she jumped out of the way. The driver didn’t see me and just went into me.”
Although she had surgery and her right leg was being held together with wires and screws, Higginbotham believed she would be able to bounce back for the show. Even in physical therapy, they told her she would dance again. In February, New York called. “I got up to sing the ‘Trolley Song,’ which is another famous song that is from that show,” Higginbotham said. “All the reporters thought I was going to get it, but they saw me limping still. I had to come clean, so there went the Broadway show.” Although her Broadway dreams were over,
her career on stage was not. She moved back to Mountain Brook, where she had performed in every play and musical while she was at Mountain Brook High and had been voted most talented in music when she graduated in 1983. For the past 30 years, she has been performing, primarily at the Virginia Samford Theatre and at Red Mountain Theater. Her body of work includes the roles of Dally in Annie Get Your Gun, the Witch in Into the Woods, Miss Mona in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Nellie in South Pacific, Eva Peron in Evita and Guienever in Camelot. Her next performance is in the Virginia Samford Theatre’s presentation of Beehive in September, and then she will return to her alma mater, Birmingham-Southern, for its performance of Carrie the Musical in October. Along with her stage work, Higginbotham also performs with two vocal groups, Four For Time and The Hot Tamales. The Hot Tamales, a comedic, cabaret-style duo performance with Jan Hunter, will celebrate its 20th anniversary next summer. “She is bigger than life, extremely professional and polished,” Hunter said about Higginbotham. “I know that whatever she is going to be doing, I can trust her instincts and that she is going to be completely prepared and professional. We always have a great time working together.” Looking at Martin’s signature hanging in her studio, Higginbotham sometimes wonders “What if?” But she said she knows everything happens for a reason. Often strangers who approach her to say, “You don’t know me, but I know you. Thank you for all of the years, and thank you for staying in Birmingham.” Beehive runs Sept. 11-28 at the Virginia Samford Theatre. For tickets and more information, visit virginiasamfordtheatre.org.
B4 • September 2014
Village Living
Summer Fun Photo Contest WINNERS
Mountain Brook residents on top of Masada in Israel. Photo by Amir Orly. Brookwood Forest Elementary student Patrick Crye enjoys the 4th of July on Longboat Key, Fla. Photo by Krisalyn Crye.
Find more great photos by visiting villagelivingonline.com
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • B5
Contest Runners Up
Daddy’s Little Captain! Dan and Walker Williams. Photo by Sally Hartley Williams.
Page with Julia on his shoulders and Andrew surfing next to him at Lake Martin. Photo by Jessica Naftel.
Frederic and Isabella Maldia on the flight deck of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier in San Diego. Photo by Mark Maldia.
Don’t feed the birds! Ann Carter Carlson. Photo by Juli Carlson.
B6 • September 2014
Fan-o-Meter Quiz
Alabama
2. How many years have you owned season tickets? A. None B. 1-5 C. 6 or more 3. How many rooms in your house feature UAthemed décor? A. None B. 1-2 C. 3 or more 4. Do you have a pet or child named after a coach, player or other team icon?
7. How many games did you watch last season? A. 0-5 B. 6-11 C. 12 or more 8. Where were you when Auburn returned the missed field goal for a 100yard touchdown to win the 78th Iron Bowl? A. In hiding B. Watching on TV C. At the game
Part II: Trivia
5. How many UA-themed shirts are in your wardrobe?
2. Who was the first person to describe the Alabama football team as elephants coming? A. Head coach Wallace Wade B. Everett Strupper of 1-A
A. 0-2 B. 3-7 C. 8 or more
2. How many years have you owned season tickets?
5. How many Auburnthemed shirts are in your wardrobe?
A. 1943 B. 1971 C. 1957
A. None B. 1-5 C. 6 or more
4. How many SEC conference championships did coach Bear Bryant lead his team to win?
A. 0-2 B. 3-7 C. 8 or more
3. How many rooms in your house feature Auburnthemed décor?
6. How many games do you plan to attend this season?
2. Which running back broke Tommy Lorino’s 1956 record for average yards per rush in a single season?
A. 6 B. 16 C. 13
A. None B. 1-2 C. 3 or more
A. None B. 1-2 C. 3 or more
3. What nickname was Alabama football originally given by newspapers? A. “The Thin Red Line” B. “The Varsity” C. “The Crimson White”
Score Your Results
MeFdanium 16-23 points
0-15 points
24-32 points
t Ho Fan
A. Shaun Alexander B. Ryan Pflugner C. Sherman Williams
Part II: Trivia
A. No B. No, but I plan to C. Yes
1. Who set the record for most yards rushing in 1996?
A. No B. No, but I plan to C. Yes
1. How many years did you attend Auburn University?
4. Do you have a pet or child named after a coach, player or other team icon?
1. Previous to Auburn’s National Championship in 2010, what is the only other year the team earned that title?
Mild Fan
A. None B. 1-2 C. 3 or more
A. 0-2 B. 3-11 C. 12 or more
Part I: Lifestyle
the Atlanta JournalConstitution C. Zipp Newman from the Birmingham News
In Part I, give yourself 1 point for every A, 2 points for every B, and 3 points for every C. In Part II, add 2 points for every question you answer correctly. Trivia answers are printed upside down at the bottom of the quiz. Are you a mild, medium or hot fan? Email your quiz score and a photo of yourself in game day gear to madoline@starnespublishing.com, and we will consider running it in an upcoming issue.
A. 0-2 B. 3-11 C. 12 or more 7. How many games did you watch last season? A. 0-5 B. 6-11 C. 12 or more 8. Where were you when Auburn returned the missed field goal for a 100yard touchdown to win the 78th Iron Bowl? A. In hiding B. Watching on TV C. At the game
A. Onterio McCalebb B. Ryan Pugh C. Michael Dyer 3. The most popular legend surrounding “War Eagle” occurred at what game? A. Auburn vs. Carlisle Indian team in 1914 B. Auburn vs. Georgia in 1892 C. Auburn vs. Alabama in 1913 4. How many times has Auburn ended its football season with a perfect record? A. Seven B. Ten C. Six
Auburn Trivia Answers 2-A 3-B 4-A
1. How many years did you attend the University of Alabama?
6. How many games do you plan to attend this season?
Auburn
1-C
Part I: Lifestyle
Village Living
Alabama Trivia Answers 2-B 3-A 4-C
VillageLivingOnline.com
Are you a football fanatic? Residents took our quiz to find out
September 2014 • B7
Hot Auburn Fan
Hot Alabama Fan
Hot Auburn Fan
Hot Alabama fan
Angel Finch
Emily Dunn
Josh Wright
Carter Clay
Quiz score:
28
Quiz score:
27
Quiz score:
25
Quiz score:
25
In my memory, I have always been an Auburn Tiger.
Visiting my older brother at a football game in 1987
1989 Iron Bowl
Birth, I think
Race down 280, watch SEC games at tailgate, watch Auburn win, tailgate more
Wear a game day dress and tailgate
Too many kids events for rituals, but I am prepared to yell when the game starts
Finding my lucky shirt to wear for the game
Celebrating victories at Toomer’s Corner
All of it: the people, the friendships, the history, introducing kids to football
Tiger Walk
Rammer Jammer song
Favorite restaurant Best tailgating spot
Niffer’s
Dreamland
Byron’s Barbeque
A stadium hot dog, of course
Between the quad dorms and the stadium with the Barn Burners
Between the Sigma Nu and Phi Gam houses
White tent area
The Quad
Most anticipated game of this season Strongest sign of being a rabid fan
Iron Bowl
Auburn
Arkansas. First is the most important.
Auburn
Loving all things about Auburn, not just football
Embarrassingly, I have a section of my closet dedicated to red dresses.
I went to Alabama for law school and still bleed orange and blue.
Naming a child after a coach or player
Frank Sanders’ touchdown catch to win the Florida game 36-33 in 1994
1992 Season
01
Van Tiffin field goal to beat Auburn in 1985
Moment I became a fan Game day ritual Favorite tradition
Favorite football moment of all time
B8 • September 2014
Village Living
In celebration of the ‘lakation’ Residents start lake-themed T-shirt line By MADOLINE MARKHAM For Caroline Bundy, it was Lake Martin. For Valerie Boyd, it was Lake Ponchartrain. That was where they first discovered the “lakation” state of mind. If you’ve ever spent time on a lake, you know what they mean. “It’s the re-creation of memories, the ones that conjure up feelings of bliss and relaxation, the ones that settle your soul in trying times,” the duo writes on their Lakation website. Boyd grew up spending summers swimming, crabbing and boiling crawfish near Slidell, La. Bundy’s lake seasons were filled with skiing, catching bream, tubing and jumping off Chimney Rock. “I spent every summer there,” Bundy said. “It’s part of who I am. I don’t know if I could live anywhere that wasn’t in driving distance of Lake Martin.” Today both Mountain Brook residents are making new lake memories with their families on Martin and Smith Lake, where a friend has a house. That made their new business inspiration an easy one. “People in Alabama love their lakes and want to identify with the lake they love,” Bundy said. The duo owned Homegrown Special Foods next to Savage’s in Homewood for three years in what Bundy calls the “pre-Tria Market and pre-Whole Foods days.” A new venture had long been in the back of their minds when they finally landed on an idea that excited both of them equally. They had started to note the increasing popularity of coastal and beach life themed T-shirt and lifestyle brands such as Salt Life — and a lack of a similar brand with a lake theme. “You see a lot of Guy Harvey, but don’t see a whole
lot about lakes that have photographs,” Bundy said. Together they launched lifestyle brand Lakation in June. So far its website boasts T-shirt designs and other lake-themed retail items. “Our main emphasis is to create memories since we have had so many memories on the lake,” Bundy said. “Then we started thinking about things that apply to activities on all lakes like water skiing, rafting and camping.” The first images that came to mind were iconic ones of a dock chair and a cannonball, Sand Island and Chimney Rock at Martin, and Rock Creek Marina on Smith. They used their own photos and a four-color process to create watercolor-like looks for the shirts. As a result, Bundy said people talk about the authentic look of their designs. From there, they started thinking about bass fishing, camping and other fall lake activities they will incorporate into designs launching soon. The L in the Lakation logo dips down to make a ripple in the water, just as Bundy and Boyd hope their line will inspire others to do. “We want people to know how precious memories are and how important it is to give back,” Bundy said. The company is working with community organizations that organize lake cleanups and other advocacy efforts. Part of the proceeds from their retail sales currently go toward Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy Group and Lake Martin Resource Association. “It’s important to keep lakes beautiful,” Bundy said. In the future they hope to branch out beyond Alabama lakes, especially with Boyd’s native Louisiana in mind. But they also have learned that Alabama has more than 80 lakes, giving them plenty of fodder for future designs. “People have a lot of state pride, and we want to support that,” Bundy said. Lakation shirts are now available at The Pants Store in Crestline, Kowaliga Marina on Lake Martin and Rock Creek Marina on Smith Lake. For more or to order shirts online, visit lakationlife.com.
Valerie Boyd and Caroline Bundy hold their first Lakation T-shirt the day it came off the press. Photo courtesy of Caroline Bundy.
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • B9
Young adults find adventure with Venture Crew 2010 By OLIVIA BURTON Chandler Gory had never been camping before she spent eight days canoeing through the isolated, pristine wilderness of the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada. “I didn’t even know how to set up a tent,” she said. At Northern Tier, one of the four Boy Scouts of America (BSA) high adventure bases, a group from Venture Crew 2010 paddled through the boundary waters from Ely to Atikokan, a distance of about 75 miles. “There were six days where we didn’t see anybody,” said Kelly Byrne, the crew’s adult advisor. When they weren’t paddling across crystal clear lakes or hauling their gear over land on portages, the crew feasted on freshly caught fish, swam through waterfalls and watched loons flying low over the water. “It’s a really fun atmosphere,” Gory said of spending time with the crew. Each summer since its founding, Mountain Brook-based Venture Crew 2010 has sent a group of crew members to one of the BSA high adventure bases. Last summer, six crew members and two adult advisors earned the Triple Crown Award for completing trips to Northern Tier, Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and Seabase in the Florida Keys. However, Venture Crew activities are not limited to the summer months. If you were to ask one of the members
Venture Crew 2010 Upcoming Events }} Rafting trip, Sept. 20-21 }} Backpacking, Oct. 11-12 }} Biking trip, Nov. 22-23 }} Caving, Jan. 17-18 }} Backpacking, Feb. 13-16 }} Canoeing, May 4-5 Dates subject to change.
Crew members take on the Class V rapids of the Chattooga River on Venture Crew 2010’s annual rafting trip. Photo courtesy of the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
of the Venture Crew what he or she did last weekend, you might be impressed by the response. About once a month, members go rafting, backpacking, biking, canoeing, rock climbing or caving. Trips and activities are limited only by safety, funding and the crew members’ imaginations. David Dowd started the crew in the fall of 2010. It rapidly gained membership as young men and women around the community learned about the new opportunity for outdoor adventure. “It’s a great way for young people
to build confidence and learn skills that last for a long time,” said Dowd, who was involved in Boy Scouts as a youth and has been involved in Scouting as an adult since 1996. Venturing, a branch of Boy Scouts of America (BSA), is geared towards both young men and women who are 14 years old or have completed eighth grade up to age 21. The program focuses on developing values and leadership in challenging and exciting outdoor settings. “You put people in situations they’re not used to and they grow,”
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Dowd said. Venture Crew 2010’s current president, Will Byrne, was involved in Boy Scouts before he joined Venture Crew. Byrne sees Venturing as an opportunity for older teens to get involved in outdoor activities at a time when many tend to stop participating in Boy Scouts. Crew members, not the adults, run meetings and plan activities. Venture Crew 2010 usually meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month at the Canterbury United Methodist Church (CUMC) Scout Building.
Venture Crew 2010 has already begun planning the calendar for the upcoming school year with rafting, backpacking, biking, caving and canoeing trips. Annual dues for Venture Crew 2010 are $50 and most gear and equipment can be borrowed from the CUMC Scout Building or from other crew members. No prior outdoors experience is required for membership, and membership is not limited to Mountain Brook residents. Young adults ninth grade and up, as well as their parents, are invited to attend Venture Crew 2010’s open house on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the CUMC Scout Building. For more information about Venture Crew 2010, contact Will Byrne at willbyrne@charter.net or 907-2315 or Kelly Byrne at kellyjbyrne@charter. net or 870-7411.
B10 • September 2014
Village Living
In the director’s chair Resident debuts his first short film By SYDNEY CROMWELL Directing a movie is tough, especially if you’ve never taken a filmmaking class, but Ian Cunningham didn’t let that get in his way. The Mountain Brook resident and stay-at-home dad’s first short film, “The Bread and the Blood,” screened at Sidewalk Film Festival in August. Cunningham wanted to be the next Steven Spielberg as a kid, but he never got the chance to study film. On the encouragement of a friend who was a screenwriter, Cunningham decided to pursue filmmaking as a hobby. He found a group of local filmmakers who have acted as both mentors and crewmembers. The other filmmakers in the group have gone to film school, so they were able to teach Cunningham about writing, producing and editing. Cunningham also got hands-on experience by working on-set for other members’ projects. “I’ve been learning in a very roundabout sort of way,” Cunningham said. He started with short comedy sketches on YouTube, but in 2013 Cunningham decided to produce his first short film. He wrote the script for “The Bread and the Blood,” which he
HOMEWOOD
•
described as a “fantastical take” on a conversation he had as a preteen with his church’s rector. Cunningham shot the 11-minute film in one day and spent about four months editing it before he submitted it to Sidewalk. Directing the short film was his favorite part of the process because there was an encouraging atmosphere on set. With a capable assistant producer handling the little details, Cunningham was able to focus on the big picture and his vision for the finished film. “I had so many anxiety dreams leading up to it for months,” Cunningham said. “They stopped the second I did it. It was so much fun.” The biggest frustrations in his first film experience were fundraising and sound editing. Cunningham said he was lucky to find actors to work for free and he raised about $800 to cover food for the set and other small expenses. He wants to improve his sound editing skills before his next project, however. “Most people with festivals or the film community in general will forgive poor cinematography, [but] nobody will ever forgive poor sound quality. They’ll turn something off if it sounds odd,” Cunningham said.
Mountain Brook film director Ian Cunningham and his daughter, Poppy. Cunningham’s first short film, “The Bread and the Blood,” premiered at Sidewalk Film Festival on Aug. 23. Photo courtesy of Ian Cunningham.
Cunningham said his wife has been “extremely essential” in scriptwriting and postproduction editing, especially for his comedic scripts. His four-year-old daughter, Poppy, has also unexpectedly taken to being a director’s daughter. “She knows set etiquette. It’s very strange. She just turned four a couple weeks ago, and she already knows how to behave when cameras are on,” Cunningham said. “She’s made it a really easy hobby for me.” “The Bread and the Blood” screened at Sidewalk Film Festival on Aug. 23 as part of the Alabama Shorts Block, and Cunningham is still submitting it to other festivals around the country. He is already at work on his next project, a documentary about the Veteran’s Day Parade
in Birmingham, and is trying to raise money to produce a romantic short film called “Stick Around.” He’s hoping to collect enough to pay his actors and cover some of the documentary’s costs. Filmmaking is a fulfilling hobby for Cunningham, but he doesn’t have any Hollywood aspirations. He loves being a father, and he wants to enjoy creating his films without bigger expectations. “I derive a lot of joy from making things, but I don’t feel any pressure to reach a wide audience,” Cunningham said. “I would be happy if it turned into something, but right now just making them is enough for me.”
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September 2014 • B11
School House Parenting and Family with Dr. Dale Wisely
Empathy, remorse and the art of apology By DALE WISELY
Non-apologetic apologies often include language like, “If what I Q: Some of the children I said hurt or offended you, I apoloencounter don’t seem to experience gize.” In children, false apologies remorse when they say or do hurtful are usually the result of a child things to others. How can I encourbeing forced to apologize. All parents age a sense of remorsefulness in my know the sound of a forced apology: own children? “SORRRRRRYYYYY!” Remorse emerges from empathy Much has been written lately Dr. Dale Wisely and respect for rules. If I hurt you in about how to make a genuine apolsome way and I have the empathy that allows ogy. I believe teaching children how to apolme to imagine what you are feeling because of ogize may actually help them learn how to what I’ve done, remorse comes. If I understand empathize. Believe it or not, there is a website that stealing is wrong, I should feel remorse devoted to apology. It is perfectapology.com. when I steal, not out of empathy, but out of These folks propose that there are essential knowing I’ve broken a rule that must be in parts to an apology. I am going to take liberplace for civilization to work. Most of us want ties with it due to limited space and for clarity. our children to be able to empathize, to experi}} a restatement of what happened. (What ence remorse when they have done wrong and I did.) to apologize and otherwise make amends. We }} acknowledgement of the hurt or damage want our children to be law-abiding. done. (I know I hurt you or otherwise did Empathy is widely studied by social scientists. Studies using functional magnetic reso- damage.) nance imaging (fMRI) have investigated the }} taking responsibility for the situation. functional brain anatomy that gives rise to (This is my fault. It’s not your fault.) empathy. Behavior consistent with a kind of }} a statement of regret. (I wish I had not rudimentary form of empathy can be seen in done this.) 1-year-olds, and typically, by age 2 children will show fairly clear capability of empathy. }} a request for forgiveness. (I hope you can Psychologists also believe, however, that there forgive me. Will you?) are individuals who, for reasons that are poorly }} a promise that it won’t happen again. (I understood, have a low capacity to experience want to do better. I promise to try my best.) empathy, or none at all. }} a form of restitution whenever appropriate I doubt that a child can be talked, lectured or punished into being empathetic. As parents, and possible. (I want to make this right.) we often guide our children by asking them What if we taught our children to apoloto imagine how another person feels when he gize this way? Would this help our children or she is hurt in some way. I suspect that for learn empathy and remorse? Would it help the empathy and remorse to grow, all of us, includ- child move past the guilt she feels for having ing children, have to develop the capacity and wronged someone? Could we teach our chilhave to have a series of experiences in which dren to apologize this way by apologizing this we learn how others feel. The phrase “teachable way ourselves, to them, to other family memmoments” is probably overused, but it surely bers? Will it help our child be able to say someapplies here. We look for opportunities to point thing like this?: things out. If we hear or know of someone who “Ashley, I want to tell you I am sorry. I didn’t is suffering due to the behavior of others, we invite you to my birthday party, and I think that invite our children to imagine how the suffering must have hurt your feelings. It’s my fault. I person feels. don’t have an excuse. Now I wish I had invited I am interested in apology and the so-called you. You don’t have to answer now, but I hope “non-apologetic apology.” False apologies are you will forgive me. I promise to do better. I abundant, especially in the professional, legal hope you can come over to my house this weekand corporate worlds. Even in the interpersonal end. I’d like that a lot.” world, we sometimes apologize begrudgingly.
Superintendent evaluation is positive A recent evaluation of Mountain Brook Schools Superintendent Dicky Barlow came back “very positive,” according to Board of Education Chair Jane Menendez. The evaluation was discussed at the Board’s July 14 meeting. “The evaluation process gives us an opportunity to review the accomplishments of the superintendent and the school system as a whole,” Menendez said. “We are pleased and grateful for Mr. Barlow’s excellent work as he completes his fifth year as superintendent.” Board members emphasized Barlow’s ability in “effectively managing the day-to-day operations while driving the strategic vision of the school system.” This past year Barlow launched and furthered a number initiatives including The Institute for Innovation, the customization of education, and a community wide discussion of the “10 things we want people to say about our schools.” “Mr. Barlow has built a strong team of professionals who share a common vision and a commitment to excellence,” Menendez said. “ He leads the school system in consistently looking for ways to do the right thing for the
Dicky Barlow
student. The Board is grateful for his leadership and very optimistic about the future of Mountain Brook Schools.” -Submitted by Mountain Brook City Schools
B12 • September 2014
Village Living
Brave new world: Kindergarten at Mountain Brook Elementary
Principal Laurie King holds her CLAS award.
Crestline principal wins leadership award BY COLLINS CLEGG Laurie King, principal at Crestline Elementary School, recently won the CLAS Leadership Award at an convention in Montgomery. The mission of CLAS, the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, is to coordinate and facilitate resources of its members for the advancement of public education. King was chosen by her peers in the Alabama
Association of Elementary School Principals as their nominee for this award. Following the nomination, a committee chose the award based on leadership at the local, district and state level. King has held a number of valuable leadership roles within the CLAS/AAESA organizations. Throughout her tenure as an administrator at Crestline, she has worked to improve the image of public education with state, local and national audiences.
Kindergarten students Gray Warburton, Wade Wood and Garland Drennen.
By HILARY ROSS Mountain Brook Elementary kindergarten teachers Tanya Anastasia, Jennifer Jinnette, Julie Summers, and Mitchell Nelson welcomed 73 students at Mountain Brook Elementary last month. New kindergarten student Wade Wood said he wants to learn math and reading. He is most excited to join his older brother, David, at “big school.” Gray Warburton wants to learn math, drawing and how not to get placed in time out. Garland Drennen, the oldest in her family, is excited to start big school where she looks forward to drawing,
reading and making new friends. Jinnette said kindergarten students will learn how to read books that each child picked out on his/her reading level and to have conversations like a real book club. They will learn to write narrative, informational and opinion pieces for the world to hear and to be leaders in the school, which will in turn teach them how to make friends and work together. The kindergarten team wants students to know that they want every student to love school and have fun, and that they are excited about getting to know all about them.
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September 2014 • B13
Crestline wins state Future Problem Solvers
Crestline PAGE students Betsy Lambert, Margo Belden, and Sally Bussian won first place in the Junior Division Booklet Competition at the Alabama Future Problem Solvers State Bowl.
By COLLINS CLEGG Last school year Crestline Elementary fifthgrade PAGE students participated in Future Problem Solvers, an international program that encourages critical and creative thinking, problem finding and problem solving with an eye toward the future. They studied the topics of social isolation, surveillance society, desertification and land transportation with teacher/coach Julia Peterson.
Students who participated this year were Margo Belden, Sally Bussian, Laurel Hand, Emma Kao, Betsy Lambert, Nicholas Miller, Walton Redden, Gordon Sargent, Walker Starling, Isabel Swoger, Mac Swoger and Samantha Torc Margo Belden, Sally Bussian and Betsy Lambert’s team consistently ranked first on each practice round and won first place in the Booklet Competition at the Alabama State Bowl at Auburn University-Montgomery.
Students take on national and international issues at conference
The Alabama delegation to CONA, known as the “family of Alabama,” included Mountain Brook students Ben Jackson, Amelia Putnam, Hannah Mouyal, Lewis Fitzpatrick, Kelley Jiang and Natalie Jones. Photo courtesy of Amy Carson Dennis.
By OLIVIA BURTON In ninth grade, Ben Jackson was pleasantly surprised to find a group of students who shared his passion for politics and policy in YMCA Youth Legislature at Mountain Brook Junior High School. “We are all passionate about making some sort of difference,” said Jackson. After his first year in the program, in which students from around the state present and debate their own bills in a mock legislative session in Montgomery, Jackson was selected as one of about 20 Alabama delegates to the Conference on National Affairs (CONA). This summer, the conference hosted more than 600 YMCA Youth in Government students from almost 40 states at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, N.C. Jackson was selected to be one of the six presiding officers in the 2015 conference. Zijie Yin, Mountain Brook High School class of 2013, served as a presiding officer at this year’s conference. Rather than being a legislative session, CONA’s purpose is to expose students to national and international issues while they discuss their own ideas on how to solve complicated problems. Students debate and vote on bills at Youth in Government mock legislatures, whereas delegates at CONA develop and discuss proposals. “The difference is actually pretty important,” Jackson said. “The Conference on National Affairs is meant to be a forum for discussion and ideas.” Jackson said that in addition to making a close group of new friends at the conference, he was
also exposed to many new ideas and perspectives. “CONA has opened me up to a lot of different ideas politically and ways of looking at problems that I wouldn’t have thought of before,” he said. Other Mountain Brook delegates to the conference this year included Amelia Putnam, Alabama Youth in Government Lt. Governor Hannah Mouyal, Lewis Fitzpatrick, Kelley Jiang and Natalie Jones. The Alabama delegation is known as “the family of Alabama” because of their strong sense of collaboration and friendship. This summer marked Putnam’s third year at CONA, which has inspired her to study international politics. “It was great seeing people grow and get out of their comfort zones, because I realized that was what I had done as a delegate,” she said of Youth in Government. At this year’s conference, she proposed restoring the right to vote to ex-felons, while Fitzpatrick’s proposal dealt with international Internet regulation. Fitzpatrick won an award for statesmanship, and his proposal advanced to the highest round of discussion, General Assembly. He said that meeting hundreds of other students, all of whom were very talented and passionate, was a humbling experience. “It really makes you believe in America when you’re in a room with 600 kids who are so passionate, bright and articulate,” he said. “You can see that a lot of them are going to be the next senators, presidents or heads of state, or at least I hope.” To learn more about CONA, visit ymcacona. org.
B14 • September 2014
Village Living
Words of wisdom from MBE sixth graders
New faces at the junior high
Amy Hartley, Michel Godwin, Mary Riley Ogilvie, Greg Fisher, Brittany Wilson, Jimmy McGowan, Karly Miller, Julie Garrett, Laura Carlson and James Salvant.
By DENA BERTE
William Dunn, James Noles and John Curtis Gray
By HILARY ROSS Village Living caught up with a few Mountain Brook Elementary sixth graders to gather their advice for younger students. Having “been there, done that,” here is what they had to say: Ella Frances Mandell recommended students always be polite to the lunchroom ladies. Another tip is to always remember your tennis shoes for physical education class. Also, it is important to be nice to new kids that transfer into MBE from other schools. Isabelle Yates advised students to study hard and make good grades as that makes your life so much easier. She also encouraged kids to make friends with those who have different interests. Finally, do what you love and you will be happier. Don’t worry about what others think. Both girls said decorating their lockers and walking to Gilchrist on Friday are two
things they are most looking forward to in sixth grade. William Dunn wanted students to know that you should not be afraid of your teachers. He said you should also include everyone. James Noles advised students to keep up with their stuff. He also said to make new friends but keep your old ones. Give second chances and don’t judge people on first impressions. John Curtis Gray suggested that students be prepared and follow instructions. He added that packing your lunch is a good idea, to which William added, “If you forget your packed lunch, buy a sandwich.” All three boys are looking forward to seeing their friends at school and getting to be the senior grade. William thinks it will be fun to have a locker. James cannot wait for sixth-grade basketball, and John Curtis is looking forward to graduating MBE.
As the sunscreen, flip flops and beach towels are packed away from another summer of fun, a new class of seventh graders will be roaming the halls of Mountain Brook Junior High learning their way around the school. However, another group of new faces will also be welcomed into the Spartan halls too: new teachers. Gregory Fisher joins the Spartan faculty as a seventh and eighth-grade science teacher this year. Fisher taught environmental education at Cornerstone Schools of Alabama and a few years at Chelsea Middle School. He also has been a part of Project Lead the Way, a technology and robotics program for students. He also recently wrote and released a song through his church and said he is looking forward to being a part of a “community of educators that are supported and encouraged to be creative and innovated in our instruction.” Julie Garrett has taught for ten years at Pizitz Middle School and is teaching seventh-grade English. Garrett is a big Alabama fan and will certainly find some fellow supporters around the Spartan halls. Jimmy McGowan will be teaching Art Foundations this fall and is looking forward to the creativity that the students bring to the visual arts. McGowan’s background is art studio and
art history. He taught visual arts in Shelby County before coming to MBJH. Karly Miller will be a familiar face around the halls of MBJH this fall. She was the substitute in physical education this past year in addition to many other classes. She is looking forward to “building relationships and shaping the lives of our students.” Miller will be teaching PE and helping to coach the seventh-grade volleyball team, indoor track and softball. Mary Riley Ogilvie is teaching pre-algebra and algebra I at the junior high after student teaching at Hillcrest Middle School in Tuscaloosa. Challenging the students will be on her agenda and something she is not unfamiliar with personally. At the age of 17, she summited Mount Rainier following extensive training. James M. Salvant V comes to the junior high from Oak Mountain Middle School. He will be implementing Project Lead the Way, transforming the traditional career tech classroom into a 21st century design/robotics lab. He is looking forward to starting the Robotics Club and aiming to compete in the world championships in California in the spring. He is originally from Baton Rouge and spent summers in a fishing village helping his family run a commercial fishing vessel. His love of the water has carried him through the Caribbean on several sailing expeditions.
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September 2014 • B15
Sports 7U American team finishes second
The 2014 Metro 7U American finalist team came in second place to end the season. Front row: Truth Wiles, Michael Garrison, Thomas Clay, Robert Miller, Hutchins Blomeyer and Cayden Hoffbauer. Middle row: Will Mather, Forest Summers, Hardy McDonald, Thomas Graham, Webb Walker and Reed Nelson. Back row: Zach Mather, Stuart Summers, Carlos McDonald (head coach), Will Graham, Stephen Walker and Aaron Nelson. Photo courtesy of Chris Summers.
Nine year old finishes first in Road Runner Jackson Beatty, age 9, represented Mountain Brook in the USSSA Baseball State Showcase this summer. He finished first in the Road Runner skills competition, posting the fastest time around the bases out of all the 9, 10, 11 and 12 year olds. Photo courtesy of Jim Beatty.
Second graders win World Series Warm Up tournament
Mountain Brook Second Grade National All Stars won the 8U USSSA World Series Warm Up Coach Pitch tournament. Front row: Carson Romero, Hunter Keller, Clark Sanderson and Thomas Lambert. Middle row: Christopher Yeilding, Luke Schwefler, John Robicheaux, Charlie Elliott, Josh Hart and James Cameron Adams. Back row: Charles Lambert, Chris Yeilding, Frank Allen Yeilding and Richard Keller. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Yielding.
B16 • September 2014
Village Living
Odum a special threat for Spartans By WILL DAVIS When it comes to high school football in the state of Alabama, few players impact their team quite like Mountain Brook wide receiver Drew Odum. In 2013, Odum had 83 catches, 13 total touchdowns and 1,445 total yards. It was rare to watch a Mountain Brook football game last year without seeing No. 4 make a play, be it at receiver or on special teams. “He is one of the best kick/punt returners in the history of the school,” Spartans head coach Chris Yeager said of his star player. “I’ve never seen a player with better instincts.” Odum, who is a senior, will also step into a defined leadership role this year in addition to his play on the field. “Being a senior is very important to this team because I feel you are held to a higher standard than anyone else on the team, because all (of) the younger kids look up to you,” Odum said. Nobody understands what Odum brings to the field better than his quarterback. “I know if I throw a ball within his area, there is a good chance No. 4 is going to come down with it,” Spartans senior QB Jacob Carroll said. “I wouldn’t choose any player in the state over Odum, and I’m very blessed to play with this guy.” The offseason this year didn’t go without its challenges. “In the offseason, we’ve faced a lot of adversity by going through two offensive coordinators, but this team has really buckled down and focused on the tasks at hand so we can be the best team we possibly can,” Odum said. Despite some of the adversity, Odum feels confident that Mountain Brook will turn in another good season in 2014.
9U players selected for All-Tournament Team Trent Wright and Jackson Beatty represented Mountain Brook in the USSSA All State Showcase and were selected to the 9U All-Tournament Team. This team represented Alabama against teams from Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Jim Beatty.
MBC relay team places first Drew Odum
“If we focus on getting better every week and take it one game at a time, we have a great chance to win a region championship and ultimately win the state championship,” Odum said. As for what’s next after this year, Odum, who also plays baseball, said he will consider athletics in college, but that his first priority is his academics. “I’m definitely considering college football,” Odum said. “But school is very important to me too and if I don’t feel like pursuing football is in my best interest, then I will just go to college for school.”
The Mountain Brook Club boys 8 and under relay won first place overall at the 2014 JSSC Senior County Swim for both the freestyle relay and the medley relay. Pictured are team members Andrew Marks, Billy Hoyt, William Grier McDuffie and Andrew Naftel. Photo courtesy of Cathy Marks.
VillageLivingOnline.com
September 2014 • B17
Faith Life Actually By Kari Kampakis
Working moms and stay-at-home moms: Let’s celebrate both Years ago, in my first job out of college, I worked with a woman who was sharp, productive and always smiling. I knew she had two small children in day care, but since she was always enthusiastic, I assumed she worked by choice. And then one day, I caught her crying in her cubicle as she clutched a framed picture of her 6-month-old baby girl. Her daughter had hit another milestone at day care, and this one got to her. With tears spilling over the picture, she opened up to me. Only then did I realize she wasn’t working by choice; she was working by necessity. Her husband’s income wasn’t enough for a family of four, so she was doing what she had to do. In her heart, however, she wanted to be home. I often think of this story when I hear about the “working mom versus stay-at-home mom” debate. It’s so easy to judge moms who choose a different route than us, but the truth is, none of us know what circumstances other families face. Some moms work because they need the income. Some work because they’d go nuts taking care of kids 24/7. Some moms stay home because they love it and can’t imagine life any other way. Others stay home because their family needs them there, or because it doesn’t make sense financially to work since their salary would all go to day care. I understand both sides because I’m caught in the middle. I’m not fully in either camp, which
makes me feel lost sometimes in terms of where I belong. While working from home as a writer allows me to be readily available for my family, I also know how hard it is to balance family and work, especially when I’m on a deadline. Yes, I get to experience the joy of doing what I love to do and meeting lots of neat people as a result. I can find fulfillment in something independent of my kids, which, on a bad day of mothering, comes in real handy. At the same time, I experience the guilty pangs of not being able to say “yes” every time my kids ask something of me. I know what it’s like when a child asks, as I’m dropping off carpool, if I can eat lunch with them today, and having to say, “I’m so sorry, but I can’t today because I have a meeting,” then wondering for the next 30 minutes if I’m scarring them. The point is, everyone’s life is different. And regardless of our personal convictions, there are many ways to be a great mom. Yes, staying home benefits the family and helps maintain a smooth operation (unless we’re overcommitted, which is another story). On the days I dedicate myself to nothing but household chores and organizing my kids’ lives, everything runs better. There seem to be fewer glitches and less rushing around. On the other hand, I love that my daughters see me taking risks and chasing dreams, handling rejection and celebrating victories, because these are things I want them to
do. Through my journey as a writer, I’ve been able to teach them lessons about life and perseverance that I hope will encourage them when they’re scared to fail, scared to dream, or scared to put themselves out there. All this to say, I’m thankful for working moms and stay-at-moms because both are worthy of celebration. More often than not, it is working moms who take care of my kids at school, help them at the doctor’s office and cultivate their talents through extracurricular activities. And it is stay-at-home moms who will drop everything if I need help (or a friend to talk to) during the day because their schedules allow it. They channel their talents into equally important things like organizing dinners for a mom who’s ill, planning a Halloween carnival the elementary school kids won’t forget and teaching my kids how to grow a vegetable garden when they’re playing at their house. However a mom shares her gifts, it’s all good. And for most moms, the bottom is this: We’re all passionate about our kids. We all understand how even the best job in the world can’t hold a candle to the joy of motherhood, and if we needed to, we’d give up our work in a heartbeat. We all want assurances our kids will turn out OK. We’re all deeply insecure because even with our best efforts, there are no guarantees. So let’s cut each other more slack, ladies, and find unity in the fact that whether a mom works
or stays home, our heart is with our family. Let’s all set positive examples for today’s girls so they see what it looks like to be happy at home and at work, doing what we’re called to do or need to do. Personally, I want my four daughters to always be capable of getting a job. I don’t want them adopting the mindset that they’ll simply get married and never work, because nobody know what the future holds. Most of all, I want my girls to see how rewarding and fulfilling motherhood can be. I want them to witness the joy a mom can discover in raising a family, serving others, and making the world better. Whatever choices they make, I hope they’re proud of them. And I hope that with every choice I make today, I give them something to look forward to, a future worth aiming for because they see that even with the happiness I derive from work, the happiness I enjoy from being their mom is exponentially, profoundly, and always greater. Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis is a Mountain Brook mom of four girls, columnist and blogger for The Huffington Post. Join her Facebook community at “Kari Kampakis, Writer,” visit her blog at karikampakis.com or contact her at kari@karikampakis.com. Kari’s first book, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know, releases in November through Thomas Nelson. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon.
B18 • September 2014
Village Living
Calendar Mountain Brook Events Sept. 1-30: “Spokes” Photography Show by Brenda Miller. All month. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Miller’s current series combines inspirations of the bicycle’s aesthetically pleasing form with another of her favorite pastimes – cycling. Call 879-0411 ext. 233. Sept. 9: Community Suicide Prevention Event. 6 p.m. Crestline Field. Birmingham native Harry Miree will speak on his experience with suicide attempts and the loss of his cousin. Hosted by Aware. Call 870-4367. Sept. 11: Sept. 11 Ceremony. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills will join together to host a remembrance ceremony and Patriot’s Day celebration. Visit welcometomountainbrook.com. Sept. 12: Mountain Brook Varsity Football vs. Thompson. 7 p.m. Mountain Brook High School. Sept. 12-13: Sweet Repeats Consignment Sale. Friday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m.-noon. Mountain Brook Community Church. Visit mbcc.us or email mbcc.sweetrepeats@gmail.com. Sept. 13: ZooGala. 7-11 p.m. Birmingham Zoo. Cocktails, dinner and dancing in support of the Birmingham Zoo. Visit birminghamzoo.com. Sept. 16: Fashions for the Foundation. 11:30 a.m. The Club. $50 for individuals, $800 for a table. Visit mountainbrookschoolsfoundation.com. Sept. 17: Image, Food and Your
Child. 7 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. Cathedral Church of the Advent Cranmer House, 2828 Culver Road. Visit adventbirmingham.org. Sept. 18: Cahaba Village for the Cure. 6-8 p.m. Cahaba Village. Shopping will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Visit welcometomountainbrook.com. Sept. 19-21: 30th Annual Orchid Show and Sale. Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m, Saturday noon-6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. -4 p.m. Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Free. Visit bbgardens.org. Sept. 26: Mountain Brook Varsity Football vs. James Clemens. 7 p.m. Mountain Brook High School. Sept. 27: Crestline Rocks. Noon-10 p.m. Crestline Village. Benefits PreSchool Partners. $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Visit crestlinerocks.com. Sept. 28: Jews of Hollywood Film Series: “Tony Curtis Driven to Stardom.” 2 p.m. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Call 879-0411 ext. 233. Sept. 28: Symphony 30 Picnic. 5 p.m. Birmingham Botanical Gardens. $75 for a family meal, $25 for an individual meal. Visit bbgardens.org. Oct. 2-5: Antiques at the Gardens. Public show and event times vary. Birmingham Botanical Gardens. $10 for general admissions to public shows, free for members. Visit bbgardens.org/antiques or call 414-3950.
Emmet O’Neal Library 50 Oak Street, 879-0459
Adults Wednesdays: Brown Bag Lunch Series. 12:30 p.m. Aug. 30-Sept. 1: Library Closed for Labor Day. Sept. 4: Church & Oak Book Group. 6:30 p.m. Church Street Coffee & Books. Discussing I Want to Show You More by Jamie Quatro. Sept. 8: Great Books Book Group. 6:30 p.m. Discussing The Rocking Horse Winter by D.H. Lawrence. Sept. 9: The Bookies Book Group. 10 a.m. Salon discussion: books of choice. Sept. 14: An Afternoon with the Author. 2 p.m. A reception for Carla Jean Whitley in honor of the publication of her new book, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Sept. 16: Documentaries After Dark. 6:30 p.m. Film about wine. Sept. 18: Let’s Talk Money presents “It’s Never Too Late to Save.” 6:30 p.m. Light dinner served.
Sept. 19: Standing Room Only presents Wes Anderson Film Double Feature. 7 p.m. Ages 21 and up. Sept. 26: Western Supermarkets Fall Wine and Food Festival. Birmingham Zoo. Benefitting Emmet O’Neal Library. Tickets available at all Western Supermarkets and EOL Library. Call 879-0459. Sept. 30: Genre Reading Group. 6:30 p.m. Books on American workers and laborers.
Teens Mondays: Take a Journey through the History of Animation. 6:30 p.m. Each Monday we’ll discuss the pioneers of animations and watch a feature length animated film. Sept. 3: TAB. 5-6 p.m. The monthly meeting of our Teen Advisory Board. Sept. 6: Game On Tournament. 1-3 p.m.
Children Mondays: *Toddler
Tales Story Time. 9:30 & 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays: Together Time Story Time. 9:30 & 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays: All Ages Movie. 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays: Evenings at EOL. 6 p.m. Wednesdays: *Mother Goose Story Time. 9:30 & 10: 30 a.m. Thursdays: *Patty Cake Story Time. 9:30 & 10:30 a.m. Thursdays: SNaP. 3:30 p.m. Saturdays: Family Story time with Mr. Mac. 10:30 a.m. Sept. 9: Family Night: Berenstain Bears Picnic and Parade. 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17: AfterSchool Special: Mark Seymour’s Be-at Your Best. Sept. 25: *Bookmania: Star Wars Jedi Academy. 6 p.m. *Space is limited, call 879-049 or visit eolib.org to register.
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September 2014 • B19
Celebrations Area Events Sept. 4: Birmingham Art Crawl. 5-9 p.m. Historic Loft District, 2300 1st Ave. N. A monthly event showcasing Birmingham’s deep and energetic pool of creative talent. Free. Visit birminghamartcrawl.com. Sept. 5-6. Miss Vulcan 1939. 7:30 p.m. Vulcan Park and Museum. A spoof on the iconic statue’s one and only beauty pageant. $30 for adults, $10 for children, $75 VIP tickets. Visit redmountaintheatre.org. Sept. 7: Birmingham Boys Choir Collaborative Concert. 4 p.m. Brock Recital Hall, Samford University. $10. Buy tickets at the door or call 767-9219. Sept. 13: Monkey C Monkey Run 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run. 8 a.m. Homewood Central Park. Visit campsam.org. Sept. 13: ZooGala. 7-11 p.m. The Birmingham Zoo. Cocktails, dinner and dancing in support of the Birmingham Zoo. Visit birminghamzoo.com. Sept. 16: Delta Spirit with EDJ. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. WorkPlay. Ages 18 and up. $15. Call 879-4773. Sept. 18: Community Bullying Forum. 6-7:30 p.m. Orlean Bullard Beeson Hall, Samford University. A panel of experts will speak. Free, limited seating. Visit uwca.org/bullyforum. Sept. 18-20: Saint George’s 33rd Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival. Dine-in/ takeout hours: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Drive-through hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 425 16th Ave. S. Free admission, live entertainment and drive-through. Visit saintgeorgeonline.org. Sept. 19-21: Alabama Orchid Society’s 30th Annual Show and Sale. Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Free. Visit bbgardens.org.
Wall-Garrison
Sept. 20: Paws for the Cause 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run. Veterans Park. Visit theanimalleagueofbirmingham.com. Sept. 21: Watercolor Society of Alabama Annual Members’ Showcase Award Ceremony and Opening Reception. 2:304 p.m. Birmingham Public Library. Between 55 and 60 watercolor artworks will be displayed through Oct. 30. Free. Visit watercolorsocietyofal.org. Sept. 25: Fish On! Reeling in Support for Kids. 6-10 p.m. B&A Warehouse. Cocktail dinner, silent and live auction to benefit On River Time. $75 for individual tickets, $2,000 for a table of 10. Visit onrivertime.org. Sept. 25-27: Greek Festival. 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Visit bhamgreekfestival.com. Sept. 27: Boulevard Blast 5K. 7:30 a.m. Across from Norwood Elementary, 3301 Norwood Blvd. Communitywide fitness event designed to raise money for neighborhood revitalization. Adults $25 before the race, $30 on race day. Free for children 5 and under. Visit raceplanner.com. Sept. 27: Fifth Annual Head Over Teal 5K. 8 a.m.-noon. 601 Preserve Way, Hoover. 5K, 1-mile fun run and family fun day. Proceeds benefit the Laura Crandall Brown Ovarian Cancer Foundation. Visit thinkoflaura.org. Sept. 27: Whistle Stop Festival. 9 a.m.-10 p.m. 1912 1st Ave. S., Irondale. Food, crafts, music and other activities. Free. Visit irondalewhistlestopfestival.com or call 297-9897. Sept. 28: Vulcan AfterTunes. 3 p.m. Vulcan Park and Museum. Featuring The Revivalists, Dumpstaphunk and Milo Greene. $15 for adults, $7.50 for members, $4 for children 5-12 and free for children 4 and under. Visit visitvulcan.com.
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Kelly LuAnne Wall and James Wesley Garrison married June 14 at Mountain Brook Baptist Church. The Reverend Jeffrey Greer officiated the ceremony. A reception was held at the Birmingham Zoo Safari Peak and was attended by guests including Bulwlagi the African elephant, Sarabi the African serval, Big Momma the greater sulphur crested cockatoo and Critter the fennec fox. Kathy G. catered the reception, and music was provided by the band Reckless. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Ralph Wall of Mountain Brook. The groom is the son of Mr. James Gregory Garrison and Mrs. Tracy
Newman Vincze of Birmingham. Her father gave the bride in marriage. Bridesmaids were Lindsay Beth Gardner of Atlanta, Murray Sexton Gervais of Birmingham, Christine Hoskinson of Buffalo, N.Y., and Caroline Wyatt Wells of Warner Robins, Ga. James Gregory Garrison, father of the groom, was best man. Austin Alan Garrison and Evan Alexander Garrison of Birmingham, brothers of the groom, and Tyler Lee Eads of Jasper were groomsmen. Following a honeymoon trip to the Smoky Mountains, the couple resides in Birmingham.
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