October 2022 Central Alabama by Alabama Living

CentralElectricAlabamaCooperative October 2022 Central Access update Getting ready for 2023 and beyond Holmes retires from Board A 30-year dedication to the co-op spirit CentralElectricAlabamaCooperative

For

Pumpkins are in season at Penton Farms in Verbena, Ala.

Central Alabama Electric Cooperative 103 Jesse Samuel Hunt Blvd. Prattville, AL www.caec.coop36066

Those cotton fields

Judging from the number of recipes we received for sweet potato dishes, this nutritional vegetable might be our readers’ favorite!

3422 VOL. 75 NO. 10 OCTOBER 2022 DEPARTMENTS 11 Spotlight 29 Around Alabama 32 Outdoors 33 Fish & Game Forecast 34 Cook of the Month 42 Hardy Jackson’s Alabama ONLINE: alabamaliving.coop 18 OCTOBER 2022 3 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! ONLINE: www.alabamaliving.coop EMAIL: letters@alabamaliving.coop MAIL: Alabama Living 340 Technacenter Drive Montgomery, AL 36117

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species, 31

species,

Sweet potatoes

AREA President Karl Rayborn Editor Lenore Vickrey Managing Editor Allison Law Creative Director Mark Stephenson Art Director Danny Weston Advertising Director Jacob Johnson Graphic Designer/Production Coordinator Brooke Echols ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL OFFICES:

email: advertising@areapower.com For

ALABAMA

NATIONAL MainStreet 611 South Congress Ave., Suite 504 Austin, Texas

Alabama’s cotton fields are the perfect setting for some seasonal photos!

Inside Southwood Kitchen in Daphne, there’s plenty of palatepleasing action in an intimate atmosphere.

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POSTMASTER send forms 3579 to: Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4014. RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION 340 TechnaCenter Drive Montgomery, Alabama 36117-6031 1-800-410-2737 advertising, editorial inquiries, email: contact@alabamaliving.coop

Gulf Coast Zoo

FEATURES

Publications

USPSwww.alabamaliving.coopwww.AMP.coop1-800-626-118178704029-920•ISSN1047-0311 Printed in America from American materials

With about 25 acres and more coming, more than 199 sub-species, and eight endangered Alabama’s Gulf Coast Zoo, known as the “Little Zoo that Could,” is now like the Little Zoo that Grew.

Get at

Nicole Law (334)Titus 300-2234

Outage www.caec.coop1-800-619-5460Hotline:

As Margaret Mead is often quoted, and an idea that I believe rings true, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Clanton Office: 1601 7th St. North

Van Smith Chairman, Billingsley (205) 294-4828

Mike Lamar (334)Prattville290-2636

Terry Mitchell (256)Stewartville249-3128

James Robert Parnell (334)Maplesville259-4408

Tom Stackhouse, CAEC President

Mark S. Presnell, Sr. Vice Chairman, Wetumpka (334) 567-2689

Board of Trustees

Whilepossible.reflecting

As we move into this next phase of the economy, perhaps there’s an opportunity to reawaken the desire to work together. Ultimately, working together to achieve a common goal is the key. It takes an ample amount of communication, integrity and respect to work within this model. When you work alone, you are only accountable to yourself. When you work as a team, you’re accountable to others, and you must work together to reach a solution. Personally, I’ve always believed that the best group agreement is better than the individual decision every time.

Wetumpka Office: 637 Coosa River Pkwy.

Charles Byrd (334)Deatsville361-3324

I am a capitalist at heart because I believe that the ability to invest in our economy makes this country thrive. To me, cooperatives are a great complement to capitalism because they create an opportunity for those who have similar needs to come together and join forces to be a part of the marketplace. The co-op business model provides an environment that allows everyone the chance to discuss issues, solve problems and enact change. When you find you have a common need or opportunity, it allows you to come together and create something bigger than yourself. The original member-owners of electric cooperatives grasped that concept all too well.

and CEO

I have never had any regrets about being part of the cooperative world because at its core, it’s all about service. We don’t have to worry about keeping some far-off investor satisfied; our priority is making sure we can provide you, our members, with the best and most reliable service

on the heart of the co-op, I couldn’t help but think of Ms. Patsy Holmes. In August, Ms. Holmes stepped down from her District 3 position on CAEC’s Board of Trustees. Although I fully understand and support her readiness to move into a new season of life, I personally am very sad to see her leave. To me, she was a mentor, a sounding board, a hero and most of all a dear friend. She truly understood and had a heart for the co-op because she’d spent the majority of her adult life surrounded by it. As she began her own family, she saw the cooperative difference played out in her family and community, and that passion inspired her to pursue a seat on the board as well as many other influential positions in the cooperative world. If you want a picture-perfect representation of what the heart of the co-op looks like, you need look no further than Ms. Holmes.

Every day, you see businesses struggling to sustain operations, and I can’t help but wonder what their situations would look like if they, instead, adopted the co-op business model.

Prattville Office: 103 Jesse Samuel Hunt Blvd. Prattville, AL 36066-6773

Rockford Office: 9191 U.S. Hwy. 231

Although the world is always in a state of change, it seems more than normal right now. These past few years seemingly have impacted us in ways we have not experienced in a generation and will continue to influence us for quite some time to come. But while the world around us continues to change, the cooperative business model remains true to its core principles.

Toll Free: 1-800-545-5735

They lacked a service they desperately needed and banded together to make it happen. It required laying aside strife, reaching compromises that worked for the good of the group and being willing to pioneer an endeavor that would ultimately become a monumental change, impacting rural America like never before.

Chase Riddle (334)Prattville365-3648

Mark Gray Secretary/Treasurer, Clanton (205) 351-1889

Reawakening the desire to work together

She’s also grateful for the numerous opportunities the position granted her, such as receiving industry training, gaining friends from across the co-ops of the nation and being chosen to serve as the first woman Chairperson for the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) Board, which she said was one of the most wonderful and thrilling experiences of her life.

Looking back on legacy:

“I so hoped one day I would get the opportunity to serve because I saw that not only was it a great organization to be connected with, but you knew you were doing something worthwhile with your life,” said Holmes. “Bringing electricity, and now broadband, to people in rural areas who otherwise would not have it is such a rewarding experience.”

Now retired, Holmes is enjoying time with her family and friends, her church and adding to her extensive collection of ceramic frogs. When asked what advice she would pass to the next trustee for her district, she stressed the importance of remembering, “…you are a representative of the members in your district; you are not speaking on your own.”

After 30 years serving the members of District 3, Patsy Holmes retired from her position on CAEC’s Board of Trustees Aug. 31, 2022.

She added, “I always tell people that the best people in the world are the co-op people. There’s just something about it. It’s one great big family as far as I’m concerned, and I’m already missing it.

"I’ve always said that next to my church and my family, the cooperative comes next. It’s been a wonderful ride.”

“I like when I can help people, and when people do call, there’s a problem,” she said. “To be able to call the office and speak to all the great employees we have and ask them to help solve whatever problem the member has is Duringamazing.”herfinal Board meeting, Holmes quoted Ecclesiastes 3:1, saying her season with CAEC might be coming to a close, but she would carry the lessons learned, the friendships forged and the memories made for the rest of her life. While she’ll miss gathering with her fellow Trustees for monthly meetings, as well as interacting with all the CAEC employees and her district members, she is confident that the co-op remains in good hands.

As a young adult, Holmes remembers being around the cooperative world, as her father served 12 years on the Board until his passing in 1981, and her mother finished out his term and was re-elected to the position until her death in 1992. During her mother’s tenure with the Board, Holmes had the opportunity to meet other board members, co-op employees and members, and it was during that time she fell head over heels for the co-op.

During her time on the Board, Holmes said what she enjoyed the most was interacting with the members and being able to help them get their problems addressed.

“Ms. Holmes has taken great pleasure in serving our membership and representing CAEC in many capacities, and her presence on our Board will be profoundly missed,” said Tom Stackhouse, CAEC President and CEO. “She understood and had a heart for the co-op; it was in her blood and in her family’s roots. Her quick wit and strong stance to always serve the members well is deeply engrained in what we do.”

Holmes retires from CAEC Board

Cybersecurity: Keeping you safer online

Recognize and report phishing attacks. Don’t take the bait when cyber criminals go phishing. The signs of a phishing attack can be subtle, so take the extra time to thoroughly inspect emails. Most phishing emails include offers that are too good to be true, an urgent or alarming tone, misspellings and poorly crafted language, ambiguous greetings, strange requests or an email address that doesn’t match the company it’s coming from. Most platforms like Outlook, Gmail and Mac Mail allow users to report phishing emails. If you suspect a phishing attempt, take an extra minute to report it.

Cyber criminals can attack on a multitude of levels, from large-scale attacks targeting corporations to smaller phishing attacks aimed to gain an individual’s personal information. When we hear about massive data breaches, it can feel overwhelming and lead us to think we’re powerless as individuals to stop cyber criminals. The truth is, we all have a part to play in cybersecurity, and there are several practical steps we can take to safeguard our devices and data. Here are four easy ways to boost your cybersecurity:

Enable multi-factor authentication. Also known as two-step verification, this adds a second step when logging into an account, greatly increasing the security of the account. This second step could include an extra PIN, answering an extra security question, a code received via email or a secure token. This additional step makes it twice as hard for cyber criminals to access your account. Not every account offers multi-factor authentication, but it’s becoming increasingly popular and should be utilized when available.

Use strong passwords and a password manager. Remember, passwords are the “keys” to your personal home online or business accounts. Your passwords should always be unique and complex. Instead of creating large passwords, think of using password “phrases.” Use song titles, song lyrics, book titles, phrases, etc. By using these and changing characters to numbers, special characters or uppercase, you can create an easy to remember yet complex pass phrase. Create pass phrases using at least 12 characters, never reuse passwords for multiple accounts and use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters. If you have a lot of accounts, consider using a password manager to store them easily and securely in one place.

Cyber criminals are here to stay, but when we all take a risk-based approach to our cyber behavior, we’re creating a safer internet for all.

Update software. It may seem obvious, but regularly updating software is one of the easiest ways to keep your personal information secure. Most companies provide automatic updates and will send reminders so you can easily install the update. If you’re not receiving automatic software updates, set a reminder to do so quarterly. Be aware that some cyber criminals will send fake updates; these typically appear as a pop-up window when visiting a website. Use good judgment and always think before you click.

In today’s digital world, cyber attacks are, unfortunately, nothing new. October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but good cyber standards should be practiced year-round.

In the true spirit of the co-op, the creation of Central Access is meeting the needs of many in our coverage area, and soon it will do so for many more. Concern for community always has and always will drive CAEC, and that statement rings true for Central Access as well.

Activation zones with aerial fiber are scheduled throughout the rest of this year and into the middle of 2023. By the end of 2023, we anticipate that 99 percent of our aerial customers (non-buried fiber lines) will be ready for service. We are actively working on the underground lines as well, but those will take more time due to the work required for their installations.

But the interest for Central Access doesn’t stop with CAEC’s coverage area. For those who currently reside right outside of the current Central Access footprint, we are in the process of making this reliable internet available. Central Access is also investigating funding options for these areas and anticipates presenting a plan in 2023.

The answer was “yes” and in August of 2019, CAEC’s wholly-owned Internet Service Provider (ISP), Central Access, hung its first fiber line and today we have more than 10,000 active customers with even more on the horizon as construction plans are completed.

“We listened then to our members who so desperately needed this service, and now we hear how life-changing it is to have fast, reliable internet in their homes,” said Tom Stackhouse, CAEC President and CEO. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but we are dedicated to bringing high-speed internet to our friends and neighbors.”

While work on the network and home installations continues at a record pace, there is still an estimated 22,000 homes eligible for service throughout CAEC’s coverage area that have yet to register.

The construction plan consisted of three main components: the initial core, grant zones and activation zones. Construction is underway in USDA grant zones with many of these estimated to have service by the end of 2022.

“With a 10-county electric service area, we had to have a plan for efficiently providing fiber service to all CAEC members who wish to have it,” said Chris Montgomery, Vice President of Central Access. “We knew we needed fiber connectivity for our 24 substations and six offices, but we also knew that a lot of our members needed it as well because they either live, or have businesses, in rural areas with no service.”

Putting members first is the driving force behind every decision co-ops make, so when the opportunity to invest in fast, reliable fiber internet arose, we polled our membership in 2018 to see if this was the path they wanted us to explore.

Co-op Spirit: The pursuit of Central Access

Virtual

Scan the code to watch the 2022 Meeting

“Much like the world around us, Annual Meeting has changed, and things looked a little bit different this year,” said Tom Stackhouse, CAEC President and CEO. “Along with being back in person, we offered a virtual option because we try to find every way we can to meet members where they are so they can participate and be involved in their cooperative.”

Those who came out to enjoy the in-person event had the opportunity to converse with co-op employees, discuss and check out EVs, listen to live music by the Sweet Young’uns, interact with co-op critters, engage in a magic show and enjoy hot dogs, beverages and ice cream.

After hosting virtual-only Annual Meetings for the past two years, we were elated to, once again, interact with members face to face at this year’s in-person event, hosted at our West Operations Center on August 12. The event was simultaneously streamed live to ensure every member had the opportunity to participate.

After the virtual and in-person activities, the business meeting was called to order. The results from the 3,659 ballots cast were announced during the meeting and determined the re-election of Trustees Mark S. Presnell Sr., District 2 – Wetumpka; Nicole Law, District 5 – Titus; Mark Gray, District 9 – Clanton; and Charles Byrd, At-Large – Deatsville.

Whether attendees were one of the 213 virtual or 309 in-person participants, each member received a $10 bill credit. Those who opted to attend virtually could watch informative sessions regarding the Co-op Connections Card, health and wellness screenings, our broadband subsidiary Central Access, Electric Vehicles (EVs), CAEC programs and rebates, the Lineman Scholarship Fund, energy efficiency tips and much more.

In person and virtually, Annual Meeting returns!

The addition of the virtual element in tandem with in-person proved a viable option for many and is a feature to look for again next year. Annual Meeting serves as an excellent opportunity for our Board members and employees to interact with you, our members, and show our thanks and appreciation for allowing us to serve you.

our

These are cotton fields and plants at various stages of growth. At full growth, white as snow. SUBMIT TED by

| Alabama Snapshots | Online: alabamaliving.coop | Mail: Attn: Snapshots, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124

Cotton fields close to home. by Brandi Carter, Ariton.

SUBMITTED

of our

Elba. Walter and Christine Brooks enjoyed walking out into the field to remember years gone by when they planted and picked cotton to support our family. Photo taken a couple years before Alzheimer’s disease took my mother’s life. SUBMITTED

Rice, Roanoke. Pops grandsonRoth)(JamesandJack at Southern Snow Farm. SUBMITTED by Cathy

Valley Head. RULES: Alabama Living will pay $10 for photos that best match our theme of the month. Photos may also be published on our website at alabamaliving.coop and on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Alabama Living is not responsible for lost or damaged photos. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to have photos returned.

Alabama

Two grandsons, Brooks Hixon and Hixon Jordan, who in one of cotton fields. SUBMITTED by Laura Hixon, Banks. Dale Roth, by Norma Hulgan,

Owen Sanders in the cotton field. SUBMITTED by Barbara Sanders,

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 9 December theme: “My Favorite Christmas Decoration” | Deadline: October 31

Banks. Submit to WIN $10!

are 27 days apart in age,

cotton

The 34th annual festival will be held Oct. 15-16 in Lott Park in Daphne. For more, visit thejubileefestival.com

The series celebration will take place intermittently through Nov. 17, with the premier daylong event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 5 on the banks of the Coosa River. The “Art Gone Wild” ex hibition will be displayed at The Kelly at 124 Company St. for the duration of the series. Visit thekelly.org for more information.

Wetumpka festival highlights wildlife, local arts

Clarke-Washington EMC’s Sarah Turner is Cooperative Communicator of the Year

Submit by email: whereville@alabamaliving.coop, or by mail: Whereville, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124.

In presenting the award, judge Donna Abernathy, a national ly recognized award-winning writer and editor from Tennes see, praised Turner for “her skill and knowledge as a graphic designer, digital communicator, videographer, writer/editor and event promoter – all in a day’s work for a cooperative communica tor.” She said she earned “this reviewer’s respect for a job well done in many categories, demonstrating a breadth of skill.”

The Kelly Fitzpatrick Memorial Gallery will partner with the Smoot Harris family and the city to present the festival, which will offer a series of educational classes, children’s activities, live music, art exhibitions, vendors, sporting dog demonstrations and presentations from such award-winning artisans as chef Chris Hastings, artist Sue Key, Dirk Walker, Jim Denney, woodcarver John David Foote and Wildrose Kennels.

10 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop Spotlight | October

Whereville, AL

“We are so proud of Sarah and her accomplishments as our communications specialist,” says Clarke-Washington EMC Gen eral Manager Steve Sheffield. “She has amazing design talent and just a warm, fun personality that makes her so successful in the communications field.” CWEMC is a member-owned electric co operative serving members in Clarke, Washington, Wilcox and Monroe counties.

Jubilee Festival of Arts wins Tourism event award

The Jubilee Festival of Arts, which features art, music and local cuisine along the oak-lined streets of Olde Town Daphne, was awarded the 2022 State of Alabama Tourism Event of the Year Award at the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Au burn.The festival features more than 140 local and regional artists. The festival also features the Jubilee Market for local food makers as well as entertainment, delicious food and Kids Art.

Do you like finding interesting or unusual landmarks? Con tribute a photo you took for an upcoming issue! Remember, all readers whose photos are chosen also win $25!

September’s answer: This structure, in Gilbertown in Choctaw County, was built in 1922 by Seventh Day Adventists, who later built a new church and sold this one to First United Pentecostals in 1969. The building was sold to Debra Cooper in 1997 and remains privately owned. (Photo and information courtesy of RuralSWAlabama.org; other info courtesy of Ronald Bradley Cooper.) The randomly drawn correct guess winner is Charlotte Stewart of Black Warrior EMC.

The award is named for the late Darryl Gates who was editor of Alabama Living magazine for 30 years before his death in 2012.

Downtown Wetumpka has already been in the spotlight thanks to HGTV’s “Home Town Takeover” show. Now, the city will wel come locals as well as visitors for the first Wetumpka Wildlife Arts Festival, with several activities scheduled for this fall.

Sarah Turner, communica tions specialist at Clarke-Wash ington EMC, was named the Darryl Gates Cooperative Com municator of the Year during the recent Alabama Rural Elec tric Association’s Communica tions Conference.

Sarah Turner

Turner has been the communications specialist at Clarke-Wash ington EMC since graduating from the University of West Ala bama in 2018. She has a bachelor’s degree in integrated marketing communication and is responsible for the co-op’s communica tions and public relations programs including print and social media. She also won awards for Best Wild Card for an entry titled “The Light,” and Best Video for a video she created celebrating linemen. The winning entries are posted on the co-op’s website at cwemc.com.

Identify and place this Alabama land mark and you could win $25! Winner is chosen at random from all correct entries. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified. Send your answer with your name, address and the name of your rural electric cooperative, if ap plicable. The winner and answer will be announced in the November issue.

We did it again. We hid last month’s dingbat so well that only 31 of our readers guessed the correct location! We admit it was a very hard one to see, but the goalposts were hiding on Page 38 on the side of the window air conditioner. Modie and Debo rah Smith of Joe Wheeler EMC said they searched through their magazine “too many times” and had almost given up before they went though it one more time and found it. Myrtle Waters of Rep ton, a member of Southern Pine EC, said she finally found it with the help of a magnifying glass, and at nearly 82 years old, she was proud of herself! We’re proud of you, too! Nathan Cunning ham of Millport asked us to keep making the searches challeng ing. “Hidden dingbats are hard to find and time-consuming. This project is best done with a buddy. Get that person to help you find the dingbat next month.” Good advice, Nathan!

your photo.We’ll draw

By mail: Find the Montgomery,POAlabamaDingbatLivingBox244014AL 36124

So grab a buddy and start looking for this drawing of a bat, just in time for Halloween fun. Congratulations to our randomly drawn winner, Joyce Oliver of Bridgeport, who will receive a prize package from Alabama One Credit Union. Remember, the ding bat won’t be in an ad and it won’t be on Pages 1-8. Good luck!

Loved August cover

Andrea H. Presnell of Central Alabama EC took Alabama Living on a trip to Cayo Costa State Park in Florida with her friend Skye Ellison.

Baldwin EMC members Lisa Downing of Summerdale and her husband traveled to Ocho Rios, Jamaica last year and took along their favorite magazine. She enjoyed reading while soaking up the sun!

group of friends traveled to Amelia Island in February and Alabama Living was their magazine of choice on the bus. Thanks to Keith Roling of Troy, a member of South Alabama EC, for submitting their photo.

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 11 October | Spotlight E-mail us at: letters@alabamaliving.coop or write us at: Letters to the editor P.O. Box Montgomery,244014AL 36124 Letters to the editor

and

month.

Best cover ever! I absolutely LOVE that photo! The colors, the composition, the expression of pure happiness....AWESOME!! I truly enjoyed the article on Romay Davis. What an inspira tion to both young and old. Thank you for that article.

We’ve enjoyed seeing photos from our readers on their travels with Alabama Living! Please send us a photo of you with a copy of the magazine on your travels to: mytravels@alabamaliving. coop. Be sure to include your name, hometown and electric co operative, the location of a for the $25 prize each

Roy and C.J. Patton took their magazine to Egypt where they visited the Pyramids of Giza. The Pattons are members of Baldwin

AEMC. large

By email: dingbat@alabamaliving.com

Wesley Murphy took Alabama Living to the Alabama State Beta Convention in Birmingham. He attended along with other students from Rehobeth Elementary. They earned top awards and were ready to compete at the National Beta Convention in Nashville. Wesley is a member of Wiregrass EC.

Robert and Debora Jackson took the May issue to Robert’s 50th Yale reunion in New Haven, CT the last week of May. The cover features Alabama’s state cake, the Lane cake, which is from their town of Clayton. They are members of the Pea River EC. Debora has painted the lane cake into an outdoor mural for the town.

winner

The Parks Family from Bon Secour traveled out west and made a stop at Four Corners Monument, where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all meet. Lucas, Camilla, and mom Lisa are pictured. Dad Nicholas took the picture. They are members of Baldwin EMC.

Sonja Eddy, Auburn

Take us along! Find the hidden dingbat!

Sponsored by

Alabama Living editor Lenore Vickrey created a binder of family recipes for her daughterin-law, Anna Bedsole Vickrey, using an online company.

hen my son got married in 2010, I gave my future daughter-in law a cookbook of several family recipes. I got a number of contributions, including pound cake and pineapple casserole from her grandmother, lasagna roll-ups and hol iday candy from her future aunts and cous ins, and peach cobbler from my mother’s recipe box, and then produced the book us ing an online source. The result was a hard back binder with fancy stock photos and the recipes neatly arranged on cardstock.

By Lenore Vickrey

PHOTO BY ROBIN RAWLS

Fast forward 12 years, and the options available for anyone to produce an heirloom family cookbook have exploded. While the company I used has since discontinued its online services, there are plenty more to choose from. You can make a cookbook as simple as typing up recipes yourself and taking those hard copies to a local printer, or uploading recipes to an online template, and including scans of old food-stained recipe cards (the mark of a favorite recipe!) and family photos to use throughout. A newer option is the e-book, easily accessible on a cell phone.

in Rawls, who lives in Montgomery and in Gantt in Covington County where she and her husband, Phil, are members of Coving ton Electric Cooperative. A Rawls family cookbook, Conecuh River Rats Can Cook, was printed in 2002, spearheaded by Joanne Rawls Mock, their cousin. The Rawls broth ers all lived in Gantt, and now their adult children have property near each other on Point A Lake.

Joanne used the BHG website to gather recipes, as family members entered their contributions online and sent photos to her. She then used the “cut and paste” method with the photos and had 15 to 20 cookbooks printed at an office supply store, in time for a family reunion in Gulf Shores that year. BHG later featured the cookbook in Potluck Magazine in 2003.

The cookbook project prompted Robin and other family members to capture the rec ipes that hadn’t been written down, she says. “Our parents cooked from knowledge,” she explains, “so it was important to keep them in the family. In the process, you remember the recipes that are meaningful, that link you to holidays as well as everyday events.”

familyPreserve recipes in a heirloompersonalizedcookbook

“It’s important to capture this kind of information,” says Rob

The Rawls cousins gather at Point A Lake in Covington County to prepare a family recipe from their family cookbook. From left, Richard Rawls, Jess Rawls, Joanne Rawls Mock and Phil Rawls.

12 OCTOBER 2022

Clockwise, from top, old family photos can enhance pages of an heirloom cookbook; an early photo of Alice Melva Owens Brassell (“Mimi”); cover of the cookbook; a vintage photo of “Mimi’s girls” from the book, daughter-in-law Denise Brassell and sisters Nancy Barnes, Maria Ashmore and Beth Joiner; and pages from inside the book featuring both the handwritten and the typed version of Mimi’s Peach Pie recipe.

Honoring a mother’s legacy

Maria Ashmore remembers her mother be ing well known for her delicious meals, “even cooking for my dad’s office and Thanksgiving and often cooking at church,” she says. Looking back through the cookbook brings back many memories of her childhood, shelling peas and butterbeans under the oak tree at the family farm house. “I can just visualize my mother in the kitchen making these delicious recipes.”

In 2015, Denise Brassell collaborated with her sisters-in-law, Beth Joiner, Nancy Barnes and Maria Ashmore, to publish a keep sake tribute cookbook, In the Kitchen with Mimi, to her motherin-law, Alice Melva Owens Brassell, affectionately called “Mimi” by her family. Mrs. Brassell grew up on a farm in rural Henry County close to Baker Hill, served by Pea River Electric Coop erative.“Itonly seemed fitting to honor Mimi’s legacy by compiling what we considered to be her most favorite recipes, in some cases our most favorite dishes she prepared, and anecdotes in some fash ion,” says Denise. She hand-typed each recipe for the cookbook, then sent them to Friends and Family Cookbook Publishers (the company has since stopped cre ating new cookbooks, according to its website), and later sent in family photos and original recipe cards to add a personal touch.

“We went through several edits, changing pic ture locations and captions over the course of many months before completion,” she says. “The result is a priceless family treasure.” Only 100 books were printed, as “it was mainly intended as a keepsake for family members and friends and as a memorial to Mimi. The cookbook epitomizes who she was while serving on this earth and who she will always be remembered as in our hearts.”

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 13

Family reunions and food go together

“The person making the cookbook is often a daughter,” she says, with ages ranging from 35 to 65. But recently an 89-year-old put to gether a cookbook, proving that even older adults are very capable of using the online software even if they were nervous at the outset.

“But when it comes down to it, people still like the printed book,” Christina says. YouTube tutorials offer help and design services are offered. The process is “very easy,” she adds.

“The whole point was to preserve family memories for the fam ily,” she says. “We may actually publish it!”

The Create My Cookbook company can incorporate original recipe cards in heirloom cookbooks, along with typed versions.

“The idea of the cookbook was conceived as a way to offer con nection to each other that we might share the gift of food and per petuate our legacy in a new and different way,” she wrote in the book’s introduction. Jackie treasures her copy, whose pages are lov ingly splattered with bits of ingredients used over the past 15 years.

PHOTO COURTESY CREATE COOKBOOKMY

Besides family reunions, the holidays are another favorite time for creating and giving family cookbooks, according to Christina Gibson, director of growth for Create My Cookbook (createmy cookbook.com), an Atlanta-based company which has preserved 5.5 million recipes for families since its founding in 2007.

“We’re in the compilation process,” she says. “I am so grateful my Mom can still explain certain recipes and the important in gredients which are local to my hometown Wiregrass area. I have driven 100 miles for the right cornmeal (from Pollard’s Mill in Ge neva County), and have tried three stores before finding chicken bags to make the chicken broth for dressing.”

Her favorite is likely “Mama’s Sunday Biscuits,” from her moth er-in-law Marybelle P. Trimble, now 100 years old. “Every Sunday morning she made those biscuits,” Jackie remembers, recalling watching her assemble the flour, shortening, sugar and milk and cutting the dough. The book has some humorous additions from young family members: Joseph Trimble II contributed his “Super Dooper Milkshake” and his younger brother, Joshua Calvin Trible, offered his “Dagwood Sandwich” of bread, bologna, lettuce, ketch up, mayo, tomatoes and mustard.

Marcia Weber and her mother, Lucia Driggers, are working on compiling recipes for a family cookbook.

Marcia Weber of Wetumpka is working on a family cookbook with her 98-year-old mother, Lucia Driggers, who published a book on the settlers of Wicksburg in the Wiregrass area after Marcia’s father, longtime managing editor and publisher of The Dothan Eagle, passed away. That project was an opportunity for her to “get her grieving worked out,” Marcia says, but then she needed another project. Thus the idea for a family cookbook was born.

Family reunions are often the impetus for creating heirloom family cookbooks like the Conecuh River Rats book. The Pryor Family Cookbook, created in 2007 for a family reunion in Chica go, is a simple spiral-bound compilation of recipes from young and old. Alyse Studivant Williams, now a clinical psychologist in Chicago and a niece of Jackie and Joseph Trimble of Montgomery, assembled the book as part of the reunion fun.

Jackie Trimble holds a copy of a cookbook, published in 2007 for a family reunion, which she has used for the past 15 years. PHOTO BY LENORE VICKREY

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A healing process

Pulling together these “old-timey country cooking” recipes from her mother’s memory has been rewarding for both of them, she says. “We’ve gotten about 40 recipes so far,” including “Mom’s Holiday Dressing,” green rice (made with green onion, celery and green pepper), chicken pot pie, her dad’s chili and her grand mother’s pecan pie.

While the process can evoke some sadness for our family’s cooks who are no longer alive, the gathering and reading through the loved one’s recipes actually can be healing, Christina says. “Grandma has recently passed and (the cookbook) is a way to cel ebrate the grandmother and all the memories she created for her family in the kitchen. It’s a way to relive those moments, to pre serve the family memory, the culture and the heritage for future generations.”Notsurprisingly, the most common title for a family cookbook is simply, “Mom.” Most cookbooks average between 30 and 60 pages, and can be published with a hard cover, in a binder (so pages can be added) or as an e-book accessible on a cellphone.

My paternal grandmother, Cecil Kelso, only had one cookbook – a 1950 Duluth’s Favorite Recipes. When I got the cook book, I was surprised to find that several of “her” recipes, which she had passed on to us, were from this cookbook. I have spent hours looking at the book; few of the reci pes use cans of soup, but many use canned vegetables in a city where there’s often snow for nine months of a year. Kolachy, Kringle, Patica, Fattigmond – recipes from a bygone era of immigrant grandmothers showing the ethnic diversity of this Minnesota city at the head of the lakes. I am honored to be the granddaughter that got “the” cookbook.

I actually have two favorite cookbooks, and both were published by Auburn Uni versity in the 1960s. My grandmother pur chased them and they were passed down to me. One is a cookbook, the other is a canning book and I have used both. I used the cookbook when I was a child. I learned how to make “standard” butter cookies

Michele and Gary St. Laurent, Wetumpka, Ala.: Our eachwhatnotandhusband1980,togetherChristmasfirstinmyIdidknowtogetother. So,weheadedtothemallonChristmasEve.Oneof

When I was a mailman in Texas, I passed a yard sale and saw a 10-cent French pa perback cookbook. Everything you can imagine is in there! Quiche, Hollandaise sauce, pate and my favorite, beef in red wine

Meme brought me out my first broiled flounder supper. I was just barely start ing grade school. She explained how this young ‘man’ with the curly hair and raw sunburned nose could eat this fish one side at a time and never worry about eat ing a bone. I cannot eat broiled flounder out to this day. It just doesn’t measure up to Charley’s and Meme’s!

16 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop

Readers share their favorite cookbooks

Jeffrey M. Jones, Langston, Ala.:

Even homespun, simple cookbooks – like those sold as fundraisers by Junior Leagues and women’s church groups – hold a special place for many home cooks. What the recipes may lack in sophistication is more than made up for in the sense of community and tradition that graces the pages.

Whenever anyone talks cookbooks, and we have all the usual special family ones, there is one that stands out. It’s not just a cook book (and a very good one) – it is a time capsule of life on the Gulf coast of Alabama. For those of us who were so fortunate to experience this lifestyle this cookbook takes us back to a time not re ally gone with the wind but still alive in our hearts and minds. Food, Fun, and Fa ble from Meme’s on Bon Secour River is a must-read. After that I would say find the old timers from the area, (because) every one knows Meme’s.

the things I picked out for myself was this Betty Crocker Cookbook. I taught myself how to cook from this book. I will always keep it. I still use it but have memorized the ones I use most.

For some, a cookbook received as a gift is enough to make it a keepsake. Others are treasured heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next.

Bill Dunbar, Dixie EC and Baldwin EMC:

We asked readers to share their favorites with us. See if you recognize any of them! — Allison Law

Diane Meyer, Cullman EC:

(we called them sugar cookies) from this book as well as a standard butter cake.

Thesauce.book’s 96 pages are not connect ed in any way anymore, but I still use it. I think I’ll make some vichyssoise tonight –all from (a) 10-cent (book).

These days we have shelves of cookbooks and wonder if we should even keep them since you can find almost any recipe you need on line. Just as there is something comfort ing about holding a real book, so it is with a cookbook. You can mark the pages, add notes and dream of the recipes you will try.

My favorite thing about the cookbooks is that my grandmother hand wrote extra recipes in any open space on the pages. I cherish seeing her handwriting and her comments on the recipes. I am now in the process of teaching my granddaughter to cook using different cookbooks and we are making new memories!

Linda Kelso, Joe Wheeler EMC:

PHOTO COURTESY

. This special keep sake was pub lished as part of our Society’s 40th anniversary celebra tion in Butler2004.County Historical Society mem

Nicole Law, Central Alabama EC: This trea sured cook book be longed to ofcludesple.Powellmother,toell,MoonMandymother,great-grandmyPowandlatermygrandLuSamItinmanytheirown hand-written recipes between the worn pages, and when I prepare one of these recipes, it is a little like walking in their shoes. Of course, Mandy did not have the luxury of electricity in her kitchen when she first used this cookbook! I love that their traditions continue to bring my fam ily special treats and enjoyment.

When I need a re minder of how much of a particular ingredient goes in a recipe, I call Mama. Each time, she tells me to “hold on while she checks.” On her end of the line, she stands at the kitchen counter and flips the pages of her cookbook un til she finds the reci pe and then responds. She probably knows most ingredients and measure ments by heart but likes to confirm. I know both of my sisters make similar calls to Mama while cooking.

CREATE MY COOKBOOK

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 17

Examples of finished heirloom cookbooks can include hardback, spiral-bound or binder versions.

Ashley TallapoosaSmith,River EC:

Not only is her cookbook a collec tion of recipes, Mama’s cookbook holds our family history, connecting the years through the foods we enjoy. My favor ite cookbook belongs to my Mama, Ann Dudley Parkman.

Barbara Perdue Middleton, Pioneer EC: My favor ite cookbook is A Taste of Butler Coun ty, SocietytyButleripesFamilyTreasuredAlabama:RecofTheCounHistorical

bers contributed 250 pages of beloved recipes of yesterday and today, along with recollections and treasured family pho tographs. And, since it is a Butler Coun ty cookbook, we have a special Crawfish Pie to go along with Jambalaya and File’ Gumbo in honor of our native son, Hank Williams Sr. It is truly a book to read and enjoy!

“We may be the only place in the world to evacuate an entire zoo, three times,” says executive direc tor, Joel M. Hamilton. During hurricanes and the aftermath, ani mals took refuge in area backyards, fields, and employees’ homes.

18 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop

“Hurricane Ivan (Sept. 16, 2004) was the game changer,” the zoo’s director adds. “It was time to move.”

Gulf Coast Zoo comes roaring back

BURNETTThe

By Emmett Burnett

PHOTO BY EMMETT BURNETT

“It was a fantastic day, lots of ex citement!” recalls Hamilton about the zoo’s new beginning that lasted just seven days before it was shut down by COVID-19.Downbut not out, the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo reopened again on May 23, 2020. With about 25 acres and more coming, over 199 species, 31 sub-spe cies, and 8 endangered species, the Little Zoo that Could is the Little Zoo that Grew.

“The Little Zoo that Could,” so named by Animal Planet, which pro duced a 2006 TV series chronicling the facility’s recovery from three bru tal hurricanes, is a story in itself. Like some of its occupants, the zoo was once an endangered species.

The zoo, which began in 1989, moved inland six miles in 2018 for a bigger, better facility, with more animals, extra features, and better protection against storms. The grand opening was March 11, 2020.

She backs up to the side of her en closure. Through the fence, the jungle feline offers her tail, allowing health care providers to draw blood from it in a syringe. Yet another story of many at Gulf Shores’ Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

PHOTO BY EMMETT

Ashlyn Kenwright works with Katrina, a black leopard.

It closed March 18, 2020.

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo’s beautiful grounds.

atrina is due for an annual medical checkup requiring a blood sample. As she receives the shot, her demeanor is calm, which is good – because Katrina is a black leopard.

“It’s still one big loop, but bigger,” says the site’s public relations

“Some visitors think our reptiles do not take a lot of upkeep be cause reptiles can go days without eating a bite,” Hamilton says. “But environment maintenance is critical. Most reptiles here bask

He says that Gulf Shores is becoming an all-in-one destination. People come for great beaches but while here, they look for other things to do. “We are one of those places.”

The support staff and behind the scenes work is enormous. De partments here, typical of any other business, include accounting, marketing, social media, food services, a retail gift shop, and relatively new top-notch restaurant. “We are also in the hospitality business,” Hamilton says, “and have a great town for it.”

Cleaning animal environments is daily, sometimes hourly, de pending on the species. Obviously one does not walk into a lion’s den and announce, “housekeeping!” Cleaning the homes of aggressive animals, such as giant cats with giant fangs, is done by luring the animal into a side room adjacent to their enclosures. For many, these side rooms also serve as their hurricane shelters.

under ultraviolet light in a room with a constant 78 to 80 degrees.” Deviation beyond those temperatures may result in the animal’s death.Toensure those needs are met and to discuss other issues, the morning staff meets daily. Animal concerns, maintenance, con struction, events scheduled, and other topics are reviewed. “Our people are trained to know their animals,” Hamilton continues. “Any abnormalities are reported at meetings, and to our veterinar ians who immediately take action.”

“The exhibits have a closeness feel. It is an intimate experience,” Hamilton adds, while petting a giraffe’s head. “Our staff uses the same public pathways visitors use. We want workers accessible to guests and their questions.”

How do zoos obtain animals? On line, sort of. Hamilton says, “We are in a network of zoos and constantly see what is out there. If we want a particu lar species, we inquire, and sometimes trade an animal we have for one anoth er zoo has.” Most animals in zoos today are raised in captivity, not caught from theGulfwild.Shores’ zoo occasionally accepts donations from people who thought they could raise exotic animals as pets. They can’t. The number one donated animal at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo?

Meanwhile, Katrina the black leopard’s check-up was fine. She’s good to go, just like the Little Zoo that Could, and did.

social media manager Marcale Sisk, as we stroll the boardwalk on a park tour. “Over there is Boodah,” she says, pointing at a massive American black bear, bigger and stronger than you are. “He is 18 years old. When we got him he was no bigger than a football.”

Working at a zoo looks fun, and it is, but at a price. “Running a zoo is a business and an expensive one,” the director says, about custody of creatures on a $5.3 million budget. “We spend $5,000 a week just on animal care and welfare.”

Parrots.With a day done, some animals bed for the night. Others are just getting started. For employees it is another day of what many animal lovers consider a dream job.

Two kitchens prepare animal meals. For the big cats, the menu is meat, lots of it. A tiger can eat 6 to 8 pounds of chicken and red meat a day. Other inhabitants do not consume as much but require specialized care. It varies by species.

20 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop

Brittany Garlipp with Bruce Quillis, an African crested porcupine and one of the popular animals on the Zoo’s social media.

Caring for all kinds of animals

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is located on 20499 Oak Road East, Gulf Shores. More information is available at alabamagulfcoastzoo.com.

PHOTO COURTESY GULF COAST ZOO

“We learn to offer our shoulder for a shot. Cats learn to offer their tails. It makes diagnostics easier on humans and felines and is safer than knocking a big cat down with anesthesia.”

In 2021, 234,000 guests walked through the zoo’s gates. “Considering the uncertainty of COVID during that time, that was a good year,” Hamilton says. “We are looking for better num bers in 2022.”

Around 7 a.m., other staffers make their first rounds. With expe rience, zookeepers learn personalities. Just as no two humans are exactly alike, so are no two animals. “They recognize their people,” Hamilton says. “Baboons call for their keepers as soon as the hu mans are in sight. Many of our animals distinguish the difference between an employee’s uniform and the guests’ clothes.”

Zoo employee Paula White has lived in Gulf Shores since child hood. She remembers the zoo’s early days. “It is rewarding to see the zoo come full circle, to see it develop, to be enjoyed by future generations,” she says. “It is nice to see the legacy continue.”

Like most employees here, Marcale refers to the animals by name. In addition to Boodah and previously mentioned Katrina, we greet a wolf trio, Jake, Luna and Jet; one of the giraffe couple, Benjamin; a Eurasian lynx dubbed Casanova; and a pig named –wait for it – Kevin Bacon.

Behind the scenes

“There’s never a dull moment here,” Sisk says with a smile from her administrative office. Reflecting on working at a zoo, she adds, “A great thing about this job is when having a bad day, I can walk out here and talk to a lemur or sloth and life is good again.”

Which brings us back to Katrina the black leopard, a gift from Jack Hanna, TV host of “Jack Hanna’s Animals Adventures.” Why would a wild animal willingly submit to a shot?

“We train our large cats to work with us,” Hamilton says. “Ini tially they are nervous about being stuck by a needle. But like hu mans, they get used to it.

The zoo’s development director, Pau la White, agrees. “A lot of people do not realize we are a non-profit. I am thankful for the generosity of people. We could not build this without them and their generous contributions. We depend on visitors coming through the gates, donations, and the kindness of guests.”Like many of the zoo’s inhabitants, much of the staff is nocturnal. Security personnel patrol the grounds, checking on animals, and making sure all is well, 24/7.

The midday meal continues with sandwiches like hot-sauced chicken with house-made pickles and hefty burgers anchored by patties of 100-percent certified Angus beef ground in-house daily.

And proximity to the Gulf means offers of practically still-swim ming fish dishes at night. “At dinner, there are three to four fresh fish specials. I get fish from the Fairhope Fish House, and usually, what I get was caught that morning,” he says. He also keeps a few Alabama-farmed oysters available. “I love the boutique, farmed oysters, like those from Murder Point and Point aux Pin.”

By Jennifer Kornegay

aphne, Alabama, sometimes takes a backseat to its flashier neighbor, Mobile, but while this quaint community is qui eter, less big-city excitement doesn’t equal boring, especial ly when it comes to eating. If you know where to look, you’ll find Daphne’s dining scene is diverse and delicious.

Variety of cuisine influences set Southwood Kitchen apart

Case in point: Southwood Kitchen. Don’t let its strip-mall loca tion fool you. The exterior is styled with the welcoming look of a house. A large carved-wooden sign announces its name. And in side, there’s plenty of palate-pleasing action in an intimate atmo sphere, thanks to owner and executive chef Jeremiah Matthews’ ability to blend his formal culinary training, interest in interna tional foods and an appreciation for the flavors of his home.

Matthews moved to the area in 1983 and left to attend the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, then went to college in upstate New York before a stint cooking out West. Then, he came back to south Alabama. While he was the chef at lauded Magnolia Springs’ eatery Jesse’s, an opportunity to open his own restaurant popped up and was too good to not to pursue. “I’d spent enough time working for others and felt like it was time to do it for myself,” he says.

In August 2017, he opened Southwood Kitchen. The spot has a neighborhood bistro vibe, thanks to friendly, chatty servers, a re laxed ambiance and the regulars occupying bars stools and tables. “We’ve got people who come in and eat here three and sometimes even four times a week,” Matthews says.

Matthews is picky about the quality of what comes into his kitchen and goes out on diners’ plates, but he’s also always striving to find new and tasty ways to approach foods. “Really, whatever I can get my hands on, I try to make something nice out of it,” he says. “It’s all about pleasing our customers. When people are done eating here, I just hope they leave feeling like they can’t wait to come back.”

“I love a good burger myself, but our salads have big fans too,” Matthews says. The fresh and filling salad options share a common leaf. “All my lettuces are grown locally and hydroponically,” he says, “and our diners love the difference you can taste from that.” A standout is the black and blue beef tender salad with bite-sized bits of grilled steak, pickled okra, tomatoes, bacon and crumbled gorgonzola topping a blend of romaine, iceberg and spinach.



ture. Elk tenderloin is embellished with green-garlic chimichurri, black garlic lacquer and shitake-spinach risotto. A Korean barbe cue-style dish with ginger-scallion noodle stir fry and soy caramel is a favorite. But standards like shrimp and grits and beef filet, which Matthews calls “fail-safes,” are almost always available.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTHWOOD KITCHEN

Southwood Kitchen 1203 U.S. Highway 98, Suite 3D Daphne, Hours:southwoodkitchen.com251-626-6676ALLunch,11a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday dinner, 5 p.m.- 9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday Daphnel

JENNIFER KORNEGAY Southwood Kitchen’s exterior has the welcoming look of a home, with its large carved-wooden sign, in the small town of Daphne.PHOTOBY JENNIFER KORNEGAY

Clockwise from bottom left: Executive chef Jeremiah Matthews trained in Paris and New York before coming back to Alabama and opening his own restaurant.

22 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop | Worth the drive |

They’re drawn to a menu whose selections lean toward fine din ing but are devoid of any pretense and defy any rigid classification. While a close look reveals Matthews’ classical French background in technique and some ingredients – duck-fat whipped potatoes, braised items with jus reductions – there’s plenty of Alabama too, like a lunch starter featuring a generous dollop of creamy, sharp pimento cheese waiting to be scooped up not by regular ole crack ers, but crunchy, just-fried pork rinds still crackling from the hot oil.

The black and blue beef tender salad with bite-sized bits of grilled steak, pickled okra, tomatoes, bacon and crumbled gorgonzola.PHOTOBY

PHOTO BY JENNIFER KORNEGAY

At night, dinner brings a variety of options, some with inter national influences that invite your tastebuds to take an adven

“I like a lot of different foods, so I took a little from everywhere I’ve worked and traveled and all my training to create the menu,” he says. This interest in a wide variety of cuisines keeps the menu changing, as does his commitment to cooking with the seasons and using locally sourced ingredients. “A lot of my veggies come from the same farm where I get lettuces. Often the eggs we use come from my own farm,” Matthews says.

An appetizer of sharp pimento cheese on crunchy, just-fried pork rinds is just one of the many dishes that are Alabama-inspired with an unusual twist.

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 23

Hataway went on to assist Howell and Jenkins in a study using the Santa Rosa wolf spider, a small white spider that lives on beach dunes, as an indicator species to measure pre- and post-hurricane dune health along the Gulf Coast. After spend ing time with spiders, Hataway became fascinated — dare we say enchanted — by these amazing arthropods and has con tinued to study wolf spiders as harbingers of other environmental changes such as wildfires and beach development.

In addition, as spiders eat insects (and sometimes larger prey like worms, snails, frogs and lizards), they help control pest populations, which also benefits human kind. Some, such as granddaddy long legs (also known as “harvestmen,” which aren’t true spiders but are in the arachnid fam ily) are used as biological control agents to control aphids and other crop borers in farm fields and gardens.

“Spiders are predators that (primarily) eat insects but they are also prey for birds

y house is already festooned for Halloween thanks to a large, industrious and talented crew of eight-legged decorators, and judging from social media posts, it appears similar crews have been at work everywhere.

These decorators are of course the spi ders — mostly the orb weaver varieties — that we’ve been running into (literally) in our yards and gardens ever since sum mer and which tend to become even more noticeable in the fall as they mate and lay eggs or prepare to overwinter as pregnant females.Theprevalence

and bats,” Hataway says, which makes them integral to our food web. “In the ma jor food systems of Alabama, they sit right in the middle of everything.”

To learn more about spiders, Hataway suggests using the iNaturalist app, where you can also become a “citizen scientist” by reporting spider sightings. Or check out the al.com article “Spiders of Ala bama: 58 Spiders You Should Know.”

Spidermagic:Findingthespectacularinthespooky

Katie Jackson is a freelance

• Harvest herbs and late-season vegetables and fruits.

• Sow seed for a cover crops.

24 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop | Gardens |

• Keep bird feeders and baths clean and full for fall migration.

All true spiders do produce and use venom, but few pose a significant threat so there’s no need to get rid of them. As with snakes, Hataway’s advice is “Don’t touch them if you don’t have to.” Instead, ap preciate them from afar for all their many attributes and, as Hataway says, especially for “what’s most important — spiders are part of the greater creation.”

• Look for fall plant sales.

Superstition aside, there is no doubt that the fear of spiders is real; in fact, arachnophobia is one of the most com mon animal phobias in the world. There’s some speculation that this is a genetic or pre-programmed human trait, though studies have also shown that it’s their bul bous abdomens, hairy coverings and es pecially their long legs and erratic move ments that elicit the greatest “eek” factor.

Still, there is little to fear and much to appreciate about spiders, says Drew Hat away, an associate professor of biological and environmental sciences at Samford University in Birmingham. Hataway, who wasn’t born a spider fan, fell under their charms as an undergraduate student when he helped former Samford biology professors W. Mike Howell and the late Ronald Jenkins take photographs for their 2004 book, “Spiders of the Eastern United States: A Photographic Guide.”

writer and editor based in Opelika, Alabama. Contact her katielamarjackson@gmail.com.at

• Plant shrubs, trees, wildflower seed, spring bulbs.

• Divide perennials.

According to Hataway, spiders are di verse, fascinating and abundant in Ala bama. With some 95 species indigenous to the state, “You’re never more than eight feet away from a spider (pun intended),” Hataway says, but they are here to help. They manufacture stronger-than-steel silk, which in some species creates those amazing and gorgeous webs and also has medicinal applications and was even used to make a spooky-cool brand of Nike shoes, and spiders are also incredible en gineers. Just look at a few webs for proof.

of webs may be one reason spiders are closely associated with Halloween, but their seasonal ill repute is no doubt compounded by age-old su perstitions portraying them as the wicked consorts of witches and bearers of bad omens. However, some superstitions cast spiders as harbingers of good luck and wealth, and one medieval-era supersti tion even asserts that seeing a spider on Halloween means the spirit of a deceased loved one is looking out for you.

But it’s their role in our ecosystems that make them especially special.

OCTOBER TIPS

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 25

Of Mules and Mud: The Story of Ala bama Folk Potter, Jerry Brown, by Jerry Brown, edited by Joey Brackner, The Uni versity of Alabama Press, $22.95 (Alabama history/folklore) Folklorist Joey Brackner met famed folk artist and traditional stoneware pottery maker Jerry Brown, who was from Hamilton, Alabama, in 1983, and the two became friends who collaborated on a variety of documentary and educational projects. A year before Brown’s death, Brackner sat down with him to record his life story; the result is this book. An annual festival in northwest Alabama honors Brown’s memory.

Lost Towns of Central Alabama, by Peggy Jackson Walls, Arcadia Publishing and the History Press, $21.99 (Alabama history) Settlers came to central Alabama in the early 1800s with big dreams. Miners panned the streams and combed the hill sides hoping to strike it rich. Demand for cotton led to the establishment of multiple mills and mill villages built for the work ers. But when such booms went bust, they left ghost towns in their wake. The author walks the empty streets of these once lively towns to revive the stories of the people who built them and lived in them.

In this periodic feature, we highlight books either about Alabama people or events, or written by Alabama authors. Summaries are not reviews or endorsements. We also occasionally highlight book-related events. Email submissions to bookshelf@alabamaliving.coop. Due to the volume of submissions, we are unable to mention all the books we receive.

Alabama Baby: A Baby’s Book of Firsts from the Yellowhammer State, written and illustrated by Allison Dugas Behan, Pelican Publishing, $24.95 (family and relationships) Keep track of a baby’s es sential Alabama firsts in this unique baby book. Capture his or her first experiences with food, including fried chicken and an Alabama-must-have – banana pudding! Colorful pages provide guided journ aling of the baby’s first football game, visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and more. Includes baby shower sign-in pages.

Dear Denise: Letters to the Sister I Never Knew, by Lisa McNair, The Uni versity of Alabama Press, $19.95 (family memoir) This book takes the form of 40 letters from the author to her sister, one of the four little girls who died in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. McNair apprises her sister of all that has come to pass since her death, both on the intimate level of their family and on the large scale of the struggle for racial equality. The letters are accompanied by 29 black-and-white pho tographs, most from the McNair family collection and many taken by their father.

The Southernization of America: A Story of Democracy in the Balance, by Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker, NewSouth Books, $25.95 (history) The award-winning authors present a series of essays considering the role of the South in shaping America’s political and cultur al landscape. They examine the morphing of the Southern strategy of Nixon and Reagan into the Republican Party of today. They also find hope in the South, that a legacy rooted in the civil rights years might ultimately lead the nation on the path to redemption.

Rock Killough’s Front Porch Stories, by Rock Killough, God Manifest Pub lishing, $21.99 (short stories) Born and raised outside of Greenville, Alabama, Killough is an accomplished songwriter who’s written songs recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys and Randy Travis, among many others. After retiring to the porch of his country cabin near Guntersville, Killough began to reflect on life and music, and wrote down his musings; he would later publish them on social media, which earned him a following. One of his followers suggested he publish his stories, and the result is this book.

Alabama Bookshelf

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 27 For More Information Visit The Kelly.Org or Call W E T U M P K A Wildlife Arts Festival Sporting Dog Demonstrations featuring Wildrose Kennels Cooking Demonstrations with Premier Chef Chris Hastings Alabama Wildlife Federation - Live Animal Presentations Carving Demonstration with Wildlife Artist John David ArtisansLiveFooteMusicand Crafters Children’s Activities Food Vendors Plein Air Artists A Series of Educational Classes, Art Exhibits, Vendors and Expert Demonstrations, such NOVEMBER 5TH 10AM - 4PM Historic Downtown Wetumpka NOVEMBER 5TH • 10AM - 4PM Historic Downtown Wetumpka A Series of Educational Classes, Art Exhibits, Vendors and Expert Demonstrations, such as: • Sporting Dog Demonstrations featuring Wildrose Kennels • Cooking Demonstrations with Premier Chef Chris Hastings • Alabama Wildlife Federation - Live Animal Presentations • Carving Demonstration with Wildlife Artist John David Foote • Live Music • Artisans and Crafters • Children’s Activities • Food Vendors • Plein Air Artists

in wages

Be sure to sign up for monthly SSI wage reporting emails or text reminders, so you never forget.

Why it’s important to report life changes when you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

For a complete list of reporting responsibilities for all our pro grams, please read our publication, What You Need to Know

• Changing your address or persons moving in or out of the household;

Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached by email at kylle.mckinney@ssa.gov. crossword

id you know that certain life changes can affect your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments? Sometimes your circumstances may change after you apply for or begin to receive SSI. When that happens, it’s important for you to tell us about these changes. This will ensure that you receive the benefits to which you’re eligible.

• Changes in resources, including money in financial ac counts and buying or selling extra vehicles, stocks, invest ments, or property.

• Have a penalty deducted from your SSI payment; or

• Having more than $2,000 if you are single or $3,000 if you are married in resources that you can cash in, sell, or use to pay for food and shelter; and

by Myles Mellor

28 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop Across 1 Like a haunted house 4 One who casts spells 7 Detective Chief Inspector, for short 8 Entomb 10 Loud utterances of horror, perhaps 11 Put down, in slang 12 Former 13 Halloween automaton 15 Backyard pond fish 16 Dark area 17 Maple, for one 19 Jack o’ Lantern, when carved 22 Scary 25 Angry 26 Withered old witch 27 Gets close to 29 Kid 30 Not good/not bad, 2 words 31 Scatter Insects often found all over the place at Halloween 2 Responsibility 3 Barbie’s boy doll 4 Well-known witch description 5 Halloween greeting, 3 words 6 Unfriendly 7 Spanish for devil 9 Do away with 14 Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ ___ Prayer”, 2 words 16 Bats and cats are often seen as these in Halloween decorations 18 Spirit-raising event 19 Hocus ___ (magic trick) 20 Maintain 21 When bats fly and vampires hunt 23 French for summer 24 Toward sunrise 28 Go bad SOCIAL SECURITY

• Free SSA Mobile Wage Reporting app for smartphones.



• Changes in income, wages, or self-employment income;

• Starting, stopping, or changing jobs;

Report changes in a timely manner

Here are some common changes you must report if you have applied for or receive SSI:

When You Get Supplemental Security Income at ssa.gov/pubs/ HowEN-05-11011.pdftoreportchanges

• Lose SSI for not reporting information that we use to deter mine whether you are still eligible for SSI.

You can conveniently report your wages using our:

Other options include speaking with a representative by calling toll free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visiting or writing your local Social Security Office.

• Receive more than you should and have to pay it back;

Securing your today and tomorrow starts with being informed. Please share this information with your friends and family—and post it on social media.

• Online Wage Reporting Tool using your personal my So cial Security account. If you don’t have an account, create one today at ssa.gov/myaccount

• Changes in marital status (including any same-sex relation ships);

You must report a change within 10 days after the month it happens. You should report a change even if you’re late. Failure to report timely may cause you to:

• Receive less than you should and take longer to receive the correct amount;

Answers on Page 41 October

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 29

6-8

event showcases Main Street merchants and restaurants, handcrafted gifts, décor, art, festival food and more. Enterprisealabama.com

Sylacauga Marble Valley’s ninth annual open house and yard sale. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. 2373 Coosa County Road 5 (Marble Valley Road.) Daily drawing (one ticket per person); food will be available. All yard sale and event drawing proceeds go to the Marble Valley Fire Department. Search for the event’s page on Facebook.

Troy Pioneer Days, Pioneer Museum of Alabama. Craftsmen will demonstrate rope making, woodworking, spinning, jewelry making, Dutch oven cooking and more. $12, with museum members and children under 5 free. Pioneer-museum.org

8 Alexander City Oktoberfest, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex, 1685 Arena Road. Kid-friendly event with kids’ activities, live music, lots of vendors, food and more. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Search for the event’s page on Facebook.

6-7

15-16

Boaz October Harvest Festival in historic downtown. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 225 arts and crafts booths, food court, kids’ area with free inflatables, antique car show, festival pageant, daily entertainment, Moon Pie and RC Cola contests. New this year is an antique tractor and engine show. 256-593-8154 or search for the event’s page on Facebook.

15 Enterprise Boll Weevil Fall Festival, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown near the Boll Weevil monument. This free outdoor

Eclectic 29th annual Alabama Cotton Festival, along Main Street, First Avenue and in the pecan orchard. More than 150 food and craft vendors, dog show, classic car show, art and photo contest and a free kids’ zone featuring inflatables, carnival games, face painting, the “chicken run” and more. TownOfEclectic.com

October | Around Alabama To place an event, e-mail events@alabamaliving.coop. or visit www.alabamaliving.coop. You can also mail to Events Calendar, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124; Each submission must include a contact name and phone number. Deadline is two months prior to issue date. We regret that we cannot publish every event due to space limitations. Like Alabama Living on facebook Follow Alabama Living on Twitter @Alabama_Living

6-8

Athens 55th annual Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention, on the campus of Athens State University. Bring the family and enjoy a uniquely American musical and cultural experience. Tickets are $17-$25. Tvotfc.org

Waverly Fall Boogie No. 10 at Standard Deluxe. This festival of music, art, food and Southern culture features live music on the outdoor stage, including Mike and the Moonpies and Vandoliers. Gates open at noon; bring chairs and blankets. StandardDeluxe.com

Gulf Shores 49th annual National Shrimp Festival. Concerts on two stages at Gulf Place all four days, plus shrimp any way you want it and a variety of seafood and non-seafood favorites. Arts and crafts vendors, sandcastle contest and 5K and 10K run. Myshrimpfest.com

Hartselle 2022 Alabama Gourd Show presented by the Alabama Gourd Society, Sparkman Civic Center, 406 Nance Ford Road SW. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. Kids’ patch, demonstrations, ribbon competition area, vendors selling gourds of all kinds and classes available. 256-347-9480 or alabamagourdsociety.org

22 Montgomery Oktoberfest Festival, Messiah Lutheran Church, 6670 Vaughn Road. Live music, German and American food, pet adoptions, used book sale, treasure room, beer garden, arts and crafts, community marketplace, children’s play area, raffles and more. 2 to 6 p.m.; free admission. Search for the event’s page on Facebook.

Clanton Fall for the Arts, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center, 1850 Lay Dam Road. Vendors will sell handmade items and other treasures. Food, fun, gifts, appraisals (trash or treasure) and silent auction. Free indoor event. Chiltoncountyartscouncil.com or 205-245-9441.

6-9

15 Gantt Fall Fest 7, Pier 7 Road, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free family-friendly community event with live music, car shows, arts and crafts vendors, food, kids’ activities including BIMO the Magician and bouncy house, horse and buggy rides, community awareness programs and more. 334-508-2797.

8-9

14-15

7-8

Dothan Fall Farm Day at Landmark Park, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sponsored by the National Peanut Festival. See how peanuts were harvested in the Wiregrass nearly 100 years ago. Cane grinding, syrup making, butter churning, soap making and other traditional farm activities. Music, antique tractors, wagon rides and quilt display. $8 adults, $6 seniors and military, $4 for kids, free for park members and children 2 and under. Landmarkparkdothan.com

Cullman Peinhardt Living History Farm Day, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn what farm life was like in the 1930s and 1940s in north Alabama. Hands-on activities as well as pumpkins, cotton, sweet potatoes, bluebird houses, apple pigs, wooden pegs, crosscut saw rounds and more. $10 per person; ages 2 and under free. 1711 Talley Ho St. peinhardtfarm.com

Eufaula second annual Eufaulafest, formerly the Indian Summer Festival, in the Seth Lore Historic District. Artists, designers, craftsmen and makers of all kinds will gather to celebrate the arts and things of the South. Eufaulafest.art

Making insulation and air sealing a priority adds comfort, effi ciency and savings to your home.

DIY considerations

If you are considering a DIY approach, protect yourself when going into spaces with insulation. Wear a properly fitted mask or respirator. Wearing a Tyvek suit and gloves also is recommended. Kneepads can come in handy and make the crawling more bear able.If you are planning a DIY approach for air sealing, do your re search about best practices for the proper home ventilation. Before going the DIY route, contact two or three local contractors for a project estimate. Sometimes the contractor can get cheaper bulk pricing on insulation.

Miranda Boutelle is the vice president of operations and customer engagement at Efficiency Services Group in Oregon, a cooperatively owned energy efficiency company. She also writes on energy efficiency topics for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives.

Q: What cost-effective improvements will make my home comfortable year-round?

Insulation rating

Consider building and insulating the exterior walls in the base ment or installing foam insulation on foundation walls. Check your local building code requirements. Recommended R-values for floor insulation range from R-13 to R-30. Also insulate heating and cooling ductwork located in unconditioned spaces to prevent energy waste.

Insulation level recommendations are based on your geograph ic location. Generally, the colder the climate, the higher the recommended R-value.

Where to insulate

Exteriorhatches.walls and walls separating heated and unheated areas of the home—such as garages or enclosed porches—should be in sulated to an R-value ranging from R-13 to R-21, based on your location and wall construction.

It isn’t pretty, but insulation and air sealing typically provide the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to home ener gy efficiency improvements. When installed together, they can save you money and make a big difference in comfort and energy use.

Sheet metal and high-temperature heat-resistant caulk should be used to seal gaps between framing, chimneys and metal flues.

Your home should also be insulated between the floor and crawlspace or unheated basement. If your basement is heated, in stall insulation in the box sills—the area between the foundation floor of the home’s main level.

The typical locations for insulation are the at tic, walls and floor. If you have a forced-air heating or cooling system, your ductwork should be in sulated, too. You want a consistent thermal barri er around your home for maximum efficiency. A bonus to insulation is it can reduce noise from the outside of your home.

A contractor installs blown cellulose insulation in an attic to minimize energy waste.

Typically, air sealing is done around plumbing and electrical penetrations with spray foam or caulk. If using spray foam around gas appliances, temporarily turn off pilot lights. Spray foam is extremely flammable.

Insulation made easy

PHOTO COURTESY PROJECT HOME

Insulation is rated in R-value. The R stands for resistance to heat transfer. The higher your R-value, the slower the heat transfer, or less wasted energy. There are several different types of insulation, including fiberglass batts, blown fiberglass, cellulose and foam. Each has its own R-value listed on the packaging. To determine the R-value of your existing insulation, multiply the number of inches by the R-value per inch for the type of insulation.

Wall insulation can be installed during construction or a remod

Importance of air sealing

Think of insulation as a cozy sweater and air sealing as a wind breaker for your home.

Air sealing prevents drafts and air infiltration from outside. It can im prove efficiency, comfort and indoor air quality.

Air sealing can be done as a DIY project, but it is challenging to pinpoint and properly seal air leaks. Consider hiring a contrac tor to complete a blower door test and seal leaks.

Attic insulation mini mizes energy waste and can help maintain a more consistent tem perature throughout your home. Combined with air sealing, it also can prevent ice dams from forming on your roof in colder climates.

30 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop | Consumer Wise |

Attics can be insulated using batts or blown-in insulation. Rec ommended R-values range from R-30 to R-60. If you use your attic for storage, you can build a raised platform with room for insu lation underneath. Add insulation and weatherstripping to access doors or

You know that cozy sweater is no match for winter winds, so you need an extra layer to stop it from ripping through. The same goes for your home.

el. If your home wasn’t insulated when it was built, you can have the insulation blown in by a contractor. Blown-in options include cellulose, fiberglass and foam.

“On Jan. 6, 2022, we had our first confirmed Alabama case of CWD in Lauderdale County,” Cook says. “About a month later, we had anoth er positive in Lauderdale County. We knew we’d eventually find CWD in that part of Alabama because of its proximity to areas in Mississippi and Tennessee that both have a high presence of it.”

2022 should be a good season for deer hunters in Alabama

In that part of the state, the rut usually begins in mid-Novem ber and peaks around Thanksgiving. The rut continues into early December. Because the rut begins early in that area, the season in that zone opens earlier than most of the state.

Hunters killed those two deer about five miles apart near Flor ence. Colbert County sits just across the Tennessee River from Lauder dale County. The state established a “CWD Management Zone” for those two counties.

32 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop | Outdoors |

Alabama has a healthy herd of bucks like this one all across the state.

In Alabama, the rut doesn’t happen all at once. With few deer in Alabama decades ago, the state brought in whitetails from other states as well as relocated deer from parts of Alabama with whitetails to areas with few or no deer. The deer retained their instinc tive rutting timeclock.

“Overall, Alabama now has plen ty deer in most counties,” Cook says. “It’s hard to beat Black War rior WMA for big deer. People who know the area and have hunted it for years generally have great success.”

John N. Felsher is a professional freelance writer who lives in Semmes, Ala. He also hosts an outdoors tips show for WAVH FM Talk 106.5 radio station in Mobile, Ala. Contact him at j.felsher@ hotmail.com or through Facebook.

“We will be sampling hard again in that area during this hunting sea son as well as the rest of the state,” Cook says. “We’ll continue to do what we can to try to slow down how rapidly CWD spreads throughout the state. Fortunately, CWD doesn’t spread very fast. We can do things to keep it from spreading faster than it wouldHuntersnaturally.”canbring deer to various places throughout the state so biologists can test the animals for CWD. A deer exposed to CWD could take months or even years to develop symptoms. Many positive deer look normal at first. As the disease progresses, infected deer stagger around and might drool excessively. They become less wary of people, drink and urinate frequently and look

PHOTO BY JOHN N. FELSHER

Sportsmen who think they killed or spotted an infected deer should contact the nearest state wildlife office. For more information on CWD see outdooralabama.com/cwd/latestcwd-information.

This year, sportsmen should en joy a very good season throughout Alabama. For the biggest bucks, head to Black Warrior WMA. The largest wildlife management area in the state covers 91,263 acres of Law rence and Winston counties near Moulton. In addition, the property sits within the 181,230-acre Bank head National Forest.

For deer numbers, Cook recommends the Sam R. Murphy, Bar bour and Oakmulgee WMAs. Murphy covers 16,372 acres in La mar and Marion counties near Guin. Barbour sits on 28,214 acres of Barbour and Bullock counties near Clayton. Oakmulgee spreads across 44,500 acres of Bibb, Hale, Perry and Tuscaloosa counties.

“Sam Murphy consistently offers the best opportunities for harvesting deer,” Cook says. “It’s good deer country with varying ages of clear cuts and young pine stands so there’s abundant cover for deer. Barbour has always been a good area for deer. The deer population in Oakmulgee has been trending upward each year. It has some antler restrictions, so it also offers opportunities to potentially kill a big buck.”

Earlier this year, the state confirmed Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, for the first time in Alabama deer. Similar to Mad Cow Disease, CWD affects the nervous system in deer and ultimately kills the animal.

“Deer breed at basically the same time every year, regardless of weather, moon phase or whatever,” says Chris Cook, Deer Program coordinator for the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. “Rut dates, duration, etc. vary very little from year to year.”

he best chance to bag a large white-tailed deer buck typical ly occurs during the “rut,” or breeding season. During the rut, habitually wily bucks lose a bit of their wariness in their quest to breed with as many does as possible.

“Weemaciated.needeveryone to help us with our CWD sampling efforts to help make sure we have a healthy, viable deer population for the future,” Cook says.

Chronic Wasting Disease confirmed in Alabama

“The rut is very spot specific in Alabama,” Cook says. “We have deer rutting from November to early Feb ruary. Anyone who wants to travel around the state and hunt different ruts can do that all season long. If they put in the time, sportsmen can hunt different public areas around the state during peak rut all season.”

NOVEMBER A.M. PM AM PM

Th 3 6:54 - 8:54 7:18 - 9:18 1:21 - 2:51 1:45 - 3:15

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Th 27 1:18 - 3:18 1:42 - 3:42 7:45 - 9:15 8:09 - 9:39

Fr 21 9:18 - 11:18 9:42 - 11:42 3:45 - 5:15 4:09 - 5:39

Su 23 10:54 - 12:54 11:18 - 1:18 5:21 - 6:51 5:45 - 7:15

Th - 3:06 - - 9:03 7:57 - 9:27 - 3:54 - - 9:51 8:45 - 10:15 - - - 10:39 9:33 - 11:03

We 26 12:30 - 2:30 12:54 - 2:54

Sa 5 8:30 - 10:30 8:54 - 10:54 2:57 - 4:27 3:21 - 4:51

Su - - - 11:27 10:21 - 11:51

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 33 P.O. BOX 389, ADDISON, AL 35540 256-747-8178 • FAX: 256-747-8760 WE SELL: Steel Trusses • Hay Barns Lumber • Equipment Sheds Building Material Packages Painted Metal • Work Shops Insulation • Kneebraces Galvalume Metal STEEL TRUSS BUILDINGS BUILT TO YOUR SPECIFICATIONS CECIL PIGGCECIL PIGG STEEL TRUSS, INC. The Moon Clock and resulting Moon Times were developed 40 years ago by Doug Hannon, one of America’s most trusted wildlife experts and a tireless inventor. The Moon Clock is produced by DataSport, Inc. of Atlanta, GA, a company specializing in wildlife activity time prediction. To order the 2022 Moon Clock, go to www.moontimes.com. DOUG HANNON’S FISH & GAME FORECAST 2022 EXCELLENT TIMES MOON STAGE GOOD TIMES

We 9 NA 12:42 - 2:42 6:45 - 8:15 7:09 - 8:39

12:39 Tu 15 5:06 - 7:06 5:30 - 7:30 11:33 - 1:03 11:57

Sa 12 2:42

A.M. PM AM PM

Fr 4 7:42 - 9:42 8:06 - 10:06 2:09 - 3:39 2:33 - 4:03

Fr 11 1:54

Tu 1 5:18 - 7:18 5:42 - 7:42 NA 12:09 - 1:39

3:30 7:33

Th 20 8:30 - 10:30 8:54 - 10:54

13 3:30

5:54 9:57

2:57 - 4:27 3:21 - 4:51

5:06 9:09

Mo 9:06 - 11:06 9:30 - 11:30 3:33 - 5:03 3:57 - 5:27

12:33

14 4:18

Mo 6:06 - 8:06 6:30 - 8:30 - 2:03 12:57 - 2:27

OCTOBER

6:57 - 8:27 7:21 - 8:51

4:18 8:21

We 2 6:06 - 8:06 6:30 - 8:30 12:33 - 2:03 12:57 - 2:27

Su 6 8:18 - 10:18 8:42 - 10:42 BEGINS 2:45 - 4:15 3:09 - 4:39

4:42 3:06

10 1:06

3:03 Fr 18 7:30 - 9:30 7:54 - 9:54 1:57 - 3:27 2:21

We 7:42 - 9:42 8:06 - 10:06 2:09 - 3:39 2:33 - 4:03

Mo 31 4:30 - 6:30 4:54 - 6:54 10:57 - 12:27 11:21 - 12:51

Su 30 3:42 - 5:42 4:06 - 6:06 10:09 - 11:39 10:33 - 12:03

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4:42 - 6:42 10:45

1:27 We 16 5:54 - 7:54 6:18 - 8:18 NA 12:45

2:39 1:33

12:15 11:09

3:51 Sa 19 8:18 - 10:18 8:42 - 10:42 2:45 - 4:15 3:09 - 4:39 Su 20 9:06 - 11:06 9:30 - 11:30 3:33 - 5:03 3:57 - 5:27 Mo 21 9:54 - 11:54 10:18 - 12:18 4:21 - 5:51 4:45 - 6 ;15 Tu 22 10:18 - 12:18 10:42 - 12:42 4:48 - 6:28 5:11 - 6:41 We 23 10:42 - 12:42 11:06 - 1:06 FULL MOON 5:09 - 6:39 5:33 - 7:03 Th 24 11:30 - 1:30 11:54 - 1:54 5:57 - 7:27 6:21 - 7:51 Fr 25 NA 12:42 - 2:42 6:45 - 8:15 7:09 - 8:39 Sa 26 1:06 - 3:06 1:30 - 3:30 7:33 - 9:03 7:57 - 9:27 Su 27 1:54 - 3:54 2:18 - 4:18 8:21 - 9:51 8:45 - 10:15 Mo 28 2:42 - 4:42 3:06 - 5:06 9:09 - 10:39 9:33 - 11:03 Tu 29 3:30 - 5:30 3:54 - 5:54 9:57 - 11:27 10:21 - 11:51 We 30 4:18 - 6:18 4:42 - 6:42 10:45 - 12:15 11:09 - 12:39

5:30 3:54

Tu 25 NA 12:06 - 2:06 NEW MOON 6:09 - 7:39 6:33 - 8:03

Tu 10:42 - 12:42 11:06 - 1:06 MOON 5:09 - 6:39 5:33 - 7:03

Mo - 6:18 ----

Tu 6:54 - 8:54 7:18 - 9:18 1:21 - 2:51 1:45 - 3:15

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2:15 Th 17 6:42 - 8:42 7:06 - 9:06 1:09

Sa 22 10:06 - 12:06 10:30 - 12:30 4:33 - 6:03 4:57 - 6:27

Mo 24 11:18 - 1:18 11:42 - 1:42 5:48 - 7:18 6:11 - 7:41

Fr 28 2:06 - 4:06 2:30 - 4:30 8:33 - 10:03 8:57 - 10:27

Sa 29 2:54 - 4:54 3:18 - 5:18 9:21 - 10:51 9:45 - 11:15

Vitamin A: in the form of beta carotene: when eaten with the skin, one medium sweet potato contains over 100 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A. A whole sweet potato contains 1400 mcg of vitamin A in its skin. That's more than 150 percent of your daily requirement in a single serving, which plays a role in vision, bone development, and immune function.

| Alabama Recipes |

Potatoes

Researchers have also determined that sweet potatoes con tain anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anticancer proper ties.

weet potatoes pack a huge nutritional wallop, not to mention they are a delicious addition to any meal. And did you know that in 2021 Gov. Kay Ivey proclaimed the sweet potato as our official state vegetable? Thanks to the hard work of some homeschooled students in North Alabama, the Legislature passed legislation recognizing the sweet pota to with the honor. Sweet potato crops bring in about $9 million to the state annually, according to the Alabama Farmers Federation. And our readers are big fans, as they sent in more recipes for sweet potatoes than any other topic this year. Try them all, and don’t feel a bit guilty, because a helping of sweet potatoes with the skin on gives you:

Food styling and photos: Brooke Echols

Sweet

Source: Marilyn Agee-Carroll, Human Nutrition, Diet, & Health Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System

Potassium: Eating habits, including foods that are a good source of potassium and that are low in sodium, may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Potassium is a mineral crucial for life. Potassium is necessary for the heart, kidneys, and other organs to work correctly.

Fiber: adds the feelings of gratification, or feeling "full," and aids in digestion. Fiber lowers high cholesterol levels, reduces the risk of heart disease, helps control blood sugar levels, and helps in maintaining a healthy weight. A medium sweet potato (105 calories) baked in its skin has 4 grams of dietary fiber, equal to or greater than the fiber in some instant oatmeal.

Cook potatoes, mash and set aside. Cream butter and sugars. Sift dry ingredients in bowl. To butter and sugar mixture, add eggs one at a time. Mix in sweet potatoes, then dry ingredi ents and vanilla. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan and sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Check at 55 minutes to make sure it’s not too brown.

mail:

Rebecca Quick has been baking since she was in the 5th or 6th grade, so creating her winning Sweet Potato Pound Cake recipe came natu rally. “My mother always baked a pound cake and we are all sweet potato people,” she says, so she made it her goal to create the best of both worlds. She looked up several recipes, including one by Paula Deen, and took her own mother’s recipe and added spices used for fruit cake and a little more cinnamon for taste. “It took me a couple of times to get the right amount of potatoes,” she adds, “and sometimes I use less potatoes. You want a really good sweet potato that’s not stringy and mashes good.” And she doesn’t use canned potatoes, as fresh is always best. She made the winning cake for her daughter for Thanks giving recently and it was a “big hit.”

Sweet Potato Soufflé

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 cup rum

½ cup sugar ¾ cup milk ¼ cup rum

For the Soufflé:

Rum Sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the butter. Pour in milk and cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking until thick, stirring constant ly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Serve warm. Cook’s note: For the best and most dramatic effect, serve immediately; otherwise, like any good soufflé, they will begin to deflate as they cool. These may also be served as a side dish without the rum sauce.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus ½ tablespoon for soufflé Sugar,dishes for soufflé dish

½ cup whole milk

Coming up next... February Decadent Desserts Deadline to enter November 4 March: Pizza | December 2 April: Biscuits | January 6 More upcoming themes and deadlines: Visit our website: alabamaliving.coop Email us: recipes@alabamaliving.coop

For the Soufflé:

2½ cups mashed sweet potatoes

For the Rum Sauce: 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cook of the Month: Rebecca Quick, Cullman EC

Janet CentralParkerAlabama

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes 3 large eggs, separated, and at room temperature ¼ cup maple syrup

1 cup butter

Rub 1 large sweet potato with cooking oil. Place it on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Let cool and then remove the flesh and mash with a fork. After removing the sweet potato from the oven, reduce oven temp to 375 degrees. Prepare four 6-ounce ramekins by buttering all sides and then dusting each with sugar, tapping out the excess. In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add flour, and cook while whisking until golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes and egg yolks, followed by the rum, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites on high speed with a pinch of salt until it just reaches stiff peaks. Whisk ¼ of the whipped egg whites into the sweet potato mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites using a rubber spatula. Pour mixture into the prepared ramekin dishes, filling nearly to the top and smoothing the surface. Place filled ramekins into a 9x12-inch baking dish. Cover the bottom of baking dish with water. Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven. Carefully remove soufflés from the oven, set each souffle’ on a plate, dust with confectioners' sugar.

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups cake flour

USPS Attn: Recipes, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, AL 36124

Recipes can be developed by you or family members. You may even adapt a recipe from another source by changing as little as the amount of one in gredient. Chosen cooks may win “Cook of the Month” only once per calendar year. To be eligible, submissions must include a name, phone number, mail ing address and co-op name. Alabama Living reserves the right to reprint recipes in our other publications.

Alabama Living OCTOBER 2022 35

¼ teaspoon nutmeg, up to another ¼ teaspoon to your taste ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup pecans, chopped

1½ cups granulated sugar

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Pinch of Confectioners'salt sugar, for dusting

4 eggs

1½ teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sour cream

4 cups water

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ sticks margarine

Sweet Potato Cobbler

¾ cup nuts, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Sweet Potato Pancakes

36 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop

Rita Marshall-DeKalbBriscoe EC

½ cup Cinnamon,milk to taste

Sweet Potato Cake

2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon sea salt 8 whole eggs

2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat eggs, sugar, sweet potatoes or yams (whichever used) and cooking oil together until mixed well. Sift flour, bak ing powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda together, then beat in with egg mixture. Fold in chopped nuts and coco nut and pour into greased and floured 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the middle is firm to the touch. Allow the cake to cool until just warm and then frost. Combine all frosting ingredients and spread on cake while it is still warm.

1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese Chopped green onions

¾ cup plain flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 4 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sugar-free BBQ sauce

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

4 cups cooked pulled pork

1 tablespoon cornstarch

RollCinnamoneachpotato

Kim CovingtonJohns EC

2 cups sugar

2 cups tapioca flour

Peggy Key North Alabama EC

½ cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

Brooke Burks

1¼ cups cooking oil

1½ cups sugar, divided

2 packages crescent rolls

½ cup +1 tablespoon coconut

½ stick butter

BBQ SweetPork-StuffedPotatoes

Photo by The Buttered Home

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

¾ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

Bring sweet potatoes and water to a boil, cooking until tender; drain pota toes. Add 1 cup sugar and butter; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, ½ cup sugar, flour and milk; pour into greased baking dish. Add hot sweet potatoes over batter. Sprinkle with cin namon and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Crust will envelop sweet potatoes as cobbler cooks.

¾ cup coconut

Mary TallapoosaAvantRiver EC

The sweet potato is probably the perfect food, in my hum ble opinion. Where else can you get all that sweet deliciousness in a side dish? I am here to tell you though, it is meant to be the star of the show! With this simple method, we show you how to take your sweet potatoes from the supporting cast to the main character of your supper! This is also a really tasty way to use up any BBQ leftovers. If you want to make it healthier, head over to thebutteredhome.com for our recipe for a sugar-free BBQ rub, an easy way to make sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot AND a delicious and healthy pulled pork recipe using pork tenderloin!

Frosting:

Cut potatoes open and add a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Top with equal portions of pulled pork, cheese, sour cream, onions and BBQ Sauce.

8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 box confectioners’ sugar

Mix both types of flour, baking soda, pie spice and sea salt together. Add eggs, sweet potato puree, vanilla and honey in another bowl. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and stir in chocolate chips until batter is smooth. Heat frying pan with a little olive oil and pour ¼ cup batter onto the pan, cooking until middle is set up and edges begin to dry, then flip. Top with sugar-free syrup. Yields up to 10 servings. Cook’s note: this is a diabetic friendly recipe.

1 package sweet potato patties, cut in half

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes or yams

1½ teaspoons pepper

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup + 1 tablespoon chopped nuts

water, sugar, margarine, cornstarch and vanilla. Pour over dumplings. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until crescent rolls are brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon when done.

2 cups blanched almond flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

2 cups sweet potatoes, thinly sliced

Sweet Potato Dumplings

2 cups sugar

patty half in a crescent triangle. Place in a baking dish. Heat

Sugar free syrup

1 cup pureed sweet potatoes

4 medium cooked sweet potatoes

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Look no further than the state of California. Residents were warned in September of potential rolling blackouts and asked to conserve energy during late afternoon peaks (when, as it hap pens, the renewable energy that the state increasingly employs is less reliable). Californians were asked to delay electric vehicle charging. So, after introducing more electric vehicles into their power grid and banning the sale of new gas-operated vehicles by 2035, California has proven it cannot manage the demand elec tric vehicles place on the state’s system.

In Florida, the EV market has experienced a growth in EV sales and the installation of new chargers, according to the Florida De partment of Transportation.

Florida is currently second in the nation for EV adoption and in direct current fast chargers (DCFCs), offering more than 1,300 publicly available DCFC ports. Since 2020, the number of avail able DCFCs has increased by 55 percent.

Indeed, they have. Hardwich mentions 18 grants from 2021, totaling more than $4.1 million, to finance installation of EV charging stations across the state, “a critical component to allevi ating range anxiety and increasing EV adoption in Alabama.” In addition to grants, there have also been huge private investments in the state’s EV market.

“EVs will be at the forefront of change to Alabama, the nation’s fourth largest auto-manufacturing state,” she says. “Alabama is po sitioning itself to capitalize on this new era in EV technology. Gov. Ivey and the Alabama Legislature have provided funding, incen tives and resources to take advantage of this emerging industry.”

PowerSouth and the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) have been actively involved in the development of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ (ADECA) updated EV Infrastructure Plan, which should help the state take advantage of federal dollars allocated for public charging infrastructure. PowerSouth is also supporting the Ala bama Mobility and Power (AMP) Center – a research and devel opment hub for EVs at the University of Alabama.

40 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop | Our Sources Say |

While it’s clear that EVs have grown in prominence in Alabama and Florida, PowerSouth – member-owned and member-focused – is working to balance the arrival of EVs with the 24/7 promise of reliable, affordable power. Why? To avoid ending up in a situa tion like the one we’re seeing in California, where reliable power is apparently not a major concern.

lectric vehicles (EVs), and the emergence of new charging technologies, will increase demand on electric providers na tionwide. Unprepared providers might struggle to manage higher loads, leading to higher electric costs and stressed infrastructure.

Blake Hardwich, executive director of the Energy Institute of Alabama, confirms as much.

Gary Smith is President and CEO of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative.

PowerSouth is not anti-EV. If implemented responsibly and planned for, EVs can certainly be a great decision for some buy ers and a potential economic boon to state and local economies.

With Alabama and Florida poised to take advantage of EV technology, this is a critical time for cooperatives to understand what investments will be needed to meet the basic charging in frastructure needs associated with electric vehicles, and help sup port consumer education around EVs. This is a time for Power South to focus on safety, reliability and affordability and make decisions accordingly.

If electric vehicles are the future, your cooperative will be ready

These numbers show that EVs are here. The technology is im proving, and people are buying these vehicles. Again: PowerSouth isn’t anti-EV. But rushing to implement new technologies with no caution and no plan is the surest way to do irreparable damage. Pairing forced EV adoption with unreliable, renewable energy is simply not the correct way to proceed. PowerSouth cautions against such hasty actions on renewable energy that might pre vent us from making the most economic and reliability-focused decisions in generation planning.

The cooperative mission has always been to increase quality of life for communities, and cooperatives want their members to make choices that benefit themselves and their families. If the right choice is an electric vehicle, PowerSouth’s system will be ready.

Your cooperative, however, will be prepared.

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Full of himself as a young puppy.

When I got the news of the blessed event I began to wonder, will he and his offspring ever have a moment as we did?

A loaf of bread, the Walrus said, ‘Is what we chiefly need: Pepper and vinegar besides Are very good indeed -Now, if you’re ready, Oysters dear, We can begin to feed.

Which brings me around to shucking.

He did, and the shucking began.

Illustration by Dennis Auth

Harvey H. (Hardy) Jackson is Professor Emeritus at Jacksonville State University. He can be reached at hhjackson43@gmail.com

But best of all, I love them raw.

Oysters are coming back.

shells. The Indians, I am told, would build a big fire, throw the oysters on the coals and when the heated shells popped open, supper was served.

Though I provided crackers and hot sauce, he ate ‘em like his daddy did, slurped right out of the shell, straining the grit between your teeth.

I love Steamed,oysters.smoked, stewed, fried.

A few years ago, I had read reports from Mobile Bay that a decline in water quality caused by dredging and pollution threat ened the oysters and their habitat.



Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Down on the Gulf Coast there are an cient Indian middens -- garbage dumps -some almost 100 feet thick, full of broken pottery, bones of fish and fowl and deer, and oyster shells, thousands of oyster

I gave him a glove, an oyster-knife, and an“Seeoyster.that little place at the end of the shell. Stick the point in there and twist it.”

With more attention being paid to pre serving wetlands, controlling pollution and regulating dredging, new beds were opened. The 2021 oyster harvest more than doubled what was gathered in 2020. 2022 could be even better.

Then I got the good news.

And I stood by, satisfied that I had

It was a rite of passage for my adoles cent son and a moment of parental pride for me, his father.

The future looks bright for oyster lovers like me, my son, and the next generation.

42 OCTOBER 2022 www.alabamaliving.coop | Hardy Jackson's Alabama |

I was worried.

Then he ate ‘em.

The adventure began when I got a cool er full of oysters and took them home to where the boy was waiting.

taught my son a skill others could admire.

My boy was barely in his teens when we had this father-son moment. Today he is grown, married, gainfully employed and father of my first grandchild.

In praise of oysters

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