Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass winners honored at annual banquet
WIREGRASS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
is a member-owned electric cooperative serving more than 24,000 accounts in Houston and Geneva counties in Alabama and parts of Dale, Coffee and Covington counties in southeast Alabama.
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5 Scholarships
Traditional, nontraditional students and those interested in lineworker school can apply for scholarships funded through Operation Round Up.
32 Your garden IQ
No matter how long you’ve been growing things, there’s always a new lesson to be learned in and from the garden.
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With the right number and type of tough dogs, feral hogs can be dealt with.
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ON THE COVER
Diane Shirah, one of the 2024 Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass winners, stands to be recognized during a banquet honoring winners. Each month, the program honors people who help others and their communities. See story Page 6.
Board of Trustees
Kip Justice District 6 President
Randy Odom District 2 Vice President
Debra E. Baxley District 1 Secretary
John Clark Jr. District 3
Danny McNeil District 4
Tracy Reeder District 5
Donald Ray Wilks District 7
Sandy Wright Morris District 8
Take control and getting results
BRAD KIMBRO CEO Wiregrass Electric Cooperative
Some things we just cannot control — other people’s behavior, the economy, the passage of time, even the weather.
We can control how we react.
On Jan. 22, the Wiregrass saw 5 to 8 inches of snowfall plus frigid temperatures in the days before and after that record-setting event. All winter, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative sent peak demand alerts out through social media, our mobile app, emails, text messages and on our website, asking members to adjust their power usage during anticipated peak demand events. You listened, and we’re thankful.
With the historic snow fall and the extreme low temperatures experienced in our area, we expected to see an higher demand expense in our wholesale power cost due to these extreme conditions. After crunching the peak usage numbers for all PowerSouth Energy’s member systems, the financial impact of this historic cold weather peak event for WEC didn’t add any additional cost to our forecasted budget, in large part due to members hearing our plea to help control peak demand.
As a cooperative, our 2025 peak demand for the system came in at 142 megawatts — that’s 2 MW less than our peak demand record set in December 2022, when the coldest temperatures then were warmer than what we experienced this January, and there wasn’t any snow in 2022 like we had with this year’s cold weather.
WEC is historically a winter-peaking system, which may seem like a contradiction given our hot summers in the South, but it’s true. We hit our peak demand for electricity usually on the coldest day of the year, between the hours of 6-9 a.m.
We hate to sound like a broken record, but an important message bears repeating: Peak demand does impact what the cooperative pays for wholesale energy and eventually what you pay on your monthly bill. We send alerts to give you some control over what you pay each month. The capacity peak demand, the fixed cost portion of our wholesale power cost, is impacted by just a few hours on that coldest day of the year. Those few hours that impact us all because when the peak demand happens, there must be the capacity in place to meet that demand. Capacity equals reliability, if the capacity isn’t there at the peak time, then the lights don’t come on. Designing an electric grid for peak demand has a cost and in theory, the lower that peak demand, the lower the cost will be.
While we may only use the maximum needed — or the peak — once a year, we still must pay
for it the rest of the year. Otherwise, our wholesale partner, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, couldn’t cover the cost of the capacity to provide us with energy when we hit our peak demand, and we wouldn’t be able to provide our members with electricity when they need it most.
But because of our members’ efforts, WEC’s peak set in January remained below the cooperative’s peak capacity demand record set back in 2022. Members listened to our message and took steps to lower their usage during possible peak demand times, helping offset what was feared — as much as $1.5 million additional demand cost.
I want to thank our membership for their efforts and encourage all members to continue to listen to our communications on peak demand, taking steps to keep their demand lower and, in turn, help us keep our costs as low as possible. For more information about ways to reduce peak demand, visit this link on our website: wiregrass.coop/services/fixed-demand-charge-faq.
Members want and deserve a reliable system that is also affordable. However, reliability that doesn’t sacrifice affordability requires a delicate balance, and there are external cost pressures WEC simply cannot control: federal policy, power plant mandates, ongoing supply chain struggles and inflated prices.
We have mitigated local rate increases by addressing expenses we can control on the distribution side. We’ve kept our employee numbers down when it made sense, using technology and new training for our employees so that we can do more with fewer people. We carry a larger inventory of supplies to avoid paying higher prices later or facing the possibility that we can’t get certain supplies in a timely manner.
WEC’s load is mostly residential members. More commercial and industrial members would help spread the fixed load and costs during off-peak times. WEC works with local economic development boards, chamber representatives, county commissioners and other community leaders to recruit new businesses and industry.
Such efforts, when fruitful, are good for our members by providing jobs and for the cooperative by helping diversify our load. And, yes, we will continue to ask for your help when peak demand times occur.
We work for our members, facing the challenges this world presents and we appreciate our members hearing our message about peak demand and doing your part to help us keep cost as low as possible. n
David Winstead District 9
WEC offers college funds through Operation Round Up
Traditional and nontraditional college students, as well as those interested in the Wallace Community College lineworker program, have until April 4 to apply for scholarships offered through Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up program.
WEC’s website features online applications for students, as well as the educator recommendation form that must be filled out by an educator or guidance counselor. Eligibility requirements and instructions are listed at the beginning of each form.
Through Operation Round Up, WEC members can choose to round up their electric bills to the nearest whole dollar to help fund grants, the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass program and scholarships.
Scholarship applicants can include traditional students who are college-bound high school seniors or homeschool students who plan to attend an accredited two-year or four-year college, technical school, vocational school or another institution for continuing education in Alabama.
Nontraditional applicants are those attending an accredited two-year or four-year college, technical school, vocational school or another institution for continuing education in the state. Nontraditional applicants must meet at least one of these criteria: delayed enrollment into postsecondary education; financially independent for financial aid purposes; has dependents other than a spouse; or is a single parent.
WEC also uses Operation Round Up to fund scholarships for the eight-week Pre-apprentice Electrical Lineworker program at Wallace Community College in Dothan. Applicants for this scholarship should be interested in pursuing the program and show demonstrated financial need. Prerequisites for the Wallace Community College lineworker program include a two-year driving history from the Alabama Highway Patrol state troopers’ office and a Department of Transportation physical examination. Lineworker applicants must be at least 18 years old. To learn more about the Wallace program, visit wallace.edu. n find the application here!
Contact Information
Mailing address
509 N. State Hwy 167 P.O. Box 158, Hartford, AL 36344
Find Wiregrass Electric Co-op on Twitter (@WEC2), Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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WIREGRASS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE PO BOX 70878
CHARLOTTE NC 28272-0878
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• 1066 Ashford Highway • Ashford, AL 36312
• 6167 Fortner St. • Dothan, AL 36305
For questions regarding sanitation service, call Houston County Sanitation Department at 334-677-4781 or Dothan City Sanitation at 334-615-3820.
Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass recognizes those who better their communities
The quiet ones often surprise you the most.
They’re the man who spends two days a week bagging up food on the off chance someone in need will stop by his rural church or the woman who started a group to wrap children in love and warmth through handmade blankets.
In November 2016, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative and WTVY partnered to launch the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass, recognizing individuals who reach out to help others, bettering their communities in the process. Each month, a new winner is announced and the individual or group receives $1,000 — an award funded through WEC’s Operation Round Up
Foundation. Since its creation, the program has presented 98 awards to these silent heroes.
Stevie Sauls, WEC vice president of member services and communication, says the program is a chance to recognize individuals whose selfless actions have enriched the lives of others. He encourages others to be motivated by their examples.
“It is an opportunity to say thank you to those who often work quietly behind the scenes without seeking recognition or applause,” Sauls says. “Their
dedication and perseverance have shaped the Wiregrass, making it a better place for all of us.”
A banquet at WEC’s Hartford headquarters honored the 2024 winners.
Outlaw, left, speaks with guests at the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass as Carolyn Elmore listens. Outlaw nominated Elmore for the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass and was Elmore’s guest at the banquet.
WTVY anchor and reporter
Beyla Walker told the award recipients that their stories hold a special place in her heart, especially when her days as a journalist get long.
“I can always look back at these videos and all the wisdom and encouragement that you all have shared with me, even off camera, those are the times that I can pick myself back up,” Walker says. “So, thank you for being my silent heroes.” n
SILENT HEROES
The Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass banquet celebrated the people whose quiet efforts earned recognition during 2024. Here is a summary of each winner’s contributions to their communities:
VAN JOHNSTON
The Malvern grocer and former volunteer fire chief is a trusted figure in his community with a long record of helping others as both a firefighter and mayor.
DOUG FAULK
He has spent more than 20 years as a volunteer with Dothan High School sports programs. He is a longtime volunteer with WIRED youth ministries and is active in his church, Ridgecrest Baptist.
DOTHAN FAITH RIDERS
Passionate about riding their motorcycles and sharing their faith, members of this local chapter at Memphis Baptist Church carry messages of hope as they work together to transform lives.
JOHNNIE WHITE
The retired pastor wants to make others feel better. In the Navy, he provided counseling for drug and alcohol abuse. Today, he helps build houses for widows and provide groceries for those in need.
PROJECT LINUS
The Southeast Alabama chapter, started locally by Pamela Portman, provides homemade blankets to comfort children in need.
DIANE SHIRAH
Seeing older adults become isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic led her to launch the Community Seniors Ministry, a monthly luncheon held at Webb Senior Center to provide food, music and fellowship.
THE REV. TIM BATES
Pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Ozark, he leads a communitywide effort to feed families in need as the head of the Dale County Community Church Mobile Food Pantry. The pantry serves about 100 families each month.
JAMES SHIVER
He manages the Mims Hill Church Food Pantry in Geneva County, where he hands out groceries twice a week, about 100 bags a month. He also volunteers with other efforts to combat hunger in the Wiregrass.
BRUCE WOZOW
A semiretired veterinarian, caring for animals led to a passion for volunteerism. He has coached youth sports, served on church and civic committees and spent 20 years as a Cottonwood volunteer firefighter.
THREADS OF LOVE
Sisters Rhonda Holley and Renee Purvis use their sewing skills to make everything from dresses and shorts for children to walker pockets and tissue covers for residents of the Hartford Retirement Village.
SAM BAKER
He flew Huey and Chinook helicopters for the U.S. Army and now volunteers with the Friends of Army Aviation, curating aviation artifacts and piloting helicopter rides for families of new Army aviation graduates.
CAROLYN ELMORE
Her work at Southeast Cancer Center puts her in the direct path to help those struggling with the toll of treatment while on a fixed income or out of work during treatment.
Carolyn
The 2024 Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass were honored at a recent banquet. Front row, from left: Carolyn Elmore, Sam Baker, Diane Shirah and Rhonda Holley. Back row, from left: James Shiver, Pamela Portman, Renee Purvis, Dr. Bruce Wozow and Van Johnston.
WTVY anchor and reporter Beyla Walker speaks during the banquet as Sarah Williamson listens. Williamson, who joined WTVY in 2024, took over reporting on the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass from Walker.
Tailor-made kindness
HARTFORD SISTERS WEAVE FAITH INTO ITEMS MADE FOR OTHERS
Threads of Love started with a calling.
For sisters Renee Purvis and Rhonda Holley the sewing ministry grew from a way to raise money for church missions to a way to spread kindness and faith to those in their community.
The ministry was inspired several years ago by a visit from the Campers on Missions group to Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford to help construct a new sanctuary. Purvis, a member of Shiloh, joined women from the group when they gathered in the church’s social hall to sew.
The urge to start a similar ministry at Shiloh stayed with Purvis, and, as it turned out, there were others in her church happy to put their sewing skills to good use.
“That was from a God-nudging, a serious, continual God-nudging,” Holley says.
In the beginning, Threads of Love made items to support missions and the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Ministry. Missionaries delivered their homemade items on trips to different countries.
When Purvis and Holley began sewing items for their mother, then a resident at Hartford Retirement Village, they quickly saw she was not the only one in need.
Today, Threads of Love still makes items for older adults and their visits are popular with residents of Hartford Retirement Village. They make storage pockets for a walker or recliner, neck pillows and adult bibs for mealtimes. They even make fidget blankets featuring different textures for individuals with dementia. And if fabric supplies lean more toward a baby or child’s design, they will make items for Wiregrass Hope, a Dothan outreach that provides free services for pregnant women.
Purvis’ and Holley’s work with Threads of Love led them to be recognized as Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass, a program sponsored by Wiregrass Electric Cooperative and WTVY to celebrate individuals whose efforts help their communities.
The $1,000 they received went right back into the ministry.
The sisters say Threads of Love is more than just their effort. There are members who craft, who cut fabric and, who join for visits to senior centers and the retirement village. It takes everyone, they say, and the sisters hope others will see such charitable deeds and be inspired to spread their own acts of kindness.
“If we see a need, we try to do it — whatever we feel like God is leading us to,” Purvis says. “We just try to listen to how God is prompting us.”
Threads of Love members use donated fabric and repurposed materials such as sheets, curtains, upholstery samples, pil lowcases and men’s flannel shirts.
They’ll buy discounted fabric from stores or material at yard sales when they can. What they can’t use, they’ll donate to another sewing group or a senior center whose members quilt.
Holley says donations often guide them in what projects they tackle, and inevitably someone in need of what they’ve created will come forward.
“Sometimes we have the supply before we know the need,” Holley says. n
Sisters Rhonda Holley, left, and Renee Purvis chat while working in Holley’s sewing room. Purvis helped start the sewing ministry
Threads of Love at Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford. Now, she and Holley spend much of their time creating neck pillows, walker bags and other items for senior adults.
Old Glory - watercolor by Kaitlin Tuck, 2024. SUBMITTED by Kaitlin Tuck, Town Creek.
My monochrome acrylic painting of coral, inspired by the beauty of
SUBMITTED by Helen Wu,
8-year-old Kip
drawing he did
I started oil painting after retiring and dogs are my favorite to paint. This is Harry, my granddaughter Julia’s Double-Doodle. SUBMITTED by Sue Smith, Town Creek.
Created in my shop from scrap metal. SUBMITTED by Larry Gordon, Ohatchee.
RULES: Photos submitted for publication 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.
This was from a picture I took. I enjoy challenging myself to do daring, lasting and truly enjoyable art. SUBMITTED by Patti Wilson, Stapleton.
Hall’s
strictly by memory after watching a movie. SUBMITTED by Sherree Borden, Moulton.
nature.
Dothan.
Spotlight | March
New hires, promotions at AREA
The Alabama Rural Electric Association welcomed three new faces to its staff recently.
Anna Grace Gamble has joined AREA as manager of external affairs, Sean Burnley has been named senior graphic designer, and Jantzen Flowers has been hired as a regulatory compliance specialist.
Gamble will be working on legislative, regulatory and political activities on behalf of Alabama’s electric cooperatives. She is a graduate of Auburn University and formerly worked as director of communications at the Alabama Association of Realtors, and as a public relations and communications specialist at the Office of the Alabama State Treasurer. Anna Grace will work with Sean Strickler, AREA vice president for external affairs.
Sean Burnley, an award-winning graphic designer and commercial artist, will be primarily responsible for the design of Alabama Living, the official publication of Alabama’s electric cooperatives. He will also lend his design skills to ongoing and new projects of the association. He attended Delta State University and Mississippi Delta Community College and was a top honors graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta. Most recently, he was art director and graphic designer for Reynolds Living, Lake Oconee, Ga. He will work directly with Lenore Vickrey, AREA vice president of communications.
Jantzen Flowers holds degrees from Columbia Southern University and LBW Community College and has worked several years in the fields of aviation safety at MI Services, as a safety engineer in the automotive industry at Mercedes-Benz International, and as safety director at Rast Construction. He has credentials and certificates in a number of safety areas and skills. He will be working closely with all the electric cooperatives in the state to ensure their compliance with state and federal regulations, and will report to Sean Strickler in external affairs.
AREA has also promoted several employees: Erin Mayben, formerly human resources coordinator, is now human resources manager; Stephen Martin, formerly financial director, has been promoted to controller; and Laura Stewart, formerly education and training program coordinator, is education and training program manager.
Historical Association offers speakers’ bureau
The Alabama Historical Association, a non-profit organization that is run by volunteers, offers a speakers’ bureau that provides a variety of inexpensive talks to libraries and museums, historical and genealogical societies, clubs, churches, and any group with an interest in Alabama history.
AHA is the largest and oldest historical association in the state. The group publishes a quarterly journal on Alabama history, administers a historic marker program, and hosts a podcast in addition to the speakers’ bureau.
For more information, including a list of speakers, visit alabamahistory. net/speakersbureau
Whereville, AL
Identify and place this Alabama landmark 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 applicable. The winner and answer will be announced in the April issue.
Submit by email: whereville@alabamaliving.coop, or by mail: Whereville, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124.
Contribute a photo you took for an upcoming issue! Send a photo of an interesting or unusual landmark in Alabama, which must be accessible to the public. A reader whose photo is chosen will also win $25.
February’s photo: This sculpture is located at the office of CMC Steel Alabama in east Birmingham. Commercial Metals Company (CMC) is a Texas-based metals and building products company with locations around the world; the Alabama location is one of ten mills across the country and uses recycled scrap metal to produce steel long products. The marker at the foot of the sculpture reads: “This statue embodies the spirit of the Steelmaker as a symbol of our strength, grit and responsibility. (It) represents our commitment to our community, our industry, our customers and all those who put their trust in us.” (Photo by Mark Stephenson) The randomly drawn correct guess winner is Brandi Evans of Covington EC.
Find the hidden dingbat!
More than 300 readers correctly located the February dingbat, a cherry pie, in the photo of traveler Chip Wallace on Page 34. “Looks like Mr. Chip Wallace took along a little more than his Alabama Living when he visited Flagstaff, AZ,” wrote Patricia W. Hare of Samson. “He was also fortunate enough to take along a cherry pie.” Beth Hunt of Boaz asked, “How did Chip know dinosaurs like cherry pie? Did he bring that pie with him from Alabama?” Lorie Crow from Pea River EC might have the answer: “It’s on the table as though he brought it to share with the dinosaur!” We’re glad you had fun with this one, and happy that some readers, like Elaine Olsakovsky of Foley, found it on the first time entering our contest.
Take us along!
Congratulations to Linda Lee of Cullman for being our randomly drawn winner of a gift card from Alabama One Credit Union. This month we’ve hidden a peanut in honor of National Peanut Month in March. So start digging, and remember we won’t hide it in an ad or on Pages 1-8. Good luck!
By email: dingbat@alabamaliving.coop
By mail: Find the Dingbat Alabama Living PO Box 244014 Montgomery, AL 36124
Sponsored by
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 cooperative, and the location of your photo.We’ll draw a winner for the $25 prize each month.
Ray and Ava Grace England of Orange Beach, members of Baldwin EMC,
The Brodrecht family of Arley, members of Cullman EC, visited the Arctic Circle in Alaska last spring.
Steve and Janice Garner of Fairhope represented Baldwin EMC with their magazine in Paris, as well as Omaha Beach and Oxford, England, during their 53rd anniversary trip last spring.
Doug Sanders of Gordo is thankful to the kind staff at the Arkansas Welcome Center in Chicot County, Ark., who took his photo after he crossed the Mississippi River into the state. Doug, a member of Black Warrior EMC, was on his way to Hot Springs to view the April 8 solar eclipse last year.
Nena Fellger of Mentone AL, a member of Sand Mountain EC, traveled to Port Limon, Costa Rica, with her magazine.
Daphna Freeman and her brother, Roger Calvert, visited Calvert, Texas. Their hometown is Trimble, where they are members of Cullman EC.
took their magazine on a visit to Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Art Across
Collectives and Cooperatives Support Artistic Talent
BY COLETTE BOEHM
Alabama’s art cooperatives, collectives and galleries celebrate talent, diversity, and inspiration throughout the state. The organizations supporting artists are as varied as the work they display. In premiere galleries, small co-ops and working studios, from the state’s mountainous regions in the north to the beaches on its coast, these organizations and facilities are dedicated to supporting and promoting an amazing assortment of art and an arts community that is flourishing.
Heather Parrish
Timothy M. Joe
Lisa Wilson
Meg Justice
Timothy M. Joe
Kerry Leasure
Steve Burrow
Linda Munoz
Shawn Dunahoo
Alabama
The arts are alive and well in Selma and the surrounding community, thanks to ArtsRevive, a non-profit incorporated in 2003. Executive Director Becky Youngblood is animated when she talks about the myriad ways the membership-based organization has worked for the past 22 years to celebrate the rich cultural diversity and talent in their area, which has spurred economic and community redevelopment.
“We hired our first executive director in 2012 and now have five employees,” she says. “We’ve repurposed four buildings in downtown Selma, we partner with the city and county schools as well as the Edmundite Missions to provide arts education, we built a community garden, have growing programs in pottery and quilting, and we take over 200 children to see the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in Birmingham.” The quilters have donated more than 150 quilts to the Sabra Sanctuary, Bloom House and local nursing homes, among others.
She opened the organization’s Gallery 905 in November 2015 with 40 artists and it’s now grown to more than 100 displaying their artwork from paintings in various genres, ornaments, pottery, sculpture and more. “Our mission is to build community through the arts,” she says, supporting local artists, creating an arts and culture district downtown, developing Selma as an arts destination and creating learning opportunities in the arts. “We fill a lot of voids.”
Mentone Arts Center is a focal point in a town known as an artistic community. Each of the more than 60 juried artists and makers who display work in the center has ties to the Lookout Mountain region. The center is a non-profit that often collaborates with other local organizations, including the Little River Arts Area Council and the Mentone Educational Resources Foundation, to further its goal of preserving and promoting the community’s artistic roots.
“Mentone is a very special place,” says artist Meg Justice, an exhibiting artist there, who feels a special connection to the community. “It is very supportive of the arts and artists and even had an artists’ colony here in the ’30s. This support and love of the arts was one of the main reasons we moved here.”
Meg also has a connection to local wildlife, which is evident in her intricate linocut pieces. “Inspiration is right out the back door. We have so much wildlife on Lookout Mountain, it’s an inexhaustible supply of inspiration.”
The Huntsville Art League has been in existence since 1957 and is dedicated to education, inspiration, and empowerment of artists. The league is made up of artists and patrons, including nearly 50 exhibiting artists at its gallery at Lowe Mill. Pieces in the gallery include paintings, photography, jewelry, woodwork, and more. Active members, like digital graphic artist Shawn Dunahoo, work shifts in gallery. He welcomes the opportunity to participate.
“It’s so hard for new artists to get out in front of people,” Dunahoo says. “The cost of starting your own gallery or business and the difficulties of breaking into that world as a new unknown ... How do you get past that? This is perfect for them. There’s very little cost.”
That cost includes an annual membership and monthly rental of gallery space, both of which are a great value, in his opinion. “Usually, artists will sell enough to cover that from the very get-go.
Francesca Emerson, a Selma potter who creates her own works in ArtsRevive’s CREATE Space, enjoys the art at a recent Roots and Wings annual art show in Selma.
COURTESY OF SAMANTHA JONES
“And,” he adds, “the networking is invaluable.” Dunahoo, a musician and composer, is relatively new to the art world. His involvement with the league, he says, has been valuable in making connections, including the opportunity to be a featured artist at another gallery. “The reason that that happened was because I was here. One of the artists here, she’s a veteran but also an exhibiting artist here, dropped my name.”
Kentuck Art Center in Northport is a name that has been around for 53 years. The center provides year-round programming with a mission to perpetuate the arts, engage the community, and empower the artist. Kentuck provides opportunities to interact with art seven days a week on its campus through galleries, programs, and its Courtyard of Wonders, where studio artists are at work. The studio spaces are provided at lowerthan-market price to support both the artists and the public access they provide. According to folk artist Scot McQueen, the center also provides a sense of community.
“My tribe is my art friends and we’re very close,” says McQueen, who is also a minister and former pastor. “We talk to each other. We care for each other. We’ll pray for each other and show kindness. And I try to live by that.” That philosophy can also be found in his work, which is characterized by Bible verses, song lyrics, and quotes that inspire social justice and kindness.
Many artists find supporting fellow creators and expanding the reach of the arts community is also a part of their purpose. This is certainly true of Heather Parrish, artist and co-owner of Southern Art & Makers Collective in Montgomery.
“I had this dream in my heart,” Parrish says, “to have a place where artists can feel represented. I just think that there are more artists out there than galleries can represent.” Parrish and her business partner, artist Aleah Goode, have been operating the collective since 2019 and consider it a very “artist forward” endeavor. Artists rent space in the gallery and Parrish and Goode manage it.
Parrish’s current work is in two-dimensional mixed media. “I’m working right now in collage,” she says. “Mainly collage with words. I love layers. Any work that you see by me is going to have a lot of layers to it. I just feel like that’s kind of a representation of life right now.”
Southern Art & Makers Collective in Montgomery aims to give support, visibility and affordable gallery space to regional artists.
Shawn Dunahoo is a member of the Huntsville Art League who displays his work in their co-op gallery located in Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment.
Folk artist Scott McQueen enjoys being a part of the arts community at the Kentuck Art Center in Northport.
The Kentuck Gallery Gift Shop is located on the Kentuck campus in Northport. The arts program has been around for more than 50 years and the shop displays the work of a variety of affiliated artists.
PHOTOS BY COLETTE BOEHM
One layer of her work includes running the business side of the collective. “When I’m behind the desk,” she says of her day-to-day operations, “I’m there to represent all of us.” Today, nearly 100 artists and makers are benefiting from her dream to give them a place they feel represented.
Artist Linda Munoz’s work is represented throughout the state, both in galleries and as public art. Her home is not far from Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center in Camden. The non-profit was started in 2005 with the objective to stimulate the economy in Alabama’s Black Belt region through the sale and promotion of fine arts and heritage crafts. More than 400 artists are now represented there, including Munoz, who created the gallery’s sign using her signature mosaic style and including artifacts from fellow Black Belt artists. The sign is just one of her prominent projects created because of her commitment to support community-driven art.
“A lot of them are projects that I do with community members,” Munoz explains, “like the steps at DeSoto Falls and the tree at Kentuck on the side of the gallery.” For many of the works, she has donated her time and talent. “That’s what you do. If you believe in engaging the community, that’s a great way to do it. People take ownership then of that artwork.” Her efforts to engage the community have included teaching an integrated mosaic arts program in schools across the Black Belt and organizing youth mosaic workshops with the Black Belt Glass Arts Guild.
The 10,000-square-foot Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach displays the work of more than 100 juried artists. The center’s waterfront campus includes a Clay Studio and Hot Shop, where resident artists work and teach onsite. This is also the site of a fine art festival each spring. The programs and events of the city-owned gallery are also supported by a local Friends of the Arts group. The combination of efforts, according to Steve Burrow, a Gulf Shores potter, is a very positive one for artists. His pieces are characterized by coastal colors, sea creatures and wave-like movements and he says the center provides an excellent sales outlet.
“They sell our work,” he says of the gallery, “and they do a good job of that.”
According to Burrow, the gallery, programs, and events have combined to raise the profile of art in the community. “They bring it all together.” Burrow says the gallery and its activities also connects artists with each other and the public, making the entire coastal creative community stronger.
These locations and artists are just a small sample of the amazing and diverse arts community throughout the state. New artist-led cooperative efforts are evolving all the time. One example is the Bluff City Arts Alliance, formed in 2023 in Eufaula, with the goal of celebrating local artists, igniting creativity, and encouraging community involvement. And of course, curated collections can be found at art galleries and museums around the state.
A variety of art forms are on display at galleries all across the state, including the Coastal Arts Center in Orange Beach.
Steve and Dee Burrow display their work, which incorporates coastal colors and critters, in the Coastal Arts Center in Orange Beach.
Artist Linda Munoz shows the completed sign she designed for Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center
PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA MUNOZ
The nation’s studio: The Alabama origins of Olan Mills, Inc.
By Scotty E. Kirkland
Portraiture was long a luxury reserved for the wealthy. Few are the paintings of 19th-century, blue-collar ancestors. By the early 20th century, however, photography made portraits cheaper and more widely available. Commercial portraiture was a new frontier. From humble beginnings in Tuscaloosa, Olan and Mary Mills built a portrait empire that developed into one of the world’s largest.
Born in 1904, Olan Mills was a man in a hurry. In the early 1920s, he abandoned his medical studies at the University of Nebraska and decamped to Florida to take part in the real estate boom. But the onset of the Great Depression dashed his hopes of striking it rich selling swampland. The itinerant young striver soon found himself in north Alabama, where he signed on as a traveling salesman for a company that made photographic enlargements of
existing prints. “Copy work” is the industry term, and Mills took to the trade well.
Along the way, he met artist Mary Stephenson of Selma. They married in December 1930 and went into the copy work business together out of a small Selma studio. They bought a car on credit to expand their reach into the hinterlands and other states, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. But slow sales and thin margins doomed the young couple’s first business venture. Eventually, the local bank got the car.
The similar misfortunes of a Tuscaloosabased portrait photographer helped save the Millses. In 1932, they relocated to Druid City to take over a foreclosed downtown studio. They continued to solicit copy work, but the new space and equipment allowed them to expand into portraiture as well. The following year, they received a contract to take portraits for the
University of Alabama yearbook. They reinvested the profits from the job into their business and slowly began to expand, with weeklong photo sessions held in other Alabama towns.
“Like ‘Sterling’ on silver”
The couple were natural partners. Olan’s business savvy and boundless energy and Mary’s artistry blended to create something special. By the mid-1930s, Mary Mills had created a distinctive “house style”: an 8x10 head-and-shoulders photographic portrait with hand-painted oil accents in two muted colors. This hand-tinting made each piece unique but was executed in short order with minimal overhead. In the early days, each portrait was signed by hand with the Olan Mills name. It was a mark of pride. “The name Olan Mills on a portrait is like ‘Sterling’ on silver,” boasted a 1947 advertisement. From their base in Tuscaloosa, the Millses sent traveling camera crews into communities for sittings. Everything was printed and finished back in Tuscaloosa, where Mary Mills oversaw a growing team
Photographers and finishers in front of the Olan Mills headquarters in Tuscaloosa, 1939. From Olan Mills: The First Fifty Years, published by the company, 1982.
Olan Mills
Mary Mills
MULE DAY MULE DAY
Join us for a memorable experience at Mule Day, April 3-6, 2025, in Columbia, Tennessee! Bring the entire family to Maury County Park for a variety of exciting daily activities, including the not-to-be-missed parade on Saturday at 11 AM. Kick off your morning with a Southern tradition at the James K. Polk Home's Bloody Marys & Biscuits breakfast. Don't miss out on this time-honored celebration that’s packed with fun, culture, and unforgettable memories!
of artists applying the company’s stylistic flourish. Customers then received their prints in the mail. Between 1936 and 1938, the number of employees grew from 7 to 200, the vast majority of them traveling salespeople, in 14 states. An expansion the following year doubled the number of employees and established a fleet of nearly 100 automobiles.
Then came the brick-and-mortar stores. In 1938, the first permanent Olan Mills studio opened in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Soon, Olan Mills studios were popping up in other cities, all staffed by franchisees who took the portraits and sent the negatives back to Tuscaloosa for printing and finishing. There, employees worked in three shifts, around the clock, producing as many as 12,000 portrait prints each day. By 1940, the company had similar facilities in Springfield, Ohio, and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
also shuttered the original office in Tuscaloosa and relocated the administrative function to the more centrally located Chattanooga facility.
During the war, the brick-and-mortar studios throughout the country kept up steady work photographing Americans in uniform, as well as those who carried on in their absence. “Have a picture made for the folks back home,” read an ad for Montgomery’s Olan Mills studio. A Birmingham studio called its 3x5 portraits sent to servicemen overseas “a tender bond on remembrance.”
The company expanded, seemingly year after year, once the war ended. The number of studios across the country grew, as did the volume of prints to well over 2 million annually. Mills began consolidating much of the company’s once far-flung offices to Chattanooga. As part of this effort, he closed the Tuscaloosa finishing plant in 1949. There remained nearly two dozen studios in the Yellowhammer State, however.
A “noble exit”
Supply shortages and rationing during World War II caused Olan Mills to shrink the footprint of doorto-door sales work. Mills parked his fleet of automobiles and donated the tires. Mills
When the time came for a new generation of leadership, the Millses kept it in the family. Olan Mills, II and Charles G. Mills—both born in Alabama—grew up in their family’s business. The brothers presided over the continued growth of their parents’ company to include full-color photography. This, in turn, created lucrative opportunities in school and churchdirectory portraiture. With 700 studios coast to coast, Olan Mills was truly “the Nation’s Studio.” In 1981, as the company prepared to mark its 50th anniversary, the first Olan Mills opened in the United Kingdom.
“The Nation’s Studio will become the ‘Kingdom’s Studio’—and sooner than you think,” read a company announcement.
Time cannot stand still. Neither can technology. By the second decade of the 21st century, improved camera capabilities in smartphones had begun to destabilize the portrait industry. If, as they say, video killed the radio star, then selfies may have done the same to portraitists. Aware of these changes, Olan Mills executives orchestrated a “noble exit” for the 79-yearold family business. Its chief competitor, Lifetouch, Inc., acquired the company in 2011. At the time, there were still nearly two dozen Olan Mills studios located in Alabama and hundreds more across the nation. All were closed by 2019.
Though its studios are no more, the Olan Mills name lingers still. It is stamped in the corner of portraits displayed in millions of homes, in the memories of the family matriarchs and squirming, sometimes unwilling youngsters who sat before the cameras and in the history books, as one of the most successful businesses with Alabama roots.
Editor’s note: This article previously appeared in Business Alabama.
Scotty and Jacqlyn Kirkland photographed by Olan Mills for a Houston County church directory, 2005.
A photographer with the Montgomery Olan Mills studio took this portrait at the 1954 Williamson-Olliff wedding.
This 50th anniversary advertisement appeared in several publications, including TIME magazine. COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR
COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR
COURTESY OF MARTIN OLLIFF
Discover Unforgettable Group Getaways
Unforgettable Group Getaways
HOW
HOW RETREET RESORT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER IN NORTH ALABAMA
RETREET RESORT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER IN NORTH ALABAMA
Planning a group retreat is about more than just finding a place to stay—it’s about creating connections and lasting memories. For Rae’Mah Henderson, Program Manager with Birmingham Tech Stars, ReTreet Resort near Lake Guntersville provided the perfect setting for 24 startup founders from around the world to bond before an intense three-month accelerator program.
Planning a group retreat is about more than just finding a place to stay—it’s about creating connections and lasting memories. For Rae’Mah Henderson, Program Manager with Birmingham Tech Stars, ReTreet Resort near Lake Guntersville provided the perfect setting for 24 startup founders from around the world to bond before an intense three-month accelerator program.
ReTreet Resort isn’t just for corporate groups— it’s perfect for family reunions, wedding parties, or friend getaways. With a mix of treehouses, glamping tents, tiny cottages, and twobedroom cabins with lake views, it offers comfort, connection, and adventure.
ReTreet Resort isn’t just for corporate groups— it’s perfect for family reunions, wedding parties, or friend getaways. With a mix of treehouses, glamping tents, tiny cottages, and twobedroom cabins with lake views, it offers comfort, connection, and adventure.
If you’re looking for a retreat that transforms a simple getaway into a truly unforgettable experience, ReTreet Resort is North Alabama’s hidden gem—where moments turn into lifelong friendships.
If you’re looking for a retreat that transforms a simple getaway into a truly unforgettable experience, ReTreet Resort is North Alabama’s hidden gem—where moments turn into lifelong friendships.
Escape to 40 Acres of Natural Luxury: Choose from 21 Stunning Resort-Style bungalows—Treehouses, Glamping Tents, Cozy Cottages, & Two-Bedroom Cabins with Breathtaking Lake Guntersville Views.
Escape to 40 Acres of Natural Luxury: Choose from 21 Stunning Resort-Style bungalows—Treehouses, Glamping Tents, Cozy Cottages, & Two-Bedroom Cabins with Breathtaking Lake Guntersville Views.
Curious about what makes a group getaway at ReTreet unforgettable? Scan below to explore all the details & see why it’s the perfect retreat for your crew!
Curious about what makes a group getaway at ReTreet unforgettable? Scan below to explore all the details & see why it’s the perfect retreat for your crew!
Gabby Snead Photography
Take us along!
Continued from Page 11
See more travelers on Page 39
John and Harriet Jacobs of Woodland traveled all the way to Machu Picchu in Peru. They are members of Tallapoosa River EC.
Cindy Weeks from
Ralph and Mary Ellen Pinion took their magazine with them on a New England trip, and visited the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine. They are members of Cullman
and
Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South
The MAX • Now through May 24
Full Moon on 5th 5th Street, Downtown Meridian March 7
St. Patrick’s Ale Trail
Downtown Meridian • March 14
Sipp & Savor
The MAX April 12
Earth’s Bounty + First Saturday
The MAX • April 5
Threefoot Festival
Downtown Meridian • April 18–19
Butterflies & Bunnies
Children’s Museum • April 19
Jimmie Rodgers Music Festival
Downtown Meridian • May 12–18
Sue Suggs and David Butler took a Caribbean Cruise to the Panama Canal. They are members of Coosa Valley EC.
Mike and
Gantt, members of Covington EC, traveled with the Andalusia Adult Activity Center to Branson, MO. They stopped in Eureka Springs, Ark., to see the Passion Play, where their photo was made in front of the set.
Sharon Ramm of Boaz visited Rota, Spain to visit her granddaughter for her birthday. She is a member of Marshall-Dekalb EC.
EC.
Dana
John Watlington of Orange Beach took their magazine with them on their trip to Baton Rouge, La., to watch their identical twin daughters, DeAnn and Dana De, inducted into the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame. They are members of Baldwin EMC.
Hits the Mark Bow & Arrow
Auburn eatery features flavors and traditions of Texas, south Alabama
By Allison Law
For chef David Bancroft, his restaurants –and his food – are all about storytelling.
Born in Alabama but raised in the Texas Hill country, Bancroft grew up with geographically distant but mutually rich cultural influences. His Alabama roots are steeped in farming and working the land; his Grandpa Kennedy owned a farm with catfish, cattle, cotton, pines, peanuts and chickens. Bancroft and his mother both have green thumbs and share a love for planting and growing.
But his youth – he lived from ages 4 to 18 in a small town outside of San Antonio – was shaped by Texas ranchers and a cowboy culture as well as the traditions of Mexican-Americans.
“Everybody met over the same fire, everybody shared food and the same stories between both cultures,” Bancroft recalls. And there were soccer games, where the grandmothers of his Hispanic teammates would bring tamales for a halftime snack.
He followed his brothers to Auburn University, where his parents met as students, and there he found a passion for food; he taught himself to cook in the kitchen of Auburn’s Amsterdam Cafe. That experience, paired with his love for farm-fresh food, led to his first restaurant, the now-celebrated Acre, in 2013.
“It was paying homage to south Alabama, to local farmers here in the area, really showcasing the Wiregrass region and farm-to-table cuisine that’s available here,” he says. “Nobody had that farmto-table relationship, and nobody had any relationships with the local farmers.” Acre, he says, was the story of Grandpa Kennedy.
But Texas was, and still is, a primary influence, and was the driver to open Bow & Arrow in 2018. “All of those memories, and just all of my youth growing up in the Hill country, led to the passion and desire to open up Bow & Arrow, and tell that side of the story as well.”
Bow & Arrow serves a variety of fajitas, including the slow-smoked and sliced brisket, wood-grilled chicken and skirt steak.
American music is a truly global phenomenon, but its roots trace back to one place—Mississippi. Over 100 years ago, in the Mississippi Delta, the blues ignited a music revolution that would give rise to rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, country, and R&B while influencing genres from jazz to hip hop. And the story continues today. In Mississippi, you can explore the lives and legacies of icons like B.B. King, Elvis Presley, and Muddy Waters at music museums and on the Blues and Country Music Trails, or catch today’s rising stars at juke joints, music clubs, and theaters across the state. Learn more at VisitMississippi.org/Music.
Listen to the “Birthplace of America’s Music” playlist on Spotify.
#VisitMS
The Crossroads | Clarksdale, Mississippi
A hybrid of cuisines
While Acre is a fine dining establishment, Bow & Arrow is a fusion of Texas barbecue, Hill Country barbecue and Mexican cuisine. Bancroft is a bowhunter (hence the name), and the menu, as you might expect, is stacked with meats: smoked brisket, pulled pork, smoked turkey, ribs and jalapeno cheddar sausage. Homestyle flavor is cooked into the scratch-made sides, like collard greens, hash brown casserole, sweet corn rice and mac ’n’ cheese.
The Mexican part of the menu is familiar but elevated: There’s fajita-grilled salmon with pepperjack grits, scampi butter and salsa verde, and Blake’s Burrito, with pulled pork, collards, Monterey jack, brisket bark, queso and more. The “30A” special is two cheesy blue crab enchiladas with fajita grilled shrimp and avocado. The soft tacos are made with fresh-made tortillas.
The restaurant uses local purveyors as much as possible. A local hothouse grower supplies tomatoes, cilantro and cucumbers for pickles; Hornsby Farms supplies okra, and Boozer Farms supplies peaches in season. A wide range of dishes on the menu means that the culinary team can incorporate the rhythms of the seasonal bounty into the food. “We’ll do fajita-style grilled fish dishes with peach salsas. We’ll do peach hot sauce and ferment it with the pepper harvest when all the farmers are bringing in hot peppers,” Bancroft says. The mixologists use the fruits of the Alabama harvest to make different flavored margaritas.
“The opportunities, when these fresh produce items and the harvest land, they get so giddy at Bow & Arrow because they just get to cook. They get to go outside of the box, outside of the boundaries and truly create, which I love.”
‘Cook for the locals’
Back in the ’00s as a student at Auburn, he got his start as the kitchen steward for his fraternity, doing catfish fries, crawfish boils and smoking Boston butts. After college, as Bancroft developed his culinary skills, he learned about different cultural influences and genres of food.
“Everybody always said, this is a football town, make football food,” he recalls. “I don’t necessarily want to just cook for
football crowds. I want to cook for the locals. The locals are the ones saying we don’t have good food from Atlanta to Birmingham.”
His restaurants were not immune to the business effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Acre struggled through; “We were a certain type of food, and we were trying to cook more comfort food meals and just hold on tight.”
Bow & Arrow was also in a struggle, but for a different reason. The original concept was cafeteria style, like going into a Texas barbecue joint and ordering meat from the butcher. “You say, ‘I’ll have some of that, I’ll have ribs, a little bit of sausage,’ and they carve it up, they put it on a tray, and you go down (the line) and get your sides.”
Logistically, the kitchen at Bow & Arrow was laid out for that setup, and while the restaurant had a core group that loved the food, the Auburn crowd “just didn’t really get it.”
He realized a change was needed. When the pandemic hit, he sat in the empty dining room, praying for guidance. “How can I change this restaurant to really pick it up and get more creative?”
He got the vision of knocking out the walls, building a host stand at the front, building and expanding the bar in the back and going to a full bar and table service. “Then as I started sitting down and writing the menu out, it got so much more vibrant and creative, so much more Tex-Mex influence.”
Originally, the barbecue was served with bread or tortillas, and diners chose either barbecue sauce or salsas as condiments. “That’s as far as it went. But now, I’m drawing out entrees and truly making full-throttle flavor, spicy hot fresh tomatillos, the works, getting creative, and all of a sudden you could really see David in the menu and you could see my passion and my story.”
And the story continues.
Bow & Arrow
1977 East Samford Ave., Auburn, AL 36830 334-246-2546 | bowandarrowbbq.com
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Mondays
Auburn l
Chef David Bancroft slices a brisket at Bow & Arrow. Bancroft’s Texas roots are evident on the restaurant’s menu.
PHOTO COURTESY BOW & ARROW
The Tex-Mex influence is all over the menu, with fajitas, enchiladas and tacos made with house-made tortillas, as well as a variety of house-made margaritas.
Social Security and scam awareness
Social Security imposter scams continue to be widespread across the United States. Scammers use tactics to deceive you into providing sensitive information or money. If you receive a suspicious letter, text, email, or call, do not respond.
We will NEVER:
• Text or email images of an employee’s official government identification.
• Suspend your Social Security number.
Threaten you with arrest or other legal action unless you immediately pay a fine or fee.
Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached by e-mail at kylle.mckinney@ssa.gov. You may also call Social Security’s tollfree number at 1-800-772-1213.
• Require payment by retail gift card, wire transfer, internet currency, or cash by mail.
• Promise a benefit increase or other assistance in exchange for payment.
• Mail or email “official” letters or reports containing your personal information.
We only send text messages in limited situations, including:
• When you have subscribed to receive updates and notifications by text.
• As part of our enhanced security when accessing your personal my Social Security account.
If you owe money to us, we will mail you a letter with payment options and
appeal rights. Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes. Ordinarily, the agency calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, are already receiving payments and require an update to their record or have requested a phone call from the agency. If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, Social Security will typically mail a letter.
We encourage you to report suspected Social Security imposter scams — and other Social Security fraud — to the OIG’s website at oig.ssa.gov/report. You can find more information about scams at ssa.gov/scam. Please share this information with your friends, family, and colleagues to help spread awareness about Social Security imposter scams.
A spring bouquet puzzle
1 Large spring flowers that come in many colors
5 ____ Honeysuckle: Alabama spring bloomer with red flowers
8 Beatle bride
10 Spring-blooming bulb in a multitude of colors
11 ____bud: small tree with beautiful pink flowers that bloom in spring
12 Light touch
13 Morning hours, abbr.
14 Frosty chill 16 Fasten
18 Ventilate
19 Brief rest
20 Spring blooming shrub native to Alabama with pink, white, purple and red flowers
21 Exist
22 Intention
23 Tall shade tree
24 Yellow flowers that bloom in shallow bodies of water
25 Gaze
27 Spring flower with pink and yellow blooms that grows in the shade
30 Brewed drink
32 Wellness center 34 Purple aromatic herb 35 Squirrel’s home
1 Bell-shaped summer flower 2 Zero score
3 Type of spring flowers that grow in wet areas, also known as Orange Jewelweed
4 Wood ____: Alabama spring flower with pink, rose or white blossoms
5 North Atlantic fish
6 Common deciduous tree that grows in water and swamp areas and produces colorful blossoms in spring, 2 words
7 Popular garden trees that blossom with yellow flowers in spring
9 Compass point, abbr.
15 Gift from a florist
17 False Rue ____ (white spring flowers)
21 Life story, in brief
22 Type of flowers that grow in high mountains
24 From the immediate area
26 Blazing ____: purplish flowers that come out in spring
28 Third book in the Old Testament, abbr.
29 Pieces on chessboards
31 Mellow as good wines
33 Point, for short
by Myles Mellor
MARCH
6-9 Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. A series of events marks the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when law enforcement clashed violently with civil rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. More than 40 events are scheduled, including a march to restore voting rights, a unity breakfast, step show, music festival, youth summit, workshops and more. SelmaJubilee.com
7-8 Foley BBQ and Blues Cookoff, downtown Foley’s Heritage Park. Friday night’s kickoff event features live entertainment with beverage sales; no children’s activities. Saturday is the cookoff; tickets for both events are sold separately and only available at the gate on site. Food, popular blues bands and children’s activities. All proceeds support the South Baldwin Chamber Foundation. Foleybbqandblues.net
8-9
Orange Beach Festival of Art, 26389 Canal Road. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Free. Music and entertainment on two stages. Event is a celebration of visual, literary, performing, musical and culinary arts. Orangebeachal.gov
13-15
Mobile Mobile Botanical Gardens’ spring plant sale and preview party, 5151 Museum Drive. Featuring a large selection of native azaleas, a wide variety of camellias, special rose cultivars, hydrangeas, perennials, many of types of trees and more. The ticketed preview party is 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday; the Plantasia Spring Plant Sale is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday. MobileBotanicalGardens. org
14-16 Fairhope Eastern Shore Art Center Outdoor Art Show, downtown Fairhope, on Oak and Section streets. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day; free admission. International and regional fine artists, including cutting edge newcomers, who attract dealers, collectors, interior designers and art enthusiasts to this event. Esartcenter.org
14-16
Montgomery Southeastern Livestock Exposition Rodeo, Garrett Coliseum. The 68th annual SLE Rodeo will feature eight rodeo events, including saddle bronc, bareback riding, bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and breakaway roping. Featuring Jessica Blair Fowlkes (rodeo specialty act) and rodeo clown Dusty Myers. Rodeo starts at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets and more info at SLERodeo.com
15
Moulton third annual Lawrence County Music Fest, Lawrence County High School auditorium. Several musical artists will perform; event is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. 256-522-3160.
21-22
Camden Wilcox Historical Society Tour of Homes. Eight homes, two historic churches, a reception and more at this annual event. Registration will be at the Wilcox Female Institute, 301 Broad St., from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. All proceeds help preserve historic buildings throughout Wilcox County. Various tour packages available. Tickets available at Eventbrite.com; see the society’s Facebook page for more information.
21-23
Opp The Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo, Channel-Lee Stadium. Arts and crafts, concessions, snake handling, snake demonstrations, entertainment, children’s rides, pageant and 5K race are among the activities at this weekend event. Musical artists Confederate Railroad, Tracy Lawrence and Shenandoah are scheduled to perform Friday through Sunday, respectively. Visit rattlesnakerodeo.com for ticket information.
22
Winfield An Evening with The Isaacs, The Pastime Theatre, 7 p.m. This family group’s music is influenced by bluegrass, R&B, folk and Southern gospel styles. They are members of the Grand Ole Opry and appear on Gaither Homecoming videos and tours. Tickets are $35. 205-487-3002 or visit pastimetheatre.org
Around Alabama
28-29
Dothan Wiregrass Master Gardeners’ spring plant sale, Dothan Area Botanical Gardens, 5130 Headland Ave. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Vegetables, annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, bulbs, herbs, house plants and more will be available. Cash, checks and credit cards accepted. Email sara.adams295@gmail.com for more information.
29
Elberta German Sausage Festival, 24950 Pine St. Featuring Elberta’s famous “one with two without” German sausage and sauerkraut, plus more than 200 arts and crafts booths, carnival rides for children, and polka, country, contemporary and German music. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ElbertaFire.com
29-30 and April 5-6
Selma the Selma Renaissance Faire, Dalwhinnie Fields, 251 Pine Flat Church Road between Selma and Marion. Food, wares and entertainment vendors, jousting tournaments and activities for children. TheSelmaRenFaire.com
APRIL
12
Fort Deposit 53rd annual Calico Fort Arts and Crafts Fair, Civitan Circle, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. This outdoor show features more than 100 exhibitors, food and fun for the whole family. CalicoFort.com or 334-227-8589.
12
LaFayette 29th annual LaFayette Day for Valley Haven School. Arts and crafts, antique cars, children’s games and rides, live family entertainment, a variety of food and more. Free. For information or to register for the craft show or car show, contact Craig Brown at 334756-2868 or Lynn Oliver at 334-219-1890.
24-27
Union Springs “The Rainmaker,” by playwright N. Richard Nash and directed by Kim Mason, presented by the Red Door Theatre. Visit reddoortheatre.org for more information on the play, event times and tickets.
MAY
1-2
Florala Quilts by the Lake, sponsored by the Covington County Quilters’ Guild, Rodney J. Evans Civic Center, 22722 Lake Shore Blvd. Vendors, door prizes, quilts for sale and scissors sharpened. Admission $7. 334-2087896 or email ccquiltguild@gmail.com
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.
Alabama Living on FB instagram.com/alabamaliving
A variety of plants, including camellias, will be for sale at the Mobile Botanical Gardens’ spring plant sale.
At the State House in Support of Protecting Dogs
Ihad finished writing my column by my deadline – not the one you are reading now, but a different one about wholistic medicine for pets. But I felt compelled to write a different story – one that tells about my experience recently when I joined a small group of women rallying in Montgomery for a critical bill to be passed.
I had never been to a rally before, and I was excited. My friend had called me about this vital bill HB149 from Rep. Phillip Ensler, that makes it a Class B misdemeanor to have a dog chained to an unmovable object without shelter from the weather and access to food and water. I’m quiet for a moment: Shouldn’t that already be against the law?
Alabama people really love their dogs; I see it daily in our clinic. Nothing touches me more than seeing that look of pure love – a deep connection that passes between a client and their dog, a flicker of light in both their eyes, like a secret has just been shared.
However, if I’m honest, I’ve also seen that little white dog down the road, trapped on a short chain, shivering in the rain and burning up in the summer heat because there’s no shelter. Every time I drove by, I could see she was getting skinnier and weaker. Then the day came when she was no longer there. I felt so helpless not knowing what I could have done. Maybe call the authorities? But that hasn’t helped before. On my drive to meet up with rally members, I take another route so I don’t have to be reminded of my shame of not doing something more.
Arriving at the rally meeting area, my anticipation builds as I wonder what happens next. Small groups of people, mostly women, of all ages are meeting up from all over the state. Some of them are wearing shirts that represent their different rescues or animal shelters; they’re greeting old friends and making new ones. Now we are walking to the Alabama State House, signs held high. Everyone is excited, and I notice everyone has a similar look about them, a sense of strength and dignity in their eyes; a passer-by honks and flips us off, and they are not even fazed.
When we arrive at the State House, legislators listen as we take turns speaking. There are no angry fists and no emotional rants; instead, calm strong voices share problems and solutions. I find it odd that no one else came to listen – this is a large untapped voting demographic whose solutions could generate income for local governments.
One woman shares, “Embarrassingly, Alabama is 49th in the nation for animal welfare.” Another says, “All Alabamians are paying the price for decisions made here – we have to let them know what we expect of them,” and another says, “Dogs are classified as livestock here, so until laws are made to protect them, there’s nothing anyone can do.”
I am learning so much at this rally. HB149 establishes regulations for tethering, outdoor shelters, and enclosures to ensure humane treatment of dogs. It bans the use of ill-fitting collars and chains as tethers and prohibits tethers that are too short or cause injury.
Continuous tethering is limited to 8 hours per day and is prohibited in extreme weather (below 32 degrees F or above 90 degrees F) and during severe weather warnings. Outdoor shelters must be structurally sound, provide protection from the elements, have an elevated floor, and be large enough for movement. The area must be clean and hazard-free with access to clean water and adequate food. Dogs who live outdoors must have a secure enclosure that prevents escape and allows room for exercise and play. This makes so much sense to me!
I don’t think that the majority of Alabamians feel complacent about our dog issues; rather, I believe they feel helpless about a situation that’s been out of control for a long time.
In writing this article, I have found a sense of peace, and I am excited to share what others can do to help implement needed change. Writing and calling our local news and radio stations and asking them to spread the word that this bill exists is one way to help.
Another powerful way to make a difference is emailing legislators – it sounds simple, but it really works! I created a Facebook page (HB149 Form Letters) that simplifies this process with pre-made letters to copy and email to your local representatives, senators, media and businesses to let everyone know we want change. Why are we doing this? Because I believe that Alabamians love their dogs!
Julie Bjorland is a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) and has been working alongside Goutam Mukherjee, DVM, MS, Ph.D. (known as Dr. G) for the past 20 years. To suggest a topic for discussion, email contact@alabamaliving.coop
Master Gardeners are an excellent source of information for those looking to learn more about home gardening.
Lessons in Gardening: How to grow your garden IQ
No matter how long we’ve been digging the dirt and growing things, there’s always a new lesson to be learned in and from the garden. Sometimes those lessons come from experience — our successes and failures are fine teachers. However, there’s a lot to be said for learning from others’ experiences and expertise and luckily those sorts of educational experiences are readily available through a variety of channels and resources.
So as we prepare for the coming gardening season, here’s a little list of learning opportunities and options that may come in handy this year and for years to come.
• Want to take a deep dive into gardening know-how? Most of Alabama’s fouryear colleges and universities offer degree programs in garden-adjacent fields such as horticulture, botany and landscape design. Several of the state’s two-year schools also offer degrees and certification programs in horticulture. Of course, going back to school is a big commitment of time and money, but for anyone interested in turning a gardening hobby into a career, it may be an ideal choice.
• Looking for a shorter-term but still immersive gardening education? Check out the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Master Gardener and Garden U programs. Both provide a series of expert-taught classes covering the
Contact her at katielamarjackson@gmail.com.
basics of gardening, from growing plants to managing pests to building soils and more. Master Gardener classes are offered in the spring and the fall and after completing the coursework, participants must log 50 hours of volunteer service to become certified. Garden U offers similar training in an online-only, selfpaced program that requires no volunteer commitment. (Learn more at aces.edu.)
• A plethora of shorter-term and less intensive learning experiences, such as workshops and field trips, are offered through ACES, Master Gardeners, conservation organizations, garden clubs, plant societies and local garden centers, many of which also offer online educational resources covering myriad gardening topics.
• Tons and tons of gardening information is available through social media channels, podcasts, and television shows, including the new Garden Party show on Alabama Public Television (aptv.org). And don’t forget old-school book learning!
• And as I always say, some of the best educators are our gardening friends and neighbors who have lots of local hands-on experience in success and failure. And if you don’t know any gardeners, seek them out. (A great place to find them is at local seed and plant swaps.)
MARCH TIPS
Another way to learn is by doing for others. Volunteering at a school or community garden is a great way to get realworld experience working side-by-side with other, often more experienced gardeners.
And while you’re learning about gardening, take time to learn from the garden. It’s full of life lessons and opportunities to discover and master life skills such as patience, focus, adaptability and resilience. And also — perhaps best of all — gardens offer so many chances to cultivate a sense of wonder and awe.
Finally, consider sharing your own gardening experience with others. Whether you invite people to see your yard, offer to teach a workshop or simply mentor an upand-coming gardener, you can be part of the education cycle.
Oh yes, as this new gardening year gets underway take a minute (or more) to contemplate your personal gardening goals and ethics. Gardeners can make big contributions to the health and wellbeing of our planet and communities. Learning about and adopting sustainable, Earthfriendly gardening practices really can improve how our gardens grow and how our environment thrives. Plus, generations of future gardeners and nongardeners alike will thank you.
Prepare garden beds for spring and summer crops.
Plant cool season annuals and vegetables including carrots and radishes.
Keep an eye out for early-emerging weeds and pests.
If you haven’t already, get a soil test before applying fertilizer.
Prune dead and diseased limbs.
Get gardening tools and equipment ready for the season.
Keep those bird feeders and bird baths clean and full.
Katie Jackson is a freelance writer and editor based in Opelika, Alabama.
Photos by Brooke Echols
TCheesy Low-Carb Frittata
1 tablespoon avocado oil
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tablespoons parsley
1/4 cup basil
Brooke Burks
his Cheesy Low-Carb Frittata is a powerhouse of protein and vegetable goodness. Frittatas are a great option for people who love quiche, but who are watching their carb intake. We bake it all in one skillet with tons of protein, vegetables and plenty of CHEESE! For more recipes like this, visit thebutteredhome.com.
Photo by The Buttered Home
Spring Gremolata Steak & Eggs
6 ounces 1-inch thick steak (your favorite cut or NY Strip) Salt, to taste
1/2 bunch parsley
1 tablespoon fresh mint
2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
1 lemon, zested
1 tablespoon olive, avocado, or grapeseed oil
4 eggs
Steak preparation:
Remove the steak from refrigerator and pat the steak dry with a paper towel. Moderately salt the outside. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. While the steak is resting, heat a cast iron pan on medium heat for at least 10 minutes to get the pan sizzling hot. Rinse the steak off with water to gently remove most of the salt. Blot the steak dry with a paper towel. Salting the steak and then removing the salt will help remove any excess liquid from the steak while seasoning it. This technique produces a juicy inside while the outside crusts nicely.
Sear the steak on each side for 3 minutes or until your desired temperature. Remove the steak from the heat and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Slice the steak into strips. Serves: 2
Preheat the oven to 350. Heat avocado oil over low to medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and chopped poblano pepper. Cook until softened.
In a large bowl, whip eggs until mixed well. Add heavy cream, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Mix well. Add basil to vegetables and allow to wilt. Shred mozzarella and add in an even layer over the vegetables. Pour in egg mixture, lifting with spatula to allow eggs to seep under vegetables. Top with cubed Havarti cheese and crumbled, cooked bacon. Allow to cook over low heat until the edges start to set. Once set, transfer to oven for 6 to 8 minutes to firm up. Turn broiler on medium heat and allow the top to brown. Remove from pan, slice and serve garnished with parsley.
Spring Gremolata:
Chop the parsley and mint into small pieces with a knife or herb cutter. Place them in a bowl. Dice the fresh garlic and mix it with the herbs. Add the zest of a lemon to the herb mixture. Add the oil to the herb mixture and mix well. Optional: Add parmesan cheese, a pinch of fennel seed, and/or onion powder to taste.
Serve the steak with the spring gremolata on the side and eggs cooked your favorite way. Pairs well with rosemary or truffle-butter seasoned potatoes as a side.
Cook's note: Traditional Italian gremolata is lemon zest, parsley and garlic. This version incorporates mint, which grows well in Alabama and adds depth to the flavor profile. A touch of oil is also incorporated in this recipe to add a light southern richness.
Ethan Williams Arab EC
COOK OF THE MONTH
Nancy Sites Sizemore, Baldwin EMC
Nancy Sites Sizemore of Gulf Shores says she’s been making her Green ChiIe Cheese Squares “forever.” The original recipe was printed in a newspaper many years ago, but Nancy has changed it up a bit by adding more green chiles. “I added more than one can,” she says, “because they are mild and not that spicy.” Although it makes a delicious brunch dish, the recipe “also makes a great little appetizer. Just cut it up into smaller squares,” she adds. “People really like that.” If you don’t have green chiles on hand, like our staff recipe coordinator Brooke, you can substitute chopped jalapeno, with the seeds and insides removed, and it works just as well.
Congratulations to Nancy for her second win as Cook of the Month. She previously won in November 2022 for her “Turkey Biscuit Stew.” She reports that she’s still compiling recipes for a cookbook she hopes to print this year, and she also writes a monthly recipe column for her local newspaper in Nebraska.
Buttermilk Waffles
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk, shaken
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted, plus softened butter for serving
Cooking spray
Maple syrup and sliced fresh fruit, for serving
In a large bowl, whisk flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and melted butter. Fold into dry ingredients until just incorporated—do not overmix; it’s okay if there are some lumps. Spray a preheated waffle iron with cooking spray. Pour about ½ cup batter into middle of iron until completely covered. Cover and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer waffle to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve waffles hot topped with softened butter, syrup, and fruit. Serving size: 4-6 waffles.
Cook’s notes: The key to extra tender, not rubbery, Buttermilk Waffles is to avoid over-mixing. When you stir the dry ingredients into the wet, fold until just barely combined. It's okay if there are a few lumps—those will absorb into the batter as the waffles cook. Optional: to make ahead for the week, double or triple the recipe, cook the waffles, then cool completely. Freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer frozen waffles to a ziptop plastic bag. Microwave or heat in a toaster oven to serve.
Amy Forehand Wiregrass EC
Green Chile Cheese Squares
1 stick butter
10 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped green chiles (2-3 cans)
1 pint small curd cottage cheese
1 pound shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and cool slightly. Pour into a large bowl; add eggs, beating slightly. Add in all other ingredients; mix well. Pour into buttered 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 degrees for another 30 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares for appetizers or larger for brunch serving.
Cajun Shrimp and Southern
Loaded Gouda Grits
1 cup grits
2 cups chicken broth
½ pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
½ pound ground sausage
1 cup Gouda cheese, divided
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, divided
½ cup green onion
½ cup jalapeno peppers, chopped
½ stick butter
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
½ teaspoon Tony’s Creole seasoning Salt and pepper, to taste Parsley for garnish
Bring chicken broth to boil, stir in grits and butter, allow to cook for 7- 10 minutes while stirring. The longer they cook, the creamier they will be. While grits are cooking, prepare ground sausage, bacon and shrimp, cooking each separately in your preferred method, seasoning shrimp with Old Bay and Tony’s Creole seasoning. Chop green onions and jalapeno peppers. Once grits are done, stir in cooked sausage, cheeses, salt and pepper. Continue to simmer once all meats have been cooked. Spoon out grits into a bowl, top with shrimp, bacon, green onion, peppers and parsley.
Sharlene
Parker Baldwin EMC
Correction: In the recipe for Dickie’s Brunswick Stew that appeared in the January 2025 issue, the amount of an ingredient was omitted. It should be three cups of diced potatoes.
Planned landscaping can help save energy
A:Q:How can landscaping help lower my energy bill?
There’s a lot going on in the space around our homes. Competing factors of aesthetics, safety, energy efficiency, water conservation and increasing risk of wildfires are a lot to consider. Thoughtful planning and good design can address these factors and result in year-round energy savings.
Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25% of a typical household’s energy use, according to the United States Department of Energy (DOE). When selecting the right trees and other foliage, research what is best for your local climate. Select native species naturally adapted to your location for lower maintenance.
Strategically placed deciduous trees allow for summer shade and passive solar heat gain in the winter when leaves have fallen. This can lead to energy savings in the summer and winter.
Slower-growing trees might take longer to provide maximum shading benefit, but their roots are typically deeper, and branches are stronger. These factors can make them less likely to be damaged by wind, snow or ice, and be more drought resistant.
Be sure to plant large trees far enough away from your home to prevent damage from falling branches or root damage to your home’s foundation.
Consider windbreaks
Windbreaks are another landscaping strategy that can be beneficial for energy savings in windy areas. The DOE says windbreaks reduce wind speed by as much as 30 times the windbreak’s height. That, in turn, reduces wind chill near your home and can lower heating costs. The DOE recommends planting two to five times the mature tree’s height away from your home.
Keep in mind, if you have a rooftop photovoltaic solar system, even a small amount of shade can significantly reduce energy production. Consider smaller plantings closer to the home to shade walls, windows or hardscaped surfaces, such as driveways and sidewalks.
Plant evergreen trees and shrubs for windbreaks and consider adding fences or earthen mounds to help lift the wind up and over your home. In cold climates, they offer the added benefit of acting as a snowdrift to keep snow from piling up against your home.
Keep landscaping clear of dryer vents, heat pumps and air-conditioning units to ensure access for maintenance and airflow around those locations.
If you live in an area at risk of wildfire, create a defensible space around your home. Consider hardscaping with gravel, bricks, pavers or stone shaded by fire-resistant awnings or covers. Plant fire-resistant plants with proper spacing of plants and trees from your home and other structures on your property.
Safety first
When landscaping, always consider safety first. Call before you dig to ensure you know where any underground power, gas, water or sewer lines are located. The national 811 Underground Service Alert program routes you directly to your local resources. Call 811 or go to call811.com before you dig.
Be mindful of overhead power lines, too. Look up and check the surroundings before setting up ladders. Be thoughtful when planting new landscaping that could encroach on power lines. Utility equipment should have at least 10 feet of clearance, when possible.
As you prepare to refresh your yard for the coming spring and summer, consider ways you can boost your energy efficiency for more comfort and savings year-round.
Miranda Boutelle is the chief operating officer at Efficiency Services Group in Oregon, a cooperatively owned energy efficiency company.
Plant trees that provide shade during the heat of the summer. PHOTO COURTESY MOHAVE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
Take us along!
Continued from Page 22
Evan Gilliland, son of Chris and Cindi Gilliland of Priceville, took his magazine to the ruins of Pompeii in Italy. They are members of Joe Wheeler EMC.
Phillip Cunningham, a member of Joe Wheeler EC from Morgan County, visited the church at St. Mere Eglise in Normandy, France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, where Army Airborne paratrooper John Steele is memorialized.
Shonna Heatherly and Betsy Spencer of Baileyton, with banjo camp instructor Alan Munde of Kentucky and fellow campers Wendy Wierzbowski and Susan Lebold, both Indiana residents, are smiling with their magazine at the Midwest Banjo Camp in North Manchester, Indiana. Shonna and Betsy are members of Cullman EC.
Mike Kennedy from Talladega, a member of Coosa Valley EC, took Alabama Living to Fairbanks, Alaska, last summer.
Ben and Jae Fox from Brantley traveled to Cozumel, Mexico aboard the Carnival Valor cruise ship. They are members of South Alabama EC.
Tough dogs help hunters take down feral hogs
Picking up the scent, dogs bolted after one of the meanest and most feared beasts in Alabama.
A cacophony of howling, barking, growling, grunting and snorting from this battle royal reverberated across the forest on this chilly morning. Armed only with knives, we rushed to the ruckus. At the tooth-and-tusk melee, a large “bayed” boar stood backed up against a tree surrounded by barking hounds.
“A big bayed up hog is organized chaos,” says Josh Forbes, a hog hunter from Mobile. “A big boar can be pretty dangerous, but nothing is more dangerous than a big sow with piglets. A big boar is more likely to fight the dogs, but a big sow will try to eat anything that threatens her offspring. I’ve seen a big sow rip a chunk of hair and meat from the back of the dog’s shoulder to the front of its back leg.”
Leaner and much more muscled than any barnyard pig, a big feral boar can weigh more than 300 pounds, but average between 100 and 250 pounds. Alligators grab pigs that wander too close to the water. Coyotes and bobcats sometimes snatch piglets, but few things in nature want to tangle with an adult hog. With razor-sharp tusks, a tough hide, a “shield” of hardened tissue protecting its vitals, and an ornery disposition, an adult boar fears nothing.
mined to tear off its body parts, one hunter tackled the tusker and wrestled it to the ground. More help soon arrived. Several men grabbed the pig by its legs, lifting them to pin its head to the ground. This keeps wild swine from moving and prevents them from slashing people or dogs with their razor tusks.
Then other hunters further restrained the pig by kneeling on its neck while dog owners tried to pull their animals away from the enraged beast. One of the hunters moved in to dispatch the pig with a knife. Those who hunt hogs with hounds don’t want to shoot firearms for fear of killing one of their dogs.
Although the boar could not hide from the dogs, it could defend itself in the adrenaline-pumping brawl with potential lethality. The big boar made several slashing thrusts with its sharp tusks trying to kill or maim its tormentors while the dogs snapped at the pig’s vital parts and tried to avoid its tusks.
With the hog bayed, one of our team released a “catch” dog, a scarred up old pit bull who absolutely hated hogs. While the pig focused its attention on the other dogs, the pit bull clamped its powerful jaws around the boar’s sensitive organs to immobilize the forest ogre.
With the big boar rendered powerless by the pit bull deter-
For centuries, sportsmen in Europe and Asia chased Eurasian or Russian wild boars with dogs. Sportsmen on horseback followed trained hounds tracking hogs by their scent. After the hounds located a hog, the group sent in catch dogs to hold the beast until the hunters killed it with a knife, sword or spear. Other than using pickup trucks and all-terrain vehicles instead of horses and GPS collars to track the dogs, not much has changed about hunting pigs with dogs.
Like the hunters centuries ago, Alabama sportsmen release one to three “strike dogs,” usually hounds or curs bred specifically for hog hunting.
Periodically throughout the day, hunters alternate their dogs to give tired animals a rest. Strike dogs find and chase pigs until the hogs turn to fight.
When cornered, a big boar typically backs into a hole, thicket or other cover so it can face its adversaries head on while protecting its flanks. That’s when hunters send in the catch dog to grab whatever it can to restrain the angry beast and hold it for the hunters.
Highly adaptive and prolific, hogs thrive in every habitat in Alabama from the mountains to the coastal marshes. They live in every county, even in suburban and urban areas. They eat practically anything and cause extensive damage to crops, animal feeders, fences and wildlife habitat. They tear up the ground with their noses while rooting for something to eat and displace native wildlife like white-tailed deer by competing with them for food.
Since feral swine cause millions of dollars in damage every year, many landowners welcome hunters to come on their properties to kill hogs. Alabama allows sportsmen to kill feral hogs all year long without limit on private lands.
John N. Felsher
Semmes, Ala.
With a handheld global positioning system unit, Matt Breland tracks the movements of his dogs running after feral hogs during a hunt near Theodore, Ala. PHOTO BY JOHN N. FELSHER
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UTILITY PARTNERS
WEC, Hubbell celebrate working relationship
The partnership between Wiregrass Electric Cooperative and Hubbell Inc. works both ways — WEC tests the newest technology for electric utilities and Hubbell gets boots-on-the-ground feedback.
A celebration is just frosting on the cake.
Representatives from Hubbell Inc. visited WEC headquarters in Hartford recently to celebrate their partnership. Along with a cake featuring images of Hubbell products used by the cooperative, WEC employees were treated to a meal before everyone gathered for group photos.
“There are a lot of vendors in the industry that we work with, not just Hubbell, but it’s great to have somebody come in, to be able to work with them and develop these products because they hear from us, the people who are experienced in the industry instead of just making a product on paper and pushing it out,” says Jason Thrash, WEC’s vice president of engineering, operations and information technology. “The partnership is huge.”
Hubbell Inc. specializes in products for a variety of markets, including health care, wireless communications, renewable energy and power and utilities. It was founded in 1888 by inventor Harvey
Hubbell II, whose patents included a pull chain lamp socket. Today, Hubbell manufactures everything from wall plates to smart meters.
WEC Chief Executive Officer Brad Kimbro says going with the smart meter system has provided technology that helps the cooperative better serve members, especially in the areas of reliability and efficiency.
“The beneficiary of all of this is our member,” Kimbro says. “More reliability, a reliable system, better communication — our members have programs and products that allow them to have an easier way to do business with us.”
Employees, he says, have embraced technology changes in the industry. Kimbro says WEC is also fortunate that its board of trustees has supported innovations and partnerships like the one with
Hubbell. Without trustees understanding and seeing the bigger strategic picture, Kimbro says WEC couldn’t utilize new technology to the degree it has.
“It’s all for the member — it’s all for them,” he says of the board’s support. “The board understands because they keep themselves up to speed. They know what’s occurring in the industry.”
Ashley Pearson, Hubbell’s vice president of electric utility solutions, says working with utility partners like WEC benefits the company. During Hubbell’s recent visit, engineers joined WEC employees to see how their products work in the field. That, she says, gives the manufacturer invaluable information.
“Having that feedback allows us to make sure when we go to market other utilities have the best product that they can have,” Pearson says.
More reliability, a reliable system, better communication — our members have programs and products that allow them to have an easier way to do business with us.”
— Brad Kimbro, WEC Chief Executive Officer
The installation of smart meters a few years ago with Hubbell was one of the biggest projects WEC has undertaken, Thrash says. WEC deployed 27,000 smart meters.
“What we love about that meter system is it reports outages to us,” Thrash says. “So, the member may still call, but they don’t have to call and report the outage because we know about it. The system’s working great.”
WEC is working with Hubbell on a line defender that helps protect the cooperative’s electric system without the oil
— and the risk of spills — found in other comparable products. The cooperative is also currently testing pole and conductor sensors for Hubbell, feeding the data back to the company. The pole sensor provides WEC information, such as if a pole has fallen or is leaning. The conductor sensor WEC is testing is used on power lines to report problems like a line sagging too low.
“So, as soon as we know about it, we can respond,” Thrash says. “We’re looking forward to that product, that technology, to help us make improvements.” n
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Wiregrass CEO Brad Kimbro talks with Angelo Borrelli, regional sales manager with Hubbell.
WEC employees enjoy a meal during a celebration with Hubbell Inc.
Hubbell Inc. representatives Ashley Pearson, left, and Terry Van Olst listen to Wiregrass Electric CEO Brad Kimbro during a recent visit to WEC.
A cake shows photos of four different Hubbell products that WEC is testing or using.
Climate compromise
For decades, numerous environmental organizations and the environmental media have run an increasingly pressurized campaign to eliminate the use of all fossil fuels. You have seen the headlines – Net Zero by 2050, Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground, Clean Energy Not Dirty Fuels, and many others.
One of the leading media organizations driving the Climate Change movement is The New York Times, which, a number of years ago, established a Climate Forward Desk to report on climate change news and activities. The Times’ Climate Forward writers are experienced journalists who do more than just focus on climate news. They promote and advance a climate doctrine of complete elimination of fossil fuels, and they criticize any level of compromise that doesn’t include complete elimination of fossil fuels as soon as possible. Anyone who disagrees with their positions is labeled a denier or a planet destroyer.
That position changed, at least a little, on January 7, 2025 with an article written by David Gelles, the leader of the Times’ Climate Forward Newsletter, titled, “What Will Power the A.I. Revolution?”
Mr. Gelles notes that Microsoft recently announced it would invest $80 billion during 2025 to build data centers to support its growing artificial intelligence (AI) business. Other tech companies like Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Google are making similar commitments to AI. A huge amount of electricity will be required to power the wave of data centers that are projected to be built. Mr. Gelles notes the growth will further strain the electric grid, which is predominantly powered by natural gas and coal. He states, “That growth in electric usage will mean more planet warming emissions from electric generation.”
Mr. Gelles also points out the irony that Microsoft and the other giant tech companies that are responsible for the surge in electric use and increasing emissions have historically been corporate leaders in combating global warming. He comments on Microsoft’s 2020 promise to remove all its historic emissions from the atmosphere, Amazon’s climate pledge, and Google’s Net Zero goals. Now those companies are dramatically increasing their energy uses, despite their climate promises.
The tech companies claim AI will improve energy efficiency around the world and deliver breakthroughs in developing clean energy. If that comes to pass, today’s spike in emissions will just be a short-term disruption to their climate goals. Nili Gilbert, vice-chairwoman of Carbon Direct, a company that helps corporations lower their emissions, said, “It was encouraging that the companies seeing growth in the AI data centers are also the most highly committed and the biggest spenders on their climate targets. They are very focused on renewable energy.”
Mr. Gelles notes the increased interest and investment in nuclear power, while not considered renewable, is carbon free. Microsoft is investing in the reopening of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Pennsylvania. Other tech companies are investing in other nuclear technologies. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed his faith that nuclear fusion was on the cusp of going mainstream, saying: “Fusion’s gonna work.”
However, Jason Burdoff, the founding director of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said, “The challenge is, this is a decade away, and they need power in 12 to 18 months. There are few options to do that in the very short term other than natural gas.”
Mr. Gelles concludes the article by expressing hope that the tech giants are correct – AI will help solve the climate change problem. He states that optimism is shared by more than the tech giant executives. AI proponents say the technology has the potential to save more power than it consumes by providing more efficient airline routes and traffic patterns, optimizing power flows through the electric grid, and identifying new technological breakthroughs. And Mr. Burdoff is further quoted in the article, saying: “On the one hand, AI is going to take energy, and on the other hand, AI can help improve how we deploy clean energy. I am optimistic that’s going to net out in a positive direction from an energy transition standpoint.”
Mr. Gelles concludes the article, “That’s a rosy view of how the AI revolution will unfold. But until nuclear takes off or fusion breaks through, or AI unleashes a new wave of cheap renewables, AI will exact a steep toll on the climate.”
PowerSouth has supported a reasonable, balanced approach to climate change with emphasis on reliability and affordability. We believe providing all the world’s energy in an affordable manner without using fossil fuels, and without a breakthrough in current technology, will be impossible. We recognize that, despite the hype and subsidies, renewable power is more expensive and less reliable than dispatchable fossil fuel generation. It is very unlikely that AI ever provides enough energy efficiency or technology to displace the staggering amount of electricity they will require.
Mr. Gelles’s conclusion of the inevitability of increasing fossil fuel emissions is a dramatic position shift for environmentalists. It is a shame that it takes tech billionaires, in their quest to make billions more, to convince the Times’ Climate Desk to accept a compromise in allowing fossil fuels for powering AI data centers, when environmentalists have long harmed poor Americans (who are just trying to make ends meet every day) by aiming to deny their opportunity to receive reliable, affordable power from fossil fuels. I’m not sure if it is a climate compromise as much as a climate hypocrisy.
I hope you have a good month.
Gary Smith is President and CEO of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative.
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Stray no more
Ican’t believe that this month marks 6 years since my two dogs, Reese and Roscoe, became part of my life. And as I think back on the events that brought us together, it’s hard to believe that our paths even crossed.
Ironically, I wasn’t there for the first meeting. My wife, son, and granddaughter were headed home from a quick spring break trip to the lake. Instead of driving back on the normal route, they decided to take a different way.
After a few miles, they spotted them on the side of a two lane highway. A black and white pup with his brindle colored running mate. A pair of dirty, stinky, skittish dogs. Not a collar between them. It was obvious they had missed a few meals. One of them had a dime sized tick below her eye. Normally, curs like these elicit a collective sigh, and are forgotten by the next mile marker. But not today, because the black and white stray could have been the twin of my beloved, departed bird dog, Precious.
Precious was special to me in so many ways. Considering what was going on in my life at the time, she was undoubtedly my emotional support dog. The joy and love that pup gave me can’t be put into words. So when I lost her, it hit me hard, so hard. Even though she’s been gone a few years, the wound still hasn’t healed. Honestly, it never will. On several occasions I swore I would never have a dog again, because I already had the best one I could ever have.
And I don’t like the concept of a “replacement dog,” getting another one soon after the loss of a beloved companion. To me, that dishonors the memory of the one you lost. I have to grieve for a while, a long while. Even now, I get teary-eyed at our lake house because it was such a special place for me and Precious.
People close to me told me to get over it and get another one, because there are so many dogs that needed rescuing.
Rilynne, my brash, insightful granddaughter, recognized the similarity between the two dogs immediately, and issued a command. “Dad! You have to turn around! That dog looks just like Precious! We have to show him to Granddaddy!” A tap on the brakes, a three point turn, and within 5 minutes, I’m getting a FaceTime call at my office showing a little girl playing with two nasty pups.
The audio is my wife crying, “We just can’t take one of them and leave the other one behind. We just can’t.”
What could I do? No sane man can say no to a sobbing wife and a happy granddaughter. I nodded in agreement. Within minutes, my son was herding the pups into his car. Once I hung up, one of my office buddies who overheard the entire call, smiled and said, “That was the most expensive trip to the lake you’ll ever have in your life.”
He was right about that.
In another two hours those dogs were in my back yard, lapping up huge quantities of love and hamburger. Once I came home and met them, it was official: they were strays no more, but members of my family.
So, goodbye clean house. Hello, dog hair and carpet accidents. That’s OK with me. I’m a dog person. I prefer dogs to most people.
I guess it was time. I wasn’t ready, but they sure were. And six years ago on the side of a little county highway it happened. A pair of strays found me.
It seems that every couple of months we hear about someone who wins millions of dollars in one of the big Powerball lotteries. But I know two dogs that hit a lottery ticket a few years ago that’s worth more than that to them.
And if I’m being honest, it’s worth more to me, too.
Happy Gotcha Day, Reese and Roscoe!
Illustration by Dennis Auth
Joe Hobby is a standup comedian, a syndicated columnist,
a long-time writer for Jay Leno. He’s a member of Cullman Electric Cooperative and is very happy now that he can use Sprout from his little place on Smith Lake. Contact him at jhobby2000@aol.com.
