Spotlight

Take us along!

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.

The Gresham children of Loxley took their magazine on a short annual apple picking trip to Fort Mountain in north Georgia. They are members of Baldwin EMC.

Susan and John Rutledge of Ider, members of Sand Mountain EC, recently visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and took their magazine along.

Matthew & Julie Timberlake of Enterprise carried their magazine with Buc-ee’s on the cover to a real Buc-ee’s in Terrell, Texas. They are members of Covington EC.

Russ and Phyllis Porter took their magazine on a trip to Mystic, Connecticut, where they saw the statue of John J. Kelley, US National Marathon champion, Olympian, and 2002 Hall of Fame inductee. They are members of Baldwin EMC.

David Butler and Sue Suggs from Lincoln, members of Coosa Valley EC, traveled to the Dry Tortugas National Park and took Alabama Living along. The park and Fort Jefferson are 70 miles west of Key West, Florida.

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.

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.

July’s answer: The “globe,” as it’s known, sits along Highway 11 between Fort Payne and Collinsville, in the Collbran community. It’s permanently mounted in front of Little River Outfitters, owned by Kennith Wigley and his daughter. (Note: Internet searches for Little River Outfitters will direct you to an unrelated Tennessee business.) Reached by phone at his business, Wigley gave Alabama Living the background on the interesting landmark.

As many readers noted, the globe is related to the Shriners organization. Lettering on one side of the globe says, “The man with the red fez is on top of the world.” Wigley says originally there was a life-size statue of a Shriner on top, but it has not been found.

The globe was originally located at the Southeastern Shrine command in Florida, and “a tornado got it and sent it across Florida,” Wigley says.

A collector friend of Wigley came across the globe at some point. Wigley, himself a Shriner, bought it from the friend about 20 to 25 years ago, who had it transported in pieces to northeast Alabama. He had the pieces bolted together and bolted to a concrete pad; fortunately, no tornadoes have taken it away since. “We’ve been lucky,” Wigley says with a chuckle.

He’s had the map and the lettering repainted three times so far and is getting ready to have it repainted again to battle the wear and tear from the elements. He says people stop to take photos of the landmark almost daily.

The winner for the June contest (the Jesse Owens sculpture) is Mardre Williams of Central Alabama EC. The randomly drawn correct guess winner for the “globe,” the July landmark, is Leslie Gibbins of Southern Pine EC.

Photo contest 2022

Abig thank you to all the talented Alabama Living readers who entered our sixth annual photo contest this year! More than 150 photos were entered by photographers from all parts of the state, from the mountains of north Alabama to the sun-kissed Baldwin County beaches. We asked for and accepted entries on our website from May 1-31, and you answered the call. As in past years, we asked for photos in one of four categories: Alabama Travels, Animals, People and Seasons. We limited the entries to two per category, per photographer, so each photographer could enter up to eight photos total.

Each first-place winner gets $100, and many of the honorable mentions are shown in the following pages. But really, the winners are all of our readers who get to see some of the photographic talents of our state’s residents.

Our judge, Julie Bennett, is an award-winning photojournalist based in central Alabama. She is on staff at the Media Production Group at Auburn University and teaches photojournalism in the College of Liberal Arts.

Photo contest

First place

ANIMALS Arthur Davis, Baldwin EMC Judge’s comment: The composition of this photo is spectacular, with the curve of the branch and the angle of the bird. The colors are eyecatching and the detail is sharp.

Honorable mention

PEOPLE Lindsey Green, Arab EC; photo of her grandmother, Ozell Green Judge’s comment: Super nice portrait. The honesty and detail in her face make for an interesting shot and I instantly want to know more about her.

Honorable mention

ANIMALS Susan Allison, Baldwin EMC Judge’s comment: I love the composition of this photo. It focuses on a part of the butterfly we don’t often think about because we are usually distracted by that beautiful wingspan.

First place

SEASONS Brent Eanes, Theodore, Ala. Judge’s comment: The lighting in this photo is amazing. I love that the photographer took this photo from the shadow side, giving that caterpillar a glow and providing us with a view of spring we don’t often see.

Honorable mention

SEASONS Anjana Henry, Joe Wheeler EMC Judge’s comment: I can’t help being chilly just looking at this one. The frozen pyramid framing the blue bird is a super nice touch along with the icicles.

Honorable mention

ALABAMA TRAVELS Arthur Davis, Baldwin EMC Judge’s comment: What a great angle! Very unique take on how to enjoy one of Alabama’s lakes. Well done.

ALABAMA TRAVELS Drew Senter, Baldwin EMC Judge’s comment: This is simply beautiful. The shadows and highlights captured here really do magic hour justice. Lovely detail.

Honorable mention

ALABAMA TRAVELS Kacy Sloat, Clarke-Washington EMC Gracie Sloat, 10 Judge’s comment: I feel like I’m there, or at least wishing I was. Nice work on the exposure here … that snow white sand can be difficult to work with in the midday sun.

First place

ALABAMA TRAVELS Carlee Davis, Tallapoosa River EC Chad Greene and Sarah Grace Chapman Judge’s comment: There is so much energy and action packed into this frame. Nice work stopping all that motion and I love the natural late-afternoon light filtering in behind them.

Alabama centenarian

nationally recognized for unique WWII service

By Minnie Lamberth

To say that Romay Johnson Davis has led an interesting life would be an understatement of the century – and that wouldn’t even cover the amount of time she has been on this earth. “I enjoyed, I guess, just about everything I’ve ever done,” the 102-year-old Montgomery resident says. “I have lots of memories, lots of special memories of special people.”

Davis is one of six surviving members of an all-Black Women Army Corps (WAC) unit, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which deployed overseas in 1945 to sort a backlog of mail for servicemen far from home. The six are slated to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, thanks to legislation signed by President Biden in March 2022.

As the oldest survivor, Davis received a Silver Service Medallion in June from the National WWII Museum during a ceremony in New Orleans. According to the museum website, the medallion is awarded to “veterans and those with a direct connection to World War II who have served our country with distinction and continue to lead by example.” That’s a description that fits her well.

Born Oct. 29, 1919, Davis grew up in King George County, Virginia, as the only girl among five brothers. She was working in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Mint when World War II began, and shortly after that, all her brothers had joined the military. “When I was the last one left, I asked if I could go too,” Davis recalled. She become part of the newly created Women’s Army Corps, attending boot camp at Camp Breckinridge in Kentucky.

There, she trained to become a driver. It seemed like a better choice than her other options. “I grew up in the country, with sheep and flowers and animals and birds,” she explains. “I like the outdoors.” So when she was asked what she wanted to do, she said, “I don’t want to clerk. I don’t want to cook. I don’t want to clean a house unless I have to. So driving is the only thing left.” As a result, she spent a lot of her military service outdoors.

Davis was assigned to serve in a specialized unit made up of 855 African-American women who were given the task of sorting two years’ worth of backlogged mail. They started in February 1945 in Birmingham, England, and worked around the clock to sort nearly 18 million pieces of mail in a record-breaking effort.

“The Army gave them six months, and they did it in only three

months,” the museum’s Silver Service Medallion description noted. “Davis and her 6888th Battalion colleagues sorted, repackaged, and redirected an average of 5.85 million pieces of correspondence per month. In comparison, another unit processed only 624,000 pieces in December 1944. The 6888th’s high productivity continued in Rouen and Paris, France.” Davis’ primary responsibility was still as a driver, in both England and France. “When an officer needed to go somewhere, one of the drivers would take them,” she says. However, she also sorted mail when not on the road. “That’s what we were there for, to get the mail situated and on its way to the men.” The unit was deactivated when it returned to the states. Yet Davis had many more years of accomplishments ahead of her. While in New York, she met and married Jerry Davis, a Lowndes County native who was a carpenter for the New York subway system. She also graduated from New York’s Traphagen School of Fashion and embarked on a 30-year career in fashion design with Glen of Michigan, a children’s clothing manufacturer. “I learned a lot about fashion, how to make patterns, put them together,” she says. “I guess I had a knack for design, making things. It was easy – very, very interesting.” She later earned a master’s degree in education from New York University and also worked in real estate. When her husband retired in 1999, Davis moved with him back to his home state of Alabama, and she still stayed busy. She earned a Taekwondo black belt in her 70s, and after her husband passed away, she went back to work at a Winn-Dixie grocery store when she was 80 years old and worked Romay Davis, 102, was honored with the Silver Service part-time until age 101. “I enjoyed beMedallion at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans in June. Here she’s shown with one of the student leadership award recipients at the ceremony. PHOTO COURTESY THE NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM ing at the store,” she says. In addition to national recognitions, Davis has also been celebrated in her adopted hometown. For her 101st birthday in 2020, she was the honoree of a parade that culminated with the reading of commendations from Gov. Kay Ivey and a proclamation from Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed declaring her birthday as “Romay Davis Day.” Southeastern Groceries, Inc., the parent company of Winn Dixie grocery stores, also named the Romay Davis Belonging, Inclusion and Diversity Grant in her honor. The company will announce grant recipients shortly before Oct. 29, when Davis will turn 103.

FALL FOOTBALL FORECAST

In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr made a profound statement: “The more that things change, the more they stay the same.” Old Jean-Baptiste must have been watching the SEC Network.

There have been three major changes in Southern college football in the last 55 years. In the late 60s, the recruitment and signing of African American athletes improved and changed the direction of college football forever. The other two changes happened in the last couple of years: the open transfer portal and the advent of N.I.L. (Name, Image and Likeness).

This fall, Alabama will have four new offensive transfer starters who started last year at Georgia Tech, Vandy, Louisville and Georgia. Their best corner started last fall at LSU. The rich get richer when you mix these players with top-ranked recruiting classes. In a touch of irony, Auburn may start a transfer quarterback from Texas A&M who beat Bama after they lost Bo Nix to the transfer portal and Oregon.

Game program sales are expected to be high just to keep up with the roster changes.

N.I.L. has allowed the athletes to “cash in” on their social media popularity. Basically, the NCAA has taken the NASCAR approach: “Have at it boys!” Some players are legally earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, in some corners, a bidding war has ensued for players. 2021 ALABAMA Recap: Nick Saban has brought the Tide program to the point that anything EXCEPT winning the National Championship is a disappointing season. Last year, for the first time in 25 tries, one of his former assistant coaches beat the former boss when Jimbo Fisher’s A&M Aggies won in College Station. Bama went on to beat Georgia for the SEC championship only to lose the Natty to former assistant Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. Quarterback Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. His Heisman moment was the final drive against Auburn in the Iron Bowl for the win. 2021 AUBURN Recap: First year coach Bryan Harsin led the Tigers to a 6-7 record that could very easily have been a 10-win season. There were only two noncompetitive games: Georgia and Texas A&M. Failure to “finish” cost the Tigers in four of the losses. A questionable failed fade pass from the 2-yard line against Penn State. Lost 28-20. Against South Carolina, going for 4th and 1 in the 2nd quarter, leading by 7. Incomplete pass. Lost 2117. Against Alabama, sacked Bryce Young 7 times but allowed him to drive the length of the field and convert 4th downs. If Auburn makes a first down on 3rd and 1 from the 37-yard line, they are rolling Toomer’s Corner. Bama wins in 4 overtimes, 24-22. Against Houston in the Birmingham Bowl, the Tigers needed just one stop for a winning season. Lost 17-13.

SEC Prediction: In the last 15 years, the gap between the favorites in each division has never been wider. Alabama in the West and Georgia in the East have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack. In the past, you could predict that one of the divisions was going to be a tossup. Not this year.

SEC East Prediction: 1. Georgia 2. Kentucky 3. Tennessee 4. Florida 5. South Carolina 6. Missouri 7. Vandy. The battle is for the runner-up position. Kentucky is solid. The Vols are on the rise but have to play Bama. How long will it take Billy Napier to get the Gators on the right path?

SEC West Prediction: 1. Alabama 2. Texas A&M 3. Ole Miss 4. Arkansas 5. LSU 6. Auburn 7. Mississippi State. Bama has October 8 circled, when A&M comes to town. The Aggies have recruited great but must get more consistent. Ole Miss will be the surprise team due to all the transfers. Alabama Outlook: The Tide will enter the fall as the number 1 team in every poll. Why? They have the reigning Heisman Trophy quarterback; the most dominating defensive player in Will Anderson; the Greatest Coach of All Time in Nick Saban. The schedule is favorable with A&M in Tuscaloosa. The defense has a chance to get back to the dominating days of the past. 12-0. SEC champion. Auburn Outlook: In an unusual schedule, the Tigers play their first 5 games at home. They have to be at least 4-1 when they travel the next week to Georgia. Running back Tank Bigsby is one of the best in the SEC when he stays healthy. Owen Pappoe has to step up as the defensive leader. Auburn fans are going to get more restless if programs like A&M, Arkansas, Ole Miss and LSU pass them by. 7-5 record.

CFP Playoffs: Pencil in Alabama and Ohio State. The other 2 slots will be between Georgia, Clemson, Utah, and Notre Dame. Prediction: Bama beats Clemson in Peach Bowl. Ohio State beats Utah in the Fiesta Bowl. Alabama beats Ohio State for the National Championship 37-24. Rammer Jammer once again!

Brad Bradford is a former football staff member at Alabama and Louisville. His wife Susan Moseley Bradford is a former Auburn cheerleader. His blogs can be found at hairinabiscuit. com. Brad is also an author and motivational speaker. Contact him at coachbradbradford@gmail.com

Watering wisely will help your lawn and garden through a hot summer

Back in June when the weather was especially hot and dry and my house was full of grandchildren, I pulled out an old oscillating sprinkler thinking I’d efficiently water my plants and my grandkids at the same time. It was soon obvious that the sprinkler was fine entertainment for the children but far from adequate for my plants.

The device’s arching sweep of water certainly cooled off the kiddos but more droplets wafted off into the air than landed on the lawn or surrounding plants and hardly any of that moisture reached the plants’ roots where it was needed most. Imagining the summer ahead would be hot and possibly droughty, I decided it was time to up my irrigation game. Water of course is essential not just for our lawns and gardens but for all life on Earth, so it’s important to use this precious natural resource in a careful, sustainable way. Judicious water usage also saves us time and money. But developing a smart, affordable irrigation plan seemed intimidating to me until I couched it in terms of plants, soils and equipment. Water requirements vary among plant species and their locations in the landscape, which means a single yard may have a variety of different irrigation needs. For example, the bank of mop-head hydrangeas planted in a sunny, dry spot along my carport and the herbs growing in pots on my patio need frequent watering to survive. In contrast, the well-established oak-leaf hydrangeas growing in a shady spot near my house, my beds of native wildflowers and even the warm-season grasses in my lawn rarely, if ever, need watering. Knowing this, I set up hoses and sprinklers based on zones, which has made watering more much convenient and efficient.

Soil types also impact watering choices, and a single yard may include an assortment of different soil types and conditions. My landscape has areas of clay and sand but also spots naturally rich in organic matter. By knowing which soil types are where, I adjusted the rate and pressure of my irrigation equipment so water didn’t run off or run through the soils too quickly. I also used mulches to increase water retention around the base of some plants and I plan to amend my soils with organic matter this fall.

Technology, too, is important, and it has improved exponentially since I bought that old sprinkler head. These days we have access to high-tech automated systems and smart controllers that can help us time irrigation applications based on factors such as rainfall and soil moisture. And a variety of more efficient hoses and sprinklers are also available to make manual irrigation easier and more effective. I’ve been making small investments in better equipment, which I hope will provide big returns. By understanding the importance of these three factors, we can all develop wiser watering plans for the rest of this year and into the future. If you want to delve deeper into those plans, check out the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Alabama Smart Yard Landscape page at aces.edu, and click on “topics,” then “landscaping.” Also see a posting on drought tolerant landscapes. For personal advice, contact your county Extension office or Master Gardeners Well-placed drip irrigation can deposit water directly onto the roots of plants rather than on their foliage. group or talk to someone with your local water utility office for guidance. PHOTO COURTESY ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEM In the meantime, here are a few simple ways to water wisely without making a huge investment of time or money. • Water in the early morning (preferably 4 to 7 a.m.). • Place irrigation hoses and sprinklers to deposit water directly onto the roots of plants rather than on their foliage. • Ensure sprinklers are watering plants (and possibly grandchildren) rather than concrete and asphalt. • Repair leaks in hoses, sprinklers and irrigation systems and around spigot connections. • Group plants with similar watering needs together whenever possible. • Replace thirsty plants, including lawn grasses, with native and drought-tolerant species. • Use natural mulches in garden beds and around newly planted trees and shrubs to retain more soil moisture.

Katie Jackson is a freelance writer and editor based in Opelika, Alabama. Contact her at katielamarjackson@gmail.com. Correction in July column: Endangered green pitcher plants are found only in five northeast Alabama counties (Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson and Marshall).

SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security is ready when you’re ready to retire

When you think you’re ready to retire, we’re here to help you make an informed decision about when to apply for benefits. You should decide based on your individual and family circumstances.

Would it be better for you to start getting benefits early with a smaller monthly amount over a longer period? Or perhaps wait for a larger monthly payment over less time? The answer is personal and depends on several factors, such as your current and anticipated cash needs, health, and your family history on longevity. Most importantly, you should study your future financial needs and obligations, and estimate your future Social Security benefit.

The best and easiest way to estimate your future Social Security benefits is with a personal my Social Security account. You can create your free account at ssa.gov/myaccount. Use your account to see how much you might receive each month based on the age at which you want to start receiving benefits.

We encourage you to weigh all the factors carefully before deciding when to begin receiving Social Security benefits. This decision affects the monthly benefit amount you will receive for the rest of your life and may affect benefits for your survivors.

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

Social Security’s online retirement resources

Whether you’re ready to learn about, apply for, or manage your retirement benefits, our online resources make it easy for you to find the information you need. How easy? You can do it from your computer, tablet, and even smartphone!

On our website, you can: • Get our publications. • Estimate your benefits with one of our many calculators. • Find your Full Retirement Age. • Learn about benefits for a spouse and family members. • Apply for benefits. • Mange your benefits once you start receiving them.

You and your loved ones can discover all these resources at ssa. gov/retirement.

August crossword by Myles Mellor

Across 1 Barbecue sauce popular in North Alabama (3 words) 8 “___ made some beans” 10 Goes with 5 down, 2 words 12 Loudspeaker system 14 Alabama _____, cocktail 17 Indian corn 18 Banana _____ (desserts) 21 Includes in a recipe 24 ____ ____ tomatoes, 2 words 28 Added line to a letter, abbr. 30 Barbecue offering 32 Yellowhammer drink ingredient 33 Much-used greens in Alabama dishes 34 Cake featured on our May cover 35 Cooks in a way Down 1 Creates a dish quickly, 2 words 2 Cocktail addition 3 Distinct period 4 Well-known beer, in slang 5 Iconic Southern dish, goes with 10 across 6 Not tasted yet 7 Former 9 Actor Kilmer of ‘’Top Gun’’ 11 Compass direction, abbr. 13 Sushi offerings 15 Kid’s pie stuff 16 Tractor-trailer 19 Preserved, in a way (with fruit) 20 Complain to 22 Guacamole or fondue, e.g. 23 Red wine 24 Top pick, informally 25 Water bird 26 Red or black beans’ partner 27 Zero 29 Fries, salad, etc. 31 Rich cake with rum